Expect Staff Focus: Kevin Byrne, Business Development Manager

Kevin Byrne is Expect Ltd’s Business Development Manager and enjoys many aspects of his role, especially interacting with service users and finding out about their experiences of working and or living with Expect. “Seeing how much of a difference the charity makes to their lives and enables them to live as independent a life as they choose is great to see,” says Kevin.

“It’s been lovely to develop a rapport with them and to see people’s confidence grow as their anxieties and isolation reduce.”

Kevin brings twenty years’ experience in the third sector (in 2023), working for all types of organisations, from small local charities, through to regional and national charities too. “I’ve also spent time working for an NHS hospital charity and on The Isle of Mann working for their version of The National Trust.”

Kevin adds: “Over twenty years I’ve seen a lot and experienced a lot and met some very interesting people along the way.”

He began his career co-ordinating fundraising activities in retail foods for a group of Greggs Stores in Preston.

“There were five stores locally and we all took part in fundraising initiatives to raise funds for various charities. I loved getting to know more people and the organisations involved, developing my contacts. This was my university job and I ended up running stores all over the North West region. When I moved back home to Liverpool, I decided that I would concentrate on looking at jobs within the third sector. I’ve been in it ever since!”

Kevin’s current role of business development manager for Expect Limited involves him exploring and developing new relationships for the charity through the corporate and community sector. This is in order to grow the charity’s brand profile and to showcase the work that Expect does across the region.

“I also network and market our existing services to the appropriate external agencies, commissioners, local authorities and other funders with an end goal of growing different avenues for generating income for Expect. I help to compile, submit and present tenders along with Expects Service Managers as and when they arise, whilst writing smaller bids and funding applications in further development of The Expect Group’s service provision too. Critically, I also champion social care and the third sector and promote the diversity of disability within our service user groups who access or live within our services.”

Fundraising for Expect Limited and their wider services is going to become increasingly important to the charity in 2023 and Kevin’s main focus.

“We will be holding more fundraising initiatives and looking at different ways to diversify our income streams to enable us to become more sustainable. This is a challenge, as Expect  have never actively fundraised and promoted themselves in the past. There has been some good work started this year and I hope to continue that through partnership working and with the help and support of my connections and networks across the North West.”