Bid development manager jobs in Belfast

Our client is a charity that works directly with, and for unpaid carers, providing personalised information, advice and tailored support making it easier for those caring for someone else to continue living their lives to the fullest. With a committed, dedicated staff team and clear plans to scale reach, support and impact, this charity lives its values by being positive, collaborative and ambitious in all it does.

Business Development Manager

Hybrid - predominantly home-based with occasional travel

Permanent

22.5 - 30 hrs hours per week (negotiable, 3-4 days a week)

£39,000 - £45,000 (pro-rata for part-time hours)

Reporting to the Director of Income and Engagement, you will identify, assess and manage contract and funding opportunities. You'll lead the development of compelling, high-quality and cost-effective bids and proposals (including re-securing existing contracts), coordinating bid plans and bid teams to ensure a consistent approach. You will also support mobilisation of new contracts and services and build relationships with commissioners, funders and partners. Using insight, outcomes data and carers' feedback, you'll strengthen bids, inform service improvement and support the development of innovative service models that improve outcomes for carers.

To be successful in this role, you will bring a strong track record of securing new contracts and re-securing existing contracts, with experience of commissioning and procurement processes in health, social care or the voluntary sector. You'll have proven experience of leading bid development activity and bid teams, producing high-quality, persuasive proposals to tight deadlines, alongside strong senior stakeholder engagement skills with commissioners, funders and partner organisations. You'll bring a good understanding of health and care systems (including Local Authority and Integrated Care System priorities and pressures), plus experience of service design and improvement, working collaboratively with multi-disciplinary teams and people with lived experience.

How to apply

At Prospectus we invest in your journey as a candidate and are committed to supporting you with your application. We welcome all candidates to apply, regardless of age, sex/gender, disability, race, religion, sexual orientation, marital status or pregnancy/maternity. If you have any disability and require reasonable adjustment/s to any part of the process then please contact Femke Vorstman at Prospectus.

If you feel you meet some of the criteria but not all, we really hope you'll enquire and learn more. Prospectus can advise and support on each part of the role and hopefully your application, so we look forward to hearing from you.

In order to apply please submit your CV in the first instance. Should your experience be suitable, we will arrange for a meeting to brief you on the role. You'll then have all the information you need to formally apply. To formally apply, you will need to complete a supporting statement (max. 2 sides of A4) by COB on Monday 8 June.

This is an exciting opportunity to join a thriving national charity, as part of a high-performing, ambitious Business Development team. You will use a wide range of commercial and interpersonal skills to develop the way our services support children, young people and families. The core area of your work will be working with teams of Barnardo's colleagues to produce compelling proposals to commissioners and partners. As such, you'll be able to demonstrate:

∙ Strong organisational skills

∙ Attention to detail

∙ The ability to elicit and articulate great ideas

∙ Strong written and spoken communication.

You will need to be a good writer, communicating ideas effectively on paper with an ability to analyse large volumes of information to develop clear and compelling responses to tenders. It is critical that you can build strong relationships with internal and external stakeholders to support the development of proposals and service design. You will manage all aspects of proposals and tenders, leading the development and delivery of bids, working to deadlines, ensuring that we present strong business cases and bids that underpin successful outcomes. In addition, there will be the opportunity to help us develop new services and innovations in priority growth areas, monitor market intelligence, assess commercial and contract risks and work alongside operational colleagues in Children's Services.

Your project management skills may have been developed in any sector, and may need further development, but your commitment to the work we do will be demonstrated by your enthusiasm and ability to learn. In Business Development we are a supportive team, with stimulating and challenging work and extensive opportunities to learn and to help Barnardo's transform the lives of the UK's most vulnerable children.

This is a full-time role (36.25 hours per week) within Business Development. The role will operate on a 'Work from Anywhere' basis, meaning that you can work both from home and/or from an office 'hub that's nearest to where you live. Some travel may be required.

Barnardo's believe in creating equality of opportunity in the workplace and supporting people to manage their work-life balance; we are therefore open to offering flexible working arrangements.

Please note due to the high volume of applications for some posts, this advert might close before the displayed closing date. We recommend that you apply for this role as soon as possible.

Please note previous applicants need not apply. 

Pay & Reward Framework

We know that our colleagues go above and beyond in delivering our vital work, driven by their passion and commitment to Barnardo's values.  We also know that we can only realise our ambitions and achieve better outcomes for more children, thanks to the talent, hard work and creativity of our people. 

For all these reasons, we are committed to a new approach to pay and reward, to ensure it is fair, attractive and progressive, which was rolled out in April 2023. This is a positive change for the charity, and a part of our People & Culture Strategy. It will assist us in supporting colleagues to belong, thrive and grow in their colleague journey at Barnardo's and in time will offer clear routes of progression for colleagues in both their career and their pay. 

Whilst the full pay band and salary range is advertised, our approach to starting salaries is to appoint between the minimum to mid-point of the pay band – this ensures that pay steps are available to reward our colleagues annually based on their contribution to excellence and alignment to our values and behaviours.  More details on Barnardo's pay framework can be found upon application. 

Benefits

Workplace Offer: What it means for you

Our hybrid working initiative is based on trust, flexibility and empowerment. We understand our workplace offer means different things to different people, and we encourage those conversations. This may mean working at one of our stores, services, working at home, in the community, at one of our Collaboration Hubs or depending on the role any combination of these. Please read through the advert carefully to understand the remits of hybrid working that will be specific to the role.

• Barnardo's believe in creating equality of opportunity in the workplace and supporting people to manage their work-life balance; we are therefore open to offering flexible working arrangements.
• Annual Leave entitlement for full-time colleagues is 26 days per annum, increasing to 27 days per annum, after 3 years Barnardo's service, 29 days per annum, after 5 years Barnardo's service and 30 days per annum, after 7 years Barnardo's service. Those working less than full time are entitled to the same level of holiday pro rata
• The ability to buy up to another 5 days annual leave via our Buy Your Leave scheme
• A host of family friendly leave options including company Maternity Paternity and Adoption pay; together with all family additional leave options
• Service related sick pay from day 1
• Access to a Group Personal Pension with a matched 4% or 6% contribution from Barnardo's. Ability to pay via salary sacrifice to garner both tax and NI savings on your own contribution
• Death in service cover of 4x annual earnings for all staff contributing to our Group Personal Pension
• Cycle2work scheme
• Interest free season ticket loans
• Discounts and cashback from at high street shops including major supermarkets, cinemas, gyms, leisure/theme parks, holidays and much more via our Benefit Portal
• 20% discount at Barnardo's stores
• Opportunity to purchase a health cash plan to claim towards dental, glasses, therapy etc
• Free access to round the clock employee assistance program for advice and support
• Access to Barnardo's Learning and Development offer

*T&C's apply based on contract

About Barnardo's

We are committed to being an inclusive employer and cultivating a culture where everyone can belong and thrive through inclusion and connectivity. We want our workforce to be reflective of the communities we work with, and for equality, diversity and inclusion to be embedded in everything we do. We are a Disability Confident Leader, are progressing our ambition to be an anti-racist organisation with Anti-Racism Commitments and actions in place and have networks for colleagues who are disabled, LGBT+, Black and Minoritised Ethnic and Women. We particularly encourage applications from Black and Minoritised Ethnic and/or disabled candidates who are currently underrepresented in our workforce. For disabled applicants, we offer reasonable adjustments throughout the recruitment process.

If you’re passionate about safer communities and want a role where your work has a direct and lasting impact, this could be the perfect opportunity. As Crimestoppers’ Regional Manager for the South of England (Devon & Cornwall, Avon & Somerset), you’ll play a pivotal part in helping protect the public, empowering local people, and supporting the agencies working to prevent and solve crime.

We’re looking for an enthusiastic and motivated Regional Manager to represent Crimestoppers across the area. You’ll work closely with law enforcement and community partners to design and deliver meaningful crime‑prevention campaigns, while also coordinating cross‑border and national initiatives with organisations such as ROCUs and the NCA. You’ll empower local volunteer committees to thrive, act as a spokespeople for Crimestoppers in local and regional media, and drive funding opportunities that help expand our impact.

This role variety, and the chance to genuinely make a difference. We’re seeking someone with strong project and budget management skills, confidence under pressure, and the ability to build strategic relationships. Experience in or significant knowledge of the voluntary sector, media campaigning, or policing practice would be an advantage. If you’re committed to community safety and excited by the challenge of influencing real change, we’d love to hear from you.

Today, 12 children and young people will be diagnosed with cancer. We’ll stop at nothing to make sure they get the right care and support at the right time.  ​

• Directorate: Innovation, Policy & Systems Change
• Reporting into: Associate Director of Research, Learning and Systems Change
• Colleagues reporting into role: No direct reports at present. However, coaching and managing of volunteers and/or consultants is expected. 
• Location: You can be home-based anywhere in the UK, with travel for meetings. You can also choose to work from our Bristol or London offices.
• Closing date: Monday 8 June at 12 midday
• Interview dates: Monday 15 June and Tuesday 16 June (please tell us in your application if you cannot attend interview on one of these days)

Change lives in a life-changing career

When a child or young person is diagnosed with cancer, their whole world can feel like it’s falling apart. Independence is taken and confidence is stolen. Stability no longer exists. The future suddenly feels uncertain.

The impact of cancer on young lives is more than medical. And that impact can be felt by entire family. That’s why we exist. Our specialist social workers help children and young people with cancer and their families navigate the emotional and practical impact of cancer.

We remove barriers, solve problems and prioritise well-being. And we stop at nothing to make their voices heard and their unique needs understood, so they can get the right care and support at the right time.

About the role

We’re looking for a Head of Research & Evidence to join our ambitious Research, Learning & Systems Change Team. 

Young Lives vs Cancer has a strong and growing commitment to changing the system for children and young people with cancer, and their loved ones. Our North Star vision and Time is Now Strategy focus on influencing how the wider system works – from services and policy to practice on the ground – so that families get the support they need.

The Head of Research and Evidence sits in the Research, Learning & Systems Change team, within our Innovation, Policy & Systems Change Directorate. The role is responsible for ensuring our work is grounded in strong, credible and useful evidence, and that learning is actively used to shape decisions, practice and change across the system.

This is a leadership role within a small but ambitious team. You will set direction and provide thought leadership, but you will also be hands on – designing, commissioning, managing and using research alongside colleagues and partners.

Building trusted relationships and using evidence to influence thinking and action are central. You will work with colleagues, children and young people, families, and partner organisations (such as the North Star Cancer Collective) to learn, strengthen credibility and create change.

This role is subject to a Criminal Record Check. In the event of a successful application, a Basic Criminal Record Check will be completed. A previous conviction is not necessarily a barrier to employment. We encourage qualified applicants to apply, and we will consider each case individually.

What will I be doing?

No two days are the same at Young Lives vs Cancer. So, summarising your ‘day to day’ isn’t easy. You’ll work as part of a strong internal team, collaborating closely with colleagues across the organisation and with key external partners to generate, use and apply evidence that supports learning, influence and system change. Here are some of the main things you’ll be doing, but you’ll find more details in the job description and pack:

• You’ll be setting the direction for research and learning, leading a clear and purposeful research programme focused on the psychosocial experiences of children and young people with cancer. You’ll ensure research is high‑quality, ethical and impactful, including commissioning work with partners and contributing to research funding bids.

• You’ll be understanding needs and experiences to grow a strong, credible evidence base, building and using robust evidence on need, inequality, impact and progress to inform strategy, services, policy and system change. You’ll ensure children, young people and families meaningfully shape research and that insight is shared in clear, practical ways.

• You’ll be providing system insight and leadership, analysing how the system works, identifying trends and pressures, and using evidence to guide where change is most needed. You’ll build trusted relationships across the voluntary sector, NHS and research community, sharing learning and strengthening our credibility and influence.

• You’ll be turning learning into action and influence, helping teams apply research to real‑world practice and supporting testing, learning and improvement over time. You’ll put feedback and learning loops in place and assess how research‑informed change is affecting practice and outcomes.

What do I need? 

Diverse perspectives and unique skill sets are at the heart of Young Lives vs Cancer. If you're passionate about making a positive impact and eager to learn, we encourage you to apply, even if you don't meet the criteria and person specification fully. Your potential is what matters most to us, and we’re committed to fostering an inclusive and supportive work environment to help you develop.

The key skills we’re looking for in this role are:

• Experience leading and delivering research, including setting direction, choosing methods, commissioning or carrying out research, analysing data, and ensuring high quality and ethical practice.

• Strong research and analytical skills, with confidence working with both qualitative and quantitative data and evidence, and turning insight into practical action.

• Experience using evidence to support change, such as shaping strategy, influencing policy, improving services or supporting system change.

• Experience working across organisations, building trusted relationships with colleagues, partners, and where appropriate, children, young people and families.

• Ability to communicate complex research clearly and accessibly to different audiences, in writing and in conversation.

• A collaborative way of working, with strong people skills, curiosity and a learning mindset, and a clear commitment to equity, inclusion and anti‑oppressive practice.

What will I gain?

For people to reach their full potential, they need the right environment. As a member of Team Young Lives, you’ll be made to feel supported, valued and appreciated. Here’s how we do it:

• Flexible working: we’re open to working hours outside of 9 - 5 and we can talk through your flexibility requirements at interview stage
• Well-being, Thinking & Growth Days: four days a year to to step back from the day-to-day and focus on your own learning and development
• Generous annual leave allowance
• Great family/caring leave entitlements
• Enhanced pension
• Access to our employee savings scheme

To find out more about our benefits package, have a look on our website.

Our commitment to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging

At Young Lives vs Cancer, we recognise that opportunities for too many people remain a condition of their sex, ethnicity, class, gender identity, disability, sexual orientation – or a combination. This has never been acceptable to us as an organisation. We don’t just accept difference, we value it, celebrate it, nurture it and we thrive because of it.

We’re on a journey to be reflective of the diverse children, young people and families we support. We know we aren’t there yet, and we’re passionately committed to taking actions and making changes to be a truly diverse, inclusive and equitable organisation. This includes taking anti-oppressive action and removing barriers in our recruitment practices. Our Diversity, Inclusion, Equity and Belonging strategy will tell you more.

To ensure fairness and consistency to select the best candidate for this role, all our applications are anonymised up until an interview has been confirmed. We recognise the benefits of AI, but if you're considering using it to submit your application, we encourage you to reflect on the value AI adds. AI tools often lack the personal touch and authenticity that set candidates apart. We want to hear your unique perspective, experiences, and skills, so we encourage you to tell us about your skills and experiences in your own voice.

Accessibility

We’re committed to providing reasonable adjustments throughout our recruitment process and we’ll always aim to be as accommodating as possible. Please let us know in your application form of any adjustments or access requirements we could make to help you with the application process and interview.

To hear more about this role, please sign up to one of our informal drop in sessions taking place at 12:30pm on Tuesday 26th May and 17:30pm on Monday 01st June.

#ShowTheSalary #NonGraduatesWelcome

The chosen candidate will ideally be based in Hertfordshire, and any travel expenses from within the county will be covered.

This is a fixed-term contract for 9 months, with a possible 3 month extension.

About Us

Healthwatch Hertfordshire are an independent champion for people who use health and social care services. Being a values-driven organisation with a national reputation for our research and engagement work, we are here to find out what matters to local people and help ensure their views shape the support they need.

Our purpose is to help make care better for people by improving how services are run now and in the future. We have an ambitious vision to ensure that health and social care work for everyone.

The Role:

We are looking for someone who enjoys talking to people, listening to their experiences, and turning those conversations into meaningful change.

You will gather evidence from Hertfordshire residents about their experiences of health and social care services, analyse the findings, and produce clear insight driven reports that drive service improvement through insightful recommendations, and partnership with decision makers.

The broader health and social care landscape is actively changing around us, and we need someone who can work flexibly, respond to changing needs, and stay confident and calm during change – making sure our values and duties to the public are successfully delivered.

Responsibilities

• Building relationships with local residents, including those from underserved and marginalised communities
• Running focus groups, surveys, and engagement events
• Engaging with senior stakeholders (internally, NHS, county council, voluntary sector)
• Managing research and engagement projects from start to finish
• Writing clear, practical reports and insights
• Presenting findings and recommendations

Essential Criteria

• You live in or near Hertfordshire and can travel regularly across the county
• You are confident and experienced communicating with the public, diverse communities, and senior leaders
• You have experience designing and delivering research questions, running focus groups, and crafting and analysing survey data
• You can write clear, engaging reports for health and care decision makers and the broader public, drawing recommendations from the insights

Skills and Experience

• Ability to scope, design, organise, deliver, and analyse insight from focus groups and online surveys
• Experience of engaging directly with members of the public to gather insights
• Talking to people from a wide range of communities
• Good organisation and project management skills
• Strong written and verbal communication
• Ability to work collaboratively and in a flexible and agile way

If you do not meet the entire criteria but believe you have preferential experience and transferable skills, we welcome you to apply.

To Apply

Please submit your CV and a tailored covering letter to Louis Eastwell of Hire Purpose, before 23:59 on Sunday 31st May 2026.

You are welcome to initially submit a CV prior to completing a covering letter.

Louis is exclusively managing this recruitment campaign and will be speaking with all longlisted candidates prior to a formal interview with Healthwatch Hertfordshire.

Application Guidance:

A tailored covering letter highlighting how you meet the essential requirements of the role, outlining your relevant experience, skills, attributes, and your motivation for applying and supporting Healthwatch Hertfordshire’s mission.

Hire Purpose champions inclusive recruitment.

We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds and lived experiences. We uphold equal opportunity principles and challenge bias at every stage, partnering only with organisations that share our commitment to integrity, diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Hire Purpose is also proudly a B Corp certified business that has met B Lab UK’s high standards of social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability.

National sight loss charity, Retina UK is currently recruiting for a personable, motivated Senior Research Coordinator with experience in communicating science to a lay audience, who is educated to degree level in a biomedical or clinical science, and has excellent presentation and planning skills.

Key responsibilities will include ensuring effective communication of research into inherited sight loss, including the projects we fund, to our community, fundraisers, supporters and staff and measuring the impact of our research programme.