Befriending jobs

Manager (Chief Executive) – Chorlton Good Neighbours
Location: Chorlton, Manchester
Salary: £35,000 - £40,000 per annum
Contract: Permanent, full time

Could you be the steady, friendly, hands-on leader who helps more people in Chorlton feel connected, fulfilled and valued?

About Chorlton Good Neighbours
Chorlton Good Neighbours is a small, well-loved neighbourhood charity with roots back to the late 1960s, working to reduce loneliness and support older people across Chorlton and adjacent neighbourhoods. Our work is local, practical and volunteer-led: befriending, home visits, transport, weekly activities, monthly teas, intergenerational groups and occasional day trips are all delivered with warmth and care.

Our volunteer base is extraordinary - around 100 volunteers support drivers, befrienders, activity leads, admin roles and trustees - and in 2024–25 we supported 474 people in total. Funding is a mixed model of public grants, local donations and modest earned income and the charity holds healthy funds to deliver our work.

This is a practical, hands-on, delivery-focused leadership role: you will lead a neighbourhood organisation through planned transition, preserving the community culture that makes CGN trusted, while introducing proportionate systems and succession approaches that secure its future. You will also spend substantial time supporting and supervising volunteers and facilitating activities alongside strategic duties.

As our next Manager (Chief Executive), you will:

• Strategy & Impact: Lead the development and delivery of a clear long-term strategy that sustains CGN’s neighbourhood impact and reduces social isolation amongst older people.

• Governance & Finance: Strengthen proportionate financial controls, grant monitoring and reporting while working closely with trustees including the Treasurer.

• Operational Leadership: Manage day-to-day delivery of volunteer-led services and introduce accessible procedures and safeguarding arrangements.

• Income Generation: Support fundraising and bid activity to secure multi-year funding and diversify local income streams.

• Community & Partnerships: Act as CGN’s visible ambassador, maintaining and developing relationships with Manchester City Council, NHS partners and local organisations.

• Volunteer Development: Recruit, induct and support volunteers and facilitators, building a resilient volunteer pipeline and clear role pathways.

• Brand & Profile: Promote CGN’s offer across local channels to maintain footfall, attract new supporters and celebrate members’ stories.

• Premises & Risk: Work with trustees on lease and premises issues and maintain a robust risk register to protect continuity of service.

Who you are

• An experienced, hands-on manager with significant experience of running small, community-facing charities or local services and a hands-on approach to operational delivery.

• Demonstrable expertise in recruiting, supporting and retaining volunteers, with confidence in DBS/safeguarding practice and volunteer supervision.

• Highly organised with strong event/activity planning skills, practical problem solving and attention to detail.

• Financially literate - comfortable with budgeting, grant monitoring and basic financial controls and able to work with volunteer finance leads.

• An excellent communicator: approachable, diplomatic and skilled at building trust with older people, volunteers, trustees and statutory partners.

• Values driven, emotionally resilient and committed to inclusivity and dignity in later life.

• Desirable: experience of Age-Friendly programmes or befriending schemes and local credibility or knowledge of Manchester/South Manchester.

Why Chorlton Good Neighbours?

• Meaningful local impact - lead a well-regarded neighbourhood charity with deep community trust and a broad activities programme.

• Strong volunteer culture - join an organisation supported by around 100 committed volunteers and an engaged trustee board.

• Secure footing to build from - healthy funds and a clear focus on securing multi-year funding and premises.

• Hands-on role with strategic scope - keep delivery at the heart of the job while developing proportionate systems and succession planning.

• Supportive transition - trustees have planned a careful handover and you will be supported through induction and the subsequent recruitment of a part-time assistant.

For full details of the role including how to apply, please download the full appointment brief. For an informal and confidential conversation about this position, please contact Jenny Hills at Harris Hill via the apply button with times to speak and (optional but appreciated) a CV or professional profile which will be treated with the strictest confidence.

Closing date for applications: 9am, Monday 13th April 2026

As leading charity recruitment specialists and a certified B Corp, Harris Hill is committed to high and ever-improving standards of equitable and inclusive recruitment. We actively welcome applications from all sections of the community regardless of age, disability, gender, race, religion, sexuality and other protected characteristics.

Senior Caseworker – Pathways

Location: Disability Action & Advice Centre, 4, Waldegrave Road, Teddington TW11 8HT

Contract: Permanent, Full-time, 35 hours per week

Salary: £30,000 to £36,000 (depending on experience)

Ruils is run by, and for, Disabled people. We exist to remove the barriers that prevent Disabled people from living independent lives. Our vision is a society where all individuals have choice and control to live independently. We provide information, advice, advocacy, befriending and activities to our clients and their families.

Pathways is a specialised welfare advice service that provides information, advice, advocacy and representation for Disabled adults (over the age of 18) living in the Richmond Borough. We work with clients, supporting them to navigate the complex Housing, Benefits and Social Care systems. In this role, you would be providing information, guidance and advice to Disabled people and their families, enabling them to have more choice and control over their lives.

We are also part of a larger network of Disabled-led advice services. Working together, we have developed pathways for Disabled trainee case workers, collated data on Housing and Benefits issues and have fed into important consultations and campaigns.

This is a unique and rewarding opportunity for you to work one-to-one with clients to effect change, whilst also having a positive impact on the wider system.

We are looking for someone who:

• Will bring experience of supporting people with complex welfare, housing or social care issues.
• Is confident advocating on behalf of clients when needed.
• Has an understanding of the welfare benefits system, disability rights and the Social Model of Disability.
• Can break down complex information so it feels clear and manageable.
• Works in a calm, methodical way, keeping accurate records.
• Is compassionate, patient and values-driven.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Provide timely and accurate advice on welfare benefits, housing and social care to support Disabled people to live independently.
• Analyse clients’ situations, identify solutions and guide them through complex systems, signposting where appropriate.
• Work with clients on a short to medium term basis, helping with referrals, forms, letters, appeals and navigating processes.
• Support clients to gather evidence and prepare for Benefit or Housing applications and appeals, ensuring deadlines are met.
• Attend key meetings and appeals with clients, advocating for them and helping them put their case forward confidently.
• Develop accessible information resources (guides, bulletins) to help clients navigate health, care, benefits and housing systems.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with partners, contributing to forums, campaigns and shared problem-solving.
• Provide supervision and support to trainee caseworkers, including induction, case file reviews and contributing to their development.

What we can offer you:

• A vibrant and interesting work environment – every day is different.
• An experienced and supportive leadership team.
• Training and development opportunities.
• Flexible working.
• Kind and caring colleagues who work as a team.
• A cycle to work scheme.
• An employee assistance programme (EAP).

We operate a Guaranteed Interview Scheme. We will guarantee an interview to all Disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the post. Please state in a cover letter if you wish us to consider you for this Guaranteed Interview Scheme.

A full Job Description and Person Specification can be downloaded below. To apply, please visit our recruitment page via the ‘Apply’ button

Closing date: 17 April 2026.

Interviews: 19 May 2026 (face-to-face).

Volunteer Centre Hackney is a thriving charity (annual income circa £1.1m, with 29 paid staff) providing volunteering infrastructure to the voluntary sector across the City of London and the London borough of Hackney. We support over 1500 residents a year to realise their skills and passions through volunteering and social action, and to share these for the benefit of others. We also provide volunteering resource, and advice and guidance on best practice in volunteer management, to hundreds of charities and community organisations.

Through our specialist programmes, our impact on the lives of residents is huge. We match volunteers to housebound residents to help them engage with communities and leave their homes; we provide long term personalised support to people with mental health conditions and learning disabilities to help them volunteer and find paid jobs; we support patients to deliver hundreds of their own activities and peer support groups at GP practices across City and Hackney; and in partnership with Public Health, we support over 250 Community Health Champions to share vital health messaging with their own diverse communities.  

This is a hands-on and strategic role for an experienced fundraiser who thrives in a small to medium sized charity environment. You will have autonomy to develop a whole new fundraising strategy, utilising diverse fundraising methods, and building and developing new project ideas and partnerships. You will lead on income generation primarily through sourcing and applying to multiple trusts and foundations, but diversified by building new corporate partnerships, community campaigns and individual giving. You will build authentic relationships with funders and supporters, and together with VCH colleagues, will identify new programme models as ways to generate income. You will contribute to the development and production of compelling stories, evidence and marketing and build and maintain the infrastructure needed to track and achieve progress against annual income targets.

Post holders need to have excellent communication skills, to represent the charity in writing and in person. You must be enthusiastic, self-motivating and confident to work primarily alone, but also able to engage and collaborate with staff from across the organisation to share information and impact evidence to support your role. If you are successful in securing funding there will be the potential to recruit additional support, and for you to become the Head of Fundraising of a small team.

Age UK Westminster is delighted to offer a role within our successful Information and Advice Team, with a focus on supporting Westminster residents from Global Majorities, gaining skills and knowledge to develop your career in I&A.

The successful applicant will benefit from working within an experienced and friendly team. Full training, including completion of Level 3 Information and Advice certification, will be provided. If you are fluent in one of the following languages, Arabic, Somali or Bengali, and would like to  work with us to enable our team to better support non-English speaking Westminster older residents to access our Information and advice service, this could be the role for you.

This is a real opportunity to build a career in Information and Advice. Join us to make a real difference to the older residents of Westminster.

Closing Date: 8th April

Personal Independence Coordinator

Salary £29,571.20 Full Time 35 hours per week

Do you want a job that makes a positive difference in people’s lives?

Age UK Croydon’s very successful PIC service for older people in Croydon is recruiting for a new Personal Independence Coordinator.

PICs work alongside health and care professionals within a neighbourhood team, adopting a multidisciplinary approach to working with people who have long term health and social care needs. The PICs provide critical links between formal health and social care services and the wider community support networks. We have adapted our way of working in response to COVID, helping older people to access technology and connect in new and exciting ways.

Full training will be provided; the important qualities we are looking for are:

• Excellent communication and listening skills
• A positive attitude and the ability to problem solve
• A cheerful, friendly, outgoing personality
• Highly organised with the ability to manage multiple priorities
• The ability to work flexibly, alone and as part of a team.

We regret we shall not be able to contact applicants who are not shortlisted for interview.

Closing date for applications: 9am Wednesday 1st April 2026

Interview Dates: Wednesday 8th April 2026