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Main purpose of job:To work in the Navigator team supporting individuals who have or are experiencing sexual violence and or sexual abuse. As a first contact worker, you will act as a gateway to both specialist counselling and advocacy services and additional specialist support services in Essex. You will use your considerable experience to provide a high-quality telephone information and support service.
The support you deliver will help individuals on their pathway to wellbeing, recovery, and social inclusion through building trusting and collaborative relationships. You will guide users to make informed decisions about their own wellbeing, maximising their independence and engaging in appropriate community or clinical resources/interventions.
You will work within a team of first contact navigators under the supervision of a service lead. You will be highly motivated and dedicated, have strong communication, interpersonal and negotiation skills with the ability to work under minimal supervision.
Start date: As soon as possible (subject to Enhanced DBS Check and satisfactory references).
Salary:£26,496 - £28,845 (NJC Scales 12-17) per annum, pro-rata.
Contract: This will be a permanent contract.
Hours: 35 hours per week.
Place of work: CARA premises in Colchester and some remote home working if a suitable environment is available. Some travel to other locations in Essex may be required, particularly during the induction period.
Holiday: 25 days per year, pro-rata, plus additional closure days between Christmas and New Year.
To apply: Please complete the application form, which can be downloaded from our website, explaining how your skills and experience relate to the person specification.
Applications must specifically address each essential and desirable criteria, giving evidence from previous experience or qualifications.
Application deadline: 10am Friday 24th July 2026
Interviews: Week beginning 3rd August 2026
Start date: Immediate, subject to receipt of satisfactory references and enhanced DBS check.
Mandatory Training Dates: To be confirmed.
This post is restricted to women applicants under the Equality Act 2010, Schedule 9, Part 1
Job Description
The First Contact Navigator posts will play a central role in the CARA team, ensuring that our service users and other agencies receive a high-quality service from the moment of first contact. You will work as part of a wider team of First Contact Navigators across Essex, based at our Synergy Essex Partner centres. The post liaises with clients, the CARA team and external agencies, providing advice, support and information.
The First Contact Navigator will engage with individuals who are experiencing, or who have experienced, sexual violence and or sexual abuse who require information, signposting and short-term support. You will be the first contact and conduct first meetings, managing your own caseload and co-ordinating personalised support for individuals on their pathway to wellbeing. You will have strong communication, interpersonal and negotiation skills with the ability to work under minimal supervision. You will support people who use CARA services to make informed decisions about their wellbeing, maximising their independence and engaging in appropriate community or clinical resources. You will work collaboratively with service users, the CARA team and other professional agencies to navigate and coordinate services.
At the outset, the main responsibilities of the post will be:
About CARA
CARA (Centre for Action on Rape and Abuse) works with victims and survivors of sexual violence and child sexual abuse, providing independent, specialist support and promoting and representing their rights and needs.
CARA is a registered charity working with adults of all genders, young people and children from across mid and north Essex. We have a head office in Colchester and outreach premises in Braintree, Chelmsford, Clacton-on-Sea, Great Dunmow and Harwich. We also provide remote services.
CARA seeks to be an inclusive organisation that actively encourages, supports and values diversity amongst both our service-users and our workers. We wish to create a culture in which discrimination, in all its forms, is recognised and addressed.
You can read more about CARA’s commitment to diversity and inclusion here. We encourage and welcome applications from candidates from diverse backgrounds.
About Synergy Essex
CARA is part of Synergy Essex – the Essex Rape and Sexual Abuse Partnership. We work closely with SERICC Rape and Sexual Abuse Specialist Service and Southend-on-Sea Rape Crisis (SOS Rape Crisis) to deliver the contract for the Office for the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner for Essex for services for victims and survivors of sexual violence and child sexual abuse across Essex.
Two positions:
We have recently been awarded a transformative multi-year grant from The National Lottery Community Fund as part of its Health Inequities: Structural Racism and Discrimination Partnership. We are one of ten national partners working alongside The National Lottery Community Fund and will take a leading role in shaping how the partnership operates, including building evidence, influencing policy and practice, supporting the design of new national funding programmes, and facilitating collective learning across the partnership.
Alongside this, the centrepiece of our participation will be the delivery of three Anti-Racism Collaboratives (ARCs), each based in a specific locality and rooted in communities experiencing the sharpest health inequities. The initial locations are Greater Manchester, the London Borough of Lambeth and the London Borough of Barking & Dagenham.. ARCs will bring together voluntary, community and social enterprise organisations (VCSE), faith organisations, people with lived experience, primary and secondary care providers, local authorities, public health and social care partners. Each ARC will convene a Co-Production Panel (CPP) of people from minoritised ethnic communities to identify where structural racism produces inequitable health outcomes, and to co-produce evidence-led solutions that improve health and tackle the wider determinants of health.
We are recruiting two Changemakers, one each for Greater Manchester and for Barking & Dagenham. As a Changemaker, you will establish and support an ARC within one of our pilot localities, bringing together stakeholders, providing strategic advice and knowledge of research methods and policy opportunities. You will support the design and implementation of health intervention programmes decided on by the ARC that have the power to influence policy, practice and systems.
Working as part of a national team of Changemakers, you will also contribute to the Foundation's evidence, influencing and systems change work, connecting learning from your locality to national policy, while bringing national developments back into local action. Together, the team will develop a replicable model for tackling racial health inequities.
We are looking for an experienced systems change practitioner who is passionate about tackling structural racism and improving health equity. This highly collaborative leadership role requires someone equally comfortable working alongside people with lived experience, senior leaders across health and local government, and colleagues from the voluntary and community sector. Success will depend on your ability to build trusted partnerships, work strategically in complex environments, translate evidence into action, and create the conditions for lasting systems change.
Person Specification
Essential
Demonstrable experience of leading complex, multi-agency change involving communities, VCSE organisations and statutory partners.
Strong understanding of how systemic racism operates within health and wider public systems
Experience of identifying opportunities to redesign policy, commissioning, organisational practice or partnerships to reduce racial inequities.
Experience of leading or facilitating programmes that sought to tackle systemic racism through systems or organisational change.
Ability to build trusted relationships across organisations with different priorities and levels of influence, exercising sound judgement in complex and politically sensitive environments.
Significant experience of working alongside communities experiencing racial inequities to co-produce evidence-led solutions that influence policy, organisational practice or systems.
A commitment to trauma-informed and strengths-based approaches that recognise community knowledge as equal to professional expertise.
Experience of synthesising qualitative and quantitative evidence and translating it into practical recommendations that influence policy, commissioning, organisational practice or wider systems change.
Excellent communication and influencing skills, with experience of using evidence and partnership working to shape policy, commissioning or organisational practice.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to communicate complex ideas clearly to diverse audiences.
Ability to work strategically while maintaining oversight of programme delivery.
Ability to work confidently in ambiguity, adapting approaches in response to evidence, community insight and changing organisational contexts.
Commitment to equity, anti-racism and the values of the Race Equality Foundation.
Desirable
Experience of working within health and care systems.
Experience of analysing ethnicity-disaggregated data or wider health inequalities evidence.
Experience of Action Learning, organisational development or other systems change methodologies.
Knowledge of the VCSE, statutory and community landscape within the locality.
Experience of organisational improvement or quality frameworks such as REMI.
For the full job description see attachment.
Applications will only be accepted via application form on our portal. We will not accept any applications via CV.
Please note, we can only accept applications from those already eligible to work in the UK.
Tackling racism, transforming lives.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
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Actively Interviewing
This organisation is scheduling interviews as applications come in. They're ready to hire as soon as they find the right person. Don't miss your opportunity, apply now!
We're looking for an experienced and motivated fundraiser to build on our strong foundations, develop new opportunities, and help ensure that The Gatehouse can continue providing life-changing support to adults experiencing homelessness, poverty and exclusion. Applications will be considered on a rolling basis until a successful appointment is made.
Provide sanctuary now and support for the future, helping people experiencing homelessness, poverty and social exclusion to build lives of dignity.



The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
The Head of Public Fundraising is a new role at Coeliac UK leading the charity’s public fundraising function. The role focusses on driving sustainable growth across individual giving, community fundraising, events, lottery, raffle, digital fundraising and merchandise. This role is responsible for delivering Coeliac UK’s 5-year fundraising strategy to maximise return-on-investment, grow long term supporter value, and contribute to the charity’s mission.
The Head of Public Fundraising will embed and deliver comprehensive fundraising strategies, growing Coeliac UK’s supporter base and income, building up new and under-developed income streams and communicating effectively with their audiences to expand their reach, and encourage financial and non-financial support to deliver the organisations mission.
Who are we looking for?
Key to the success of this role is a strong understanding of individual giving fundraising. This role blends the strategic oversight and leadership of a Head of role across multiple income streams, with the hands-on expertise of an IG fundraiser. Experience across other income streams and areas of fundraising delivery would be a huge benefit as the role leads community fundraising and events, will take on digital fundraising - currently led by the Chief Engagement Officer, as well as manage the data and supporter care functions, but experience in individual giving is essential as Coeliac UK has defined that as an area of priority income.
The successful candidate for this role will be someone who has already operated at a senior level within a charity such as at Senior Manager level, or Head of in a specific income stream.
Hybrid working
The role has a hybrid expectation of a minimum of a day a week in the High Wycombe office (HP11 2QW) to build relationships and provide support to the fundraising team, and there will be flexibility required for other in person meetings and events. However, Coeliac UK are keen to secure the very best candidate, if the hybrid expectation presents challenge for you but you otherwise meet the requirements of the role, please do get in touch with THINK to discuss.
Application notes
Please download the Candidate Info Pack provided for further information about the role, timelines and next steps.
To progress your application, please contact THINK Recruitment to organise an informal screening call. Please note, we cannot shortlist candidates who have not had a screening call so please allow enough time to have a call before the closing date.
If you need assistance with downloading the pack or any reasonable adjustments to ensure you can engage with the selection process, please contact THINK Recruitment and our team will support you.
Closing date for applications: Midnight Tuesday 21st July
There will be a two-stage interview process:
Stage 1 interviews: 30th July
Stage 2 interviews: 5th August