Children and families jobs in milton keynes, central bedfordshire

Location: Homebased

Contract: Full time, permanent

Salary: £26,500 gross per annum

Closing Date: 16 June 2025

Interviews: 24 June 2025

Are you a Training Support Officer looking for a new opportunity?

The Marine Society & Sea Cadets (MSSC) is the leading maritime charity for youth development and lifelong learning. We are a vibrant and growing charity inspiring young people to achieve their potential through challenge and nautical adventure and enabling seafarers and maritime professionals to realise their potential through learning and career development. Working with our employees, cadets, and volunteers, we have built a strong vision and five-year Future Ready strategy to meet the growing demand for what we provide, both for young people, seafarers and maritime professionals – and the thousands who aspire to be the sea cadets and marine professionals of the future. It is also about equipping them to achieve their potential and thrive in a rapidly changing world, while growing our charity to benefit even more people – including those from under-represented or marginalised groups.

We are currently looking for a Training Support Officer to join our team.

About the role

This role provides tactical and targeted support to our District teams as we seek to enable our volunteers to deliver training to both cadets and volunteers in line with the Sea Cadets Learning Strategy.  This post is responsible for supporting the delivery of the district training, including Royal Marine Cadet (RMC) training activity at Troop level. The work location can be flexible (home or office-based) requiring regular evening and weekend working supporting our volunteers by attending virtual meetings and delivering online training.

Responsibilities

• To provide functional support to our area Training Managers and District and RMC Troop Teams, ensure the district training plans are delivered, amended as necessary throughout the year, to the training plan and in line with identified training needed to best support the delivery of the Sea Cadet Experience.
• To support specific District Teams including the District Training Officer (DTO), District Recreational Officer/ Deputy District Officer (DRO/DDO), District Staff Officers (DSO), and RMC Troop Commanders (Trp Cdr) identified as requiring support under our change management process.
• To work closely with all District Officers to increase the number of certificated, current and competent instructors, and develop the capability and capacity of District Instructors to deliver training to cadets and volunteers across all Districts.
• To support the ATOs/DTOs/RMC Troops in all training matters (including uniformed and unit management teams) with a specific focus on Districts/Troops that need support.
• Support our Programmes and Virtual Training Manager with the co-ordination the of delivery of appropriate MSSC and other approved training packages (including BTEC, Duke of Edinburgh’s Award) appropriate to the age and experience of cadets across the organisation.
• Work under the leadership of our Assistant Director Sea Cadet Learning monitor performance against set targets set by the National Support Centre to ensure equitable access for cadets and adults to the Sea Cadet Experience.

Requirements

• • Experience in working with youth groups and awareness and understanding on the challenges young people face.
  • Experience in coordinating and supporting a programme of training activity.
  • Experience in coaching and mentoring volunteers.
  • Experience of drawing data to create support plans for delivery of activity.
  • Experienced trainer with the ability to deliver engaging and impactful training.

For further information, please download the Recruitment Pack.

If you are interested in this role, please apply now!

Benefits

• • 25 days annual leave per annum, increasing with length of service
  • Hybrid working for many roles
  • Volunteering Leave
  • Life assurance (4x salary)
  • Private medical insurance
  • Generous pension (employer contribution up to 10%)
  • Cycle to work scheme
  • Wellbeing portal and EAP with 121 counselling
  • Employee development: We are investing in our employees' development and have an annual calendar of learning and development opportunities, designed to support employees to develop into their roles and stretch them to achieve their full potential.

Additional Information

MSSC positively encourages applications from suitably qualified and eligible candidates from all backgrounds. Equity, diversity, and inclusion really matters to us, so we can best serve our beneficiaries from every community. We work to ensure a fair and consistent recruitment process and aim to be a charity where diversity of experience, identity and skills are valued and welcomed. MSSC is an equal opportunities employer.

We recognise our responsibilities to safeguard and protect the young people and vulnerable adults with whom we work. We do all we can to promote their health, safety and wellbeing, and we expect our staff to share this commitment and work in line with safeguarding policy, the MSSC’s values and ethos of inclusivity. We adhere to safer recruitment practices and therefore employment is subject to detailed pre-employment checks for successful candidates, including references and criminal disclosure checks and the completion of a disclosure questionnaire. 

All successful applicants are required to attend safeguarding training and undergo pre-employment checks including a criminal record check.

Job Title: Training and Development Officer

Location: Home-based, covering the South

Salary: £26,000 (pro-rata), you’d get £17,820 (gross)

Hours: 29.6 hours to be worked flexibly over 4 days

Contract: fixed-term to end of March 2028, Term Time Only

About us:

Learning through Landscapes is the UK’s leading school grounds charity, dedicated to enhancing outdoor learning and play for all. Our vision is a society where the benefits of regular time outdoors are valued and appreciated, and outdoor learning, play and connection with nature is recognised as a fundamental part of education, at every stage, for every child and young person.

We have unrivalled expertise based on three decades of experience, practical action and research. With offices in England and Scotland and staff based across the UK, our team and our accredited network of outdoor learning experts have the capacity to work nationally and internationally. Click HERE for more information.

What you’ll be doing:

As a Training and Development Officer, you will be working directly with teachers and other education staff supporting their journeys in taking curriculum learning and play outside and to utilise their school grounds. You will deliver LtL’s training and projects within diverse communities across a significant geographical area. This role is part of our exciting new climate change education initiative. It is essential that you are able and willing to travel across the South of England and throughout the UK, including overnight. For more details of the role see the Key Responsibilities document.

What you’ll need:

· To be based in Hampshire/Hampshire borders

· To be able to cover early evening training sessions throughout the area this role covers

· Experience of delivering projects with diverse communities

· Experience of training and advising educational staff in primary or secondary schools.

· Experience of delivering outdoor nature-based and curriculum linked learning activities

· A passion for nature

· Experience of producing written materials; educational resources, reports, and similar project related communications

· Competent IT skills (particularly Microsoft Office, Teams and Outlook)

· Excellent planning and organisational skills with the ability to manage and deliver a varied workload

· Excellent problem-solving skills and ability to find creative solutions

· Good interpersonal skills

· An understanding of the role safeguarding plays in education

· Ability to work from home or suitable office-type venue

If you don’t have all of the above but feel it could be the role for you, talk to us!

What we offer:

· Flexible working

· Holiday, 28 days + bank holidays + a “birthday gift” day

· Laptop, phone and all travel & subsistence expenses

· Family & carer friendly policies

· Annual training package including: LtL Professional Accreditation in Outdoor Learning and Play, LtL Climate School 180 Network Training package

· Sick pay

· Pension scheme – 5% employer contribution

· Subsidised Christmas meal

· A supportive and welcoming team of colleagues, including our 20+ Delivery Team members.

We’re an equal opportunities employer. All suitable applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, colour, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, or veteran status.

We are actively seeking to increase diversity within our workforce and are committed to recruiting the best people on the objective basis of their skills, ability and experience. We offer a guaranteed interview to eligible applicants who choose to opt-in to the scheme and can demonstrate that they have at least 6 out of the 11 from the “what you need” list. To be eligible to apply via the Guaranteed Interview Scheme, you must be from an ethnic minority. Please state clearly in your covering letter if you are applying under the Guaranteed Interview Scheme.

We are happy to support with any reasonable adjustments that are needed within the recruitment process.

We are looking for a Development Manager to lead TortureID into the next stage of its organisational development.  This is an exciting opportunity to play a vital role in a dynamic human rights charity, working across the asylum and health sectors.

Please visit our website, download our Advert and the Person Specification and Job Description to find out more about TortureID and the Development Manager role.  If you would like an informal discussion about the role before applying, please get in touch.

We are looking for a Finance Officer to join our team to administer the financial affairs of the District. This role will include working closely with the District Secretary and Treasurer to implement financial policies and controls, assisting with preparing budgets and accounts, managing payroll, processing receipts and payments and maintaining appropriate accounting records. 

Role Purpose and Objectives

To administer the financial affairs of the District including preparing budgets and accounts, managing payroll, processing receipts and payments and maintaining appropriate accounting records. 

Responsibilities

Financial Controls and Policies

• Support the District Treasurer to implement proper financial policies and controls, ensuring appropriate accounting codes for churches and charities are complied with.

Budgets and Accounts

• Assist the District Secretary, Treasurer and Resourcing Mission Committee to prepare budget and circuit assessments for the District with reference to the District Mission Plan.
• Work with the District Secretary and Treasurer to prepare annual accounts for the District, including liaising with the auditors and helping to draft the Trustees’ Annual Report, particularly with regard to accounting practice and policies.
• Support the District Secretary as needed to ensure compliance with the Methodist Church and Charity Commission requirements, including supplying the information for HMRC P11D forms.

Payroll

• Ensure District employees’ and ministers’ payroll information is correct and liaise with the central Methodist payroll bureau so that staff are paid on time.

Administration of Bank Accounts

• Monitor cash flow and administer transfers between bank accounts.
• Set up approved payments in online banking and liaise with signatories to authorise these for payment.
• Liaise with the Treasurer and/or District Secretary on transactions with the Central Finance Board and Trustees for Methodist Church Purposes, preparing paperwork to facilitate drawdown of funds.
• Administer changes to banking mandates.
• Administer changes to Direct Debits and Standing Order instructions.

Receipts and Payments/Book-keeping

• Check invoices and expenses claims for accuracy, before sending to authorised persons for approval.
• Record all bank transactions for all bank accounts on a monthly basis.
• Produce monthly fund summaries, with detailed analyses.
• Provide monthly ‘sub-accounts’, where required, for specific projects

Other key tasks

• Manage the District’s Financial Record systems, including archiving information as necessary
• With the District Secretary, review and renew the District’s Insurance Policies. 
• Maintain the District’s Asset Register.
• Other duties commensurate with the role as agreed with the District Secretary.

For an informal conversation about the role please contact Lisa Murphy, District Secretary. To apply, please complete the application form and submit by the closing date and time. CVs will not be accepted. 

Interviews to take place during the week beginning 7th July 2025.