Development Assistant
Olympias Music Foundation
We are looking for an enthusiastic, well‑organised and committed individual to join our small but mighty team, supporting our Head of Development with fundraising across a variety of income streams.
Overview
In this role, you will play a key part in strengthening our charity’s fundraising activity and donor relationships. You don’t need to be an experienced fundraiser — what matters most is your willingness to learn, take initiative and work independently, with the support of the Head of Development and CEO.
Olympias Music Foundation is an award‑winning Manchester charity transforming access to music education for children and young people from low‑income backgrounds.
For over a decade, we’ve grown from a grassroots project into a vibrant organisation with a small core team and 20 freelance musicians. We now provide free, high‑quality music lessons to more than 180 young people aged 6–18 through our flagship Learn to Play programme, alongside exciting initiatives like Music and Mountains, Musical Horizons, Recycled Orchestra and Global Music Teacher Training.
Our mission is simple: remove barriers and open up the joy of music to every child who wants to learn.
Key Responsibilities
- CRM Management: Data entry, record‑keeping and general administration within our Customer Relationship Management system.
- Donor Communications: Drafting and sending donor emails, newsletters and stewardship updates.
- Monitoring & Reporting: Supporting with reporting requirements for funders and partners.
- Bid Writing: Assisting with small funding applications and prospect research.
- General Administration: Providing day‑to‑day support across development activities.
- Events & Campaigns: Helping deliver fundraising events and campaigns, including:
– Termly concerts
– Annual Manchester 10K
– Big Give Arts for Impact campaign
Future Progression:
At the end of the apprenticeship, we would be interested in offering a permanent role at the organisation at a competitive salary – dependent on the candidate’s progression.
Company Benefits:
- Holiday entitled of 28 days, plus statutory bank holidays
- Laptop (Macbook Air) to work from
- If the post holder meets the qualifying criteria, they wil be automatically enrolled into the company pension scheme, which is with NEST. The employer’s contribution is 3% and employee 5%.
- Well-being support
Entry requirements
Essential:
• 5 GCSEs grade A*-C/9-4 or equivalent (including English and Maths)
Who We’re Looking For
You’ll thrive in this role if you are:
- Positive, proactive and eager to learn, with a genuine interest in developing your fundraising and charity-sector skills.
- Comfortable working independently within a small, supportive team, taking ownership of tasks and using your initiative.
- Highly organised, with strong time‑management skills and the ability to juggle multiple priorities calmly and efficiently.
- Someone with an excellent eye for detail, ensuring accuracy in data entry, reporting and written communications.
- A clear and confident communicator — both written and verbal — able to engage donors, supporters and colleagues with warmth and professionalism.
- A collaborative team player who values team‑working and contributes positively to shared goals.
- Conscientious and determined, approaching tasks with care, commitment and pride in doing things well.
- Empathetic, understanding the impact of the charity’s work and caring deeply about making a difference to the lives of others.
- Self‑motivated, able to take initiative and keep momentum even when working independently.
- Someone who brings a sense of humour and a can‑do attitude, helping create a positive, enjoyable working environment.
- Experience in fundraising is not essential — we’re far more interested in your mindset, motivation and willingness to grow.
Training to be provided
The Juice Academy is an industry-led apprenticeship provider. They are partnered with industry professionals to deliver the Fundraiser Level 3.
Apprentices work on the job within a charity whilst receiving 20% off the job training. The Juice Academy training sessions are a hybrid of face-to-face learning (20%) and online delivery (80%) via Zoom. Apprentices will also receive the on the job training in the workplace.
The final three months of the course will be the ‘assessment period’ during which apprentices go through an End Point Assessment. The Juice Academy partner with Apprentify, who support apprentices in the workplace through development coaching.
Things to consider
This is a hybrid role, with the team working together in person every Tuesday. Occasional travel may be required to attend meetings, events and fundraising activities.
