Win the work that funds our mission
Find, shape and win government contracts, corporate partnerships and funding bids. Every bid you win is measured in the same currency: more people gaining the capability, confidence and agency to benefit from an AI-enabled future.
Remote (UK-wide) with some in-person days · Full-time, permanent
How to apply
No CV screening and no cover letter. Answer the questions on the application form and a human member of our team will read and review them. Apply by Wednesday 26 August 2026 — interviews from early September. Apply now →
About Breakthrough
Closing the divide that matters now
Almost everyone in the UK is online now. That was supposed to close the digital divide, but the divide that matters today is different: it is between people who can use digital and AI tools to genuinely improve their economic position, and people who cannot.
Breakthrough exists to close that gap. We are a social enterprise working with adults from underserved communities — people carrying real structural barriers: justice system involvement, care experience, long-term unemployment, refugee backgrounds. Our mission is simple to say and hard to do: people and communities historically excluded from the digital economy gain the capability, confidence and agency to shape and benefit from an AI-enabled future.
The strongest evidence for our model is that we live it. Our CEO has lived experience of the justice system. Of the 700+ associates we have supported so far, more than 95% stay engaged with us after their programme ends. And 35% of our staff first joined Breakthrough as associates on our programmes: the people we trained now help run the organisation.
The formal bits, briefly: Ofsted Expected Standard across all areas, Matrix Standard accredited, and a curriculum co-designed with IBM and CGI.
Our partners
The Role
Commercial Associate (Bids & Partnerships)
You will find, shape and win the work that funds our mission: government contracts, corporate partnerships and funding bids. This is not a sales-script job. It is relationship building with real value attached: understanding what a council, funder or corporate partner is trying to achieve for the people they serve, and showing them how Breakthrough helps them achieve it.
Every bid you win is measured in the same currency: more people getting the capability, confidence and agency to benefit from an AI-enabled future. You will thrive here if you are part prospector, part closer, all self-starter.
Government & public sector bids
Research and respond to bids end to end, with real attention to detail.
Corporate partnerships
Build and manage relationships with corporate partners, councils and funders.
Proposal packs
Prepare proposal packs and partnership materials, using AI fluently and critically.
Spotting opportunities
Spot opportunities in complex documents and act on them without waiting to be told.
Relationship building
Understand what a council, funder or corporate is trying to achieve — and show how Breakthrough helps.
Measured in impact
Every bid you win means more people gaining the capability, confidence and agency to benefit from an AI-enabled future.
What you'll own
Find, shape and win
You will own bids and partnerships end to end — from research and opportunity spotting through to proposal, submission and the relationships that follow. No one will hand you a script. You will dig into dense documents, find the angle others miss, and shape a compelling case backed by real evidence.
You will also get involved beyond your core work: appearing in our social media and video content, contributing to reporting and impact stories, and supporting recruitment and events. If you want a narrowly defined job, this is not it. If you want to grow a public profile and a broad skill set alongside your core work, you will love it here.
What we need from you
You'll thrive here if
- You spot things that people usually miss. Hand you a folder of dense documents and your instinct is to dig in with a highlighter, not to skim a summary.
- You are creative. You enjoy finding opportunities and are solution oriented.
- You already use AI daily and thoughtfully. You know when to use it, when not to, and how to make its output actually good.
- You are high-agency. You act first and ask for direction when you are genuinely stuck, not before you have tried.
- You see funding as relationships with value added, not transactions.
- You care about the mission: opening real careers to people the system has counted out.
Non-negotiables
- 70-page documents don't intimidate you — this is most of the job.
- You already use AI every day and thoughtfully.
- You're part prospector, part closer, all self-starter.
What success looks like
The bar for the first 12 months
- Win government and public sector bids end to end — from research to submission.
- Build corporate partnerships that turn into sustained funding and delivery relationships.
- Turn dense, complex documents into sharp opportunities — and act on them fast.
- Use AI fluently and critically across every proposal and partnership material.
- Add up to more people gaining the capability, confidence and agency to benefit from an AI-enabled future.
Working here
The case for joining now
- A small team where you get real ownership from week one. Nobody will micromanage you.
- Transparent salary bands, with flexibility on permanent vs freelance structure.
- Remote-first working with some in-person days.
- We use AI in everything we do and will invest in you being excellent with it.
- 25 days annual leave plus 8 bank holidays (full-time permanent).
- Flexible working options that encourage a great work-life balance.
Location
Remote (UK-wide)
Working pattern
Full-time, permanent
Salary
London £28–32k · outside £25–30k
Deadline
Apply by 26 Aug 2026
Please note: this is UK salary — non-UK freelance salaries will be discussed in the interview process.
No CV, no cover letter. Apply by Wednesday 26 August 2026.