Overview
We’re looking for an Assistant Business Development Officer (Bid Writer) to join our national Business Development Team. This is a great opportunity for an excellent writer to start or grow your bid writing career in a successful team with progression opportunities.
Location: London, Brighton, Manchester or Leeds.
Salary: £27,861.26 − £32,002.35 per year. If you’re based in London, you’ll receive an additional £4,133.14 per year as Inner London Weighing.
Contract: 12 months fixed term.
Responsibilities
About the role
Change Grow Live is a health and social care charity. Across the country, we support people to make positive changes in their lives, including around drug and alcohol use, smoking, homelessness and criminal justice.
As an Assistant Business Development Officer, you’ll play a key part in helping us secure new contracts and deliver high quality services for adults, children and young people. You’ll support the development of bids and proposals by writing, researching and collaborating with colleagues across the organisation.
Your day-to-day will include:
- Writing and editing bid responses
- Working with colleagues across the organisation and our partner agencies
- Completing online research, analysing data and collating evidence
- Creating presentations, diagrams and reports
- Helping improve how we do things.
This is a developmental role, and you’ll receive ongoing support, guidance and training to help you progress.
About you
We’re looking for excellent writers who share our passion for supporting people to make positive changes in their lives. You don’t need previous experience in business development, but experience in health and social care, writing, sales, research, or data is beneficial.
You are:
- A clear, concise and engaging writer
- Motivated to learn and develop, welcoming feedback
- Collaborative and contribute to a positive culture team
- Curious and analytical
- Solution-focused, creative and proactive
- Ready to work hard to deliver on CGL’s values and mission.
What we offer
You’ll be able to access structured training, development and mentoring as part of a supportive team. There’s a clear progression pathway within the team. We have a great record of people quickly progressing to Business Development Officer and Senior Business Development Officer roles as they take on increased volume, complexity, and leadership across proposals.
We also offer:
- The option to work from home for some of the week
- Wellbeing support, including an employee assistance programme and an hour each week for wellbeing activities of your choice (find out more here).
We want our workforce to represent the diversity of the people and communities we work with. We pride ourselves on an inclusive and supportive workplace, evidenced through our Investors in People silver status.
We’re happy to consider any reasonable adjustments that you need to be successful. Please let us know in your application or at any stage of the process if you would like to discuss this.
Before you apply
In the application portal, there’s a section called ‘how you meet the criteria for the role’. This is your chance to tell us about why you’re a good fit for this job – we won’t be able to consider your application unless it’s filled in. Please explain how you meet each of the person specification criteria (listed at the end of the job description). Use clear examples of your experience (this link contains some useful guidance). As guidance, written statements should not exceed 1,000 words. You can address multiple criteria together where you think it makes sense.
Interviews will be held 16th – 23rd February 2026 via MS Teams. We’ll also ask shortlisted candidates to complete a written task online during this timeframe, at a time of your choice. We may hold a pre-qualification stage task (e.g. presentation) depending on the number of applicants.
We encourage applications from individuals who may not meet every requirement but are excited about the role. We value lived experience of substance use, homelessness, and/or multiple disadvantages.
We’re a Disability Confident Committed employer. Under our Disability Confident interview scheme, we will offer an interview to disabled candidates where they meet our selection criteria in their application. Some of our roles attract a high volume of applications and in some circumstances where it is not practicable or appropriate, we may limit the number of interviews offered to disabled and non-disabled candidates. Please confirm in the ‘how you meet the criteria for the role’ part of the application if you are applying under this scheme. We will provide reasonable adjustments as needed.
Check the job description and team explainer for more information. You can contact Yasmin Gilders to discuss this role further.
What our people say
George, who progressed from Assistant Business Development Officer to Business Development Officer last year:
“What was your route into the team? I came into Business Development after starting out in frontline roles in local authorities and then a housing charity, where I realised I wanted to continue having an impact on people’s lives, but on a bigger scale. The Assistant Business Development Officer role was a perfect progression, and after about a year I successfully applied for a Business Development Officer role. This felt really manageable given the space for development as an Assistant Business Development Officer.
What are your favourite parts of the job? Winning contracts is a really great feeling, especially when I know they’ve been shaped with service users and colleague to make sure we’re designing services that offer the best support to the most people. I also value the constant opportunities to learn, feeling supported in my development, and seeing the decisions I’m involved in having a real impact on people’s lives.
What were your highlights from last year? Our team away day in Liverpool, which was great fun as well as chance to hear from the managers of our new Liverpool service. It was one of the first bids I worked on as an Assistant Business Development Officer, and it was amazing to see our bid come to life, being delivered by a passionate group of people.
What would you say to someone thinking of applying? I’d definitely say go for it, and once you start, embrace how much there is to learn! Make the most of a really knowledgeable and supportive team, of managers who genuinely want you to succeed, and of all the opportunities to try new things and develop new skills.”
Holly, who has progressed from Assistant Business Development Officer to Senior Business Development Officer:
“What was your route into the team? I was a psychology graduate and teacher training drop out! With my experience of working in schools and academic research into young people’s substance use, I started working as an Education Lead for one of CGL’s young person’s services. After a year I applied to join the Business Development Team, wanting to utilise my experience of working frontline and my love of research and writing. I’ve progressed from Assistant to Officer and then Senior Officer since joining the team in 2022.
How would you describe the team? Helpful, real and full of knowledge. Everyone comes from different backgrounds and is happy to share their skills, knowledge and learning. I’ve never felt like I’ve asked a silly question, and I don’t feel like I must put a on ‘work mask’.
What would you say to someone thinking of applying? Not to think they can’t do it just because they don’t have experience in bid writing or business development. It’s more important to be able to demonstrate that they’re a confident professional writer and are really passionate about working in the drug and alcohol support sector.”
Salary Range (pro rata if part time)
CGL points 23 to 28 (£27,861.26 - £32,002.35)
Interview Date
16/2/2026
Closing Date
8/2/2026
Registered Charity
501 - 1000
Our mission is to help people change the direction of their lives, grow as individuals, and live life to its full potential.
Thank you!
Are you detail-focused, analytically minded, and have experience of working with Gift Aid? MSF UK is looking for a Gift Aid Manager to lead and develop our Gift Aid team, helping unlock vital additional funding for our lifesaving medical work around the world. In this role, you’ll:
- Oversee the management and administration of Gift Aid, and other forms of tax-efficient giving, to maximise MSF UK’s income
- Manage Gift Aid income across multiple income streams ensuring that MSF UK remains compliant with HMRC regulations
- Lead on delivering regular Gift Aid communications to supporters following HRMC best practice; identifying opportunities and developing strategies to increase Gift Aid income.
You’ll be part of a fast-paced, ambitious team with a big impact. Join us and be part of the world’s leading emergency medical aid organisation - Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders.
Hours: 37.5 hours per week, Mon Fri
Duration: Permanent
Location: London - Hybrid, 2 days per week in London office (Including Wednesdays)
Salary: £46,784.49 - £57,181.04 per annum
Salary is offered in line with our pay framework and typically starts at the entry point of the band. Salary increases are considered annually and are subject to our appraisal and performance review process.
Job Purpose:
The primary responsibility of the Gift Aid Manager is to oversee the management and administration of Gift Aid, and other forms of tax-efficient giving, to maximise MSF UK’s income. This includes responsibility for managing the Gift Aid and tax reclaim processes across multiple income streams, ensuring claims are submitted in a timely manner, and that MSF UK remains compliant with HMRC regulations. This role requires a specialist understanding of Gift Aid regulations.
They also act as the main point of contact with HMRC on complex matters relating to Gift Aid and reclaiming tax, providing solutions or advice on more complicated Gift Aid queries to the wider Fundraising team. The Gift Aid Manager will lead on planning and delivering regular Gift Aid communications to supporters.
Please download the full job and person specification below for further details.
Knowledge, Skills & Experience:
- Previous experience in managing end to end Gift Aid claims and processes within the charity sector.
- Strong working knowledge of HMRC Gift Aid regulations, practices and procedures and other relevant HMRC guidelines.
- Knowledge and understanding of Gift Aid compliance in charity environments.
- Experience of working with 3rd parties on Gift Aid claims and processes.
- Demonstrable knowledge of Microsoft Excel to an intermediate level including the ability to produce and manipulate pivot tables.
- Experience of working with Power BI KPI dashboards.
- Working knowledge of a fundraising database or CRM system (preferably Microsoft Dynamics CRM or similar CRM) and managing large datasets.
- Proven experience of monitoring and checking processes and developing process improvement and project management experience.
- Experience in providing Gift Aid training and support to staff or volunteers.
- Experience in the practical use of personal IT equipment and Microsoft Office 365 suite. The ability to effectively collaborate and communicate within a hybrid working environment utilising Teams, SharePoint, One Drive and Yammer.
- An excellent level of numeracy, combined with accuracy, attention to detail and an ability to follow defined processes is a must
- Excellent time management skills with a proven track record in managing a busy workload to deadlines whilst maintaining a systematic and organised approach
- A proven ability to work independently, manage multiple priorities and meet deadlines in line with established schedules ensuring accuracy in the information provided
- An excellent communicator with training experience and the ability to deliver complex information to a variety of internal stakeholders in an accessible and relevant way.
- Ability to build excellent working relationships with a wide variety of internal and external stakeholders, including senior management.
- Self-motivated, flexible and able to work without close supervision within a team environment
- A responsible attitude to dealing with sensitive and confidential information
- Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite (Excel, Word, Outlook) and other relevant software tools
- Fluency in written and spoken English
- Commitment to the aims and values of Médecins Sans Frontières.
- Proactive, resourceful, and adaptable with a solutions-focused approach.
- A positive team player with the ability to collaborate effectively with colleagues across different departments.
HOW TO APPLY
Please apply on our website by submitting a copy of your CV together with a letter of motivation by the closing date.
Please apply as soon as possible as MSF reserves the right to close the vacancy early, or on the appointment of a candidate.
Incomplete applications will not be considered.
Recruitment timetable:
- Closing date for applications: 15 February 2026, 11.59pm (GMT)
- First round interviews: 04 & 05 March 2026
- Projected Start Date: 06 April 2026
MSF UK is an equal opportunities employer. We are committed to diversity and creating an inclusive environment for all employees. We encourage applications from all sections of our diverse community.
Safeguarding
MSF UK/IE is dedicated to safeguarding everyone who comes into contact with the organisation, for whatever reason and however brief. All posts are subject to safer recruitment process which include robust reference requests, scrutiny of employment history and where applicable criminal record and barring checks.
Our safeguarding commitment is underpinned by policies and procedures which encourage and promote safe working practice across the organisation. On joining MSF UK/IE you will be required to attend safeguarding training to ensure responsibility for and maintaining safe working practice and to safeguard our teams, beneficiaries, and communities.
Registered Charity
101 - 500
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.