Development officer jobs in Bristol

For over 60 years the National Children’s Bureau (NCB) has been building a better childhood for all.

Research and Development Officer
Contract: Permanent
Work Pattern: Part Time, 28 hours per week (0.8 FTE)
Salary: £27,526 per annum, with annual salary increments for the first three years
Location: Homebased – however NCB and RiP has offices in Sheffield, Newton Abbot and Belfast that staff can work from should they choose.

The Vacancy

For over 20 years, Research in Practice has been at the forefront of supporting evidence-informed practice in adult social care. We are now looking for a passionate and experienced Research and Development Officer to join our adults’ team.

This is a fantastic opportunity for a skilled facilitator with strong experience in adult social care (or a related sector, e.g. housing, homelessness, mental health or criminal justice) who is motivated to make a real impact. While the role requires a solid understanding of research and its application, it is not a primary research post—instead, the focus is on translating evidence into meaningful learning and development opportunities.

You will play a key role in designing and delivering high-quality learning experiences, including programmes, full-day workshops, webinars, and events, working with diverse audiences such as senior leaders and practitioners.

What you’ll be doing

• Designing and delivering engaging learning and development activities for a range of audiences
• Translating complex research, policy, and legal frameworks into accessible, practical learning
• Developing high-quality outputs (e.g. publications, tools, and learning resources)
• Building strong relationships with stakeholders and supporting collaborative projects
• Managing multiple projects effectively in a varied and fast-paced environment

About you

We are looking for someone who brings:

• In-depth knowledge of adult social care, or related sectors such as criminal justice, housing and homelessness, or mental health
• Experience in facilitation and delivering learning, including workshops and webinars
• A strong understanding of research, policy, and practice frameworks
• Skills in knowledge mobilisation, with a passion for co-production and evidence implementation
• Proven experience in relationship management
• Excellent communication skills, including confident public speaking
• The ability to manage competing priorities and work flexibly (including occasional travel and overnight stays)

Research in Practice

Research in Practice is part of the National Children’s Bureau (NCB) family. For over 60 years, the NCB has been building a better childhood for all.

Research in Practice works with organisations across the adults and children’s social care, health and criminal justice sectors, supporting them to develop an evidence-informed approach to their work. Our focus is on using evidence from research, practice and lived experience, to provide resources that improve policy and services, in order to achieve positive outcomes for people of all ages.

About NCB

For more than 60 years, the National Children’s Bureau has championed the rights and amplified the voice of children and young people in the UK. We interrogate policy and uncover evidence, blending in lived and learnt experience to shape future legislation and develop more effective ways of supporting children and families.

Bringing people and organisations together is fundamental to how we improve the systems that babies, children, young people and their families rely on to thrive. We push boundaries, even looking beyond childhood itself to consider transitions into adulthood and the impact of childhood issues on an entire lifespan. We are united for better childhoods and brighter futures.

The Benefits

• 30 Days Annual Leave
• Generous Pension Scheme
• Cycle to work scheme
• Flexible Working
• Winter Holiday Closure & Break

Employee Assistance Programme

Closing date: 8am, Friday 10th July 2026
Please note that we reserve the right to close this vacancy early should we receive a high volume of applications. We encourage interested candidates to submit their applications as soon as possible .

Interested?

If you would like to find out more, please click the apply button. You will be directed to our website to complete your application for this position.

We are actively seeking to broaden the diversity of our staff group and warmly welcome applications from candidates underrepresented in the charity sector, including those from Black and Global Majority communities, disabled people, LGBTQ+ individuals, and people with lived experience of the issues NCB works on.

No agencies please.

For over 60 years the National Children’s Bureau (NCB) has been building a better childhood for all.

Research and Development Officer
Contract: Permanent
Work Pattern: Part Time, 28 hours per week (0.8 FTE)
Salary: £27, 526 per annum, with annual salary increments for the first three years
Location: Homebased – however NCB and RiP has offices in Sheffield, Newton Abbot, London and Belfast that staff can work from should they choose.

The Vacancy

We are looking for a talented Research and Development Officer to join our children and families team at Research in Practice. In this role you will develop and deliver accessible content and learning activities that promote evidence-informed practice and policy across child and family social care, youth and family justice as part of our annual delivery programme for our partners. You will also be involved in the delivery of commissioned project work.

The successful candidate will have experience designing and delivering resources, workshops, webinars, and events for a range of audiences, including senior leaders.

This is a fantastic opportunity for someone with strong written and editorial skills, excellent facilitation skills and who is confident distilling complex information into accessible learning materials. While the position requires engagement with and understanding of research, it is not a primary research role.

Key responsibilities are:

• Producing evidence-informed practice and policy resources in a range of formats (e.g. publications, videos, podcasts, animations). This includes evidence scoping, content development, commissioning, project management, editing, writing and quality assuring resources from inception to publication.
• Leading the development and delivery of concise, accessible content and learning activities to enable the development of evidence-informed practice and policy in the sector.
• Developing and facilitating learning sessions and events with a range of participants, including senior leaders across the sector.
• Working on a range of commissioned project work, from development/design through to analysis; presenting findings on completion and representing Research in Practice in project teams with academic and practice partners.
• Building strong relationships with sector experts and effectively managing relationships with authors, facilitators, people with lived experience and those working in research, policy and practice.

Research in Practice

Research in Practice is part of the National Children’s Bureau (NCB) family. For over 60 years, the NCB has been building a better childhood for all.

Research in Practice works with organisations across the adults and children’s social care, health and criminal justice sectors, supporting them to develop an evidence-informed approach to their work. Our focus is on using evidence from research, practice and lived experience, to provide resources that improve policy and services, in order to achieve positive outcomes for people of all ages.

About NCB

For more than 60 years, the National Children’s Bureau has championed the rights and amplified the voice of children and young people in the UK. We interrogate policy and uncover evidence, blending in lived and learnt experience to shape future legislation and develop more effective ways of supporting children and families.

Bringing people and organisations together is fundamental to how we improve the systems that babies, children, young people and their families rely on to thrive. We push boundaries, even looking beyond childhood itself to consider transitions into adulthood and the impact of childhood issues on an entire lifespan. We are united for better childhoods and brighter futures.

The Benefits

• 30 Days Annual Leave
• Generous Pension Scheme
• Cycle to work scheme
• Flexible Working
• Winter Holiday Closure & Break
• Employee Assistance Programme

Closing date: 8am, Wednesday 8th July 2026
Please note that we reserve the right to close this vacancy early should we receive a high volume of applications. We encourage interested candidates to submit their applications as soon as possible.

Interested?

If you would like to find out more, please click the apply button. You will be directed to our website to complete your application for this position.

We are actively seeking to broaden the diversity of our staff group and warmly welcome applications from candidates underrepresented in the charity sector, including those from Black and Global Majority communities, disabled people, LGBTQ+ individuals, and people with lived experience of the issues NCB works on.

No agencies please.

Groundwork South is seeking a motivated and experienced Senior Project Officer to lead on the delivery of our Climate Action Fund project over the next five years.

Senior Project Officer (Climate Action Fund Training and Development Lead)
Reference: CAF0626
Contract: Fixed term until June 2031
Hours: Full-Time, 37.5 hours each week
Salary: £28,000 - £32,000 per annum
Location: Home-based (with travel across England) – There is a focus on South West England during the pilot phase

About Us

Groundwork South works with communities across the south of England to transform their lives and the places where they live. We have been at the forefront of social and environmental regeneration for over 25 years, and today we have a simple mission: to create better places, improve people’s prospects, and promote greener living and working.

We are passionate about creating a future where every neighbourhood is vibrant and green, every community is strong and able to shape its own destiny, and no-one is held back by their background or circumstances. This vision drives the work that we do. Each year we deliver over 100 innovative projects, tackling the biggest issues facing our communities and creating real and lasting, positive change.

About the Project

Communities Prepared works with volunteers and communities across England to help them build the skills, confidence and knowledge needed to prepare for, respond to and recover from emergencies. This includes supporting communities to plan for climate-related risks such as flooding, storms, heatwaves, and severe weather.

Despite the successes we have had through our programme to date, we are not currently reaching diverse enough audiences and too often there are people missing from the resilience sector. This needs to change. To address this we are now embarking on an exciting new UK-wide partnership programme funded through the National Lottery Community Fund’s Climate Action Fund over the next five years.

The programme responds to growing evidence that climate-related emergencies, including extreme heat, flooding, fire, cold and severe weather, disproportionately impact marginalised communities, while those same communities are often excluded from resilience planning and decision-making.

The programme brings together Equally Ours, Communities Prepared (part of Groundwork South), and the VCS Emergencies Partnership (VCSEP, part of the British Red Cross) to strengthen climate resilience by ensuring that communities experiencing discrimination and disadvantage are at the heart of climate preparedness, response, recovery and policy-making.

Through a rights-based and co-produced approach, the programme seeks to shift climate resilience policy and practice away from models that frame communities as “vulnerable”, and towards approaches grounded in agency, participation, equality and shared responsibility.

Key Responsibilities

As Senior Project Officer, you will:

• Work with the project team to map stakeholders and co-develop a structured engagement plan to recruit and work with marginalised communities.
• Build a collaborative and trusting relationship with the partner organisations and other stakeholders for this project, ensuring this work meets their expectations and complements areas of the work programme led by others.
• Work with project participants and partners to co-design Communities Prepared material and delivery methods that are more accessible and relevant to diverse audiences.
• Lead on the delivery of resilience training and workshop sessions with diverse audiences, both in-person and online.
• Work with project participants and partners to co-design a train the trainer model that will enable diverse audiences to deliver resilience training within their own communities, amplifying reach and impact.
• Work with the core Communities Prepared team to adapt our offer with the long-term goal of the Programme reaching more diverse audiences, especially those seldom heard in this sector.

The role involves regular travel across the UK, with a focus on South West England during the project’s pilot phase.

We are looking for someone with:

• Experience in community engagement or community development.
• Experience delivering training or workshops.
• Strong organisational and project management skills.
• Excellent communication and relationship-building skills, confident to engage people from a range of different backgrounds.
• Experience working with multiple stakeholders or partners.
• Confidence working independently in a remote role.
• An interest in climate change, community resilience and wider community development.
• A willingness to travel across the country.

Closing date for applications: 11.59pm, 30th June 2026
Interview date: 15th July over MS Teams
Interview panel: Representatives from Groundwork South, Equally Ours and VCSEP (tbc)

Interested?

If you would like to find out more, please click the apply button. You will be directed to our website to complete your application for this position.

Groundwork South is an equal opportunities employer and welcomes applications from all members of the community.

No agencies please.

Join the Bumblebee Conservation Trust as a part-time Senior Project Development Officer and help secure vital funding for nature’s recovery across the UK. This permanent, part time and home-based role is ideal for an experienced bid writer and relationship builder passionate about conservation, fundraising and making a real impact for bumblebees.

The Bumblebee Conservation Trust is looking for a motivated and resilient Senior Project Development Officer to identify funding opportunities, develop compelling proposals, and build strong relationships with funders, partners and colleagues. Working closely with fundraising, conservation, science, outreach and consultancy teams, you will help grow the scale and diversity of income needed to protect bumblebees and restore habitats.

You will bring excellent communication skills, strong attention to detail and the ability to manage deadlines in a busy, collaborative environment. If you are solutions-focused, organised and excited by the chance to turn ideas into funded projects that support nature conservation, this is a rewarding opportunity to make a meaningful difference.

The Trust is an Equal Opportunities employer.  This means that whilst seeking employment or during such employment with the Trust, we will seek to ensure equality of treatment for all persons regardless of sex, race, age, marital or civil partnership status, disability, religion or belief, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, pregnancy or maternity status. 

At the Trust, we have a clear goal: to be the place where a diverse mix of talented people want to come, to stay and do their best work. We pride ourselves on reaching for our vision, through the hard work and dedication of our passionate and creative employees.

Please visit our website vacancy page to learn about the role and find out more information on how to apply. fund

Location: Remote (Based in England, Scotland & Wales with some travel required).

Salary: £28,665 - £35,280 pro rata (£22,932 – £28,224 actual)

Hours of work: 28 hours (4 days)

Contract type: Permanent

Why work for Kids Matter?

• Generous annual leave – 25 days (plus bank holidays) per year pro rata, with time off between Christmas and New Year's additional to this allowance.
• Remote working contribution – receive £26/month pro rata towards the costs of working from home and/or using a co-working space.
• Access to coaching sessions, training opportunities and our Employee Assistance Programme (a confidential support service for staff).
• Flexible working across weekdays to suit your schedule.

About us

Kids Matter is one of the UK’s fastest growing children’s charities. Our vision is to see every child in need raised in a strong family. Our mission is to reduce the impact of poverty on children through community-based parenting programmes.

Research shows that group-based early intervention parenting groups are the most effective way to support children in need. We train peer facilitators in local churches - the largest voluntary body in the country - to run our affordable, accessible and highly effective parenting programmes, written by Clinical Psychologists. They come alongside parents and carers, building long-lasting community in addition to encouraging confidence and learning positive parenting skills.

We value difference and diversity, and we want our workplace to be built on shared values of equality and mutual trust, with team members representing the wide range of backgrounds and experiences that exist within the UK. We therefore actively encourage applications from people of diverse backgrounds and varied experiences, particularly those who are African, Afro-Caribbean, Asian or part of other minority ethnic communities, who have lived experience of the impact of low-income/low-support circumstances, and who are living with a disability or identify as being neurodivergent.

About the role

The Database and Fundraising Development Officer role involves:

• Working closely with the Communications and Marketing Coordinator and Content Manager to segment data and tailor content accordingly
• Ensuring Kids Matter’s CRM (Beacon) becomes a fit for purpose tool for all things fundraising and marketing.
• Developing an excellent working understanding of GDPR and other such regulations, ensuring Kids Matter complies in how data is both collected and stored.
• Helping develop a structured and sustainable individual giving programme (both one-off and regular)

About you

Are you experienced in working with CRMs? Do you have a good understanding of digital fundraising? Are you a Christian with an active faith in Jesus? Do you have a passion for Kids Matter’s vision of seeing every child in need raised in a strong family?

Then we would love to hear from you!

How to apply

You can apply for the Database and Fundraising Development Officer position by clicking ‘Apply via Website’ and completing a copy of our online application form.

The deadline for applications is 29th June 2026. All successful and unsuccessful applicants will be notified by email.

We also ask for all applicants to submit an Equal Opportunities Monitoring Form, which will be sent to you to complete following the submission of your application. This form will be used for anonymous analysis to ensure our overall recruitment procedures are fair and transparent. It will never be viewed or used as part of the selection process. It is optional to submit this form.

If you would like any application/interview support or you need any reasonable adjustments throughout the application process, or if you would like an informal phone call to ask questions or discuss the role, please contact Katie Washington (HR & Systems Manager).

Please see the job pack for more details on the role and application process.