Location
Reading, Hybrid (at least once per month to Reading Office)
Salary
£34,904 per annum
Contract Type
Permanent
Application Deadline
7th January 2026
Interview Schedule
First Stage Interviews: week of 12th January 2026
Second Stage Interviews: TBC
Role Overview
The Referral Partnership Account Manager is responsible for cultivating and managing strong, impactful relationships with referral partners across the UK. This role plays a key part in increasing referral generation, streamlining processes, and expanding opportunities within partnerships. The successful candidate will engage health and social care professionals to raise awareness of the organisation’s mission and ensure a seamless pre‑referral experience for eligible children and their families.
Key Responsibilities
* Act as the main point of contact for Community Referral Partners across the UK, including non‑profit organisations, hospitals and hospices, to build a strong, collaborative partnership ensuring effective communication, coordination, and mutual support.
* Support the Referrals Lead in identifying and developing new referral partnerships across the UK, including non‑profit organisations, health and social care professionals, hospitals and hospices, while championing the voice of the wish child in all partnerships and ensuring that all decisions remain child‑led.
* Support the Wish Referral Strategic Lead to develop and implement strategies that drive referral growth and long‑term sustainability including the growth of referral partners representing region, medical category and ethnicity communities of children and young across the UK.
* Establish and maintain a communications plan for referral partners, with clearly defined engagement strategies to thank and recognise their support, ensuring they receive regular updates, success stories, and recognition activities.
* Manage and nurture relationships with a high volume of referral partners, focusing on engagement, awareness and streamline referral processes enabling the enhanced partner experience andse outcomes.
* Work with and ensure prospective list of partners is updated, ensuring stewardship and utilise when needed to support strategic goals.
* Deal with any new enquiries from potential partners across the UK.
* Oversee the onboarding of new Community Referral Partners, including introduction calls ensuring they align with joint organisation’s mission, values, goals and expectations, by increasing brand visibility.
* Create and conduct engaging presentations to prospective partners to showcase our mission and impact and develop and maintain a comprehensive database of prospective partner organisations to support strategic outreach.
* Ensure written partner agreements are in place at the beginning of each financial year and undertake quarterly conversations with partners, ensuring communications are clear and concise.
* Attend partnership meetings/events, representing and networking on behalf of the organisation, across the UK.
* Address partner concerns and resolve issues promptly to maintain positive relationships.
Technology
* Support the implementation of digital solutions to improve referral processes and enhance communication with referral partners across the UK.
* Ensure efficient and effective use of CRM systems to document interactions and track key data points to manage partnerships including the monitor of referral generation, satisfaction and engagement to maintain and improve achieve mutual goals.
* Ensure CRM data is 100% accurate, including the hierarchy within partners, contact details and partner activity.
* Support the Wish Referrals Lead in ensuring KPIs are set, monitored, and reported and that a culture of continuous improvement is developed with all partners.
* Ensure partners adhere to all contractual obligations, quality standards, and timelines by monitoring key performance indicators to track partnership success and ensure goals are met.
* Ensure materials and engagement/stewardship plans are tailored to the needs of each referral partner, enhancing brand awareness and supporting effective, high‑quality service delivery.
* Work alongside the Wish Referral Partnership Manager ensuring stewardship is consistent across partners and develop and produce child‑led, inclusive resources to support referral generation for stakeholders including wish children, families, volunteers and medical professionals.
* Work cross‑functionally with internal teams to ensure partner needs are met efficiently.
* Promote the organisation’s mission and grow brand awareness within referral partnerships through presentations, campaigns, materials, events, and direct engagement.
* Attend partnership meetings/events, representing and networking on behalf of the organisation, across the UK.
* Travel to referral partners across the UK, delivering introductory sessions and maintaining strong relationships through at least two in‑person visits per organisation each year with referral partners and wish families.
* Host events with partners and wish families, to support referral generation.
* Distribute materials to partners across the UK, by working directly with the Brand and Communications Team to ensure high quality content.
* Identify and explore future opportunities within existing and potential referral partners, ensuring growth aligns with UK‑wide representation and prevalence, and supports equitable access to services.
* Monthly progress calls with partners, identifying barriers and challenges to overcome.
Safeguarding and Data Governance
* Be able to identify new partnerships across the UK by researching and utilising wish data already available.
* Report and manage referral partnership satisfaction and implement improvements, ensuring partnership activities are delivered to a high standard.
* Ensure all related data and agreements are stored and maintained on our CRM system and that all data is managed. Accurate account management is essential so that data can be analysed to support the growth of referrals.
* Use initiative to develop a system platform to improve relationship management.
* Facilitate a culture of safeguarding awareness and ensure any issues/concerns are dealt with as per Make‑A‑Wish policies.
As a Make‑A‑Wish colleague, you will also need to:
* Actively support our wishgranting through voluntary activity to support Make‑A‑Wish. We encourage all colleagues to become Wish Makers.
* Have a practical understanding of the Make‑A‑Wish values: Be Magical, Be Inclusive and Be Inspiring.
* Strengthen relationships between different members of the Make‑A‑Wish community to ensure everyone works in collaborative and inclusive way.
* Attend organisational meetings, like symposiums and town halls.
* Keep yourself informed about things going on across the organisation by making use of internal communications channels, e.g. Teams, Wish Wisdom (our colleague newsletter).
* Keep yourself informed on the strategy and plans of the organisation in order to be able to fully contribute to them through your role.
* Actively listen to other people, particularly those with views that are different to your own.
* Embed the principles of our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Charter within your role.
* Be open to collaboration and working across different teams to help the organisation achieve its strategic objectives.
* Be able to work independently in an agile environment, understanding that different people across the organisation have different working patterns.
* Be able to work with your colleagues and other members of Make‑A‑Wish community as one team, united in a common vision and mission, and support organisational efforts of reaching every child by, for example, answering phones when other teams are busy, supporting activities happening across the organisation, etc.
Qualifications
* Proven experience in partnership management, account management, or stakeholder engagement, with the ability to build and maintain productive, long‑term relationships.
* Previous roles with a strong customer service focus, ensuring high‑quality service delivery.
* Demonstrated ability to manage multiple relationships, deadlines, and priorities, while maintaining professionalism and service standards.
* Strong interpersonal and communication skills, confident in engaging a wide range of internal and external stakeholders.
* Proficiency in CRM systems and data reporting, with capability to analyse information and produce clear, meaningful insights.
* Ability to travel nationally and represent the organisation at meetings/events.
* Collaborative approach to working across teams and functions.
* Ability to problem‑solve and make decisions independently.
* Effective communication and relationship‑building skills, with strong external networking capabilities and confidence in delivering presentations and engaging in professional conversations.
* Ability to work independently in an agile environment.
* Commitment to Make‑A‑Wish values and safeguarding principles.
* Maintain a professional, caring, and helpful manner when dealing with wish children, families, volunteers, and partners.
Seniority level
Associate
Employment type
Full‑time
Job function
Other
Industries
Non‑profit Organizations
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