Jess Payne

WORK HISTORY

EDUCATION

ABOUT JESS PAYNE

Nottingham based. Grantham office.After several years in senior leadership, business development and income generation roles across the charity, finance and social enterprise landscape, I am highly motivated by progression, responsibility and impact. I am driven, commercially minded and purposeful. I value trust, autonomy and empowerment. I perform at my best when I am given space to lead, clarity on outcomes and the confidence to use my judgement. I bring extensive experience in strategic income growth, partnerships and market development. I have led growth, fundraising and marketing teams at senior level, developing and delivering income strategies across corporate partnerships, government initiatives, individual giving and community-based income streams. Much of this work has taken place in challenging or underperforming environments, both in the UK and internationally, including East Africa. I am a strategic thinker with a strong commercial instinct. I build clear pipelines, prioritise opportunity and ensure activity is focused, measurable and sustainable. I place real importance on foundations: robust internal processes, clear methods, useful tools and a healthy team culture.I am comfortable representing an organisation externally, whether in formal negotiations, networking environments or partnership discussions. I bring warmth, credibility and intent to these relationships, and I am particularly skilled at shaping persuasive propositions. I have led the creation of bids, proposals and presentations that combine data, insight and authentic storytelling, consistently securing new income and long-term partners. Data and structure underpin my approach. I am highly organised, analytical and detail-focused, with strong experience using CRMs, pipeline tracking, forecasting and performance reporting. I enjoy working with data to inform decisions, identify trends and clearly communicate progress and risk to senior stakeholders. Budgets, forecasting, reporting and performance management are areas where I am both confident and comfortable. Alongside growth, leadership is a core part of my skill set and motivation. I have led and developed teams across income generation and marketing, providing clarity, coaching and space for people to grow. I care about culture and believe that people do their best work when they feel trusted, supported and valued. I create environments where people enjoy working together, feel empowered and are proud of what they are building.