Department/Team: Development Assistant

Responsible to: Co-Directors of Development

Contract: Permanent

Location: Flexible mix of home working and from The Old Vic, 103 The Cut, London, SE1 8NB

Hours: Full-Time - 40 hours per week, Monday-Friday. Four days a week would be considered (salary would be pro-rated accordingly).

Flexibility to occasionally undertake evening/early morning work.

The Old Vic offers the ability to work these flexibly under the guidelines in our New Ways of Working policy. Additional hours may be necessary in order to fulfil the requirements of the post

Salary: £25,000 per annum

Direct reports: None

Benefits:

• Flexible working and a company culture that promotes good work/life balance
• Access to mental health support
• Commitment to learning, education and development
• Complimentary tickets for you and a guest to Old Vic preview productions
• Enhanced annual leave, starting at 25 days per year, increasing by one day per year up to 30 days (plus bank holidays)
• Festive day – discretionary additional day off around Christmas to spend with loved ones
• Time to volunteer – one day per year to support a charity or project of your choosing
• Cycle 2 work scheme
• Enhanced maternity/paternity/shared parental pay
• Staff social events

Role Summary

The purpose of the post is to support on all administrative, logistical and operational aspects of Development to help maximise fundraising potential and efficiency including: data capture, reporting and analysis, information sharing, executing systems and processes and providing excellent administrative support to the Co-Directors of Development and wider team.

Your Team

The Development Assistant provides administrative, logistical and operational support for the wider Development Department which fundraises for The Old Vic Theatre Company and The Old Vic Theatre Trust, which is a registered charity. Its aim is to raise voluntary funds for the theatre from individuals, companies, charitable trusts and foundations and events.

The Old Vic is one of the only theatres in London with such scale, scope and international reputation to operate as a registered charity, receiving no regular public subsidy. The Development Team currently raises around £3.5m to £4 million each year in revenue fundraising, alongside an ambitious Capital Campaign with a target of £14.9m

Areas of responsibility

The Development Assistant will be responsible for:

Administrative Support

• Accurate and efficient diary management for the Co-Directors of Development, including arranging internal and external meetings, team meetings, booking space, ensuring refreshments and IT needs are arranged, and welcoming guests.
• Assisting the Co-Directors and Development Team by printing collateral, preparing agendas and briefing notes, collating and binding documents, sending email and written correspondence, copy typing notes, minutes and reports.
• Coordinating any travel arrangements, couriers and thank you gifts as required by the team.
• Sending, collating and recording event invitations and responses, where needed.
• Processing invoices, expenses and credit card statements.
• To support the Co-Directors of Development in the coordination of any team away days or training activity.

Finance and Data

• Maintain, enter, clean, sort and compile data, using the database Tessitura.
• Assist in ensuring that data is held in accordance with GDPR andsupport on all GDPR related activity.
• Assist the Co-Directors of Development and Head of Individual Giving in the production of monthly, quarterly and annual reports and forecasts.
• Assist the Head of Events with the production of reports following key fundraisers.
• Support on reporting of income and expenditure and presentation of budgets.
• Assist the Senior Individual Giving Manager in ensuring that Gift Aid and Debit Debits processing mechanisms are optimal and that philanthropic funds are accepted, recorded accurately, accounted for appropriately and compliant with relevant internal and external regulations.

Fundraising Operations

• Work with the Co-Directors of Development, Associate Director and Heads to ensure that the Development Department’s essential systems, processes and procedures are all up to date and fit for purpose, that they aid fundraising opportunities, and that they are optimally utilised across the team.
• To provide operational support across the Development department, with a particular emphasis on gift processing, renewal drives, ticket booking, statistical analysis, and financial administration.
• Supporting the Events Team around key fundraisers with ticketing, recording RSVPs, proof-reading, and documents such as briefing notes.
• Support the various sub-teams in booking in tickets for donors attending events.

Supporter Accreditation

• Work with the Corporate Development Officer, Trusts & Foundations Officer and Individual Giving Officer to ensure supporter recognition is accurate and consistent, including naming opportunities for spaces or activities, listings in programmes/on the website, credits on advertising, etc.

Research

• Support the team in researching and compiling information on prospects, writing supporter/prospect biographies for events and meetings and maintaining these on the database.
• Support the team in providing benchmarking research within theatre, the arts and the wider fundraising sector.

General Duties

• To assist with organising inductions for new staff and booking training opportunities.
• Undertake other tasks as necessary to support the Co-Directors of Development, fundraisers, advocates, Trustees, boards and committees in delivering fundraising for The Old Vic.
• Work at Development events as required.

This is not an exhaustive list of duties and the Theatre's management may, at any time, allocate other tasks which are of a similar nature or level.

Person Specification

Essential

• Strong verbal and written communication skills and ability in dealing with a wide range of and external stakeholders at all levels
• Excellent numeracy skills
• Ability to plan tasks, achieve deadlines and prioritise effectively
• Able to work with accuracy and speed in an environment with changing demands
• High standard of IT skills including Microsoft Word and Excel
• Meticulous eye for detail; good proof-reader
• Immaculate presentation of work
• Confident, approachable and proactive
• Enthusiastic and ‘can do’ approach, a lateral problem solver
• An interest in theatre and the arts

How to Apply

We understand that everyone is different and we want you to apply in whichever way you feel best shows your skills and experience. There are a range of ways that you can apply with us:

• 1. Sending a short video file of yourself (no longer than two minutes in length), detailing your experience, why you are applying for the role and what about working at The Old Vic interests you.
• 2. Sending a short audio file of yourself (no longer than two minutes in length), detailing your experience, why you are applying for the role and what about working at The Old Vic interests you.
• 3. Completing our application form.
• 4. Uploading your CV and covering letter, explaining why you are interested in the role and working at the Old Vic.

The Old Vic has made a commitment that all applicants with disabilities who meet the essential criteria for this job will be invited to interview. 

All appointments are made subject to satisfactory references and proof of eligibility to work in the UK.

The Process

The recruitment process for this role will be two stages:

• 1st stage virtual/in person conversation
• 2nd stage virtual/in person conversation
• You may be asked to complete a work based skills assessment or challenge 

The closing date for this role is Monday 30 May 2022, 11:59pm.

Equal Opportunities

We actively support and encourage people from a variety of backgrounds, experiences and skill sets to join us and help shape what we do. We are particularly keen to receive applications from people of the global majority, LGBTQ+, neurodiverse and disabled candidates.

We may take positive action, in cases where candidates are equally qualified, to increase the employment of under-represented groups at The Old Vic.

In the event that we ask you to attend the theatre for a conversation and you are struggling financially, we may be able to reimburse you for any reasonable travel costs.

We partner with a range of inclusive organisations, to find out more please read our FAQs. 

FAQs

Read our recruitment and selection and equal opportunities FAQs here.