Advocacy and campaigns advisor jobs in manchester

Inclusion International is looking for a new Executive Director. This is a key leadership role for our movement.

We are the global network of people with intellectual disabilities and their families. Our goal is to build a world where everyone is included in community life and where people with intellectual disabilities and their families have equal opportunities and rights.

The Executive Director will work closely with our Board of Directors, Council, staff team, and our member organisations around the world to lead the organisation, support our network, and help deliver our shared strategy for inclusion.

About the Role

The Executive Director is responsible for the overall management of Inclusion International. This includes overseeing our programmes and operations, building strong relationships with our members and partners, and supporting our global advocacy and fundraising work.

We are looking for a strategic leader who can build trust, manage a skilled remote team, and strengthen the impact of our global work.

The successful candidate will have senior-level experience in the non-profit sector, a strong understanding of inclusive practice, and a commitment to the rights of people with intellectual disabilities.

You can find the full job description and more about who we're looking for in our attached recruitment pack.

The role is full-time and can be done remotely. We are especially interested in candidates who are based in the UK and familiar with the UK charity sector.

Salary is £95,000 per year, depending on experience.

We welcome applications from people with diverse backgrounds and experiences, including people with intellectual disabilities and their family members.

We are looking to appoint an exceptional individual to join our team of six Strategic Partnership Advisors across England. In this role, you will support key partners, including Active Partnerships, National Governing Bodies of Sport, local authorities, and leisure providers to become more effective in their role of enabling more disabled people to be active.

You will possess a strong understanding of the sport and activity sector, including its operations, and be able to advocate for improvements that help more disabled people become active. Additionally, you will be aware of the broader systems and barriers that disabled people encounter in sports and activities, as well as organisations such as disabled people’s user-led organisations and various charities, to build relationships and foster effective cross-sector partnerships.

We are looking for an individual with experience of working strategically at a place based and/or locality level within the South West region. Someone who can positively influence local developments, systems and investments to tackle the inequalities disabled people face in sport and activity through inclusive practice.

The successful candidate will work remotely from home and be based in the South West region. This role will involve travel across the region and occasional travel to our Loughborough and Manchester offices.

This role is full-time (36 hours) and permanent.

We offer 26.5 days of annual leave, including birthday leave, plus bank holidays. Activity Alliance also closes between Christmas and New Year which means that employees are not expected to work during this time and they are not required to use their annual leave allowance to have this time free from work.

Activity Alliance currently offers the following benefits:

• Hybrid working
• Time off in lieu
• A contributory pension scheme (employee 6%, employer 9%)
• Childcare vouchers
• Cycle to work scheme
• Eye care
• Employee engagement initiatives such as away days
• Access to Employee Assistance Programme
• Menopause policy
• Enhanced sickness pay
• Group Income Protection
• Death in service
• Training and development opportunities

Management Development Advisor - Permanent

Full Time - Hybrid Working

Closing Date: 25th April 2025 

Our offer to you

We pride ourselves in being a great place to work, providing a supportive culture with opportunities to grow and develop your career, achieve a healthy work life balance and to be recognised for the great work you do. You will receive:

• Competitive salary and pension scheme
• 33 days holiday (inclusive of bank holidays) - increasing to 38 days over 5 years
• Hybrid, Flexible working
• Cycle to work scheme Electric Vehicle Scheme
• Health and Wellbeing portal – access to financial, health and wellbeing support and an Employee Assistance Programme
• Discounts – you will have access to Blue Light and NHS Discounts as well as discounts on mobile phones, gym membership, cinema tickets, restaurants, holidays and shopping

About Us

This is a fantastic opportunity to join a team of over 1,577 employees and over 33,000 volunteers, united by our goal of saving lives through essential first aid services, training and campaigning.  As a charity with rich heritage and a long history of serving humanity, we are proud of our past and excited about creating a healthier, safer, more resilient future. 

St John Ambulance works at the heart of communities, supporting and enabling them to access and receive physical and mental health first aid. We do this through developing and providing effective community response and outreach services (e.g. Ambulance response, Falls response, Night Time Economy and Homelessness outreach) and using our longstanding expertise to empower people with vital clinical skills and the confidence to use them (e.g. our Volunteers and Community Advocates, NHS Cadets and Young Responders programmes). There is also a buoyant social enterprise network which delivers first aid training and supplies medical consumables to businesses and consumers.

Job Summary

The Management Development Advisor will be delivering and implementing innovative training programmes for our employee managers in line with our HEART values. The role will be expected to positively impact and interface with all parts of our organisation and we are looking for someone who is passionate about developing managers and able to practically lead on delivering on our training commitments with the colleagues from across People and Culture and Community Engagement Network. They will be experienced within the field of Management Development and can confidently deliver management training, development and upskilling which builds our inclusive culture. 

About You

To be successful in this role, you need to be educated to GCSE level or equivalent (Grade C / 4) including Maths & English, minimum 5, Learning & Development / CIPD / Training / Teaching or similar relevant qualification, experience in Researching, creating, designing and delivering management development programmes and training  solutions including virtual and blended methods, Skilled and knowledgeable in the development of leaders and managers, learning and organisational development models, continual improvement approaches, methodologies and ability to deliver creative and engaging Management Development events through excellent training and facilitation skills.

About the Role

• Deliver in-house training, development and upskilling programmes which are aligned to meet organisational and individual needs, including induction, people policy, management development, bespoke development programmes for teams, personal skills and other training activities. You’ll take a blended learning approach, tailoring to different learning needs and styles for staff and managers.
• Collaborate with the People and Culture Leadership team to influence and surface organisational matters, to support the delivery of the People Plan, actively working with the Leadership & Management Development (LMD) Partner in the development of manager and colleague training and development initiatives ad upskilling to respond to management development improvements
• Train, Guide, coach and advise people managers on good people-practise during change and transition, including coaching, facilitation, mentoring, mediation, to support psychological safety, belonging and retention.
• Support and guide managers on managing their people, through the whole employee lifecycle taking a people centric approach. 

Please see the job description for more detail (this can be viewed on our website or once you click apply)

If you are a current St John Ambulance employee, please apply here: Click here

For all other candidates, or St John Ambulance volunteers wishing to apply: please apply below

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive high volume of applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible.

St John Ambulance are committed to increasing the diversity of our team and making sure we best reflect the diversity of the communities we serve.At St John, everyone is valued and supported to thrive, we have several networks including Multi Culture, Disability and Accessibility, Pride, Family and Carers and Women’s groups.  We do not tolerate any form of discrimination and engender a sense of belonging for all, by creating an environment of mutual respect, where we value unique differences and demonstrate authentic allyship. We believe passionately in equality, diversity and inclusion.

Please note: St John does not accept speculative CVs and will only review CVs sent in application for an advertised vacancy.

About you

Do you want to use your skills to make it possible for people with myeloma, an incurable blood cancer, to live longer and better lives?

Myeloma UK is looking for a motivated and pro-active Policy Officer to join our Patient Advocacy team within the wider Research and Advocacy directorate.  You will have experience of analysing, developing, and communicating policy issues, excellent communication and influencing skills and the ability to present findings and recommendations to a range of audiences.  The post holder will have excellent attention to detail and the ability to prioritise and work under pressure.

The successful candidate will be a highly regarded ambassador for Myeloma UK with a desire to continuously improve and to make a difference while working flexibility and using their own initiative.

Experience of public/patient engagement work, participating in government policy consultations and patient advocacy campaign work would be beneficial but not essential.

About the role

As the Policy Officer you will be part of the Patient Advocacy team who work to ensure that the patient voice is heard and acted upon by UK and devolved nations healthcare policy decision makers. You will support Myeloma UK’s ambition to deliver personalised medicine, such that every person living with and affected by myeloma and associated conditions has access to the best diagnostics, treatment and care services and quality of life experience.

Your role is vital to developing strategic approaches to UK health policy legislation and consultations to ensure that UK government and devolved nations healthcare policy supports the needs of people living with and affected by myeloma and associated conditions. 

You will support the Policy Manager to assess existing healthcare policies, regulations and legislation to understand their implications for myeloma-specific healthcare systems, providers and patients

About us

Myeloma UK is the only UK charity focused on myeloma and its related conditions.  We provide support and influence access to treatments, while researching a cure.  Thanks to life-extending treatments and support, today many people affected by myeloma are able to live longer and to live well.  Together, we support, so no one faces myeloma alone. 

We are committed to bringing together the best and brightest people to help us ensure that every patient has an empowered present and a hopeful future.

Our ultimate goal is to find a cure and make myeloma history. Until then, our mission is to help every patient live well with myeloma for as long as possible. We are committed to diagnosing myeloma earlier, discovering and sharing knowledge, transforming the patient experience and influencing positive change in care.

Our culture

Wellbeing and staff engagement are at the heart of our culture.  We offer our employees a range of benefits including a pension salary exchange scheme, flexitime, flexible working from home with hub-based office working, health plan, employee assistance plan and holiday purchase scheme and we are committed to providing learning and development opportunities for all our employees.

How to apply

If you think you would be a great fit for this role, get in touch and tell us more about yourself by sending the following:

1. A cover letter telling us more about you and what you think makes you a good fit for this role

2. A CV that sets out your career history, with key responsibilities and achievements

Applications close on 12 May 2025 and interviews will be held w/c 19 May 2025.

Myeloma UK is an equal opportunities employer and always welcomes applications from suitably qualified and eligible candidates regardless of:

· sex

· race

· disability

· age

· sexual orientation

· gender reassignment

· religion or belief

· marital status

· pregnancy and maternity

Please note, you will be asked to provide evidence of your eligibility to work in the UK prior to interview selection.

Campaign and Activism Manager.

Salary: £40,000 per annum. 

Location: Remote (with travel to London for regular meetings). 

Contract: Permanent, 35 hours per week. 

Benefits:    

• 29 days annual leave PLUS bank holidays pro rata, with up to 5 additional days for continuous service and option to buy or sell leave.   
• Gain professional qualifications and excellent training/development opportunities.   
• Flexible maternity, adoption, and paternity packages.   
• Pension with up to 7% employer contribution with included life assurance cover.   
• Staff discount portal and Blue Light Card eligibility with 15,000 national retailer's discounts.   

Why Action for Children?    

Working here is more than a job. Everyone in the Action for Children family is passionate about protecting and supporting children. It is the sense of purpose that drives us every single day. Because we know that, when we work together, we can make a huge difference to bring lasting improvements to vulnerable children's lives.   

A bit about the role  

It's an exciting time to join the Influencing team at Action for Children, and we are looking for a creative, collaborative and forward-thinking individual to join our ambitious team.

As Campaigns and Activism Manager, you will be Action for Children's expert in public-facing policy change campaigns and supporter engagement. This is a role that is pivotal to securing positive change for disadvantaged children and young people.

You will be instrumental in managing and overseeing campaigning on our four priority policy areas, project managing campaigns across teams and designing and leading activity that secures mass public support. You will actively involve children and young people and centre their lived experience in our campaigns.

You will collaborate closely with colleagues across Income & Engagement and Children's Services, to deliver successful campaigns and wider organisation goals.

You'll help to create brighter futures by: 

• Leading the delivery of influential policy change campaigns working with the Influencing team, Fundraising, Digital, Communications, and other colleagues.
• Providing expertise in the theory and practice of campaigning.
• Leading the development of policy change campaigns.
• Leading and delivering Action for Children's supporter engagement.
• Overseeing all campaign communications.
• Ensuring that we keep internal stakeholders engaged and up to speed with our latest campaigns
• Providing professional campaigns support to the Campaigns, Advocacy and Policy Advisors in Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales.

Let's talk about you  

• Proven track record in designing and delivering policy change campaigns.
• Experience in creating and using a wide variety of digital and offline campaigning tools and tactics to influence the public, with a record of success. You have experience in how to mobilise movements of people and engage them in action.
• Excellent knowledge of Engaging Networks and data protection rules.
• Experience of developing campaign messaging, case studies and communications, with the ability to write in an engaging and accessible way for a range of audiences.
• Proven project management skills.
• Strong personal influencing skills and experience of developing effective relationships with colleagues in different teams.
• Experience of engaging service users (ideally children and young people) in campaigns activities.
• Good knowledge of the UK political system, both national and local, and how to secure policy change.

Please see the Job Description for the full list of accountabilities and requirements.   

Please note we are unable to offer visa sponsorship for this role.  

Diversity, equality, and inclusion  

At Action for Children, we're dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive, and authentic workplace.  

We actively encourage applications from Black, Asian & Minority Ethnic, and disabled candidates as they are under-represented within Action for Children. We want to take deliberate and purposeful action to ensure equal opportunity to all groups in society and for Action for Children.  

Want to know more about Action for Children?  

Find us on , ,  or  to get to know us better.  

Closing Date: Thursday 1^st May 2025. 

Interviews will be week commencing 12th May 2025. 

Reporting to: Director of Policy and Engagement 

Direct reports: 1 x Scotland Policy and Public Affairs Manager and Legislative Lead, 2 x Policy and Public Affairs Officers, 1 x England Policy and Public Affairs Manager 

Location of work: Home-based. The post holder must be easily and quickly commutable to London and will require frequent meetings in London. The role may involve some irregular travel throughout England and Scotland to attend events and meetings.

Contract type: Full-time, 35 hours per week,  flexible hours may be considered. The role may require occasional evening and weekend work 

Contract Length: Permanent 

Salary: £54,500 - £56,500 

BACKGROUND

Our work has never been more needed. The latest research suggesting that the number of children and young people at risk of hunger has rocketed to 2.6 million* means that one in five children don't have enough to eat.When a child is too hungry to learn, when they’re aching for something to eat, they can’t concentrate. They can’t absorb information. Big feelings and worries can be impossible to control. They fall behind in their studies.

Magic Breakfast provide a nutritious and filling breakfast to over 300,000 children and young people every school day. We work with schools in areas of high disadvantage, helping staff target the children most in need without barrier or stigma.  Magic Breakfast are ambitious to grow our impact to remove hunger as a barrier to learning for all children and young people in the UK.

 This is an exciting time to join Magic Breakfast if you wish to make a difference to the lives of children as we work to influence both policy implementation, with the national rollout of primary-aged universal school breakfast, and legislative change, through the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill. There has also been commitment from the Scottish Government for a national breakfast scheme and we are seeking to expand our advocacy work into Wales. Magic Breakfast’s influence will be instrumental to ensuring school breakfasts are implemented in a way that is hunger-focused and barrier free.

In addition, thousands of secondary school children are at risk of losing their free school breakfasts from September next year. For many of these students, this is their only opportunity to have a nutritious meal before facing a demanding school day, including taking exams.  And for the very youngest, we know that the disadvantage gap begins before they even reach reception. With the Government commitment to another 100,000 places in school-based nurseries, early years is also a critical part of our advocacy work.

 Being part of the work of Magic Breakfast is your chance, together with parents, teachers and people across the UK, to demonstrate the power of school breakfasts and to shape the way forward to end morning hunger for good.

*Food Foundation Insecurity Tracker Jan 2025

JOB PURPOSE

The Head of Policy & Public Affairs will review, develop and implement our advocacy strategy and lead a team to influence the devolved legislatures across the UK to address child morning hunger, with a view to the underlying systemic causes of child poverty and hunger, by driving change through policy and legislation. The role operates at our ‘Head of level’ which is the most senior operational specialist level and provides both operational and strategic leadership.

This role will also provide wider leadership across the charity and input into organisational strategy development and planning as part of the Core Management Group. This role will ensure that the Policy and Public Affairs function is aligned to the wider strategic aims and outcomes of Magic Breakfast as well as the internal operational systems and delivery.

The strategic leadership will ensure an external and long term view, with an outward looking and forward thinking approach that builds thought leadership, relationships and partnerships, with positioning to anticipate and build on new opportunities to end child morning hunger for good.

It will require an experienced Policy and Public Affairs professional, with significant experience of high impact and demonstrable outcomes at a senior level in the field. The postholder will lead the policy and public affairs team to influence the Early Adopters Scheme, the national rollout of primary school breakfast provision in England and breakfast legislation in the Children’s Wellbeing Bill (CWB).

They will also develop, guide and lead plans to influence the Scottish government, particularly in the run up to the election in May 2026 and the influencing of manifestos; and will lead Magic Breakfast’s upcoming influencing work in Wales. 

In the external leadership that the role provides they will build relationships with politicians, political influencers, special advisors and civil servants to establish long-term, sustainable solutions to child morning hunger in the UK.

As a compassionate, people centric and inspiring leader they will work to enable their team to grow and develop in their skills ensuring they can step away from the detail whilst retaining accountability, build effective resource management and progression pathways. This role may manage external consultants where necessary, and work collaboratively with external organisations to amplify our voice and asks and strengthen our position as a thought leader. 

 KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

· Review and define the advocacy strategy for 25/26 in line both with moving political environment and Magic Breakfast’s influencing agenda, considering the systemic barriers to ending child morning hunger for good.

· Develop and maintain close relationships with the Department for Education and other key departments including Department for Health and Social Care and Treasury, to secure hunger and child focus as key priorities for breakfast provision.

· Develop, monitor and evaluate influencing plans for each devolved nation

· Support the development of influencing plans with coalition groups and organisations to influence school breakfast policy, commitments and implementation

· Review policy positions in Wales and Northern Ireland and define our advocacy approach, gaining external insights and analysing available research and data to shape the plan

· Develop a vision for advocacy beyond current demands, considering political appetite and gaining insight from lived experience communities and relevant sectors, to ensure that we are clear on future asks, and can build the foundation towards them.

· Work with Impact and Insights team to define future research needs to meet our longer-term advocacy plans

· Enhance and establish internal processes and ensure good internal information dissemination 

· Work closely with key internal stakeholders to shape advocacy work and support broader organisational objectives

· Embed learnings and develop a fail fast, learn fast culture in the team

· Coach, support and lead direct reports enabling increased professional development, strategic decision making, proactive project management and robust political influencing

· Contribute to and help shape the work of the Core Management Group to ensure ongoing alignment for in year implementation of the strategic plan and create integrated future year plans which meet organisational goals

· Monitor and review KPIs to monitor and measure both team and cross organisational performance, using the results to guide teams and surface learnings

· Assess areas of risk and escalate where necessary and according to policy

· Develop and monitor annual team budgets

General

• Work collaboratively across the organisation, building good working relations and providing ad-hoc support to other teams and members of staff

• Passion and commitment to Magic Breakfast’s aim of alleviating morning hunger as a barrier to learning for children in the UK.

• Help to maintain a positive working environment; keeping the vision of Magic Breakfast at the heart of everything we do. 

• Share Magic Breakfast’s commitment to Diversity, Equality and Inclusion

• Establish and ensure existing Ways of Working are adhered to across team

• Adhere to all Magic Breakfast policies and procedures and ensure that all activity is compliant with current legislation, GDPR, data protection and child safeguarding requirements

• Undertake any other duties commensurate with the role

 PERSON SPECIFICATION

Knowledge and Experience

Essential

· Strategy development, demonstrating a deep understanding of how to craft, implement, and evolve strategies that align to operational outcomes for the Policy and Advocacy function as well as enabling our organisation strategy in our aim to end child morning for good.

· Stakeholder management and partnership building with extensive experience of engaging, influencing, and collaborating with diverse stakeholders, including senior political figures, policymakers, funders and sector leaders.

· Ability to confidently and flexibly deal with volatile political environment, anticipating potential developments and adapting to emerging situations to meet aims

· Highly experienced in developing and shaping policy positions, using insights, research and data sets to inform and guide decision-making

· Understanding and experience of the role of the broader external environment to shape policy asks and political influencing, including the implications of a policy ask in one sector on another.

· Experience of influencing key political events such as budgets, national elections and the legislative process.

· Significant experience of coaching, supporting and managing the development of a team, with the ability to make difficult decisions and challenge where needed to deliver the organisational strategy.

Desirable

· Experience of education, food insecurity, child poverty or childcare sectors

Skills and Abilities

• Effective leadership mentality with confidence to step away from the detail and delegate responsibility, enabling others to use judgements, make decisions, learn from failures and continuously improve.

• Analytical and evidence based decision making, with the ability to turn data and analysis into policy and advocacy related recommendations or outcomes for action.

• Effective planning, prioritisation and project management skills. Able to organise self and team to meet planned objectives and strategic direction with the ability to pivot and manage the unexpected.

• Strong, influential and impactful interpersonal and communication skills and to advocate for own specialism, department and Magic Breakfast's mission, effectively conveying the organisation's impact and needs to a wide range of audiences.

• Operational and financial acumen and analysis: understanding and practical application of knowledge as required around funding considerations, budget development and management, risk management, and ensuring systems in place for efficiency by setting and maintaining policy and procedural frameworks.

• An outward looking and forward thinking approach that drives a sense of curiosity, innovation and continuous improvement. Always thinking what can we learn from others, what new developments can be explored and what are the opportunities for the function to improve and grow with others too.

WHAT WE OFFER

At Magic Breakfast we value our employees and work hard to develop offer a supportive, respectful culture which enables everyone to bring their whole self to work.

Please find attached our job pack

APPLICATION PROCCESS

Should you wish to discuss the role before applying please email our People and Culture Team, recruitment @ magicbreakfast. com

Shortlisting - w/c 5th May

Interview 1 - 15th and 16th May

Interview 2 - w/c 21st May

We reserve the right to close the vacancy early if a high volume of applications are received. This is to ensure that we can manage application levels whilst maintaining a positive candidate experience. Unfortunately, once a vacancy has closed, we are unable to consider further applications.