Fundraising Partnerships Manager

Job Description

• Job title: Fundraising Partnerships Manager
• Location : Hackney Bridge, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, London (a canalside public destination less than five minutes from Hackney Wick station)
• Salary: £40,000-£45,000 FTE depending on experience, pro rata to £24,000-£27,000
• Hours: 0.6 FTE (3 days/21 hours per week) with a view to the role expanding in the future. Office hours are 10am - 6pm with occasional evenings and weekends. Flexible working opportunities are available.

Who are The Outrunners?

The Outrunners are a running and movement charity based in Hackney, on a mission to empower young people through movement. Backed by an incredible crew of volunteers and partner brands like Nike and Moju, we help young people in East London to build confidence, wellbeing, health and leadership skills.

We deliver free, fun, sociable, youth led running and movement sessions for 8-18 year olds every week - during term time and holidays. But we're about more than just running. We also create space for young people to explore creativity and culture, go on exciting trips, access wraparound wellbeing support, and develop the skills and opportunities they need to shape the futures they want.

Over the past five years, we've supported thousands of young people and helped push greater diversity within the running world.

We like to do things differently - taking young people out of their everyday environments and into exciting new spaces, opening doors to opportunities they might not otherwise have access to. If that sounds like something you want to be part of read on.

Our achievements

We're a small charity but we pack a mighty punch. Our income has grown year-on-year since we became a charity 6 years ago - allowing us to expand our core team and move into office premises large enough to incorporate a Youth Hub. Last year we worked with over 1,150 young people through our school and communities programs, and this year we're looking to expand our work even further!

To give you a sense of the kinds of work that we do, over the last year we have:

• Hosted a free Girls' Festival for 100+ ethnically diverse young girls, allowing them to try running sessions, creative classes and yoga experiences in a safe and empowering environment.
• Hosted free training Academies for ethnically diverse women and young people aged 16-21 to train for their very first half or full marathons! We offered physical, emotional and logistical support throughout their training journey and cheered on every single one of them as they ran either the Hackney Half or the London Marathon under The Outrunners name. Since programme launch, we have worked with over 250 people in our Academies.
• Took diverse groups of young people to races and events, such as Hackney School Run and Black to the Trails.
• Offered personalised mentoring to several of our young people who were struggling with school or life.
• Expanded the career horizons of young people by offering them free work experience opportunities with our partner brands.

What do we want?

We are looking for an experienced Fundraising Partnerships Manager to help drive the next stage of growth at The Outrunners (current annual income circa £350k). This growth will enable us to expand our after-school and holiday programmes reaching more young people where they are, building their confidence and skills.

Reporting to the CEO, you will lead our brand and corporate partnerships fundraising strategy and delivery, securing and growing relationships with values-aligned brands and businesses who share our belief in the power of movement to transform young lives.

This is a strategic and hands-on role. You will identify new partnership opportunities, develop compelling proposals, and build long-term relationships that generate income, opportunities and experiences for the young people we support.

You will translate the lived experiences, energy and impact of our young people and programmes into compelling partnership opportunities that generate income, engagement and meaningful experiences for both our young people and partners.

You'll be equally comfortable developing strategy, pitching to partners, nurturing relationships and rolling up your sleeves to make things happen.

Does this sound like you?

• A driven, experienced partnerships and fundraising professional who enjoys generating income, building strategic relationships and taking ownership of growth.
• A natural networker and relationship-builder who is confident in engaging and influencing stakeholders at all levels.
• A strategic thinker who is also hands-on, happy researching prospects, developing proposals and nurturing relationships day-to-day.
• Someone who can translate impact, lived experience and data into compelling partnership propositions, sponsorship opportunities and cases for support.
• Commercially aware and confident identifying opportunities that create value for both The Outrunners and our partners.
• Highly motivated, resilient and persistent, comfortable managing multiple relationships, income streams and priorities in a fast-moving environment.
• Values-led and trustworthy, with a strong sense of integrity, accountability and ethical fundraising practice.
• Motivated by social impact and excited about the opportunity to connect brands, businesses and supporters with a youth-led organisation rooted in movement, equity and opportunity.
• Happy to occasionally work evenings or weekends to support partner events, networking opportunities and fundraising activity.

Experience and skills we're looking for

• Proven experience securing income through corporate partnerships (100k+), sponsorship, fundraising or business development.
• Strong track record of building and managing relationships with brands, businesses, funders or senior stakeholders.
• Experience identifying, developing and converting new partnership opportunities into income and impact.
• Experience delivering partnership benefits and activations, including events, volunteering opportunities, employee engagement initiatives, campaigns or sponsorship programmes.
• Ability to create compelling partnership proposals, presentations and cases for support, tailoring for specific audiences.
• Strong storytelling and communication skills, with the ability to translate impact data and lived experience into engaging partner propositions.
• Commercially minded, with an understanding of how to create mutually beneficial partnerships that align organisational and partner goals.
• Excellent organisation and project management skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities and deadlines.
• Sound understanding of fundraising regulation, ethical partnerships and best practice.
• Collaborative and proactive, comfortable working in a small, ambitious and fast-moving organisation.
• Strong commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion, with confidence working across diverse communities.

Desirable

• Experience working with sport, fitness, lifestyle or consumer brands.
• Experience fundraising for youth, wellbeing, sport or community-based organisations.
• Existing network of contacts within corporate partnerships, sponsorship, ESG or social impact teams.

Key Responsibilities

1. New partnerships & business development

• Identify, research and secure new partnerships with values-aligned brands, businesses and organisations.
• Build relationships with decision-makers and key stakeholders across prospective partner organisations.
• Develop and deliver tailored partnership proposals, sponsorship decks and impact led presentations to attract partners.
• Lead partnership negotiations (with CEO) and onboarding, ensuring new partners have a positive experience from the outset.
• Represent The Outrunners externally through meetings, networking events and partnership opportunities to generate new leads and raise awareness of our work.

2. Partnership management & activation

• Act as the primary relationship manager for existing partners, building trusted, long-term relationships.
• Develop and deliver partnership plans, ensuring agreed activities, benefits and objectives are achieved.
• Work closely with colleagues to create engaging opportunities for partners to support and connect with young people through events, volunteering and other initiatives.
• Support the development of partnership content, case studies, presentations and storytelling assets that showcase the impact of The Outrunners' work.
• Provide regular updates, impact reports and partnership reviews that demonstrate value and outcomes.
• Identify opportunities to strengthen, renew and grow existing partnerships.

3. Partnerships strategy & growth

• Develop and deliver The Outrunners' partnerships strategy, aligned with our mission, values and organisational goals.
• Work with the CEO to identify and prioritise partnership opportunities that support organisational growth and impact.
• Build and manage a pipeline of prospective partners, monitoring performance against agreed partnership and income targets.
• Develop compelling partnership propositions that connect The Outrunners' work with the priorities of prospective partners.

4. Impact, Systems & Reporting

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