Head of partnerships
Closing date: Sunday 05 October 2025
Location: Home or office based - including occasional travel across the UK, and to our office in Andover.
Salary: £50,000 - £52,000 pro-rata - full time - 37.5 hours per week
Join us in Beating Macular Disease
Are you someone with a proven track record of securing partnerships or clients? Do you want to make a real difference to people living with sight loss? Join the Macular Society as our Head of partnerships and help us Beat Macular Disease.
About the Macular Society
Macular disease is the biggest cause of sight loss in the UK, with around 300 people diagnosed every day. We're the only UK charity determined to beat the fear and isolation of macular disease through:
- World class research to find new treatments and a cure
- Practical support for people affected by sight loss
- Trusted advice and support services that empower those living with macular disease
About the role
We’re looking for a driven and ambitious Head of partnerships who can help us to secure the corporate partnerships that Beat Macular Disease.
Taking a sector-led approach, focusing initially on pharmaceutical and eye-themed industries, you’ll be in charge of developing and delivering high value and high impact partnerships. With a starting pipeline of warm prospects identified through our organisation’s existing contacts, you’ll be in charge of developing and delivering partnerships.
Perfect for someone stepping up from a senior partnerships manager or equivalent role, you’ll act as the ‘head’ and ‘shoulders’ of our corporate team. You’ll be supported with strategic thinking by our Director of income & transformation and supported through our work with agency Fireside Fundraising.
As our Head of partnerships, you will:
- Hit our evidence-based income targets by working on a strong, qualified pipeline of corporate prospects.
- Create tailored plans, proposals, and presentations to inspire partners.
- Lead negotiations and contracts to secure mutually beneficial partnerships.
- Provide a solid, satisfying partnership experience that means companies keep coming back year after year.
- Identify new opportunities for growth with our existing partners - whether through referrals to their network or within the company itself.
- Adapt our existing corporate partnerships strategy as needed, ensuring we have accurate forecasts.
- Stay on top of trends across business and charity sectors.
About you
Our ideal candidate will have:
- A background in a sales or fundraising environment and proven experience securing partnerships worth at least £50,000.
- A strong track record in building and maintaining both internal and external relationships that support organisational objectives.
- Successful track record of achieving financial targets.
- Proven ability to build compelling, tailored partnership proposals and deliver persuasive presentations to senior and board-level decision-makers.
- Confidence in representing the organisation externally, influencing stakeholders, and communicating complex ideas with clarity and impact.
- Experience in working collaboratively with internal and external teams to secure high value partnerships sharing insights and best practices across functions.
- Proven ability to actively listen to what an organisation needs, including reading between the lines, and flex what’s provided to them accordingly.
Why join us?
In return, we provide a great working culture – we do something worthwhile and are proud to work together to Beat Macular Disease – as recognised by our inclusion in The Sunday Times Best Places to Work 2023 list.
Benefits include:
- Flexible working options
- 26 days annual leave, rising to 27 after one year
- Option to buy or sell annual leave
- Supportive family-friendly policies
- 6% pension contribution
To read about our benefits in more detail, see link below.
Inclusion and diversity
We are an equal opportunities employer and a Disability Confident Employer. We welcome applications from all suitably qualified persons, particularly people with lived experience of sight loss.
- Guaranteed interview for disabled applicants who meet the minimum (essential) criteria and disclose their disability in their application
- Opportunities to request reasonable adjustments for interviews and the role
We aim to be an inclusive employer reflecting the communities we serve.
How to apply
For a full job description and person specification, please see below.
To apply: Please email your CV with a covering letter to recruitment@macularsociety.org
Questions? Please address any questions by email to emma.malcolm@macularsociety.org
Closing date: 5 October 2025
Interviews: 15 and 17 October 2025 (first stage) and 22 October 2025 (second stage)
