Senior or Head of Corporate Development and Partnerships Manager in London

For 140 years, the Forces Employment Charity has proudly supported Service leavers, veterans, and their families in building successful civilian careers. We provide veterans with life‑long, life‑changing support, jobs, and training opportunities, regardless of circumstances, rank, length of service, or reason for leaving.

By working for FEC, you will become part of a vibrant team living the charity’s values: Expert, Supportive, Passionate, Open and Honest, Resilient, and Collaborative.

Brief role description

The Senior Corporate Development and Partnerships Manager / Head of Corporate Development and Partnerships will be a dynamic and strategic leader who will lead FEC’s business development. This will include researching and identifying new income generation opportunities from corporates, employers and government contracts, when relevant, and converting these into long‑term relationships. You will lead the team to produce high‑quality, bespoke proposals, and reports to demonstrate impact and outcomes to help drive the delivery of FEC across the UK.

As part of the Marketing, Communication and Fundraising Directorate, and led by the Director of Marketing, Communications and Fundraising, you will be supported to be creative in how you grow and uplift new business to contribute to annual growth targets. You will have an entrepreneurial approach to your work to identify and attract new partnerships whilst being responsible for the relationship management of our established corporate partners, focusing on stewardship, renewals and smart uplifts.

Some of your responsibilities include:

• Driving the development of tailored, high‑impact proposals and pitches to engage relevant companies and secure strategic, multifaceted partnerships that align with the charity’s mission.
• Work with the wider directorate including fundraising, marketing, communications and events, to identify new, innovative projects to help us achieve our income generation objectives.
• Develop and execute a business development strategy to drive revenue and market presence.
• Represent FEC at events, meetings, and networking opportunities to grow visibility and deepen engagement.
• Oversee budget, monitor performance against goals and KPIs, and conduct contract negotiations.
• Lead and manage the corporate development and partnerships team, fostering innovation and collaboration within your team, whilst providing strategic direction and support.
• Take an active role in planning and delivering key new business events to support income generation and stakeholder engagement.

Skills and experience we are looking for:

• Experience in building strong, successful, long‑term partnerships.
• Strong track record of securing multiple six‑ or seven‑figure sums from partnerships and delivering income targets.
• Strong prospect research, networking, and pipeline management skills.
• Strong communication skills, including diplomacy, presentation, negotiation and influencing skills.
• Strong leadership and people management skills with a proven track record in coaching, motivating, and developing teams.
• Ability to manage the workload, outputs, and people within a team to produce high‑quality outcomes in a fast‑moving environment.
• Strong strategic thinking skills with the ability to develop innovative and forward‑thinking strategies and translate these into operational plans.
• Considerable experience in building relationships with senior stakeholders internally and externally, particularly with government and corporate organisations.
• Significant experience in managing complex projects with internal and external stakeholders.
• Experience in managing budgets, financial reporting and analysing data to inform strategic and tactical decision making.

Ideally you will also have:

• Educated to degree level or equivalent.
• Empathy with and a good understanding of Ex‑Forces personnel and the challenges they can face.
• Experience in leading funding applications.
• Excellent IT skills, preferably including experience of working with a CRM database (Salesforce).

Training opportunities will be available as part of your role.

If you are interested, please submit your CV and Covering Letter by Friday, 27 February 2026. Applications will be reviewed and interviews conducted throughout the duration of this advert; therefore, we may at any time bring the closing date forward. We encourage all interested applicants to apply as soon as possible.

We are committed to equal opportunities and improving the working lives of our staff by fostering an inclusive, supportive environment where everyone, including those with disabilities, can thrive, develop, and achieve their full potential. We actively encourage applications from individuals with diverse backgrounds and ensure reasonable adjustments are made to support candidates with disabilities throughout the recruitment process.