Commercial Associate (Bids & Partnerships)

Breakthrough Social Enterprise; United Kingdom; Remote; GBP 25,000 - 32,000; Full time

Job summary

Breakthrough Social Enterprise is seeking a Commercial Associate (Bids & Partnerships) to research, shape and win government contracts, corporate partnerships and funding bids. This remote-first role with some London days focuses on building value-driven relationships with councils, funders and partners to advance the mission.

You will work with AI fluently to prepare high-quality proposals, identify opportunities, and deliver compelling partnership materials—driving real social impact across

Qualifications

• Experience with government contracts, corporate partnerships and funding bids.
• Ability to build relationships with councils, funders and partners.

Responsibilities

• Research and respond to government and public sector bids end to end.
• Build and manage relationships with corporate partners, councils and funders.
• Prepare proposal packs and partnership materials using AI.
• Spot opportunities in complex documents and act on them.

Job description

Commercial Associate (Bids & Partnerships)

Remote (UK-wide) with some London in-person days - Full time

DO NOT APPLY USING THE FORM ON THIS PAGEFor full details and to apply → https://commercial-associate-jd.lovable.app (Still accepting applications)

Almost everyone in the UK is online now. That was supposed to close the digital divide, but the divide that matters today is different: it is between people who can use digital and AI tools to genuinely improve their economic position, and people who cannot.

Breakthrough exists to close that gap. We are a social enterprise working with adults from underserved communities, people carrying real structural barriers: justice system involvement, care experience, long-term unemployment, refugee backgrounds. Our mission is simple to say and hard to do: people and communities historically excluded from the digital economy gain the capability, confidence and agency to shape and benefit from an AI-enabled future.

The strongest evidence for our model is that we live it. Our CEO has lived experience of the justice system. Of the 700+ associates we have supported so far, more than 95% stay engaged with us after their programme ends. And 35% of our staff first joined Breakthrough as associates on our programmes: the people we trained now help run the organisation.

The role

You will find, shape and win the work that funds our mission: government contracts, corporate partnerships and funding bids. This is not a sales-script job. It is relationship building with real value attached: understanding what a council, funder or corporate partner is trying to achieve for the people they serve, and showing them how Breakthrough helps them achieve it. Every bid you win is measured in the same currency: more people getting the capability, confidence and agency to benefit from an AI-enabled future.
→ Research and respond to government and public sector bids, end to end, with real attention to detail.
→ Build and manage relationships with corporate partners, councils and funders.
→ Prepare proposal packs and partnership materials, using AI fluently and critically.
→ Spot opportunities in complex documents and act on them without waiting to be told.

You will thrive here if

• You spot things that people usually miss. Hand you a folder of dense documents and your instinct is to dig in with a highlighter, not to skim a summary. 70 page documents don’t intimidate you. This matters: it is most of the job.
• You are creative. You enjoy finding opportunities and are solution oriented.
• You already use AI daily and thoughtfully. You know when to use it, when not to, and how to make its output actually good.
• You are high-agency. You act first and ask for direction when you are genuinely stuck, not before you have tried.
• You see funding as relationships with value added, not transactions.
• You care about the mission: opening real careers to people the system has counted out. You’re part prospector, part closer, all self-starter.

Beyond your day job

Breakthrough is a small, fast-moving team. Whatever your role, you will also get involved in things like appearing in our social media and video content, contributing to reporting and impact stories, and supporting recruitment and events. If you want a narrowly defined job, this is not it. If you want to grow a public profile and a broad skill set alongside your core work, you will love it here.

Working here

• A small team where you get real ownership from week one. Nobody will micromanage you. Whether that sounds exciting or terrifying tells you most of what you need to know about fit.
• Transparent salary bands (above), flexibility on permanent vs freelance structure, and remote-first working with some in-person days.
• We use AI in everything we do and we will invest in you being excellent with it.
• If you are full-time permanent we offer 25 days annual leave, plus 8 bank holidays.
• We also have flexible working options where we encourage a great work-life balance.

London £28,000 to £32,000; outside London £25,000 to £30,000 | 6-month probation