Development officer jobs in Stevenage, hertfordshire

About the Role

The Business Development Officer will play a dynamic and influential role within Sands’ Partnerships & Philanthropy team, helping to shape the charity’s growing presence across corporate, commercial, and digital landscapes. You’ll contribute directly to our income generating ambitions by uncovering new opportunities, building a healthy prospect pipeline, and supporting outreach that amplifies Sands’ profile across professional and online networks.

This role offers an exciting blend of creativity, insight gathering, and hands‑on development work. You’ll collaborate with colleagues across the organisation to elevate Sands’ visibility - including helping to craft engaging digital content, develop compelling partnership assets, and support targeted online marketing initiatives. With the space to work proactively and take ownership of your projects, you’ll play a meaningful part in strengthening our corporate partnerships and creating foundations for long‑term, high‑impact relationships.

Main Purpose of the Job

• To contribute to the growth of Sands’ commercial and strategic partnerships by generating high-quality research, intelligence, and insight to support prospect acquisition and cultivation.
• To develop and maintain a healthy, diverse pipeline of corporate, commercial, and strategic prospects through structured research, qualification, and profiling.
• To support outreach, digital engagement, and online marketing activity to increase awareness of Sands’ partnership opportunities and drive inbound interest.
• To provide essential administrative and operational support for database management, data compliance, and reporting.
• To support the development of compelling proposals, pitch materials, development assets and case studies that reflect the needs and priorities of Sands and resonate with potential partners.

Principal Tasks and Responsibilities

1. Prospect Research & Pipeline Development

• Conduct structured research to identify new prospective partners across multiple sectors, including retail, leisure, wellbeing, transport, and corporate services.
• Build detailed prospect profiles, including organisational background, alignment potential, decision-makers, and partnership opportunities.
• Maintain and update a robust cross industry prospect pipeline, ensuring all prospects are accurately categorised and tracked.
• Undertake competitor and sector analysis to identify emerging trends and opportunities, supporting Sands’ strategic positioning.
• Map networks and connections (internal and external) to support the expansion of Sands’ business development reach.

2. Outreach, Marketing & Engagement Support

• Support initial outreach to prospective partners, including email approaches, LinkedIn engagement, and follow-up communications.
• Support the planning and delivery of targeted online marketing activity to increase organisational visibility among corporate audiences.
• Develop engaging content for outreach - such as partner briefs, email templates, and introductory decks.
• Collaborate with the Engagement and Communications teams to ensure all external messaging reflects Sands’ brand and partnership priorities.

3. Database, Reporting & Administration

• Maintain accurate, GDPR compliant records on Sands’ CRM, ensuring all research, outreach and cultivation activity are fully logged and auditable.
• Produce regular reports and dashboards to support team activity planning and income forecasting.
• Track deadlines for proposals, reporting, stewardship requirements, and internal consultations.
• Support due diligence checks for all new prospects and record documentation in line with Sands’ ethical and data protection policies.

4. Partnership Materials, Proposals & Case Studies

• Support the creation of high-quality partnership assets, including pitch decks, proposals, stewardship packs, and impact summaries.
• Collate relevant organisational information and stories to support the development of compelling case studies.
• Work with internal colleagues to gather content on Sands’ programmes, events, research, and family stories to support tailored partnership pitches.
• Assist with developing template materials for more efficient proposal creation.
  
  

5. Internal Collaboration & Organisational Support

• Work closely with the Commercial Business Development Lead to coordinate new business activity and support cultivation of prospective corporate relationships.
• Collaborate with colleagues across Engagement, Communications, Events, Fundraising and Services to ensure partnership opportunities are strategically aligned.
• Support the planning and delivery of cultivation events, webinars, and online briefings for corporate audiences.