Partnerships Officer

PARTNERSHIPS OFFICER

At Riding for the Disabled Association (RDA), we enrich lives through the unique bond between people and horses. Each year, we support over 39,000 disabled children and adults through activities including riding, carriage driving, and equine assisted programmes such as Quiet Corners and Tea with a Pony. We are pioneers in the therapeutic use of horses, leaders in disability sport, and the only major UK charity focused specifically on the health and wellbeing benefits of bringing people and horses together.

We welcome people of all ages and abilities, including those with physical and learning disabilities, sensory impairments, long-term health conditions, and neurodiversity. With 24% of the UK population classified as disabled, we make a lasting impact through the therapeutic power of horses.

We are now looking for a Partnerships officer to join our Fundraising Team at our national office in Warwickshire and help us to continue our work.

To Apply:

Please send CV and a separate cover letter outlining your experience against the person specification

Please note, the cover letter should be a separate document and not just in the body of the email

Closing Date 27th November 2026

Interviews for shortlisted candidates will take place at our premises in Shrewley on Friday 4th December.

Role Overview
We are looking for a confident and proactive Partnerships Officer to help support the growth of our income across community fundraising and corporate partnerships. This is a hands-on role that will support the development and delivery of our Corporate and Community and Events portfolio.
We are looking for someone with at least one year's experience in a fundraising role who is organised, enthusiastic and confident building relationships.
You'll be involved in developing relationships with potential supporters, businesses, supporting In Memory and Individual Giving and getting involved in fundraising activities and events.
This role offers exposure to a broad range of fundraising activity, giving you the opportunity to build on your existing experience across community fundraising, supporter engagement, corporate partnerships, individual giving and trusts and foundations. As we move into a new fundraising strategy, you'll have the opportunity to play an important role in putting our plans into action and helping to grow our fundraising.
This role involves regular travel to meet donors, supporters and colleagues across the region. The postholder must therefore hold a full UK driving licence and have access to a car.

Main Duties and Responsibilities

• Work with the Community & Events Fundraiser and Corporate Partnerships Manager to develop, grow, deliver and grow fundraising opportunities and maximise supporter relationships.
• Support the planning and delivery of fundraising events and campaigns, taking ownership of agreed activities where appropriate
• Manage a defined portfolio of small events, community activities and corporate partnerships.
• Build and maintain relationships with individual supporters, groups and organisations and potential corporate partners to encourage supporter-led activity.
• Research new funding opportunities and assess their suitability and eligibility.
• Attend events, presentations, engagement events, supporter-led fundraising events and activities to provide on the day support as required, including some evening and weekends.
• Contribute to managing RDAs fundraising function data, ensuring accuracy of data and information on RDAs CRM system to comply with internal requirements and GDPR.
• Work with Member services, Coaching and Participation, Finance Teams and other staff to formulate proposals, maximising opportunities for raising funds to support core functions and projects.
• Support with organising relevant cultivation events/visits to the RDA groups and approved centres, special thanks and stewardship delivery outcomes, talks, events, tours and hospitality.
• Take personal responsibility for delivering the assigned portfolio and achieving agreed income and expenditure targets.
• Provide monthly reports to the Head of Fundraising.

Other

• To undertake such other duties as the line manager shall from time to time determine.
• To be flexible in working from other locations in the UK as required for the effective delivery of the role.
• To ensure due consideration is always given to our charitable aims and objectives and that this is demonstrated in all activities.
• Ensure compliance with General Data Protection Regulations (2018) across all relationships including data collection.
• Keep abreast of key income stream trends / issues and the regulatory environment around grant funding, ensuring standards are set, procedures are followed, and issues addressed or escalated as appropriate.

Essential Requirements

• Ability to travel and work evenings and weekends when required.
• Full UK Driving Licence and access to a car for business travel.

Person Specification

Experience - Essential

• 1-2 years' experience of working in a fundraising role within the charity sector.
• Demonstrable experience building relationships with funders, organisations or corporate partners.
• Demonstrable experience in planning and coordinating fundraising activities and small projects from start to finish.
• Experience managing multiple tasks or projects with competing priorities and deadline

Skills and Abilities - Essential

• Exceptional interpersonal skills, with the ability to influence a wide range of stakeholders.
• Ability to pull together a range of information from across the organisation to create clear, concise and compelling packages to support.
• A flexible, creative and solutions-focused approach to problem-solving, championing innovation, developing a growth mindset and learning from failure.
• Excellent organisation, prioritisation, administration and time management skills.
• Strong digital skills.
• Takes a proactive approach to tasks and responsibilities.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Equally confident in working independently as well as collaboratively.

Experience - Desirable

• Use of a donor database such as Salesforce/Beacon/Raisers edge.
• Knowledge, or experience, of the disability or voluntary sector especially membership bodies/federated charities.
• Knowledge of fundraising trends, techniques, and best practice in corporate fundraising and UK fundraising landscape.