Fundraising Assistant

Do you have the drive and creativity to raise vital funds for the arts? Join SAA-uk and help us keep South Asian music and dance thriving for future generations. 

For 28 years, SAA-uk has been at the heart of celebrating and sharing South Asian arts in the UK. We are now looking for a Fundraising Assistant who is proactive, motivated, and confident in making the ask. Your role will be key in ensuring our mission is communicated powerfully to funders, partners, and supporters. 

In this exciting role, you will: 

• Support fundraising campaigns and funding bids that sustain our programmes. 
• Turn complex information into engaging reports, stories, and social media content that connect with funders and audiences alike. 
• Help improve fundraising processes, reporting systems, and donor engagement. 
• Work with a collaborative, values-led team passionate about culture and community. 

We're looking for someone who is entrepreneurial, detail-focused, and eager to learn, with strong communication skills and a flexible, positive attitude. 

This is your chance to make a real difference—supporting an arts charity with a rich history and an ambitious future. 

Person Specification 
We are looking for these areas of experience and skills:   

• Analytical and innovative thinker with natural relationship-building abilities and strong communication skills in person and in writing. 
• Based in Leeds area and familiar with the local arts and culture ecology. 
• Excellent attention to detail and accurate record keeping.   
• Excellent organisational and time-management skills, and the ability to prioritise and work to deadlines.   
• Excellent people and customer service skills, demonstrating a sensitive approach at all levels - on the telephone, face- to- face and in writing. 
• An ability to work effectively with others to identify, analyse, and solve problems.   
• Excellent computer skills and experience using a wide range of computer packages, including Microsoft 365.  
• Commitment to anti-racism and anti-discriminatory practice and equal opportunities. 
• A personal interest and demonstratable passion for arts and culture. 

Some additional skills and experiences that we would consider desirable for this role include: 

• Experience of using a CRM database.  
• Experience of working in a fundraising or sales/customer facing role.  
• Knowledge or experience of South Asian traditional art forms.  
• Understanding of GDPR and compliance.  
• Understanding of Arts Council initiatives.  
• Proven skills and knowledge in the areas of business information, computer science/ technology, data science, information management and related subjects.  

Job description
Reporting to the Fundraising & Training Manager, you will help us build supporter relationships as well as work with complex systems, requiring a high level of concentration and attention to detail. There will be varied day-to-day tasks, which will allow you to build up a range of skills that spans across individual and regular giving, trusts and foundations, and crowdfunding.   

Your responsibilities will be:   

• Supporting fundraising activities during live events and helping the team reach our annual fundraising targets for individual and regular giving. 
• Assisting with donor engagement and relationship development and providing excellent customer service to members of the public who enquire about fundraising, via phone, mail and in person, in a professional manner. 
• Identifying, gathering, and analysing accurate audience and participant data from our Salesforce CRM (Customer Relationship Management) and Illuminate systems to feed into our reporting to project funders and main funders. 
• Producing compelling performance and evaluation reports (including quantitative and qualitative data) for main funders including Arts Council England, Leeds City Council and other donors. 
• Using tools and techniques to visualise data in easy-to-understand formats, such as diagrams and graphs for Team and Board meetings.  
• Responsible for fundraising administration including processing donations and keeping donor records up to date on our Salesforce CRM system, maintaining confidentiality and data security of donor information. 
• Researching trusts and foundations to identify fundraising opportunities that would support SAA-uk's programmes.  
• Supporting the design and development of fundraising activities and events. 

Terms of Employment & Benefits of Working at SAA-uk 

• Salary: £25,000 pro-rata (£13,333 per annum) 
• Working hours: this is a part-time position, working an average of 20 hours per week including some work outside of regular office hours and at weekends. 
• Location: The work will involve a balance of working from SAA-uk's office in Mabgate Mills, Leeds, working at events and classes venues, and working from home prior agreement with line manager. 
• 12 days' holiday per annum plus statutory holidays.   
• Probationary period of three months during which one month's notice on both sides. After the probationary period, there will be three months' notice on both sides. 

Our benefits include: 

• International and open-minded team. 
• Collaborative and inclusive company culture. 
• Pension contributions (employer contribution 5%). 
• Office space well connected to Leeds city centre. 
• Laptop and work phone provided. 
• Learning and development budgets for courses, conferences, or certifications negotiable. 
• x2 Free tickets to all SAA-uk concerts. 
• x2 Free places at Music or Dance Academies to learn for yourself + one family member. 
• Flexible working. 
• £100 towards eye-care. 
• Regular Away Days to build connections with team and Board of Trustees.