Head of Partnerships

Edinburgh International Festival

Location: Edinburgh

Salary: £48,000 - £58,000 pa plus benefits

Since 1947, the Edinburgh International Festival has existed to promote the exchange of ideas and deepen understanding between cultures through an unparalleled global celebration of exceptional performing arts. We are the original festival and bring some of the most exciting and creative artists working today to audiences from around the world.

Each August, we present the finest and most original performers and ensembles from the worlds of opera, music, dance and theatre over three weeks in venues across the city of Edinburgh. Throughout the rest of the year, we devise bespoke experiences to inspire our audiences and communities, to unlock their creativity and cultural curiosity. Our vision is simple: to provide the deepest experience of the highest quality art for the broadest possible audience.

We have an ambitious programme for the people of Scotland and our international partners, and fundraising and partnership support is critical to us achieving our mission. We are seeking a new Head of Partnerships who will help us drive an uplift in our income, through building long-term relationships with corporate, strategic and international partners (including trusts & foundations and publicly funded project grants) and securing high-value and multi-year commitments to support our work.

As the Head of Partnerships, you will work closely with the Chief Executive, Festival Director, Director of Development and other SMT members to deliver a robust partnerships programme to support our strategic plan, and drive new business activity towards increasing our income.

You will manage a committed and high-performing team, and work collaboratively across the Development office to maximise opportunities and donor relationships, ensuring that our offer is world-class, innovative, and attractive to the calibre of partners we want on board with us.

To be successful in this role, you will bring experience of designing, pitching, negotiating, and securing major partnership agreements at the 6-figure level or more. Your strong communication, interpersonal and negotiation skills, as well as your creative and successful approach to developing and managing relationships will help you build credibility quickly with key stakeholders internally and externally and make an impact.

Previous experience of managing and getting the best out of team members is essential, as is your proactive, resilient and entrepreneurial nature. Your superpowers will be your persuasion skills and indefatigable sense of purpose.

If this sounds like you and the sort of career opportunity you are looking for, please get in touch via our recruitment partners at Richmond Associates, on 020 3617 9240 or [email protected]. You can download further details on the role from their website, here: https://richmond-associates.com/job/eif-head-of-partnerships.

Closing date for applications: 9AM on Wednesday, 24 April 2024