JOB DESCRIPTION: Director of Development

Salary: £51,250 p.a. + 5% pension and 25 days of annual leave

Hours: Full time

Duration:Permanent (Subject to Funding)

The School for Social Entrepreneurs (SSE) is a registered charity and company limited by guarantee, established by serial social entrepreneur Michael Young. SSE opened its doors in 1997 with the aim of transforming the potential of social entrepreneurs and enabling their projects to make a real difference in their communities. SSE supports social entrepreneurs who are working on a ‘live’ social project, through long and short duration ‘action learning’ programmes, comprising action learning sets, study sessions, expert witnesses, project visits and individual tutoring and mentoring.

SSE’s mission is to address inequalities and social exclusion by supporting social entrepreneurs from all backgrounds to transform their talent into real social outcomes in the form of sustainable solutions to poverty and disadvantage in communities.

SSE’s core activity is a long duration (6-12 month), action-learning programme of personal and organisational development involving a number of different elements. This provides personalised and tailored support to social entrepreneurs from a wide and diverse range of backgrounds, and who are establishing and leading new mission-driven organisations. In addition to the original London School, based at London Bridge, SSE has developed a Global Network of Associate Schools (social franchises) comprising eight schools across the UK, one school in Australia operating in four locations, and one school in Canada.

SSE is currently delivering a UK wide five-year learning programme with the support of Lloyds Banking Group and Big Lottery Fund. This project is being delivered through twelve locations and will support 293social entrepreneurs each year. SSE also has strategic partnerships with PwC, Linklaters, Royal Sun Alliance and others. SSE is currently seeking further opportunities to expand and develop the National and Global Network.SSE also offers shorter programmes and a range of support for SSE alumni, known as Fellows.

This role is part of the Senior Management Team of 4, including CE, which has responsibility for setting strategic direction and continuing to build the reputation and strength of SSE in the UK and elsewhere, through existing and new partnerships, new schools, enhanced organisational effectiveness and value given to students and fellows. The scale of SSE operations has been growing rapidly and this new role will make a vital contribution to helping ensure that there are solid foundations for future ambitions. It is an important addition to the Senior Management Team which is intended to bring depth to the leadership of the organisation.

Overview of the role:

This role is designed for someone with senior management experience, particularly in externally facing roles and who also has a proven track record of securing significant new resources, from a broad range of sources, including corporate sector, and who understands the charity and social enterprise context.

People who succeed in SSE share our passion and seek to grow SSE and its impact.The ideal candidate will have the gravitas to build strategic relationships with partners; excellent people management skills; exceptional communication skills; and have the confidence, dynamism and focus to create new opportunities and assist in the growth of one of the country’s most exciting movements.

The principal objectives of the role are:

  1. Lead and delivera radical, innovative strategic development portfolio, including developing new strategic partnerships and new funding approaches that deliver continued strong growth in the level of SSE’s income and continues to diversify its income base, to resource planned services, for London & central operations and network-wide programmes
  2. Grow SSE’s earned income base through the development ofnew initiatives.
  1. Lead, build and manage a strong development team in order to deliver the development team objectives in SSE’s strategic plan, and also make a committed and effective personal contribution to SSE’s senior management team.
  1. Development (income and fundraising)
  • Lead and devise SSE’s development strategy to effectively and innovatively resource and deliver a broaderrange and expanded scale of income in order to meetSSE’s strategic aims, from all sources particularly the corporate sector, trusts and foundations, government sector, social investment and private individuals.
  • Develop a broad range of excellent sector and funder networks and relationships, to champion SSE’s work, leading to strategic partnerships that resource our work
  • Facilitate and ensure excellent relationships and partnerships between their team and all internal and external partners and stakeholders; support the CEO in relationships with key influencers and funders and in new markets.
  • Champion the SSE brand, to gain support for, and increase understanding of, SSE’s value proposition, in particular with strategic partners, funders and other key influencers.
  1. Building SSE’s resilience and sustainability
  • Support the CEO and Senior Management Team in enhancing the contribution they together make to SSE’s future:
  • Collective and individual ownership of the business plan and its execution
  • Track the performance of SSE and key projects and take shared accountability for performance
  • Provide mutual support between Directors and the CEO
  • Build a strong team to maximise their individual and collective contribution to SSE’s effective, diverse and growing funding and income generation
  • Develop and sustain strong contact networks of external support for SSE and its work
  1. Innovation
  • Generate new business initiatives and ideas, evaluate their feasibility and return potential and resource their implementation (provided the business case is compelling)

Personal Experience:

  • Should have experience of senior development/roles
  • Proven experience of securing significant resources from a diverse range of sources in previous roles
  • Excellent communication, networking and relationship-based sales skills
  • Should have held senior professional roles, preferably as head of function
  • Should have managed own team and been a member of a senior team
  • Understanding and/ or experience of charity and/or social enterprise sector
  • Ideally the candidate would bring an existing strong network of contacts that would facilitate success in the role

Further Details

Reporting to: Chief Executive

Responsible for: 2x project workers plus volunteers, contractors and freelancers

(as and when appropriate)

Location: Head office, currently Tooley Street, London Bridge.

Travel across the UK will be necessary e.g. franchise schools, partners

Hours:Full-time, five days a week

Some unsocial hours may be required from time to time.

To apply for the job

To apply for the role, please send a copy of your current CV and a covering letter (maximum 800 words);explaining how you would ensure the role of Director of Development plays a vital role in SSE’s future development.

Please include your full contact details and mention where you found out about the role.Please also include the names of two professional referees, including your most recent or last employer. Please note that referees will not be approached without your prior knowledge, and only following a successful application and final interview.

Please send your covering letter and CV to:

Holly Vitow, PA to Chief Executive

We are a small team and unfortunately, we’ll only be able to acknowledge shortlisted applications.

Interview Process

Applicants with the most appropriate mix of qualifications and experience will be invited to participate in the selection process.

Those selected at that stage will be asked to come to SSE’s London Bridge offices for an informal interview. This will provide an opportunity to see the workplace, meet key staff and hold an informal interview. People will be asked back for a second interview, also informal in nature.

Appointment into the role will be made subject to satisfactory references.

Recruitment Timetable:

Closing date for applications: Friday 13thDecember2013 6pm

Firstinterviews: Thursday 19th December

Second interviews (if required)6th and 7th January 2014

Further information

If you have a general query about the role, please call Holly Vitow (PA to the Chief Executive) on 020 7089 9120 or email her at

If you would like to have an informal discussion about the role, please contact Ian Baker on 020 7089 9120 or

SSE operates an equal opportunities policy and will appoint solely on the basis of the applicants’ ability to do the job in question. SSE does not discriminate with reference to age, gender, sexual orientation, race, colour, religion, marital status or disability, nor will such factors play any part in decisions on appointment or selection.

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