Membership acquisition team leader jobs in Manchester
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Purpose of the Role
The Director of External Affairs and Growth is an SLT role responsible for leveraging the voice and power of the eoa's network to influence and accelerate the growth of the employee owned sector.
The role leads the eoa’s external affairs, policy and insights, marcomms and events, shaping the external environment for employee ownership and securing the funding and commercial income needed to support sustainable sector growth.
Key Responsibilities
- Lead external affairs strategy, building the relationships and influence needed to shape policy, remove barriers and expand EO.
- Build strategic relationships and secure grant funding and commercial partnerships, generating income to support advocacy, events and sector growth initiatives, including the UK EO Growth Strategy.
- Oversee our policy and insights work, engaging key stakeholders to co-produce content that influences EO practice and policy and strengthens the eoa’s voice in public affairs.
- Oversee the delivery of a mar-comms strategy that delivers commercial objectives and positions the eoa as the leading authority on EO.
- Oversee our events programmes, ensuring they drive knowledge-sharing, sector development
- and commercial sustainability.
- Represent the eoa at industry forums, policy roundtables and public affairs events,
- championing the employee ownership model.
- Collaborate with the Director of Membership and Operations to align advocacy and external
- engagement with member needs and priorities.
- Lead and develop high-performing teams, fostering innovation and delivering measurable impact across income generation, advocacy, policy, events and mar-comms activities
Knowledge, Experience, and Attributes
- Proven expertise in external affairs, advocacy, or policy leadership, ideally within a business, trade body, or membership association.
- Strong stakeholder engagement skills, with experience influencing government, media, and corporate partners.
- Demonstrated ability to drive sectoral or policy change, leading successful advocacy initiatives.
- Strong commercial acumen, with experience in sponsorship acquisition, revenue generation, grant funding and developing financially sustainable initiatives.
- Exceptional strategic communication and storytelling skills, able to engage and mobilise diverse audiences.
- Experience in event programming, ensuring high engagement and sector impact.
- Passion for employee ownership and economic models that promote shared prosperity.
- Innovative, creative, and proactive in problem-solving and strategy execution.
- A confident and transparent leader who fosters collaboration and inclusivity.
- Self-aware with emotional intelligence, resilience, and integrity.
What Constitutes Success in This Role?
Success in this role means having a positive impact on the growth of the employee-owned sector, strengthening the eoa’s influence and increasing the adoption of “great EO”. Stronger stakeholder relationships, greater advocacy impact and improved commercial sustainability through a diverse mix of grant funding, sponsorships and strategic partnerships will also be key indicators of success.
Key outcomes for the role
- Outcome - Growth of the employee ownership sector
- Measure - Increased number of EO businesses, heightened sector awareness
- Outcome - Strengthened corporate engagement
- Measure - Growth in strategic partnerships, corporate and government engagement
- Outcome - Strong Commercial Sustainability
- Measure - Increased sponsorship revenue, secured long-term commercial partnerships
- Outcome -Increased policy influence
- Measure - Policy recommendations adopted, increased government engagement
- Outcome - Enhanced sector insight and intelligence
- Measure - Utilisation of high quality data and insights for regular sector related content outputs
- Outcome - Development and adoption of best practice
- Measure - Creation, adoption and promotion of best practice across the EO network.
- Outcome - Successful events programmes
- Measure - Increased participation, sponsorship growth, positive feedback.
How to Apply
To apply, please submit:
- A two-page CV
- And one of either:
- Cover letter setting out your motivation, approach, and what you will bring to the role
- Video (maximum 10 minutes) setting out your motivation, approach, and what you will bring to the role
Applications should be submitted before 9:00am 17 August 2026. We will close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the role. If you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible.
Interviews will be in two stages. The first stage will be a virtual interview via teams on
26 August. For those who successfully move to stage 2 there will be an in-person
discussion w.c. 31 August.
The eoa welcomes applications from people of all backgrounds, particularly those
who are under-represented. We recruit based on values, skills, and contribution to our
purpose.
Non Charity Employer
11 - 20
We exist to grow and strengthen employee ownership as a force for powering fairer livelihoods, stronger businesses, and a more resilient economy.
Thank you!
Actively Interviewing
This organisation is scheduling interviews as applications come in. They're ready to hire as soon as they find the right person. Don't miss your opportunity, apply now!
About Us
NCT is the national charity for pregnancy, birth, infant feeding and early parenthood.
Our vision is simple: a society where everyone who becomes a parent feels confident, connected and safe.
Through our For Every Parent strategy, we're working to make that vision a reality. We support parents with trusted information, practical help, local communities and a stronger voice in the issues that matter to families.
For 70 years, we've been by parents' sides through the excitement, uncertainty, wonder and challenges of becoming a parent. Today, our volunteers contribute more than 70,000 hours of community service each year, helping parents build friendships, find support and feel less alone.
We educate and empower parents with evidence-based information and support. We advocate and act by listening to parents' experiences, raising their voices and campaigning for change. No judgement. No exceptions.
About the role
This is an exciting opportunity to lead NCT’s marketing through an important period of growth, change and brand development, joining us for a 12 month fixed-term contract to cover maternity leave.
As Head of Marketing, you’ll lead our integrated marketing function, with a clear focus on driving income growth, particularly through course bookings, strengthening how parents see and experience NCT, and supporting wider revenue generation through partnerships.
You’ll bring together brand, content, campaigns and performance marketing so that our activity is more coordinated, audience-led and commercially focused. Working closely with colleagues across Parent Services, Fundraising, Digital Product and the wider organisation, you’ll make sure marketing plans are clearly connected to the outcomes that matter - from first awareness through to booking a course and beyond.
You’ll also play a key role leading NCT’s Content Studio: a central in-house function designed to deliver high-quality, consistent and effective content across our website, social media, email, campaigns and other channels.
This is a senior leadership role for someone who can balance strategic thinking with practical delivery, brand building with commercial performance, and creativity with clear measurement and accountability.
Your role will include:
- Leading a commercially focused marketing strategy that drives course bookings, supports partnership income and strengthens NCT’s visibility with parents.
- Setting clear campaign cycles and making sure paid, owned and earned channels work together as a coordinated system.
- Acting as guardian of NCT’s brand, ensuring clarity, consistency and integrity across marketing, communications and wider organisational activity.
- Leading NCT’s Content Studio, making sure content is high quality, accessible, audience-led and aligned with our brand, messaging and tone of voice.
- Overseeing marketing performance, including paid media, agency relationships, campaign KPIs, budget management and reporting.
- Using insight, performance data, brand tracking and parent feedback to improve marketing activity and support better decisions.
- Building strong relationships across NCT, helping teams work together effectively and reducing silos around shared priorities.
- Leading and developing your team with clarity, trust and clear expectations, creating the conditions for people to do their best work.
- Supporting a culture of inclusive, values-led leadership where fairness, accessibility, collaboration and trust are reflected in how decisions are made and work is delivered.
About you
You’ll be a strategic, commercially minded marketing leader who understands how to turn insight into action and activity into measurable results.
You’ll be confident leading integrated campaigns, managing budgets and using performance data to make decisions. You’ll understand how brand, content, audience insight, digital channels and commercial outcomes connect, and you’ll be able to bring those elements together in a clear, focused and practical way.
You’ll also be someone who can create pace without creating confusion. You’ll set direction clearly, help people prioritise, and give teams the confidence to move forward. You won’t wait for everything to be perfect before making progress, but you’ll have the judgement to know where quality, consistency and risk need careful attention.
Alongside this, you’ll be a collaborative and inclusive leader who enjoys working across an organisation, building strong relationships and helping others see how marketing can support shared goals.
You’ll bring:
- Experience of leading integrated marketing activity that supports income growth, customer acquisition or commercial performance.
- Strong understanding of brand, content, campaigns and channel planning, including how different channels work together.
- Confidence using data, insight and performance reporting to shape strategy and improve activity.
- Experience managing budgets, forecasting spend, and making decisions about return on investment.
- Strong judgement, with the ability to balance brand building, income performance, audience needs and organisational priorities.
- The ability to lead teams through delegation, coaching and clear decision-making.
- A proactive, improvement-focused approach, with confidence introducing new ways of working and helping teams become more forward-looking.
- Excellent stakeholder engagement skills and the ability to work well across boundaries.
- Strong emotional intelligence, resilience and judgement, particularly when working through change or ambiguity.
- A commitment to NCT’s purpose, values and ambition to be there for every parent.
Our Benefits – What we offer you
We value our team and offer fantastic benefits to support your well-being and professional growth:
- 30 days annual leave (excluding Bank Holidays)
- Pension matched up to 5%
- Flexible working options to suite your lifestyle
- Employee Assistance Programme, including 24/7 GP access, personalised counselling, legal advice and more
- Cycle to work scheme to support sustainable commuting
- Life Assurance for peace of mind
- Free eye test for all staff, with further discounts
- Blue Light discount card
At NCT, we’re committed to fostering an inclusive and diverse workforce. If you need reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process or within your role, please let us know—we’re here to support you.Ready to make a difference? Apply now and be part of something truly special.
Registered Charity
101 - 500
We are the charity supporting people as they become parents. Here through pregnancy, birth, and early parenthood.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.