Senior Business development manager (maternity cover)

£45,000

Full-time fixed term (9 months with the possibility to extend) | Hybrid or Remote

Deadline 4 May 2025

Details

Salary: £45,000 + pension + employee benefits
Hours: 37.5 hours per week
Contract type: Fixed-term for 9 months, with potential for extension or becoming permanent subject to funding.
Location: Remote/Hybrid (London)
Application deadline: 23.59 pm, 4th May 2025

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About SCN

At the Social Change Nest (SCN), we’re radically transforming the funding landscape and strengthening civil society. We remove the financial and administrative barriers – like bank accounts and legal structures – that often prevent communities, grassroots groups and informal movements from accessing funding and focusing on their core mission. We also work closely with funders, providing Grant Distribution and Fund Management services, enabling them to support social action with confidence and transparency. 

We currently support over 600 groups across the UK and abroad addressing issues such as social injustice, climate, housing, wellbeing and animal rights. We are at the forefront of Fiscal Hosting in the UK and, since our inception in 2021, we have supported groups in securing over £23m in funding, helping them take advantage of opportunities that may have otherwise been unavailable.

The Social Change Nest is part of The Social Change Group. We are a Disability Confident Employer, and an accredited Living Wage Employer. In addition, we were listed as one of the top social enterprises in the UK in the SE100 for the last three years.

How we work

You’ll be joining a close-knit team, supported and developed to be the best you can be. We believe that every member of our team brings a unique perspective from their experiences and abilities and we encourage everyone to be curious about how we can improve everything we do, from how we interact as a team to how we deliver for our clients and communities. 

Underpinned by our values of collaboration, curiosity, courage, and creativity, we work closely and with care with our partners because we believe relationships are the glue that hold us all together. 

We’re a growing business and operate at pace to keep up with the challenges that the sector faces. We have established a lot, but as we grow, we’re still working some things out. The right person will thrive in this environment and feel a level of ownership to support the build out of things we need as we need them. 

The ideal candidate will enjoy working within a fast-paced and evolving organisation, and have a natural curiosity about how their role fits into the bigger picture. You’ll thrive on problem-solving and will feel comfortable handling multiple priorities at once, always seeking collaborative solutions. You’ll be adaptable and able to shift focus quickly when things change, ensuring strong communication across the team and with clients to keep everything aligned.

About the role

Our Head of Business Development is going on maternity leave for 4 months from September. We are looking for somebody who can join our growing team as soon as possible to contribute to our FY25/26 income targets and cover part of the functions of the Head of Business Development while she’s on leave. The Head of Business Development manages the Development team, which covers the business development, marketing and communications functions, and works with the CEO to ensure that the organisation grows in a strategic and balanced way.

The Social Change Nest is at a very exciting time. We continue a trajectory of steep growth, onboarding and supporting hundreds of new groups every year. We are working closely with funders across the UK and worldwide, helping them move large amounts of funding to unincorporated movements at the frontlines of social change. We are spending more time than ever raising awareness on how capital flows impact the ability of communities to create change, and how we can hack the system to enable more money to flow in an equitable way to unincorporated movements.

We are looking for somebody who is excited about all this and ready to hit the ground running. We are in the middle of a large capital raise, so we would like the ideal candidate to join the team as soon as possible (ideally June 2025) to work closely with the Head of Development and the CEO, as well as the rest of the Development team, for 3 months, before the Head of Development goes on maternity leave. The Senior Development Manager will then take over part of the team support responsibilities of the Head of Development, and share responsibility for the income targets with the CEO for the months that the Head of Development is on leave. 

Key responsibilities

June to August

  • Work closely with the Head of Development to deliver our Development strategy for the financial year FY25/26:
    • Identify and secure new funding opportunities with clients, creating tailored proposals to appeal to funder appetite and needs.
    • Deliver high-quality bid proposals and pitch documents to support business growth.
    • Develop and implement client management and engagement strategies, including our philanthropic networks, enhancing relationships and delivering value.
  • Quickly build strong rapport with funders and community groups to ensure effective implementation of our strategy. 
  • Get familiar with our processes and identify opportunities to support and collaborate with other members of the Delivery team and other teams across the organisation:
    • Analyse and present HubSpot data to inform strategic decisions and refine our offering.
    • Manage budgeting processes and prepare essential documentation for pitches and contracts.
    • Support on the delivery of our strategic communications and marketing plans.
    • Support the integration of Development with other departments.

September to December

  • Continue carrying out the responsibilities outlined above, more independently without the Head of Development.
    • Oversee the business development pipeline, ensuring its effectiveness and alignment with our strategic goals.
    • Identify new development opportunities in line with the targets for the financial year, ensuring our pipeline stays healthy.
    • Be an ambassador for the Social Change Nest, representing the business at industry conferences, events and workshops and grow strategic partnerships.
  • Step in to support the team strategically where required:
    • Oversee and contribute to external communications and marketing campaigns.
    • Support and line manage members of the Development team, as required, in the Head of Development’s absence. The team of 4 works across business development, communications and marketing.


January and February

  • Ensure a smooth transition and handover of relationships as the Head of Business Development comes back into post after maternity leave.

Skills and experience

  • Proven business development expertise in the philanthropic sector with a track record of winning new business and able to apply these skills to enhance our business development strategies.
  • A good understanding of the philanthropic and grant-making sectors in the UK, Europe and the USA, ability to use this to enrich our strategies and client interactions.
  • Able to use your knowledge and skills to identify and seize opportunities for growth through partnerships, projects and clients.
  • Numerate and adept at analysing data to derive insights that guide business planning and strategy. 
  • Outstanding customer service skills, both proactive and reactive. Your reliability, trustworthiness, and ability to respond to our clients’ needs set you apart.
  • Excellent pitch and bid-writing skills with an ability to craft compelling proposals that resonate with our target audience, including design and pricing.
  • Capable of anticipating and evaluating the potential risks and returns of projects and able to assess risk as part of the process.
  • Experience in managing complex work strands and coordinating across different teams, demonstrating your leadership skills and strategic awareness. 
  • Excellent interpersonal skills and a confident communicator. You excel in bringing people together to achieve shared objectives.
  • Experience mentoring and supporting team members.
  • An advocate of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. 
  • A demonstrable commitment to serving underrepresented groups in the UK or abroad.

Other important information

Terms:

The role will be full-time (37.5 hours/week). Occasional evening and weekend work will be required and compensated through TOIL. Occasional but limited UK or European travel will be required (by arrangement). 

We are open to exploring flexible working arrangements and supporting you to meet commitments you may have.

Salary: £45,000

Location: You must be based inside the UK. We have an office in Kings Cross, London which London-based staff are in 3 times a week or more, but if you are based out of London you will be home based. 

We hold quarterly all-staff strategy meetings and annual away days which you will be required to attend in person which we will cover the cost of your travel. You will be required to come together with the team occasionally and these travel costs will not be covered, we try our best to keep these to when only necessary. 

Language skills & visa status: Candidates must be fluent in English. You must have the right to work in the UK independently, as we are unable to provide visa sponsorship.

Holiday:  22 days (Full time – this will be calculated on a pro-rata basis) plus bank holidays. We close the office in the days between Christmas and New Years – this time is paid for all staff and is in addition to your annual leave entitlement.

Employer pension contribution: We offer a 3% employer pension contribution, that you will auto enrol for after 3 months of employment with The Social Change Nest.  

Additional Paid Time Off: We offer 2 days of paid voluntary time off, encouraging all staff to serve as trustees or any equivalent voluntary positions to contribute to their communities 

Mintago: The health and wellbeing of our staff is very important to us. We offer all of our staff access to Mintago which offers a 24 hour support line, structured counselling with external support, and a bank of online resources such as webinars and articles tailored towards health and wellbeing for both you and the members of your family, and access to some types of legal advice. You can see their website for details. They also offer access to a 24hr virtual GP.

Financial Wellbeing: The financial wellbeing of our staff means a lot to us. We offer the following to our staff to help them reach their financial goals:

  • Salary sacrifice/exchange schemes for groceries (and pensions will be coming soon!). Staff members can choose a set amount to be taken out of their gross pay (before being taxed)  each month, to be put towards purchasing groceries from all major grocery retailers. 
  • Financial wellbeing platform allows staff to check their pension dashboard, plan for retirement and search for forgotten/lost pensions. There is also a smart saver plan and we provide access to financial advisers for free.
  • Benefits app – retail discounts. Select from over 80 brands.

How to apply

To apply please fill out this application form. Please note that CVs, cover letters, and/or copies of the question outline will not be considered. 

Application Deadline: 23.59 pm, 4th May 2025

We recognise that AI tools are becoming increasingly prevalent in various aspects of professional life, including the job application process, view our AI use guidance for some points to consider.

Hiring process

We strongly encourage applicants from a wide variety of backgrounds. We are committed to our staff representing the wide variety of backgrounds represented in the communities we work with. If you are concerned that you may not fit 100% of the job specification – please throw your hat in the ring. We never put formal education requirements on any role as we value lived experiences as highly as formal education and training qualifications. 

We follow a blind recruitment process, which means that hiring managers for the role can only see your work history and answers to application questions when deciding to progress to the interview stage. 

If you need any accessibility accommodations for this application please do not hesitate to contact us at people@thesocialchangenest.org or by calling +44 7958 298 727 and we will be happy to provide you with those accommodations.

Please visit our main vacancies page for our equal opportunities statement. 

Using AI in your application

We recognise that AI tools are becoming increasingly prevalent in various aspects of professional life, including the job application process. While we neither encourage nor discourage the use of AI in your application, we believe it’s important for candidates to be aware of both the potential benefits and drawbacks. Here are some key points to consider:

Potential Benefits of Using AI

  1. Reduces barriers: AI can help individuals with disabilities or those who are not native English speakers in the application process.
  2. Guidance: Can provide suggestions on what you might want to include in your response.
  3. Feedback: Can offer insights on how you could improve your responses.


Potential Drawbacks of Using AI

  1. Generic content: Can result in similar wording appearing across multiple applications, making them feel less unique.
  2. Inaccuracies: AI is sometimes overly creative with facts and may provide inaccurate information.
  3. Loss of personal touch: Your individual experiences and personality might not shine through if AI is relied on too heavily.

Remember, the most successful applications are those that genuinely reflect your skills, experiences, and personality. Whether you choose to use AI tools or not, make sure you check your responses thoroughly and ensure that your application accurately represents you as a candidate.