Deputy Chief Development Officer

The Royal Ballet and Opera continues to lead the way in opera, ballet, music and dance both live on stage and through multiple digital platforms, from live streaming to worldwide cinema screenings. Our Covent Garden theatre has been at the heart of London and British cultural life for three centuries. We are home to two world-class Companies: The Royal Ballet and The Royal Opera. We could not maintain our reputation, the range of our work or our digital presence without the support of our philanthropists, funders, members, business partners and sponsors.

The Development and Advocacy Department (D&A) plays a vital role in this, by securing the Arts Council England grant (currently over £22m) plus raising over £35m revenue annually plus additional for capital, advocating to government and other influencers for our value and role in the community and sector, and in ensuring we deliver on our charitable mission, retain the best artists and crafts people, maintain our beautiful grade I listed building and continue to produce world class performances.

Working within an experienced, successful and highly committed department, this is a newly created role to lead on income generation via increasing lifetime value from current and potential audiences; to build the RBO philanthropic case for support; to lead on broad and specific fundraising campaigns; to keep data and behaviours at the front of our work - overall to move RBO transactional relationships to relational.

Our ideal candidate will be a natural leader, with developed relationship and people management skills. They will be able to inspire through their experience, and continuously innovate to ensure the RBO has excellent relationships with those who support our work. They will be able to demonstrate:

• An exceptional track record in fundraising, in a complex organisation
• A broad spectrum of fundraising experience across income streams for both revenue and capital needs
• Demonstrable experience of working with a board and senior volunteers to make significant asks
• A strong working knowledge of legacy fundraising
• Experience of developing, marketing and delivering membership schemes

The Royal Ballet and Opera is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment in which everyone can thrive. We particularly welcome applications from those who are from a global majority background and/or those who are disabled, as they are under-represented within our organisation. As a Disability Confident Employer, we guarantee to interview all disabled applicants who meet the essential minimum criteria for our vacancies.

A full job description and RBO information pack is attached below. If you have any access requirements for your application, please contact the RBO Recruitment Team on

Closing date for applications: 8am, Monday 25th November 2024

1st stage interviews will be held w/c 9th December 2024
2nd stage interviews will be held on site at ROH Covent Garden w/c 16th December 2024

Applicants must have work authorisation for the UK.