3 Business development assistant jobs in Belfast
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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 in Scotland and Northern Ireland. As such, you'll be able to demonstrate:
- Strong organisational skills
- Meticulous 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.
These roles 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 across Scotland and Northern Ireland 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
We're here to help children and young people feel safer, happier, healthier and more hopeful – and have somewhere they feel they belong.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Accreditation Manager
Salary: £58,000p.a.
Contract: Permanent
Hours: 37.5 hours per week
Location: Wigan or Home Based with extensive travel throughout the UK and occasional international travel.
Keep Britain Tidy is one of the UK’s leading environmental charities. At a time when we are living in a world that is facing its greatest environmental challenges, the work we do has never been more important or more urgent.
About the role
This is a leadership role for someone who can combine strategic thinking, strong project management, commercial awareness and excellent stakeholder engagement. You will ensure our accreditation programmes continue to inspire participation, generate income and deliver measurable impact for people, places and the environment.
As Accreditation Manager, you will lead the strategy, growth and delivery of our accreditation programmes, ensuring they support accessible, high-quality places, promote wellbeing and sustainability, generate income and demonstrate measurable impact. You will oversee budgets, partnerships, quality assurance, impact reporting and programme teams, while acting as a senior contact for government, sector bodies, partners, customers and stakeholders in the UK and internationally.
We are looking for someone with strong leadership, project management and relationship-building skills, together with the confidence to work with senior stakeholders and represent the organisation externally. You will bring experience of managing budgets, developing commercial or partner-funded relationships, solving complex problems and leading teams to deliver high-quality outcomes.
Knowledge of the green spaces sector is essential, while knowledge of the coastal and hospitality sectors would be an advantage.
Benefits
All our roles benefit from generous holiday entitlement and pension contributions, including the opportunity to join the UK’s first net zero carbon pension scheme and to receive extra days leave for using alternatives to flights. You can view our range of benefits on our website.
Diversity & Inclusion
We are committed to building a diverse workforce and welcome applicants from all backgrounds including those from underrepresented groups.
If you need any reasonable adjustments throughout the recruitment process, please let us know.
How to Apply
If this sounds like the perfect role for you and you’d like to help us make a difference, we’d love to hear from you. Please review a copy of the full job description and ensure you meet the essential criteria before applying.
After reading the application information, if you would love to work with us please continue to apply.
As part of the application process you will need to answer 3 sift questions relating to your relevant experience and submit your tailored CV which highlights how you meet the essential criteria of the role. We also ask that you complete equal opportunities monitoring information as we want to try to make sure that our workforce is representative of the population and we are not excluding any community. Please note that this information will be held separately.
Please submit your application before the closing date.
The deadline for applications is 09:00 Monday 28 September 2026. Please note we reserve the right to close this vacancy early, so recommend that you submit your application at the earliest opportunity.
Interviews will be held via MS Teams on 14 or 15 October 2026.
If you require an in-person interview, please let us know.
We have signed the pledge to always #ShowTheSalary for the roles that we advertise.
No agencies please.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Permanent | Full-time
Salary: £58,560 – £71,480 per annum
Hours: 35 per week
Location: Home-based with regular national travel
Job reference number: 1766
Help shape the future of Cranstoun’s services
Cranstoun is a social justice and harm reduction charity supporting and empowering people to live healthier and safer lives. Each year, we support more than 45,000 people through services including substance use, criminal justice, domestic abuse, housing and services for children and young people.
Following a successful five-year strategy and significant growth, we remain ambitious about the difference we can make. As we enter our next phase, we are investing in the leadership and operational capability needed to support our continued development. We are now recruiting an Assistant Directors of Service to join our senior management team.
This is a significant senior leadership role offering the opportunity to lead substantial service portfolios while helping shape how Cranstoun’s services are led and delivered across the organisation.
The role
Reporting to the Director of Operations, you will lead a substantial portfolio of complex commissioned services and senior operational managers.
You will lead eight services with nine direct reports, spanning substance use and services for children and young people. You will have clear accountability for ensuring services are safe, effective and well-led, with strong contractual performance, financial sustainability and positive outcomes for the people and communities we support.
You will provide operational grip and evidence-based assurance, strengthen safeguarding and management accountability, build effective relationships with commissioners and partners, and ensure risks and underperformance are identified, escalated and addressed early.
You will also work collectively with fellow senior operational leaders to embed a One Cranstoun approach, strengthening common standards, sharing learning, developing leadership capability and improving quality and resilience across our services.
What you will be accountable for
As an Assistant Director, you will take senior operational accountability for:
- Safe, effective and well-led services – ensuring strong safeguarding, quality, operational risk management and service user outcomes.
- Contractual performance – ensuring services deliver against contractual requirements and KPIs, with strong commissioner relationships and timely action to address underperformance.
- Financial sustainability – maintaining strong financial oversight, effective workforce management and oversight of the sustainability of individual contracts.
- Evidence-based assurance – using reliable performance, quality, workforce and financial information to identify risks and drive improvement.
- Collective organisational leadership – working beyond individual portfolio boundaries to build consistent standards, stronger leadership and shared ways of working across Cranstoun.
You will lead and develop senior operational managers, set clear expectations and create a culture in which support and accountability operate together.
You will also lead and contribute to service mobilisation, transformation, workforce planning and continuous improvement.
Who we are looking for
We are looking for established senior operational leaders with substantial experience leading complex commissioned services and geographically dispersed teams.
You will bring a strong track record of:
- leading safe, high-quality services for people with complex needs;
- safeguarding, quality and operational risk management;
- contract and performance management;
- managing significant service budgets and improving financial performance;
- building effective relationships with commissioners, regulators and strategic partners;
- leading service improvement, mobilisation and organisational change;
- developing senior operational managers and addressing underperformance; and
- using performance, quality, workforce and financial information to provide assurance and drive improvement.
You will need to combine strategic leadership with operational pragmatism, understanding the detail when necessary while maintaining oversight of performance, risk, quality and sustainability across a complex portfolio.
Above all, we are looking for collaborative, credible and values-led leaders who can support and challenge in equal measure, build leadership capability and bring people together around common standards and organisational priorities.
Specialist experience
For this role, significant senior leadership experience within substance use services is essential, including experience of leading CQC-regulated provision and maintaining high standards of quality, safety and regulatory compliance.
You will also need a strong understanding of safeguarding and the governance required to deliver safe and effective services for children and young people. Direct operational experience of Children & Young People services would be valuable, but we are equally interested in candidates who can demonstrate strong safeguarding and CYP governance experience alongside substantial substance use leadership.
This permanent appointment offers the opportunity to provide long-term leadership to a significant portfolio and help shape the future development of Cranstoun’s services.
Be part of Cranstoun’s next chapter
Our successful five-year strategy has seen Cranstoun grow considerably, extending our reach and the range of services we provide. We remain ambitious and innovative, committed to developing services that respond to the changing needs of people and communities.
As we look to the future, we are investing in the leadership, operational capability and organisational infrastructure needed to support our continued development, strengthening operational governance, consistency and assurance across our services.
This role offers the opportunity to do more than manage established portfolios. You will help shape the future of our services and build an Operations Directorate characterised by high standards, clear accountability, collaboration and continuous improvement.
Find out more
Please refer to the accompanying recruitment pack for the full Job Description, Person Specification and details of the application process.
Please note: All posts are subject to an Enhanced DBS check.
How to Apply:
For more details and to apply, please visit our website via the apply button. Please quote the appropriate Job Ref in all correspondence.
Applicants must be able to provide satisfactory evidence of their right to work in the UK at the application stage.
Sponsorship is not available for this post. Applicants must have the right to work in the UK that does not require employer sponsorship for the duration of the appointment.
Closing date: Sunday 20 September 2026.
We are an inclusive employer, committed to promoting equality and diversity in all areas of our work.
Registered Charity No: 1061582