Assistant to the chief executive jobs

Sahir (formerly Sahir House) is the oldest continuously operating LGBTQ+ charity in the Liverpool City Region. We are dedicated to fostering a brighter, healthier future for our communities.

We provide practical and emotional support, camaraderie and connection to:

• LGBTQ+ people
• All people living with or affected by HIV

We actively confront injustice, combat discrimination, and address inequalities. By campaigning, we strive to create a fairer and more equitable society for those we serve. Our work is insight and data-driven and our programmes are co-developed with those we serve.

What It Is Like to Work at Sahir 

We want people to enjoy working at Sahir and to feel supported, valued and able to thrive. As a health and wellbeing charity, we place strong emphasis on staff wellbeing, reflective practice and work life balance.

We offer a friendly, inclusive and supportive working environment, with access to regular supervision, training and development. Staff are encouraged to build their skills, confidence and experience in ways that support both personal growth and long-term career development.

This role offers the opportunity for a qualified counsellor to deliver high quality, ethical and affirming counselling within a specialist charity setting.

You will work with LGBTQ+ community members as well as people living with or affected by HIV, providing short term counselling within a stepped care model and a supportive multidisciplinary team. Practice is grounded in the BACP Ethical Framework and informed by the realities of stigma, identity, health and social inequality.

What We Are Looking For

We are looking for a counsellor who is:

• A qualified practitioner with a recognised counselling qualification at diploma level or above.
  
• Registered with BACP or working towards accreditation.
  
• Committed to ethical, reflective and trauma informed practice.
  
• Confident working with a range of presenting issues, including complexity.
  
• Empathic, thoughtful and able to work both autonomously and collaboratively.
  

We particularly welcome applications from counsellors with lived experience of the issues affecting LGBTQ+ communities and/or people living with HIV, while recognising that strong allies and practitioners from a wide range of backgrounds are equally valued.

Equality, Inclusion and Accessibility

Sahir is committed to equality, diversity and inclusion. We welcome applications from all suitably qualified candidates regardless of race, ethnicity, gender identity, disability, religion or belief, sexual orientation or age.

Lived experience is valued at Sahir, but it is not a requirement. We are interested in people who share our values and want to contribute positively to our communities.

You do not need to meet every requirement listed to apply. If you feel aligned with our values and excited by the role, we encourage you to apply.

We are happy to discuss reasonable adjustments at any stage of the recruitment process.

Purpose of the job

This role is responsible for the design of UK Youth’s support to young people, youth organisations and youth workers. This could include structured youth work programmes, funding and grants+ programmes, professional development programmes, and campaigns.

You will lead and oversee end-to-end design processes, ensuring that UK Youth develops fully packaged offers that respond to the evidence base and people’s needs, drive forward our strategy and achieve incredible impact. You will work across UK Youth teams, with external design partners, and meaningfully involving young people and the professionals who support them in the design process.

You will be experienced in developing high quality funding propositions (proactively and in response to new business opportunities). You will be confident in taking a human-centred design approach to tackle some of the youth sector’s knottiest problems.  You will design solutions to important problems, ensuring that they are feasible, equitable, impactful and scalable.

In 2026, our priority topics for youth work programmes and network development are: mental health and wellbeing, employability, social cohesion and community safety.

 As a leader, you will work closely with research, evaluation, policy, service delivery, network development, and fundraising teams. You will help to improve the skills and confidence of colleagues across UK Youth to apply design methods in their own work and collaborate effectively with the Design team.

Why work at UK Youth?

UK Youth wants all young people to be equipped to thrive and empowered to contribute at every stage of their lives. Youth work can be life changing (and even life saving.) In 2026, we will be launching our new strategy, positioning UK Youth to unlock youth work so that every young person in the UK can benefit. We work with others to ensure that the youth sector is strengthened and that provision is youth-led, evidence-informed, and delivers high-quality outcomes.

 UK Youth plays a unique role in addressing the lack of investment in the youth sector, the lack of cross-sector understanding in how youth work makes a difference, and the limited opportunities to embed effective solutions. These factors lead to mass inequality of access to youth services for young people. Come and be part of this change in a driven and supportive team that puts evidence at the heart of our work.

Role Responsibilities

• Designing Solutions

• Developing new business and funding propositions

• Embedding Human Centred Design

• Building a strong external network to support the Design team’s work

• Operations

Experience we're after

• Significant experience of leading and overseeing the development of new business propositions and proposals to time-limited funding opportunities

• Significant experience of designing interventions (digital and/or physical) for young people and/or those who support them 

• Experience using human-centred-design methods and mindsets; managing projects across the end-to-end design process

• Proven track record of inspiring and motivating diverse teams and improving collaborative ways of working across teams and departments

• Experience of developing high quality programme content and curricula for young people, youth workers and/or outdoor learning instructors (desirable)

• Experience of commissioning and managing external design freelancers and consultants (desirable)

• Experience of designing and/or delivering professional development programmes (desirable)

What we can offer you

We offer a competitive range of benefits, good work/life balance, excellent learning and development opportunities and vibrant organisational culture:

• Flexible/Agile Working

• 27 days annual leave plus bank holidays (pro rata for part time employees)

• Funded training provided in; Safeguarding, GDPR, Information and Cyber Security & Equality & Diversity

• Other training available in support of your personal and professional development

• Pension scheme (currently UK Youth match employee contributions up to 5%)

• Membership of our life insurance scheme which would pay-out up to 4 times your salary

• Employee Assistance Programme to support employees both professionally and personally

• 20% discount off bookings at Avon Tyrrell, our New Forest Outdoor Centre, including camping, lodges and outdoor activities.

• IT equipment provided for the duration of contract

• CycleScheme and TechScheme

How to apply

If you would like to be considered for this fantastic opportunity, please complete an application via our completely anonymised recruitment system provided by Applied which looks to create a fair and unbiased application process for all. Scroll to the top of the page and start your application.

Closing date: Sunday 4th January 2026 at 23:59pm

Provisional Interview Dates: 12th and 13th January 2026

As this role involves working in a regulated environment with young people, any offer will be conditional to satisfactory background checks, which include criminal record check and employment reference.

Salary: £29,000 – £34,000 per annum (depending on experience)
Location: Reigate, Surrey (Wayside Community)
Contract: Full-time
Occupational Requirement: Female, practising Christian
Closing Date: 23rd December 2025
Start Date: Early February 2026 (notice periods considered)

Do you have the compassion, resilience and leadership potential to support women on their journey out of homelessness?

Keychange is a Christian charity with over 100 years of experience supporting people facing vulnerability. Today, we provide specialist housing for women and young people experiencing homelessness, alongside residential care for older people across the South and Southwest of England.

We are seeking a dedicated Deputy Manager to join our specialist women’s homelessness service, Wayside Community in Reigate. This community is a 19 bed, 24-7 supported housing for women experiencing homelessness. This is an excellent opportunity for someone with strong frontline experience who is ready to step into management within a highly supportive and mission-driven team.

About the Role
The Deputy Manager plays a key role in the leadership of Wayside Community, supporting the Women’s Homelessness Lead in the day-to-day running and development of the service.

Key responsibilities include:

• Assisting the Women’s Homelessness Lead in Surrey in ensuring the smooth daily running of the Service at all times and deputising in her absence for all matters relating to the management of the Service.
• Ensure that Wayside Community complies with all statutory regulations relating to supported housing, health and safety, fire precautions etc.
• Working with the Women’s Homelessness Lead to develop performance targets and quality control measures for the benefit of the team, and monitoring team members’ work to ensure that these are met.
• In conjunction with the Women’s Homelessness Lead ensure that effective assessments and action plans are updated for all residents through a key worker system and on case files.
• In conjunction with the Women’s Homelessness Lead ensure that all safeguarding concerns, incidents and complaints are managed robustly.

Who We’re Looking For
You will bring:

• A high-performing individual who is an excellent networker that builds effective internal and external working relationships.
• Experience in delivery of support to clients.
• Agrees with Keychange mission, vision, values.
• Strong leadership, problem-solving, interpersonal, and time-management skills.
• Competent computer skills using Microsoft applications and organisational systems.

Desirable experience includes:

• Prior experience working with non-profit organisations, particularly those involved in social care and/or homeless work.
• Experience of services for women and/or young people experiencing homelessness.
• Experience of motivating and empowering colleagues, staff and/or volunteers to take responsibility for delivering a high-quality service.
• Knowledge of the range of services available to homeless people who may have complex needs or other support needs.

Occupational Requirements
This role is subject to legal Occupational Requirements under the Equality Act 2010. The postholder must both a woman and a practicing Christian. These requirements are essential due to the nature of the role, including spiritual support, trauma-informed care for women, and active church partnership development.

What We Offer

• Salary of £29,000 – £34,000
• 25 days annual leave plus bank holidays
• Hybrid working (with 4 days regularly site or community based)
• Employee Assistance Program and Life Insurance
• Contributory Pension Scheme with matched employer contributions
• Ongoing personalised learning and professional development
• A compassionate, faith-centered, values-driven culture

For more comprehensive details about the role and how to get in contact with us for an informal discussion about the opportunity, please view the job pack for this advert. 

 
How to Apply
Please submit a cover letter clearly addressing the essential and desirable criteria and an up-to-date CV focused on relevant experience.
 

Recruitment Timeline

• Application deadline: 23rd December 2025
• First stage interviews (remote): First week January 2025
• Final interviews (in person): Mid-January 2026
• Start date: Early February 2026