The Institute of Fundraising is to hire a fundraiser and six other new posts as part of its new strategy focusing on research and policy work.

The Institute has advertised for seven new positions which will expand its staff from 39 to 46. No redundancies have been made.

The expansion will see a new structure in the policy and communications team, which will be headed by one director of policy and communications. Current director of campaigns and policy, Louise Richards, is leaving the organisation but not as part of a redundancy package. New roles will also be created in the research, marketing and learning teams.

Peter Lewis, chief executive of the Institute (pictured), said that the restructure follows a management away day, member consultation and the release of new strategic objectives.

“There’s a much bigger push on doing research and policy work. We’re at a stage where we can grow our learning offer… so we will be doing 50 per cent more conferences next year,” Lewis told civilsociety.co.uk.

“We’re basically investing in ourselves to do those things.”

Lewis said that the investment in new staff will be funded by a mixture of growing the training and learning business and by bringing in a fundraising officer to solicit grants from trusts, foundations and government for activities such as small charities' training and research.

“We’re going to have a fundraising officer at the Institute of Fundraising. How radical is that?” said Lewis.

Lewis said that the Institute research plan will be to firm up relationships with organisations already doing research into giving and the charity sector and consulting with members on research gaps and priorities. The research will be used to develop and support the Institute’s policy positions.

The majority of the roles have been advertised today, and Lewis said: “Hopefully we’ll be set up with the new team by the summer.”