Membership acquisition officer jobs in Birmingham
Acorns Children’s Hospice provides specialist care and support for babies, children and young people who are life limited or life threatened. Supporting over 750 children and nearly 1,000 families annually, Acorns is a vital lifeline for families across the West Midlands and Gloucestershire during unimaginably difficult times.
Over the past three years, Acorns’ leadership has enhanced collaboration and innovation across the charity and embedded an organisation-wide fundraising culture. They are now seeking a senior corporate partnerships specialist to lead Acorns’ newly formed Partnerships Team, which combines corporate new business, account management and community income streams.
A member of the Fundraising Leadership Team, the role will be responsible for securing and managing high-value strategic partnerships with businesses while simultaneously driving engagement with local community groups, education partners, and faith groups, ensuring clear tiering, structured pipeline progression and robust income performance.
The role will also act as Partnerships lead for the upcoming £5m fundraising appeal, co-canvassing alongside the Head of Philanthropy and executive leadership, and mobilising corporate and community networks around key campaign moments.
As Head of Partnerships, you will:
- Report to the Associate Director of Fundraising and line manage a team of four (Senior Business Development Manager (Corporate), Senior Corporate Partnerships Manager Senior Community Partnerships Manager, Partnership Engagement Officer)
- Form part of the Fundraising Leadership Team, with shared accountability for strategic decision making, compliance and cross-directorate working
- Lead and integrate Corporate and Community fundraising into a cohesive partnerships strategy aligned to the wider Fundraising Strategy
- Design and implement a three-year corporate and community income plan, with full budget and forecasting responsibility
- Conduct an audit of current partnerships activity, pipeline and resource allocation to ensure effort aligns to regional and national potential
- Lead corporate new business acquisition, securing multi-year strategic partnerships, Charity of the Year agreements, cause-related marketing, sponsorship and stock generation partnership
Essential skills and experience:
- Strong corporate fundraising background within a charity setting
- Proven track record of securing six-figure corporate gifts
- Experience managing and motivating teams to deliver robust income targets
- Experience designing strategies, annual plans and budgets and adapting them as required
- Strong knowledge of the corporate landscape, regionally and ideally nationally
- Confidence leading high-value pitches, negotiations and senior stakeholder engagement
- Experience of forecasting, reporting and managing income performance
- Strong working knowledge of CRM systems and fundraising compliance
Desirable:
- Experience across both local AND national corporate partnerships
- Exposure to community fundraising or engagement programmes
- Experience working on appeal boards or high-value campaign activity
Employee benefits include:
- 27 days annual leave plus bank holidays
- 5 days holiday buyback scheme starting from April 2026
- 7.5% employer pension contribution
- Life assurance scheme (2 x annual salary)
- Retail discounts (including the Blue Light card)
- Cycle to work scheme
- Discounted gym membership
- Access to expert financial health and wellbeing support
Hybrid working with 2dpw at preferred location (Birmingham, Worcester or Walsall).
When applying via CharityJob, please ensure that your CV reflects the essential skills and experience outlined above. You can use the notes section to share any additional information. Suitable applicants will be contacted and given full support with the formal application process.
Apply by Thursday 12th March.
Round 1 interviews – Tuesday 24 March & Wednesday 25 March
Round 2 interviews – Tuesday 31 March and Wednesday 1 April
Registered Charity 
101 - 500
Thank you!
Marie Curie is the UK’s leading end-of-life charity. We are the largest non-NHS provider of end-of-life care in the UK, the only provider across all 4 nations, delivering community nursing and hospice care across the country, while providing information and support on all aspects of dying, death, and bereavement. Our leading research pushes the boundaries of what we know about good end-of-life, and our campaigns fight for a world where everyone gets to have the best possible quality of life while living with an illness, they’re likely to die from.
Job DescriptionWe’re looking for an exceptional Legacy Administration Team Leader to play a critical role in safeguarding and maximising one of Marie Curie’s most significant income streams. This is a senior operational role suited to someone with large-charity experience, a strong commercial mindset, and the confidence to manage a high-volume, high-value caseload in a fast-paced environment.
You’ll oversee a team of three Legacy Officers, providing expert guidance, coaching and performance management while maintaining accountability for a portfolio of around 900 active cases. Alongside this, you’ll personally manage approximately 50 complex and contentious matters, including litigation-related cases, ensuring Marie Curie’s interests are protected through robust decision-making, cost-benefit analysis and close collaboration with our legal team.
What You’ll Do
- Lead, support and develop three Legacy Officers, ensuring high performance, quality assurance and clear progression pathways.
- Hold oversight and accountability for 900+ legacy cases, ensuring accuracy, compliance and timely administration.
- Manage a personal caseload of 50 complex and contentious matters, including litigation, disputes and reputationally sensitive issues.
- Work closely with the legal team, executors, solicitors and co-beneficiaries to protect Marie Curie’s entitlement.
- Apply strong commercial judgement, undertaking cost-benefit analysis and making informed decisions on behalf of the charity.
- Monitor KPIs, SLAs and quality standards, ensuring consistent excellence across the team.
- Provide expert technical guidance on wills, probate, tax, trusts and multi-jurisdictional UK estate administration.
- Support process improvement, systems optimisation and operational best practice.
- Deputise for the Legacy Administration Manager when required.
Skills & Experience Needed
- Proven line management experience, including performance management, coaching and developing staff.
- Significant experience in a large charity legacy administration team, ideally handling income of £20m+ annually.
- Demonstrable experience managing contentious and complex legacy cases, including litigation and dispute resolution.
- Advanced technical knowledge of wills, probate, trusts, tax and estate administration across multiple UK jurisdictions.
- Strong commercial mindset, able to assess risk, analyse costs and make confident, informed decisions.
- High-volume caseload management experience, with exceptional organisational skills and the ability to prioritise under pressure.
- Excellent stakeholder management, able to influence solicitors, executors, co-beneficiaries and internal teams.
- Exceptional attention to detail, especially when reviewing legal documentation, estate accounts and financial information.
- Strong systems capability, ideally with experience using FirstClass4 or similar legacy administration platforms.
Please see full job description
Application & Interview Process
- As part of your online application, you will be asked for a CV. Please review both the advert and job description and outline your most relevant skills, experience and knowledge for the role.
- Close date for applications: Sunday 4th January 2026
Salary: £41,000 + London Allowance (£3,500)
Contract: Contract, 12 months
Based: Homebased (can be based in London office 2 days per week)
Benefits you’ll LOVE:
- Flexible working. We’re happy to discuss flexible working at the interview stage.
- 25 days annual leave (exclusive of Bank Holidays)
- Marie Curie Group Personal Pension Scheme (we will match your contribution up to 7.5%)
- Loan schemes for bikes; computers and season tickets
- Continuous professional development opportunities.
- Industry-leading training programmes
- Wellbeing and Employee Assistance Programmes
- Enhanced bereavement, family friendly and sickness benefits
- Access to Blue Light Card membership
- Subsidised Eye Care
Additional Information
At Marie Curie, our values are central to everything we do. They guide how we care for people, how we work together, and how we make decisions every day. We are committed to creating a workplace that is safe for everyone — staff and volunteers alike — supportive, inclusive and rewarding. We take stringent steps to ensure that anyone who joins our organisation are suitable for their roles and are committed to safeguarding all our people from harm. We actively consider our impact on the planet, embedding sustainability into everyday decisions to create a lasting, positive difference for the individuals we care for and the world we share.
We believe everyone should have the opportunity to thrive and fulfil their potential. Marie Curie is deeply committed to diversity, equity and inclusion, recognising both the social justice imperative and the strength a diverse workforce brings. We actively encourage applications from people of all cultures, perspectives and lived experiences.
We are happy to make reasonable adjustments throughout the recruitment process. If you require any support, please contact us at .
Every application we receive is personally reviewed by a member of our Talent Acquisition team, and in return, we ask that your application authentically reflects you — your experience, perspective and voice.
