Development trainee

Closing date for applications: Thursday 29th October 2026 at 5pm

Location: 3 Dryden Street, London WC2E 9NA

Salary: £26,936

Duration: 12 months

Start date: 12 January 2027

Hours: 5 days per week, with core office hours of 10am to 6pm Monday to Friday. This role includes regular evening, early morning, and occasional weekend work. (Average of 4-5 events per month and 2-3 weekend evenings per year). A TOIL policy is in place.

Deepen your understanding of the theatre industry through this traineeship scheme, where you'll be joining the team behind Donmar Warehouse's fundraising for 12 months.

Welcome to the Donmar, where anyone with a passion or curiosity for seriously good theatre belongs. In our powerfully intimate space, we make vivid theatre that transports. Our audience doesn’t sit in the dark; they lean into the light. You’ll want to be in the room and in the moment. Led by Artistic Director Tim Sheader and Executive Director Henny Finch, the Donmar is an independent non-profit theatre in London’s Covent Garden.

We’re intent on making sure theatre thrives for the next generation by inviting in new younger audiences, inspiring original voices and building the workforce of the future. We’re grateful for the loyalty and generosity of our many donors and supporters who share our commitment to making this happen.

About the role

Each year the Donmar raises around half of its annual income from fundraising, from a combination of individual supporters, corporate partners, and trusts & foundations. Our Development team is formed of 11 individuals and Individual Giving is responsible for around half of the Development target.

This is an opportunity to begin your career in arts fundraising at one of London’s leading theatres. In this role, you'll deepen your understanding of the theatre industry by joining the Individual Giving team, gaining an understanding of individual giving within the fundraising landscape at large and within the Donmar

In this front-facing post, you’ll support the smooth running of our membership scheme and the Individual Giving team, identify new supporters, and also steward existing supporters, helping us deliver a programme of engaging events throughout the year.

This role is for you if you’re passionate about the arts, highly organised, creative, proactive and eager to learn.

About CATALYST

Donmar’s CATALYST talent development programme supports the development of talent which is underrepresented both at the Donmar and in the wider industry. Through this 12-month programme, the Donmar creates bespoke experiences for roles/individuals within the organisation, welcoming a range of voices and skills to the Donmar. With organisation-wide investment, each opportunity provides focused mentorship and will serve to expand your knowledge of the theatre sector at large.

By the end of your traineeship, you will have gained:

• A strong understanding of the theatre industry and the key role that fundraising plays at the Donmar and within the sector
• Experience of day-to-day running of a membership scheme
• Research proficiency across different supporter groups
• Excellent administrative skills
• Confidence in communicating with a variety of people both internally and externally, including supporters, VIPs and key stakeholders
• Confidence in how to communicate our case for support
• Working knowledge of key industry databases including Spektrix, DotDigital, Canva and external suppliers
• Cross-departmental mentorship and company-wide investment in your professional development
• Access to a thriving and active Donmar trainee alumni community
• Opportunity to shadow the Donmar’s wider fundraising team, including our corporate, events, and trust & foundation teams
  

Duties and responsibilities

Memberships and Philanthropy

• Act as the first point of contact for ticket requests and membership queries from supporters, including internal ticket requests, with support from Membership Officer when required
• Manage the day to day running of the Patrons inbox, responding to queries in a timely and efficient manner
• Work with the Head of Philanthropy and Senior Individual Giving Manager on prospect search, identifying those with capacity to increase their giving or those new to the Donmar
• Manage the prospect records and work with the team to ensure that agreed actions are completed in a timely manner
• Lead on distributing the digital membership cards to Patrons
• Dedicate a day each week to identifying and researching prospective supporters and current supporters
• Support the Membership Officer in planning and delivering training for the Customer Service Assistants (CSAs) and ensuring that they feel comfortable to respond to member enquiries that come through to the Box Office, and dealing with escalated issues as necessary
• Support the Individual Giving team in the administration around the delivery of any fundraising campaigns, new and lapsed membership drives, and donation appeals as necessary

Administration

• Provide administrative support for the Individual Giving team, for example:
  • Manage the weekly attendee lists and tracking follow-ups
  • Lead on drafting renewal mailing templates and thank you letters
  • Manage gift membership processes
  • Manage donation receipts Support the Individual Giving team with sending out renewal reminders and receipts
  • Support the Membership Officer with updating our database (Spektrix) with donations received
• Be a proactive user of Spektrix, ensuring accuracy of records, supporting with pulling reports, and using the database as a research tool
• Work with the Membership Officer to ensure supporters are accurately acknowledged in programmes, on the website, and throughout the building
• Write Meeting Briefings to support the team when meeting with supporters or prospective supporters
• Consistently look for ways to improve the maintenance and use of systems, such as Spektrix, DotDigital and Canva
• Take meeting minutes and actions for the Individual Giving team

Communications

• Work with the Membership Officer on creating the dedicated supporters’ e-newsletter and other communications on Dotdigital
• Lead on managing the postal communications for supporters when required
• Use Canva to create various support communications, such as production booklets, vouchers, gift cards and welcome packs
• Assist the Individual Giving team with planning for season announcements, including supporting with drafting communications and checking data

Events

• Act as the first point of contact for enquiries from the Events team about guest records, leading on ensuring accuracy across all upcoming events for Patrons and Major Donors
• Support with administration when required, such as maintaining accurate records about RSVPs
• Attend Development events, build relationships with supporters, and act as a representative of the Donmar

Finance

• Lead on the administration of Gift Aid on donations, with support from the Membership Officer, helping maximise income and ensuring compliance with HMRC Gift Aid regulations though accurate data management
• Assist with setting up and amending Direct Debit and auto-renew requests on Spektrix and DonorDebit

General duties

• Attend and support the team at company-wide events such as press nights, rehearsal room drinks, and previews
• Draft and proof-read copy for the Individual Giving team when required
• Undertake any other duties as may be reasonably required

Knowledge, skills and experience

• A desire to pursue a career in the arts and an eagerness to develop new skills
• An interest in the fundraising sector
• Experience of working in a customer service role
• Excellent attention to detail
• Strong administration and organisational skills
• Excellent face-to-face, telephone and written communication skills
• A collaborative team player with a proactive, can-do attitude
• Ability to use initiative and work in a fast-paced environment
• IT skills, including knowledge of Microsoft Office or Google Drive
• Flexibility and willingness to work outside of normal office hours on a regular basis (time off in lieu will be given to make up for any ‘out of hours’ work)

No previous study or experience of working in theatre is required, but a demonstrated desire to learn is essential. Previous experience of working in an office context (either as a volunteer, work experience or employee) would be beneficial.

To apply

• Log in to your Creative Access account or register today to apply for this opportunity
• Upload your CV and cover letter as one document (applications without a tailored cover letter will not be accepted)

• Please answer the below questions in your cover letter -

  Why do you want to work at the Donmar in this role?

  What draws you to the Development Team and why is fundraising important for the Donmar?

  What part of the Development Trainee role interests you the most?

• Once submitted, you can no longer amend your application, so proof-read carefully
• Do not contact the company directly
• Please email any queries about this role to Creative Access at this address: recruit@creativeaccess.org.uk
• Please note you will receive an update on your application no later than 6 weeks after the closing date

This opportunity is open to individuals from groups that are under-represented in the creative industries. This includes individuals who identify as Black, Asian, or from other ethnically diverse backgrounds, or people of any ethnicity who belong to the following under-represented groups: disabled people, people with the characteristic of gender reassignment, individuals from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, carers and asylum seekers.

The successful candidate for this opportunity will also participate in a Creative Access support programme that sits alongside workplace training. This includes a programme of induction training, monthly masterclasses, wellbeing support, buddying/mentoring, and more.