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Post Title: Director of Development
Reports to: Chief Executive Officer
Salary: £38,750 - £43,750
Hours of work: 37.5 hours per week (matchdays, evenings and weekends as required)
Location: AESSEAL New York Stadium
Closing date: Monday 3 August 2026
About this role: This is an exciting opportunity to join Rotherham United Community Trust’s Executive Team and lead the ‘Strengthen and Grow’ theme within the Trust’s United for Change strategy. The Director of Development will drive sustainable growth by strengthening programmes, increasing income, developing strategic partnerships and embedding a culture of continuous improvement across the organisation. You will work closely with the CEO, Board and senior leaders to maximise the Trust’s impact while ensuring operational excellence and long-term sustainability.
Duties and Responsibilities
1. Programmes and Interventions
- Support department leads and ensure effective delivery of national/regional and local programmes.
- Oversee programme monitoring and evaluation systems.
2. Income Generation
- Develop a business plan with KPIs for year-on-year income growth.
- Innovate and refine fundraising approaches (donors, foundations, corporates, digital).
- Design and market income-generating products/programmes.
- Develop and nurture relationships with new and existing partners including businesses and charities.
3. Operational Management
- Manage financial and physical resources, including budgeting.
- Deliver services that generate income.
- Report to the Trust Board and attend and present at Board/sub-committee meetings.
4. Continuous Improvement
- With reference to the Capability Code of Practice, lead the design and delivery of a continuous improvement plan for internal operations.
- Introduce systems and tools to improve efficiency, staff experience, and service delivery.
- Monitor internal performance metrics and work with team leads to address underperformance.
- Promote a culture of evidence-based decision making and accountability.
5. Team Leadership and Collaboration
- Exhibit and promote the Trust’s values and vision.
- Contribute to strategic planning as part of the Executive Team.
- Provide leadership, direction and line management to designated managers and teams.
- Contribute to Trust strategies, policies, and procedures.
- Work collaboratively across departments to align resource planning with organisational goals.
- Lead Trust Business Development, EDI and Sustainability action plans.
6. Miscellaneous
- Additional duties as assigned by the CEO.
- Comply with Equal Opportunities and Health & Safety policies.
- Demonstrate commitment to inclusive and safe working practices.
- Demonstrate high levels of integrity, professionalism, and confidentiality.
Person Specification: Director of Development
1. Relevant Experience
Essential
- Significant experience in a senior leadership or management role.
- Developing and delivering strategic plans that achieve organisational objectives.
- Business development, income generation and securing new opportunities for growth.
- Building and managing effective partnerships and stakeholder relationships.
- Leading and developing managers and teams.
- Driving organisational improvement, change or transformation initiatives.
- Developing new products, services or programmes.
Desirable
- Experience within the charity, sport, education, health or community sectors.
- Experience of leading cross-organisational projects involving multiple stakeholders.
2. Education and Training
Essential
- Degree-level qualification or equivalent professional experience.
Desirable
- Professional qualification in leadership, management, business development or a related field.
3. Knowledge
- Understanding of the sport, physical activity and community development sectors.
- Knowledge of business development, fundraising and partnership development.
- Understanding of organisational performance management and continuous improvement.
- Knowledge of monitoring, evaluation and impact measurement.
- Understanding of equality, diversity and inclusion and barriers to participation.
4. Skills and Abilities
- Excellent communication, presentation and influencing skills.
- Strong relationship-building and networking abilities.
- Strategic thinking with the ability to translate ideas into action.
- Ability to identify opportunities for growth, innovation and improvement.
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
- Ability to use data and evidence to inform decision-making.
- Effective leadership and people management skills.
- Ability to manage multiple priorities and deliver results through others.
- Ability to challenge constructively and drive positive change.
5. Additional Factors
- Commitment to the values and purpose of Rotherham United Community Trust
- Commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion.
- Commitment to safeguarding children, young people and adults at risk.
- Willingness to work evenings and weekends when required.
- Ability to travel independently for meetings and events.
Registered Charity
51 - 100
Everyone in Rotherham: United, Successful and Living Well.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Thank you!
Purpose of the Role
The Director of External Affairs and Growth is an SLT role responsible for leveraging the voice and power of the eoa's network to influence and accelerate the growth of the employee owned sector.
The role leads the eoa’s external affairs, policy and insights, marcomms and events, shaping the external environment for employee ownership and securing the funding and commercial income needed to support sustainable sector growth.
Key Responsibilities
- Lead external affairs strategy, building the relationships and influence needed to shape policy, remove barriers and expand EO.
- Build strategic relationships and secure grant funding and commercial partnerships, generating income to support advocacy, events and sector growth initiatives, including the UK EO Growth Strategy.
- Oversee our policy and insights work, engaging key stakeholders to co-produce content that influences EO practice and policy and strengthens the eoa’s voice in public affairs.
- Oversee the delivery of a mar-comms strategy that delivers commercial objectives and positions the eoa as the leading authority on EO.
- Oversee our events programmes, ensuring they drive knowledge-sharing, sector development
- and commercial sustainability.
- Represent the eoa at industry forums, policy roundtables and public affairs events,
- championing the employee ownership model.
- Collaborate with the Director of Membership and Operations to align advocacy and external
- engagement with member needs and priorities.
- Lead and develop high-performing teams, fostering innovation and delivering measurable impact across income generation, advocacy, policy, events and mar-comms activities
Knowledge, Experience, and Attributes
- Proven expertise in external affairs, advocacy, or policy leadership, ideally within a business, trade body, or membership association.
- Strong stakeholder engagement skills, with experience influencing government, media, and corporate partners.
- Demonstrated ability to drive sectoral or policy change, leading successful advocacy initiatives.
- Strong commercial acumen, with experience in sponsorship acquisition, revenue generation, grant funding and developing financially sustainable initiatives.
- Exceptional strategic communication and storytelling skills, able to engage and mobilise diverse audiences.
- Experience in event programming, ensuring high engagement and sector impact.
- Passion for employee ownership and economic models that promote shared prosperity.
- Innovative, creative, and proactive in problem-solving and strategy execution.
- A confident and transparent leader who fosters collaboration and inclusivity.
- Self-aware with emotional intelligence, resilience, and integrity.
What Constitutes Success in This Role?
Success in this role means having a positive impact on the growth of the employee-owned sector, strengthening the eoa’s influence and increasing the adoption of “great EO”. Stronger stakeholder relationships, greater advocacy impact and improved commercial sustainability through a diverse mix of grant funding, sponsorships and strategic partnerships will also be key indicators of success.
Key outcomes for the role
- Outcome - Growth of the employee ownership sector
- Measure - Increased number of EO businesses, heightened sector awareness
- Outcome - Strengthened corporate engagement
- Measure - Growth in strategic partnerships, corporate and government engagement
- Outcome - Strong Commercial Sustainability
- Measure - Increased sponsorship revenue, secured long-term commercial partnerships
- Outcome -Increased policy influence
- Measure - Policy recommendations adopted, increased government engagement
- Outcome - Enhanced sector insight and intelligence
- Measure - Utilisation of high quality data and insights for regular sector related content outputs
- Outcome - Development and adoption of best practice
- Measure - Creation, adoption and promotion of best practice across the EO network.
- Outcome - Successful events programmes
- Measure - Increased participation, sponsorship growth, positive feedback.
How to Apply
To apply, please submit:
- A two-page CV
- And one of either:
- Cover letter setting out your motivation, approach, and what you will bring to the role
- Video (maximum 10 minutes) setting out your motivation, approach, and what you will bring to the role
Applications should be submitted before 9:00am 17 August 2026. We will close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the role. If you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible.
Interviews will be in two stages. The first stage will be a virtual interview via teams on
26 August. For those who successfully move to stage 2 there will be an in-person
discussion w.c. 31 August.
The eoa welcomes applications from people of all backgrounds, particularly those
who are under-represented. We recruit based on values, skills, and contribution to our
purpose.
Non Charity Employer
11 - 20
We exist to grow and strengthen employee ownership as a force for powering fairer livelihoods, stronger businesses, and a more resilient economy.
