Development director jobs

This role requires that you are resident and have the right to work in the UK.
Purpose of the role:

It is initially a 12 month role, but we are actively seeking longer term financing for it. The role will:

• Recruit a cohort of Scotland-based spokespeople to be trained by NEON and then booked into the media
• Run the Scottish Spokesperson Network - helping NEON position itself as an aide to broadcast journalists and helpful to NGOs, campaign groups and activists on the ground - with a particular focus
• Seek opportunities for long term funding of the role, alongside the co-director of Comms​​

About the Spokesperson Network

The Spokesperson Network trains and supports people to speak on television and radio. We are substantially boosting the number of progressive, diverse voices in this space to challenge opposition narratives and boost coverage of underrepresented issues.

The programme works by training, coaching and providing PR booking support for spokespeople from civil society working on social, environmental and economic issues. So far we’ve had over 11,000 high-profile media bookings including Question Time, Newsnight, Good Morning Britain, LBC, Channel 4 News, BBC 5 Live, Today, Sky News and ITV News plus many more.

What you will be doing

Here are the key responsibilities of this role:

• Run two Scotland-based Spokesperson Network Trainings
• Keep on top of the current trends and topics in the Scottish media and political environment
• Seek to book the spokespeople who have been trained into the media - with expectations of providing each person trained with ongoing media opportunities
• Support on the Spokesperson Network more widely - booking people into the UK-wide media.
• Be a key part of the Comms Hub - helping with other peoples projects, delivering training and bringing insight and ideas to team spaces.
• Play an active part in the whole NEON team, contributing to organisation-wide plans

Who you are:

• Experience in journalism, communications, media relations or a role that incorporates these skills.
• A great knowledge of the Scottish media and campaigning environment
• Experience delivering media, press or spokesperson training.
• Good writing and editing skills, including an eye for detail.
• Excellent interpersonal skills and communicating appropriately with different stakeholders.
• Project management experience demonstrated through being proactive and well organised, with the ability to meet tight deadlines and manage multiple priorities
• Ability to work well under pressure, meet the demands of a dynamic organisation and accommodate changing circumstances.
• An affinity with NEON’s aims and objectives and organisational values of solidarity, generosity and respect
• Proven understanding of anti-oppression work and commitment to tackling all institutional forms of oppression, bigotry and exclusion.
• Experience working in the economic and social justice campaigning community in any kind of capacity.
• Willing to continuously learn and grow - with good emotional intelligence and self awareness including around your own power, and an ability to give and receive feedback well, and sit in (and encourage) healthy conflict and disagreement
• Committed to NEON’s purpose of building the strength of movements for social, economic and environmental justice, and to learning how to align your actions with the values of NEON: solidarity; generosity and respect

Hours

Full-time, which for NEON is 28 hours a week - the equivalent of a 4 day standard work week. This can be done over 4 or 5 days, that’s totally up to you. Hours are generally flexible, with some core meetings everyone has to be at.

Benefits

A 28-hour week, 7.5% employer matched pension, genuinely flexible working, 20 days holiday per year (25 days pro rated for a 4 day week), plus bank holidays and Christmas break, a progressive Parenting Policy, Sabbatical Policy, and a generous staff development budget

Location

Scotland - but with occasional trips to London. Because this is a place-based hire you do not have to be in our London office 25% of the time, but you are very welcome to.

About us:

NEON is a capacity and infrastructure building organisation that seeks to accelerate the transition to a new economy by building the power of social movements - because without strong social movements we lack the power we need to win. We deliver trainings, develop resources, facilitate collaboration and work in partnership with key movement allies, especially in the climate, housing and migration movements. Our focus is on strengthening the organising, communications and strategy skills of social movement organisations, as well as deepening movement alignment, as we believe these are key to building collective power. As part of our work, we are looking to change the starting point in social movements from “what do we agree on” to “what can we win together?”

We also aim to mirror the change we want to see in social movements in the way we run the organisation internally. To that end, we are committed to building a workplace centred on joy, care and justice, whilst maintaining healthy boundaries of what a workplace is. We do this because it is important to live our values and principles, and because strategically an organisation with a healthy culture and strong foundations ensures we are always one step ahead in the fight for a just and sustainable future.

To build a culture and community that lasts, we organise around three values:

● Solidarity - we’re here to change the system and that requires working together across issues and sectors that aren’t normally in the same room. This means placing anti-oppression at the heart of our work and building the power of people most often affected by injustice to change the leadership of our movements

● Generosity is about sharing our time, resources and learning with one another as we support each other’s work. It means being open and honest with one another, especially when we hit problems, and thinking creatively about how we positively build from there

● Respect is the bottom line for all relationships in NEON. It means being respectful of different backgrounds and life experiences and giving space for all voices to be heard. This often means listening more than we talk and being open to changing ourselves as a result of what we hear.

We know that people from certain backgrounds and identities are often excluded in progressive movements and we’re committed to doing what we can to correct this.

So:

• We particularly welcome applications from marginalised groups, especially people of colour and other ethnic minorities, people who identify as LGBTQIA, Disabled people and those who identify as working class or have done so in the past.
• We know the work goes way beyond "diversity", it's about making the space inclusive too. So we are continuously working on that at NEON. So far this includes tangible things like a flexible work policy so people have genuine flexibility around where and when they work and a 28 hour week as standard; a gender-neutral parenting/leave policy, an anti-oppression strategy which is held at senior level given how important it is to the organisation. It also includes the day-to-day work of creating psychological safety for everyone at NEON and celebrating the wisdom of black, indigenous, queer, Disabled and other cultures in the way we work and behave

There are no formal education requirements for this role. As long as you can show us you have the skills we don’t mind where you got them from! Also important to us is your potential to learn and grow in the role so even if you don’t have 100% of the skills listed we want to hear from you.

Dates: Application deadline: 15 March 2026, 11.59pm

Interview dates: First round of interviews: 31st March and 1st April 2026 Second round of interviews: 8th April 2026

Corporate Partnerships Lead

When registering to this job board you will be redirected to the online application form. Please ensure that this is completed in full in order that your application can be reviewed.

Corporate Partnerships Lead

Full Time/Permanent

Location: Hybrid working with a minimum of 1 day per week in our London office (Farringdon)

Hours: 35 hours per week

Salary:£51k - £55k (dependent upon experience)

Our offer to you 

We pride ourselves in being a great place to work, providing a supportive culture with opportunities to grow and develop your career, achieve a healthy work life balance and to be recognised for the great work you do. You will receive: 

• Competitive salary and pension scheme
• 33 days holiday (inclusive of bank holidays) - increasing to 38 days over 5 years
• Hybrid, Flexible working
• Cycle to work scheme Electric Vehicle Scheme
• Health and Wellbeing portal – access to financial, health and wellbeing support and an Employee Assistance Programme
• Discounts – you will have access to Blue Light and NHS Discounts as well as discounts on mobile phones, gym membership, cinema tickets, restaurants, holidays and shopping 

 
About Us 

This is a fantastic opportunity to join a team of over 1,400 employees and over 28,000 volunteers, united by our goal of saving lives through essential first aid services, training and campaigning.  As a charity with rich heritage and a long history of serving humanity, we are proud of our past and excited about creating a healthier, safer, more resilient future.  

St John Ambulance works at the heart of communities, supporting and enabling them to access and receive physical and mental health first aid. We do this through developing and providing effective community response and outreach services (e.g. Ambulance response) and using our longstanding expertise to empower people with vital clinical skills and the confidence to use them (e.g. our Volunteers and Community Advocates, and Young Responders programmes). 

Job Summary 

St John Ambulance is entering an exciting new chapter. As we launch our ambitious three-year strategy, our goal is clear: to grow the power of first aid by 2028 by teaching more people life-saving skills and delivering expert care when it matters most.

This is a pivotal opportunity to lead and shape our Corporate Partnerships function at a time of significant growth potential. You will drive new business activity, develop compelling funding propositions, and secure income-led, multi-year partnerships that deliver meaningful impact for both St John and our corporate partners.

Leading a team of three, you will set clear strategic direction, build a strong prospect pipeline, and drive sustainable income growth. You’ll also strengthen and expand existing partnerships, maximise cross-selling opportunities, and collaborate across the organisation to develop values-aligned partnerships that generate both income and brand value.

We’re looking for a confident, strategic partnership professional with a proven track record of identifying, securing and managing corporate partnerships of varying scale. You’ll bring excellent communication and presentation skills, commercial insight, and a proactive, collaborative approach. Passionate about impact, you’ll play a key role within our fundraising, brand and communications team helping to build a high-performing culture and deliver against ambitious financial targets while advancing our mission to put first aid at the heart of every community.

About You 

You’re a strategic and commercially minded partnership professional with a proven track record of securing and growing high-value corporate partnerships. You know how to turn insight into compelling propositions and win new business that drives sustainable income growth.

You bring experience of leading or supporting teams to perform at their best, creating a culture of ambition, accountability and collaboration. Confident managing budgets and income targets, you use data and insight to inform decisions and maximise performance.

An excellent communicator and relationship builder, you’re comfortable influencing and pitching to senior stakeholders and negotiating win–win partnerships. Highly organised and self-motivated, you manage competing priorities effectively and understand fundraising best practice and regulatory requirements.

You lead with compassion and emotional intelligence, are open to feedback, and role model a values-driven approach aligned with our HEART values.

It would be great if you also have:

• Experience working within the charity sector
• Experience engaging senior leaders such as Directors, Trustees or CEOs
• A degree/L7 qualification (or equivalent experience)
• Up-to-date knowledge of corporate partnership and social impact trends

About the Role 

• Provide strong, values-led leadership to build a high-performing Corporate Partnerships team, fostering collaboration, inclusivity, ambition and excellence.
• Set clear objectives, KPIs and development plans; support, motivate and hold the team accountable to deliver annual income targets.
• Develop and deliver an ambitious corporate partnerships strategy focused on securing high-value new business while retaining and growing existing partnerships.
• Build and oversee a well-researched, strategically aligned prospect pipeline to drive sustainable income growth.
• Lead the creation of compelling, creative and commercially driven partnership propositions, proposals and pitches.
• Collaborate across fundraising, brand, communications, operations, finance and regional teams to maximise partnership opportunities and ensure integrated delivery.
• Oversee budgeting, forecasting, income monitoring and performance reporting, using insight to inform strategy and manage risk.
• Ensure strong governance and compliance, including due diligence, accurate CRM data management, regulatory adherence and high-quality impact and financial reporting to funders and senior stakeholders.

Please see the job description for more detail (this can be viewed on our website or once you click apply) 

If you are a current St John Ambulance employee, please apply here: Click here 

For all other candidates, or St John Ambulance volunteers wishing to apply: please apply below 

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive high volume of applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible. 

St John Ambulance are committed to increasing the diversity of our team and making sure we best reflect the diversity of the communities we serve.   At St John, everyone is valued and supported to thrive, we have several networks including Multi Culture, Disability and Accessibility, Pride, Family and Carers and Women’s groups.  We do not tolerate any form of discrimination and engender a sense of belonging for all, by creating an environment of mutual respect, where we value unique differences and demonstrate authentic allyship. We believe passionately in equality, diversity and inclusion.    

St John Ambulance is committed to safeguarding and we promote safe recruitment practice. Therefore, all successful applicants will undergo pre-employment checks, including DBS Clearance, as part of the onboarding process, if applicable to the nature of the role

Please note: St John does not accept speculative CVs and will only review CVs sent in application for an advertised vacancy.