Head of Income in Carlisle

Reporting to: Assistant Director of Development

Contract: Permanent

Holiday entitlement: 26 days (FTE) plus bank holidays, length of service increments. Additional 1 day leave entitlement for your birthday.

Location: Hybrid, with a home base within Cumbria, Lancashire or the North East. You'll work between home and a People First office location.

Additional benefits: 6% employer pension contribution, a values-based organisation, service-related increments, flexible working and a staff wellbeing programme.

Job title: Head of Income

Department: Development

Reporting to: Assistant Director of Development

Hours: 30-37.5hrs per week

Contract: Permanent

Salary: £45,000 (pro rata)

Holiday entitlement: 26 days (FTE) plus bank holidays, length of service increments. Additional 1 day leave entitlement for your birthday.

Location: Hybrid, with a home base within Cumbria, Lancashire or the North East. You'll work between home and a People First office location.

Additional benefits: 6% employer pension contribution, a values-based organisation, service-related increments, flexible working and a staff wellbeing programme.

Who we are

People First is an independent charity serving Northern England for over 35 years. Since 2024, we have partnered with The Well Communities, a not-for-profit CIC led by people in recovery from substance misuse.

Purpose of job

Can you turn income opportunities into lasting social impact?

Lead income generation across People First, The Well Communities and our partners.

Develop strategy, establish coordinated fundraising and lead:

• Public sector contracts and procurement
• Trusts, foundations and grants
• Corporate donations and sponsorship
• Commercial development
• Partnership funding

About the Team

The team covers Marketing and Communications, Bid Writing, Income Generation, Fundraising, Partnerships and Research.

Our Board priorities are innovation, financial security and growth.

Our Big Picture Principles are:

Strong Foundation: financial security and sustainable service design.

Radical Thinking: learn from great practice, challenge the status quo and explore new approaches.

Bold Change: champion transformation in systems, communities, services and lives.

The Person

We are looking for an experienced income leader who can combine strategic thinking with practical delivery.

Skills, Knowledge and Experience Essential

• Significant income generation, fundraising or bid-management experience.
• Experience developing or delivering income or fundraising strategies.
• Successful bids, tenders, grants or contract-retention submissions.
• Leading complex submissions across teams or organisations.
• Excellent writing, editing and quality-assurance skills.
• Willingness to write bids and funding applications directly.
• Experience managing or leading people.
• Strong organisational and project-management skills.
• Financial and commercial awareness: budgets, pricing and forecasting.
• Building funder, commissioner, business and partner relationships.
• Commitment to equality, inclusion, co-production and lived experience.

Desirable

• Developing an income or fundraising function.
• Working across partnerships or families of organisations.
• Public sector procurement and commissioning knowledge.
• Trust and foundation fundraising.
• Corporate fundraising, sponsorship or commercial development.
• Managing income targets, pipelines and forecasts.
• Reporting to senior leaders, trustees or governance bodies.
• Knowledge of health, care, advocacy, recovery, employment or community services.
• Understanding of social value and co-production.
• Managing associate or freelance bid writers.
• Using tender portals, grant systems and income tools.

Duties will likely include

Income Strategy and Leadership

• Draft an income strategy within three months, reviewing income, contracts, relationships and opportunities.
• Prioritise income protection, growth and diversification; agree targets collaboratively within six months after reviewing contracts, funders, pipeline and ambitions.
• Advise leaders and governance bodies on investment and opportunities aligned with our values.

Bid Writing and Procurement

• Lead trusts, grants, public sector and partnership bids, including high-value, complex and strategic submissions.
• Write and edit bids; set responsibilities and deadlines; coordinate services, finance, HR, quality, communications and partners.
• Ensure compliant, persuasive, evidence-based, sustainable bids; support clarifications, presentations and interviews.

Team Management

• Manage the Bid Writer and Corporate and Commercial Development Manager; set priorities and support development.
• Direct bids, corporate giving, sponsorship, commercial opportunities and stakeholder relationships.
• Coordinate fundraising with the Partnerships Manager; manage associate bid writers.

Research and Evidence

• Research funders, commissioners, businesses, policy and local needs; use partnership intelligence.
• Use data, lived experience and customer insight in proposals.
• Maintain reusable evidence, statistics, case studies and organisational information; address gaps.

Corporate and Commercial Development

• Grow income and business propositions with the Corporate and Commercial Development Manager.
• Build ethical, values-led corporate relationships.
• Coordinate corporate activity with marketing, communications, partnerships and services; monitor pipeline value.

Pipeline and Performance

• Oversee the income pipeline, contract expiries, extensions and recommissioning.
• Apply proportionate bid/no-bid decisions based on value, likelihood, timing and strategic fit.
• Forecast with operations and finance; report targets, pipeline, bids, income secured and retention.
• Raise risks; learn from bid outcomes.

Service and Proposition Development

• Develop fundable service ideas, new services, partnerships and growth opportunities.
• Shape proposals using operational, financial and lived-experience insight.
• Improve templates, systems, resources and income-generation skills.

Financial and Commercial Oversight

• Cost proposals with finance, covering staffing, overheads, inflation, mobilisation and contractual risk.
• Promote full-cost recovery and value-for-money pricing without compromising quality.
• Raise financial and contractual risks; support funder, commissioner and partner negotiations.

Relationships and Communication

• Build funder, commissioner, business and partner relationships; represent us at events and networks.
• Update colleagues, leaders and governance bodies; support funder, commissioner and corporate reporting.
• Align fundraising messages with marketing and communications; ensure accuracy, accessibility and values.

Other Duties

• Evening and weekend work may be required.
• Duties may change as our organisations develop and are not exhaustive.
• Work flexibly across People First, The Well Communities and our partners.

Travel

Travel between our locations and to external meetings and events is required.

You must be able to travel across our area; reasonable adjustments and alternatives will be considered.