Business Development Lead; maternity cover

Overview

Final date to receive applications: 30 July 2026

Department: External Affairs

Employment Type: Fixed Term - Full Time

Location: London

Reporting To: Nick Winnett

Compensation: £63,491 / year

We are looking for an experienced and strategic Business Development Lead to join us on a 10-month maternity cover contract
, leading critical fundraising and partnership development efforts that support our global mission. At Client Earth, we use the power of the law to protect life on Earth.

You will work closely with Client Earth’s global programme and leadership teams to contribute to organisation-wide fundraising strategy, oversee effective fundraising processes, cultivate new relationships, oversee the development of winning proposals, and ensure a growing and diverse funder base for Client Earth.

Important dates to Note
:
Applications close on 30 July 2026
. If your profile passes initial screening, you will be requested to submit additional information in the form of two additional questions. The deadline to have your responses to these questions submitted is 4 August 2026 for your application to be fully considered. Please also remember to check our recruitment process section at the bottom of the advert to get acquainted with our recruitment process for this role.

• Develop and implement fundraising strategies that reflect the medium-long term growth and sustainability needs of Client Earth
• Develop new funding opportunities that are aligned with Client Earth’s strategic programmatic priorities and budgetary needs
• Cultivate new and existing funding contacts to nurture and build a portfolio of relationships, representing Client Earth at high level events and meetings
• Make strategic decisions within the Business Development team’s remit, develop annual and quarterly plans, feed into strategy meetings, and present updates as required

See the job description for a full list of duties for this role.

• Significant experience of working in a fundraising or business development role
• Demonstrable experience of building high-value pipelines, cultivating relationships with prospects and securing six and seven-figure multi-year grants
• Strong knowledge of foundation, institutional and statutory income streams and financial processes
• Knowledge of and/or interest in environmental issues such as climate change, biodiversity, air pollution

See the job description for a full list of duties for this role.

Flexible working
:
We are proud to be a Flexa accredited Employer. Visit our Flexa Employer page for more information on our approach to flexible working. Our flexible working policy allows our people the choice to decide to work from home/another location in the country where their contract of employment is issued for 80% of their month, with the other 20% of their month being office-based.

See our benefits page for more:
Benefits | Client Earth Careers as well as our flexible working FAQ.

Client Earth values diversity and inclusion and the benefits this brings. We aim to appoint the most suitable candidate at all times and welcome applications from people from all different backgrounds. See Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) at Client Earth journey page for more. Please note that Client Earth is only able to employ those who have the pre-existing legal right to work in the UK.

Client Earth is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice or legal services to third parties.