Head of Funding & Partnerships
Location: Remote (UK preferred) with occasional online meetings
Time Commitment: Flexible (approximately 8-12 hours per week)
Reports to: Founder
Role Type: Volunteer, with the opportunity to become a paid position as the Foundation grows and sustainable funding is secured.
About the Emberlie Foundation
At the Emberlie Foundation, we believe everyone deserves the opportunity to thrive.
Our mission is simple: We unlock the economic power of women returning to work by bridging the gap between confidence, digital skills, and employer opportunity.
We take a whole-person approach, combining practical skills with mindset support, so every woman we work with can rebuild not only her career, but her sense of identity and self-belief.
We aim to create lasting social impact by supporting individuals, families and communities through meaningful programmes, partnerships and initiatives that make a genuine difference.
We envision a future where no woman feels held back from her career because of a break, a life transition, or a loss of confidence.
As a growing non profit, we're building something with purpose, ambition and long-term impact. To help us achieve that vision, we're looking for an experienced fundraising professional who shares our passion and can help secure the funding and partnerships needed to turn ideas into action.
If you're someone who enjoys developing funding strategies, writing compelling proposals and building relationships that create opportunities, we'd love to hear from you.
The Opportunity
This is a senior volunteer leadership role that will play a significant part in shaping the future of the Emberlie Foundation.
As our Head of Funding & Partnerships, you'll lead the development and delivery of our funding strategy, identifying opportunities to secure grants, develop corporate partnerships, and build sustainable income streams that enable the Foundation to grow.
Working closely with the Founder, you'll help establish a strong funding pipeline while creating meaningful relationships with trusts, foundations, businesses and other organisations that share our vision.
Although proposal writing will form an important part of the role, we're looking for someone who can think strategically about how funding, partnerships and collaboration can accelerate our impact.
This is initially a volunteer position, with the intention that it develops into a paid role as the Foundation grows and funding allows.
Key Responsibilities
- Develop and lead the Foundation's funding and partnership strategy.
- Identify, research and prioritise grant, trust, foundation, statutory and corporate funding opportunities.
- Write and submit high-quality grant applications, funding bids and partnership proposals.
- Build and maintain a healthy pipeline of funding opportunities.
- Develop relationships with charitable trusts, corporate partners, grant makers and potential supporters.
- Work closely with the Founder to develop projects that align with funding opportunities.
- Coordinate the end-to-end bid process, ensuring applications are completed to a high standard and submitted on time.
- Create compelling funding narratives that clearly communicate the Foundation's purpose, impact and ambitions.
- Develop supporting resources including impact statements, case studies and funding materials.
- Explore opportunities for sponsorships, strategic partnerships and collaborative funding initiatives.
- Monitor funding outcomes, maintain accurate records and support reporting to funders where required.
- Advise the leadership team on funding trends, opportunities and long-term income generation.
About You
You'll be an experienced funding professional who enjoys creating opportunities and helping organisations grow.
You'll have:
- A proven track record of securing funding through successful grant applications and funding proposals.
- Experience developing funding strategies within the charity, social enterprise or nonprofit sector.
- Excellent proposal writing and storytelling skills.
- Strong relationship-building skills with the confidence to engage a range of stakeholders.
- Excellent organisational and project management abilities.
- The ability to work independently while contributing as part of a collaborative leadership team.
- A proactive, solutions-focused approach and the ability to identify new opportunities.
Desirable
- Experience securing funding from charitable trusts, foundations, National Lottery programmes, government funding bodies or corporate social responsibility programmes.
- Experience developing strategic partnerships.
- Knowledge of UK charity fundraising and grant-making.
- Experience using CRM or fundraising management systems.
- Understanding of impact measurement and reporting.
What We're Looking For
We're looking for someone who is excited by the opportunity to help shape a growing non-profit.
You'll be someone who:
- Believes in the mission and values of the Emberlie Foundation.
- Wants to use your professional expertise to create lasting social impact.
- Enjoys developing new ideas and building meaningful relationships.
- Is collaborative, proactive and self-motivated.
- Takes ownership and enjoys seeing projects through from concept to successful funding.
What You'll Gain
Although this is currently a volunteer role, you'll become part of the leadership team of an ambitious and growing non profit.
In return, you'll have the opportunity to:
- Help shape the future direction of the Emberlie Foundation.
- Lead the development of our long-term funding strategy.
- Build meaningful partnerships that create lasting impact.
- Work alongside the Founder.
- Gain recognition for the tangible difference your expertise makes.
- Expand your network across the charity, funding and corporate sectors.
- Be considered for a paid leadership position as the Foundation grows and sustainable funding is established.
Equality, Diversity & Inclusion
The Emberlie Foundation is committed to creating an inclusive environment where everyone feels respected, valued and able to contribute.
We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds and experiences and believe diversity strengthens our organisation and the communities we serve.
We encourage you to apply
If you're excited about this opportunity but don't meet every single requirement, we'd still love to hear from you.
Research suggests that women are sometimes less likely to apply for roles unless they feel they meet all of the criteria, while others may apply even if they meet only some of them. We don't want that to be a barrier.
At the Emberlie Foundation, we value potential, lived experience, transferable skills, and a willingness to learn just as much as we value direct experience. If you believe you could make a positive contribution to our mission, we encourage you to apply.
How to Apply
If you're looking for an opportunity to use your fundraising expertise to help build a non-profit with ambition and purpose, we'd love to hear from you.
Please send us:
- Your CV.
- A short covering letter outlining your experience securing funding and developing partnerships.
- Examples of successful grants or funding you've helped secure (where confidentiality allows).
Join us in helping create sustainable funding that enables lasting change for the people and communities we serve.
Work Location: Remote
