Role: Head of Partnership Development & Innovation  

Reporting to: CEO 

Direct Report: Partnership & Events Lead 

Location: Flexible / Hybrid across Scotland

Hours of Work: Full time - 4 days a week (28 hours) 

Contract: Fixed term until 31st March 2024, extension subject to funding.

Salary: £35,000 

Our vision is for a fairer Scotland for all self-identifying young women and girls. A Scotland where young women are meaningfully heard, valued and supported to lead collective action and enact transformational change throughout society, systems and structures. 

 To help us achieve this, the role of Head of Partnership Development & Innovation has been created to: 

• Ambitiously extend our reach to even more young women and girls through radical system-changing campaigns for and by young women. 

• Build relationships with organisations that will result in long-term, high-value partnerships that raise both significant income and brand visibility for the Young Women’s Movement (YWM).  

Key Responsibilities 

• Develop and implement YWM’s Business Development and Fundraising Strategy. 

• Support our strong track record of securing funds from trusts and foundations through grant applications as well as leading on the growth and future development of new income streams from corporate partnerships and other sources. 

• To lead the development of consultancy and training opportunities to generate income.  

• To proactively identify, research, secure and develop partnerships through the creation and management of a robust pipeline. 

• Lead and manage all stages of business development and fundraising, from capturing intelligence to developing compelling pitches and responses to tenders. 

• Lead on research and applications for agreed prospects, building long-term relationships with key contacts at prospective partners. 

• Keep up to date with the latest developments in the charity sector and corporate fundraising identifying key opportunities for YWM. 

• Work with the Research and Policy Lead to monitor impact and effectively report to funders and partners.  

Everyone who works at Young Women’s Movement: 

• Has equality at the heart of everything they do. 

• Takes a participatory approach to our work. We are for young women and by young women. 

• Builds communities of friendship and support networks, finding joy in our collective actions and connections.  

• Understands the impact of challenging inequality on those most affected by it. We lead with kindness and empathy, putting collective wellbeing at the core of our organisation.  

• Delivers our work with integrity and are proud of the work we do. 

• Is bold and brave. We do not shy away from challenging the status quo and taking radical steps to make gender equality a reality in Scotland 

How you'll help to create a fairer Scotland for young women and girls: 

• Develop strong and sustainable income pipelines to expand and scale our programmes to reach more young women and girls.  

• Develop excellent relationships with the YWM team and the young women we work with to drive positive outcomes for Partnership Development. 

• Lead the identification of potential partnerships across all industries, undertaking the research and qualification of opportunities. 

• Line management of the Partnership & Events Lead’s workload and activities. 

• Work with the CEO, Leads and young women to ensure we are constantly innovating in programme and product development. 

• Demonstrate a willingness and ability to operate within a constantly changing environment and as such work priorities and targets may change. 

• Lead strategic planning for the team including the setting and monitoring of objectives and targets. 

• Support the CEO with the contributions to the organisation strategy and development.  

• Set and monitor team and project budgets. 

• Provide direction, advice and support to junior members of the team, volunteers and interns. 

• Undertake any other duties that occasionally arise. 

Let’s talk about you - you will already have or be working towards: 

• Experience in creating and developing relationships with key decision-makers that result in income generation. 

• Experience of working in women-only spaces with a focus on young women and girls. 

• Excellent relationship management skills, working autonomously with key stakeholders to deliver outstanding customer service.  

• Professional expertise to implement team strategy and contribute to business improvement. 

• The ability to work highly independently and to deal with often complex and non-routine issues.  

• Excel and PowerPoint, and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system (or the ability to pick them up quickly)  

• Experience in budget setting and monitoring.  

• Tenacious, self-motivated, high achiever with a passion for new business. 

• Excellent networking skills and confident in presenting and public speaking. 

• Ability to think creatively and strategically when prospecting, using a solution-focused approach. 

• A flexible and adaptable approach, coupled with the ability to prioritise workload to meet deadlines.  

• Ability to operate under pressure to strict deadlines. 

• Commitment to own continuing professional development. 

• Willingness to work flexibly and travel across Scotland when necessary. 

Why you should want to work with us! 

• We operate a 4-day working week, which means full-time is 28 hours. 

• We offer flexible working options and patterns, including the option to work remotely from anywhere in Scotland. 

• Our annual leave entitlement is 22.5 days a year, plus 6 public holidays.

• We provide 1 additional day of annual leave for your birthday (or to take another time that you would like to celebrate) 

• We are committed to supporting staff development through training and coaching opportunities. 

• Wellbeing and mental health support are our priorities, and all of our staff can access counselling and wellbeing days. 

Due to the nature of our work with children and young people, successful applicants will be required to undergo a disclosure check through the PVG Scheme. 

Don't meet every single requirement?   

Studies show that women and Black, Asian & Minority Ethnic people are less likely to apply for a job unless they meet every qualification. So, if you're excited about this role but your experience doesn't align perfectly with the job description, we'd love you to apply anyway. You might just be the perfect person for this role, or another role within The Young Women’s Movement family. 

Recruitment process 

Deadline for applications is 9am on Thursday 4th May. Interviews will take place in-person in Edinburgh on Thursday 11th May.   

If you would like to discuss any accessibility requirements for the recruitment process or the role, please contact our CEO Jenni Snell – Jenni@youngwomenscot.org and we will be happy to discuss.