Senior Partnerships Manager - South of England

Senior Partnerships Manager - South of England

Salary: £48,000 per annum
Contract: Full-time, Permanent
Location: Hybrid - London office with travel across the South of England (minimum eight office/collaboration days per month)

Merrifield Consultants are delighted to be partnering with BookTrust, the UK's largest children's reading charity, to recruit a Senior Partnerships Manager - South of England.

This is an exceptional opportunity for an experienced relationship-builder and inspiring leader to play a key role in ensuring more children and families have access to the life-changing benefits of reading. You'll lead strategic partnerships, oversee the successful delivery of impactful programmes and manage a high-performing regional team, helping to shape BookTrust's work across the South of England.

About the Role

As the Senior Partnerships Manager, you will be the senior representative for BookTrust across the South of England, leading the delivery of key programmes while developing and strengthening relationships with local authorities, education, health, library services, funders and wider community partners.

Working closely with internal teams and external stakeholders, you'll ensure BookTrust's programmes are delivered effectively, identify opportunities for growth and funding, and contribute to the organisation's strategic ambitions to reach children and families who need support the most.

Salary & Benefits

Salary: £48,000 per annum
Full-time, permanent position
Hybrid working with a London office base
Minimum of eight office/collaboration days per month
Regular travel across London, the South East, South West and surrounding regions
28 days annual leave plus bank holidays
7% employer pension contribution
Life assurance (3 x salary)
Employee Assistance Programme
Season Ticket Loan Scheme
Flexible working arrangements

Key Responsibilities

Lead the successful delivery of BookTrust's programmes and interventions across the South of England.
Build, manage and strengthen strategic partnerships with local authorities, funders and key regional stakeholders.
Act as BookTrust's senior regional ambassador, representing the organisation at meetings, events and partnership forums.
Identify opportunities for partnership growth, funding and innovation that support organisational priorities.
Work collaboratively across internal teams to ensure high-quality programme delivery and excellent stakeholder engagement.
Lead, motivate and develop a regional team, encouraging collaboration and high performance.
Monitor delivery, manage risks and ensure programmes are delivered on time, within budget and to agreed objectives.
Keep abreast of relevant policy developments and represent BookTrust's interests across the sector.

Person Specification

We're keen to hear from candidates who can demonstrate:

Significant experience developing and managing strategic partnerships across public, voluntary or charitable sectors.
A proven ability to build trusted relationships with senior stakeholders, including local authorities, funders and partner organisations.
Experience leading teams and successfully delivering programmes, projects or services.
Strong leadership skills with the ability to motivate, coach and manage through change.
Excellent communication, presentation and influencing skills.
Strong organisational skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities.
Experience using data, insight and evaluation to inform decision-making and stakeholder engagement.
An understanding of the local authority landscape and a passion for improving outcomes for children and families is highly desirable.

Apply Now

If you're an experienced partnerships professional looking to make a genuine difference through strategic leadership, we'd love to hear from you.

Merrifield Consultants is proud to be working in partnership with BookTrust on this exciting appointment. To apply, please submit your CV and a covering letter outlining how your experience meets the requirements of the role.

We practice a diverse and inclusive recruitment process that ensures equal opportunity for all we work with, irrespective of race, sexual orientation, mental or physical disability, age or gender. As an organisation, we encourage applications from all backgrounds and will ensure measures are met when required, to allow a fair process throughout