An exciting opportunity to be involved in the development of a growing adult literacy charity as it expands across Central England
One in 20 adults in the UK has never learnt to read at all. This can have a serious impact on their confidence and wellbeing, limiting access to training, employment, and everyday opportunities that many take for granted. Being unable to read as an adult can be isolating and dangerous, reinforces social inequality, restricts economic growth, and worsens intergenerational disadvantage - but it is never too late to learn.
Read Easy helps adults transform their lives by learning to read. It does this by supporting its growing network of locally run, volunteer-led affiliated groups that offer free, confidential, one-to-one reading coaching—both in person and online to adults - aged from 18-88.
With its free, flexible, confidential approach, Read Easy encourages people who are too embarrassed to join a class to come forward for one-to-one support. Each new reader is provided with their own personal Reading Coach, so that they can learn in private and at their own pace. Learning to read transforms their lives in many other ways as well, including enabling them to support their children’s and grandchildren’s reading, and so transfers the benefits to the next generation.
There are currently 80 affiliated Read Easy groups across England, together involving more than a thousand volunteers. Read Easy UK is the registered charity and umbrella organisation which supports this network of affiliated volunteer groups and provides the structure, training and support to enable volunteers to establish groups in new areas.
As our Central Regional Adviser, your role would be to provide strategic leadership, guidance, and oversight to ensure that all volunteer groups consistently deliver high-quality services aligned with Read Easy UK’s strategy.
You will support local volunteer leaders to strengthen group performance, and foster collaboration across affiliated groups, so that that they deliver coaching to Readers with consistent quality, and a positive and worthwhile experience is had by all.
You will also find volunteers to ‘pioneer’ three new groups in the counties where there is no Read Easy presence in the East and West Midlands and East of England and provide them and our 29 existing groups and pioneers in the region, with high-quality support. Your quality support will ensure that they provide the same for their volunteers and new Readers. From meeting (mostly online) with Team Leaders to provide one to one support, and hosting online and annual in-person volunteer forums, to delivering presentations and occaisonal training for small groups of volunteers, this is a dynamic and rewarding role.
This is a home-based post requiring flexibility, some early evening working and occaisional travel to visit groups. The role is available on either a full or part time basis (min 32 hours p/w, 85% of 37.5 hours p/w FTE).
The successful candidate will be expected to:
- Live within one of the following areas: West Midlands (Defined as the 7 metropolitan boroughs of Birmingham, Coventry, Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull, Walsall, and Wolverhampton), Warwickshire, Oxfordshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Northamptonshire, Leicestershire or Rutland;
- have been employed to work with volunteers for at least two years;
- have strong people management and interpersonal skills; excellent communication skills; and the confidence to run meetings and deliver presentations.
Salary & Benefits
- Annual Salary £25,075 (85% FTE) -£29,500 (100% FTE)
- 25 days holiday plus bank holidays and Christmas closing and 2 days volunteering leave – pro-rata for part time roles
- Company sick pay to financially support you when you are unwell (above statutory upon completion of probationary period)
- Support when extending your family – company parental and adoption pay (above statutory after 12 months service)
- Access to RewardHub – which gives retail discounts and has a ‘Wellbeing Centre’ with tools, tips, recipes, workout videos and guides which will help you to reach your own wellbeing goals
- Training and Development opportunities and resources – we are developing personal plans in this area to enhance employee experience and opportunity
- A collaborative, creative and inspiring working environment full of committed and passionate employees and inspirational volunteers
We strive to ensure our recruitment practices are fair, open, easy to access and as inclusive as possible. We aim to recruit a team which broadly reflect the local communities which we serve; to work with and learn from each other to continually improve the service we deliver to our Readers. Our Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Group is actively promoting and advancing diversity and inclusion, ensuring a culture where everyone can be themselves and thrive. We welcome you to apply and be your authentic self.
When applying for a job with us, if an applicant has a disability covered by the definition outlined within the Equality Act 2010 and can show that they meet the ‘essential criteria’ described in the person specification for the role being applied for, they are guaranteed an interview for the job for which they are applying through our Disability Confident scheme.
If you need any support with your application, please contact us,
The closing date for this post is 10:00 Tuesday 15th July 2025. Should you be shortlisted, the first round of interviews will take place online on Wednesday 23rd July, with in-person interviews, being held in Gloucestershire or West Midlands, on Tuesday 29th July 2025.
The successful candidate will be invited to meet the team on 31st July in Birmingham, should they be able to do so.
Registered Charity 
11 - 20
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
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We’re looking for a confident and well-organised fundraiser to help manage and grow our corporate partnerships. You’ll develop relationships with existing and new business supporters, deliver engaging communications, and support the growth of income from companies, all while helping to protect butterflies, moths and the environment we all depend on.
Job Purpose
• Managing and growing relationships with existing corporate donors
• Identifying and developing new corporate support
• Providing an outstanding supporter experience for our corporate supporters
Main Responsibilities
1. To directly manage a portfolio of corporate supporters, ensuring excellent stewardship and customer experience in order to meet agreed income targets and KPIs and maximise income for BC.
2. Develop and prepare tailored cases for support, proposals, reports and bespoke updates and communications to donors.
3. Identify, nurture, develop and manage new and existing corporate supporters including producing and communicating inspiring funding opportunities aimed at specific organisations.
4. Negotiate and deliver partnership agreements ensuring delivery against agreed targets and a good return on investment for the charity.
5. Monitor income targets and activities for Trading and Corporate fundraising including reporting to the BC Trading Company Board.
6. In conjunction with the Digital Manager, manage BC’s website shop portals and commercial partnerships to ensure a good level of royalties, proactive marketing, and supply of ethically sourced and sustainable goods.
7. Liaise with Communications and PR Team to ensure effective promotion of corporate and business agreements and timely reporting back on campaigns.
8. Update and maintain records of all business and corporate approaches, communications and agreements on the CRM and appropriate files.
9. Advise Branch volunteers where they seek to establish business support for their activities.
10. Where required, develop and/or follow policies and procedures on due diligence, data management, account management, stewardship, and reporting.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
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We're recruiting for an Engagement Lead, to work in our Innovation & Practice team.
As Engagement Lead you will play a central role in our team – developing, leading and managing significant projects for us, including citizens’ assemblies, citizens’ juries, deliberative workshops, and participatory processes. You will need to have a good understanding of deliberative processes, have excellent project leadership and project management skills, as well the ability to build and maintain good relationships with a wide variety of people, including members of the public, project partners, colleagues and decision-makers.
The role sits in the Innovation and Practice team that designs and delivers high quality practical engagement work leading to better decisions, more engaged citizens and helps address critical challenges of our society. We are constantly balancing high quality standards with innovation to ensure that we stay at the cutting edge and that our engagement processes break down entrenched inequalities of power.
You will be a proven project leader looking to make your next move and develop your leadership skills and profile in this interesting and important area of public participation work. We are particularly interested in candidates who have experience in the design and delivery of large scale deliberative engagement projects.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.