Director of Income Generation

Duchenne UK is an ambitious, dynamic and impactful charity. Following their sons’ diagnosis of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), Emily Reuben and Alex Johnson founded Duchenne UK in 2012. 

DMD is a devastating progressive condition diagnosed in early childhood which causes all the muscles in the body to gradually weaken. There are currently only very limited treatment options for DMD, so Emily and Alex set up Duchenne UK to change this. 

Since 2012, we have raised more than £27 million to end the devastating impact of DMD.  We fund ground-breaking scientific research to find effective treatments. We’ve developed the infrastructure of DMD clinical trial delivery in the UK. We engage industry and regulators to accelerate access to treatments. And we’re here to support every family affected and ensure that they receive the best possible care. We aim not only to improve quality of life but stop the disease in its tracks. We’re doing it faster too, because this generation of patients can’t wait.

Alex and Emily were awarded OBEs in The King’s Birthday Honours List in 2023 in recognition of their services to charity and to people living with DMD. They, and the dedicated and effective team they have built at Duchenne UK, are now at the forefront of this work in the UK.

New opportunity to join our team

We have a new opportunity to join our team and build on these achievements. We are recruiting for a Director of Income Generation, who will be a key part of our senior leadership team and play a vital role in helping us achieve our mission.

The Director of Income Generation will work collaboratively across the organisation to oversee and grow all of Duchenne UK’s income streams including fundraising, commercial engagement, and new business opportunities.

The Director of Income Generation will report to the CEO and sit on the Senior Leadership team, working closely alongside the Director of Research and Development and Director of Finance.  

Working for Duchenne UK

We are a friendly, energetic, and determined team. As we are led by two parents of boys who live with DMD, our team has a very strong feeling of contribution to our mission.  Over recent years, our Co-Founders have added high end skills and expertise to the team which has elevated Duchenne UK to be a high profile charity, delivering impact across not only DMD but rare disease.

We prioritise team building and wellness through an annual offsite Team Away Day and an annual offsite Wellness Day, alongside social activity throughout the year.

We operate a hybrid working week, to balance our team-based culture with a positive home-life. In the summer months of July and August, staff benefit from ‘Summer Fridays’, allowing them half days on Fridays (pro rata’d for part time staff) to enjoy the long summer weekends.

About the role

At a strategic level this role is responsible for leading on all aspects of income, including fundraising, commercial engagement, and new business opportunities, leading the development and delivery of a bold and effective income strategy to support our organisational ambitions and future sustainability.

The Director of Income Generation will inspire and develop the charity’s income team, taking overall responsibility for setting and achieving income targets for the organisation. They will ensure a collaborative and integrated approach to income generation across the organisation.

The Director of Income Generation will report to the CEO and be part of the Senior Leadership team, working closely alongside the Managing Director, Finance Director and Director of Research and Development.  They will line manage a team to support the delivery of the income strategy.

Job Description

Income Generation

• Aligned to the organisational strategy, designing and delivering Duchenne UK’s income generation strategy, establishing a delivery plan to hit targets across a diverse range of income streams, including community fundraising, events, trusts and foundations, major donors, research and development grants and commercial income.
• Oversee the process and systems of managing funders and new business opportunities, including overseeing the charity’s CRM system (Salesforce) to support a high end and holistic approach to the account management of funders and stakeholders.
• Set, monitor and deliver annual income and expenditure targets.
• Attend meetings with funders and prospects, and networking events to uncover new opportunities, including management of Duchenne UK’s Development Board.
• Developing and growing the income pipeline, working closely with the Research and Development team to identify funding for existing and pipeline projects.
• Support the team to develop professional and engaging materials including fundraising proposition, applications, proposals, appeals, pitches and reports.
• Proactively seek-out and identify new trends and developments and make recommendations to Duchenne UK.
• Oversee reporting to ensure the preparation and timely submission of reports on progress on objectives, budgets and targets.

Strategy

• Provide strategic insight and vision both externally and internally as part of the Senior Leadership Team.
• Provide strategic insight and foresight to proactively identify and secure new opportunities.
• Work alongside Board members to maximise income generation opportunities, provide reports and updates where required and support the work of the Finance Committee.
• Develop and nurture an ongoing interest and deep understanding of Duchenne UK’s work so that they can confidently and passionately convey the value and impact externally.

Leadership

• Be an inspiring ambassador for the vision of Duchenne UK and ensure it is reflected in the strategies, outputs and behaviour of the income team.
• Create an income team which is ambitious and passionate about Duchenne UK, providing leadership, coaching and setting priorities and targets.
• Lead the team in their approach to sourcing new business/funding opportunities through bids and pitches.
• Build strong working relationships with our founders, members of the Board, strategic partners and colleagues at all levels, adopting and encouraging a collaborative working approach.
• Provide line management to direct reports, setting and monitoring individual performance objectives and motivating the team to be innovative and professional in its thinking and delivery.
• Ensure all staff receive consistent and motivating direction and feedback to enable them to work to the best of their ability.
• Keep up to date market information and competitive intelligence in target sectors/markets.
• Carrying out any other duties as required; which are consistent with the duties and responsibilities of the post.

Budgeting, reporting and compliance

• Manage the income budget, providing regular reports as required to the Senior Leadership Team, Finance Committee and the Board of Trustees.
• Set, deliver and monitor the income generation delivery plan, ensuring all objectives and KPIs are met and are managed as appropriate.
• Work proactively to identify and monitor risk, working alongside the Compliance and Risk Committee to mitigate risks as part of the wider risk management process.
• Ensure income generation complies with legal and regulatory standards.
• Keep up to date with Charity Commission regulations and guidelines.

Person Specification

Knowledge and experience, a proven track record of:

• Strong track record of meeting income targets in a leadership role.
• Developing and implementing a strategy to generate income.
• Leading, managing and inspiring high performing teams.
• Strategic planning, budgeting and monitoring.
• Fostering successful relationships and partnerships with key external stakeholders.

Skills and Competencies:

• Collaborative working style and excellent relationship building skills.
• Good organisational skills with the ability to prioritise work effectively to meet deadlines and to work autonomously.
•  Applying passion and creativity to develop successful funding activities.
• A strategic thinker with the ability to see the bigger picture and make decisions in line with the charity’s needs as part of a team.
• Team management – leading, line management, and developing the income team.
• Target focused and results driven with an ambition to drive activity forward.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to speak engagingly to a wide range of audiences and to represent Duchenne UK.
• Ability to resolve complex situations and deal sensitively with difference of opinion.
• Enthusiastic, proactive, can-do attitude.
• Discrete, confident and diplomatic.
• An approach which is flexible, innovative and responsive.
• Discrete, confident and diplomatic.
• Ability to consistently demonstrate Duchenne UK’s values.

Desirable

• Charity experience.
• Knowledge of the research and healthcare sectors.

Sound like the job for you? We’d love to hear from you:

Benefits

• 25 days of annual leave + 8 days of public holidays (both pro rata)
• Summer Fridays – half days on Fridays in July and August (pro rata)
• Flexible working policy
• Hybrid working
• Standard Employer Pensions contributions after 3 months
• Team wellness day and team away day
• Training and development opportunities

Terms and conditions

The appointment is subject to satisfactory references and an initial six-month period of probation, during which performance will be regularly reviewed.

Relevant training will be provided during induction as well as opportunities to develop your career through experience of different aspects of the Foundation’s work and working with colleagues on new initiatives.

The organisation’s hybrid working policy is at the discretion of the line manager during the first three months of employment, to support the induction process.

Applying for this job

Please send us a copy of your CV. In addition, please answer the following questions, with a maximum of 300 words per question. You can send us a short film with your answers if you prefer or let us know if you would like to give us this information in a different way.

1.    Please tell us why you would like to work for DUK.

2.   In the job description, we have highlighted a range of experiences and skills we think we need. Please describe how you have demonstrated three of these. Please give us practical examples. It’s ok to use experiences from outside of paid work, including experiences you may have had in your personal life.

3.   If you think you have other qualities, we have not mentioned but which you think suit this role, please let us know. We want to know some of the things you have done and the experiences you’ve had, and what you think they have taught you.

4.   Tell us one thing that really excites you about this role.