Development & Reporting Manager

About the role

The Development Manager is a new and important role at The NewBridge Project, which will support the effective management of fundraising and reporting across our work. 

You will support the development and implementation of a fundraising strategy and evaluation framework, and work alongside a small and committed staff team to understand, evaluate and champion our work through compelling written reports and applications to new funders.

We are keen to meet candidates who share NewBridge’s values and commitments to working in solidarity with and supporting the artists and communities around us, who understand the importance of evaluation in meeting requirements of funders/partners, and as a way to learn, build on our work to date, and tell the story of what we do.

We are looking for a highly organised, proactive, and dedicated individual, who can work with us to nurture and develop relationships with funders and partners. You’ll have direct or transferable experience across fundraising, reporting, evaluation and budget management, and be excited about working in an artist and community-led space/environment.

We encourage applicants from all backgrounds to apply who have experience and skills that would support you to do this role.

About The NewBridge Project

The NewBridge Project is an active artist-led community that supports artists, curators and communities through the provision of space for creative practice and an ambitious artist-led programme of exhibitions, commissions, artist development and events. 

Our programme builds solidarity with the people around us, and is community-centred, experimental, collaborative and socially conscious at its heart. We work with our studio members, the wider artistic community and our neighbours to create a programme that responds to their needs and those of the local environment.

Main tasks and responsibilities

Fundraising 

• Work closely with the Director and Programme Director to oversee the review, development and delivery of our fundraising strategy.
• Undertake research to identify potential new sources of funding from a variety of sources.
• Support and where appropriate lead on the writing of funding applications for core and project funding.
• Develop written case for support documents (such as case studies, needs-based analysis) that can be used for a variety funding applications.
• Input into the development and ongoing review of an ethical fundraising policy, in line with NewBridge’s values and ethos
• Work closely with the Director, Programme Director, and external evaluators, to embed and implement an evaluation framework into all strands of NewBridge’s work.

Funding Management & Reporting

• Oversee NewBridge’s obligations to funders and partners, through the production and submission of reports across multiple grant/reporting platforms. At present this includes:
  • Arts Council England 
  • Newcastle University
  • Newcastle Culture Investment Fund
  • North East Combined Authority - Skills for Growth Project (see more detail below).
• Manage and update reporting and evaluation timelines, working with staff to ensure we meet external deadlines.
• Manage, update and prepare up to date budgets for funders and partners when necessary.
• Write reports on progress/delivery for funders and partners, that demonstrate impact and progress against outlined objectives
• Work with Communications Producer and relevant staff to ensure funders and partners are correctly credited across communication platforms and public spaces where appropriate.

Management of North East Combined Authority Reporting & Operations.

• Lead on quarterly and annual reporting for North East Combined Authority, this will include:
• Processing quarterly financial claims
• Revising budget/cashflow on quarterly basis
• Submitting written progress report, and updates on key performance indicators and milestones
• Work with project partners Newcastle University, including;
• Preparation for bi-monthly steering group meetings and monthly operations group meetings, including:
• Scheduling and set up for in-person, hybrid and online meetings
• Taking and sharing meeting minutes and follow-up actions from above meetings
• Leading on the assembly and dissemination of papers for meetings.
• Gather necessary information from university to be inputted into reports/evaluation.

 Monitoring and Evaluation

• Work in collaboration with team at NewBridge to capture qualitative and quantitative data on audiences, participants and collaborators (including social impact reporting, equalities and diversity monitoring, environmental impact, and audience data).
• Lead on evaluation administration, including review and implementation of systems for recording data/feedback and completing data entry. 
• Attend events and activity at NewBridge in order to support with monitoring and evaluation.
• Work with external evaluators where applicable – at present this includes working with Ortus Economic Research to evaluate our North East Combined Authority Skills for Growth project.

Skills and experience we are looking for

We don’t expect people to have direct experience of everything on the job overview – we encourage applicants from all backgrounds to apply who have direct and transferrable skills and experience that would support you to do this role. If you have other skills, passions or strengths that would make you well suited to the role, but which aren’t included in the list below, please tell us about them in your application.

EXPERIENCE & KNOWLEDGE

Essential

• Experience in developing and writing successful fundraising applications in art, culture and/or community settings
• Experience of collating information and writing reports for funders, partners, team members and/or stakeholders
• Experience or understanding of managing relationships with funders.
• Experience in monitoring and evaluation, and using this information to communicate outputs, impact and value to varied audiences and stakeholders.
• Experience of managing extensive or high-level budgets and monitoring progress
• Experience in role/s with similar or transferrable areas of responsibility.

Desirable

• Experience in devising evaluation frameworks and reporting systems.
• Experience in writing and implementing fundraising strategies.

SKILLS

Essential

• Excellent organisational skills, with the ability to show initiative, work under pressure and manage multiple priorities.
• Good level of computer literacy, including Microsoft Word, Excel and able to learn quickly when using online platforms and systems.
• Ability to work as part of a small, committed and mutually supportive team – working collectively toward shared aims, objectives and values.
• Ability to build and nurture strong relationships with individuals.
• Exceptional written communication skills, with the ability to adapt style and writing to different audiences, funders, partners etc.
• Ability to use data and evaluation information to tell a compelling story to evidence impact and a case for support.

PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES

Essential

• A good listener, who can communicate with a range of people
• Friendly and welcoming manner
• Organised and methodical in your approach to work
• Motivated and enthused by NewBridge’s work, values and aims
• Commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion, environmental sustainability and social justice.