Head of Partnerships

The Talent Set is delighted to be partnering with Back Up to recruit a new Head of Partnerships. As Back Up celebrates its 40th anniversary, this is an exciting opportunity to join an ambitious and growing charity at a pivotal stage of its development.

Head of Partnerships
Salary: £50,000-£55,000 dependent on experience
Location: Hybrid, 2dpw in Wandsworth

Back Up supports people affected by spinal cord injury and their families to rebuild independence, confidence and a sense of purpose after injury. Through services delivered in spinal injury centres, hospitals, communities and through innovative digital platforms, the charity helps people to live the life they choose after spinal cord injury.

As the organisation continues to deliver its ambitious strategy, Limitless Ambition, they have invested significantly in the charity's infrastructure, leadership and systems, creating the foundations for long-term growth while maintaining the strong culture, values and lived experience that underpin its work.

The current strategy focuses on three key ambitions:

• Living confidently
• Everyone thriving
• Meaningful connections

Alongside continued service development, the organisation is investing in regional expansion across the UK, digital transformation and the development of strategic partnerships that will help increase both impact and income. With organisational income currently standing at approximately £3.2m, Back Up has ambitious plans to grow income to £5m by 2030, with this role playing a key part in these plans.

Reporting into the senior leadership team, the Head of Partnerships will lead a team of five colleagues across Trusts & Foundations, Corporate Partnerships and Special Events. The charity benefits from a well-established trusts programme, an engaged Development Board, strong existing relationships and a healthy fundraising pipeline. The opportunity now is to build on these solid foundations and unlock the significant growth potential that exists across the entire partnerships portfolio.

The successful candidate will play a key role in shaping the next phase of fundraising growth, strengthening existing relationships, developing compelling partnership propositions and creating a more joined-up approach across trusts, corporates, special events and wider fundraising activity.

This is a highly visible leadership role requiring someone who can think strategically whilst remaining actively involved in relationship management, opportunity development and fundraising delivery. The successful candidate will be comfortable moving between development board-level discussions, team leadership and hands-on fundraising activity.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead, develop and inspire the Partnerships team across Trusts & Foundations, Corporate Partnerships and Special Events.
• Develop and deliver ambitious fundraising plans that contribute to Back Up's target of growing income to £5m by 2030.
• Build and steward high-value relationships with trusts, foundations, statutory funders, corporate partners and senior stakeholders.
• Develop compelling funding propositions aligned to organisational priorities, service development and strategic objectives.
• Drive the growth of strategic partnerships and identify new opportunities for sustainable income generation.
• Work closely with colleagues across fundraising, communications and service delivery to maximise opportunities and strengthen collaboration.
• Engage effectively with Back Up's Development Board, leveraging networks and connections to unlock new relationships and opportunities.

The successful candidate will be able to demonstrate:

• A strong track record of delivering growth within high-value fundraising, with significant experience in either Trusts & Foundations or Corporate Partnerships fundraising.
• Experience of leading, developing and motivating successful teams.
• Exceptional relationship management and stakeholder engagement skills.
• The ability to identify and develop strategic fundraising opportunities.
• Strong proposition development skills and the ability to translate organisational priorities into compelling cases for support.
• Experience of working with senior stakeholders, volunteers, board members or corporate leaders.
• The ability to operate confidently at both strategic and operational levels.
• Experience of Special Events fundraising would be advantageous but is not essential.

Above all, we are looking for someone who shares Back Up's values and commitment to creating opportunities for people affected by spinal cord injury to thrive.

How to Apply
The deadline for this role is Wednesday 9th September, with 1st stage interviews to take place on 22nd September. To express an initial interest, please submit your CV demonstrating your suitability for this role by clicking the 'apply now' button (please do not apply via email). We aim to get back to all successful candidates within 48 working hours.

Commitment to Diversity
The Talent Set is committed to inclusive recruitment practices and welcomes applications from all backgrounds. We actively encourage applications from people with diverse experiences and are happy to discuss any reasonable adjustments required throughout the recruitment process.