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Head of Membership

Job description

Join the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE) in our mission to lead the fightback for plants, the planet, and our future at this critical moment for our natural world. The new Head of Membership will play an important supporting role in delivering a range of projects and programmes, including the high-profile Edinburgh Biomes project, a hugely ambitious estates masterplan that is central to our response to the climate emergency and biodiversity crisis. The project offers an exceptional opportunity to build our donor and member base and engage with new and existing audiences.

RBGE is one of the top four botanic gardens in the world and home to one of the world's best living collections of plants (13,500 species), a herbarium of three million preserved specimens and one of the UK's most comprehensive botanical libraries. With specialist expertise and resources built over 350 years, gardens across Scotland, and research and conservation programmes across the world, our aim is to understand, protect and restore the world's plant species and ecosystems, providing scientific solutions to safeguard our planet for future generations.

Harris Hill is delighted to be working in partnership with RGBE to recruit a new Head of Membership. The postholder will deliver high quality membership management, regular giving appeals, and services to underpin the delivery of the organisation's mission, vision, and strategy.

Key details
Job title: Head of Membership
Salary: 39,502 - 44,054
Location: within reach of Edinburgh office but remote/hybrid working may be considered
Closing date: 25th February 2022

The main duties of the post will include:
- As a senior member of the Development management team, work collaboratively with colleagues to achieve RBGE's Corporate Strategy and Plans.
- Lead the delivery of a membership services and development function, ensuring it promotes a culture of philanthropy throughout RBGE and continually develops for the future.
- Significantly grow membership numbers and income.
- Generate significant member value.
- Devise and implement creative member acquisition, renewal, upgrade, and retention strategies.
- Lead alumni relations at RBGE, working in partnership with education to build and sustain strong, lifelong relationships between RBGE and its global community of former students and staff.
- Manage the Regular Giving and Digital Fundraising Officer role, and one Development Administrator.

You will have the following skills and experience:
- Proven experience of business development, marketing and/or fundraising.
- Experience of working in a membership development role.
- Experience (or knowledge) of regular giving/mass fundraising.
- High degree of skill in cultivating long-term relationships and strategic partnerships.
- Expertise in managing people and teams.

We encourage applicants who are from underrepresented groups with protected characteristics, as we value having a diverse pool of applicants to find the best candidate.

If you would like to receive an information pack for this role with details on how to apply, please send an expression of interest and (optional but appreciated) a CV or professional profile in confidence to our consultant Nick Shanks at nick.shanks@harrishill.co.uk.

For an informal and confidential conversation about this position, please contact Nick at the above address with your number and suitable times to speak. You can also call on 0207 820 7334 but please be aware the line can be busy, so a pre-arranged call is the best way to ensure availability.

Please note responding to this advertisement will not in itself be considered an application. We will need a CV and a supporting statement addressing the full person specification in the information pack.