Director of policy jobs in Birmingham

Special Olympics GB is proud to support some of the most inspiring athletes in the world — individuals with intellectual disabilities who compete from local to international levels, breaking down barriers and showing the transformative power of sport both on and off the field of play.

As we enter an exciting new chapter, we are seeking an outstanding Director of Operations to join our Executive Leadership Team. This is a pivotal role for a strategic and values-driven leader who can strengthen our organisation, drive operational excellence and help deliver even greater impact for athletes, families and communities.

Working closely with the Chief Executive, Board and wider movement, you will lead organisational performance across governance, safegaurding, finance, people, systems, planning and delivery, ensuring Special Olympics GB is resilient, ambitious and fit for the future. As Executive Lead for Safeguarding and Welfare, you will champion a culture where the wellbeing, safety and dignity of every athlete remains at the heart of everything we do.

We are looking for someone who:

• Is inspired by the power of sport to transform lives and create more inclusive communities.
• Brings significant senior leadership experience and a track record of organisational development and operational excellence.
• Can translate strategic ambition into effective delivery and sustainable growth.
• Has experience of governance, compliance, finance, risk management and safeguarding.
• Builds strong relationships and partnerships, influencing with credibility and integrity.
• Leads with empathy, accountability and a commitment to inclusion.

The Director of Operations at SOGB is a wide-ranging, key role, reporting to the Chief Executive as a member of the Executive Leadership Team (ELT). Working across the organisation, the Director of Operations manages the operational and support services activities including governance, compliance, HR, business processes, IT, safeguarding, finance and health & safety to ensure that the organisation runs smoothly, efficiently and effectively.

Application Instructions

For Job Role specifics and how to apply please see the below SOGB Director of Operations Recruitment Pack.

The closing date for applications is Friday 4th September 2026 at 9am. There will be a two- stage interview process that will cover both culture/motivators and thematic competencies.  Stage 1 interviews will take place week beginning 28th September 2026 and stage 2 will take place week beginning 5th October 2026.

Contract: Permanent

Hours: 35 hours

Salary: Up to £75,000 per annum

Location: Flexible with regular travel across our retail network and to London

Benefits include but not limited to:

-36 days' annual leave inclusive of flexible bank holidays, increasing with length of service

-Provision to buy additional annual leave

-Enhanced maternity/paternity leave

-We match up to 8% pension

-Free counselling service

-Opportunities to develop and widen your skills

-2 days of paid volunteering time per annum to support another part of the organisation

About us: The Children's Society has been helping children and young people in this country for over 140 years. We deliver essential local services that provide safe, trusted support to children and young people during times of significant need.

Our Social Impact domain is built on shared values, diverse perspectives, and a flexible, people-first approach. We work as one team, building strong relationships across the organisation to drive meaningful change for children and young people. With trust, wellbeing, and collaboration at the heart of how we work, you'll join a culture that supports you to make a real and lasting difference, helping us move closer to our mission of improving the lives of children and young people.

About the role: The Children's Society is seeking an innovative and ambitious Retail Director who can reshape our retail portfolio to deliver greater income and impact to support children and young people.

You'll play a critical leadership role during a period of transition and opportunity. You'll provide strategic oversight and operational leadership across our national retail network, supporting performance, safeguarding, and team wellbeing while preparing the function for transformation and growth.

Representing retail at senior leadership level and working closely with the Executive Director of Marketing and Income Generation, the Director of Retail will deliver the new retail strategy and ensure the function is ready to thrive.

To be successful in this role, you will have:

-Substantial experience in charity retail leadership, ideally including interim or transitional roles

-Proven ability to lead large, dispersed teams through change with confidence and credibility

-Strong strategic and commercial acumen, with a track record of driving performance and growth

-Experience in safeguarding oversight and compliance across retail operations

-Excellent communication, influencing and stakeholder engagement skills

Closing date: Midnight on 13th September 2026Interview dates: Week commencing 28th September

The Children's Society is committed to safeguarding and protection of the children and young people we work with. As such, our safer recruitment process includes a Basic or Enhanced DBS check, 2 years of references, and additional vetting checks relevant to the role. We have a comprehensive range of policies and procedures in place to promote safeguarding and safer working practices across all areas of our organisation.In support of our commitment to diversity and inclusion, shortlisting is carried out on an anonymised basis. Personal details are hidden from the shortlisting panel, and candidates are referenced by a candidate number only. As part of this process, we ask that your CV is anonymised before submission - this means removing personal information such as your name, contact details, age, and any other identifying details.

AI tools can support your application but only when used appropriately. You're welcome to use them to improve clarity, structure, and research. However, overuse or misuse (e.g. inventing experience or using AI during assessments) may lead to rejection at any stage. We want to hear the real you - authenticity matters.

For nearly 20 years, Lively Minds has been proving that parents are the sleeping giants of early childhood development. With strong evidence and a national scale proof point in Ghana, we have shown that parent powered approaches delivered through government systems can transform children's lives at scale.

We are now at a pivotal moment. We have the evidence, the model and the momentum, and we need the funding, profile and influence to match our ambition. This is a rare opportunity to lead income generation and external voice for an award winning NGO entering an exciting new phase of growth. You will lead our fundraising strategy and direct engagement with Funders ensuring that we maximise all funding opportunities as we continue our strategic evolution. You will also shape a compelling external narrative that will help position Lively Minds as the definitive partner for governments strengthening their early childhood development systems.

If you are an exceptional fundraiser and communicator who is equally comfortable in a strategic conversation and writing a winning proposal, we would love to hear from you.

Read the full advert and apply below. Closing date: 3rd September 2026.

About Lively Minds

Lively Minds is an award-winning NGO with nearly 20 years of experience designing, testing and scaling early childhood development (ECD) solutions across the Global South. Our core idea is simple but radical: parents are the sleeping giants of ECD. Governments and donors have long overlooked parents, assuming that poverty and low literacy make them unable or unwilling to support their childrenʼs development. We have spent two decades proving otherwise. With RCT-backed evidence and a national-scale proof point in Ghana, we have demonstrated that parent-powered approaches, delivered through government systems, can achieve meaningful child development outcomes at scale.

Our 2026–2028 strategy marks a pivotal shift. Having demonstrated what is possible, we are now helping pioneer an innovative model of country-led sustainable scale. Rather than delivering programmes ourselves, we provide lean, time-limited technical advisory support to governments to help them integrate parent-powered ECD into their own systems, budgets and institutions. We are currently working with the governments of Ghana, Uganda, Oromia state (Ethiopia) and The Gambia in 2026, growing to six or more country engagements by 2028. Our ambition is to catalyse a sector-wide shift, positioning Lively Minds as the definitive partner for governments seeking to strengthen their ECD systems.

Our scale strategy rests on three interdependent pillars: fixed-term Technical Advisory partnerships with governments; the development of a modular radio model simple and affordable enough for governments to adopt and fund independently; and an advocacy and sector influence agenda designed to make parent-powered ECD the norm globally.

Purpose of the Role

Lively Minds is at a critical inflection point. We have the evidence, the model and the momentum. We now need the funding, profile and sector influence to match our ambition. The Director of Fundraising and Communications is a priority hire, created to provide the dedicated, experienced leadership that this moment demands.

The Director will own and drive Lively Mindsʼ income generation, building new funder relationships, managing and deepening existing ones, and ensuring the organisation has the pipeline, discipline and quality of engagement to meet and exceed its fundraising targets. Working in close partnership with the Founding CEO, who retains ownership of a small number of long-standing strategic relationships, the Director will take primary responsibility for securing the funding that makes the 2026–2028 strategy deliverable, and that opens the door to greater scale beyond it. We need to raise approximately £3.4m over the next 3 years to deliver our strategy. But our ambition is to exceed that target so we can support additional governments.

Alongside fundraising, the Director will provide strategic leadership to Lively Mindsʼ communications and advocacy work, ensuring that the organisationʼs external voice is compelling and that we are building credibility in the spaces where funding decisions are made. The Director will lead and provide strategic coherence to a small but outward-facing team, including Head of Partnerships and Advocacy Lead who are active on the international stage. Lively Minds is committed to thought-leadership and active external engagement, but equally committed to ensuring that communications resource is deployed with discipline and rigour. The Director will set a clear strategic filter for where the organisation shows up, what it publishes and who it engages: prioritising focus and quality over volume, and always asking whether external activity is building the relationships and reputation that ultimately drive income and/or systems change.

Lively Minds is a dispersed, remote organisation. The Directorʼs team the Advocacy Lead, Development Manager and Communications Officer - are internationally distributed. The ability to lead, develop and maintain high standards across a dispersed team is essential. The role requires regular travel to international conferences and events.

Key Responsibilities

Fundraising Strategy & Income Generation

• Own and deliver the multi-year fundraising strategy with clear priorities, targets, income streams and a disciplined pipeline to support the 2026–2028 strategy and future scale
• Steward existing funder relationships, turning strong partnerships into long-term supporters, advocates and connectors to new funding opportunities.
• Lead the shift towards Big Bet and catalytic funding, personally cultivating and negotiating high-value, multi-year partnerships and positioning Lively Minds for system-level scale
• Maintain a high standard of fundraising quality, pipeline management and forecasting, while coaching the team to produce compelling, sophisticated fundraising materials
•  Build and continuously strengthen a diverse funding pipeline, identifying emerging opportunities, new funding markets and strategic partnerships that reduce concentration risk and support long-term financial sustainability

Communications, Brand & Advocacy

• Own and deliver Lively Mindsʼ communications and marketing strategy, balancing visibility and sector influence with the need to strengthen fundraising and systems-change objectives
• Partner closely with the CEO to shape and steward a coherent external narrative, brand and messaging framework across all audiences and channels
• Oversee high-quality core communications and fundraising materials, including cases for support, pitch decks, website content, proposals and donor reports
• Provide strategic communications expertise to Advocacy, Partnerships and MEL, ensuring evidence and learning are translated into compelling narratives and consistent external messaging
• Lead efforts to strengthen Lively Mindsʼ profile and thought leadership in the ECD sector, identifying opportunities for strategic media, events, publications and external platforms that reinforce its positioning and influence

Organizational Leadership&TeamDevelopment

• Contribute actively to SMT and organisational strategy, bringing funder intelligence, external perspective and communications expertise to strategic decision-making.
• Work closely with Finance and MEL to align fundraising targets, forecasting, budgets and evidence, ensuring proposals are credible, accurately costed and evidence-led
• Act as the organisationʼs communications subject matter expert, providing guidance and challenge to ensure high-quality, consistent external communications
• Lead and develop the Advocacy Lead, Development Manager and Communications Officer, fostering a team culture of quality, accountability, strategic clarity and continuous improvement
• Build strong cross-organisational collaboration, ensuring teams understand how fundraising, communications, advocacy and evidence work together to advance Lively Mindsʼ strategic priorities

Person Specification

Essential Experience & Skills

• 10+ years of significant senior-level fundraising experience within international development, education, philanthropy or a comparable sector
• Proven track record of securing major grants from foundations, institutional donors and high-net-worth individuals, alongside demonstrated experience securing or meaningfully progressing large-scale, catalytic funding from Big Bet philanthropy programmes such as the Audacious Project, Skoll Foundation or comparable funders. A strong understanding of what these funders look for and how to position an organisation compellingly within their processes is essential
• Exceptional fundraising writing skills, with the ability to personally develop compelling cases for support, funding proposals, award applications and pitch decks tailored to sophisticated impact funders. This is a hands-on role requiring both strong writing capability and the ability to coach others to consistently produce high-quality fundraising content
• Experienced in developing and owning a marketing and communications strategy, with a strong understanding of how to balance organisational visibility, thought leadership and sector influence with coherence, strategic focus and income generation
• Demonstrated ability to work closely with a Founding CEO to shape and steward the organisationʼs external narrative and brand. Comfortable working in a founder-led environment, providing expertise and constructive challenge while ensuring the organisation maintains a clear, consistent and coherent external voice

Desirable Experience

• Experienced fundraising for a technical advisory, systems change or government-facing organisation
• Knowledge of the ECD, education or early childhood sector and its funding landscape
• Familiarity with the Big Bang Philanthropy network or equivalent impact-focused funder communities
• Experience working alongside advocacy and partnerships teams, providing communications expertise and strategic coherence to their external activity
• Familiarity with the funding landscape for organisations operating in Sub-Saharan Africa
• Experience working remotely across multiple countries and effectively collaborating with cross-cultural teams

Behaviours & Ways of Working

• A doer, equally comfortable in strategic conversations and writing a funding proposal
• Sets a high bar for quality and clarity in all external communications and holds it consistently
• Builds a strong, trust-based partnership with the Founding CEO, provides honest challenge and operates effectively within a founder-led dynamic without losing their own voice or judgement
• Collaborative and cross-organisational. Invests in strong relationships with programme, MEL and finance colleagues, understanding that the best fundraising is grounded in organisational reality
• Calm and focused under pressure - able to manage competing priorities and maintain quality when the stakes are high

What We Offer

• Competitive salary commensurate with experience
• 25 days annual leave
• Health insurance
• Pension contribution
• Generous learning and development budget
• Flexible, remote working

Application Instruction

Interested candidates are encouraged to read the Job Description carefully before applying to ensure they understand the role and meet the required criteria.

To apply, please complete the pre-screening questions and submit your updated CV

PLEASE NOTE - Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

Timeline

Closing Date: 3rd September 2026

Our Stance

Lively Minds operates a strict Safeguarding Policy and is committed to ensuring the safety and well-being of children and vulnerable people. As part of our recruitment process, the suitability of successful candidates will be verified through appropriate background checks including professional references and police checks.

Lively Minds is fully committed to equity, diversity and inclusion and to providing equal opportunities throughout our recruitment process. We want this commitment to be reflected in the diversity of the people who work for us, and we welcome applications from people of all backgrounds, identities, experiences and perspectives.

We are committed to ensuring that recruitment decisions are based on merit, skills, experience and suitability for the role, and that all candidates are treated fairly and with respect throughout the recruitment process.

This strategically important role will provide global leadership for advocacy across the Open Doors ministry, helping local and regional teams to shape advocacy priorities, strengthen alignment across international teams, and ensure the experiences and voices of the most persecuted Christians continue to inform decisions at every level of our organisation.

The role also oversees Global Integrated Campaigns and plays a key role in strengthening Open Doors’ voice and influence amongst external partners, institutions, governments and decision-makers. As the global context continues to evolve, advocacy remains an essential part of our mission. We believe God is calling us to speak courageously, act wisely and work collaboratively on behalf of those whose voices are often unheard.

This is a role for a courageous and servant-hearted leader who can bring together diverse stakeholders, develop and execute strategic priorities, and strengthen advocacy’s contribution to the mission of Open Doors worldwide.

Purpose of the Position

The Global Advocacy Director is a strategic leadership role, reporting directly to the CEO and responsible for providing direction, alignment and influence for advocacy across the Open Doors organisation. Working closely with field regions, fundraising bases and international leaders, the Director ensures that advocacy priorities remain connected to the needs of persecuted Christians and contribute to the wider mission and strategy of Open Doors.

Personal Qualities

The successful candidate will be:

• A servant leader with humility, wisdom and integrity.

• A strategic thinker who can see both the wider picture and the practical steps needed to achieve it.

• A relationship builder who can unite people around a shared purpose.

• A courageous and resilient leader, comfortable operating in complex and sometimes challenging environments.

• An excellent communicator, able to inspire, influence and engage a wide range of audiences. 

Working for Open Doors

Open Doors International offers a unique opportunity to combine professional expertise with meaningful ministry impact. As a global Christian organisation serving persecuted Christians in more than 70 countries, we are committed to attracting and developing exceptional leaders who are passionate about our mission and values.

The Director of Global Advocacy will join a diverse international organisation working across cultures, regions and functions to strengthen the persecuted Church and advance the mission of Open Doors worldwide.

Location: The successful candidate must live in an African, European or Asian time zone. Applicants must be able to work effectively across international teams and time zones.

International Travel: The successful candidate should expect a significant amount of international travel to engage with colleagues, partners, advocacy networks and ministry stakeholders.

Salary and Benefits: A competitive salary package will be offered, commensurate with the seniority and international scope of the role.

Additional benefits and employment arrangements will be discussed with shortlisted candidates and will be tailored to the successful candidate’s location and circumstances.

Faith Requirement: As a Christian ministry, Open Doors requires the Global Advocacy Director to demonstrate a mature Christian faith and full alignment with the organisation’s Christian beliefs, values and statement of faith.

We are entering a period of unprecedented opportunity. Advances in treatment, increasing recognition of the condition, and growing awareness of healthcare inequalities provide a unique chance to strengthen our impact and expand our reach across the UK. Our ambition is bold: to engage and support at least 50% of the UK myasthenia community as members within the next five years, creating a movement that is representative, influential and impossible to ignore.

The successful candidate will lead the development of a thriving national community of people affected by myasthenia, ensuring that individuals and families feel connected, represented and empowered. They will transform community insight into meaningful campaigns, influence policy and healthcare decision-making, and position myaware as the authoritative voice for everyone affected by the condition.

Success in this role will be measured not only by influence and campaigning outcomes, but by the growth, engagement and mobilisation of our community. The Director will play a central role in delivering our ambition to reach, engage and retain 50% of the UK's myasthenia population as members and active supporters within five years, creating a change-maker movement that is representative of our goals.

Key Responsibilities

Community Growth and Engagement

• Contribute towards the development and delivery of a comprehensive membership growth strategy aimed at engaging at least 50% of the UK myasthenia community within five years.
• Build a deep understanding of the patient journey and identify opportunities to connect with people from diagnosis onwards.
• Lead the development of services, programmes and engagement approaches that increase membership recruitment, retention and participation.
• Ensure that people affected by myasthenia are at the heart of all organisational decisions, campaigns and strategic priorities.
• Create pathways for members, volunteers, supporters and ambassadors to actively contribute to myaware's work.
• Use data, insight and market intelligence to measure community reach, identify underserved groups and drive continuous improvement.

Campaigning, Policy and Influence

• Develop and implement a national campaigning and influencing strategy focused on awareness, equity of care, access to treatment and service improvement.
• Position myaware as a leading voice within healthcare, policy and rare disease discussions across the UK.
• Build strategic relationships with parliamentarians, government departments, NHS organisations, Integrated Care Boards, NICE, clinicians, researchers, industry partners and allied charities.
• Lead public affairs activity, including consultation responses, parliamentary engagement, policy briefings and stakeholder events.
• Ensure lived experience evidence informs policy development, healthcare decision-making and treatment access discussions.

Organisational Leadership

• Serve as a member of the Senior Leadership Team and contribute to organisational strategy and performance.
• Foster a culture of innovation, inclusion, collaboration and measurable impact.
• Work closely with fundraising, communications, partnerships, and service delivery colleagues to maximise organisational reach and effectiveness.

Awareness and Public Engagement

• Increase awareness and understanding of myasthenia among healthcare professionals, policymakers, media and the public.
• Lead initiatives that strengthen myaware's visibility, reputation and influence.
• Support the development of compelling campaigns, media activity and storytelling that inspire engagement and drive action.
• To be the spokesperson for myaware.

What Success Looks Like

Within five years, the postholder will have:

• Led significant growth in membership, progressing towards engaging at least 50% of the UK's myasthenia community.
• Increased participation in surveys, campaigns, events, volunteering and lived-experience activities.
• Established myaware as the recognised national voice for people affected by myasthenia.
• Secured meaningful influence in policy, healthcare and treatment access discussions.
• Generated evidence of improvements in awareness, service delivery, treatment access and patient representation.
• Built a highly engaged and empowered community capable of driving change at local, national and system levels.

Person Specification

Essential Experience

• Significant senior leadership experience within the charity, healthcare, membership, public affairs or advocacy sectors.
• Proven success in growing and engaging communities, memberships, movements or supporter bases at scale.
• Experience developing and delivering campaigning, influencing or public affairs strategies that have achieved measurable outcomes.
• Strong track record of building relationships with senior external stakeholders and decision-makers.
• Experience using data, insight and lived experience to shape organisational priorities and influence strategy.
• Experience leading, motivating and developing high-performing teams.

Essential Knowledge and Skills

• Outstanding strategic thinking and leadership abilities.
• Exceptional communication, influencing and relationship-building skills.
• Strong understanding of community mobilisation, supporter engagement and membership growth.
• Ability to translate complex healthcare and policy issues into compelling public narratives and calls to action.
• Strong analytical and performance management skills.
• Commitment to inclusion, co-production and patient-centred approaches.

Personal Attributes

We are looking for someone who is:

• Ambitious about building one of the UK's most engaged rare disease communities.
• Passionate about amplifying the voices of people with lived experience.
• Collaborative and inspiring.
• Politically astute and credible with senior stakeholders.
• Resilient, innovative and outcomes focused.
• Motivated by creating lasting change for people living with long-term health conditions.

Why Join Us?

myaware is the only charity in the UK dedicated solely to the care and support of people affected by myasthenia. 

This is a rare opportunity to build a community movement capable of transforming lives. You will lead the growth of a national membership community, shape policy and healthcare conversations, and help ensure that every person affected by myasthenia feels informed, supported, represented and connected.

Together, we aim to ensure that within five years, at least half of everyone living with myasthenia in the UK knows, trusts and actively engages with myaware as their community, their advocate and their voice.

We are working hard to raise awareness of myasthenia, as it is a little-known condition. We provide support for people with myasthenia and their families, whilst offering advice and tips for living with the condition. 

We also fund the research that brings us closer to finding a cure as well as funding specialists nurses and advisors. 

Members of myaware have full access to a wide range of support services and events including our specialist benefits and welfare advisor. 

myaware supports people with myasthenia and their families.  We campaign for better medical services for people with myasthenia and work to inform medical professionals. 

The myasthenias are a group of neuromuscular conditions. They are rare but also manageable and can affect anyone, regardless of age, gender or nationality. Myasthenia gravis, ocular myasthenia and Lambert-Eaton myasthenic syndrome are autoimmune conditions whereas congenital myasthenic syndrome is caused by an inherited genetic fault. It is thought that there are approximately 20,000 people currently living with myasthenia in the UK. 

Benefits

• Generous holiday allowance
• Perkbox account (global benefits and rewards platform)
• Group Life Assurance after 6 months of service 
• NEST workplace pension scheme
• Free inhouse staff benefits and welfare advice 
• Investment in your personal and professional development
• Annual salary review

Application instructions

Candidates should submit their CV and tailored covering letter by: 11:30pm on Friday.4th September

Provisional interview dates will be week commencing: 28.9.26

Interviews will be held over Microsoft Teams.

Applications submitted without a tailored cover letter will not be considered.

This post, due to its nature, duties and responsibilities, will be subject to an enhanced check by the DBS. This is funded by myaware.

This organisation supports anonymous recruitment. That means hiding your personal identifying information, removing bias from the hiring process.

The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.

Action for Global Health (AfGH) is an influential membership network convening more than 50 organisations working in global health. Its vision is a world where health equity is achieved, and every person has access to the quality healthcare they need without being forced into financial hardship.

AfGH’s strategy, extended to 2029, aims to ensure that stronger commitments from the UK Government help more people worldwide access affordable, high-quality healthcare suited to their needs. The network works by bringing together member organisations, civil society groups, and people with lived experience of health inequality – especially from low- and middle-income countries – to influence UK policy. It acts as a key link between global health civil society and government departments such as the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office and the Department of Health and Social Care, guided by its 10 health-equity principles.

AfGH is an independent network hosted by STOPAIDS, which provides legal, financial, HR, and administrative support.

The Position

As the Network Director, you will be responsible for convening and guiding the network, in partnership with the AfGH team, Steering Committee, wider membership and host organisation (STOPAIDS).

In this role, you will:

• Guide, oversee and review the implementation of AfGH’s 2022–2029 strategy.
• Secure AfGH’s ongoing financial sustainability and ensure accurate and clear financial reporting.
• Lead and coordinate AfGH’s policy and advocacy activities.
• Provide direction to the AfGH Secretariat, support the Membership & Development Director, line manage the Advocacy Manager, and manage relationships with STOPAIDS and Students for Global Health (partner organisation).
• Expand the AfGH membership to target groups and ensure that the network continues to engage and be driven by the membership.
• Ensure that AfGH continues to have appropriate governance in place in order to ensure effectiveness and accountability.

Benefits

We offer a number of benefits, including:

• A 28-hour (rather than 35-hour) working week policy, with no salary reductions. Staff are able to work reduced hours over 5 days or a 4-day week. We offer flexible working, with non-standard working hours.
• A home-based working policy with some access to co-working spaces across the UK and a monthly working-from-home allowance (included in salary).
• A group stakeholder pension scheme with 6% employer contributions.
• An individual learning and development budget allocated to staff members each year.
• 20 days’ annual leave per year (excluding bank holidays), plus 1 day for every year of service (up to 4 years).
• Enhanced maternity and paternity pay for employees with 1 year’s service or more.

To apply, please click the Apply button to complete our application form.

Closing date: 7th September 2026.

Candidates must be UK-based with the right to work in the UK. Unfortunately, we cannot sponsor visa requests.

People living with or affected by health inequities, from Black, Asian or minority ethnic (BAME) backgrounds or from other minority groups are particularly encouraged to apply.

About us

Community rail is a unique and growing grassroots movement made up of community rail partnerships, station volunteer groups and other community-led initiatives across Britain.

Together, these organisations and volunteers deliver a wide range of initiatives, from engaging young people and building confidence in rail travel, to improving accessibility, enhancing stations, supporting biodiversity projects and creating community spaces that bring people together.

Community Rail Network is the national membership and umbrella body for the community rail movement across England, Scotland and Wales. We empower, support and champion community-led partnerships and groups, helping them create social, environmental and economic value through their work.

Our team of 22 colleagues is based across Britain, working mainly from home while coming together regularly online and in person. We are a collaborative, values-led organisation, passionate about making a difference through community rail.

We believe in nurturing talent, supporting professional development and creating an environment where everyone can reach their potential while maintaining a healthy work–life balance.

About this role and your main responsibilities

We are looking for a compassionate, collaborative and creative leader to head up our work with members. Everyone on the team is here for our members, but you will lead the way in ensuring everything we do is driven by what members need, now and in the future, to help them develop, grow and thrive. You’ll also help ensure our members have a great experience whenever they are accessing our support and services.

As a member of the senior leadership team, you’ll actively contribute towards its collective work in driving organisational performance and success, including growing investment in our work so we can make an even bigger difference for our members and the communities they serve.

Please see the attached introduction from our Chief Executive and role profile for further information about the position, including its principal responsibilities and the experience, skills and attributes we are looking for.

Other information

The role will involve regular travel across England, Scotland and Wales to raise the organisation’s profile and engage with members, partners and key stakeholders.

There is flexibility on your location given the requirement to travel and that your office will be home-based. You will need to travel to in-person quarterly team meetings (usually in London or the north of England) and to Board meetings which alternate between online and London.

It is expected that travel will be by public transport and easy access to the rail network is therefore required to ensure journeys can be made sustainably. 

This is a full-time position, 37 hours per week. We use a flexi-time system with core hours 10am-3pm, and are committed to being a flexible, supportive and understanding employer. This is a permanent position with a probationary period of three months. 

Successful applicants will need to provide proof that they have the right to work in the UK and provide two references.

Community Rail Network is an equal opportunities employer. We welcome applications from disabled people and Black, Asian and other minoritised groups, who meet with the skills and competencies for this role. We will provide reasonable adjustments for interviews as required.

Location note:please see location information below - we actively encourage applications from people across Europe, and a relocation package is available for candidates moving to either country if necessary.

Lead the strategy and team behind Europe’s push for protein diversification.

The Good Food Institute Europe (GFI Europe) is a nonprofit think tank at the forefront of the movement to transform meat production in order to solve some of the world’s biggest problems, from climate change and global hunger to antibiotic resistance and animal suffering. Our vision is a thriving world, fed sustainably.

With a nonprofit entity in Belgium, a branch in the UK and colleagues working from seven other countries that make up GFI Europe, we are also part of an international network of affiliates. We advance the science, policies and investment needed to make plant-based, cultivated and fermentation-made meat delicious, affordable and accessible across Europe. Please check out the rest of our website, our 2025 Year in Review and our 2025 Europe highlights blog post to find out more about who we are and what we do.

We are looking for an Executive Director to lead GFI Europe’s strategy and team, play a key role in shaping and advancing GFI’s global strategy, and foster the relationships and organisational strength needed to accelerate the shift towards a resilient and sustainable food system.

How you will make a difference 

You will have high responsibility and high impact. Reporting to, and appointed by, the Board of GFI Europe, you will lead a ~50-person team working from nine European countries. 

You will:

• Enable strategic focus:

  • Align the team around a clear and compelling organisational direction that aligns with the GFI network’s mission and theory of change.

  • Translate organisational direction into high-level priorities in collaboration with GFI Europe’s Leadership Team.

  • Ensure Europe’s strategic decisions are made well – soliciting the right input from the right people, preserving autonomy in areas of specific expertise, and making decisions when organisation-wide trade-offs are required.

  • Take ultimate responsibility for maximising outcomes and impact in pursuit of our mission.

• Provide leadership to the team:

  • Empower, develop and inspire a high-performing, people-centric team. 

  • Lead GFI Europe’s Leadership Team, formed of six department heads, ensuring they continue to function on a ‘first-team’ basis to achieve organisational objectives. 

  • Champion and uphold a values-driven culture built upon transparency, autonomy, collaboration, accountability, and psychological safety. Champion the integration of diversity, equity and inclusion into the team’s day-to-day work.

• Represent GFI Europe in GFI’s international network:

  • Participate in international strategic and coordination workstreams as a member of GFI’s Regional Leadership Group, comprising GFI’s affiliate leads.

  • Act as the primary liaison between GFI’s affiliates and European teams on strategies, processes and goals. Ensure the Europe team can successfully connect with, influence, support and navigate a complex international network, including global workstreams such as fundraising and impact reporting.

  • Participate in discussions about global strategy and resource allocation so as to maximise GFI’s overall mission impact, including communicating GFI Europe’s strategy, resourcing needs and contributions as part of the international GFI network.

• Represent GFI Europe in front of donors and external stakeholders:

  • Work closely with global and Europe-based fundraising teams to help ensure GFI achieves its fundraising goals.

  • Build and maintain strong relationships with donors, prospective supporters and key stakeholders.

  • Serve as a public representative of, and spokesperson for, the organisation by speaking at conferences, events, and with the media. 

• Oversee organisational health:

  • Ensure strong governance, legal compliance, financial sustainability and reporting in partnership with the Board and the Head of Operations. 

  • Be the main legal representative of the organisation, reviewing and signing all legally relevant agreements and organisational documents.

• Perform other duties as appropriate.

Core capabilities needed to succeed in this role:

• Mission alignment. A passion for GFI’s philosophy and mission.

• Strategic judgement. Strong analytical skills and sound judgement, being able to absorb and process a range of types of information, understand the activities that GFI undertakes, and provide leadership and guidance to team members. You have the experience and ability to make strategic trade-offs across projects, functions, teams, countries/regions, programmes, etc – weighing resource allocation, prioritising impact, and communicating those decisions clearly and inclusively to stakeholders. 

• Thoughtful leadership. You align teams behind a clear and impactful vision. You know when to persevere and when to change course, and have led people, both directly and indirectly, to deliver impact. You trust the people closest to the work to make decisions, and you address hard topics when they truly matter. You own mistakes and make a genuine effort to learn and grow from them. You are intentional about remote leadership.

• Understanding the wider context. You can make sense of the political, economic and cultural forces shaping Europe’s food system today and are adept at drawing on patterns and ideas from outside our field to identify possible implications for GFI Europe’s next move. 

• Excellent people skills. High emotional intelligence and an ability to diplomatically engage across perspectives, being able to build and maintain trust with colleagues and stakeholders across multiple cultures, viewpoints and needs within Europe and beyond. 

• Financial literacy. Skilled at overseeing substantial financial resources, including partnering with the operations team on resource allocation. You have held accountability for a significant organisational budget and can interpret financial data to make sound, well-informed decisions.

• Fundraising acumen. You understand how GFI’s strategy, culture, and mission impact shape the organisation’s ability to raise funds and steward donors, and you’re enthusiastic about partnering with the fundraising team to make this happen. You bring an understanding of the philanthropic sector and donor relationships, or of fundraising in other sectors (eg, the private sector or government), while deferring to the fundraising team’s expertise on how donor relationships are best managed.

• Strong communication skills. An ability to convincingly articulate and explain our mission and work and to represent the organisation in the media, with programmatic stakeholders, and with donors. Comfort adapting your tone and message for different audiences across diverse cultures, and excellent verbal and written English skills.

• Flexible approach to work. We estimate that travel will account for approximately six weeks of the year. This will likely consist of two GFI Europe team-wide retreats (3-5 days each), one leadership retreat (2-3 days), other sporadic trips generally lasting 1-3 days, and occasional longer trips of approximately 5-7 days (for conferences and donor or partner meetings across Europe and internationally). In addition, you will need occasional flexibility in your working hours to accommodate coordination with other affiliates around the world.

• Integrity. You do what you say you’ll do, and are discreet when handling confidential information.

It would be an advantage to have the following, though none are prerequisites:

• Sector familiarity. Familiarity with or experience working in the food system, alternative proteins or an adjacent sector in Europe.

• Impact leadership. Strong knowledge and/or experience of being part of the leadership team of a nonprofit, think tank or other social impact-focused organisation.

• Governance and compliance experience. Experience with legal representation and board reporting, and/or experience working on nonprofit compliance, especially in Belgium.

• Fundraising partnership experience. You’ve contributed to fundraising in a supportive capacity – whether managing a fundraising function, advising on donor and prospect strategy, joining donor conversations alongside a development team, or shaping fundraising strategy at an executive level.

• Network experience. Experience working in one or more network models (eg, affiliate or franchise-style, federation, confederation, etc).

• Languages. The ability to work in European languages in addition to English.

The Fine Print:

• Terms of employment: Full-time (flexible hours), permanent. 

• Location: This role can be based in either Belgium or the United Kingdom, where GFI Europe has established entities and where you must have the right to work. We actively encourage applications from people across Europe, and a relocation package is available for candidates moving to either country if necessary.

  • Relocation support will be provided with a budget of up to £8,000 in the UK or €8,700 in Belgium, which can be used for transport, temporary housing, and other relocation expenses deemed necessary.

• Salary and benefits: The salary and benefits packages for all of our roles are researched and benchmarked based on similar nonprofit roles in the country/location of hire. 

  • Belgium: €7,900-€8,900 gross monthly salary (€109,925-€123,907 annually including 13th month and holiday pay).

    • Plus benefits including home-working allowance (if applicable), meal vouchers, eco vouchers, and professional development allocation.

  • United Kingdom: £90,500-£104,000 gross annual salary.

• You can read more about our wider benefits offering on our website. 

• Right to work requirements: The successful candidate must, by the start of the employment, have permission to work in the country where they are based for the role, and be able to travel within the EU and internationally.

• Application Deadline: 13 September 2026, 11.59pm CEST. We will get back to all candidates after that date, no matter the outcome of their application.

• Right to work requirements: The successful candidate must, by the start of the employment, have permission to work in the country where they are based for the role, and be able to travel within the EU and internationally.

To act as the organisational lead for St Basils’ feedback processes, ensuring the effective implementation of St Basils’ Comments, Complaints, and Compliments Policy. The postholder will oversee the complaints and feedback processes in their entirety, ensuring complaints are handled promptly, fairly and resolved with well‑evidenced outcomes.

The Complaints Manager will have a thorough understanding of the Housing Ombudsman’s Complaints Handling Code requirements and will be responsible for ensuring compliance with the Code and for producing and submitting the relevant regulatory reporting.

The postholder will implement and lead an organisation‑wide lessons‑learned framework from complaints outcomes, driving change that improves services for thousands of young people, making sure they feel heard and respected.

About the role

As Head of Research and Evaluation, you will be responsible for the development and delivery of our research and evaluation strategies. This work will help us to understand and provide insight into the challenges and difficulties faced by families with disabled children, the quality of services we provide and the difference our support makes for the families we serve.

You will ensure that the voice of families is at the centre of our research and evaluation approach to help shape existing and new programmes and services, and our policy and public affairs work.

If you join us, you’ll be:

• Leading the continued development and implementation of Family Fund’s research and evaluation strategies.
• Developing and overseeing our evaluation and service quality frameworks, including our Theory of Change outcomes measurement framework.
• Championing the ‘voice of families’, embedding their lived experience at the heart of our research.
• Managing and delivering high-quality research and evaluation projects/initiatives.
• Producing accessible, engaging, and impactful research outputs for a variety of audiences.
• Promoting the use of innovative and participatory research methodologies.
• Presenting and disseminating research findings internally and externally, including at events, conferences, and through publications.
• Developing and maintaining strong relationships with stakeholders and representing Family Fund in strategic research partnerships, networks, and advisory forums.
• Commissioning external research and evaluation where appropriate, ensuring quality, value for money.
• Maintaining oversight of the team’s input to government/ funder reporting, ensuring timely and accurate submissions aligned to contractual and organisational requirements.
• Providing visible, hands-on leadership and line management to the Research and Evaluation Team.

About you

For this role you will need to have experience in developing and managing research and evaluation strategies, frameworks, activities and production of subsequent products. You will also need to have experience of working in partnership with other organisations, and of resource and budget management.

To be successful in this role, you will need excellent analytical skills as well as sound knowledge of quantitative and qualitative methodology and best practice through the research cycle. You will need to have good writing skills and an ability to communicate effectively with different audiences. You will also need to have the ability to interpret and present research in an accessible and engaging way.

You will be a self and team motivator with excellent communication skills, and the ability to develop and sustain positive relationships with a range of stakeholders. You will be pro-active and driven to succeed.  

About us

Family Fund is a great place to work for great people. We provide a challenging and rewarding working environment where every staff member can make their mark.

We are a values based organisation and we aim to show our values in all that we do. Read our staff stories here, and see how our staff display our values every day.

We commit to inclusion, equity and diversity and we welcome applications from all parts of the community. Family Fund is a Disability Confident Leader. We will invite to interview all disabled applicants who meet the requirements for the role. If you have a disability, and are happy to let us know, please highlight this in your covering letter. We have also signed the Armed Forces Covenant and we welcome applications from the Armed Forces Community.

How to apply

Please read and download the job description. 

When you’re ready to apply, complete the online application and submit a CV and a covering letter.  Your letter will need to explain what skills and qualities you would bring to the team. 

Please note that the successful candidate will be required to complete pre-employment checks that meet the Baseline Personnel Security Standard.  This includes a right-to-work check, a basic check for unspent criminal convictions, and an employment history verification for the last three years.

We are looking for a dynamic, technically skilled Head of Evaluation to play a senior role in shaping and delivering Youth Futures’ evidence strategy.

You will lead a team of Evidence and Evaluation Managers and oversee a portfolio of complex evaluations, helping us generate credible, useful evidence about what works to support marginalised young people into good work.

• Reporting to the Deputy Director of Evidence and Evaluation, you will be responsible for ensuring high-quality delivery of a portfolio of complex impact evaluations.

• You will have a sound understanding of youth employment and/or skills and design evidence-generating projects in a complex field that includes partners from national and devolved government, the third sector and employers.

• You will manage a team of Evaluation Managers, supporting their development while delivering projects that inform Youth Futures’ strategic goals.

This is an opportunity to shape some of the most important evidence being generated on youth employment in England. The role suits someone who enjoys combining technical evaluation expertise with leadership, judgement and collaboration, and who wants their work to influence real decisions about how services, funders and policymakers support young people.

We currently operate a hybrid model of two-days per week in the office and three-days from home.

Please download our recruitment pack for more information on this opportunity. To apply, please visit our website.

Due to receiving high volumes of interest in our opportunities, this vacancy may close earlier than the advertised deadline. To ensure your application is considered, please submit it as soon as possible.

The Senior Youth Inclusion Officer is a key role within the Youth Inclusion team, helping to connect insights and champion young people’s voices throughout our work.

You will be one of two Senior Officers leading on the day-to-day delivery of the Future Voices Group (FVG) – our flagship youth engagement programme bringing together young people with lived experience of facing barriers to employment. 

This will involve working across the organisation to support teams to work with young people, in line with our strategy.

• You will ensure our youth ambassadors meaningfully and authentically shape our activity, in particular through our engagement and influencing of key audiences and decision-makers across the youth employment system.
• You will bring awareness of the youth employment policy landscape, alongside experience of supporting young people with lived expertise to influence policymaking, programme design or service improvement through youth voice approaches.
• This role requires availability for regular evening sessions and occasional weekend commitments.

We currently operate a hybrid model of two-days per week in the office and three-days from home.

Please download our recruitment pack for more information on this opportunity.

Due to receiving high volumes of interest in our opportunities, this vacancy may close earlier than the advertised deadline. To ensure your application is considered, please submit it as soon as possible.

Fantastic opportunity for a Fundraising and Grants Manager 

Advocacy After Fatal Domestic Abuse (AAFDA) is a well-established and respected national charity offering specialist and expert advocacy and peer support to families bereaved by fatal domestic abuse. We have an exciting opportunity to build upon and grow our fundraising success to date, in the role ofFundraising and Grants Manager. We are seeking an experienced fundraising professional, with the drive and determination to manage all aspects of our fundraising function.

AAFDA is currently funded by statutory bodies, trusts and foundations, corporates, events and individuals. Under your management, you will identify, cultivate and grow these existing and new fundraising streams.As AAFDA’s Fundraising and Grants Manager, you will be responsible for oversight and growth of voluntary and statutory funding income, including from individuals (regular and one-off gifts, major donors and legacy giving), community groups, trusts and foundations, corporates, the statutory sector (including Police and Crime Commissioners) and other benefactors. Starting from a strong foundation with multiple opportunities for growth, you will lead on the delivery of our ambitious, multi-year, multi-disciplinary fundraising strategy with an annual fundraising plan agreed with senior management.  With keen funder and customer awareness, you will regularly monitor and review both the plan and the strategy, in addition to working closely with our Finance Manager to manage diverse income streams and achieve income targets to fund AAFDA’s unique support and advocacy work with families bereaved by fatal domestic abuse.  Holding responsibility for maintaining and developing the website and building social media programmes, you will undertake an ambassadorial approach in all activity to assist our CEO and Director of Services to lead and manage the AAFDA brand and corporate identity, with a focus on generating earned income, by extending awareness of what AAFDA does and how successful we are.

This is a permanent role, subject to funding, but we will work hard (alongside you!) to secure this.

In return for joining us, we will offer you:

• 25 days annual leave per annum, plus bank holidays
• Excellent development and training opportunities
• Pension Scheme
• Healthcare Scheme
• Employee Assist Scheme

Application closing date: 11th September 2026 5pm 

We review applications on a rolling basis. We reserve the right to close this posting early if we find the right candidate, so early submission is strongly advised.

To apply please submit a supporting statement along with your CV.

Applicants will be shortlisted according to how well they meet the criteria in the person specification.  Please highlight and explain how you meet these in your supporting statement. If you have been shortlisted for interview, you will be informed by email. Regrettably, we are normally unable to acknowledge unsuccessful applicants. 

We welcome applications from candidates with experience of domestic abuse.  We are also committed to diversity and strongly encourage applications from those with Black or Minoritised backgrounds.

We are not currently able to accept applications if you do not hold permission to work in the UK.

Registered charity no: 1185078

Head of Public Fundraising & Engagement (9-Month Maternity Cover)

Location:

Remote with some travelling needs to Leatherhead and Redhill, Surrey and other areas related to Fundraising Team activities

Salary:

£55,000 per annum plus SeeAbility benefits

Hours:

Full time, 37.5 hours per week

Contract:

Fixed Term, 9 Month (Maternity Cover)

Join us in transforming lives

SeeAbility is a specialist charity supporting people with learning disabilities, autism and sight loss to live ambitious, fulfilling lives. We are seeking an experienced and dynamic Head of Public Fundraising & Engagement to join us on a 9-month maternity cover contract.

This is a fantastic opportunity for an accomplished fundraising leader to step into a well-established role, providing strategic leadership to our public fundraising and engagement programme during an important period for the organisation.

About the Role

Reporting to the Director of Development, you will lead our public fundraising and supporter engagement activity, driving income growth across individual giving, community fundraising, events, challenges and supporter stewardship.

You will manage and motivate a talented team, ensuring delivery against ambitious income targets while continuing to build strong relationships with supporters, volunteers and stakeholders.

Key responsibilities include:

• Leading the delivery of SeeAbility's public fundraising and engagement strategy.
• Driving income growth and supporter retention across multiple fundraising streams.
• Developing innovative campaigns and supporter journeys.
• Leading, coaching and developing a high-performing team.
• Monitoring performance, budgets and fundraising KPIs.
• Working collaboratively across the organisation to maximise supporter engagement and impact.
• Ensuring fundraising activities remain compliant and aligned with best practice.

About You

We are looking for a confident and inspiring fundraising professional who can quickly build relationships, provide strong leadership and maintain momentum across a busy fundraising portfolio.

You will have:

• Significant experience in public fundraising, supporter engagement or individual giving.
• A proven track record of achieving income growth and fundraising targets.
• Experience managing and developing teams.
• Strong strategic and operational planning skills.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management abilities.
• A collaborative, proactive and solutions-focused approach.

Why Join SeeAbility?

At SeeAbility, you'll be joining a passionate and supportive team committed to making a real difference to people's lives. This is an opportunity to play a key leadership role, contribute immediately and help shape the future of our fundraising and engagement activities.

We offer:

• Flexible and hybrid working
• A supportive and inclusive culture
• Competitive salary and benefits package
• The opportunity to make a meaningful impact from day one

Apply Today

If you are an experienced fundraising leader looking for an exciting interim opportunity where you can make an immediate difference, we'd love to hear from you. Please see the Job Profile for extensive details about the role.

Join SeeAbility and help us create a world where people with learning disabilities, autism and sight loss can achieve extraordinary things.

Safer Recruitment

SeeAbility is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the people we support. All colleagues are expected to uphold this commitment.

Successful applicants will be subject to safer recruitment checks, including:

• Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check (where appropriate)
• Identity, current address and right-to-work verification

• Health declaration to ensure that you are medically suitable for the role you have been offered

• Employment references relating to work with children or vulnerable adults

All checks are completed at SeeAbility’s expense before a start date is confirmed.

Diversity & Inclusion

We are proud to be a Disability Confident Employer and are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive workplace.

• We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds, identities and experiences, including those with disabilities or who are neurodivergent.
• Reasonable adjustments are available throughout the recruitment process.
• In exceptional circumstances, a genuine occupational requirement may apply under the Equality Act 2010 (Schedule 9, Part 1)

For this role, gender is considered a genuine occupational requirement in accordance with Schedule 9, Paragraph 1 of the Equality Act 2010