Head of development jobs in Central london, greater london
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Brief role description:
The Head of International Growth is a new strategic leadership role that will enable parkrun to unlock dynamic, sustainable growth across some of key geographies — currently Europe, Africa, and America, though these may evolve over time. Reporting to the CEO and working closely with the Global Heads of Commercial, Legal and Governance and Event Delivery and Volunteering, the successful candidate will lead the development and execution of parkrun’s international growth strategy. They will support country managers and regional teams to build scalable, values-led operations that drive participation, social impact, and revenue, while ensuring alignment with parkrun’s global purpose and compliance standards. The role will also oversee market analysis, prioritisation, and partnership development, with accountability for growth KPIs, budget oversight, and cross-functional collaboration to deliver measurable impact across existing and new countries.
This role will:
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Work with country and regional managers to build parkrun’s international strategy, identifying opportunities to grow parkrun both within our existing footprint and also into new countries.
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Develop parkrun’s strategic connectivity and brand awareness in key countries, building advocacy for our vision and purpose.
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Enable sustainable commercial growth by building and delivering revenue strategies tailored to the regional opportunities and overseeing budgets
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Provide inspirational leadership to Country and Regional Managers and advocate for their needs to the Global leadership team.
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Be an expert at strong relationship building including via virtual channels and be prepared to work flexibly to manage a broad geographic remit. This will include some travel but much of the work will need to be conducted virtually.
About parkrun
parkrun is a health and wellbeing charity and our vision is to create a healthier and happier planet.
Since our conception in 2004, parkrun has evolved into a global social movement with a vibrant and inclusive community at its core. Our mission is to transform lives by empowering people to be active, together, outdoors in their local community. Each and every weekend, we deliver free, weekly timed events that people of all ages and backgrounds can join in. By tackling barriers to participation, we encourage communities to come together and embrace regular physical activity.
In 2026 we celebrated our 1 millionth event and regularly have 500,000 people participating in parkrun each weekend. parkrun spans over 3000 locations in 23 countries with more than 12 million people registered, and counting.
And we have really only just begun.
Main responsibilities:
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Strategic Influence & Stature: Drive the overall presence, reputation, and stature of parkrun across North America, Europe and Africa. Champion Parkrun's mission to break down barriers to physical activity, establishing the brand as a recognised and respected leader in community health and wellbeing.
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Strategic Partnerships & Coalitions: Cultivate and secure strategic relationships across commercial, governmental and participation based stakeholders, creating a network of advocates for parkrun’s vision and ambition aligned to strategic aims.
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Revenue Generation & Sustainability: Working with the Global Commercial team, design and execute commercial revenue strategies tailored to North America, Europe and Africa. Identify, negotiate, and secure sustainable funding streams, corporate sponsorships, and grants and foundations which ensure regional financial self-sustainability and fund future international expansion.
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Participation Growth: Support local teams to hit country participation growth targets and explore approaches to accelerate growth, using data‑driven decision‑making and insight generation to evaluate performance and continuously refine growth approaches across all regions, working closely with the Head of Event Delivery.
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SLT Advocacy & Cross-Functional Alignment: Act as the strategic voice for international growth to the Senior Leadership Team (SLT). Make compelling cases for support for central resource allocation (e.g., technology, communications, operational support) to enable regional success.
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People Leadership & Staff Performance: Line manage, mentor, and hold Country Managers and Regional Managers accountable across target countries. Foster a culture of high performance, professional growth, and strategic and values alignment across remote international teams.
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Budget Ownership & Governance: Oversee regional financial health, budget creation, and resource allocation in collaboration with global finance. Maintain strict governance and multi-jurisdictional legal and regulatory compliance across all operating countries within the portfolio.
Desirable experience requirements:
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Executive Presence: Skilled at developing a clear strategy and advocating for its successful implementation to country boards, Global colleagues and key external stakeholders.
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Senior Strategic & Commercial Leadership: Proven track record of expanding organisational footprints, stature, and/or brand influence across complex international regions (ideally within Europe, North America and/or Africa).
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High-Level Relationship Management: Extensive experience building strategic, peer-level partnerships with corporate executives, government bodies, media or national sporting organisations.
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Securing Commercial Revenue: Demonstrated success in personally identifying, structuring, and closing revenue-generating partnerships.
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Senior Line Management: Substantial experience in direct line management, creating a cohesive team in spite of being geographically dispersed.
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Financial & Budgetary Oversight: Proven expertise in managing multi-currency operational budgets, resource allocation, and long-term financial sustainability models.
Most relevant skills:
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Strategic Influence & Diplomacy: Outstanding capability to negotiate, persuade, and build high-level alliances across commercial, government, and sport / mass participation sectors.
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Commercial Strategy & Deal Making: Sharp business acumen to turn brand presence into long-term commercial, sponsorship, and grant funding revenue streams.
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Executive Advocacy & Communication: Exceptional presentation and storytelling skills, able to articulate regional priorities persuasively to SLT / Board and to external partners.
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People & Performance Leadership: Strong coaching and management skills to motivate regional leads, set clear targets, and elevate staff performance.
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Financial Management & Accountability: Rigorous budget oversight, forecasting capability, and financial discipline.
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Cultural Intelligence & Flexibility: Deep cultural awareness and adaptability to navigate political environments and diverse operating landscapes across different geographies.
Please contact Elizabeth Duggan, Global CEO, if you would like to find out more about the role.
parkrun Limited is the company responsible for delivering parkrun in the UK.



The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Shape the future of Fréa – a unique partnership of three Irish charities working together to create greater impact.
We’re looking for an ambitious, creative fundraiser to build on a strong foundation and develop Fréa’s next generation of income and partnerships.
Fréa brings together three established Irish charities with a shared commitment to supporting Irish communities across the North of England. We believe that, by working together, we can achieve more than any of us can alone.
We are now looking for an exceptional Head of Fundraising and Development to help us realise that ambition.
This is an exciting opportunity for an experienced fundraiser who enjoys building relationships, spotting opportunities and turning ideas into sustainable income. You will have the freedom to shape Fréa’s fundraising approach, develop new partnerships and funding streams, and help establish the partnership as an increasingly influential and sustainable organisation.
You will build on a strong platform already created by Fréa’s existing fundraising work, while bringing fresh thinking and new energy to its next stage of development. You will work closely with senior colleagues and Boards across the three partner charities, developing compelling propositions and identifying opportunities where Fréa can achieve more by working collectively.
Importantly, this is collaborative fundraising, not competitive fundraising. Fréa’s role is to complement and add value to the excellent fundraising already undertaken by its three partners. You will need the judgement to recognise when an opportunity is best pursued by Fréa, by an individual partner, or jointly – always respecting existing relationships with funders, donors and corporate partners.
We are looking for someone who combines fundraising expertise with relationship-building, creativity and excellent partnership skills. You will be comfortable working strategically while also getting stuck into the practical business of developing networks and events, cultivating relationships and securing income.
This is a rare opportunity to help shape the fundraising direction of an emerging partnership with an established history, a strong network and significant potential for growth.
If you are excited by the idea of building something collaboratively, creating new opportunities and helping three organisations achieve greater impact together, we would love to hear from you.
If you would like an informal chat about the role please contact any of the Fréa Trustees: Ant Hanlon Chief Executive at Leeds Irish Health and Homes, Breege McDaid, Director at Irish Community Care or Patrick Morrison, Chief Executive at Irish Community Care Manchester.
To promote the welfare and inclusion of Irish communities throughout Britain, in particular, those residing in the North of England.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Salary:£50,000–£55,000 per annum (full-time equivalent) with a part-time salary of £30,000–£33,000 per annum, depending on experience.
Contract: Permanent
Hours: Part-time, 22.5 hours per week
Location: Hybrid working with a combination of working from our office based in Putney, London (SW15) and working from home
About Us
Our vision is for every child and young person to be safe,lovedand happy, achieve their potential and have a bright future.
St Christopher's is a leading children's charity with a long history of providing high-quality fostering services, children'shomesand innovative leaving care support across the UK.
Everything we do is centred around helping children and young people build brighter futures. We are particularly committed to supporting those who cannot remain with their families or foster carers, ensuring they have the opportunities, stability and support they deserve.
Weare proud to be an inclusive employer and welcome applications from people of all backgrounds, cultures, abilities, genders, sexual orientations,agesand faiths. We are committed to creating a workplace where everyone feels valued and respected.
About the Role
The key objective of this role is to support Trustees and the Senior Leadership Team with strategic development and income growth, by identifying opportunities, presenting business cases, leading on tendering activity, and project mobilisation. Building strong relationships with external commissioners and funders is also key to this post.
This is a critical role for the organisation, at a time when we are actively seeking to grow existing and new services. You will have the opportunity to inform the charity’s future development, and to build relationships with key external stakeholders including local authority commissioners.
Applicants should have
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Education to A level standard, or equivalent.
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Experience of leading business development activity within the non-profit sector.
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Strong track record of making recommendations about income growth opportunities to senior management and/or at a Board level
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Experience of the commissioning landscape in children’s / 16+ residential/ fostering services
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Experience of leading external stakeholder engagement at a senior level
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People Management experience and working collaboratively with key stakeholders.
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Strong business plan, tenders and bids writing skills.
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Ability to build effective working relationships with commissioners and deliver effective presentations.
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Analytical skills - the ability to analyse financial & statistical data to inform decision-making.
What we offer
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Competitive salary: £30,000- £33,000 per annum for part time role.
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Annual salary review based on performance.
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A friendly working environment at a values-led charitable organisation.
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25 days holiday rising to 27 days after 3 years’ service, plus Bank Holidays, pro-rata for part time working.
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Contributory pension scheme, enhanced maternity and company sick scheme.
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UK Life Assurance (Death in service) to the value of 3 times your annual salary.
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BUPA employee assistance programme, offering counselling, financial advice and legal support.
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Cycle to work scheme.
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Bluelight card; discount shopping scheme at hundreds of retailers across the UK both in store and online.
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Discretionary funded training programs for you to explore and attain new and relevant skills.
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Employee awards based on performance and length of service.
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Fantastic opportunities to develop your career within our range of services.
Recruitment Process
To apply, please complete our application form along with a supporting statement outlining how you meet the criteria listed in the Person Specification. Please note that applications without a supporting statement will not be considered.
Please note we review applications as they are received, so early application is encouraged.
Interviews: 1/10/2026 and 2/10/2026
Safer Recruitmentnote:
St Christopher’s is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people. All applicants will be subject to thorough screening, including DBS checks.
Please note that it is against the law to apply for work with Children/Young People if you are barred from working in Regulated Activity and if your name is added to a Children Barred List.
All shortlisted candidates invited to interview will be asked tosubmita Self-Declaration and Disclosure form which will need to be returned prior to an interview being booked.
We are a leading charity for children and young people, providing fostering, children's homes and leaving care services across the UK and Isle of Man


