Development Director

The Edinburgh International Book Festival brings leading and emerging Scottish, UK, and international authors and thinkers together to inspire each other and audiences through an extensive programme of public events, including conversation, interactive activities, and performance. The Book Festival takes place in person in Edinburgh but has a significant digital offering to reach authors and audiences around the world.

The Book Festival has a reputation as a powerful forum for the public to exchange views with writers and experts on a wide range of issues: social, ethical, and political as well as literary and cultural. At the heart of the Book Festival’s activity is an integrated approach to creative learning and education, with the aim of expanding participation in democratic discussion, fostering a love of reading and developing engaged, knowledgeable audiences of all ages and backgrounds.

About the Role

We have an exciting and creative opportunity for a new Development Director to be a key member of the Senior Management team, leading an ambitious fundraising strategy for the Book Festival while ensuring that all fundraising activities align with our core organisational mission and values.

The Book Festival expects to raise about £2.1m in 2024 (representing around two-thirds of the total Festival income). The Festival retains much of its funding on an annual basis, has increased the amount raised from several major funding relationships, and has a strong track record in attracting new sponsors, donors and funders, with around 50 organisations sponsoring the Festival each year as well as a number of well-established major donors.

Reporting to the Festival Director and overseeing a team of five fundraisers, the Development Director will manage a small high-value portfolio of funding relationships across all income streams and will have significant opportunity to develop new income streams, including legacies and US fundraising, as well as continuing the growth of the existing areas of income.