Martingale Postgraduate Foundation (Martingale) exists to fund and support the next generation of talented researchers. We believe that family income should not be a barrier to the pursuit of excellence, and our mission is to enable and nurture talented individuals from low-socioeconomic backgrounds to thrive within world-leading postgraduate research.

Martingale’s flagship programme is the Martingale Postgraduate Scholarship, which supports students from low-socioeconomic backgrounds to pursue and excel in postgraduate degrees, by providing:

• A fully-funded Living Wage Scholarship to pursue a one-year Masters degree or a four-year PhD.
• All tuition fees and research expenses, including a tax-free stipend for living costs.
• Tailored support to apply for Martingale courses at our partner universities.
• Access to Martingale programmes, including leadership training and connections with top academic and industry professionals.
• Membership of a pioneering community of talented researchers.

In the three years since Martingale launched, we are now supporting over 100 Scholars to undertake postgraduate degrees across our ten partner universities and have committed over £7.7m in Scholarships. We are continuing to expand our offer, bringing on new partners each year.

We are seeking an experienced, strategic and collaborative Head of Communications and External Engagement to join our Senior Leadership Team and play a pivotal role in shaping Martingale’s external profile, strategic partnerships, and policy influence.

As Head of Communications and External Engagement, you will join our growing senior management team, overseeing several critical aspects of Martingale’s work: communications and recruitment; partnerships and fundraising; and policy and advocacy. Working closely with the CEO, you will oversee all aspect of Martingale’s external communications and engagement to ensure Martingale’s success.

You will set the strategic direction of Martingale’s external positioning, working closely with the CEO on a day-to-day basis to ensure that our communications, partnerships and policy activity is aligned and meeting Martingale’s mission. You will ensure that Martingale’s messaging is consistent, with a bold brand presence and strong collaboration with various external stakeholders including funders, universities, media, and government.

We are looking for a strong communicator with extensive leadership experience including line management, partnership management and external relations. You will bring excellent organisational skills, strong attention to detail, a proactive mindset, and a strong alignment with Martingale’s mission. We welcome applicants from a range of career paths who are excited to be part of a growing, fast-paced charity delivering meaningful impact.

Martingale Foundation is incubated by Purposeful Ventures who provide operational and strategic support. The Head of Communication and External Engagement will be employed by Purposeful Ventures.

About Purposeful Ventures

Our vision is of a fairer society where all young people thrive. Purposeful Ventures partners with social entrepreneurs and philanthropists to improve the education and well-being of young people from their earliest years

We define and diagnose the issues affecting children and young people, analyse evidence and explore the most promising solutions. We then select, accelerate and, where we find a gap, incubate organisations which tackle those issues. We offer more than just funding to our charitable organisations. Our expertise, operational experience and networks enable us to deliver tailored, hands-on support with a relentless commitment to system change.

We work to build and strengthen outstanding organisations that deliver systemic impact, which includes incubating the Martingale Foundation.

Please download the full job description on the Purposeful Ventures website

Key Responsibilities: 

Strategic Leadership

• Develop and deliver a clear, bold strategy for communications, policy, and partnerships aligned with Martingale’s vision and growth.
• Lead the development of Martingale’s voice, ensuring consistency across all external channels and stakeholder interactions.
• Act as a senior leader within the organisation, contributing to overall strategic planning.

Communications & Brand

• Oversee all external communications, campaigns and media engagement, strengthening Martingale’s profile and influence.
• Manage content strategy, digital channels, storytelling and brand evolution.
• Ensure high-quality and accessible communications across print, digital, and in-person events.

Partnerships & Stakeholder Engagement

• Maintain and grow relationships with Martingale’s university, philanthropic, and other partners.
• Collaborate with the CEO on fundraising engagement strategies and impact storytelling.
• Oversee ambassador engagement and support Martingale’s national and regional events.

Policy & Advocacy

• Lead Martingale’s policy and advocacy work to shape the future of postgraduate access and equity.
• Along with the CEO, represent Martingale in external forums, responding to consultations and influencing key stakeholders in research and education policy.
• Collaborate with researchers and partners to generate evidence and drive systems change.

Team Leadership & Management

• Line manage team leads across communications and partnerships, with oversight of a team of four.
• Support the professional development of the team, ensuring alignment with Martingale’s values and goals.
• Foster a collaborative, agile, and inclusive culture within and across teams.

The post holder will carry out any other duties as are within the scope, spirit, and purpose of the role as requested by the line manager.

Key Requirements:

Essential Criteria

• Right to work in the UK

Experience and skills

Essential

• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal, with the ability to effectively communicate with diverse audiences including senior stakeholders.
• Significant senior-level experience in communications, policy, or external relations within a mission-driven organisation.
• Proven experience line managing a multi-person team, including managing people who manage others.
• Strong track record of developing and delivering high-impact external engagement strategies.
• Excellent communication skills — strategic thinking combined with hands-on content expertise.
• Experience managing and cultivating high-value partnerships or donor relationships.
• Understanding of UK education, social mobility, or research funding landscapes.
• Proven experience in account management, managing multiple external stakeholder relationships and partnerships successfully.
• Advanced IT proficiency: Spreadsheet, Word Processing, CRM or Databases, Email, Web-based applications.

Desirable

• Experience working with or within higher education or research organisations.
• Familiarity with charity fundraising or philanthropic communications.
• Experience delivering communications in a startup or scale-up environment.
• Experience in working with governance boards and/or trustees.
• Experience delivering / overseeing ambitious recruitment campaigns

Personal Characteristics

• Excellent interpersonal skills: able to build rapport and trusting relationships, able to work co-operatively in a multidisciplinary setting.
• A commitment to Martingale’s mission to support postgraduate students from low-socioeconomic backgrounds.
• Comfortable working in a rapidly growing and changing organisation with a degree of ambiguity – confident to create processes and ways forward where they might not yet exist.
• Creative and innovative: willing to think outside the box to maximise reach.
• Resourceful, able to act on initiative, hardworking, detail-oriented, and systematic.