Head of Corporate Partnerships

We’re looking for a Head of Corporate Partnerships to cover a period of maternity leave of up to 12 months, providing leadership and strategic direction to a talented team of 7.

This is a great opportunity for an experienced Corporate Partnerships leader to join us at an exciting time. We have a substantial portfolio of corporate partnerships under our belt, a strong pipeline of potential new relationships, and multiple opportunities to build new propositions for our private sector partners.

In addition, we are embarking on an ambitious change programme - the Fundraising Growth Programme - so that we can help generate the income needed for the delivery of the National Trust’s new Strategy from 2025. Corporate Partnerships is a key income stream that has been identified as having significant headroom for growth.

You’ll be responsible for the continued success of the team, ensuring that the remainder of the 2024/25 delivery plan is implemented; developing and putting in place the 2025/26 business plans and supporting the team in developing a robust pipeline of new prospects and growing existing relationships with current partners. In 2023/24, the team raised £4.1m, the highest partnership income to date for the National Trust.

What it's like to work here:With 5.37 million members, 10,000 staff and thousands of volunteers, the National Trust is now the biggest conservation charity in Europe, caring for more than 250,000 hectares of farmland, more than 780 miles of coastline, and more than 500 historic properties, gardens and nature reserves. We’re an ambitious bunch, committed to preserving nature, history and beauty for everyone, forever.

Your contractual location will be either our head office in Swindon or our London office at Savoy Hill House, and there will be an expectation for you to attend the office. You will be required to work at a National Trust location for 40-60% of your working week. This will be discussed in more detail at interview. The role involves some travel to work with National Trust colleagues, and visit our projects and properties across England, Wales and Northern Ireland as required.

What you'll be doing:Reporting to the Head of Philanthropy & Partnerships, you’ll be responsible for developing our corporate partnerships value proposition, shaping our corporate engagement strategy, and increasing income in this area. Day to day, and with the support of your team, you'll establish and drive a proactive approach to identifying, cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding corporate prospects and partners to grow the pipeline and develop existing partners to grow this income stream. You'll ensure that we create and deliver compelling propositions to inspire corporate partners to support the work of the National Trust across the broad range of organisational priorities.

Working closely with the Corporate Partnerships Fundraising Growth Lead you’ll develop and test the growth plan, embed opportunities for improvement, and support the team through this period of change.

Who we're looking forYou can view the full role profile for this vacancy in the document attached. You do not need to have all the knowledge, skills and experience listed in the role profile; this is just to provide a full picture of what is possible in this role. We would love to hear from you if you have:

- Proven track record of leading and motivating a corporate partnerships team to meet targets, build innovative propositions and develop new approaches.
- Excellent interpersonal and negotiation skills and the ability to navigate change
- Experience of organisational strategic planning and development of a corporate fundraising strategy.
- Strong influencing skills to build cultivation strategies with leadership teams in order to develop and steward high-value partners.
- Experience developing and securing six and seven-figure new business relationships, ideally from an organisation of a similar scale and complexity as the Trust.
- A good understanding of the corporate fundraising landscape and best practice trends within the sector.
- Experience of developing and effectively managing projects and budgets.

This role will be recognised internally and externally as Head of Corporate Partnerships, but the role profile, for internal grading reasons, is entitled Senior Corporate Partnerships Manager.

The packageThe National Trust has the motto ‘For everyone, for ever’ at its heart. We’re working hard to create an inclusive culture, where everyone feels they belong. It’s important that our people reflect and represent the diversity of the communities and audiences we serve. We welcome and value difference, so when we say we’re for everyone, we want everyone to be welcome in our teams too.
- Substantial pension scheme of up to 10% basic salary
- Free entry to National Trust places for you, a guest and your children (under 18)
- Rental deposit loan scheme
- Season ticket loan
- EV car lease scheme
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