Programme development and funding officer jobs in Belfast

Corporate Partnerships (Fundraising) Senior Lead 

Salary: £47,463 to £51,090 FTE (offer dependent on experience) pro rated at 0.6 FTE, plus £312 p.a working from home allowance (see below for more details on remuneration)

Contract: Part-time (0.6 FTE), permanent, remote first/home-based. 

Location: Remote, but with the expectation of flexibility to travel regularly to London and occasionally to other locations in the UK. (Applicants residing outside mainland UK will not be considered.)

About Voice 21 

Oracy is our ability to articulate our ideas, develop understanding, and engage with others through speaking, listening and communication. Like reading, writing and maths, oracy is fundamental for learning and life. Every child should be taught how to use their voice to thrive in education and beyond. Voice 21 is the national charity on a mission to secure high quality oracy education for every child. We know that teaching oracy skills improves children’s confidence, wellbeing, engagement and attainment. We support teachers and school leaders to weave oracy into everyday teaching and whole-school culture, to transform learning and outcomes for their pupils. We focus where we can make the most difference, in state schools that serve economically disadvantaged pupils. We also work to influence national policy and champion oracy across the education system. Follow the links to find out more about why oracy is so vital and the impact Voice 21 has. 

About this role 

Voice 21 is a rapidly growing national charity with a bold new strategy to 2030 and ambitious plans to double its fundraised income over the strategic period. We see significant potential for the corporate sector to engage with our work and support our mission to transform education and outcomes for young people. We are looking for an experienced corporate fundraising specialist to drive growth of our burgeoning Corporate Partnerships programme, unlock exciting new opportunities for support, and lead on developing new voluntary income from corporate partnerships. 

In this role, you will champion creative, insight-driven new business development and account management, ensuring partnerships are meaningful, mutually beneficial, and aligned with our mission. The role will encompass research and qualification, engagement of potential corporate partners, developing propositions and proposals, pitching and securing new partners, and relationship building and stewardship. This opportunity will suit someone proactive and self-motivated, with demonstrable experience of developing new corporate partnerships income from scratch, who is comfortable working independently, skilled in building relationships at all levels, and driven by Voice 21’s mission.

Main responsibilities 

• Working collaboratively across the organisation to build trusted relationships internally, maximise opportunities, and ensure corporate partnerships support our strategic objectives.

• Identifying and delivering opportunities to develop new partnerships, securing and onboarding new corporate partners through targeted engagement.

• Building and maintaining sustainable relationships with corporate contacts, ensuring excellent engagement and stewardship.

• Building and managing a robust pipeline of prospective partners, ensuring a strategic and targeted approach to new business.

• Collaborating across teams to shape and deliver high-value, mutually beneficial partnership proposals that align with organisational priorities. 

• Providing strategic support to the Head of Fundraising and Senior Leadership Team, ensuring where appropriate that senior colleagues are fully briefed and prepared.

• Contributing your sector knowledge, expertise and specialist insights to inform strategy and innovation and assist decision-making.

Your progression 

 Within 1 month, you’ll:

• Learn about the organisation, our mission, impact and case for support; understand our supporters, our fundraising strategy and activities; connect with colleagues and start to build key relationships. 

Within 3 months, you’ll:

• Review corporate partnerships strategy; build targeted list of new corporate prospects; develop partnerships propositions with colleagues. 

 Within 6 months, you’ll:

• own and start to execute corporate partnership strategy; drive pipeline development and prospect engagement; set longer term objectives and KPIs for the programme. 

Person specification 

• Demonstrable experience of setting up a corporate fundraising programme, with a track record of securing five-figure+ relationships and raising income to target.

• Knowledge and/or experience of a wide range of corporate income streams, from strategic partnerships and sponsorships, to cause-related marketing, employee engagement, gifts in kind, etc.

• Strong commercial awareness, with ability to identify and prioritise high-value opportunities. 

• Proactivity and assertiveness, with the ability to recognise and act on new opportunities, along with the tenacity to secure meetings. 

• Experience of building a portfolio of corporate sector prospects and managing a pipeline of opportunities. Ideally with experience of using Salesforce (or another CRM system) to manage pipelines, track performance, and report on outcomes.

• Excellent interpersonal skills with the ability to build and maintain relationships at all levels, negotiating and influencing to achieve successful outcomes. 

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with confident and engaging presentation abilities.

• Strong organisational skills and the ability to manage multiple priorities effectively.

• Knowledge of fundraising legislation, ethics, compliance, and data protection requirements.

• Self-motivated, comfortable working autonomously, and able to take ownership of own performance. Comfortable in a fast-paced, iterative culture.

Who you’ll work with: Your line manager will be the Head of Fundraising. There is also a full-time Fundraising Officer in the team who will provide some support for this role. The postholder should expect to work regularly with the CEO and wider leadership team. Fundraising sits within Voice 21’s Operations Directorate.

Where you’ll work: All Voice 21 staff work remotely and this is a home-based role, with some travel expected to our London office (near Victoria station) and elsewhere for meetings. Occasional overnight stays may be required. Voice 21 pays all travel and accommodation expenses.

Why work for Voice 21?

Tackle a vital challenge, with great people. Voice 21 exists to transform children's learning and life chances through talk and we are aiming to be working with 2000 schools a year by 2025. To reach this goal we recruit great people and give them real responsibility, training and support. 

Output focused culture, with flexible working opportunities. We have an agile and flexible approach; our team can work when and wherever works best to deliver the requirements of their role. For staff working at home, we support them to create a workspace and provide technology that enables them to work effectively. 

Real development opportunities. We believe in supporting people to develop the skills they need to be excellent - whether this means funding external training, finding a mentor to support them or giving them the time to learn from others in the organisations through our regular CPD sessions. We also offer paid study leave for team members taking part in formal studies outside of work.

Great benefits. 36 days holiday (inclusive of bank holidays and a 3 day Christmas closure period). Holiday entitlement increases linked to length of service, 5% employer contribution to pension, interest-free season ticket, cycle and technology loans, employee assistance scheme. 

Remuneration. Our pay is a band and spine point approach, whereby up to 7 years (depending on starting point) annual pay progression is automatically available.

How to apply

Please submit your C.V. clearly summarising your work experience and achievements, along with a written statement (max. length 1,000 words / 2 sides of A4) that addresses these three questions: 

1. Please tell us about the highest value corporate partnership you have personally secured and which you developed from start to finish:

• How did you go about identifying the prospect and opportunity?

• How did you go about developing the relationship before you secured the partnership?

• What were the features of the partnership and what was the value for the charity and the company?

• What was your role in developing the pitch and how did you go about landing the deal?

• What was the outcome and/or impact of securing this partnership?

1. Reflecting on the example you have shared, what did you learn from this experience? And how does that learning show up in your approach to corporate partnerships fundraising? 

1. What interests you about Voice 21, and about undertaking this role specifically? What do you anticipate will be the challenges and opportunities in this role? 

Closing date:  9am Monday 24th August. (We reserve the right to close applications before the stated closing date if a sufficient number of suitable applications is received.)

Interview dates: 1st stage virtual interviews (via Zoom) expected to be held on Thursday 27th August. Candidates progressing to 2nd stage will be invited to interview in person at our central London office, expected to be on Wednesday 2nd September.

Valuing every voice

Voice 21 believes that every voice should be heard and valued. We are committed to the equal treatment of all current and prospective employees and do not condone discrimination on the basis of age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity, race or ethnicity, religion or belief, gender identity, or marriage and civil partnership. 

Voice 21 is a diverse and inclusive workplace and we strongly encourage suitably qualified applicants from a wide range of backgrounds to apply and join us. By offering a salary range, we demonstrate our commitment to considering a wide range of applicants who may bring different perspectives and levels of experience.

Job Purpose

Sequence ME & Long Covid is one of the most ambitious whole-genome sequencing studies ever undertaken into ME and Long Covid, co-led by Action for ME. Building on the success of DecodeME, this proposed £20 million study will use large-scale, long-read whole-genome sequencing to analyse the entire genetic code of 9,000 people with ME and 9,000 people with Long Covid - making it the world's largest 'long-read' whole-genome sequencing study of any disease.

Current funding supports project mobilisation, partnership development, and the development of the Long Covid arm of the study, including agreeing case definitions and gathering expressions of interest from people with Long Covid. Phase 2 has recently been confirmed, backed by £4.75m from the UK government and a further £174,414 from the WE&ME Foundation, and will focus on sequencing 6,000 ME/CFS samples previously collected through DecodeME using Oxford Nanopore's long-read sequencing technology, running alongside Phase 1.

You will play a pivotal role supporting the Sequence ME & Long Covid project in several different ways. Working closely with the project's management team and other team members, you will help ensure the smooth day-to-day running of this landmark study, providing administrative support to the various people and partners involved in delivering it.

As a self-starter, you will manage a range of tasks including meeting scheduling, taking meeting minutes, preparing governance documents, event administration, and broader project support - no two days will be the same.

You will need to maintain a high level of confidentiality at all times, particularly when supporting governance meetings and handling sensitive project documentation.

As a team player, you will provide comprehensive, confidential and organised administrative support, developing a deep understanding of the project and building strong, effective working relationships with colleagues, researchers and external partners.

Remote working at home can be challenging for some and works incredibly well for others. You will need to be able to work independently, use your own initiative, and remain proactive in maintaining good levels of communication with colleagues.

Key Duties

• Help monitor inboxes and respond to routine project enquiries in a timely and sensitive manner, escalating more complex matters as appropriate
• Assist the project's management team and other team members with meeting scheduling and diary coordination
• Take accurate minutes at project, management and other project-related meetings, and follow up and track resulting actions to completion
• Prepare, format and proof-read governance documents and papers
• Maintain and update project databases including the Teams channel, ensuring documents are saved correctly, other management information/recording systems to ensure accurate and timely record-keeping. Help with the tracking of expressions of interest from potential study participants.
• Provide administrative support for project events - from planning and logistics through to on-the-day support
• Help prepare presentations, slide decks and briefing materials for internal meetings, funders, partners and participant-facing communications
• Support the drafting, formatting and coordination of project communications, such as updates for partners, funders or the wider ME and Long Covid community
• Support coordination between internal teams and external partners, including research and funding partners
• Maintain project files and documentation in line with agreed communication operating procedures with internal and external partners ensuring information is well organised, up to date and easy for the team to access
• Maintain confidentiality at all times and in line with relevant policies and procedures, ensuring compliance with GDPR and that all data consent processes have been followed in relation to data protection
• Positively promote the work of the Sequence ME & Long Covid project and Action for ME at all times
• Undertake any other reasonable activity in line with the responsibilities of the post, as requested by the CEO, Business Development & Partnerships Manager, Senior Research Manager or the project's Management Team

Person Specification

Essential skills and experience

• Organisational skills - Highly organised with the ability to manage multiple tasks across a fast-moving research project, with attention to detail and accuracy maintained under pressure
• Communication - Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to interact effectively with diverse audiences including researchers, funders and people affected by ME and Long Covid
• IT literacy - Proficient with common office software, including Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Outlook, Teams, PowerPoint), and able to quickly learn relevant project management, database or communications systems as needed
• Problem-solving - A creative and solution-focused mindset to address challenges and find innovative ways to improve processes
• Adaptability - Capable of managing changing priorities, working flexibly, and adapting to the needs of a fast-paced, ambitious research programme
• Initiative - A proactive approach, with the ability to work independently and take initiative, while also following clear instructions when given
• Teamwork - A collaborative team player with a proven ability to work effectively as part of a team, including a remote-working team spanning multiple partners and stakeholders
• Interest in the sector - A genuine interest in health research, the Third Sector, and a desire to take action to improve the lives of people with ME and Long Covid
• Experience - Demonstrable ability to be an effective administrator, ideally within a charity, research, or project environment. Experience supporting governance processes, events, or communications would be an advantage but is not essential

Desirable skills and experience

• Experience providing administrative support for scientific or research-related projects
• Experience writing and communicating with non-specialist or general audiences

Who we are: Brake is the national, acclaimed charity delivering the National Road Victim Service, a specialist, accredited, UK-wide support service for road victims, delivering case-managed care for anyone who has been bereaved or seriously injured in a road crash or who is supporting a road crash victim.

Not your average job: This is a highly specialised frontline role supporting people affected by traumatic road deaths and life-changing injuries. We are seeking candidates with a strong understanding of trauma-informed practice and experience supporting people through the impact of traumatic bereavement and/or injury.

You will provide a specialist trauma-informed and bereavement-informed approach to care, helping individuals and families navigate the immediate and long-term impact of sudden loss or catastrophic injury. You will undertake a comprehensive needs, risk and safety assessment from which a bespoke support plan will be agreed with the person and/or families, ensuring that immediate wellbeing needs, vulnerabilities and safeguarding considerations are identified and addressed.

By joining this role, you will make a profound difference to individuals and families during their most difficult moments, helping them regain stability, access practical and emotional support, and navigate the complexities of the criminal justice or coronial process with guidance and care.

Take a look at our comprehensive job description for more details.

What we offer:

- A generous 35 days of annual leave (including bank holidays and 3-day shutdown period between Christmas and New Year, pro-rata for part-time working patterns)

- Birthday day off (taken any time)

- Enhanced sick pay and compassionate leave

- Death in service benefit

- Pension

- Employee Assistance Programme

- Flexible working

- A rewarding role with purpose

- Be part of a skilled, friendly team with an engaged Board of Trustees 

Who you are: We need energised and resilient self-starters with experience in supporting traumatic grief and post-traumatic stress. a background in providing high-quality emotional support and advocacy. Experience in the following sectors often provides a robust toolkit of high-level transferable skills: Police or criminal justice roles, family liaison, counselling or trauma support, health and social care, casework in any related field

Specifically seeking candidates with:

- Experience with people affected by trauma, sudden bereavement, or serious injury

- Understanding of trauma-informed practice and ability to provide support sensitively

- Experience identifying and responding to safeguarding and vulnerability concerns

- Strong advocacy skills ability to act as a powerful voice for service users, expertly navigating external networks, assemble resources and cross-functional support where required.

About us: At Brake, we are committed to creating a truly inclusive workplace where all colleagues feel valued, respected, and supported. We welcome applications from all backgrounds and life experiences, and particularly encourage candidates from the global majority, LGBTQIA+ community, and people with disabilities to apply.

We believe that diverse perspectives strengthen our work and enable us to deliver the best possible support to individuals and families affected by road trauma. As a proud Disability Confident employer, we don’t want you to ‘fit’ our culture, we want you to enrich it

If you are passionate about making a difference and share our vision for a world where no one is killed on our roads, we want to hear from you.

Not for traffic offenders: Due to the nature of our work we can't accept applications from traffic offenders. Candidates will be asked to disclose whether they have any unspent points or driving convictions on their licence at interview.

An enhanced DBS check is required due to the sensitive nature of our service.

Join us today and be part of the solution! 

Who we are: Brake is the national, acclaimed charity delivering the National Road Victim Service, a specialist, accredited, UK-wide support service for road victims, delivering case-managed care for anyone who has been bereaved or seriously injured in a road crash or who is supporting a road crash victim.

Not your average job: This is a highly specialised frontline role supporting people affected by traumatic road deaths and life-changing injuries. We are seeking candidates with a strong understanding of trauma-informed practice and experience supporting people through the impact of traumatic bereavement and/or injury.

You will provide a specialist trauma-informed and bereavement-informed approach to care, helping individuals and families navigate the immediate and long-term impact of sudden loss or catastrophic injury. You will undertake a comprehensive needs, risk and safety assessment from which a bespoke support plan will be agreed with the person and/or families, ensuring that immediate wellbeing needs, vulnerabilities and safeguarding considerations are identified and addressed.

By joining this role, you will make a profound difference to individuals and families during their most difficult moments, helping them regain stability, access practical and emotional support, and navigate the complexities of the criminal justice or coronial process with guidance and care.

Take a look at our comprehensive job description for more details.

What we offer:

- A generous 35 days of annual leave (including bank holidays and 3-day shutdown period between Christmas and New Year, pro-rata for part-time working patterns)

- Birthday day off (taken any time)

- Enhanced sick pay and compassionate leave

- Death in service benefit

- Pension

- Employee Assistance Programme

- Flexible working

- A rewarding role with purpose

- Be part of a skilled, friendly team with an engaged Board of Trustees 

Who you are: We need energised and resilient self-starters with experience in supporting traumatic grief and post-traumatic stress. a background in providing high-quality emotional support and advocacy. Experience in the following sectors often provides a robust toolkit of high-level transferable skills: Police or criminal justice roles, family liaison, counselling or trauma support, health and social care, casework in any related field

Specifically seeking candidates with:

- Experience with people affected by trauma, sudden bereavement, or serious injury

- Understanding of trauma-informed practice and ability to provide support sensitively

- Experience identifying and responding to safeguarding and vulnerability concerns

- Strong advocacy skills ability to act as a powerful voice for service users, expertly navigating external networks, assemble resources and cross-functional support where required.

About us: At Brake, we are committed to creating a truly inclusive workplace where all colleagues feel valued, respected, and supported. We welcome applications from all backgrounds and life experiences, and particularly encourage candidates from the global majority, LGBTQIA+ community, and people with disabilities to apply.

We believe that diverse perspectives strengthen our work and enable us to deliver the best possible support to individuals and families affected by road trauma. As a proud Disability Confident employer, we don’t want you to ‘fit’ our culture, we want you to enrich it

If you are passionate about making a difference and share our vision for a world where no one is killed on our roads, we want to hear from you.

Not for traffic offenders: Please note:  Due to the nature of our work we can't accept applications from traffic offenders where offences are unspent.  Candidates will be asked to disclose whether they have any unspent points on their licence at interview.

An enhanced DBS check is required due to the sensitive nature of our service.

Join us today and be part of the solution! 

Lead the launch of the UK's first Refugee Employment Marketplace and help transform how displaced people connect with jobs, employers and employment support.​ This is a remote, home-based role for candidates currently based in Wales. 

The Refugee Employment Network (REN) is the UK's national network dedicated exclusively to refugee employment. We bring together employers, charities, local authorities, government and refugee-led organisations to improve employment outcomes and create a more inclusive labour market.

About the role

We are seeking an experienced Digital Product Lead to lead the implementation, rollout and continuous improvement of the Refugee Employment Marketplace and wider digital systems across the Refugee Employment Network.

The Refugee Employment Marketplace is a digital platform connecting displaced people in the UK with jobs, employers and employment support.

Working closely with developers, partners and users, you will help ensure the Marketplace is successfully implemented, accessible, adopted and scaled across Wales and the wider REN network. We're looking for someone who enjoys turning ideas into practical solutions, building partnerships and using digital to create social impact.

Purpose of the Role and Key Responsibilities

1. Digital Product Development & Delivery

· Lead the implementation, customisation and continuous improvement of the Refugee Employment Marketplace to meet REN’s organisational goals and user needs.

· Work with external platform providers and developers to coordinate product delivery, customisation, timelines and ongoing improvements.

· Build and maintain project plans, documentation and delivery processes to support successful implementation and rollout.

· Coordinate platform testing, user feedback and troubleshooting to improve functionality, accessibility and user experience.

· Support the integration of REN’s wider digital systems, including website and CRM.

2. Co-design & Partnerships

· Convene and coordinate REN’s Digital Advisory Group to inform the design and continuous improvement of the Refugee Employment Marketplace.

· Facilitate focus groups, user testing and feedback sessions with refugees, employers, charities, local authorities and employment advisers to improve platform design, accessibility and user experience.

· Ensure experts by experience are meaningfully involved in shaping and testing the platform.

3. Platform Rollout, Training & User Support

· Lead the rollout and adoption of the Refugee Employment Marketplace across Wales and the wider REN network.

· Develop onboarding processes, training and guidance materials  to support effective use of the platform.

· Act as the first point of contact for user support, including account setup, login support, troubleshooting and user journey guidance.

4. CRM, Website & Digital Infrastructure Management

· Lead the scoping, procurement and implementation of a new CRM system

· Oversee the integration and continuous improvement of REN’s website and wider digital systems to ensure they are integrated and accessible. 

5. Data, Reporting & Digital Compliance

· Lead on data protection, GDPR compliance and digital security across REN’s digital platforms and systems.

· Maintain accurate, secure and effective data management practices, including user records, permissions and data quality.

6. Marketplace Growth, Sustainability & Impact

· Build relationships with employers, industry bodies and strategic partners to grow platform adoption, secure opportunities and strengthen the value proposition of the Marketplace.

· Support the matching of displaced talent to jobs, opportunities and employment support, including manual interventions where needed to improve outcomes and user experience.

· Track and report on employment outcomes, employer engagement and platform impact to inform growth, improvement and sustainability.

Person Specification

We recognise that no candidate is likely to meet every criteria listed below. We encourage applications from people who can demonstrate the skills, knowledge and potential to succeed in this role, even if they have gained their experience in different sectors, countries or through voluntary, community or lived experience.

We welcome transferable skills and experience gained through paid work, voluntary roles, community leadership or lived experience, in the UK or internationally.

Essential

Digital Product & Project Management

· Experience managing or supporting the development, implementation, rollout and continuous improvement of digital products, platforms or technology-enabled projects.

· Experience managing external developers, contractors or digital suppliers to deliver digital products or systems.

· Strong organisational and project management skills, with the ability to work independently, use initiative and manage competing priorities.

·Ability to support the implementation and adoption of new digital products, platforms or systems.

Partnerships & Training

·Currently based in Wales, with the ability to build relationships and engage with employers, partners and stakeholders across the country.

·    Strong relationship-building skills, with experience developing partnerships and growing engagement with employers, charities, government or sector organisations to support the adoption and growth of a digital product, platform, project or service.

·Ability to facilitate workshops, focus groups or training sessions to support the adoption of digital tools or systems, or equivalent transferable experience.

·Ability to communicate digital information clearly to non-technical audiences through training, onboarding and user support.

Digital Systems & User Support

· Experience developing, managing or supporting digital platforms, CRM systems, websites or other online tools.

· Ability to provide day-to-day user support, including onboarding, troubleshooting and helping users engage confidently with digital platforms.

· Understanding of user-centred design, accessibility and digital inclusion.

Data and Compliance

· Experience using data, analytics or reporting to inform digital improvements and decision-making.

· Understanding of GDPR, data protection and digital security best practice.

Values & Commitment

· Commitment to REN’s mission and passion for improving refugee employment outcomes, equity and inclusion.=

Desirable

· Lived experience as a refugee, asylum seeker, displaced person or migrant, or direct experience of the UK immigration or asylum system.

· Experience of CRM procurement, implementation or data migration.

· Knowledge of refugee employment barriers and the wider migration or asylum landscape in the UK.

Equity and inclusion at the Refugee Employment Network

The Refugee Employment Network values equity, diversity and inclusion in our workplace and we encourage applications from suitably qualified and eligible candidates regardless of sex, race, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, religion or belief, marital status, or pregnancy and maternity status, or socio-economic background.

We are committed to building a team that reflects the communities we work with. We particularly welcome applications from people who identify as experts by experience and recognise the valuable insight that lived experience of forced displacement, migration and the UK asylum and immigration system brings to our work. Please note that candidates must have the right to work in the UK.

We respect that people’s identity is not defined by their past experiences and do not expect candidates to describe their lived experience during the application or interview process unless they wish to do so.

How to apply

Application, CV and Cover Letter

To apply, please complete the application Type form by 5pm on Sunday, 9 August. You will be asked to upload your CV and a cover letter (no more than 2 pages) when completing the Typeform application. Link in the JD. 

In your cover letter, please outline how you meet the criteria listed above and how your experience is relevant to the role. We encourage you to apply even if you do not meet all the requirements listed in the person specification. We value experience from both paid and voluntary roles, in the UK or overseas, and encourage you to demonstrate your passion for the role, as well as the unique perspectives and skills you bring.