Strategic Partnerships Manager, Institutional Funding

BirdLife International; Cambridge; On-site; GBP 45,000 - 49,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid working

Pension 12% company

LinkedIn Learning access

Cycle to work

Health portal access

Job summary

BirdLife International is seeking an experienced Strategic Partnerships Manager, Institutional Funding, to grow government and multilateral funding. Hybrid role with travel to Cambridge, offering £45,000–£49,000 per year plus a competitive 12% pension and 25 days leave (pro rata).

Based in the Development team, you will manage donor relationships, shape proposals and coordinate cross‑border funding opportunities to support BirdLife’s Global Strategy to 2030.

Qualifications

• We are looking for extensive experience in developing, managing and growing institutional donor relationships.
• Strong track record in developing and writing successful institutional proposals for complex funding.
• Ability to identify opportunities and align donor priorities with program work.
• Good financial and technical understanding, including budgets, logframes, donor compliance and risk.

Responsibilities

• Manage and grow key donor relationships and funder portfolios.
• Develop a strong pipeline of opportunities and coordinate cross-team inputs.
• Lead development of high-quality proposals, including multi-country or consortium bids.
• Provide donor insight and strategic guidance to BirdLife’s institutional funding efforts.
• Collaborate with global programmes, regional teams and partners to secure funding.

Skills

Donor relations

Proposal writing

Opportunity development

Budgeting & logframes

Stakeholder management

Job description

Application deadline: Monday 26 October 2026– 09:00 GMT
Location:Hybrid working, with travel to Cambridge

Full-time: 36 hours per week
Contract:Open-ended

Salary:£45,000 - £49,000 per annum depending on skills/experience, plus competitive 12% pension benefit
Annual Leave:25 days pro rata in year 1, increasing by 1 day p/a to 28 days

We’re BirdLife International, the only global Partnership conserving birds and all life on our planet. We exist to give one voice to nature, and to unite and strengthen conservation across borders.

As Strategic Partnerships Manager, Institutional Funding, you will help us grow and diversify income from government, bilateral and multilateral funders, building on an established institutional funding base and strong existing partnerships while identifying and developing new opportunities for the future.

How you will do this:

Working within our global Development team, you will manage and develop key donor relationships, build a strong pipeline of opportunities and connect funder priorities with BirdLife’s ambitious conservation programmes. You will work collaboratively with colleagues across global programmes, regional teams and our network of national Partners, bringing people together to develop compelling opportunities for support.

With scope to shape and develop your portfolio, you will have the opportunity to bring your own expertise to BirdLife’s institutional fundraising, helping open new relationships and develop areas of opportunity.

This role combines strategic partnership development with hands‑on fundraising. Alongside developing relationships and identifying opportunities, you will lead the development of high‑quality proposals, including complex, multi‑country and consortium bids. You will bring insight, coordination and strategic donor expertise to our institutional fundraising, helping secure the funding needed to deliver BirdLife’s Global Strategy to 2030.

What we are looking for:

We are looking for an experienced partnerships manager with a strong track record of developing public funding partnerships and securing income from government, bilateral and/or multilateral donors. Developing programme funding will have been a substantive part of your career, and you will be comfortable combining strategic partnership development with hands‑on delivery.

You will bring:

• Significant experience of developing, managing and growing institutional donor relationships, with personal responsibility for income generation and pipeline development.
• A strong track record of developing and writing successful institutional proposals, ideally including large, complex, multi‑country or consortium bids.
• The ability to identify opportunities, understand donor priorities and work with programme colleagues to develop compelling, fundable projects.
• Good financial and technical understanding, including confidence working with budgets, logframes, donor compliance and risk.
• Excellent relationship‑building and influencing skills, with the ability to work collaboratively across teams, cultures and geographies.

Specific and in‑depth donor knowledge and experience with bilateral donor agencies such as the UK, Germany or the Nordics or multilateral environmental funds such as GEF and GCF will be welcomed, but we are open to candidates bringing experience from working with a variety of donor partnerships.

Conservation experience is not essential, and we welcome candidates from international development, humanitarian and other relevant sectors who can bring strong, transferable expertise and a genuine commitment to BirdLife’s mission.

See the full job description here.

Some of our benefits:

• We are able to offer a hybrid model of working on‑site and from home/remote for most roles, which helps to ensure a flexible work‑life balance.
• A chance to work in the award‑winning David Attenborough Building, which brings together much of the Cambridge‑based conservation community on a ‘conservation campus.’
• A generous pension scheme, up to 12% company contribution.
• Holiday starting at 25 days excluding Bank Holidays and increasing for every year of service up to a maximum of 28 days.
• Full access to LinkedIn Learning with access to more than 13,000 high‑quality, on‑demand courses.
• Cycle to work scheme.
• Employee Assistance Programme, including access to Health Assured online health portal.

BirdLife values a diverse workforce and welcomes applications from all sections of the community. Find out more about our Diversity statement.

We are committed to building and maintaining an inclusive and supportive culture, a place where we can all be ourselves and succeed on merit. We aim to promote a more inclusive environment, which attracts all candidates and signals our commitment to celebrate and promote diversity.

We know that everyone’s needs are different. If you need us to make any adjustments to our recruitment process, let us know, we’ll do our best to make it happen.