About Help Musicians & Music Minds Matter
In 1921 celebrated English tenor Gervase Elwes died in a railway accident while touring the USA at the height of his career. Gervase was widely known for his kindness and regularly looked after sick or distressed musicians at his home. It was this great respect for the gift musicians give us that encouraged his friends Sir Edward Elgar, Lady Maud Warrender and Victor Beigel to set up a fund to continue his compassionate work following his tragic death. And today, 104 years later, that founding sentiment of empathy and regard is still the driving force behind this charity. Though much has changed in that time, musicians still face a great many challenges in their lives and careers, so our work continues at scale, honoring the spirit in which it was founded. Help Musicians supports musicians across health and wellbeing, financial and career development needs.
In 2016 Help Musicians commissioned a study into the experiences of musicians in relation to mental health. The survey and subsequent qualitive interviews resulted in the landmark Can Music Make You Sick? report which suggested higher rates of ill mental health and poor mental wellbeing amongst musicians than the general population (up to three times the frequency). Over the last few years Help Musicians has continued to develop a range of services to support the mental health of everyone working in music leading to the founding of a separate charity in 2022. This charity is Music Minds Matter and is managed by the parent charity, Help Musicians.
Today we have delivered over 21,000 interventions to people who work in music, supported by our Board and in partnership with others across the music industry that share our aims. Our Ambassador voices, such as Dame Evelyn Glennie, Bryan Adams, Lesley Garret and Chris Difford help us raise awareness of our work through their profile and connections. Like us, they are committed to our mission to ensure a world where musicians, and those that support them, thrive.
Scale of need
The 2023 Musicians’ Census made for difficult reading. Over 70% of the total population of musicians work as freelancers, demonstrating that financial precarity, health and mental wellbeing remain key issues. For example:
A musician’s average annual income from music in 2023 was £20,700. 23% of musicians told us that they cannot support themselves or their families from being a musician.
There is also an ethnicity pay gap of almost £1,000 between white respondents and those who identify as being from the Global Majority.
80% of musicians reported at least one or more career-restricting barriers and 46% of musicians reported cost-related barriers including: cost of equipment (30%), cost of transport (27%), and the cost of training (18%) limiting their careers.
Almost a third (30%) of all musicians reported experiencing negative mental wellbeing. This group were twice as likely to say it was unlikely that they would be working in music in one to five years.
Under half (40%) of musicians earn all their income from music. Of those making 100% of their income from music, the average annual income is around 30,000. Therefore, over half (53%) of musicians need to sustain their career by sourcing other forms of income outside of music and have diverse, portfolio careers.
Head of Philanthropy
Why we need this role
Help Musicians and Music Minds Matter rely on the financial support of donors and partners to fulfil its work. At the heart of the charities’ business plans is an ambition to increase the scale of the charities’ reach, making a significant difference to more musicians’ lives and careers. Increasing income is vital to enabling this growth and building sustainable income streams.
The Head of Philanthropy will lead in the development and implementation of Help Musicians and Music Minds Matter’s individual philanthropy fundraising strategy, including engagement and cultivation plans for major donors, mid-level giving, Patrons and Legacy acquisition. Key success criteria for this post is sustained growth of the charities’ philanthropic income by effectively leading a team and building relationships with supporters and music lovers across the UK.
Responsible to: Director of Fundraising
Responsible for: Philanthropy Manager (who oversees Philanthropy Officer)
What does success look like?
Working proactively to grow annual income targets, providing sustainable funding for the charities and developing new opportunities for relationship growth year on year.
Providing leadership to the Philanthropy Team, ensuring that individuals deliver to their full potential and add value to the charities. 1 2 3 4
Working with the Director of Fundraising, leading in the creation and delivery of a philanthropy fundraising strategy for the charities, which sets out the structure for effective donor acquisition and stewardship to drive annual income growth.
Providing strategic input into the charities’ business planning process, including annual operating plans, KPIs and budget setting.
Working successfully and collaboratively with colleagues and senior stakeholders to achieve the Philanthropy Team’s goals, building trust and confidence in the ability of the team to deliver for the charities and its beneficiaries. 5
Main responsibilities
Income generation for both charities:
Identify, cultivate and solicit major donor gifts, with a focus on donors with giving capacity of over £25,000+.
Maintain a personal pipeline of significant prospects, generating personalised prospect plans for each approach and working to engage and inspire donors at every stage of the gift cycle.
Together with the Philanthropy team, deliver against agreed fundraising targets spanning major donors, mid-level giving and legacy income to increase philanthropic income for the charities year on year, ensuring this area operates cost effectively.
Team strategy and
budgets:
Develop annual strategy for philanthropic fundraising which set clear goals and financial targets and meets the objectives of the Fundraising department’s strategic plans. Ensure this strategy is scoped with input from key stakeholders and targets are underpinned by robust operational plans (including buy-in from departments which are crucial to such deliverables) and that team resources are effectively utilised to deliver such goals.
Embed a robust KPI-led reporting framework to drive evidence-based decisions, measure, and report on progress against plans and to demonstrate impact to a range of stakeholders.
Manage the Philanthropy team’s budget by leading the annual budgeting and reforecasting of income and expenditure, providing updates and reports as required to Finance, the Director of Fundraising and other members of the Executive Team.
Fundraising and donor stewardship
Develop high-quality proposals built around strong propositions that showcase our impact and align with our prospects’ interests (restricted and unrestricted).
Work closely with the Head of Individual Giving to ensure visibility between areas and align strategies to identify opportunities to grow the lifetime value of our current supporters by enhancing interactions with the charities; as well as the Head of Corporate and Trusts & Foundations on significant applications to private family foundations.
Lead in the development of an effective Legacy income marketing, acquisition and recognition plan to ensure that the pipeline of legacy gifts is nurtured. Work collaboratively on the development of this plan with key internal stakeholders (i.e. Comms/other fundraising colleagues).
In line with the strategy and annual operating plan, create and oversee purpose-led philanthropy events to raise income and allow supporters to engage in the work of the charities. Ensure these events offer strong ROI in income or stewardship terms.
Develop effective donor stewardship plans to ensure that all team members have clear goals for donor stewardship and there is visibility for relevant department on how these plans dovetail with their work, including impact reporting.
Stakeholder management:
Maintain strong relationships with internal and external stakeholders to ensure appropriate input and visibility of this area of the charities. Working collaboratively and cross-functionally across internal departments and successfully with advocates, influencers, and Board members.
Reporting responsibility including updates on the Philanthropy Team’s activities and results for Advisory Committee and Board meetings as requested by the Director of Fundraising or other senior stakeholders.
Providing great leadership:
Ensure that the Philanthropy Team have individual goals and development plans and that they receive appropriate training, coaching support and feedback to ensure that they are able perform to the highest level.
As a member of the Leadership Team and highly visible role model in the charity, uphold the charities’ values, working with the highest professional standards, demonstrating leadership qualities and maintaining staff morale.
Keep abreast of developments within the fundraising sector to consider how the charities can improve its offering as a result of innovation, or pivot based on developing external trends.
Ensure regulatory compliance is embedded across team processes and communications in areas such as the Fundraising Regulator, the Gambling Commission, GDPR (data protection), BACS (Direct Debit), HMRC (gift aid); and that the team have the knowledge, skills and qualifications to operate to required standards.
Person specification
Demonstrable experience over a number of years in major donor fundraising in a charity or notfor-profit organisation, with a track record of building relationships with significant philanthropists and securing 6-7 figure philanthropic gifts.
Proven ability to create and deliver high-level philanthropy fundraising strategies that are purpose-led together with the oversight of annual plans and KPIs to achieve these goals.
Experience setting and managing budgets, including income and expenditure, and remaining accountable to these targets.
Experience leading strategic oversight of pipeline management, with the ability to identify structures and processes for seeking out new donors and securing repeat giving.
Experience developing cases for support and compelling proposals, aligning them with donor motivations in line with organisational priorities.
Experience developing new schemes, initiatives or donor programmes to attract new supporters to the charity, or to scale giving, ensuring that resources to attract donors are optimised and deliver maximum value.
Experience overseeing acquisition, cultivation and stewardship events at a variety of scale.
Knowledge of Legacy fundraising, particularly experience in Legacy acquisition.
Demonstrable experience leading high-performing fundraising teams.
Experience working with Boards or influencers in support of fundraising efforts.
Knowledge of fundraising regulatory compliance including Fundraising Regulator, Gambling Commission, GDPR.
Desirable:
An understanding of the music sector and the opportunity offered from philanthropic partnerships.
Experience working with CRM systems.
Skills:
Significant leadership and team management skills with a successful track record of supporting and developing staff.
High quality written and verbal communication skills including email communications, report writing, and verbal presentations.
Effective networking, influencing and negotiating skills.
Strong interpersonal and relationship building skills, maintaining effective relationships with colleagues, stakeholders and donors.
Excellent planning and organisation skills, with the ability to successfully monitor and meet deadlines.
Ability to adapt to shifting priorities and embrace change.
Ability to use Microsoft applications (PowerPoint, Excel, Word) to a high level.
Ability to handle sensitive and confidential information in a professional manner.
Personal characteristics:
Strategic – setting a path for the future and bringing teams with you.
Collaborative – working successfully with others across the organisation to drive income growth and demonstrate the positive impact the charity delivers to those who support us.
Empathetic – understands the motives of supporters to deepen engagement and identify new donors, builds trust internally through strong working relationships.
Solution-focused mentality – problem solver and creative in finding solutions with the ability to think strategically against agreed objectives and goals.
Drives Results – high levels of self-motivation, sets clear strategic goals and delivers measurable results on time and within budget.
A passion for music and those involved in making music possible – a commitment to our charitable objectives and values.
Terms of appointment
Salary: up to £55k-60k per annum, depending on experience
Hours: 35 per week (full-time)
The post will be based at our offices in Kings Cross, Britannia Street, London WC1X 9JS. Hybridworking is offered with a minimum requirement of 2 days in the London office with flexibility to attend the office more regularly as the needs of the role dictate.
Benefits:
Pension: enrolment into our Aviva pension scheme where Help Musicians contribute 10% of your salary. You can choose to make additional contributions should you wish to.
25 days of holiday entitlement plus public holidays, and 3 additional days leave at Christmas when the office is closed.
1 day extra holiday per year up to a maximum of 30 days (after 5 years service).
Healthshield Cash Plan: Our Health Shield Cash Plan covers your everyday health needs by providing cashback for dental, optical and physiotherapy costs, alongside offering wellness services such as a Virtual GP Surgery and Employee Assistance Programme (EAP).
Family friendly: Flexible working, enhanced maternity, paternity and shared parental leave pay (after 12 months service).
Additional benefits:
Cycle to work scheme
Season ticket loan
Perks including gym discounts, restaurant and dining discounts, and online/in-store voucher codes
Royal Albert Hall tickets
Income Protection and Death in Service benefit
Please note the Head of Philanthropy will be expected to work at such locations as may reasonably be required in the discharge of their responsibilities and may be required to travel in the UK or abroad.
A basic DBS check is required for this post.
Equal Opportunities
We want to represent the breadth and diversity of musicians across the UK and therefore very much welcome expressions of interest from a diverse range of professional and personal backgrounds.
How to apply
Prospectus is acting as an agency advisor to Help Musicians and Music Minds Matter on this appointment. To apply, please follow the instructions within this link. Closing date for applications is 14 April 2025.
Apply: prospect-us.co.uk/jobs/191298-head-of-philanthropy
Thank you for your interest in our charities.
