Senior Development Officer – Research and Operations

Senior Development Officer – Research and Operations

Location Edinburgh Salary £41,971 - £45,934 plus generous benefits Final date to receive applications Monday, September 7, 2026 Job Summary

This is an exciting opportunity to play a key role in shaping the future of philanthropy at National Galleries of Scotland.

We're looking for a strategic, insight-led fundraising professional with experience in prospect research, fundraising operations, data and CRM management who thrives on strengthening systems, turning data into action and enabling relationship-based fundraising to succeed. You will manage fundraising operations across the Development team and support the effective planning and delivery of philanthropic income. You'll bring the ability to combine strong analytical and operational expertise with an understanding of relationship-based fundraising.

You'll help embed consistent ways of working, continuously improve fundraising operations and build the strong foundations that enable philanthropic support to grow and deliver lasting cultural impact.

You'll play a pivotal role across the organisation in ensuring our fundraising is underpinned by robust systems, high-quality insight and disciplined operational practice. Working closely with colleagues across philanthropy, grants and partnerships, and capital fundraising, you'll lead donor and funder research, due diligence, segmentation and pipeline management. You’ll enable proactive, relationship‑based fundraising and effective prioritisation.

You'll also shape how the Development team plans, measures and delivers its work. From CRM processes and fundraising reporting, KPIs and performance measurement to forecasting and budget management, you'll ensure decision-making is informed by reliable data and clear insight. You'll play a key role in supporting the operational delivery of major capital campaigns, ensuring that research, reporting, forecasting and governance processes are aligned to campaign priorities and strategic decision-making.

This is a role with broad influence across the organisation. You must be confident working with senior stakeholders and operating in a complex institutional environment, with the ability to influence, enable and continuously improve practice across teams.

At the National Galleries of Scotland we’re committed to embedding Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) in the way we work. We want everyone to feel a sense of belonging and freedom to be themselves at work or at play with us. Take a look at our Equality, Inclusion and Diversity priorities and commitments for more information.