Post: Director of Development & Audience Insights
Reports to: Chief Executive Officer
Responsible for: Development, Communications, Retail and Visitor Services
Salary Band: £58,000 per annum
Contract: Full time, permanent
Hours: 40 hours per week, Monday to Friday
Location: Ikon Gallery, 1 Oozells Square, Birmingham B1 2HS, plus remote and off-site locations as required
Application deadline: 15 September 2025, 9 am BST
About Ikon
Ikon is an internationally acclaimed contemporary art gallery and educational charity. Offering free entry to all, it presents a dynamic programme of exhibitions, commissions, touring and off-site projects. Located in Birmingham, one of the first superdiverse cities in the UK and one of the youngest major cities in Europe, it plays a key role in the cultural life of the West Midlands region.
Ikon’s main galleries welcome around 200,000 visitors every year. Exhibitions feature regional, national and international artists; new commissions; thematic group shows; and projects that bring historical art and heritage into dialogue with contemporary practice. Education programmes include Art at HMP Grendon, funded by Marie-Louise von Motesiczky Charitable Trust, and Slow Boat, home to Ikon Youth Programme, funded by Freelands Foundation.
Offsite projects are a key part of Ikon’s artistic programme. Recent large projects include Hew Locke’s Foreign Exchange (2022), commissioned as part of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, and Osman Yousefzada’s Infinity Pattern 1 (2021), in partnership with Selfridges.
About the role
Ikon’s Director of Development & Audience Insights will work in close liaison with the Head of Finance and Operations Team to support the CEO and the Artistic Directors for Exhibitions and Education in shaping Ikon’s strategic vision based on future growth and long-term sustainability.
Forming part of Ikon’s Senior Management Team, the Director of Development & Audience Insights will contribute towards business planning and annual budgets, setting departmental strategies, fundraising targets and key performance indicators (KPIs). They will produce quarterly and annual reports for key stakeholders, including Ikon’s Board of Trustees and Arts Council England (ACE), with focus on delivering a dynamic business model as it intersects with artistic excellence, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) objectives and an environmental agenda.
Working alongside the Head of Finance and Operations Team, the Director of Development & Audience Insights will maintain high standards in financial processes and record keeping, including oversight of Gift Aid and storing personal data consistent with GDPR and data protection. They will ensure Ikon has effective due diligence processes for income generation, whilst modelling ethical fundraising standards. Whilst IT infrastructure will be overseen by the Head of Finance and Operations Team (retaining an external contractor) input will be required from the Director of Development & Audience Insights to ensure the correct software is in place and the digital ability of the organisation is forward looking.
Ikon has a long-standing commitment to diversity in its programming, producing, staffing and community engagement. We actively seek applications from the widest range of applicants.
Key objectives
Reporting to Ikon’s CEO, and with administrative support from the General Manager and Executive Support, the Director of Development & Audience Insights will oversee the commissioning, testing and learning from the following:
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Customer Relations Management (CRM) system, supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies. The new system will enable the coordination of data-led insights across gallery departments, augmenting income streams and analysing trends across audiences, visitors and customers. The relationship with Bloomberg Philanthropies is currently underway as part of the Digital Accelerator programme led by the Ikon Digital Tech Champion (General Manager).
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Comprehensive fundraising strategy, to strengthen Ikon’s approach to income generation, including a thorough review of key income streams, including trusts and foundations, individual giving, membership schemes, membership schemes, patrons, major donors and corporate sponsorship.
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Wide ranging feasibility study or studies into ticketing, membership schemes, intellectual property (IP) and naming rights, to evidence and assess the financial, operational and audience implications, including visitor numbers, accessibility, income generation and impact on reputation.
