Strategic Partnership Development Manager

WaterAid

Lead partnership development for corporate sectors to secure sustainable change at WaterAid. Engage with stakeholders to cultivate high-value partnerships to further the mission of providing water and sanitation.

Posted 6/19/2026full-timeLondon • 🇬🇧 United KingdomMid-LevelSenior💰 £47,423 per yearWebsite

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

Generate, cultivate and convert high-value corporate partnership opportunities against a personal income target.
Secure annual and multi-year partnerships for WaterAid, each with a target value of a minimum of £100,000 per year (ideally £250,000+), covering a broad spectrum of partnership types (e.g. corporate donations, cause-related marketing, and employee engagement).
Lead on partnership development for strategically important sectors including food and beverage and agriculture, communicating WaterAid’s partnerships offering and value-add externally to the industries.
Attend networking events and conferences to build a network of relevant corporate contacts.
Identify and research target companies, ensuring WaterAid’s ethical policy implementation guidelines are adhered to.
Develop and deliver tailored and compelling proposals and pitches. This will often involve drawing on the skills and knowledge of colleagues from around the organisation to create innovative and business-aligned proposals.
Assess and manage incoming partnership requests to the Corporate Partnerships team in a timely manner and in line with our partnership development objectives.
Coordinate with senior staff across WaterAid departments to ensure broader private sector objectives are prioritised when planning for global events.
Identify, explore and work with WaterAid colleagues to develop innovative collective action propositions for the agriculture and food & beverage industries.
Work closely with corporate teams from across the WaterAid federation to ensure new partnership offerings and financial propositions are utilised.

Requirements

What you’ll need

Proven experience of generating six-figure strategic new business partnerships from cold in the charity sector or in a commercial setting, and proven ability to meet and exceed personal targets.
Confident networker able to represent WaterAid at external events.
Externally focused and proactive attitude, with the energy and passion to engage people and excite them about WaterAid.
Able to forge effective working relationships with stakeholders at all levels, including internal and external C-suite, across a range of industries and differing business cultures.
Aptitude for writing high-quality and engaging proposals and reports for a corporate audience.
Exceptional face-to-face interpersonal negotiating and persuasive skills, matched with a sensitive diplomatic approach.
Experience in handling objections and negotiating successful mutually beneficial outcomes for internal and external relationships.
Ability to manage multiple priorities and assertiveness to ensure that deadlines are met, including managing others’ input.
Experience using a fundraising or customer database and producing marketing or similar analysis reports from the database.
Although not essential, we’d prefer you to have:
Experience and understanding of private sector sustainability and international development.
Understanding of and active interest in the agriculture and food & beverage sectors, including key materially important sustainability topics.
Experience working in corporate sustainability for the private sector, or industry-aligned organisations such as consultancies, agencies, standards or certification bodies, etc.

Benefits

Comp & perks

36 days’ holiday (including 8 Bank Holidays)
Option to buy an extra 5 days’ annual leave
Employer pension contribution up to 10 %
Flexible and hybrid working arrangements
Season ticket loan
Free annual eye tests
‘Give as you Earn’ charitable giving scheme
Enhanced parental leave (maternity, adoption/surrogacy, shared parental and paternity)
Sabbaticals
One paid volunteer day each year

ATS Keywords

✓ Tailor your resume

Applicant Tracking System Keywords

Tip: use these terms in your resume and cover letter to boost ATS matches.

Hard Skills & Tools

partnership developmentproposal writingnegotiationstakeholder managementfundraisingcustomer database managementmarketing analysisbusiness developmentstrategic planningproject management

Soft Skills

networkinginterpersonal skillspersuasiondiplomacyproactive attituderelationship buildingassertivenessenergy and passioncommunicationtime management