Philanthropy and Development Assistant

About The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh

The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh is an independent membership organisation dedicated to the education, training and advancement of surgeons, dental surgeons, doctors, and various individuals throughout healthcare who are involved in the surgical care of patients. The College has a current membership approaching 33,000 and growing, with members spanning over 100 countries around the world.

From our founding in 1505, the College has been committed to the advancement of surgery and driving patient safety standards worldwide. In our 520-year history, there has never been a better time to join the College than now.

Working with us

At the College we aim to embrace views from across the organisation, sharing common goals and values for the betterment of healthcare through the advancement of surgical and dental professionals. We aim to develop teams that are reflective of the needs of our members and maximise the potential of every employee.

To reflect the varying needs across the organisation, we offer a range of policies and benefits for our workforce including a generous 42 days annual leave, flexible working practices, enhanced employer pensions contribution and various discounts throughout the College including the Ten Hill Place Hotel, 1505 Café and free entry to Surgeons' Hall Museums.

About the Role

We are seeking an organised and proactive Philanthropy and Development Assistant to support the College's fundraising, donor engagement and development activities.

Working closely with the Philanthropy Manager, Head of Development and wider Philanthropy team, you will provide administrative and operational support across a range of activities, including donor stewardship, fundraising campaigns, CRM management, funding programmes and the College's Global CARE initiative, which helps address healthcare inequalities worldwide through improved access to safe surgery and patient care.

This is a varied role supporting a wide range of development activities across the College. It provides an opportunity to develop experience in fundraising, donor engagement, stewardship, communications and administration within a busy and collaborative team.

The role is based in Edinburgh with flexibility for hybrid working. Occasional travel and out-of-hours working may be required to support events and College activities.

Experience/Qualifications/Key Skills

You will be a highly organised and detail-oriented individual with excellent communication and interpersonal skills. Educated to A-Level, HNC or equivalent level, you will have experience in an administrative or support role and be confident managing multiple priorities while maintaining a high level of accuracy.

You will be proficient in Microsoft Office applications and able to work collaboratively as part of a team. An interest in philanthropy, fundraising or the charitable sector would be advantageous, although prior experience is not essential.

This role may particularly appeal to individuals looking to develop a career in fundraising, philanthropy or stakeholder engagement, as well as those seeking to apply their administrative skills within a purpose-driven organisation.

Main duties and responsibilities:

1. Provide comprehensive administrative support to the Development team, ensuring efficient delivery of fundraising, donor stewardship, and funding programme activities and events.
2. Draft and coordinate donor communications, including thank you letters and other stewardship correspondence.
3. Maintain and update the CRM system (Beacon), including creating donor and prospect records, inputting financial and donation data, onboarding historic information, and ensuring data accuracy and compliance.
4. Support financial administration processes, including invoice creation and assisting with donation tracking and reporting.
5. Coordinate team operations, including meeting scheduling and agenda preparation, and recording accurate minutes.
6. Support fundraising campaigns through copywriting and preparation of appeal and website content.
7. Undertake desktop research to identify potential funders aligned with College priorities.
8. Liaise with the Communications team to coordinate donor and sponsorship communications and website content.
9. Collate departmental marketing and communications content, working with internal stakeholders and progressively taking ownership of coordination processes.
10. Support governance processes through preparation of committee papers, minute and action tracking, and timely submission of documentation for approval.
11. Coordinate post-award processes, including issuing awardee and unsuccessful applicant communications, collating awardee reports, and supporting committee review requirements.
12. Support recognition and stewardship activities, including coordinating medal engraving, certificate production, and maintaining accurate records of awards and recipients.
13. Manage development team email inboxes, triaging and prioritising incoming queries and ensuring timely responses or appropriate escalation.
14. Provide general administrative support and undertake additional duties as required by the Head of Development.