Research engagement manager jobs

This is an opportunity to play a leading role in shaping the future of Resources for Autism.

Since 1997, we have supported autistic people and their families through services that are safe, empowering and neuro-affirming. As demand for our work continues to grow, we are looking for an ambitious and strategic Head of Income Generation & Business Development to help us build a stronger, more diverse and sustainable future.

Reporting to the CEO and joining our Senior Leadership Team, you will lead the development of a progressive income generation strategy that expands new partnerships, income streams and opportunities for growth — ensuring we can continue delivering life-changing support to autistic people across London and the West Midlands. 

We are looking for someone who combines commercial awareness with creativity, relationship-building and a genuine commitment to social impact.

LOCATION: London (or Birmingham with regular travel to London)

SALARY: £50,000 - £56,000 depending on experience

HOURS: Full time

The Role

You will design and deliver a new income generation strategy that unlocks growth across:

· Corporate partnerships

· Major donors and philanthropy

· Community, individual and digital giving

· Earned and paid‑for services

· Grants, trusts and public sector funding (as part of a balanced mix)

· Recurring /regular donations from committed individuals

You will take an “intrapreneurial” approach — spotting opportunity, building new propositions, testing ideas and learning quickly — while embedding a culture where income generation is seen as a shared organisational priority, not the responsibility of one team.

Essential Experience & Track Record

• A demonstrable track record of generating income and/or building sustainable revenue streams, across more than one income source.
• Evidence of developing and delivering an income or growth strategy, particularly in contexts requiring diversification or change.
• Experience of driving new opportunities — such as partnerships, products, services or supporter propositions — rather than only maintaining existing income.
• Proven success in building and stewarding senior relationships, including corporates, funders, donors, commissioners or strategic partners.
• Experience working at a senior level within an organisation, with exposure to executive decision‑making and governance (e.g. Board or Trustee engagement).

Essential Skills

· Demonstrable evidence of success and business growth

· Experience and success in one or more of the following:

• Corporate partnerships or sponsorship

• Major donor / philanthropy programmes

• Earned or paid for services/ sales

• Community or digital fundraising

· Experience developing and delivering successful strategies.

· Evidence of successful relationship-building skills with funders, donors, corporate partners or others.

· Experience managing or mentoring staff or volunteers.

· Strategic thinker with the ability to work collaboratively across teams and with senior stakeholders.

· Good market research and data analysis skills that have influenced decisions

· Experience contributing to or leading at organisational growth.

· Highly organised, with the ability to manage multiple priorities and deadlines.

· Excellent communication skills (written and verbal) adaptable to different populations including: colleagues, external professionals, service users, families, volunteers, donors

Desirable Skills

· Understanding of and commitment to adhering to fundraising policies, ethical standards, and relevant regulatory frameworks (e.g. Fundraising Regulator Code of Practice, GDPR).

· Experience in minor/major donor fundraising and/or corporate partnerships.

· Familiarity with the autism or disability sector.

Staff Benefits 

90% of our staff say that Resources for Autism is “a great place to work”. 

Not only will the work you do ensure we are making vital differences and inspiring others, but our other benefits also include: 

· 25 days of leave (pro rata for part time roles) each year plus 8 bank holidays and an additional 3 Celebration days that could be used between Christmas and new year, but may be used for other religious days or significant days such as your birthday 

· access to ongoing training and progress in the areas that interest you 

· access to our wellbeing initiatives and an Employee Assistance Programme 

Application Process

Read more about us and the role on our website

To apply, you will need to complete our application form in full, including your full employment and education history. Any gaps in employment should be clearly explained within your application.

Please note that CVs may be included as supporting documents but will not be accepted in place of a completed application form.

As part of your application, we ask that you provide a personal statement outlining how your experience, skills and approach meet the requirements of the role and person specification.

About The Role
Dementia is the UK’s biggest killer, and nearly one million people are living with it today. Behind every number is a person, a family, and a need for better support, care and hope. 
What would it take to turn an idea into something that improves lives at scale? And how do we make sure good innovations do not get stuck, but reach the people who need them? 
At Alzheimer’s Society, innovation is how we turn ideas into real world change. We identify, support and invest in solutions that improve diagnosis, care, access to treatment and help prevent crisis. Our Innovation Programme has supported more than 60 innovations, reaching over 1.5 million people and helping partners secure millions in further funding. 
We are looking for an Innovation Officer (Portfolio) to help grow and strengthen this impact. You will sit within our Innovation Team in the Research and Influencing Directorate, supporting performance, relationships and learning across our investment portfolio. 
This role is about helping good ideas go further and making sure they deliver real benefit for people affected by dementia. 
What does it look like when innovation truly works in the real world? 
What you’ll do 
You will manage relationships with our innovation portfolio partners, monitoring progress, impact and reach, seeking opportunities for wider implementation and scale of innovations, how can we drive opportunities for wider adoption and growth of innovations? 
You will help us understand the impact of our innovation portfolio by turning project data into clear, useful insight through dashboards and analysis. .How do we frame data to focus on outcomes and emphasise real world change?  
You will track the return on investment of innovations within the portfolio, monitoring quarterly   sales and annual returns to understand whether innovations are delivering the expected impact and sustainability. How do we balance impact, growth and financial return? 
You will help with operational delivery, including due diligence, contracting, and invoicing. How do we keep the behind the scenes work steady so innovation can move forward? 
You will also help share the work of our team and innovators we support  through events, communications, and engagement. How do we make impact feel real and support innovations to be accessible to others? 
You will support learning and evaluation to understand what works and why. How do we make space for learning, not just delivery? 
Key responsibilities include: 

- Manage portfolio partner relationships through regular engagement, meetings, and stakeholder support 
- Develop and maintain impact metrics and dashboards to track portfolio performance, returns, and impact 
- Monitor financial performance including sales, returns, and quarterly partner reporting 
- Review and analyse partner reports to identify progress, risks, and key themes across the portfolio 
- Support income-generation opportunities by identifying routes for testing, implementation, and scaling 
- Monitor compliance requirements including contractual obligations and brand-licensing agreements 
- Lead evaluation activity by designing, commissioning, and monitoring evaluations with partners 
- Prepare and coordinate partner representation and involvement in meetings and events 
- Support operational processes such as invoicing, due diligence, contracting, and onboarding of new partners 
- Collaborate across teams and contribute to continuous improvement of portfolio management and reporting 

About you 
You care about work that makes a difference. You are curious, open to learning, and comfortable working across information, people and processes. 
You might come from innovation, partnerships, health, charity or the public sector. Or somewhere completely different. 
We do not expect you to know everything on day one. We care more about how you think and how you work with others. 
If you meet some of the criteria but not all, we would still really like to hear from you. 

- You are interested in understanding what is working and what is not, and why  
- You enjoy working with others to keep things moving  
- You can manage multiple pieces of work and notice what matters most  
- You communicate clearly, even when information is complex or changing  
- You find practical ways forward when things are not straightforward  

We are building innovation that transforms lives. This role helps make sure that happens. 
Interviews for are provisionally scheduled to take place on the 14th July via MS Teams

About Alzheimer's Society
Dementia is the UK's biggest killer. One in three people born in the UK today will develop dementia in their lifetime.

At Alzheimer's Society, we're the UK's leading dementia charity and the only one to tackle all aspects of dementia by giving help and hope to people living with dementia today and in the future. We give vital support to people facing the most frightening times of their lives, while also funding groundbreaking research and campaigning to make dementia the priority it should be.

Together with our supporters, we're working towards a world where dementia no longer devastates lives.

Our values make sure that our focus is clear for the challenges and opportunities ahead and remind us of what we all stand for.

Our commitment to Equity, Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging

We need to ensure the voices around our table better reflect and understand the communities we exist to serve. We strongly encourage individuals to apply who have a disability, impairment or health condition or individuals who identify as Black, Asian or from another minority ethnic background, as these groups are currently under-represented at Alzheimer's Society.  

We want everyone we work with, as a colleague, volunteer, supporter, or someone we support, to feel included and that they belong at Alzheimer's Society. 

Our Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy here along with our internal employee forum and Employee Lived Experience network groups help us promote inclusion and belonging, becoming an engaged and inclusive organisation for all our people. 

Our hiring process

During your recruitment process we want to make sure that you bring your whole self and can be at your best. We are working hard to ensure our recruitment process is as inclusive as possible, so please do inform us of your experience and anything you think we could do better by completing our candidate survey when you apply.  Please also contact Alzheimer's Society Talent Acquisition Team via [email protected] for application support or any adjustments you might need.

To ensure fairness and consistency to select the best candidate for this role, all our applications are anonymised up until an interview has been confirmed. We recognise the benefits of AI, but if you're considering using it to submit your application, we encourage you to reflect on the value it truly adds. AI tools often lack the personal touch and authenticity that set candidates apart. We want to hear your unique perspective, experiences, and skills, so we encourage you to showcase them in your own voice.

We try to avoid closing roles early where possible, however if we receive a high volume of applications, we may close earlier than the advertised closing date. Should this occur, we will aim to provide you with at least 48 hours' notice.

We are committed to safer recruitment and ensuring the welfare of those we work with, due to the nature of some of our roles, we might need to carry out a Criminal Record Check at the relevant level. You can read more information via our Website.

Giving back to you

Our employees work hard every day to make a true difference in people's lives. We are proud to support them with a range of benefits, recognition and many options for working agilely, all contributing to a strong work life balance. We also have various learning programmes to support you in your development and help you grow to realise your potential and shape a career with Alzheimer's Society. 

You can also visit our Working for Us pages, which give you more information about what it's like to be an employee at the Society.

About The Role
Would you like to play a key part in influencing national decisionmakers across Wales, England and Northern Ireland to drive major, positive change in the dementia policy space? Then this could be the role for you. 
Sitting within Alzheimer’s Society’s National Influencing team, as our new National Influencing Officer you would be instrumental in delivering innovative, engaging, collaborative, and evidence-based influencing work. You’d be ensuring that political and health system stakeholders are acting on the biggest issues affecting people living with dementia, working closely with other teams to drive work that is integrated locally and nationally. 
While this role is predominantly focused on delivering national influencing activity in Wales, you’ll also be part of a fluid and flexible team that operates across boundaries and supports with our political work in England and Northern Ireland. 
This is an exciting time for dementia policy in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. We have the chance to ensure that governments are prioritising dementia and the needs of all those affected by the condition. Our National Influencing Officer will be at the forefront of taking on this vitally important challenge. 
About the role 
Every day, people affected by dementia tell us what matters most to them. We listen, learn, and use what they share, alongside evidence and research, to influence real change. 
What would it take to make sure those voices are truly heard by the people making decisions? 
As our National Influencing Officer, you will help make sure those voices are heard by the people making decisions. Working across Wales and as part of a three nations team, you will build relationships with politicians, decision makers and health leaders to help improve support and services for people affected by dementia.  
In this role, you will: 

- Lead or support political engagement across Wales and potentially other UK nations, using your knowledge of parliamentary structures and influencing routes to drive change. 
- Provide oversight and coordination of political monitoring and stakeholder engagement activity. 
- Plan and deliver impactful public affairs (or similar) events, including parliamentary receptions, breakfast meetings, roundtables, and party conference activity. 
- Translate evidence-based policy positions into compelling and effective influencing strategies that achieve real-world impact. 
- Build delivery plans focused on meaningful outcomes and measure their success through evaluation and learning. 
- Produce high-quality, accessible content to inform and engage stakeholders, using strong presentational and communication skills. 

About you 
You care about improving the lives of people affected by dementia. You are curious, proactive and enjoy working with others to make things happen. 
What motivates you to turn complex issues into clear action that leads to change? 
You may already have experience in public affairs, policy, advocacy or a related field. Or your experience may come from a different route, such as community work, lived experience, or another role where you have influenced change. 
You will bring: 

- Excellent knowledge of the political and health system and how to influence national decisionmakers. 
- A strong understanding of the external political environment and a proven track record in political or similar stakeholder management at a national level. 
- Experience engaging proactively with national politicians and decisionmakers, acting as the first point of contact for their teams. 
- Confidence and credibility in working with both internal and external stakeholders, with the ability to influence across geographical and organisational boundaries. 
- A proven ability to operate and thrive in fast-paced, multi-dimensional environments, and to adapt well to change and ambiguity. 
- Strong analytical, written, and verbal communication skills, including the ability to translate complex data into accessible, impactful content and recommendations. 
- Experience working across multiple UK nations in complex influencing environments. 
- A commitment to involving people with lived experience – such as those with dementia or long-term health conditions – in your work. 

We welcome people from all backgrounds and experiences. You do not need to meet every requirement to apply. If this role excites you and you want to make a difference, we would love to hear from you. 
Welsh language is not essential for this role, but we welcome applications from Welsh language speakers. 
Interviews are provisionally scheduled to take place on the 10th July via MS Teams.

About Alzheimer's Society
Dementia is the UK's biggest killer. One in three people born in the UK today will develop dementia in their lifetime.

At Alzheimer's Society, we're the UK's leading dementia charity and the only one to tackle all aspects of dementia by giving help and hope to people living with dementia today and in the future. We give vital support to people facing the most frightening times of their lives, while also funding groundbreaking research and campaigning to make dementia the priority it should be.

Together with our supporters, we're working towards a world where dementia no longer devastates lives.

Our values make sure that our focus is clear for the challenges and opportunities ahead and remind us of what we all stand for.

Our commitment to Equity, Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging

We need to ensure the voices around our table better reflect and understand the communities we exist to serve. We strongly encourage individuals to apply who have a disability, impairment or health condition or individuals who identify as Black, Asian or from another minority ethnic background, as these groups are currently under-represented at Alzheimer's Society.  

We want everyone we work with, as a colleague, volunteer, supporter, or someone we support, to feel included and that they belong at Alzheimer's Society. 

Our Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy here along with our internal employee forum and Employee Lived Experience network groups help us promote inclusion and belonging, becoming an engaged and inclusive organisation for all our people. 

Our hiring process

During your recruitment process we want to make sure that you bring your whole self and can be at your best. We are working hard to ensure our recruitment process is as inclusive as possible, so please do inform us of your experience and anything you think we could do better by completing our candidate survey when you apply.  Please also contact Alzheimer's Society Talent Acquisition Team via [email protected] for application support or any adjustments you might need.

To ensure fairness and consistency to select the best candidate for this role, all our applications are anonymised up until an interview has been confirmed. We recognise the benefits of AI, but if you're considering using it to submit your application, we encourage you to reflect on the value it truly adds. AI tools often lack the personal touch and authenticity that set candidates apart. We want to hear your unique perspective, experiences, and skills, so we encourage you to showcase them in your own voice.

We try to avoid closing roles early where possible, however if we receive a high volume of applications, we may close earlier than the advertised closing date. Should this occur, we will aim to provide you with at least 48 hours' notice.

We are committed to safer recruitment and ensuring the welfare of those we work with, due to the nature of some of our roles, we might need to carry out a Criminal Record Check at the relevant level. You can read more information via our Website.

Giving back to you

Our employees work hard every day to make a true difference in people's lives. We are proud to support them with a range of benefits, recognition and many options for working agilely, all contributing to a strong work life balance. We also have various learning programmes to support you in your development and help you grow to realise your potential and shape a career with Alzheimer's Society. 

You can also visit our Working for Us pages, which give you more information about what it's like to be an employee at the Society.

Are you ready to make a real difference in the community for people affected by dementia and their families?

Do you possess the skills to engage people with lived experience of dementia in shaping more inclusive communities and services?

Can you adapt your communication style to connect with any audience?

Yes? We'd love to tell you more...

We have an incredibly rewarding and meaningful opportunity to join us as a Community Development Coordinator with a focus on lived experience and involvement covering the whole of the Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan area.

This role plays an instrumental part in making strong trusted relationships with people affected by dementia, families and carers within communities and diverse groups to support them to attend workshops and focus groups or community networks, Alzheimer's Society have a commitment to working with people with lived experience. This ensures that we create and adapt our services to be meaningful and reflect the needs of our service users. This role helps to embed this value and a improve dementia awareness and inclusivity in our communities, businesses and with stakeholders. 

The successful individual will be working with the support of the team to ensure that individuals, local communities and health services have access to vital information about dementia support, ensuring that lived experience remains a real focus in local communities.

This is a highly rewarding and outward-facing role, focused on building strong relationships across diverse communities. You will engage and network with people at all levels—from senior healthcare professionals to people affected by dementia, their families and carers. Through community-specific workshops, awareness sessions, volunteer management and partnership working, you will help reduce health inequalities and improve access to dementia support across Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan.

You will be joining an established, knowledgeable and well-respected team, sharing learning, insight and best practice. Our work is rooted in communities, and we have built trusted relationships with local partners, professionals and people affected by dementia.
The service is recognised for its commitment to working collaboratively to ensure dementia support reaches those who need it most, including underrepresented and seldom-heard communities. This role involves significant time spent working directly in communities. You will identify opportunities to promote services, build trust, facilitate workshops and strengthen local networks to improve dementia awareness and support.

About you
You will have:

- Confidence and ability to approach and build trusting relationships with a diverse range of organisations and individuals including unrepresented or seldom-heard groups
- Skills and ability to coordinate and facilitate groups and workshops
- Understanding of equity, diversity and health.
- Have an understanding of dementia or be keen to develop knowledge of its impact on people diagnosed and those who care for them.
- Take a proactive approach and be motivated to achieve positive, meaningful outcomes.

Please don’t be put off from applying if you don’t meet every single requirement listed. We recognise the value of transferable skills and lived experience, and we’re keen to hear from candidates who can demonstrate potential, capability and a willingness to learn.

Key Responsibilities:

- Actively engage with communities, facilitating and attending community events, local forums and networking opportunities to raise awareness of dementia services.
- Build and maintain relationships with a wide range of stakeholders, from senior healthcare professionals (delivering presentations and briefings) to community leaders, charities and grassroots organisations.
- Deliver community-specific workshops and awareness sessions, working collaboratively with both internal colleagues and external partners.
- Develop strong links with organisations delivering similar or complementary services, helping to create a robust and collaborative local network.
- Influence and motivate individuals and organisations to take action, often encouraging people to work beyond their usual roles to create meaningful, long-term change.
- Gathering knowledge from communities—understanding what works, what doesn’t, and why - and using this learning to continuously improve engagement and reduce health inequalities, including those affecting smaller or less visible groups.
- Recruit and role manage community based volunteers
- Support and enable community members and volunteers who wish to run groups, events or activities, working alongside and empowering them to take action.
- Work flexibly, including some evening and weekend work, to meet community needs and attend events.

About Alzheimer's Society

Dementia is the UK's biggest killer. One in three people born in the UK today will develop dementia in their lifetime.

At Alzheimer's Society, we're the UK's leading dementia charity and the only one to tackle all aspects of dementia by giving help and hope to people living with dementia today and in the future. We give vital support to people facing the most frightening times of their lives, while also funding groundbreaking research and campaigning to make dementia the priority it should be.

Together with our supporters, we're working towards a world where dementia no longer devastates lives.

Our values make sure that our focus is clear for the challenges and opportunities ahead and remind us of what we all stand for.

Our commitment to Equity, Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging

We need to ensure the voices around our table better reflect and understand the communities we exist to serve. We strongly encourage individuals to apply who have a disability, impairment or health condition or individuals who identify as Black, Asian or from another minority ethnic background, as these groups are currently under-represented at Alzheimer's Society.  

We want everyone we work with, as a colleague, volunteer, supporter, or someone we support, to feel included and that they belong at Alzheimer's Society. 

Our Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy here along with our internal employee forum and Employee Lived Experience network groups help us promote inclusion and belonging, becoming an engaged and inclusive organisation for all our people. 

Our hiring process

During your recruitment process we want to make sure that you bring your whole self and can be at your best. We are working hard to ensure our recruitment process is as inclusive as possible, so please do inform us of your experience and anything you think we could do better by completing our candidate survey when you apply. 

To ensure fairness and consistency to select the best candidate for this role, all our applications are anonymised up until an interview has been confirmed. We recognise the benefits of AI, but if you're considering using it to submit your application, we encourage you to reflect on the value it truly adds. AI tools often lack the personal touch and authenticity that set candidates apart. We want to hear your unique perspective, experiences, and skills, so we encourage you to showcase them in your own voice.

We try to avoid closing roles early where possible, however if we receive a high volume of applications, we may close earlier than the advertised closing date. Should this occur, we will aim to provide you with at least 48 hours' notice.

We are committed to safer recruitment and ensuring the welfare of those we work with, due to the nature of some of our roles, we might need to carry out a Criminal Record Check at the relevant level. You can read more information via our Website.

Giving back to you

Our employees work hard every day to make a true difference in people's lives. We are proud to support them with a range of benefits, recognition and many options for working agilely, all contributing to a strong work life balance. We also have various learning programmes to support you in your development and help you grow to realise your potential and shape a career with Alzheimer's Society. 

You can also visit our Working for Us pages, which give you more information about what it's like to be an employee at the Society.