With a background in international fundraising and a passion for connecting organisations with the people and resources they need to make a difference, Pete McGaughey has joined St John International (SJI) to help develop new philanthropic and corporate partnerships. Drawing on his experience with organisations including Oxfam GB and Amnesty International, Pete is focused on building relationships that go beyond funding to create lasting impact. We caught up with Pete to learn more about his role, what excites him about St John’s global work, and what he enjoys doing outside the office.
What did you do before joining St John International, and what brought you to SJI and the world of philanthropy and partnerships?
Before joining St John International, I spent several years working in international fundraising, first heading up the Trusts and Foundations team at Oxfam GB and then in a similar role at Amnesty International’s International Secretariat, where I worked with major donors from around the world. Before that, I spent a few years in Uganda setting up a microfinance savings and credit co-operative, before completing a master’s degree in International Development at the University of Manchester.
For the past four years, I’ve worked freelance, which has given me the privilege of working with an incredibly varied range of charities and causes – from exploring the role of artificial intelligence in health systems and tackling antimicrobial resistance to supporting families living in domestic abuse refuges. I’ve loved the variety and the opportunity to immerse myself in very different issues.
What has always motivated me is the opportunity to connect ambitious organisations doing important work with philanthropists, foundations and companies that can help them achieve more. That is what attracted me to St John International. The combination of an extraordinary global network, a highly trusted name and such a breadth of work means there is enormous potential to build partnerships that can make a real difference.
Can you tell us a little about your role at SJI and what your day-to-day work involves?
My role is essentially about finding the people and organisations that could help us achieve more, and then working out how we can build meaningful partnerships with them.
There probably isn’t a typical day. I might be researching a foundation, preparing colleagues for a meeting with a potential donor, developing a proposition for a new programme, working with one of our St John organisations to identify funding opportunities, or thinking about how we position our work for a particular audience.
A big part of the role is joining the dots: understanding what St John is doing around the world, where the greatest opportunities for impact lie, and which funders or companies might share those priorities.
What do you find most rewarding about building relationships with donors, trusts, foundations and corporate partners?
For me, the most rewarding part is finding a genuine connection between what a supporter wants to achieve and what St John is trying to accomplish.
The strongest partnerships aren’t simply about asking someone to fund something. They’re about understanding what matters to them and finding the point where our ambitions overlap. When that works well, a funder isn’t just providing money; they become invested in the work and in the difference we are trying to make together.
There is also something very satisfying about taking an initial conversation or introduction and gradually turning it into something that can have a real impact on people’s lives.
What have your first few months at SJI been like, and what have you found most interesting about the organisation and its international work?
They’ve been incredibly varied. One of the things that has struck me most is just how broad St John’s work is. Before joining, I probably associated St John primarily with first aid, but I’ve quickly discovered an organisation working across maternal and newborn health, community health, emergency response, road safety, youth development, mental health and much more.
I’ve particularly enjoyed learning about the work being led by St John organisations in different countries. The Mother and Baby programme has been fascinating because you can see how sustained community engagement can change behaviours and improve access to healthcare. Equally, exploring how our expertise in first aid could be applied in settings such as refugee communities has shown me how much potential there is to take what St John already does exceptionally well and apply it in new ways.
What makes a strong partnership, and how do you create relationships that benefit both supporters and St John International?
A strong partnership starts with listening. It is very easy in fundraising to begin with what we need, but a successful partnership also needs to understand what the other organisation is trying to achieve.
I think the best relationships are built around a shared problem rather than a funding request. If we can say, “Here is a challenge we both care about – what could we do about it together?”, the conversation becomes much more interesting.
Trust is also incredibly important. That means being open about what we can achieve, demonstrating impact and keeping partners genuinely engaged with the work, rather than only speaking to them when we need funding.
What do you see as the biggest opportunities for philanthropy and partnerships?
I think the opportunities are enormous because St John has several things that funders increasingly value: a trusted global brand, deep roots in communities, an extraordinary volunteer network and the ability to deliver practical solutions at scale.
There are some obvious opportunities around maternal and newborn health, where our Mother & Baby programme is already demonstrating significant behaviour change and where there is potential to reach many more women and families.
But I also think first aid presents a huge opportunity. It is something that sits right at the heart of St John’s identity, and yet there are many possibilities for taking our expertise into new settings and building ambitious partnerships around community resilience, emergency response, road safety, refugee communities, young people and mental health.
Ultimately, I would like us to build fewer purely transactional donor relationships and more long-term, strategic partnerships with organisations that want to work alongside St John to solve problems at scale.
What do you enjoy doing in your free time, and what helps you switch off from work?
Music is a really important part of my life and probably my best way of switching off. I play the piano, sing in a community choir and am also a member of a barbershop group, so there is usually some form of music going on.
I also have two boys, aged 12 and 13, which means a significant proportion of my free time is spent providing a taxi service and doing all the other things that come with having children of that age.
I love cooking, and we often have friends over for dinner at the weekend. Food is a big part of family life and socialising for me – and if Indian food were an option for breakfast, lunch and dinner every day, I’d be very happy!
