Job Vacancy
Fundraising and Communications Assistant
Funded by the Weston Jerwood Creative Bursaries Programme
Department:
Development & Communications
Salary:
£15,500 per annum
Deadline for Applications:
25th May 2015
Interviews:
TBC
Fixed term placement, full time for 12 months
All candidates must complete an application form. Forms can be downloaded at www.wno.org.uk/vacancies and submitted
electronically to Human.Resources@wno.org.uk or in hard copy to the HR Department, WNO, Wales Millennium Centre,
Bute Place Cardiff CF10 5AL.
Our purpose
Opera is our passion. At the heart of that passion is our belief that opera has the power to transform lives. We will reach out to
everyone – using our creativity, our daring, and our dynamism to ignite a new generation of opera lovers and to guide new
and existing audiences on a journey of discovery.
Values
Expert in what we do at every level and we want to share this expertise with the largest possible audience
Collaborative our work is made by a talented team working together with a can-do attitude
Smart by being agile, open-minded and in touch we can identify new opportunities and use our resources wisely to take opera
to more audiences in more places
Provocative as opera pioneers we are unafraid to challenge both ourselves and our audiences. We will create moving,
provocative and powerful experiences that are life-transforming. We are inquisitive and unafraid to take risks
Strategic principles
We’ll do great opera
We’ll be great value
We’ll reach more people
We’ll be an artistic leader
We’ll be financially responsible
We are passionate about opera and want to share this passion with as many people as possible. We do this with awardwinning performances of fully-staged operas which combine a sense of adventure with the highest possible quality. We keep
our performances accessible through affordable ticket prices. Beyond the theatre we connect with people through our
community and education work and digital projects.
The energy which drives the Company today is rooted in its formation in the 1940s. In 1943, WNO was founded by a group
of people from across South Wales including miners, teachers and doctors. They wanted to forge an opera company befitting
Wales’s rich reputation as the ‘land of song’. The first rehearsals took place above a garage in Cardiff and our first
performance was given in April 1946 with the double bill of Cavalleria rusticana and Pagliacci.
Since those early days WNO has attracted some of the world’s best opera singers, and indeed given many young singers their
first steps to international renown. Welsh National Opera has been led from the pit by a series of great Music Directors and
has worked with many of the art form’s most influential directors, traditions which continue to this day. The Company
currently employs 230 people including artists, craftspeople, technicians and administrators based at its state of the art home at
Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff. At its heart sit the Company’s two full time ensembles, the 40 strong Chorus and 55
strong Orchestra.
Every year the Company performs to over 120,000 people across 9 cities throughout Wales and England. David Pountney,
one of the world’s most influential opera directors, joined Welsh National Opera to lead the Company as Chief Executive and
Artistic Director in 2011. David’s programming centres around themed seasons which bring different but thematically linked
works together. Through these themed seasons we hope to take audiences on a journey of discovery and introduce a new
generation of opera lovers to this great art form along the way.
This is an exciting time to join WNO as we celebrate the Company’s 70th anniversary season in 2015/2016.
Development & Communications Department
The Development & Communications Department has the following key objectives:
To raise an agreed annual fundraising target, currently c. £1.6million a year
To deliver an agreed annual box office target, currently c. £3 million a year
To work with the media to present the company in a positive light
To take lead responsibility for the management of the company’s brand identity
The Development team, within which the Fundraising and Communications Assistant will be based, is responsible for
achieving the Company’s fundraising target. This is primarily managed through our network of relationships with
individuals, trusts, foundations and businesses. We also deliver a wide range of fundraising and cultivation events.
The department also includes a Marketing and Press team. Marketing is responsible for developing new and existing
audiences through research and analysis which in turn leads to marketing campaigns, such as advertising, direct mail, emarketing and so on. It is also responsible for the company website, as well as print and publications. The Press team liaises
with journalists working for newspapers, magazines, radio, television, and online.
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Weston Jerwood Creative Bursaries programme
This role has been funded by the Weston Jerwood Creative Bursaries programme which is run by Jerwood Charitable
Foundation with the support of Garfield Weston Foundation, Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation and J Paul Getty Jnr
Charitable Trust. The scheme is intended to give the post-holder experience that will support a future career in the cultural
sector.
You will assist the fundraising team in the activities required to secure donations and support from individuals, charitable
trusts and companies. This will include researching potential donors, delivering communications to reach potential donors and
processing donations and data related to donors. You will be assigned a mentor and will be expected to actively engage in the
mentoring process and attend professional development activities provided by the Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation which
will occur online or in other parts of the UK.
Positions are aimed specifically at recent graduates whose circumstances dictate they would not otherwise be in a position to
develop their skills through unpaid work experience. In accordance with the eligibility criteria for this scheme, we can only
accept applications from candidates who:
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

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have received a full maintenance grant during the full period of their course and be able to verify it with the
necessary paperwork (see below)
have graduated since summer 2013, from a first degree (i.e. a BA or an NVQ 6, or MA if from a Scottish
university) in the UK
have achieved a 2:2 degree or above
reside full-time in the UK
Please ensure that you meet ALL of the criteria before applying for this position.
Further information on the scheme can be found here http://jerwoodcharitablefoundation.org/weston-jerwood-creativebursaries
Evidence of eligible financial criteria
You will need to provide necessary paperwork to confirm you were in receipt of the relevant grant funding for each of
their university years.

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All candidates should provide a Student Finance Breakdown letter for EACH OF THEIR UNIVERSITY
YEARS.
Attach this evidence to your application.
Please see FAQS document for full guidance on eligibility and required information to support your application.
Approval of candidate
The Weston Jerwood Creative Bursaries Programme Director will approve the final choice of the candidate to confirm evidence of their
financial and academic eligibility.
Evaluation
The Weston Jerwood Creative Bursaries programme is conducting an evaluation. This involves applicants completing a brief
and anonymous survey questionnaire, which will not be used in assessing your application. Survey results will be held by
Jerwood Charitable Foundation and will not be shared with the organisation you have applied to.
As part of your application for this programme, you must complete this survey, which can be found at the following link:
https://surveymonkey.com/s/26Y3DJK
You will be given a code on completion of the survey. Please enter this code on your application form in the space provided.
Please note all successful bursary recipients will be required to take part in an evaluation of the programme as a condition of
their placement.
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Job Description
Job title:
Fundraising and Communications Assistant
Responsible to:
Senior Development Manager (Individual Giving)
Location:
WNO offices, Wales Millennium Centre, Bute Place Cardiff CF10 5AL
Organisation chart: See attached
Main purpose of job
The post holder will assist WNO’s fundraising team in the activities required to secure donations and support from
individuals, charitable trusts and companies during the Company’s 70th anniversary season in 2015/2016. This will include
researching potential donors, delivering communications to reach potential donors, processing donations and maintaining data
related to donors.
Key accountabilities
You will support colleagues to deliver a range of activities that will include (but are not limited to):

Undertaking a project to update donor records within the Tessitura fundraising and marketing database, e.g. ensuring
correct salutations, address purposes and attributes are on donor records.
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Undertaking a project to compile lists within Tessitura and Microsoft Office Excel to facilitate effective and efficient
fundraising communications and cultivation activities.
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Supporting the team to deliver a range of digital and print communications including e-mails, newsletters and web based
content.
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Supporting the department’s research function as directed to inform prospect donor cultivation activities for the team.

Providing administrative support for the delivery of cultivation and fundraising events including invitations, mailmerges, briefing notes and dress rehearsal guest lists.
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Assisting with the management of donor correspondence filing systems.
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You may also will support the Director of Development and Communications on the administration of new projects
under development.
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You will work with colleagues in the Development and Communications department to improve external digital
communication on behalf of the fundraising team and participate in a digital working group to support the integration of
digital practices across the company.
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You will undertake any other duties and responsibilities that may be reasonably expected and required.
Health & Safety
The post carries responsibility for Health & Safety issues at level 6 (see attached).
Person Specification
Essential attributes
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Educated to BA degree level 2.2 or above, NVQ Level 6 or MA if from a Scottish university.
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Methodical with good attention to detail.
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Excellent communications skills – verbal and written in order to write and proof-read communications and mailings.

Awareness of digital media such as Facebook, Linked In, Pintrest, and Twitter.

General computer literacy – Microsoft Office Word, Excel and Outlook, Google searches – and willingness to be
trained on the Department’s database, Tessitura.
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Organisational and time management skills.
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Flexible and adaptable.
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Hardworking and energetic.
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Effective team player with the ability to work alone and under own initiative.
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Ability to work with competing priorities ensuring deadlines are met.
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Demonstrate personal drive to succeed, develop and persevere to achieve objectives and gain experience.
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Ability and willingness to work out of normal office hours and to attend WNO events on tour.
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Demonstrable interest in the arts, preferably opera and classical music.
Desirable attributes
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Previous experience of fundraising.
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Main Terms and Conditions
Salary £15,500 per annum, payable monthly by credit transfer to bank.
The offer of an appointment is subject to receipt of two references.
The appointment is subject to a trial period of six months.
The post is a fixed term placement, full time for 12 months.
Termination of engagement during the trial period is by one week’s notice on either side. Termination thereafter is by one
month’s notice on either side.
Normal office hours are 9.30 to 5.30, Monday to Friday, with a 1-hour lunch break, but it should be understood that work
would sometimes need to be undertaken outside these hours and at weekends.
Holiday entitlement is 25 days pro rata plus public holidays.
Sickness benefit during the trial period is at the statutory minimum. Entitlement after completion of the trial period is a
maximum of 13 weeks at full salary and 13 weeks at half salary, inclusive of statutory sick pay in both cases.
The Company offers a contributory pension scheme.
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Health and Safety
Individual Responsibilities
All Personnel
Level 6
Every employed person, including Managers.
Responsibilities
All personnel are responsible for:The observance and implementation of rules and systems which are derived from the Health and Safety Policy and the
arrangements for its implementation.
Taking reasonable care for their personal health and safety and that of fellow employees and others who may be affected
either directly or indirectly by their acts or omissions at work.
Reporting promptly to the appropriate Manager potential or actual hazards and defects.
Taking part in any health and safety training considered by the Company to be necessary in order to comply with the
Company Health and Safety Policy and current legislation.
Knowing the correct action to be taken in the event of an accident, fire or other emergency.
Co-operating with Management and other personnel in meeting statutory requirements.
Not interfering with or misusing anything provided to protect their health, safety or welfare which is required by legislation
and using any machinery, equipment, substance or safety device in accordance with any training and instruction.
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Development and Communications organisation chart
DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT
& COMMUNICATIONS
Press &
Public Affairs
Manager
Head of
Marketing
Design
Manager
Marketing
Manager
Marketing
Social Media
Campaigns
Officer
Officer
Marketing Manager
Data &
Research
Officer
Marketing &
Press Intern
Senior Development
Manager
(Corporate & Trusts)
Senior Development
Manager
(Individual Giving)
Head of
Events
Development
Adviser
Digital
Manager
Press
Officer
Research &
Corporate
Database Development
Officer
Officer
Trusts &
Foundations
Officer
Individual
Friends
Giving
Officer
Officer
Development
Assistant
Fundraising &
Communications
Assistant
(Funded by the
Weston Jerwood
Creative
Bursaries
Programme)
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