Role Purpose:
About Responsible Finance
Responsible Finance is the membership association for the UK’s Community Development Finance Institutions (CDFIs). CDFIs are community lenders, committed to delivering positive social impact, and offer fair and affordable finance to businesses, social enterprises and to people unable to access it elsewhere.
This is an exciting moment to be joining the CDFI sector. Responsible Finance and its members are focused on increasing access to fair and affordable finance for SMEs, social enterprises, people, places and communities that are underserved by mainstream finance. The Partnerships Manager will play a central role in turning that ambition into practical referral pathways, stronger partnerships and measurable growth in responsible lending.
Awareness of CDFIs remains low among many organisations that support SMEs and entrepreneurs. Many businesses that could benefit from CDFI finance are therefore not currently being directed to the sector. An increasing number seem to be turning to high interest lenders, which don’t always consider good customer outcomes.
We are therefore seeking an exceptional Partnerships Manager to develop and deliver a partnership outreach and creation strategy that raises awareness of CDFIs, increases referrals and signposting, and supports growth in CDFI SME lending. Our recent pilot with Lloyds Bank to refer declined SMEs to Responsible Finance, and our partnership with Grow London Local are just two examples.
Success in this role will mean building a prioritised partnership pipeline, converting relationships into active referral pathways, improving the quality and volume of referrals to CDFIs, and using data to learn what works.
Purpose of the Role
As Responsible Finance’s dedicated Partnerships Manager you will build strong relationships with banks, brokers and broker organisations, professional advisers, business organisations, government, local growth bodies and others to raise awareness, establish referral routes and strengthen onward pathways to finance readiness and business support.
Your work will be a driving force in delivering Responsible Finance’s ambition to unlock an additional £1bn of lending over the next five years.
Key Responsibilities:
- Leading the development of Responsible Finance’s partnership and stakeholder relationship strategy, working with our CDFI members to identify the organisations with the greatest potential to support growth in demand and referral pathways.
- Educating potential partners and referrers about what CDFIs are, the finance and support they provide, and of their role in local economic growth and community development.
- Increasing referrals and signposting to CDFIs centrally through Finding Finance and locally from organisations supporting businesses, improving access to finance and supporting lending growth.
- Managing the ongoing development and continuous improvement of the Finding Finance platform to ensure that it supports frictionless referrals and good customer outcomes – and that ongoing attribution data informs the ongoing targeting of partners.
- Developing routes for onward referrals to organisations that can support businesses with technical assistance, finance readiness and wider business support, creating a stronger future pipeline for CDFIs.
- Representing Responsible Finance at sector events, roundtables and stakeholder meetings, with a clear engagement plan, follow-up process and route for converting contacts into partnership opportunities.
This is a varied and dynamic role, working closely with our members and a range of external stakeholders. This job description is not exhaustive; it outlines the key tasks and responsibilities of the post which are subject to change. Any changes will be made in consultation with the post holder.
Role success measures and outcomes
- A prioritised partnership strategy and engagement plan agreed with Responsible Finance and informed by CDFI member needs.
- A live pipeline of target partners, with clear next actions, ownership, status and expected impact.
- New or improved referral pathways from priority partner segments, such as banks, brokers, accountants, local growth bodies, business support organisations and others.
- Improved quality, tracking and attribution of referrals through Finding Finance and local partner routes.
- Evidence of learning from pilots, including what drives referral quality, customer engagement, member value and responsible lending growth.
Skills and Experience:
Essential
We are looking for someone with experience of partnership development, stakeholder engagement or business development in a relevant environment. Experience of the finance ecosystem, SME support landscape or local economic development networks would be particularly valuable. Knowledge of CDFIs is highly desirable but not essential for the right candidate.
- Strong relationship-building skills. Must be comfortable working with stakeholders at a range of levels.
- Proven ability to build partnerships from prospecting through to implementation, including converting conversations into practical actions, pilots or agreements.
- Excellent communication and negotiation skills.
- Previous experience in a similar stakeholder / partner facing role.
- Highly self-motivated and able to drive your own work forward, but equally a team player with a collaborative working style.
- Willingness to travel regularly – this role is partner and stakeholder facing and the post holder will be required to travel frequently, up to twice a week, and sometimes at short notice.
- Strong presentational and public speaking skills and experience.
- Ability to develop compelling value propositions and engagement materials for different audiences.
- Strong project management skills, including planning, budgeting, prioritisation, delivery against milestones and managing dependencies across multiple stakeholders.
- Confidence using data, dashboards or CRM-style tools to track pipeline activity, referral performance and outcomes.
- Ability to work collaboratively with members or delivery partners, balancing different organisational priorities and capacities.
- Understanding of good customer outcomes, referral quality, consent and data-sharing considerations in a partnership or customer journey context.
- Strong judgement and political/stakeholder awareness when representing an organisation externally.
Desirable
Working as part of a small organisation, you will need to demonstrate flexibility and versatility and have opportunities to support a range of other projects and support services for our members, developing a wide range of skills and competencies.
Therefore, in addition to the essential criteria above, we are also interested in candidates with the following skills and experience:
- Experience in organising and delivering events and workshops.
- Experience of creating and delivering presentations.
- An understanding of CDFIs and/or lending helpful – particularly investor relations and social enterprises.
- Experience line managing and/or directing the work of other team members.
- Experience working with banks, brokers, accountants, business support organisations, local authorities, combined authorities, chambers of commerce, growth hubs or social investment networks.
- Experience designing referral journeys, customer pathways, partner onboarding processes or account-management frameworks.
- Experience using or improving digital referral platforms, CRM systems, forms or reporting processes.
- Understanding of SME finance, access-to-finance barriers, finance readiness, social enterprise finance or inclusive/local economic growth.
- Experience developing partnership agreements, memoranda of understanding, pilot plans or data-sharing processes.
How to Apply
Please send your CV and responses to the following questions to Careers4Change:
- What appeals to you about this job/Responsible Finance and why do you think you’ll do a great job?
- Tell us about a partnership or stakeholder relationship you developed. What was your approach, what changed as a result, and what did you learn?
- Based on what you know about Responsible Finance and CDFIs, what would your approach be to developing strong partnerships and referral pathways?
We recognise that the use of AI tools is widespread these days, and it is often obvious when it’s used. We will automatically reject applications where the use of AI without any editing or your original thoughts is evident. The ability to be thoughtful and tailor to your audience is crucial for being successful in this role.
Job title: Responsible Finance, Partnerships Manager
Location: Remote with frequent expenses-paid travel – up to 10 times /month
Reporting To: Programme Director
Contract: 18-month fixed term contract with intention to make permanent, subject to performance and funding
Salary: £40,000
Date Closes: Friday 17th July
We are looking for a collaborative, analytical, and organised Assistant FP&A Analyst to join us. In this role, you will be a key member of our Financial Partnering, Planning & Analysis team that sits within the wider Finance department.
This is a permanent, fully home-based role working 35 hours per week, offering excellent flexibility while keeping you connected to a passionate nationwide directorate.
The Assistant FP&A Analyst plays an important supporting role in contributing to budgeting, forecasting, financial modelling and reporting across the Society. You will help ensure we always have a reliable, accurate and well-presented single source of financial truth from which colleagues can make informed decisions.
Your days will be varied and meaningful. Working from home, you will support budgeting and forecasting cycles, maintain templates, and produce regular management account packs and dashboards for our Finance Business Partners and budget holders. You will also help develop intuitive financial tools, contribute to multi-year financial models, and gather operational feedback to drive continuous improvement across our processes. You will be part of a caring and dynamic team that values partnership, accountability, professionalism, and a restless desire to constantly improve.
About you
We recognise that candidates may not meet all the criteria listed. If you meet most of the essential requirements and are passionate about a career in FP&A, we strongly encourage you to apply. 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 are keen to hear from candidates who can demonstrate potential, capability, and a willingness to learn.
You will have:
- Some prior work experience within a Finance team environment.
- Ideally, be a part-qualified accountant (or actively working towards a qualification).
- A strong interest in data, analysis, and upskilling on financial tools on the job.
- Confidence using IT systems to streamline processes and reduce manual inputs.
- Strong organisational skills to manage your own workload and meet regular deadlines.
- A collaborative approach to building relationships with remote colleagues.
- The willingness to travel occasionally for team meetings and away days (a few times a year).
Key Responsibilities:
- Budgeting & Forecasting: Support end-to-end delivery of cycles, maintaining templates, timetables, and data collection from budget holders.
- Management Reporting: Produce and maintain regular account packs, dashboards, and reporting tools for Finance Business Partners and budget holders.
- Financial Modelling: Assist the FP&A Manager with multi-year financial models, scenario planning, and trend analysis to inform key assumptions.
- Process Improvement: Gather operational feedback on financial products to streamline workflows and improve data productivity
- Team Collaboration: Partner across the Finance and Assurance Directorate to ensure a consistent, joined-up "single point of truth."
- Compliance & Values: Maintain accurate, confidential records in line with data protection guidelines and role-model the Society’s core values.
Interviews for this role have been provisionally scheduled to take place on Teams, in the w/c 27th July and w/c 3rd August.
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.
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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.
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