4 Business development manager jobs in Bermondsey, Greater London

About the Role: GardenOfLove is a UK-based platform connecting individuals, verified charities, and businesses through giving, volunteering, and community. We're looking for a Partnerships & Business Development Manager to help us grow and manage those relationships as we expand across the charity, university, and corporate sectors.

This is a hands-on, relationship-driven role for someone comfortable moving between long-term trust-building and direct commercial conversations, often in the same week.

What You'll Be Doing

• Charity partnerships: identifying, approaching, and onboarding verified UK charities onto the platform, and maintaining strong ongoing relationships with them.
• University partnerships: leading outreach to universities for student wellbeing initiatives, campus Gardens, and pilot programmes.
• Corporate Gardens sales: managing the full sales process for our B2B CSR product, from first outreach through to signed, onboarded corporate clients.
• Sector networking: representing GardenOfLove at relevant events and conferences across the charity and corporate sectors.
• General business development: identifying new partnership opportunities, including with media, incubators, and adjacent organisations, and helping shape how we approach them.

What We're Looking For

• Experience in a partnerships, business development, or corporate fundraising role, ideally with some exposure to the charity or nonprofit sector.
• Comfort with both relationship-led conversations and direct commercial pitching.
• Strong written and verbal communication — you'll often be representing our voice directly to charities, universities, and companies.
• Genuine curiosity about, and comfort with, the mission behind the platform — this matters more to us than a perfect CV.

Before You Apply: We'd encourage you to explore our website and try the app yourself before applying. We'll ask about your experience with it directly at interview — genuine engagement will come through, and that matters to us more than a generic cover letter.

Compensation: Competitive salary, dependent on experience, plus standard benefits. 

Why This Role Matters: This isn't just another platform with a mission statement attached. Kindness staying free, verification-first trust, and community-driven giving are structural choices we've built the business around, not marketing lines. If that's a philosophy you'd genuinely want to represent, not just describe, we'd love to hear from you.

Job Purpose: 

To oversee the management and growth of Venue Hire for our historic spaces covering meetings, conferences, talks, weddings and community activities. This is our primary source of income and key to supporting our library and learning programme, alongside our theatre income and fundraising.

The role will also lead on identifying and developing new business opportunities for other commercial income streams, building relationships with clients and partners, and ensuring that commercial activity supports the Foundation’s charitable purpose and long-term sustainability.

Optimising the use of space to ensure that St Bride Foundation (SBF) operates profitably as well as meeting the needs of our communities is a key part of the role. The Business Development and Events Manager will oversee the Venue Hire activity and promote the venue’s room resources, as well as supporting the Library and Workshop in the organisation of in-house courses, seminars and events.

Key Responsibilities: 

Events Management

• Manage the Events Team activity of promoting and selling the venue’s event spaces, ensuring SBF has good visibility on all relevant venue hire websites.
• Responding to and converting enquiries and monitoring conversion effectiveness.
• Managing clients’ needs for booked events.
• Negotiating contracts for both short and long-term use; and ensuring that all aspects of the venue are fit for purpose.
• Identify new networks and online promotions to promote the SBF offer

Be responsible, along with the Operations Manager and Foundation Manager, to the Board for:

• Setting and achieving yearly and monthly income budgets, including quarterly forecasting and planning.
• All aspects of pricing and contract negotiation for areas of responsibility including catering, furniture hire, keyholding and cleaning. Ensure service, pricing and contracts are regularly reviewed.
• Working “hands-on” within a small team, getting involved in all aspects of delivering a quality service, monitoring and reviewing customer experience and satisfaction.
• Assisting the Operations Manager with Health & Safety and compliance issues relating to your area of responsibility.
• Line management responsibility for Event Coordinators and Venue Assistant. Overseeing and supporting the Events Team with smooth running of SBF and external events. Ensure time management and priorities are managed for line reports.
• Support SBF marketing efforts working with the Events team on social media content and website updates.
• Act as an ambassador for St Bride Foundation, upholding its mission to preserve and promote print and design heritage. Actively contribute to SBF redevelopment plans in terms of future planning for events and building operations.
• Engage with stakeholders, including donors, volunteers, and beneficiaries, to strengthen community and fundraising efforts. 
• Support and contribute to initiatives that enhance the Foundation’s impact, such as public engagement events, educational programmes, and collaborative partnerships. 
• Complete ongoing staff training to include Health & Safety, compliance and other related topics as required by the organisation. 

Business Development & Commercial Growth

• Develop and implement a proactive business development strategy for Venue Hire, identifying new clients, partners and commercial opportunities, as well as additional marketing/outreach activities to boost income during quieter periods.
• Build and maintain a pipeline of prospective clients and strategic partners, converting opportunities into new and repeat business.
• Develop relationships with event agencies, corporate organisations, professional bodies, cultural and educational organisations and other relevant networks.
• Identify opportunities to increase revenue through repeat bookings, new event formats, longer-term agreements, partnerships and additional services.
• Monitor market trends, competitor activity, customer feedback and venue performance to inform pricing, product development and sales activity.
• Establish and report on business development KPIs, including pipeline value, enquiry-to-booking conversion, repeat business, occupancy, average booking value and revenue growth.
• Work collaboratively with Marketing, Fundraising, Learning, Library and Workshop teams to develop opportunities that support both the Foundation's commercial and charitable objectives.
• Work with fundraising to develop incentives and cross promotions between sponsorship/membership and venue hire and identify other synergies between the physical SBF assets and the fundraising function

Essential Qualifications & Experience: 

• Proven experience of business development, sales, partnership-building or income generation, ideally within a venue, cultural, charitable or heritage setting.
• Proven experience of planning and delivering events end-to-end, on time and within budget. Working with teams on a varied programme of activities for a diverse mix of audiences.
• Experience of working with volunteers running workshops and events, overseeing all aspects of delivery.
• Experience working with external partners, including community groups, local authorities and sponsors.
• Line management experience of an events team, including support with managing workload and personal development objectives.
• Experience of identifying new clients, generating leads, converting enquiries and developing repeat business or longer-term client relationships.
• Experience of using data, customer insight or market research to inform sales activity, pricing, service development or income targets.
• Experience in the charitable, cultural, or heritage sector preferred.

Key Skills & Competencies: 

• Highly organised, able to manage multiple priorities and deadlines.
• Ability to troubleshoot issues arising during events including those relating to AV, catering and general experience of attendees to ensure seamless delivery.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills. Confidence in briefing and managing event speakers including volunteers and SBF Trustees to ensure smooth running of events.
• Confident relationship-builder, able to develop networks with corporate clients, event agencies, cultural partners, community organisations and other stakeholders.
• Able to set, monitor and report on business development activity and income-related KPIs, including enquiry conversion, occupancy, repeat business and revenue growth.
• Risk assessment and mitigation in event spaces and knowledge of licensing, insurance, accessibility and inclusion requirements.
• Financial management and budgeting, including forecasting and reporting of our events revenue.
• Strong IT skills, including CRM systems, ticketing platforms and newsletters.
• A passion for the arts, heritage, and education, with a strong commitment to the Foundation’s vision and values.

Organisational Values & Expectations: 

• Promote and uphold St Bride Foundation’s commitment to cultural preservation, lifelong learning, and community engagement. 
• Work collaboratively with colleagues, volunteers, and external partners to support the Foundation’s charitable objectives. 
• Uphold ethical standards and best practices in charity governance and operations. 

 Health & Safety Responsibilities: 

• Ensure compliance with all relevant Health & Safety policies and charitable sector guidelines. 
• Promote a safe and inclusive environment for colleagues, volunteers, and visitors.
• Act as a Fire Marshal and Emergency First Aider.

Terms & Conditions: 

• Working Hours: 8 hours per day (including one-hour unpaid lunchbreak), five days per week. You will work on rotation with other members of the Events Team, on one of the following core hour slots: 08:30–16.30, 10:00–18:00, 12:00–20:00 or 14:00–22:00 with one hour lunch. Due to the flexible nature of the work you may be required to work outside of these times. Shifts will be planned and agreed in advance with the other members of the Events team. Ad hoc weekend work will be required from time to time.

Business Development Manager

Part time - 3 days per week

£26,000 for 3 days per week (£43,333.33 fte)

Hybrid working - This role offers a hybrid working arrangement, combining home working with regular attendance at our office and key meetings.

Permanent

Prospex is a well-established youth charity celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. We are deeply embedded within the local community and are recognised for our expertise in supporting vulnerable children and young people across Islington. Our experienced and committed team delivers high-quality youth work that helps young people develop confidence, resilience and positive futures.

Over the past seven years, we have successfully strengthened and diversified our income base. Our funding comes from a broad range of sources, including charitable trusts and foundations, statutory grants and contracts, individual donors, community fundraising activities and, increasingly, corporate supporters. This diversified approach has helped us build financial stability and continue responding to local need.

This new role presents an exciting opportunity to build on these foundations and take our fundraising to the next level. The focus of our income generation will remain with successfully securing income from trusts and statutory sources however there is also potential to increase income across all funding streams. We see particular potential for growth in individual giving, major donors and corporate partnerships. The successful candidate will have the opportunity to shape and develop all these areas, making a lasting contribution to the charity's future sustainability and impact.

Prospex is a fantastic organisation to work for, with a strong sense of purpose and a genuine commitment to improving the lives of local young people. We have a supportive, collaborative culture where staff and trustees work closely together and recognise that fundraising is everyone's responsibility.

How to apply

Application is by way of CV with a Supporting Statement that should set out your motivations for applying and how your work experience to date meets the scope of the responsibilities. As a general guide, your Supporting Statement should be around two sides of A4.

Closing date: Sunday 20th September at Midnight

First interviews: 28th September

We are looking for the successful candidate to start around November 2026. This will allow for time to be spent with the current Business Development Manager.