Partnerships Manager - Maternity Cover (fixed contract, 12 months)

We’re looking for an exceptional Partnerships Manager to help drive forward Lightful’s mission to build the resilience of thousands of nonprofits around the world. This maternity cover role is focused on developing new funding partnerships for our award winning BRIDGE programme by identifying, cultivating, and converting new philanthropic, foundation and corporate funders. You’ll need to be energised by building a pipeline from the ground up, proactively seeking out opportunities, opening doors, and creating momentum. You will also love crafting crafting high-quality, compelling proposals to support Lightful’s asks and will take the lead with bid writing, as required. 

You’ll report to the Head of Partnerships and work closely with Lightful’s dynamic Partnerships team, CEO and senior colleagues across Programmes, Finance, Development and Design.

Who we are

Lightful is a
B-Corp and a technology company on a mission to help nonprofits become better storytellers, diversify income streams, build trust and raise more money. Our vision is a future where nonprofits have the power to create more equitable communities and a healthier planet.

Lightful’s BRIDGE programme equips charities with the digital tools and capabilities to become more resilient and deliver greater impact. It generates incredible results for participating organisations, helping them to build trust with their stakeholders by having a stronger digital presence. 

Lightful’s work has been funded by trusts, foundations and philanthropists all over the world such as the Gates Foundation, the Malala Fund, Comic Relief, Jessie Ball duPont Fund, GlobalGiving, UBS Optimus Foundation and JP Morgan Foundation. Thanks to these collaborative partnerships we have been able to support over 3,000 organisations in more than 100 countries across the world.

As we rapidly expand our reach and impact, this important maternity cover will work with a strong pipeline of opportunities. 

You can read more about our programmes as well as our purpose, mission and values on our website and Linkedin page.

We want to hear from people who are: 

• Committed to social and environmental change and the nonprofit sector 
• Able to thrive in a dynamic entrepreneurial environment
• A self-starter mindset - you're proactive, motivated, and love opening doors, spotting new business opportunities, and building pipelines from scratch
• A confident communicator - you’re persuasive and able to build trust quickly across a range of stakeholders
• Able to create, edit, refine and proposals that are a pleasure to read
• Skilled at making complex ideas clear and compelling with the instincts of a great storyteller rather than a hard seller
• Able to work independently, yet communicate and coordinate clearly and regularly with the wider team when required
• Comfortable in a fast-moving, entrepreneurial environment and you’re energised by building something new

You should apply if you have most of the following: 

• Significant experience identifying and securing new funding partnerships (e.g. trusts, foundations, institutions, or corporate funders and building multi-year contracts)
• Significant experience in writing bids/proposals for philanthropists, trusts, foundations, corporate entities, and institutional donors
• A natural drive for new business meaning that you’re comfortable picking up the phone, starting conversations from scratch, and turning cold leads into long-term partnerships
• Comfortable engaging with C-suite and senior leaders, internally and externally
• At least four years experience in fundraising, partnerships and/or business development at charities or organisations working closely with the charity sector
• Track record of leading successful bid processes including writing and coordination of different stakeholders
• Experience of developing bespoke financial asks and associated budgets 

Extra points for: 

• Deep knowledge of the nonprofit sector and main challenges of local nonprofits (specific regional or country experience welcome)
• Knowledge of fundraising information sources and familiarity with research techniques for prospect research 
• Experience using Salesforce to manage opportunities, accounts and leads
• Passion for the charity sector evidenced by having helped to build their skills through volunteering, giving advice or formal or informal consulting

Every day will be different, but some of the things you’ll be involved in are:

New business development:

• Researching and identifying prospective funders aligned with Lightful’s mission
• Crafting tailored outreach plans and engagement strategies to align with each funder’s mission
• Leading initial conversations and cultivating strong early relationships
• Actively generating leads, initiating outreach, and not waiting for opportunities to come to you
• Picking up the phone, sending the first email, and opening doors with energy, confidence, and persistence
• Representing Lightful at relevant sector events and meetings
• Adapting to non-standard or ad hoc proposal formats with creativity and flexibility, producing compelling content for each funder

Pipeline & stakeholder management:

• Maintaining accurate records in Salesforce of all potential funding partners, touchpoints, and stage of engagement
• Manage regular reports for leadership on pipeline health, conversion metrics, and emerging trends
• Working closely with programme teams to align potential partnerships with capacity and mission

Proposal Development and Writing:

• Collaborating with internal teams, the CEO, and other stakeholders to develop persuasive, well-structured proposals that clearly articulate Lightful’s mission, activities, outcomes, and impact
• Tailoring proposals and concept notes to different donor audiences, using standard templates and Lightful’s structured proposal development process to ensure clarity, consistency, and efficiency
• Adapting to non-standard or ad hoc proposal formats with creativity and flexibility, producing compelling content that meets unique donor needs
• Editing and refining proposals in response to feedback, ensuring timely submission and alignment with quality standards

Sales Enablement and External Communications

• Developing and designing external-facing materials such as case studies, blogs and tailored resources in collaboration with other teams.

Benefits

We offer a comprehensive benefits package adapted for the world of remote working:

• Highly competitive salary
• 35 days of bookable annual leave (book a bank holiday off, or not)
• Thorough onboarding experience, supported by a buddy to support your integration to the team
• Your birthday off (paid) plus day off to move house (paid)
• Simply Health cash back plan
• Lightful Pension provided by Legal & General
• Free access to Asana Rebel (yoga) and Headspace apps
• Tax free contribution to additional home-working costs 
• Charitable Payroll Giving
• Default work from home, with optional access to our London office
• Varied and excellent opportunities for skills/career progression
• Be part of a business that has an impact all over the world!
  

Need a flexible way of working?

Through our 'Lightful Flex' initiative we embrace flexibility. So whether you want to work part-time, or have flexible hours during the week (within our core working hours of 10am-4pm), talk to us about your needs. We can’t always say yes, but we always try to find ways to make things work.

Equal opportunities 

A diverse range of opinions and perspectives is core to Lightful’s open culture and ongoing success. As an equal opportunity employer, all applicants will be considered for employment without attention to age, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, family or parental status, national origin, veteran, neurodiversity status or disability status.

Additional Requirement

Whilst we are advertising this role as based in the UK, we are open to considering applications from individuals from outside the UK whose experience meets the requirements of the role. 

For UK based individuals, you must be eligible to work in the UK without the need of visa support/sponsorship.

Compensation£40-50k