Head of Impact

Zero Gravity; Greater London; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Zero Gravity is seeking a strategic leader to head the Zero Gravity Fund. You will drive fundraising, design impact models, and manage governance while collaborating with Trustees and senior partners.

You will pitch to global banks and foundations, draft board papers, and build scalable funding strategies that expand access to AI tutoring for underrepresented students.

Qualifications

• Ambitious leader capable of guiding ambiguous initiatives to tangible outcomes.
• Experience scaling partnerships within a tech company.
• Strong relationship-builder with senior stakeholders.
• Fundraising or partnerships experience with corporates, foundations, or major donors.
• Able to pitch and build compelling funding proposals.
• Experience working cross-functionally with product, engineering and external stakeholders.
• Systems thinker who designs scalable processes for governance, deployment, and reporting.
• Experience in a 20–100 person company with multi-role responsibilities.
• Rigorous on governance and finance including board packs and audits.
• AI-native approach to improve workflows and outcomes.
• Motivated to apply AI to real-world problems.

Responsibilities

• Lead the Zero Gravity Fund and expand its impact across scholarships and AI tutoring initiatives.
• Autonomously pitch and secure funding from banks, consultancies, foundations and major donors.
• Draft trustee board packs and design funding models from first principles.
• Own major funder relationships end-to-end, from pitch to renewals.
• Develop and validate new impact models and the theory of change for funding.
• Shape philanthropic funding models and grants into compelling proposals.
• Ensure governance, risk, policy, and financial controls are maintained.
• Oversee day-to-day finances and accounts in collaboration with accountants.
• Line-manage a small team and scale the function as the Fund grows.
• Coordinate with Trustees, funders, leadership, and students to maximise impact.

Skills

Strategic thinker

Partnership development

Fundraising

Stakeholder management

Proposal writing

Public speaking

Cross-functional

Governance & finance

People management

AI literacy

Job description

Requirements

• A strong operator: able to take ambiguous initiatives and drive them to real-world outcomes — you're equally comfortable presenting to corporate leadership teams, drafting a governance policy, building a financial model, and unblocking an operational process, often all in the same week
• (Desirable) Experience scaling partnerships or strategic programmes within a technology company
• A natural relationship-builder with senior stakeholders: you can hold your own with C‑suite executives and philanthropists, and you know how to turn a warm conversation into a multi-year commitment
• (Desirable) Fundraising or partnerships experience — corporate partnerships, philanthropy, foundations, or B2B sales
• A confident pitcher and proposition-builder: you can take a mission and a model, shape it into a compelling proposal, and win six‑figure funding from corporates, foundations and major donors
• (Desirable) Proven ability to work cross‑functionally with product, engineering, and external stakeholders
• An impact strategist: you can build a theory of change, put a number on outcomes, and turn it into a proposition funders can see themselves in
• (Desirable) Experience managing and developing people
• A systems thinker: you build processes that make programmes repeatable and scalable - selection criteria, deployment tracking, impact reporting, financial controls - and you'd rather ship and improve than wait for perfect
• (Desirable) Have worked in a company at the 20–100 person stage, where everyone does more than their job title suggests
• Rigorous on governance and finance: you understand (or can quickly learn) charity governance - board packs, risk registers, reserves policies, audits, Charity Commission requirements - and you sweat the details because trust is the product
• AI‑native: you use AI tools to move faster and improve workflows - you research, draft and analyse at a pace that lets you punch above your weight
• Deeply motivated to apply AI to meaningful real‑world problems

What the job involves

• You'll lead the Zero Gravity Fund, our registered charity that has deployed over £2.3m to talented students from low‑income backgrounds, and is now expanding how it delivers impact: from scholarships to philanthropically funded AI tutoring in high‑FSM schools, and more
• This is a highly autonomous, execution‑heavy role covering the full breadth of running a charity inside a fast‑moving AI startup: from pitching global banks and consultancies, to writing trustee board packs, to designing how funding actually reaches students
• We're looking for someone who is deeply motivated to apply AI to meaningful problems and combines strong partnership instincts with operational rigour - comfortable identifying opportunities, moving quickly, and building the systems needed to scale impact. You'll be the connective tissue between our Trustees, our funders, our leadership team, and the students we support
• Own the strategy for the Zero Gravity Fund: set its direction with the CEO and Trustees, evaluate strategic options as the wider business evolves, and write the papers that drive board‑level decisions
• Shape how we deliver impact, not just fund it: design new impact models from first principles — building the theory of change (who we reach, what changes, what it's worth), the funding architecture, and the funder proposition — then validate them through donor discovery sprints. A live example: our model for putting AI tutoring into high‑FSM schools, funded philanthropically, taking it from concept to funder‑ready proposition
• Own our major funder relationships end to end: cultivate and manage partnerships with global banks, consultancies, foundations and major donors — from first pitch through to renewals — carrying a personal fundraising target
• Build and pitch new propositions: shape philanthropic funding models — scholarships, school‑based programmes, and whatever comes next — into compelling proposals, lead grant applications, and represent Zero Gravity in the room with senior decision‑makers
• Run charity governance end to end: prepare quarterly trustee board packs, manage the risk register and policy suite, support trustee recruitment and onboarding, and handle Charity Commission requirements
• Manage the charity's finances day to day: financial controls, treasury management, working with our accountants and auditors on annual accounts, audit prep and VAT treatment
• Lead and grow a small team: line‑manage direct reports, run performance and development, and shape the team structure as the Fund grows