External Opportunities Manager

The role

Make a Borough-Wide Impact

Do you have experience in bid-writing or proposal development? Are you passionate about improving social care and education? Do you thrive on working with residents, community partners, and colleagues to create innovative projects with real impact?

If so, we are looking for a dynamic External Opportunities Manager to lead income generation and external funding initiatives within Southwark Council’s Children’s and Adults Department. This is a pivotal role where you will secure funding, attract non-financial support, and develop new services that enhance the lives of residents across the borough.

As External Opportunities Manager, you will be at the forefront of identifying, securing, and managing external funding to support innovative service development in children’s services and adult social care.

Your key responsibilities will include:

• Developing and leading bid-writing strategies to secure external funding and maximise income generation.
• Managing multiple grant-funded projects, ensuring they are delivered on time, within budget, and achieving real impact.
• Building strong relationships with funding bodies, government agencies, and community organisations to drive strategic funding initiatives.
• Leading a capacity-building programme to enhance bid writing and service redesign skills across the department.
• Championing innovation, using data, insights, and community engagement to design services that address local needs.

You will have the opportunity to shape how Southwark identifies and secures funding to create lasting change in the community.

About You

We are looking for an ambitious and strategic leader with:

• Proven experience in bid writing and securing external funding for public sector or non-profit organisations
• Strong project management skills, with the ability to oversee multiple complex funding programmes.
• Excellent relationship management skills, confident in engaging and influencing senior stakeholders and external partners.
• A creative and strategic mindset, capable of identifying innovative funding solutions and service development opportunities.
• A passion for social care and education, with an understanding of the challenges and opportunities in these sectors.

If you are excited by the opportunity to shape innovative services, drive external funding initiatives, and make a lasting impact on Southwark’s communities, we would love to hear from you.

About the Service

Southwark Council’s Children’s and Adults Department is dedicated to delivering high-quality social care and education services that improve outcomes for residents. We work collaboratively with partners across the borough, securing funding and developing innovative projects that enhance the lives of children, families, and vulnerable adults.

We are committed to co-production, innovation, and strategic partnership working, ensuring that services are designed with and for the people who use them. This role will be central to expanding our funding opportunities, enabling us to continue developing cutting-edge services that make a real difference.

Join Us
This is your chance to play a key role in shaping Southwark’s future. Apply today and help us drive innovation, secure vital funding, and create impactful services for our residents.

This post requires a satisfactory Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) DBS check at Enhanced level.

Benefits and more information:

In your role, we want you to feel supported, challenged and rewarded. You will benefit from our family-friendly policies including flexible working, home working, and a local government pension scheme, plus many other staff benefits. You will join a motivated, driven and supportive team that strives for excellence and values its members. You will also be part of a successful and high-achieving development team that is making a real difference to the lives of residents in the borough. For more information about the wide variety of benefits you can take advantage of please visit our Staff Benefits page.

Recruitment timetable

Advert close: 13/04/2025

Shortlisting date: 24/04/2025

Interview date: 01/05/2025

Guaranteed Interview Scheme:

As part of our commitment to inclusion, we offer guaranteed interviews for specific groups of people. To qualify, you'll need to meet the minimum requirements for the role, and identify with one of the below criteria:

•  Members of the Armed Forces and veterans
•  Are currently in care, or have previously been in care
•  If you consider yourself to be disabled or if you have a long-term health condition

We are an organisation who is passionate about our people and understands that richness of diversity is a requirement to provide the best possible services to our communities. This is demonstrated through our council-wide ambitious commitment to tackle racial inequality in our communities and workforce through our Southwark Stands Together programme. We particularly welcome applications from members of the Black, Asian and ethnic minority communities to increase representation at senior management level in the Council.

Attachments

• Please click here to view the Job Description and Person Specification.