Lewisham Youth Theatre

Job Summary

Lewisham Youth Theatre is looking for a Development Manager to help drive our fundraising and support our work transforming young lives through the arts.

Join us as LYT's new Development Manager and play a central role in transforming young lives through the arts. You'll design and drive a fundraising strategy that ensures sustainable income for Lewisham Youth Theatre and fuels our creative future.

You'll lead our fundraising pipeline, craft powerful bids and proposals, and nurture meaningful relationships with donors, funders, and partners. You'll also help grow long-term partnerships that strengthen LYT's artistic and strategic vision.

• 3 years' (min) experience in fundraising/development role, preferably within arts, youth work/cultural organisations.
• Proven track record of securing income from statutory bodies, trusts, foundations, individual donors and/or corporate partners.
• Strong understanding of the funding landscape.
• Excellent grant-writing skills, including research, proposal development, budgets, outcomes and reporting.
• Strong relationship-building and stakeholder management skills: able to engage funders, donors and corporate partners.
• Strategic thinker who can translate organisational ambition into deliverable fundraising plans and targets.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills; ability to craft compelling cases for support, presentations and donor materials.
• Organised and self-motivated, able to manage a varied workload, meet deadlines and prioritise effectively in a part-time (3-day or 21 hours) role.
• Commitment to inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility.

Role Overview (Fixed term - 1 year)

Part time (3 days a week or 21 hours)

The Development Manager will work with the Executive Team to design and deliver a fundraising strategy that secures sustainable income for Lewisham Youth Theatre (LYT). This strategy will focus on multiple income streams, including trusts and foundations (across the arts, social impact, health and education sectors), statutory funding, individual giving, and corporate sponsorship.

The postholder will lead the delivery of this strategy - managing the fundraising pipeline, writing compelling bids and proposals, and cultivating strong relationships with donors, funders, and partners. They will also help build and sustain long-term partnerships that support LYT's creative and strategic goals.

Read the full Job Description on our website:

For an informal conversation about the role, please email recruit to set up a call.

Read the full Job Description on our website:

Lewisham Youth Theatre creates excellent and inclusive theatre as a tool to improving the long-term wellbeing and life chances of Lewisham young people aged 8-24. Since 1987, we have provided free drama, performance and technical theatre programmes, drawing together young people from across Lewisham's diverse communities.