Work with us: Development Coordinator (Trusts and Foundations)

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This new role at Young Sounds UK will lead on securing grant income from and coordinating relationships with Trusts and Foundations. This will include identifying and researching funders, submitting compelling applications and completing timely and accurate reports.

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Reports to:	Development Manager
Contract:	Initially 12 months, to be extended by mutual agreement. There will be a three-month probation period.
Hours:	Full time (35 hours per week). Standard core organisational hours are between 09:00 and 17:00 Monday to Friday. Some occasional weekend and evening work will be required, for which the time off in lieu (TOIL) policy may apply.
Annual Leave:	26 days per year, plus bank holidays.
Salary:	£35,000 per year, plus statutory pension contributions as applicable.
Location:	Home working with some travel for meetings and events. Any travel and accommodation costs will be reimbursed.

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About Young Sounds UK

Young Sounds exists because musical talent is everywhere but opportunity isn’t: family finances and other obstacles too often get in the way. We’re here to change this in two key ways: 

• We support young musicians from low-income families with funding and other help;
• We support music education through training, advocacy and research. 

We became an Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation in April 2023 and also joined an expanded cohort of National Youth Music Organisations (NYMOs). We currently support around 1,400 individual young people across the UK every year and demand for our support is increasing. It’s an exciting time to join a pioneering organisation at the forefront of British music education. 

Our fully remote team work across the UK, comprising a mix of full time and part time employees supported by specialist part time and term time freelancers. 

Young Sounds UK is the working name for registered charity Awards for Young Musicians.

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Role Overview

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This new role at Young Sounds UK will lead on securing grant income from and coordinating relationships with Trusts and Foundations. This will include identifying and researching funders, submitting compelling applications and completing timely and accurate reports. 

The candidate needs to have an excellent communication and relationship building skills, and to be organised, flexible and with a great attention to detail. They should be comfortable with managing budgets, using CRMs, and demonstrating our impact through writing case studies that bring our work to life. 

They’ll work with colleagues across the organisation including the programmes team to identify areas of support, our evaluation, data and finance colleagues to track progress and our marketing and communications colleagues to create case studies that demonstrate our impact. They’ll also play a key role in supporting the Development Manager in delivering exceptional funder stewardship.  

The role will suit someone who has experience of fundraising in a charity, especially if they’ve focused on fundraising from Trusts and Foundations and are looking for an opportunity to take the next step in their career.

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Working relationships and expectations

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You’ll report to the Development Manager but will work closely with colleagues throughout the organisation including the programmes team, our evaluation, data, systems, finance and marketing colleagues. You’ll also work closely with our Chief Executive and Trustees who are part of our Major Gifts Committee.  

This is a homeworking position with some flexibility required to travel for meetings and events. Office equipment will be supplied as required. Any travel and accommodation costs will be reimbursed.

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Key tasks

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Trusts and Foundations

Research

• Identify and research a pipeline of Trusts and Foundations funders to secure financial support for Young Sounds.

Applications

• Work with the programmes team to develop fundraising applications for existing and new projects. 
• Work with programmes teams, Finance and Operations Director and Development Manager on application budgets. 
• Submit applications to selected Trusts and Foundations. 
• Support the Development Manager and Chief Executive with sourcing and creating materials for funding applications.

Grant management

• Ensure funders are credited and stewarded. 
• Work with internal colleagues to track funded programmes progress against targets. 
• Work with finance colleagues and the Development Manager on financial elements of funder reports. 
• Produce timely and engaging project reports to inspire funders. 

Income generation

• Achieve agreed income targets, with a focus on securing donations from Trust and Foundations.

Administration

• Support the Development Manager to produce income forecasts. 
• Maintain detailed records of our interactions with funders and prospects via our Salesforce CRM system. 
• Work with our Systems Consultant to identify and implement improvements to our Salesforce CRM system in relation to Trust and Foundation tracking.

Other fundraising tasks

• Support the Development Manager when needed with large fundraising campaigns and in person events. 
• Attended weekly Fundraising Communications calls. 
• Attend monthly Major Gifts Committee meetings and be responsible for taking minutes. 
• Attend our fundraising concerts (usually 6-8 a year).  
• Some travel may be required to support Young Sounds activities with young people and steward funder visits to projects.

Other tasks

• Attend weekly team call on Mondays 10.00 to 10.30 where at all possible, and an in-person meeting every two months (interim team meetings are online). 
• Attended weekly Thrive calls and monthly Connect calls as required.  
• Be responsible for meeting minutes beyond Development from time to time: this is shared across the whole team. 
• Ensure adherence to the organisation’s policies and procedures, including in matters relating to safeguarding and GDPR. 
• Contribute to the organisation’s ongoing development, by engaging in discussions as appropriate and undertaking training as requested or in pursuit of personal development. 
• Contribute to the organisation’s strategic priorities, including to equity, diversity and inclusion, ensuring that this informs all activities. Work in a flexible manner in line with the organisation’s objectives and be willing to occasionally undertake other duties as reasonably requested.

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Person Specification

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Key Skills

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills 
• Excellent research and analytical skills with the ability to contribute to the development of new prospects and pipelines. 
• Excellent interpersonal skills: an ability to relate confidently and sensitively to a wide range of people including funders, donors, children and young people, parents/carers and volunteers.   
• Strong understanding of budget management and presentation. 
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office suite, especially with Word and Excel. 
• Proficiency with customer relationship management (CRM) tools and databases, ideally Salesforce.

Personal Qualities

• Proactive, with the ability to work remotely from home and to manage own workload efficiently without direct supervision. 
• Ability to prioritise and work flexibly, under time pressure with competing deadlines. 
• Highly motivated with a commitment to and understanding of the organisation’s vision. 
• The energy, enthusiasm and passion for supporting young people with musical potential. 

Experience

• Three years or more experience in a fundraising role, preferably within the arts and/or charitable sector, including Trusts and Foundations experience. 
• First rate organisation, time management and information management experience. 

The following would also be desirable

• Knowledge and experience of working within safeguarding procedures. 
• Experience of working with sensitive data together with an understanding of current data legislation GDPR. 
• Experience of using Canva. 
• Enthusiasm and passion for music in all forms!

Other requirements

• Right to work in the UK. 
• This post is subject to an enhanced DBS check.

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How to apply

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Please submit your application using this form: click here

You’ll be asked to attach a supporting statement of no more than two sides of A4, addressing how you’re a strong candidate for the position, details of relevant experience etc. You’re advised to address the selection criteria for the role as detailed in the Person Specification.   

Please note that applications will be shortlisted on an anonymous basis, so any identifying information should not be included in the supporting statement and will be removed prior to sharing with the panel.  

Young Sounds UK is an equal opportunities and real living wage employer. We operate an anonymised recruitment process to try and eliminate unconscious bias. We are committed to attracting and recruiting diverse candidates as it’s important that our trustees, staff and volunteers reflect the communities we serve at every level within the organisation.  

Applicants are asked to complete an Equal Opportunities Form, which is submitted separately from their application. The form is only seen for administration and monitoring purposes. It is not considered for any selection decisions and is not shared. 

We aim to provide an inclusive recruitment experience and want to ensure we have an accessible application process for all candidates. If you need any reasonable adjustments or would like us to do anything differently during the application process please contact [email protected]. 

Any queries about the role or application process should also be sent to: [email protected] 

Please note that organisation will be taking a break from Monday 22 December 2025 to Monday 5 January 2026, so there will be delayed responses to queries during this time. 

Due to the volume of applications we receive we are unable to provide feedback to applicants who have not been invited to interview.

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Key dates

• The deadline for applications is 12 noon on Monday 19 January 2026. 
• Applicants invited to interview will hear from us by Friday 23 January 2026.  
• Interviews are expected to be held via video call on Tuesday 3 February and Wednesday 4 February 2026.  
• Candidates invited to interview will be expected to complete a pre-interview task, remotely and within a 1-hour window of their choosing between Thursday 29 January and Monday 2 February 2026.