Actively Interviewing
This organisation is scheduling interviews as applications come in. They're ready to hire as soon as they find the right person. Don't miss your opportunity, apply now!
Closing Date: 5 January 2026
Ref 7225
Save the Children UK has an exciting opportunity for a dynamic and influential individual with a strong background in business development and fundraising to join us as our Business Development Lead within our Humanitarian Leadership Academy (HLA) on a one-year maternity cover contract. In this role, you will work across the HLA, Save the Children UK, and external partner networks to diversify and grow income streams that strengthen locally led humanitarian action.
About Us
Save the Children UK believes every child deserves a future. In the UK and around the world, we work every day to give children a healthy start in life, the opportunity to learn and protection from harm. When crisis strikes, and children are most vulnerable, we are always among the first to respond and the last to leave. We ensure children's unique needs are met and their voices are heard. We deliver lasting results for millions of children, including those hardest to reach.
About the role
As Business Development Lead, you will drive the growth and diversification of the Human Leadership Academy's charitable income. You'll lead the business development strategy, identify and cultivate new funding opportunities, and build strong partnerships that enhance HLA's financial sustainability and long-term impact. Working closely with colleagues across the HLA and wider organisation, you will be instrumental in positioning the HLA as a leading force for locally led humanitarian leadership development.
In this role, you will:
- Oversee and shape the HLA's business development pipeline, ensuring a balanced mix of funding that supports strategic and programmatic objectives.
- Identify and pursue new funding opportunities across institutional, philanthropic, and corporate markets.
- Build, manage and cultivate relationships with donors, funders and strategic partners across the humanitarian and development ecosystem.
- Coordinate the end-to-end business development process—from opportunity identification to proposal development and smooth handover into delivery.
- Work collaboratively with teams across SCUK and the international movement, ensuring strong internal alignment and representation of HLA in external forums.
- Ensure compliance with internal fundraising processes, maintaining accurate, donor-compliant and audit-ready information throughout the project cycle.
To be successful, it is important that you have:
- Significant experience in institutional and/or philanthropic fundraising, with a proven track record of generating substantial income.
- Strong ability to build partnerships and develop compelling, fundable proposals with clear budgets and value propositions.
- Excellent account management skills with partners and donors across diverse sectors, including governments, institutions, private foundations and corporates such as the Clinton Foundation, Google, AWS, and ECHO, with particular experience in working with FCDO and other institutional donors.
- A solid understanding of the humanitarian system, including funding landscapes, trends, and opportunities.
- Experience managing complex bids and partnerships ideally in excess of £1 million or more.
- Resilience in a dynamic, fast-paced environment, with the ability to adapt and maintain performance under pressure.
- The ability to work proactively, flexibly, and collaboratively in an emergent, people-centred, and agile environment.
- Excellent communication and representational skills, able to articulate strategic vision and influence senior stakeholders.
- A commitment to Save the Children's vision, mission, and values.
What we offer you:
Working for a charity provides one of the best benefits there is – a sense of purpose and reward for helping others. However, we understand the importance of giving back to our employees to ensure a happy and healthy working environment and work/life balance.
- We focus on flexibility, inclusion, collaboration, health and wellbeing both in and outside of work.
- We provide a wide range of benefits which will reward your hard work, motivate you, and inspire you to work to improve the lives of children every day.
Closing date: 5th January 2026
Please note: To avoid disappointment, you are advised to submit your application as soon as possible as we reserve the right to close the vacancy early if a high volume of applications are received. This is to ensure that we can manage application levels whilst maintaining a positive candidate experience. Unfortunately once a vacancy has closed, we are unable to consider further applications.
Location & Ways of Working:
The majority of our roles can be performed remotely in the UK, but at times you will be required to come to your contracted office (usually between 2–4 days per month, depending on the needs of your role, team, or service). For many roles, this is likely to be the minimum required to deliver impact.
This will be discussed and agreed with your manager / team and we encourage candidates to discuss our ways of working in more detail at interview stage.
Please note: travel costs to your contracted office will be at your own expense.
Flexible Working - We are happy to discuss flexible working options at interview.
Commitment to Diversity & Inclusion:
Save the Children UK believes in a world that is fair, inclusive and equitable where all children have the opportunity to change their world. We apply this to our workforce and we are committed to developing and supporting a diverse, equitable, and inclusive organisation where all employees have a sense of belonging and feel that they can be "Free to Be Me". We are not looking for just one type of person - we want to recruit people who can add fresh perspectives, innovative ideas or challenge that disrupts the risk of group think.
We are especially interested in people whose childhood experiences - of life on a low income, of migration, of being in a racialised community, of the care system, of being LGBT+ or in an LGBT+ family or living with (or with someone with) a disability - help us to see things we might otherwise miss. Whatever your story is we want to hear it because we know that different voices, ideas, perspectives and knowledge, working together will enable us to better the lives of children around the world. This is the reason why we are all here.
Marie Curie is the UK’s leading end-of-life charity. We are the largest non-NHS provider of end-of-life care in the UK, the only provider across all 4 nations, delivering community nursing and hospice care across the country, while providing information and support on all aspects of dying, death, and bereavement. Our leading research pushes the boundaries of what we know about good end-of-life, and our campaigns fight for a world where everyone gets to have the best possible quality of life while living with an illness, they’re likely to die from.
Job DescriptionPart of our Philanthropy and Partnerships department, our Trusts and Foundations team plays a crucial role in supporting our mission by raising significant funding from grant-making organisations, trusts, foundations and major donors. As our new Trusts and Foundations Executive, you will join a top performing team, identify and engage with prospective donors, build long-term relationships, generate donations, coordinate events and steward our supporters. This is an exciting role, where no day will be the same and you can truly make an impact.
You will be responsible for:
Identify, cultivate and manage a portfolio of trust prospects and supporters, generating donations ranging between £5.000-50.000.
Manage a calendar of virtual and face to face approaches and donor interactions, in line with donor requirements and deadlines.
Produce and present project proposals and briefing in writing or in person as needed.
Ensure all donations are4 processes and recorded following agreed processes.
Key Criteria:
Previous experience in a sales role.
Excellent interpersonal and relationship building skills with a proven track record of working collaboratively with colleagues and stakeholders.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills with confidence in dealing with people at all levels, demonstrating professionalism and diplomacy.
Proactive adaptable self-starter comfortable with taking initiative and working autonomously.
Please see the full job description .
Application & Interview Process
As part of your online application, you will be asked for a CV. Please review both the advert and job description and outline your most relevant skills, experience and knowledge for the role.
Close date for applications: Sunday 11 January 2026.
Salary: £27,450 - 30,500 depending on experience.
Contract: Permanent, Full time
Based: UK Remote with occasional travel for team meetings.
Benefits you’ll LOVE:
Flexible working. We’re happy to discuss flexible working at the interview stage.
25 days annual leave (exclusive of Bank Holidays)
Marie Curie Group Personal Pension Scheme (we will match your contribution up to 7.5%)
Loan schemes for bikes; computers and season tickets
Continuous professional development opportunities.
Industry-leading training programmes
Wellbeing and Employee Assistance Programmes
Enhanced bereavement, family friendly and sickness benefits
Access to Blue Light Card membership
Subsidised Eye Care
Marie Curie is committed to its values, which underpin our work. We take stringent steps to ensure that the people who join our organisation through employment or volunteering, are suitable for their roles and are committed to safeguarding all our people from harm. This includes our staff, volunteers and all those who use or come into contact with our services. We are dedicated to creating not just a safe place to work but also a supportive and rewarding one.
We are committed to a world where everyone can thrive and fulfil their potential. We are devoted to the social justice imperatives and organisational benefits of full diversity, inclusion and equity in the workplace, and are a Stonewall champion. We actively encourage and welcome applications from candidates of diverse cultures, perspectives and lived experiences.
We're happy to accommodate any requests for reasonable adjustments.
Additional InformationMarie Curie is committed to its values, which underpin our work. We take stringent steps to ensure that the people who join our organisation through employment or volunteering, are suitable for their roles and are committed to safeguarding all our people from harm. This includes our staff, volunteers and all those who use or come into contact with our services. We are dedicated to creating not just a safe place to work but also a supportive and rewarding one.
We are committed to a world where everyone can thrive and fulfil their potential. We are devoted to the social justice imperatives and organisational benefits of full diversity, inclusion and equity in the workplace, and are a Stonewall champion. We actively encourage and welcome applications from candidates of diverse cultures, perspectives and lived experiences.
We're happy to accommodate any requests for reasonable adjustments. Please email any requests to [email protected]
