Corporate Partnerships Manager

Summary of the role

This is an exciting new role at Just Like Us which has been created due to the significant growth of corporate partnership fundraising, which now makes up almost half of the charity’s annual income. Just Like Us is proud to have fantastic support from over 20 companies who support us in a variety of ways, including through grants, cause-related marketing and CSR initiatives. As the Corporate Partnerships Manager, you will play a crucial role in developing and maintaining funding partnerships with companies, and stakeholders to grow fundraising income and support the mission and initiatives of Just Like Us. This role involves a mix of new business development and account management, focusing on fostering collaborations that enhance our reach, influence, quality and impact of our three key programmes. Your work will be instrumental in ensuring the organisation's financial sustainability and underpin the continued expansion of our programmes. It will require you to work across a range of departments in businesses such as marketing/brand, DEI and LGBT+ networks.

About Just Like Us

 Just Like Us is the LGBT+ young people’s charity. Founded in 2016, we work with primary schools, secondary schools and sixth form colleges across the UK to improve the lives of LGBT+ young people. To do that, we run three programmes:

• Ambassador Programme: We train LGBT+ 18 to 25 year olds to speak in secondary schools about growing up LGBT+ and allyship. We support our ambassadors to use their voice, develop skills and find community.

• School Diversity Week: We run the UK-wide celebration of LGBT+ equality in primary and secondary schools. We provide free educational resources to thousands of schools, making LGBT+ inclusive education accessible to all.

• Pride Groups: We help secondary schools set up and run lunchtime or after school clubs for LGBT+ pupils and their allies to meet, learn and get support.

The position

Organisation: Just Like Us

Position type: Part-time 3 days per week (with flexibility on days worked)

Contract: Permanent

Salary: £36,000 pro rata (£21,600)

Location: London/Hybrid. We offer a flexible work environment with the expectation that team members work from our London office space at least once per week. You should also be able to join us in the office for occasional collaborative sessions or attend in-person meetings with partners, which may take place on different days based on project needs.

Reporting to: Head of Partnerships 

Employee benefits:

• 25 days annual leave plus bank holidays, with Christmas office closure 

• 1 additional day of annual leave per year of employment, up to a maximum of 5 

• Pension contributions matched up to 6% 

• Flexible working enabling team members to work from home and at an office, as well as some autonomy on your hours outside of core hours 10:30-16:00

• Employee Assistance Programme, including (but not limited to) - counselling, stress, tenancy and housing, legal support and childcare

Job description

Partnership development and income generation

• Identify and develop new corporate partnerships in order to grow income and advance the goals of Just Like Us.

• Renew and grow a range of existing corporate partnerships through the creation and execution of strong stewardship plans.

• Work closely with the Head of Partnerships to support the development of high-value corporate partnerships.

• Work with LGBTQ+ employee networks to increase engagement and support.

• Drive revenue across diverse streams, including corporate foundations, LGBTQ+ networks, employee fundraising, CRM, and sponsorship initiatives.

• Increase employee fundraising from partners, creating innovative strategies and campaigns.

• Lead on sponsorship efforts and grow sponsorship income at Just Like Us through reviewing current sponsorship material, creating new packages, and approaching potential sponsors.

• Work alongside the Head of Partnerships and Director of Fundraising on new partnership set-up, including establishing legal agreements with corporate partners. 

Event management and engagement

• Lead the end-to-end management of LGBT+ speaker and panel events for corporate partners.

• Partner with the Head of Partnerships to plan and deliver impactful engagement opportunities for LGBT+ employee steering groups, HR and DEI leaders, ensuring these events foster meaningful connections and drive engagement.

• Attend industry events on behalf of Just Like Us to enhance visibility and establish meaningful connections.

Collaboration and communication

• Collaborate with internal teams to create compelling proposals, events, and campaigns that engage partners and positively impact the LGBT+ community.

• Work closely across departments to ensure sponsorship benefits are delivered in line with contractual obligations

• Monitor and manage the effectiveness of the corporate partnerships portfolio, working with internal teams to provide analysis and regular reports to key stakeholders.

Reporting and administration

• Ensure up-to-date records of all partnerships and fundraising activities to ensure effective internal tracking and reporting against pipeline and targets.

• Ensure compliance with all relevant laws and regulations affecting the charity's development and fundraising practices, including adherence to charity law and the standards set by the Fundraising Regulator.

Skills and experience/person spec

The applicant should have:

• Proven experience in corporate fundraising, partnership management and business development with a demonstrable ability to win and grow partnerships.

• Experience of growing and developing fundraising relationships in order to drive new business and grow income.

• Proven experience of developing and managing a robust new business pipeline and a comprehensive understanding of the sales cycle from prospecting to partnering and developing the relationship

• Superb internal relationship-building skills with experience working cross-departmentally to support the development of corporate partnerships.

• A good understanding of LGBTQ+ issues and a passion for promoting inclusivity and diversity.

• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to present information both verbally and in writing that is clear and concise, with excellent attention to detail.

• A skilled and confident presenter who is capable of engaging with small groups of senior stakeholders and addressing large audiences at events

• Strong negotiation and project management skills.

• Knowledge of the UK charity sector and fundraising landscape.

• A good understanding of charity fundraising regulations in relation to corporate fundraising.

If you have most of the skills and experience outlined, we strongly encourage you to apply 

How to apply

Interested candidates should follow our guidance in the application pack attached by emailing their CV and a cover letter outlining their relevant experience and motivation for applying. Please include "Corporate Partnerships Manager Application - [Your Full Name]" in the email subject line. Both the cover letter and CV will be used to determine candidates’ suitability for the role.

The application deadline is 23:00 on 27/11/2024

Interviews will take place 5th and 6th December.