Cobseo as the Confederation of Service Charities, provides a single point of contact for interaction between our Members and Government, including local and devolved governments, the Royal Household, the Private Sector and members of the Armed Forces Community. This allows Cobseo Members to interact with all interested parties and especially to cooperate and collaborate with others in order to provide the best possible support to beneficiaries.
Underpinned by our values and driven by our objectives, the Confederation exists to facilitate engagement across the sector, act as a representative in committees, working groups, and other meetings, promote collaboration and cooperation across the Membership and wider sector, influence policy, and present an informed and measured view from across the Membership, and enable the Membership to build networks and share best practices.
Members enjoy a range of benefits, including information, guidance, training, and support on key topics such as governance, fundraising, and safeguarding, access to the Cobseo Clusters, representation on key government groups and committees through the Cobseo Chair and Executive Committee, promotion of news, events and job vacancies, access to the Weekly News newsletter, and the opportunity to contribute to key Government policy areas.
Cobseo is excited to be recruiting for the position of Head of Membership to join our small, dynamic team in a key role in support of the Confederation as a membership organisation. We are looking for a professional, energetic team player with a passion for customer service and a track record for delivering ambitious and varied objectives, who can help us achieve our membership plans for 2026 and beyond.
JOB DESCRIPTION
Reporting to the Director of Operations and working closely alongside the rest of the team, the Head of Membership holds an integral position within Cobseo, centred around the day-to-day delivery of the membership function. The post-holder is responsible for pro-actively identifying and securing new members, processing membership applications, managing credit control that relates to membership fees, and acting as the primary point of contact for prospective/members and relevant stakeholders.
The Head of Membership will also drive the development of Cobseo’s membership offer, policies and processes via the design and delivery of a new, research-led, evidence-based Membership Strategy, which will include refining the membership criteria and enhancing membership benefits to elevate the value of Cobseo Membership.
The Head of Membership provides leadership to the Cobseo office team on all membership matters. They leverage their knowledge of the sector and expertise in customer-centric delivery, in order to contribute input to the Executive Committee recommendations and provide further guidance on Membership decisions during Executive Committee meetings if required, of which the Membership applications are a standing agenda item.
The Head of Membership will be the primary liaison for the new CRM/website project, working closely with the Director of Operations and the Head of Communication & Engagement to ensure that the new system is commissioned, launched, and integrated successfully. They will work with external suppliers including routinely with the external bookkeeper, and on a project basis with the CRM provider and CRM implementation partner to ensure value-for-money procurement and effective project delivery.
As a member of the small Cobseo office team, the Head of Membership, along with the other members of the office team, is expected to lean into issues, opportunities, and workstreams that arise, sometimes at short notice and occasionally outside of their own portfolio.
This role is full time (34.5 hours per week) and is office-based in London for at least 2 days per week in order to facilitate positive relationships with the rest of the team and with stakeholders. There is an option for hybrid/homeworking the rest of the week. Some UK travel is required and the post-holder will occasionally be required to work from external sites, such as events’ venues or in order to visit members’ premises. Normal working hours are maintained wherever possible noting that business activity of a membership organisation, including for some events, is held outwith normal office hours.
The Head of Membership role doesn’t currently have line management responsibility. As the size and shape of the Cobseo office team develops over time, this may change.
The salary for this role is £55,000-£65,000 per annum depending on experience. Cobseo operates a contributory pension scheme with a 7.5% employer’s contribution and a 5% employee’s contribution. We provide access to a confidential Employee Assistance Programme and the Cycle To Work scheme, as well as membership of death-in-service and guaranteed income protection schemes.
Cobseo’s standard leave is 30 days per year, plus Bank Holidays.
KEY DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES
MEMBERSHIP FUNCTION:
- Work with Director of Operations to develop and implement Cobseo’s Membership strategy in line with strategic objectives and annual business plans to develop the Membership criteria, benefits, and offer.
- Design and oversee the implementation and development of Cobseo’s Membership application process, including due diligence, drawing on the wider Cobseo office team for subject matter expertise and responding to direction from the Executive Committee.
- Leadership of administration of live Membership applications, maintaining pro-active communication with prospective members during the course of their application, and supporting unsuccessful applicants to achieve Membership status in due course.
- Facilitate collaboration and cooperation between Members and other stakeholders.
- Engage with existing and prospective Members providing advice and support as required and to help Members maintain high standards in line with Cobseo’s Membership due diligence for the duration of their Membership.
- Retain and grow Membership numbers and value.
- Act as the primary internal liaison for the development and implementation of the new Customer Relationship Management system project.
- Provision of information, support, and advice to Cobseo team members, the Executive Chair, and the Executive Committee on matters relating to Members and the Cobseo Membership.
- Maintain an accurate set of policies, process flows, and standard operating procedures for all Membership-related tasks.
EXTERNAL RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT:
- Manage routine engagement with potential Members and Membership-related suppliers.
- Act as the primary internal liaison with the CRM project suppliers and partners.
- Represent Cobseo at meetings, committees and events, consulting with the Executive Committee and key external stakeholders, and deputise for Director of Operations and the Executive Chair as required.
TEAMWORKING:
- Maintain effective, timely communication with colleagues to ensure coordinated workstreams and timely, high-quality outputs.
- Work to agreed standard operating procedures and ways of working in the support of effective outputs and to mitigate the risks of single points of failure.
- Actively contribute to the continuous improvement of internal processes.
- Commit to, prepare for, and actively attend team meetings.
- Work with the rest of the team to process Membership applications and renewals and carry out due diligence checks.
Given the nature of working within a small team, and the fast-paced, high-profile, political nature of the Armed Forces sector, the Head of Membership may be required to fulfil other duties on occasion, independently or in partnership with Cobseo team colleagues, in order to support the delivery of the business plan and strategic objectives, or in response to unexpected events or a surge in demand.
SKILLS & EXPERIENCE
The successful candidate will meet the following essential criteria and the majority of the desirable criteria.
Essential:
- Relevant experience of working in a senior customer-facing role with demonstrable experience of developing value-adding, customer-centric proposals and delivering excellent customer support.
- Previous work for or with a membership organisation (or comparable) with experience of developing a membership offer, policies, and processes.
- Track record for achieving business development goals.
- Track record for delivering change programmes, ideally in relation to the integration of new technology, such as a CRM system.
- Effective delivery of detailed, accurate reports, papers, and proposals on time and to good effect.
- A track record for innovative service design, development, and delivery.
- Confident working with a broad range of stakeholders, often with seemingly conflicting priorities to establish consensus and cooperation.
- Competent, confident user of a CRM system to manage customer information, engagement and fees, and to interrogate and interpret system reports to good effect.
- Competent and confident in working to multiple and often short-notice deadlines across various workstreams simultaneously.
- Experience of identifying emerging issues and responding to them in a pro-active way.
- Experience of managing various suppliers to coordinate input, processes, and output.
The successful candidate may also have:
- Previous worked for or with a charitable, campaigning, or policy organisation.
- Experience of working within a small, ambitious team with dynamic individual and collective responsibilities.
The Head of Membership role demands a breadth and depth of skills and abilities, including:
- Strong presentation skills both written and verbal.
- Technical proficiency in using CRM systems, accounting software, and online banking.
- Strong brief-writing skills.
- Strong office administrative skills and IT literacy, including confident use of the Microsoft suite including Teams, SharePoint, Word, Excel, Outlook, and PowerPoint.
- Ability to demonstrate strategic and creative thinking in developing new business and contributing to membership strategy.
- Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to communicate with people at all levels and from all backgrounds, including colleagues, suppliers, members and senior external stakeholders, adapting style of communication appropriately.
The Head of Membership will have:
- A flare for working in partnership with others and bringing together disparate elements in support of a single aim.
- Initiative as a self-starter be motivated to work alone and/or unsupervised when required.
- A desire to achieve SMART objectives that contribute to the realisation of an annual business plan and strategic objectives.
- A strong team-work mentality with a willingness to readily adapt and flex their focus to support delivery of other functions, as is often required within small teams.
- Empathy with the Armed Forces Community and Service ethos.
- An understanding of working within an environment heavily influenced by politics and politicians and the ability to stay impartial throughout.
If you have a strong work ethic and the skills, experience and attitude to fulfil the role of Cobseo’s Head of Membership, and you are motivated by the prospect of adding value to the Armed Forces Community support sector, please send a CV and cover letter to Kate McCullough, Director of Operations via email to k.mccullough@cobseo.org.uk by 0800 on Monday 13 October 2025.
Any questions or queries, or requests for reasonable adjustments during the application process, should be directed to Kate by email.
Recruitment for this position is carried out in line with Cobseo’s Equality, Inclusion, and Diversity Policy.
