Director of Strategic Relationships & Philanthropy

RNIB is on a transformative journey, reshaping how it engages with high value supporters, partners and society to drive meaningful change for blind and partially sighted people.  

This is a pivotal moment for RNIB – as such, we are seeking a talented Director of Strategic Relationships & Philanthropy for a role which offers a career-defining opportunity to drive sector-leading innovation in fundraising and strategic partnerships. As Director of Strategic Relationships & Philanthropy, you will have a platform to strategically shape the future of high value/high impact partnership engagement at RNIB, developing partnerships/relationships that not only generate income but also influence policy, drive advocacy and deliver lasting change.  

This redefined role holds a key position in the Engagement Directorate leadership team, with responsibility for all strategic partnerships and high value relationships across corporate, major donors, trusts and foundations and statutory/lottery funding. You’ll lead a talented team of 25 fundraising professionals (3 direct reports), overseeing income of c.£8m in this financial year, with plans to grow this to £10m+ over the next 3 years.  

There is significant headroom for growth across these income streams, but alongside this you’ll work cross-organisationally within RNIB to build and develop relationships that extend far beyond traditional fundraising and are truly strategic – from collaborations with major businesses, to advocacy driven alliances that influence policy and improve accessibility.
 

About the role:

• Strategic & Visionary Leadership: establishing the overarching direction and driving activity for strategic relationships and philanthropy, developing and implementing a strategy for growth that balances in-year income targets with long-term, sustainable partnership opportunities. 
• Leadership of a dynamic, high-performing team: fostering a culture of ambition, collaboration and innovation which enables upskilling and increased ability to develop bigger, bolder funding opportunities. 
• Building strategic, multi-faceted partnerships: going beyond financial support to drive societal change, through corporate sector engagement, policy influence and social initiatives.  
• Broad, cross-organisational engagement: engaging with RNIB’s Executive Leadership team and a wide variety to stakeholders to optimise partnership and high value fundraising opportunities, maximising the potential of these supporters (including non-financial partners) to establish the long-term vision and trajectory of these relationships.  

About you:

• A creative and innovative leader, with a proven track record in high value fundraising, and experience of leading cross-functional/strategic projects.  
• Robust influencing and negotiation skills, capable of working cross-organisationally to identify opportunities, craft compelling propositions and ensure buy-in at the highest levels whilst maximising the scale and impact of partnerships across RNIB. 
• A motivational leader who can develop the team vision and strategy, set clear direction and ensure high performance. 
• A big picture thinker, able to recognise the long-term potential of strategic relationships and philanthropy for RNIB, developing the teams, systems and processes required to achieve this, whilst delivering against in-year targets.  
   

Salary c.£90,000 
London with hybrid working (1-2dpw in the office) 
Open to part-time and flexible working requests – please get in touch to discuss 

Closing Date: Tuesday 4th March 
Interviews: First interviews will be held virtually w/c 10th March, with 2nd stage in person interviews to follow w/c 17th March.

To be considered for this position please apply with your CV as soon as possible, regrettably please note we may not be able to reply to each and every application. 
 
We are committed to diverse and inclusive recruitment practices that ensure equal opportunity for everyone, regardless of race, sexual orientation, mental or physical disability, age or gender. We encourage applications from all backgrounds and will happily make reasonable adjustments to always ensure a fair process.