Conduit Foundation Director

Company Overview

The Conduit serves as a home for people passionate about achieving positive social, environmental and economic change. Our community shares our belief that world’s most pressing problems are better understood as opportunities waiting for entrepreneurial solutions. The Conduit’s mission is to convene a collaborative community that scales and accelerates solutions to the world’s greatest challenges and provide its community with a physical home, with industry leading sustainable and ethical hospitality, where creativity and innovation can flourish. Our members are from all over the world, from all sectors and industries and are representative of the world we live in.

Role Summary

The Conduit Foundation harnesses the power of convening, collaboration, and catalytic funding to advance innovative solutions to the world’s most pressing social and environmental challenges. We are in rapid start-up mode, having recently begun accepting our first grants and moving quickly to build our operating model. This is a pivotal moment for the Foundation: we are ready to translate our mission and vision into a fully functioning philanthropic engine.

This will be the first full-time hire into the Foundation, working hand-in-hand with the Board of Trustees and the Chief Impact Officer to operationalise our mission, establish systems and processes, and set the stage for ambitious, high-impact fundraising, grant management, programme delivery, and partnership development.

Key Responsibilities

1. Strategy & Leadership

Translate the Conduit executive leadership and Foundation Board’s vision into actionable plans and measurable outcomes.

Collaborate with The Conduit’s Impact team to integrate Foundation initiatives into broader Conduit strategy.

Identify and cultivate opportunities for funding, partnerships, and programme innovation.

2. Grants Management

Oversee the full grant cycle – from prospecting to evaluation - managing relationships, projects and budgets.

Ensure all grant activities meet legal, regulatory, and ethical standards, including England & Wales charity compliance.

Develop robust processes for impact measurement and reporting.

3. Board Development & Governance

Strengthen the governance set up, bolstering policies and procedures to establish best practice and managing legal and regulatory requirements for the Foundation.

Serve as the principal contact for the Board of Trustees, preparing materials, facilitating meetings and owning resulting actions.

Support recruitment, onboarding, and ongoing engagement of Trustees.

Advise the Board on trends and opportunities in philanthropy and social impact.

4. Fundraising & Corporate Engagement

Build and maintain relationships with corporate, institutional, and high-net-worth partners.

Identify and secure grants from funders that align with Foundation strategic priorities.

5. Programme Design & Delivery

Lead the design, launch, and management of the Foundation’s first in-house programmes.

Ensure programmes are innovative, impactful, and aligned with strategic priorities.

Set up systems for monitoring, learning, and continuous improvement.

6. Organisational Integration

Manage the relationship between the Foundation, Conduit Holdco, and The Conduit Club London.

Foster a culture of alignment, transparency, and shared mission across entities.

Skills & Experience

·       8–10 years of proven, hands-on execution experience in the UK charity sector, including setting up and implementing systems.

·       Track record of delivering complex projects from start to finish with excellence and attention to detail.

·       Strong experience and expertise in grants management, board engagement and governance.

·       Proven success in fundraising from corporates, trusts, foundations, and major donors.

·       Experience designing and delivering impactful programmes.

·       Excellent relationship building skills with experience engaging senior stakeholders.

·       Understanding of UK charity law and charitable governance.

Desirable

·       International or multi-stakeholder environment experience.

·       Experience of a growing charity.

·       Formal charity governance or legal training.

Personal Attributes

·       Ambitious and eager to grow into a senior leadership position.

·       Entrepreneurial, proactive, and solutions oriented.

·       Highly organised, with strong attention to detail.

·       Able to thrive in a fast-paced, start-up environment.

·       Committed to equity, diversity, and inclusion.

·       Passionate about social and environmental change.

Key Competencies

·       Communication

·       Teamwork

·       Solutions Focused

·       Compassionate

·       Creativity & Innovation