Development officer jobs in Edinburgh
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Team: Philanthropy & Partnerships
Location: Homebased with some travel for meetings & events
Work pattern: 21 hours per week over 3 days Monday to Friday, specific days can be discussed at interview
Salary: Up to £22,539.57 per annum (pro rata of £37,565.95)
Contract: Permanent
We are the UK’s largest cat welfare charity. All over the country, our enthusiastic employees, volunteers, and supporters are using their kindness and expertise to make life better for millions of cats and the people who care for them.
Will you join us and make life better for cats?
Responsibilities of our Senior Corporate Partnerships Development Officer:
- The successful candidate will lead the development of new, long-term corporate partnerships, supporting the implementation of the corporate partnerships fundraising plan and increasing sustainable net income for Cats Protection.
- The Senior Corporate Partnerships Development Officer will be pivotal in driving new income for the charity, working as one with teams across the charity to identify new opportunities for potential corporate funding support.
About the Corporate Partnerships team:
- We sit within the Marketing & Income Generation directorate.
- The corporate partnerships team is split between new business and account management, made up of driven, passionate and dynamic corporate fundraisers
- We currently have a team of one full time Senior Corporate Partnerships Development Officer and a Corporate Partnerships Development Manager, in addition to a Lead Corporate Partnerships Manager who oversees the entire corporate partnerships team
- You will be managed by the Corporate Partnerships Development Manager, and you will work alongside another Senior Corporate Partnerships Officer to achieve a joint team target
What we are looking for in our Senior Corporate Partnerships Development Officer:
- Significant corporate partnership fundraising experience generating new business
- Extensive experience of developing strong relationships with supporters/ clients/colleagues
- Experience of presenting business proposals in person and via conference call
- Experience of managing commercial participators agreements, negotiating updates and changes where necessary
- Excellent networking skills
- Familiar with the CIOF codes of practice relating to corporate partnership fundraising
What we can offer you:
- range of health benefits
- 26 days’ annual leave plus bank holidays, increasing with length of service.
- Salary Finance, which empowers you to take control of your financial wellbeing.
- and much more, which you can learn about
Interested? Here’s how to apply:
Application closing date: 24th February 2026
Virtual interview date: Week commencing 10th March 2026
Applications may close before the deadline, so please apply early to avoid disappointment. Please note, applications received after the closing date may not be responded to.
If you are enthusiastic about this opportunity but your experience does not align perfectly with every requirement, we encourage you to apply anyway and demonstrate how your experience is transferrable. You may be just the right candidate.
If successful, your recruitment journey will include:
1. Anonymised application form
2. Virtual interview via Microsoft Teams
3. Final stage virtual interview
Please note, the process may change slightly dependent on application numbers. We will inform you of any relevant changes.
Registered Charity
501 - 1000
Making a better life for cats, because life is better with cats
Thank you!
Using Anonymous Recruitment
This organisation is using Anonymous Recruitment to reduce bias in the first stages of the hiring process. Submit your application as normal and our system will anonymise it for you. Your personal information will be hidden until the recruiter contacts you.
About Chapter One
Chapter One is a small but growing charity, working to ensure that every child has 1:1 reading support at the time they need it most.
Our unique Online Reading Volunteer programme currently supports about 3,500 children a year. It pairs disadvantaged, struggling five to eight-year old (KS1) readers with reading support volunteers who come from over 180 local and national businesses. The volunteer task is very focused: readers commit 30 minutes a week to read with a child using a bespoke digital platform for an entire academic year. The results are transformative, boosting children's reading confidence and ability.
We have set ourselves ambitious targets and want to support 3,900 children by 2026/27, so this role, with responsibility for building new corporate partnerships, will be crucial to ensuring that we have sufficient volunteers to achieve this target. 2026 has been designated by the Government as the National Year of Reading, so we have a great opportunity to capitalise on this and secure business commitment for our work!
For more information about our programmes please visit our website. Please also take some time to visit our social media channels and watch our videos.
About the role
Chapter One is seeking a proactive, energetic and enthusiastic Business Development Officer to be an integral part of a team which aims to both maximise corporate income and take Chapter One into new regions across the UK.
Reporting to our Business Development Manager (BDM), but also working closely with our Corporate Partnerships Team, you’ll help them to deliver our annual volunteer targets. This will involve prospect research and engagement, presentations, networking, pipeline management and lead conversion.
This role within Chapter One is an opportunity for an early career professional or someone looking for a career change to hone their business development and sales skills in a dynamic, fast-growing charity which is flexible and agile.
Key Responsibilities
Corporate Partner Recruitment
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With support from the BDM, proactively ‘sell’ Chapter One programmes to potential new corporate partners to achieve annual new partner/volunteer targets
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Use LinkedIn Sales Navigator and other relevant platforms to identify, research and contact potential new corporate partners
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Prepare and tailor communications for prospective new partners, including research on their CSR/social value strategy and its alignment with Chapter One’s mission and regional presence
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Ensure the prospective new partner pipeline is proactively managed on our Salesforce CRM and work with the BDM to automate the pipeline process where appropriate.
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Identify opportunities for regional expansion and support the BDM to secure commitments in line with launch timetables
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Identify opportunities for expansion in specific sectors or in relation to specific initiatives.
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Post on LinkedIn and develop a network of CSR and Social Value managers and relevant organisations
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Research relevant intermediaries, local authorities and groups with which Chapter One could build ‘broker’ relationships
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Keep up to date with developments in CSR/ESG/Social Value and employer-led volunteering
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Research relevant events and conferences that Chapter One team could attend to network and/or speak
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Ensure Chapter One information on external volunteering and matchmaking platforms is kept up-to-date
Account Management
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Lead the account management of a portfolio of corporate partners (approx. 10–15), delivering against retention, growth, and income targets through regular reviews and proactive relationship building.
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Plan and deliver partnership meetings, volunteer recruitment sessions, and tailored communications aligned to each partner’s CSR strategy and Chapter One’s mission.
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Collaborate with the Corporate Partnerships Team and internal teams to produce high-quality reports, pitches, onboarding experiences, and promotional materials for partners and volunteers.
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Ensure accurate partner administration, including CRM record-keeping (Salesforce), invoicing coordination, and general account management processes.
General
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Oversee, maintain and develop business development processes, including use of Salesforce CRM and exchange of information with the Corporate Partnerships Team
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Conduct administrative duties as required to support the Business Development Manager
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Attend online and in person meetings, conferences and events to represent Chapter One, talk about its work and recruit partners.
We are looking for some of the following attributes, though you might be more experienced in some areas than others:
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A commitment to Chapter One’s mission and values.
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Experience of business development of Corporate Partnerships in a charity or B-2-B environment
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An ability to create compelling written pitches, ensuring messaging and brand are consistent
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Outstanding presentation skills, with the ability to excite and inspire an audience
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Excellent interpersonal skills with the ability to build relationships with business professionals at all levels
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Excellent organisational skills and attention to detail
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An understanding of CSR/social value and employee engagement/volunteering and/or a commitment to learning more about social value and how it’s interpreted by businesses
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An understanding of social media platforms, particularly LinkedIn.
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Able to take personal accountability for own workload and for delivery of targets
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A ‘can do’ and flexible approach with an ability adapt to changing priorities
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Awareness of the importance of data security best practice and GDPR regulations when processing a range of stakeholder data
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Highly computer literate, particularly in Excel, with hands-on experience of using Google suite and platforms and tools such as Salesforce CRM, Mailchimp, PowerPoint and more.
You’ll be more successful in the role if you have:
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Experience of using social media to develop business relationships
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Experience of achieving annual sales targets
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A background in CSR or social value
Interview Dates
First Round: Week commencing 9th March
Second Round: Week commencing 16th March
Please send your CV (maximum 2 A4 sides) and a covering letter via Charity Jobs. Your covering letter (maximum 1 side of A4) should include:
Your relevant experience, including clear examples.
Tell us about a partnership that you have initiated or developed and what you did to make it succeed.
Tell us about how our organisational mission is in line with your values.
Applications that fail to meet these criteria will automatically be discounted. We understand that you may use AI to help craft your application, but do remember that we will be looking for individuals who write a letter that stands out. Please let us know if there is anything we can do to make sure the assessment process works for you.
Registered Charity
21 - 50
At Chapter One, we want to create a world where all children have the literacy skills needed to thrive.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.