Senior Partnership Manager

Futures For All; United Kingdom; Remote; GBP 42,000 - 46,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

25 days annual leave

Morning of your birthday off

Professional development fund

Job summary

Futures For All is seeking a Senior Partnership Manager to drive the Work Experience Finder by onboarding and managing strategic partners across the UK. Expect regular UK travel to build relationships with Careers Hubs, Local Authorities and employer bodies, while delivering sustainable contract income and growth.

You will work with internal teams to develop employer engagement strategies, ensure high-quality delivery, and maintain a strong partner network that scales work experience

Qualifications

• Proven experience in developing and managing strategic partnerships with public sector organisations, education providers or employers.
• Experience generating income and achieving partnership targets.
• Excellent presentation, communication and influencing skills with senior stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Develop and manage strategic relationships with regional and national partners to secure new WEX Finder partnerships.
• Build and convert a strong partnership pipeline with the Director of Development.
• Negotiate partnership agreements, contracts and funding arrangements.
• Represent Futures For All at events to raise awareness and opportunities.
• Lead onboarding of new partners and ensure successful delivery and operations.
• Maintain CRM records, forecasts and pipeline reporting.

Skills

Partnership development

Account management

Stakeholder engagement

Public sector partnerships

Sales pipeline management

Presentation & negotiation

Job description

Location: Remote working in the UK (with travel across the UK as required; expected to be around 3x weekly)

Salary: £42,400 rising to £45,900 after 1 year of service

Responsible to: Associate Director, Programmes and Delivery

Contract type: Full Time (37 hours per week), Permanent

Closing date: 2 November 2026, Midday

Who we are

Futures For All is the largest social mobility charity in the UK. We help to level the playing field between state and independent schools by giving all young people access to the same prestigious networks available to the top fee-paying schools.

We believe that by inspiring young people to explore their ambitions through our speaker programme, facilitating access to multi-day experiences of the world of work, and supporting young people to successfully seize opportunities available to them, then we can make a profound difference to the lives of young people, their future happiness and prosperity.

By 2028, our ambition is that every young person in the UK has access to high quality work experience. Yet today, less than half of young people leave secondary school having had any work experience whatsoever.

Role Summary

The primary purpose of the Senior Partnership Manager is to drive the expansion of the Work Experience Finder through the recruitment, onboarding and ongoing management of strategic partners across the UK. This will include, but is not limited to, Careers Hubs, Combined Authorities, Local Authorities, Employer Representative Bodies, Chambers of Commerce, employer associations and other strategic organisations.

The role requires extensive travel across the UK to build strong relationships with prospective and existing partners, confidently presenting the Futures For All offer to senior stakeholders and securing long-term partnerships that generate sustainable project income and flow of employer engagement.

Working closely with the Director of Development, the Senior Partnership Manager will build and maintain a strong partnership pipeline, negotiate partnership agreements and contracts, and ensure the successful operational onboarding and ongoing management of partners.

The Senior Partnership Manager will play a key role in enabling employer engagement at scale through partner networks, ensuring high-quality delivery and contributing to the continued growth of WEX Finder and the wider organisational strategy.

Key Duties / Responsibilities

Strategic Purpose

• Develop and manage strategic relationships with regional and national partners, with the primary objective of securing new WEX Finder partnerships and delivering against Futures for All's strategic growth.
• Build, manage and convert a strong partnership pipeline, working closely with the Director of Development to achieve agreed partnership targets.
• Identify and secure new partnership opportunities that expand organisational reach.
• Negotiate partnership agreements, contracts and funding arrangements with prospective strategic partners, managing strategic partner relationships.
• Represent Futures For All at regional and national events, conferences and stakeholder meetings to raise awareness, develop new opportunities and promote WEX Finder.
• Work with partners to develop regional employer engagement strategies that increase the number of employers offering high-quality work experience opportunities.

Engagement

• Deliver engaging presentations, demonstrations and proposals to senior stakeholders and decision-makers, both virtually and in person.
• Develop trusted relationships with Careers Hubs, Combined Authorities, Local Authorities, Employer Representative Bodies, Chambers of Commerce and other strategic organisations.
• Work collaboratively with the Director of Development, Marketing, Programme, Delivery and Technology teams to ensure partnership opportunities are successfully developed and implemented.
• Drive employer engagement through partner networks, increasing employer participation in work experience and careers programmes at scale.
• Act as a trusted adviser to partners, maintaining regular communication and identifying opportunities to strengthen and grow relationships.
• Represent Futures For All externally, promoting the organisation's mission, impact and services.

Delivery

• Lead the onboarding of new partners, ensuring a seamless transition from contract agreement through to operational delivery.
• Monitor partnership performance against agreed KPIs, producing regular reports on performance, risks and opportunities.
• Maintain accurate CRM records, partnership forecasts and pipeline reporting.
• Represent and work to our values, fostering a culture of positivity, collaboration, respect and inclusivity, while taking personal responsibility for performance and continuous development.
• Ensure safeguarding best practice is embedded throughout all organisational activity.
• Confidently communicate Futures For All's mission, services and impact through written communication, presentations, virtual meetings and face-to-face engagement.
• Work closely with Programme, Delivery and Employer Engagement teams to ensure successful implementation and continuous improvement of partnerships.
• Manage the ongoing operational relationship with strategic partners, ensuring contractual commitments, service standards and agreed outcomes are achieved.

Skills / Experience / Knowledge:

Essential:

• Proven experience in partnership development, business development, account management or stakeholder engagement.
• Experience developing and managing strategic partnerships with public sector organisations, education providers, employers or membership organisations.
• Demonstrable experience of generating income, developing commercial opportunities and achieving partnership or sales targets.
• Excellent presentation, communication and influencing skills, with confidence presenting to senior leaders and external stakeholders.
• Experience negotiating contracts, partnership agreements or funding arrangements.
• Experience building, managing and reporting on a sales or partnership pipeline using a CRM.
• Excellent organisational skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities and projects simultaneously.
• Comfortable with regular (likely weekly) UK-wide travel and representing the organisation at external meetings and events.
• Strong relationship management skills, with the ability to influence and build credibility at all levels.

Desirable:

• Experience working within the education, employability, careers or charity sector.
• Knowledge of Careers Hubs, Combined Authorities, Local Authorities, Employer Representative Bodies and business networks.
• Experience of employer engagement, workforce development or partnership programmes.
• Understanding of grant-funded programmes and partnership delivery.
• Knowledge of work experience, careers education or social mobility initiatives.

Diversity at our core

Futures For All is committed to an inclusive and accessible recruitment process and encouraging equality and diversity among our workforces. We acknowledge that some candidates may require additional support to overcome barriers experienced during the application process. If you require any reasonable adjustments to support your application or interview, please reach out to us via [e-mail]

Benefits offered at Futures For All

• 25 days annual leave plus bank holidays
• Morning of your birthday off
• £500 a year professional development fund
• Option to purchase additional annual leave yearly
• 'Winter shutdown' gifted so no need to use annual leave between Christmas and new years eve.
• Early bank holiday finish - we finish at 3:30pm on a Friday before all bank holidays
• 22.2 hours of volunteering days to use each year
• Home office set up support
• Enhanced sick pay
• Enhanced family friendly leave
• Employee Assistance Programme

Futures For All Values

PASSION: We are committed to levelling the playing field for young people across the UK, creating social mobility and tackling disadvantages.

AGILITY: We challenge our ideas of what is possible in order to better meet the needs of those we support. We are human, make mistakes, learn, evolve and adapt.

INTEGRITY: We act with empathy and bring our authentic selves to work every day. We value and respect the talent, time and intentions of those we work with.

COLLABORATION: We are one team with one mission and only by working together can we deliver better outcomes for young people. We support each other unconditionally and feel motivation in shared success as well as individual progress.

DIVERSITY: We know it takes people with different ideas, strengths, identities, interests, and cultural backgrounds to make our organisation succeed. We encourage constructive debate and critical friendship.