Venture Partner

About Purposeful Ventures

Purposeful Ventures is a social investment organisation that partners with social entrepreneurs and philanthropists to improve the education and well‑being of young people from their earliest years. Established in 2023, the organisation operates with approximately 50 co‑workers and focuses on identifying, supporting and scaling effective solutions that create meaningful impact for disadvantaged young people across the United Kingdom. The organisation’s core approach involves selecting, accelerating and incubating organisations that tackle particular issues affecting vulnerable populations. Purposeful Ventures works across multiple portfolios including education and well‑being initiatives, with a dedicated focus on vulnerable children and families. The company tests and scales effective solutions while simultaneously working to influence broader system change within the sectors it operates. Purposeful Ventures operates from EdCity offices in London and maintains a hybrid working model. The organisation is built on collaboration between social entrepreneurs, philanthropists, charity leaders and sector experts who collectively work to address systemic challenges facing young people. The company’s mission is to ensure every child grows up in a safe, stable and supportive environment with the relationships and opportunities needed to thrive, addressing challenges ranging from early childhood development and parental support to family breakdown prevention, children’s social care improvement and complex circumstances support.

About this Role

Venture Partners are at the core of Purposeful Ventures’ work, bringing the knowledge, skills and experience needed to help shape portfolios, identify investment opportunities and support organisations to thrive. In this Venture Partner role focused on Vulnerable Children and Families, you will lead the development and growth of this activity area while working with charity leaders to strengthen their organisations and maximise their impact. You will help shape the future of Purposeful Ventures’ Vulnerable Children and Families work by leading the review and development of strategy and identifying where the organisation can make the greatest difference. This involves developing new opportunities and partnerships, working closely with the Philanthropy team to attract and direct funding to charity partners, and supporting organisations to monitor their progress and impact. Beyond the specific Vulnerable Children and Families pillar, you will contribute to the broader work of Venture Partners at Purposeful Ventures. You will work closely with charity leaders to strengthen their organisations, develop effective strategies and build the capabilities needed to bring about change. Your role requires drawing on deep sector knowledge to exercise sound judgement and work collaboratively with others to deliver meaningful change for children and families.

Responsibilities

• Lead the review and refresh of the Vulnerable Children and Families strategy, identifying where Purposeful Ventures can make the greatest difference and developing clear priorities for future philanthropic investment
• Draw on a strong understanding of the sector, including emerging needs, policy developments, funding opportunities and gaps in provision, to inform the pillar’s strategic direction
• Identify, assess and develop relationships with existing and potential charity partners and identify potential new incubations that align with the pillar’s priorities
• Work closely with the Philanthropy team to develop compelling funding opportunities, engage existing and prospective funders, and help direct philanthropic investment towards areas of greatest potential impact
• Monitor and review the performance and progress of organisations across the pillar, identifying successes, challenges, risks and opportunities for further support
• Draw together evidence, insights and learning from across the pillar to inform future decisions, strengthen approach and communicate progress to internal and external stakeholders
• Help identify and develop opportunities for new initiatives, partnerships and ventures across Purposeful Ventures’ portfolios, working with colleagues to assess their potential for impact
• Build long‑term capabilities and share knowledge across the Purposeful Ventures family, identifying opportunities for collaboration, sharing effective practice and strengthening how organisations operate
• Build relationships with sector leaders, philanthropists and other partners, strengthening Purposeful Ventures’ reputation and creating opportunities that can benefit organisations across portfolios
• Provide high challenge, high support mentorship to senior leaders, helping them develop, test and implement strategies and operating plans
• Support the development of business plans and operating models that are mission‑driven, impactful and enable sustainable growth
• Bring strategic and financial insight to help organisations strengthen their sustainability, including identifying funding opportunities and supporting development of government and philanthropic funding proposals
• Provide input into organisational design, leadership development, team structures and recruitment
• Help organisations develop effective governance structures, performance management and reporting arrangements
• Help organisations understand and develop the resources, skills and capabilities needed to succeed and grow
• Support organisations to identify and address operational challenges, including finding appropriate solutions for finance, HR, IT and other organisational needs
• Provide direct strategic, operational or business development support to portfolio organisations
• Work alongside leadership teams to identify and address strategic and operational priorities, providing practical support and undertaking short‑term projects to help organisations achieve their goals

Requirements

• Passionate about creating a fairer society where all young people thrive
• Strong understanding of the challenges facing vulnerable children and families, and experience of working to address them
• Demonstrable experience in both strategic and analytical roles, such as leadership in an education, charity or social enterprise setting, or in strategy consultancy
• Demonstrable track record of leading project and/or organisational success and delivering impact
• Excellent analytical skills with the ability, tools and frameworks to apply logical, critical and methodical process to deconstruct information, identify problems and causes and present solutions and options at individual, organisational and sector level
• Exceptional stakeholder engagement skills with experience of managing and aligning multiple stakeholders and agendas
• Able to build trusted relationships with senior leaders, influence decisions and provide constructive challenge
• Experience of supporting and developing leaders, teams or organisations to strengthen their capabilities, effectiveness and impact
• Curious, collaborative and open to different perspectives, with a willingness to share knowledge, learn from others and contribute to collective success
• Effective, engaging and nuanced communicator, written and verbal, including the ability to structure and articulate complex information for internal and external audiences
• Flexible, highly organised, able to scope, structure and lead complex, concurrent work involving others
• Tenacious and able to work effectively in an agile or uncertain environment
• Right to work in the UK

Benefits

• Full‑time permanent employment at 37.5 hours per week
• Part‑time hours considered at minimum 0.6 FTE per week
• Hybrid working arrangement with core office days on Tuesday and Wednesday at EdCity offices in London W12
• Flexibility to work from home on Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays when not at in‑person meetings
• Salary range of £70,000 to £85,000 per year
• Opportunity to lead and shape the strategic direction of Purposeful Ventures’ Vulnerable Children and Families portfolio
• Direct mentorship and support role with senior charity leaders and organisations
• Collaborative working environment with approximately 50 co‑workers
• Role contributing to meaningful social impact in children and families services