Current job opportunities at Schoolreaders
Senior Relationship Manager
About this role
Salary Range: £43,000 – £45,000
Contract: Full-time (P/T of 30 hours/week considered)
Location: Hybrid/Bedford HO once a week
Deadline for applications: 4th August
About Us
Schoolreaders is the largest in-school reading support charity in the country, supporting children in every county in England. Our vision is that every child should learn to read well.
One in four primary school children in England fail to reach the expected standard of reading by the age of 11. This leaves them unable to access their secondary education fully, which will have life-long consequences.
Schoolreaders exists to change this. Schoolreaders recruits, trains, places and supports volunteers to go into local primary schools and provide free, weekly, one-to-one reading support for children, prioritising those who need this extra support the most.
One quarter of all primary schools are registered with us requesting volunteers, and our trained volunteers currently support more than 42,000 children one-to-one every single week. With demand for our support continuing to grow there is much more to do.
Job purpose
This is an exciting new role, critical to our charity’s plans for growth. As Senior Relationship Manager you will develop and deliver engagement strategies that strengthen relationships, enhance supporter journeys and grow sustainable income in support of the charity’s mission to ensure all children, regardless of background, leave primary school being able to read well.
Combining strategic planning with hands-on delivery, you will lead our Individual Giving and emerging Legacy programmes, developing campaigns and stewardship activities that generate sustainable income. You will oversee a programme of fundraising and supporter engagement events ensuring they strengthen relationships, enhance the supporter experience and contribute to income growth.
Person profile
For our charity, the ideal candidate will be:
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A natural relationship-builder.
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A practical fundraiser with proven delivery experience.
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A confident and tenacious communicator, able to engage and inspire supporters through conversations, written communication and you’ll not be afraid to pick up the phone!
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Comfortable working independently without large teams.
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Confident writing engaging supporter-focused copy tailored to different audiences.
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Digitally aware (email marketing, CRM, social media).
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Organised and self-motivated.
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Genuinely motivated by improving young people’s future opportunities.
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Experience in a small or medium-sized charity is an advantage.
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Experience of Legacy marketing.
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Experience of community/events fundraising including supporter-led and stewardship activities.
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Ability to balance strategic oversight with operational support.
Role responsibilities
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Support the Head of Fundraising in developing and delivering short, medium and long-term fundraising plans and budgets, monitoring income and expenditure.
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Champion the growth of long-term sustainable income.
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Analyse donor data to identify trends, opportunities, and areas for growth.
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Produce financial updates and information for the Head of Fundraising as required.
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Lead individual giving activity, including online appeals, with a strong focus on stewardship, embedding a clear strategy for acquisition, retention and lifetime value growth.
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Develop fundraising/stewardship opportunities with our 4,000 volunteer readers.
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Develop and deliver high-quality, creative and effective new fundraising products and initiatives, and drive forward innovation in fundraising.
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Optimise third party and online fundraising channels including annual Big Give campaigns.
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Create, develop and lead the emerging Legacy Giving programme.
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Oversee the effective use of the fundraising CRM (Salesforce), ensuring data integrity, reporting accuracy and GDPR compliance.
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Oversee the planning and delivery of community and challenge events, ensuring excellent supporter stewardship whilst delegating day-to-day operational delivery to the Community and Events Officer.
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Monitor the performance of community and events fundraising activity against agreed income and participation targets, taking action to maximise results and ROI.
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Line manage and support the Community and Events Officer, providing regular supervision and objective setting.
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Ensure all supporter records are kept up-do-date on the database and adhere to all relevant legislative and regulatory obligations relating to fundraising.
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Grow year on year supporter income, in line with agreed budgets.
Person specification
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A practical fundraiser with proven experience in raising income from individual giving.
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Experience in delivering fundraising campaigns that recruit, engage, inspire and retain donors.
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Strong relationship building skills with high emotional intelligence.
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A creative, growth oriented and commercially minded approach.
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Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including crafting compelling impact stories.
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Proficient in using CRM (ideally Salesforce) to input, segment and analyse donor data.
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Line management experience (formal or informal).
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Strong analytical skills and attention to detail.
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Exceptional time management within a dynamic environment.
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Organised and self-motivated.
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Comfortable working independently without large teams.
Corporate Partnerships Manager
About this role
Charity: Schoolreaders
Salary Range: £40,000 FTE
Contract: 30 hours/week
Location: Hybrid or remote. Home-based would require a minimum of once per month in Bedford HO
About Us
Schoolreaders is the largest in-school reading support charity in the country, supporting children in every county in England. Our vision is that every child should learn to read well.
One in four primary school children in England fail to reach the expected standard of reading by the age of 11. This leaves them unable to access their secondary education fully, which will have life-long consequences.
Schoolreaders exists to change this. Schoolreaders recruits, trains, places and supports volunteers to go into local primary schools and provide free, weekly, one-to-one reading support for children, prioritising those who need this extra support the most.
One quarter of all primary schools are registered with us requesting volunteers, and our trained volunteers currently support more than 42,000 children one-to-one every single week. With demand for our support continuing to grow there is much more to do.
Job purpose
The Corporate Partnerships Manager (New Business) will lead the identification, cultivation and conversion of new corporate partners (national and regional) to generate significant income for Schoolreaders.
This role is central to Schoolreaders’ ambitious plans for growth and will focus on securing high-value corporate support through proactive prospecting, relationship building, networking, and the development of compelling partnership propositions. The postholder will be responsible for building and managing a robust pipeline of new prospects and securing new corporate partnerships that will deliver sustainable income and support the long-term
growth of the charity.
Whilst some management and stewardship of existing partnerships will be required, the primary focus of the role is new business acquisition and income growth.
Now that Schoolreaders has become a nationwide programme, our ambition is to develop a larger portfolio of national and regional corporate partners who will help us transform life outcomes through improved literacy for children living in their local communities.
Role responsibilities
New Business Development (70%)
● Develop and implement a proactive corporate new business strategy to achieve agreed income targets.
● Build and maintain a robust pipeline of prospective corporate supporters, sponsors and strategic partners.
● Identify, research and qualify high-potential prospects through desk research, networking, referrals and stakeholder introductions.
● Lead all stages of the new business cycle from prospect identification through to cultivation, proposal development, pitching, negotiation and partnership agreement.
● Secure new five and six-figure partnerships, sponsorships and multi-year funding commitments.
● Develop tailored partnership propositions aligned to corporate CSR, ESG, Social Value, employee engagement, community investment and marketing objectives.
● Produce compelling written proposals, presentations and pitch materials that demonstrate the value and impact of partnership with Schoolreaders.
● Work closely with SMT, trustees, and networks to secure introductions and warm leads.
● Represent Schoolreaders at networking events, conferences and business forums to raise
awareness and generate partnership opportunities.
● Conduct due diligence on prospective partners, ensuring alignment with Schoolreaders' values and ethical fundraising policies.
Relationship Management (20%)
● Support the onboarding of new corporate partners and ensure a seamless handover where appropriate.
● Manage a small portfolio of strategic partnerships, maximising engagement and identifying opportunities for growth.
● Work collaboratively with colleagues to deliver excellent stewardship and ensure supporter satisfaction.
● Identify opportunities to increase partner support through employee fundraising, sponsorship, volunteering and challenge events.
Strategy, Collaboration and Reporting (10%)
● Work with the Head of Fundraising and Communications to contribute to corporate fundraising strategy, budgets and annual plans.
● Collaborate with colleagues across fundraising, marketing and operations to develop innovative partnership opportunities.
● Maintain accurate records, pipeline activity and forecasting through Salesforce.
● Monitor, analyse and report on new business performance and key performance indicators.
● Provide regular pipeline and income forecasts to support organisational planning.
● Ensure all activity complies with fundraising regulations, GDPR and Schoolreaders' policies.
Whilst there will be a necessity to work at our Bedford HQ on a regular basis, there is flexibility regarding the level of home working depending on home location. The remit of the role extends more widely across England and occasional travel to meet with existing and new corporate partners will be required.
Person specification
Essential
Experience
● Proven track record of securing significant new business income through corporate partnerships, sponsorship, account acquisition or business development activity.
● Experience of personally securing five and ideally six-figure partnerships or contracts.
● Demonstrable success in meeting and exceeding income or sales targets.
● Experience managing a substantial prospect pipeline from identification through to conversion.
● Experience developing and delivering persuasive pitches, presentations and partnership proposals.
● Experience building relationships and influencing senior decision-makers.
Skills and Knowledge
● Outstanding networking, influencing and relationship-building skills.
● Excellent verbal, written and presentation skills.
● Highly proactive, resilient and self-motivated, with a strong results-driven approach.
● Strong prospect research and pipeline management skills.
● Excellent organisational and project management skills.
● Experience using CRM systems such as Salesforce.
● Competent user of Microsoft Office applications.
Personal Qualities
● Confident approaching and engaging new prospects.
● Comfortable working towards income targets.
● Passionate about improving children's literacy and aligned with Schoolreaders' values.
● Collaborative team player with a positive and flexible attitude.
Desirable
● Corporate fundraising experience within the charity sector.
● Experience securing Charity of the Year partnerships.
● Experience of sponsorship sales, business development, corporate account acquisition or partnership management in a commercial environment.
● Experience developing employee engagement and workplace fundraising programmes.
● Experience using Canva and presentation design tools.
The Living Wage Foundation’s real Living Wage remains the only UK wage rate independently calculated based on the cost of living, rising annually based on living costs. It gives employers the confidence they are paying a wage that meets everyday needs, not just the government minimum.
Schoolreaders is proud to be a Living Wage Employer