Assistant to chief executive jobs

Are you a highly organised project leader with a track record of developing rigorous and impactful processes? Do you want to lead the delivery of the nationally-recognised accreditation transforming mental health in higher education? This could be the role for you.

We’re looking for a methodical and strategic Programme Manager (Award) to manage the end-to-end delivery of University Mental Health Charter (UMHC) Award and act as key spokesperson for the programme. 

You’ll play a vital role in ensuring that the Award upholds its standards and values, and continues to develop and scale, supporting positive change for staff and students at universities across the UK.

About the role

• Lead the delivery of the nationally-recognised accreditation for mental health in higher education: the University Mental Health Charter Award.
• The UMHC Award recognises universities that promote the mental health and wellbeing of their university communities and supports them to continually improve. 
• You will own the end-to-end management of a complex, high-profile and impactful programme, balancing administrative excellence and strategic development.

Key responsibilities

• Drive the Award lifecycle, from onboarding universities, coordinating our network of assessors and managing the Award panel.
• Scale and continually improve the Award process, ensuring it remains rigorous, impactful and values-led.
• Act as key spokesperson and point of contact for universities and other stakeholders.
• Responsible for budget, risk and line management. 

What we’re looking for

• Proven track record of managing complex projects.
• Experience developing, maintaining and improving robust systems and processes.
• A rigorous approach to accuracy and quality control.
• Comfortable holding difficult conversations with stakeholders at all levels.
• A commitment to co-production, equality, anti-racism and an interest in mental health.

Find out more about the essential criteria for this role by downloading our Recruitment Pack from the documents section.

What you will gain

• The chance to contribute to a high-impact national programme supporting better mental health for university communities across the UK.
• Experience in a varied role with opportunities to learn and develop.
• A supportive and collaborative workplace culture that values wellbeing.
• Flexibility in how and where you work. 

How to apply
If this sounds like a good fit, we’d love to hear from you!

1. Click “Redirect to recruiter”, then scroll to the 'Vacancies and volunteering' section of our 'Join our team' page to access the job listing.
2. Download the recruitment pack in the document section at the bottom of this page, where you’ll find more information about the role including responsibilities and person specifications. 
3. Download and complete our application form - instead of collecting CVs, we use an application form to ensure fairness and equal opportunity for all. 
   1. Please refrain from including any identifying details in your application answers.
4. Upload your completed application form as a word document. 
   1. Please note that once you start your application on our portal, you will have 24 hours to upload your completed form. Before clicking 'Apply' and beginning the application process, make sure your form is fully completed and ready to upload.
5. Complete the Equality Monitoring Form.

Student Minds is committed to building an inclusive team and welcomes applications from people of all backgrounds and walks of life.

This is an exciting role in a unique organisation.  Our vision is to provide an outstanding experience for all UCL students and to be one of the best students’ unions in the UK and the world.  We aim to build a vibrant and empowered student community with real influence in UCL and beyond, that enables students to enjoy their time at university; pursue their interests and passions; see the world in new ways; and develop the skills and experience to change the world for the better.

We are a registered charity employing over 150 career staff and 300 student staff, delivering a wide range of services and representative functions for UCL students. We have the widest portfolio of services of any student organisation in the country, managing UCL’s extracurricular programmes for sport, music, drama, dance, media, volunteering, academic societies and intercultural engagement; providing a wide range of fantastic social spaces; leading on student democracy and representation across UCL; and offering excellent student support services.

It's an exciting time to join our growing organisation as we lead the delivery of UCL’s groundbreaking new Student Life Strategy. This is enabling us to build more programmes to improve students’ mental and physical wellbeing, promote genuine equity for all, build students’ skills and confidence, develop their international connections and intercultural skills, and make a real contribution to our local community.

We support hybrid working. Excellent benefits including defined benefit pension scheme and generous holiday entitlement. We are proud of high levels of staff engagement and pride ourselves on being a great place to work. We will consider applications to work on a flexible and job share basis wherever possible. 

The role is full time and permanent. This role is based at our Bloomsbury campus with flexibility to work from home on a 40/60 basis (40% working from the office).

We are looking for an Advisor to provide quality advice, information and support to students using the Advice Service, including casework and accompanying students to meetings and hearings. This is an opportunity to work as part of our Advice and Wellbeing department, ensuring students feel supported, informed and striving for positive outcomes whenever possible.

The advisor will provide support by delivering high quality and accurate advice and information to students using the Advice Service. This will include housing, academic, and employment matters, through casework, support and acting as a ‘friend’ for students in UCL committees, panels, hearings or other meetings. The successful candidate will work effectively with Union and UCL teams, including academic and professional services staff in Casework and Student Support and Wellbeing Services. They will also contribute to the production of engaging and useful content to support students needs.

Do you have experience of giving advice or support in a student or other client facing environment? Do you have knowledge of relevant issues in Academic, Housing, Employment or Consumer Advice and Casework? Are you able to understand and work within policies, procedures and regulations? If the answer is yes, then we want to hear from you.

Learning Disability Community Leader, L'Arche London

ABOUT THE ROLE

Hours of work: 37.5 hours per week (including some evening and weekend working, and regular on-call)

Salary: £55,000 (including London weighting)

Reports to: L’Arche UK Director of Care and Communities

Place of work: L’Arche London Community, West Norwood, SE27. Some travel and overnight stays will be required within the UK.

Contract type: Permanent

Closing date: Thursday, 16th April, at midday

Notes: If you have already applied for this role and received an update on your application from us, please do not submit another application.

Main purpose of the role

The Community Leader is responsible for ensuring that the Community is living the mission of L’Arche, by providing excellent and sustainable care and support services, support for  spirituality, and engaging with our neighbours and the wider community around us.

The Community Leader will:

• Lead the Community by responding to the needs, choices and context of our members while being faithful to the L'Arche UK Vision and Values, the L'Arche International Identity and Mission Statement, and to a co-created Community Mandate and plan.
• Maintain and enhance high-quality, person-centred care, support, and housing for people with learning disabilities, both at home and in our day services in partnership with the Registered Manager, the Team in London, the National Leadership Team, individual circles of support, and external partners; 
• Ensure the Community's financial sustainability through robust financial planning and management, including setting budgets, controlling spending, maximising occupancy, negotiating care contracts, growing day services, and spotting fundraising opportunities;
• Foster a culture that maximises the voice and power for people with learning disabilities, building listening and collaboration between Community members with and without learning disabilities;
• Contribute to the national work programmes of L'Arche UK, as part of the National Council, collaborating with Community Leaders of other L'Arche Communities, to share skills, best practice, and resources

Key essential criteria

• Senior leadership experience in support to adults with learning disabilities (or transferable skills and experience in a closely related field);
• Experience in leading, managing, and developing an organisation or large teams to deliver results, maintain compliance and quality, and to respond to risks and opportunities;
• Good financial planning skills and experiences of successfully managing a substantial budget;
• Ability to think strategically and work collaboratively to develop and implement community plans;
• Experience of living or working alongside people with learning disabilities and/or autistic individuals;
• Passionate about person-centred support and the values and mission of L'Arche;

This role is subject to an enhanced DBS criminal record check. 

You may have held these job titles in the past: Registered Manager, Service Manager, Head of Care, Senior Operations Lead, Community Director, Head of Community Services, Country or Regional Lead, Learning Disability Services Manager, Head of Mission and Community Life, Health & Social Care Manager, Local Authority Commissioning Lead;

You can find more details about L'Arche London here.

Additional details about L'Arche can be found here.

Discover what makes L’Arche a rewarding place to work—explore our employee benefits here.

A full job description and person specification can be found in the Recruitment Pack.

To apply, please submit your CV and include a cover letter via our online application form. 

The closing date is: Thursday, 16th April at midday

First round interviews are expected to take place either on 22nd or 23rd April 2026 online via Microsoft Teams.

Second round interviews will take place on 30th April 2026 and will take place within the L'Arche London Community. 

We encourage you not to wait until the closing date to submit your application, as we may begin interviewing strong candidates before then.
We also reserve the right to close the advert early if we receive enough suitable applications.

Please also read our privacy notice for job applicants.