Manager - Engagement, Partnerships and Growth

The Robert Menzies Institute is a University of Melbourne-affiliated museum, research centre and national civic institution dedicated to the study, preservation and renewal of Australia's liberal democratic tradition.

The Position

The Manager - Engagement, Partnerships and Growth leads the Institute's audience development, communications, digital engagement, membership, CRM, data and analytics, partnerships and fundraising support. The position converts the Institute's research, education, museum and public programs into sustained relationships with national audiences, members, donors, schools, partners and supporters. The role supports events through marketing, registrations, audience development and CRM follow-up; end-to-end event planning and delivery is owned by the Manager - Operations and Collections.

Key accountabilities

Audience strategy and growth

- Develop and implement an integrated audience strategy across digital channels, membership, public-program audiences, schools, donors, alumni and partners.
- Grow repeat engagement and create pathways from first contact to participation, membership, partnership and philanthropy.
- Segment audiences and tailor communications, offers and stewardship appropriately.
- Monitor audience trends and recommend priorities based on data and strategic value.

CRM, data, systems and analytics

- Own the Institute's CRM as the central record of relationships with donors, prospects, members, event attendees, schools, teachers, MECN alumni, researchers, volunteers, media, partners and University stakeholders.
- Define data standards, mandatory fields, consent practices, user permissions and workflows.
- Maintain data quality, deduplicate records and ensure timely entry of interactions and outcomes.
- Develop automated communication, membership renewal, event follow-up and donor stewardship journeys.
- Produce monthly management dashboards and quarterly Board-level insights on audience, engagement, membership, partnerships and fundraising.




- Work with the Schools and Research teams to ensure participation and alumni data are captured consistently.

Communications, brand and content

- Develop and deliver the Institute's communications, marketing and editorial plan.
- Manage social media, website, email marketing, media support, podcasts, video and digital publications.
- Produce high-quality design and campaign materials using Canva and other appropriate tools.
- Produce video content for use on social media, including recordings of podcasts and events.
- Maintain brand consistency, accessibility, quality and appropriate approvals.
- Translate research, archival material and event outputs into accessible content for broad audiences.

Event marketing, audience development and follow-up

- Lead event marketing, registration, audience targeting, invitations, communications, CRM follow-up and audience evaluation for events operationally managed by the Operations Manager.
- Work with program leads on event positioning, audience strategy, invitations and content distribution.
- Support front-of-house engagement and supporter experience within event plans led by the Operations Manager.
- Use event data to improve programming, membership, donor and partnership outcomes.

Membership, fundraising and donor communications

- Manage membership acquisition, renewals, benefits, communications and reporting.
- Support the CEO and General Manager with fundraising campaigns, cases for support, proposals, grants, sponsorship and stewardship.
- Prepare donor and partner communications, impact reports, briefings, invitations and recognition materials.
- Maintain accurate prospect, donor, grant, sponsor and stewardship records in the CRM.




- Track campaign performance and recommend improvements.

Partnerships and sponsorship

- Identify and develop relationships with schools, universities, cultural organisations, civic institutions, foundations, businesses and media partners.
- Prepare partnership and sponsorship proposals, benefits, agreements and activation plans.
- Ensure partners receive agreed value and that relationships are recorded, evaluated and stewarded.
- Support national growth through co-promotion, distribution and delivery partnerships.

Selection criteria

- Demonstrated experience across communications, digital engagement, marketing, membership, partnerships, public engagement or audience development.
- Strong practical experience managing a CRM, audience database, email platform or related systems, including segmentation, data quality and reporting.
- Excellent writing, editing, design and content-production skills, including Canva or comparable tools.
- Experience using analytics to improve engagement, campaigns, events or fundraising outcomes.
- Experience recording and editing video content for social media.
- Strong project management and ability to deliver multiple priorities in a small team.
- Excellent relationship-management skills and confidence working with donors, members, partners, speakers and senior stakeholders.
- Experience supporting fundraising, sponsorship, grants or donor stewardship is desirable.
- Commitment to the Institute's mission and ability to communicate serious historical and civic ideas accurately and accessibly.

Qualifications and experience

- Relevant tertiary qualification or equivalent qualified experience in communications, marketing, digital engagement, fundraising, partnerships, public engagement or a related field.
- Demonstrated hands-on capability with CRM, email marketing, web, analytics and content-production platforms.
- Experience in a cultural, educational, research, university, philanthropic, public-policy or not-for-profit setting is desirable.

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📌 Manager - Engagement, Partnerships and Growth (Melbourne)
🏢 Robert Menzies Institute
📍 Melbourne