Senior Business Development Officer (Interim Cover)
This is an exciting time to be joining the Business Development team, which has expanded over the last two years to now count nine members with an increasingly global outlook. The successful candidate will join this well-established team, 2 years into their current 3-year fundraising strategy, with a healthy pipeline of prospect donors plus strong relationships in the donor ecosystem and across ClientEarth’s senior leadership.
Please Note: This role is a fixed-term contract running until 31 August 2027
Important dates to note:
* Deadline to submit an initial application: 9 November 2026
* If your profile passes initial screening, you will be asked to submit additional information in the form of three additional questions.
* The deadline to submit your answers is 12 November 2026
* If we do not receive a response to these questions by the deadline we will assume you are no longer interested in the role.
* Interviews will take place the from the week beginning 16 November - 20 November 2026
Please also review the "Our Hiring Process" section at the bottom of this advert to learn more about the stages involved for this specific role.
Application Deadline: November 09, 2026
Department: External Affairs
Employment Type: Fixed Term - Full Time
Location: London
Address: 34 Drayton Park, London, London, N5 1PB
Workplace type: Hybrid
Compensation: £44,561 / year
Reporting To: Camilla Vasudevan
Key Responsibilities
* Proactively undertake research to identify, qualify and prioritise new funding prospects/ opportunities to support a pipeline of high quality leads to guide future fundraising efforts.
* Determine prospect funder alignment with ClientEarth’s strategic funding priorities, producing recommendations about next steps, including cultivation, for review by senior Business Development colleagues.
* Draft clear and compelling written fundraising materials including cases for support, funding proposals, and concept notes
* Meet with funder contact points to understand their interests/priorities, present proposals and provide insight to ClientEarth’s work. Sensitive management of funder expectations to be undertaken as needed, and with the support of the Business Development Manager
See the job description for a full list of duties for this role.
Skills, Knowledge & Expertise
* Experience of working in a fundraising or business development role for a charity, NGO, private or public entity
* Experience of drafting compelling and successful proposals for trusts, foundations and statutory institutions and securing multi-year grants, ideally at the six-figure level and above
* Experience of coordinating the engagement of a variety of internal and external stakeholders during complex, multi-stage proposal development processes
* Strong project management skills to lead the proposal development process to meet funder deadlines, including stakeholder management
See the job description for a full list of requirements for this role.
Note to candidates: We know that long lists of criteria can be daunting and that some candidates will not apply for a role unless they feel they are 100% qualified. If you feel you meet at least some of the essential criteria, we still encourage you to apply.
Job Benefits
Flexible working: We are proud to be a Flexa accredited Employer. 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.
ClientEarth 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.
Please note that ClientEarth is only able to employ those who have the pre-existing legal right to work in the UK.
ClientEarth is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice or legal services to third parties.
About ClientEarth
We are a non-profit using the power of the law to bring about end-to-end systemic change: informing, implementing and enforcing the law, drafting and advising decision-makers on policy, building legal expertise, and ensuring citizens’ access to the laws that defend them.
We take governments to court – and win. We force polluting industries to shut down. We protect irreplaceable forests and vulnerable species. We empower people and NGOs with the legal rights to bring forward environmental battles of their own. Using the law means that we create real, long-lasting and embedded change.
We’re working to secure a lasting civilisation in which people and nature thrive together. We work in partnership across borders, systems and sectors, ingeniously using the law to protect life on Earth.
* Deadline to submit an initial application: 9 November 2026
HOW TO APPLY:
Apply online at https://jobs.clientearth.org/en/postings/ca041969-2d02-4c4f-930a-4edf9fc9ec12/applications/new. Deadline to submit an initial application: 9 November 2026. If your profile passes initial screening, you will be asked to submit answers to three additional questions by 12 November 2026. Interviews will take place from the week beginning 16 November - 20 November 2026.