Chief of Staff

Job description

## About Babyzone Babyzone is a UK early childhood charity. We run free, open-access community hubs for families with children aged 0–5 in areas of high deprivation — no booking or referral needed. Since launching in 2019, we've grown to 14 hubs across England, Wales and Scotland, welcomed more than 100,000 parent and child visits — over 70% from the most deprived communities — and we're on track to reach 20 hubs by the end of 2027. Our hubs are evidence-informed spaces: programmes co-developed with families, practitioners and world-leading researchers, then rigorously evaluated and improved. More than 300 partner organisations — NHS teams, local authorities and specialist charities — co-locate in our hubs to create a joined-up local system for families. We are backed by significant multi-year philanthropic investment and are building the definitive evidence base for what works in the early years. ## The Opportunity This is a new, senior role at the heart of Babyzone, working as Chief of Staff to the CEO with primary responsibility for fundraising and external partnerships. As we grow from 14 hubs towards 20, our future depends on the funding and relationships that make each hub possible — major philanthropy, trusts and foundations, corporate partners, and the health, local authority and community partners who work alongside us. We are looking for someone who can be the CEO's right hand and a fundraiser and partnership-builder in their own right: opening doors, building trusted relationships with funders and partners, and turning the CEO's strategy into delivery across the organisation. ## Purpose of the Role As Chief of Staff, you will extend the CEO's capacity and lead the work that secures Babyzone's future. Your primary focus will be fundraising and external partnerships: building and running the fundraising strategy and pipeline, stewarding our major funders, and developing the external relationships that underpin the hub network and our national influence. Alongside this, you will run the office of the CEO — setting the operating rhythm, preparing the CEO for the conversations that matter, driving strategic priorities through to delivery, and representing the CEO internally and externally. It is a role for someone comfortable moving between a funder meeting, a board paper and a hub visit in the same week. ## Key Responsibilities ### Fundraising - Own and grow Babyzone's fundraising strategy and pipeline across major donors and philanthropy, trusts and foundations, and corporate partnerships. - Steward existing funders, including our major multi-year philanthropic investment, with excellent, honest reporting and relationship management. - Lead the development of compelling, credible bids and proposals, building the case for support around the mission and the evidence base. - Work with the CEO and wider team to identify, cultivate and convert new funding opportunities as the network scales. ### External Partnerships - Build and manage strategic relationships across health, local government, corporates, philanthropists, academia and the wider early years and policy community. - Support hub-level partnership development as we open new hubs, helping local teams build the relationships that make a hub work. - Represent Babyzone externally alongside and on behalf of the CEO, and help convene and sustain our partner ecosystem. - Support Babyzone's external profile and influence, keeping early years on the agenda with funders, partners and policymakers. ### Office of the CEO - Act as a trusted adviser and force-multiplier to the CEO, extending their reach and protecting their time and focus. - Set and run the operating rhythm — leadership meetings, planning, priorities and follow-through — so decisions turn into delivery. - Prepare briefings, decks and correspondence, and support the CEO's engagement with the Babyzone Board and relevant external and strategic partners. - Lead cross-cutting projects and represent the CEO with internal teams, hub heads and external stakeholders. ### Governance and Reporting - Lead Babyzone's statutory reporting, including Charity Commission filings, ensuring returns are accurate, compliant and submitted on time. - Coordinate Board meetings and trustee reporting — preparing board papers and trustee reports, tracking actions and supporting good governance. - Own funder and grant impact reporting, producing accurate, honest reports that meet each funder's requirements, working with the data and impact team for the underlying evidence. - Lead the overarching Babyzone Impact Report, drawing on the data and impact function so it lands with authority with funders, partners and the sector. ### Strategy and Delivery - Translate the annual plan into execution, tracking progress against Babyzone's goals and turning strategy into action. - Coordinate across the central team and hub network to keep priorities aligned and moving. - Contribute to organisational strategy as a senior member of the team. ### Ways of Working and Safeguarding - Work within Babyzone's safeguarding framework and support transparent governance and funder reporting. - Model Babyzone's culture: warm, specific, confident about why we exist, and honest about what we can and cannot yet prove. ## Who We're Looking For ### Essential - A strong track record in fundraising and/or external partnerships, ideally in a high-growth, mission-led environment — able to open doors, build relationships and secure funding. - Experience across some combination of major donor and philanthropic fundraising, trusts and foundations, and corporate partnerships, with a strong understanding of what makes a compelling case for support. - An excellent relationship-builder, credible with senior external stakeholders such as funders, NHS and local authority leaders, corporates, philanthropists, academics and policymakers. - A chief-of-staff mindset: highly organised, able to turn strategy into delivery, comfortable with ambiguity and pace, with strong judgement, discretion and trustworthiness. - Excellent written and verbal communication, able to craft a compelling, honest narrative and represent the CEO with authority. - Comfortable operating as the CEO's right hand, and equally at home in a boardroom and in a hub. - Motivated by Babyzone's mission and the families it serves. - Right to work in the UK. The role involves contact with children and families and is subject to safer-recruitment checks, including an enhanced DBS. ### Desirable - Experience in early years, education, health, social policy or another outcomes-driven, social-impact setting. - A track record of securing six- or seven-figure philanthropic or grant funding. - Existing networks across philanthropy, health, local government or the early years and policy community. - Experience in a fast-scaling organisation. - Experience supporting a CEO, founder or senior leader as a Chief of Staff or equivalent. - Familiarity with charity governance and statutory reporting, including Charity Commission filings, Board and trustee reporting, and funder impact reporting. ## What Success Looks Like in Year One - A clear, well-run fundraising pipeline, with existing funders well stewarded and new funding secured to support the move towards 20 hubs. - Strong external partnerships in place at national and local level, supporting both current hubs and new openings. - A CEO's office that runs with rhythm and pace, with strategic priorities turned into delivery. - Statutory and funder reporting delivered accurately and on time, and a strong, credible Babyzone Impact Report produced. ## What We Can Offer You You will be employed directly by **Babyzone** and will be part of a growing, ambitious and mission-led charity focused on improving outcomes for young children and their families. The benefits package applicable to this role will be confirmed as part of the recruitment process and will be in line with Babyzone's employment terms and policies. ## Terms and How to Apply - Full-time, permanent employment with **Babyzone**. - Based at Scale Space, W12 7RZ, with regular travel to Babyzone hubs and external meetings across the network. - The role is subject to Babyzone's safer-recruitment standards, including references and an enhanced DBS check. Babyzone is committed to building an inclusive and diverse workforce and welcomes applications from all backgrounds. We particularly welcome applications from people with backgrounds and lived experience reflecting the families and communities Babyzone serves.