Job Details

Rare opportunity to join a leading military charity in a senior role.
This is a new post with a real chance to influence the charity's direction as they revamp their fundraising. 

Lead Major Partnerships. Transform Income. Support the Armed Forces Community.

Scope
My military charity is seeking applicants from those who consider themselves high performing Head of Department ready for the next step, or perhaps a current junior Director with the experience and knowledge to secure major corporate partnerships across both the defence and non-defence sectors.

You will need to have a proven track record of personally securing large and smaller partnerships, alongside successfully managing a team and overseeing a sizeable expenditure portfolio. 

Sector Experience: Charity, Defence, Aerospace, Technology, Infrastructure or Corporate Sales / Strategic Partnerships

We’re recruiting an exceptional Associate Director of Fundraising on behalf of a leading national military charity — a role designed for a commercially driven senior partnerships leader who thrives on securing high-value, multi-year strategic deals.

This is not a traditional charity fundraising role.
It is effectively a Head of Sales / New Business position, focused on personally securing six- and seven-figure partnerships across the defence, aviation, corporate and wider private sectors.

You’ll help build and convert a pipeline of major corporate partnerships (£500k–£5m+), while shaping a high-performance strategy that will define the organisation’s future income growth.

You will join at Associate Director level — above Head of Department, reporting into the Director of Fundraising. The title has been intentionally set to engage senior-level decision-makers in industry.

What You’ll Be Doing

• Personally lead high-value partnership acquisition, securing 5–7 new corporate agreements per year, each worth six-to-seven figures.

• Shape and deliver a multi-year commercial income strategy, focused on business development, social value contracts and cause-related partnerships.

• Build senior relationships across defence, aviation, infrastructure and major corporates — positioning the charity as a strategic social impact partner.

• Oversee a small corporate team and line manage the Head of Events, ensuring aligned delivery across income streams.

• Deliver strategic showcase events to engage high-level industry decision-makers and unlock new partnership opportunities.

• Monitor KPIs, pipeline performance and income growth, ensuring revenue targets are hit and exceeded.

• Deputise for the Director of Fundraising where required, representing the charity at board and executive levels.

Strategic vs Operational Split

You’ll initially operate at roughly 60% strategic / 40% operational, setting the plan and building momentum.
Over time, this will evolve toward a 50/50 balance — leading delivery while continuing to close major deals yourself.

What Success Looks Like

✔ Significant uplift in corporate and defence income within 12–18 months
✔ A growing portfolio of six and seven-figure partnerships
✔ A clear pipeline and engagement metrics demonstrating strategic momentum
✔ A respected presence across industry as the charity’s senior commercial lead

We’re Looking For

Essential

• Senior sales, business development or corporate fundraising experience — ideally operating just under C-Suite / Divisional Head level.

• A proven track record of securing major partnerships or closing high-value deals (£500k+).

• Confident at engaging senior stakeholders (C-Suite / Defence / Procurement / CSR / ESG leads).

• Target-driven, strategic and highly persuasive — thrives on KPIs, negotiation and relationship building.

• Strong leadership skills, capable of managing a small corporate/events team and budgets (£250k).