Head of development jobs in Central london, greater london

Role overview 

This newly created senior role strengthens The Young Foundation’s strategic business development function and supports income growth across the full range of our programmes and partnerships. The post will provide expertise in fundraising and procurement processes including approaches to philanthropic funders and investor circles as well as formal tendering, dealing with a range of funding modalities from research grants to commercial consultancy and trusts and foundations. 

Key responsibilities 

Business development and income growth

• Lead high‑value income generation processes, including building consortia, securing philanthropic funding, and delivering high quality formal tenders, coordinating inputs from across our delivery teams.

• Oversee the preparation of costed proposals and pitches for a diverse range of funders, including research councils, local authorities, commercial consultancy, and philanthropic trusts. 

• Support the continued growth and impact of The Young Foundation’s external-facing activity, aligning business development with communications and policy work. 

• Manage a robust pipeline, tracking opportunities and ensuring strategic alignment with organisational priorities.

• Develop budgets, pricing models, and partnership structures for commissioned work.

• Identify new funding and commissioning opportunities through horizon scanning, network engagement, and proactive outreach.

• Collaborate with senior colleagues to refine and grow thematic and programme areas.

• Support and advise colleagues across the organisation on approaches to business development including opportunity identification, competitive analysis, structuring meetings, building consortia and financial models. 

Partnerships, networks and relationship management

• In collaboration with programme delivery leads, build and steward relationships with funders, commissioners, consortium partners and strategic collaborators.

• Lead account management for key partners to support long‑term growth and mutual value creation.

BD leadership, systems and strategy

• Create, improve and maintain appropriate BD systems, processes and tools, including pipelines, trackers and lessons‑learned approaches.

• Contribute to organisational strategy and planning and, in particular, to fundraising strategy and external affairs.

• Create and monitor BD metrics, reporting on feedback and recommending appropriate courses of action.

• Manage a repository of BD data and information, including track record, capacity statements, boilerplate bid sections, etc.

• Champion The Young Foundation’s values, ensuring inclusive, ethical and community‑centred practice. 

Person specification  

Prior experience – essential  

• Substantial experience of leading/managing business development and income generation for a think tank or similar research/innovation led organisation. 

• Track record of securing income across a range of relevant funders through both competitive tenders and proactive approaches.

• Strong commercial acumen.

• Excellent communication and relationship‑building skills.

• Understanding of UK government and non-government sectoral funding landscapes.

• Strong network in the UK community and/or social innovation sector.

• Commitment to equity and social justice.

• Demonstrated collaborative approach to team-working – able to work effectively with colleagues with a range of specialisms and to operate effectively in a remote-first organisation. 

Prior experience - desirable 

• Experience with the introduction of CRM software.

• Familiarity with creating and reporting on BD metrics at Senior Leadership Team and/or Board level.

• Experience of/interest in exploring the impact of AI in business development and fundraising. 

• Familiarity and/or previous experience with The Young Foundation’s thematic areas (eg, community engagement, just transition, social innovation, young people, etc.). 

How to apply

Please apply directly via CharityJob, ensuring you complete the application form.

As part of your application, please include a cover letter addressing the following questions:

• Where do you see the greatest business development opportunities for The Young Foundation over the next 24 months? 

• In an increasingly competitive market, how would you seek to position The Young Foundation for opportunities, in light of the charity’s mission, purpose, vision and expertise? 

• What is your approach to building and strengthening positive relationships to drive income growth? 

The closing date for applications is 12pm on 20 April 2026 

The selection process will involve an interview and a presentation task.

Interviews are expected to take place w/c 4 May 2026 

As Head of Partnerships & Income Development you will own the development and delivery of the SMF’s income generation strategy so that we can raise the funds and build the partnerships we need to meet our ambitions.

Location: Birmingham, Glasgow, Liverpool, London, Manchester or Newcastle. We operate a hybrid model of work i.e. a combination of in-person and remote, with flexible days in the office depending on business need and your preferences. We would typically expect in-office attendance an average of one day per week.

Contract: Full-time, Permanent

Hours: We are looking for the right candidate and while we envisage this being a full-time role (37.5 hours per week) we are open to flexible working arrangements such as part-time, compressed hours, flexitime and job-shares. Occasional/frequent evening or weekend work may be required, for which time off in lieu (TOIL) will be given. 

Key Responsibilities:

1. Fundraising strategy and leadership

• Set and implement a robust income generation strategy to enable the SMF to achieve its strategic ambitions, setting targets, monitoring and reporting on income performance and supporting accurate forecasts and projections
• Lead a culture of excellent fundraising and relationship management across the SMF and ensure the right resources, systems and skills are in place to support all staff that hold funding relationships
• Represent the SMF externally with funders, partners and other stakeholders, seeking opportunities to increase our network and build our influence and reputation as an effective charity partner 
• Work with the Head of Finance and Operations to ensure strong processes to support income generation including income forecasts, budgets and partnership reports and records  

 2. Corporate Partnerships 

• Oversee the SMF’s portfolio of corporate partnerships including strategic partnerships and partnerships focused on enabling and enhancing our student programmes
• Manage individual high value corporate partnerships and ensure excellent stewardship of all our corporate partnerships
• Oversee the development of compelling cases for support and a robust new business pipeline for corporate partnerships 
• Oversee our corporate volunteering offer including employee volunteering with our student programmes and skilled volunteering/pro bono support

3. Business development 

• Oversee the delivery and development of the Social Mobility Employer Index  
• Oversee the design and development of other products and services for employers through which the SMF can earn income and influence workplace social mobility 

4. Trusts and foundations 

• Oversee the SMF’s relationships with trusts and foundations, building a strong long-term funding pipeline  
• Build and manage relationships with key trusts and foundations

5. Philanthropy and individual giving   

• Oversee the development of our supporter community and opportunities for individual giving and fundraising through challenge events 
• Identify opportunities to build philanthropic relationships with individual donors and supporters

6. Leadership and management 

• Manage, motivate and develop the team, setting team and individual goals and evaluating performance, coaching and motivating staff and supporting professional development and staff wellbeing 
• Lead across the organisation, fostering a collaborative and high performance culture and modelling the SMF’s leadership behaviours 
• Work with the CEO and the rest of the SMT to shape the SMF’s strategic priorities, set the annual business plan, budget and key projects, and monitor delivery and performance

Please see full job description attached for more details. 

Person Specification:

We need someone who will demonstrate our organisational skills-based competencies - as listed below: 

1.  Leadership
2.  Communication
3.  Adaptability
4.  Professionalism 
5.  Decision-making

Technical knowledge, understanding and experience required:

• Experience in managing a significant funding portfolio, stewarding and developing partnerships and ensuring effective account management
• Experience in securing funding, including scoping opportunities and prospects, setting targets and building a pipeline, and shaping proposals 
• Confident in representing the SMF externally and engaging with senior stakeholders 
• Able to motivate, develop and inspire a team and ensure that high standards of performance and behaviours are maintained 
• Ability to develop and manage budgets and forecasts, team and individual income targets and monitor income performance 
• Familiar with using a CRM as a tool for partnership and income development

See attached job description for more detail on the person specification

Ways of working:

• Most of our work is office based, but you will spend a lot of time collaborating with other teams and clients via email, telephone and other communications channels such as Teams or Zoom. 
• Some travel will be required as part of this role to other offices and locations, as needed for events, work placements and meetings. 

Benefits

• 36/37 days' annual leave (England & Wales and Scotland respectively - includes bank and public holidays), with 3 of these days reserved for the annual end of year office closure.
• Cycle to Work scheme.
• 5% Salary sacrifice pension scheme with enhanced matching employer contributions
• Employee Assistance Programme available to staff and their family
• Flexible work options such as hybrid working, flexitime, part-time
• Regular staff team building and business planning “away days”

How to Apply

If you are interested in applying for this role, please head over to our website by 23:59, Tuesday 28th April 2026 and provide the following information:

1) A recent work history, detailing:
       i.     Job title
       ii.    Employer
       iii.   Dates of employment/Period in post

2) A cover letter detailing your skills and experience, with reference to the key responsibilities and person specification for the role (750 words max.)

3) Give an example of an important funding relationship you have secured or grown, and explain how you identified the opportunity, what you did, and what were the outcomes and benefits (800 words max.)