Strategic Partnerships Director - Job Description
- £35,000 – £39,000 p.a. permanent, full-time position
- Currently remote, with the option of continuing up to 3 days working remotely in the long-term (and 2 days per week in our offices near Waterloo)
- Flexible working hours subject to arrangement
The Strategic Partnerships Director is part of the senior management team at Drive Forward Foundation overseeing the Corporate Engagement and Mentoring team. The aim of the Corporate Engagement and Mentoring team is to build a pipeline to sustained and fulfilling employment for care-experienced young people through ring-fenced employment opportunities and a range of other activities including career insight sessions, work experience, internship opportunities and access to a professional mentor. The Strategic Partners Director is responsible for developing a team strategy that is in line with the overall organisations strategy and to line manage the Head of Corporate Engagement and Head of Mentoring. They are also responsible for building and maintaining relationships with employers as well as developing new and innovative ways of working.
About Drive Forward Foundation
Drive Forward Foundation is an award-winning charity that enables care-experienced young people between the ages of 15-26 to achieve their full potential through education and training, sustainable employment and a career of their own choice. Since 2010, we’ve worked with over 2,500 young people; brokered over 700 employment opportunities; and worked with over 100 businesses in London. We are a dedicated and vibrant team, committed to supporting the young people we work with.
Ideal Person Specification
- Experience of managing projects moving disadvantaged and marginalised groups into employment.
- Experience of working with corporate partners and building strong partnerships.
- Ability to deliver engaging presentations to corporate clients about the benefits of engaging with DFF’s young people.
- An excellent communicator.
- An innovative and creative individual who strives for the best outcomes and opportunities for our beneficiaries.
- Experience of educating stakeholders on the barriers young people face.
- Passionate about social mobility and changing outcomes for care-experienced young people.
- Skilled at innovating service delivery and increasing networks.
- Able to demonstrate the ability to develop and implement new ideas and strategies.
- Credible and authentic leader.
- Track record of leading, motivating and developing a talented team.
- Ability to work with ambiguity and complexity with autonomy.
- Confident in the use of databases and MI systems to monitor and evaluate performance effectively.
Duties and Responsibilities
Strategy:
- Develop and implement a strategy for corporate partnerships and mentoring according to the needs and skills of care-experienced young people.
- Seek out new and innovative ways to work with employers to create fulfilling employment opportunities for care-experienced young people.
- Identify and address systematic barriers to employment for care-experienced young people working closely with the frontline team as well as policy and communications.
- Understand the organisation as a whole and ensure the corporate engagement and mentoring initiatives feed into wider activities within Drive Forward.
- Attend monthly meetings with the Senior Management team to discuss planning, operations and charity vision.
- Keep up to date with relevant employment and social responsibility trends that are relevant to Drive Forward’s work.
- Keep up to date of the wider context, policy changes and issues affecting care-experienced young people.
Partnerships Management
- Manage and grow partnerships with employers in a range of sectors and across different partnership streams.
- Work with the other members of the team to create ring-fenced employment opportunities for young people
- Oversee the Civil Service Internship Scheme (recruitment, training, monitoring) and replicate the scheme across other public services including local authority partners and NHS.
- Deliver induction and training sessions to partners on supporting care-experienced young people.
- Gather feedback from events and opportunities to inform future practice.
- Work with Head of Mentoring to identify mentoring needs and recruit mentors from partnership network.
Applications are now open via Reed!
Equal Opportunities
As an equal opportunities employer, we welcome applications from all suitably qualified persons. We highly encourage BAME candidates to apply as approximately 70% of our clients are from a BAME background.
