Corporate Partnerships Manager

Starting Salary: £43,461 - £46,819 (inc. London weighting) – This is a full-time salary, and the salary will be prorated based on the hours of the post.
Contract: Permanent – 4.5 Days per week.
Location: London, ideally Hybrid working - 40% of your time at the CAFOD head office.

Job Profile

The Corporate Partnerships Manager is vital to CAFOD in leading corporate philanthropy efforts and collaborating with stakeholders to identify funding priorities for the Major Gifts and Philanthropy (MGP) team, which targets a £2.5m income for 2025/26, including £805,000 from corporate donors.

Reporting to the Head of Major Gifts and Philanthropy, the post-holder will manage the Corporate Partnership Executive, lead strategy development, and explore innovative ways to engage donors, upgrade giving levels, and strengthen peer-to-peer fundraising. They will build and manage relationships across a diverse corporate donor portfolio, inspire significant contributions, and oversee donor communications to ensure alignment with CAFOD’s values.

The postholder will work closely with CAFOD’s senior Executive group and coordinate with teams across International Programmes, Data and Insight, Communications, Finance, IT, and fundraising. Regular collaboration with the MGP Philanthropy Manager, Every Second Counts (ESC) lead, Research and Information Manager, and MGP Executive will ensure seamless cross-team efforts. As CAFOD’s relationship fundraising evolves, the role requires adaptability to shifting strategies and a developing digital approach.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Development and Implementation

• Drive corporate partnership plans to meet targets, focusing on existing and prospective donors capable of major gifts (£50,000+), including multi-year contributions.
• Identify and develop a robust pipeline of funding opportunities in collaboration with internal stakeholders, aligned with strategic funding propositions.
• Partner with the ESC lead to secure donors for the £7m multi-year humanitarian initiative, targeting new corporate prospects.
• Conduct prospect research, create targeted funding proposals and reports, and deliver impactful presentations for corporate donors.
• Track progress against annual and long-term plans, monitoring budgets and KPIs.
• Prepare monthly, quarterly, and annual income forecasts, leveraging systems and databases.
• Foster a culture of innovation and best practices, adapting strategies to address emerging trends.
• Represent the MGP team in cross-functional working groups and ensure effective information sharing with colleagues.

Donor Relationship Management

• Build and sustain strong donor relationships through tailored cultivation and stewardship plans, emphasizing unrestricted and program-specific donations.
• Maintain close relationships with strategic partners, such as CPL Aromas and their founding family, ensuring effective communication and timely updates.
• Communicate CAFOD’s work to donors through preferred channels, including digital platforms and overseas visits where appropriate, ensuring gratitude and recognition.
• Collaborate with MGP and other teams to increase giving from existing supporters and mentor colleagues in securing high-level donations.
• Work with the team to deliver successful fundraising appeals and projects.
• Coordinate donor objectives with the Philanthropy Manager and ESC lead, managing relevant donors and stakeholders.

People Management

• Lead and mentor the Corporate Partnership Executive (CPE), fostering strong working relationships, setting SMART objectives, and conducting performance reviews.
• Guide the CPE in strategy and operational plans, ensuring business processes are efficient and donor stewardship meets high standards.
• Collaborate with the CPE on administrative tasks and ensure smooth execution of responsibilities.

Cultivation and Stewardship Event Management

• Mentor and support the MGP team in planning and leading donor cultivation and stewardship events, with a focus on corporate events.

Cross-Departmental Teamwork

• Collaborate across CAFOD teams and with the MGP Research and Information Manager to develop compelling donor proposition materials.
• Ensure systems and data processes support timely and accurate updates to donor databases, working with IT and Data & Insight teams.
• Maintain GDPR compliance and uphold fundraising best practices for donor information.
• Track income and performance metrics, ensuring systems and processes operate at a high standard.
• Contribute to MGP and CAFOD-wide meetings, sharing insights and best practices to support team growth and development.

Safeguarding

All CAFOD staff share the responsibility to promote and maintain a strong safeguarding culture, including identifying the key actions they should take given their role and responsibilities.

Person Specification

The post holder will be making key decisions and take responsibility for leading on the following tasks and where appropriate will put the case forward for innovative changes to take place, based on sound judgment.

Job-specific competencies

• Proven experience in writing donor proposals and securing funds for significant donations from corporates and/or major donors
• Specialist corporate partnership, account management or major gifts fundraising skills, proven ability of managing high level and often complex donor relationships of £50,000 and ideally six figures
• Clear and accurate written and verbal communication skills to influence senior corporate players to support CAFOD
• Project management experience with an ability to translate complex information into engaging donor communications and reports
• Experience of developing strategies in line with organisational priorities.

Desirable Criteria:

• Knowledge and awareness of international development and humanitarian aid
• Line management experience
• Comfortable in business environments; understand what decision-making processes may influence the support for charities
• Understanding and operational experience with GDPR
• Event management experience.

Why Choose CAFOD?

At CAFOD we value our employees and are committed to offering a healthy work–life balance and promoting the well-being of our employees.

Hybrid working with a minimum of 40% of your time in the London Office.

As well as the exciting opportunities this role presents, we also offer great benefits, some of which are below.

• Generous holiday package
• Additional 10 days annual leave purchase scheme
• Cycle to work scheme and season ticket loan.
• Enhanced Maternity, paternity and adoption pay.
• Enhanced Sick pay.
• Employee Assistance Programme.
• Life Assurance 3 x salary

We offer all our employees learning and development opportunities, we provide training, coaching and mentoring to support your development in various aspects of our work.

CAFOD is committed to being an anti-racist organisation and we are keen to increase the diversity of our teams. We are particularly keen to seek out applications from people of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic backgrounds.

There's room for everyone: Catholics and non-Catholics; people of all faiths and none. We employ people in all corners of the world, of all ages and ethnicities. The result? A friendly and open-minded organisation.

Safeguarding for Children and Vulnerable Adults

CAFOD recognises the personal dignity and rights of children and vulnerable adults, towards whom it has a special responsibility and a duty of care and respect.  CAFOD, and all its staff and volunteers, undertake to do all in our power to create a safe environment for children, young people and vulnerable adults and to prevent their physical, sexual or emotional abuse.  CAFOD is committed to acting at all times in the best interests of children and vulnerable adults, seeing these interests as paramount.  Any candidate offered a job with CAFOD will be expected to adhere to CAFOD’s Safeguarding policy and sign CAFOD’s Code of Behaviour as an appendix to their contract of employment and agree to conduct themselves in accordance with the provisions of these documents.

All offers of employment will be subject to satisfactory references, and appropriate screening checks can include criminal records and terrorism finance checks. CAFOD also participates in the Inter Agency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme. In line with this Scheme, we will request information from job applicants’ previous employers about any findings of sexual exploitation, sexual abuse and/or sexual harassment during employment, or incidents under investigation when the applicant left employment. By submitting an application, the job applicant confirms his/her understanding of, and consent to, these recruitment procedures.

Please click here for a full list of CAFOD’s Staff Benefits

CAFOD is an equal opportunities employer. Recruitment and selection procedures reflect our commitment to safeguarding children and vulnerable adults.