Director of programmes jobs

Job Purpose

This role sits at the heart of Operation Smile UK’s five-year strategy to deliver transformational growth across all income streams. As Retention Fundraising Lead, you will be instrumental in delivering on three of the four core strategic priorities:

1. Build Regular Giving – retain and maximise value from the regular giving base

2. Drive All Donors to Legacy – ensure donors experience best-in-class stewardship, increasing their loyalty to the charity with an objective of feeding into legacy and long-term giving goals.

3. Maximise Growth Through Digital Fundraising Integration – leading the expansion and optimisation of digital growth for all existing supporters.

The Retention Lead is responsible for delivering Operation Smile UK’s strategic individual giving retention and legacy marketing programme. This role is key to driving income growth from our existing donors from the point of recruitment, maximising value and minimising attrition from the regular giving pool and generating and retaining legacy actions and prospects.

You will lead on the strategy, planning, delivery and evaluation of retention campaigns, with full accountability for managing significant budgets, agency partnerships and performance metrics.

You will support the development of the Legacy strategy, be instrumental in planning legacy activity and delivering legacy marketing for the existing supporter base across all income streams and methods of support, from Partnerships, Volunteers and public fundraisers.

This is a senior, hands-on role suited to an experienced Individual giving fundraiser with strong commercial acumen and a data-driven mindset.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Campaign Leadership

• Develop and implement the retention strategy, aligned with income targets and supporter growth objectives.
• Lead on the planning and delivery of campaigns across cash, donor stewardship, legacy prospecting and stewardship, welcome, conversion, reactivation and upgrade appeals.
• Lead on strategic development of the cultivation journey to ensure Operation Smile maximise growth through digital channels.
• Monitor and report on campaign performance, providing insight-driven recommendations to optimise results.
• Drive testing and innovation to expand existing approaches and introduce new ones within acceptable risk and return parameters.

Budget Ownership & Performance Monitoring

• Take full responsibility for retention and legacy budget management, income forecasting and cost control.
• Set, monitor, and evaluate key performance indicators (KPIs), reporting against ROI, value and response, retention and conversion metrics and long-term value across all supporter groups channels.
• Collaborate with the Senior Database Manager and the Director of Data and Technology to develop and maintain performance dashboards (e.g., Power BI) and support strategic data analysis, including both short term and long-term channel performance evaluation.

Line Management

• Provide day-to-day leadership and support to the Retention team, ensuring clarity of objectives, effective workload management, and professional development opportunities.
• Conduct regular 1:1s, annual appraisals, and performance reviews for direct reports, supporting their growth and accountability.
• Foster a collaborative and inclusive team culture, encouraging innovation, learning, and high standards of delivery.
• Provide strategic and operational direction to external agencies or freelancers working on retention projects.

Agency & Partner Management

• Manage day-to-day relationships with external fundraising and creative partners.
• Lead on the relationship with the external fulfilment agency working with multiple internal stakeholders to ensure an effective partnership is in place.
• Lead briefings, content sourcing, agent training, stakeholder approvals, and quality assurance processes.
• Negotiate contracts and hold suppliers accountable for delivery and performance.

Cross-Team and Market Integration

• Represent the retention and legacy programme in cross-functional planning meetings and contribute to a unified team culture focused on strategic delivery.
• Work closely with the Acquisition and Digital lead to deliver a seamless supporter journey from point of recruitment to donor communications.
• Work closely with the Philanthropy Manager to develop and manage the pipeline of HV/Major donors.
• Work closely with the Legacy administrator, Philanthropy Manager and Volunteer Manager to develop the legacy pipeline.
• Work closely to ensure all digital communications are aligned and support the retention strategy
• Act as a key liaison with colleagues across Operation Smile global markets, sharing insights and exploring opportunities to align strategy, co-develop creative, or pilot cross-market initiatives.

Compliance, Risk & Best Practice

• Ensure all campaigns meet legal, ethical and data protection requirements (e.g., GDPR, Fundraising Regulator).
• Act as a key contributor to organisational risk assessments relating to income performance and supplier performance.
• Keep up to date with sector trends, innovations and benchmarks to maintain best practice.

Person specification

Essential Experience

• Extensive experience (ideally 5+ years) in Individual Giving, Legacy or fundraising acquisition roles.
• Proven success delivering multi-channel (including digital) retention campaigns for both cash, legacy and regular giving donors with strong ROI.
• Experience managing external agencies and suppliers to high performance standards.
• Strong background in regular giving retention.
• Demonstrable experience managing and reporting on retention budgets.

Skills & Attributes

• Strategic thinker with excellent campaign planning and execution skills.
• Highly numerate and confident using data for decision-making and optimisation.
• Strong project and stakeholder management abilities.
• Proactive, self-starting approach with high levels of ownership and accountability.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, able to represent the organisation externally.

Desirable

• Understanding of retention and supporter journey optimisation.
• Familiarity with CRM, Dot digital and data system Donorfy.
• Experience with Power BI or other reporting tools.

First-round interviews are set for the week of 9th March 2026. We strongly encourage early applications.

Disability Confident Committed Employer

We're a Disability Confident Committed employer, so we guarantee an interview to any disabled applicant who meets the minimum requirements for the job.

At Operation Smile UK, we value individuals based on their performance and potential. We're dedicated to creating a diverse and inclusive workplace that supports everyone's needs. We're happy to make reasonable adjustments throughout the application and employment process, and we particularly welcome applications from diverse backgrounds.

If you need this document in a different format, require any adjustments, or need help with your application, please contact us (further details contained within the job description).

Equality, Diversity & Inclusion

Operation Smile UK knows fundraising could better reflect the diverse backgrounds and experiences of the people the charity sector supports. If you don’t meet every requirement but believe your transferable skills align with the role, we encourage you to contact us for a conversation. 

We want our team to reflect the diversity of the communities we serve, offering equal opportunities to everyone, regardless of, age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, or sexual orientation.

We celebrate diversity and encourage you to bring your authentic self to Operation Smile UK. We are committed to supporting all applicants and ensuring a fair hiring process. All appointments will be made solely on merit, and we are happy to make reasonable adjustments throughout the recruitment process. 

Charity Director

£60,000 per annum (full-time equivalent) actual salary £36,000 per annum

24 hours per week (0.6 FTE)

Fixed-term (6 months), with the intention to extend subject to funding and mutual agreement

Primarily remote with occasional visits to AVPB’s central London premises

Alternatives to Violence Project (AVP) is an international movement that started in the 1970s in the American prison system. AVP Britain (AVPB) is one of multiple independent branches which operate around the globe. A registered national charity, AVP Britain is committed to a world where everyone has the courage and capacity to manage conflict non-violently.

We provide experiential workshops in-person and online; and distance learning courses which give people the necessary skills to navigate conflict non-violently and empower them to build better relationships.

AVPB is a small but impactful charity with a long history of working in communities and prisons across the UK.  We are entering an important next phase in our development and are seeking a Charity Director who can provide strategic and operational leadership, strengthen our financial sustainability, increase our visibility and impact across the communities we serve, and steward our mission with clarity and care.

The Charity Director is the leader of our charity and is the most senior paid role within AVPB.  The successful candidate will play a central role in shaping the organisation’s present and future.

We are looking for a Charity Director who provides leadership that encompasses income generation, fundraising, oversight of our programme quality and delivery, leads and supports our support staff, volunteers, and facilitators and will works closely with the Board of Trustees.

This is a part-time role (0.6 FTE, 24 hours per week), offering flexibility and the opportunity to make a meaningful impact within a values-led organisation. This is initially a fixed-term appointment for six months, with the intention to extend subject to funding and mutual agreement.

How to apply

Application is by way of a CV and a Supporting Statement.

Closing date: Midnight 10th March 2026

AHF is seeking an England Development Manager (Heritage Revival Fund) to co‑lead our core grants and advisory programme across England. This role has been created following the recent announcement of significant new investment, which will support the expansion of the Heritage Revival Fund through to 2030. This investment will enable AHF, in partnership with DCMS and Historic England, to provide grants to hundreds of communities across England, helping them bring neglected historic buildings back into use.

Ideally based in southern or central England with focus on southern half of the country. The postholder will work jointly with the current England Development Manager (HRF), who will focus on the northern half of England. Together, they will oversee activity and workflow across the whole country. The role also includes joint management of the England grants team (who work remotely) and programme budget, working flexibly and collaboratively to ensure the successful delivery of AHF’s core programme.

We are looking for a candidate with strong experience across the key responsibilities of the role, including team management, programme budget oversight, and reporting. Ideally, they will bring a proven track record of leadership within the heritage or charitable sector. Candidates must have strong numerical and financial skills, excellent attention to detail, confidence using common IT and Office systems, and the ability to work collaboratively as part of a team.

Longer working lives and ongoing economic transitions are reshaping careers: how we start them, and how we move through them. But too many people remain paid in low-paid, low-quality work – with damaging consequences for them personally, and our economy as a whole. We’re seeking a senior, policy-oriented research leader to help us and our partners generate insights that enable more people to move into and progress through better work.

You’ll have a proven track record in scoping and securing funding for research and influencing activity, with significant autonomy to lead your own programme at L&W. You’ll be supported by committed researchers and managers whom you will coach, lead, and develop—alongside a peer group of Deputy Directors working across other key pillars. We welcome quantitative expertise, but most important are the skills to design and deliver high-quality, impactful research programmes.

You’ll join an organisation with a national reputation for driving policy change—and a friendly, highly capable, delivery-focused team. 

Location: Hybrid working: 40-60% in an L&W office. Our offices for this role are currently in Leicester and London, but if you are based elsewhere, please contact us to talk about how the role could work for you.

Team:Research and Development

Salary:£64,450 -£77,880 per annum (pro rata), dependent on experience and location

Duration:Permanent

Working hours:0.8 to 1 FTE, with flexible working supported (e.g. condensed hours, flexible start and finish times)

Main Purpose

The Deputy Director, Policy and Research (Better Work and Progression) will have overall ownership of the ‘Better Work’ pillar of our strategic plan at L&W: overseeing all projects and activity in this area and generating new work (including developing project ideas and securing funding).

While there is significant scope to shape the ongoing programme of research and impact work, we anticipate that key areas of focus in this area going forward will be: understanding & better supporting career change; understanding and improving policy to increase employer investment in skills; high quality and fair access apprenticeships and technical education; understanding how to better support progression from low pay.

They will be a senior leader for the organization – helping to continuously shape our strategy and the plans we are implementing to deliver it.

Duties and Responsibilities

Leadership and management

• Intellectual leadership of the Better Work pillar: developing and owning policy positions, messages, theory of change and research priorities, and supporting the wider team to feed into and understand them
• Line management of senior and mid-level staff
• Act as a senior leader at L&W – including taking on specific organization-level responsibilities where appropriate

Income

• Write and/or co-ordinate responses to reactive research and evaluation tenders in the areas of employment, better work and progression
• Develop pro-active proposals that will drive change in your area, and respond to the interests of funders and partners
• Build relationships with current and potential funders and research partners

Impact

• Act as an external expert on the issues of better work and progression: writing press quotes, articles and blogs;speaking on platforms
• Building relationships with practitioners, policymakers and partners to improve our insights, and get our recommendations implemented
• Develop appropriate means of tracking impact towards our better work goals, and monitor against them. 

Delivery

• Deputy Director/Project Director-level oversight of projects being delivered in your and related areas: supporting project team to shape research plans, deliver sharp insights and manage funder relationships
• Quality Assurance of research proposals and outputs
• Use your research skills and experience to support the wider development of the Learning and Work team

Person Specification

Experience

Experience of developing, overseeing and delivering programmes of policy-relevant research at a high level - Essential

Experience of business development in a policy/research context: developing ideas, writing bids and building relationships with funders- Essential

Experience of building senior-level relationships with external stakeholders for impact and influence -Essential

Track record of delivering national and/or local policy change - Essential

Experience of senior organisational leadership as part of a team - Desirable 

Experience of responding to tenders- Desirable 

Skills

Advanced research skills (qualitative of quantitative) -Essential

Quantitative skills: experience of using key national research and administrative data sets to generate insights into the labour market -Desirable 

Clear and direct written communication style - Essential

Knowledge

Knowledge of, and commitment to, L&W’s charitable aims and purpose.- Essential

Demonstrable knowledge of employment and/or skills policy in the UK - Essential

Demonstrable knowledge in the specific areas of Better Work and/or progression -Desirable 

Learning and Work Institute works across the UK. Our work in Wales is led by a Cardiff based team, but all staff are required to follow the guidance set out in our Welsh language scheme when working in Wales.

Director of Income Generation & Business Development
Salary - £55,000 - £60,000 dependent on experience
Location: Leeds (hybrid working)

For over 50 years, Leeds Women’s Aid has been a lifeline for women and children experiencing domestic violence and abuse. The organisation has grown significantly, from a c.£600–700k income charity 10 years ago, to one now approaching £5m annual income. With this growth comes bold, renewed ambition to diversify income, strengthen influence and ensure LWA’s voice, values and impact are communicated with clarity and confidence to reach those who need them most. 

It’s an exciting time in LWA’s development. With a growing footprint, deeper community roots, expanding services and renewed ambition to influence systemic change for women. This newly established Director of Income Generation & Business Development role is designed to bring together income generation, marketing and communications, and retail under one strategic umbrella to shape the next chapter of LWA’s development and impact. 

As Director of Income Generation & Business Development you will set the strategic direction for all income related activity across the charity, ensuring LWA develops a sustainable, diversified income portfolio that is aligned with the charity’s purpose and values. This is an opportunity to shape a sustainable future for LWA – ensuring it can continue to grow its impact and that its work remains rooted in the voices and experiences of women and children. 

You’ll play a key role in the Senior Leadership Team, contributing to collective leadership, organisational governance and the long-term resilience and strategic direction of the charity. 

As Director of Income Generation & Business Development you will:

• Strategically lead a multi-year income generation and business development strategy, setting key objectives and enabling diversification that aligns with LWA’s values and new organisational strategy. 
• Provide strategic leadership for marketing and communications, ensuring organisational-wide narrative building that reflects the values and impact of LWA, while championing the voices of women and children. 
• Ensure strategic leadership for LWA’s retail function, developing growth strategies that balance community impact alongside financial performance. 
• Develop compelling, adaptable cases for support that reflect LWA’s impact and ambitions, ethically and meaningfully embedding survivors’ voices. 
• Strengthen organisational resilience through income diversification beyond statutory funding, establishing strong communities of support and identifying opportunities for growth. 
• Work collaboratively with the Director of Services & Engagement and Director of Strategy, Partnerships & Influence to identify and develop new commissioning and business development opportunities, ensuring viability and strategic alignment. 
• Represent LWA with authenticity, integrity and sensitivity to ensure the values of the organisation are upheld and that organisational decision making reflects women-centred principles. 

The role would best suit:

• A senior income generation leader, with broad multi-stream experience and a proven track record of strategically driving growth and diversification of fundraised income. 
• A strategic leader with the ability to develop a team across income generation, marketing and communications and retail. 
• An individual with experience of developing income generation strategies that intersect with organisational strategies and ambitions. 
• Someone with the ability to balance income generation with ethical storytelling/responsibility, public accountability and regulatory considerations. 
• An individual who demonstrates commitment to LWA’s values and the Nolan Principles: selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty and leadership. 
• Someone with demonstrated commitment to, and understanding of, women-led and women-centred support services, including the importance of trauma-informed, inclusive, and empowering practice for women and girls.

Please get in touch as soon as possible to express an initial interest, the deadline for applications (CV and Application Questions) is Tuesday 24th February with first stage interviews scheduled to take place Thursday 5th/Monday 9th of March.  

Due to the nature of the services provided and the population supported, this post is subject to an Occupational Requirement under Schedule 9 (Part 1) of the Equality Act 2010, and therefore the postholder must be female. This requirement is applied lawfully and proportionately, reflecting the organisation’s provision of specialist women-centred services and the need to maintain safety, trust, and authenticity in leadership and external representation.

Appointment to this role will be subject to safer recruitment checks, including satisfactory references, right to work verification, and a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check at the appropriate level.

The Haberdashers’ Company is one of the ancient Livery Companies of the City of London, with a history dating back to 1371. While custodians of a remarkable heritage, we are firmly focused on the present and future. Our enduring purpose is to empower young people from every background to fulfil their potential through our schools and by supporting their communities.

Today, the Company is a thriving membership organisation of more than 1,000 members from a wide range of professions, united by a shared commitment to service and social impact. We are a modern, values-led funder, committed to flexible, relational and transparent grant-making, working in partnership with our schools, churches, communities and charity partners to create lasting change.

Central to our approach is the Haberdashers’ Advantage, a distinctive funder-plus model that combines grant funding with member-led governance support, volunteering, mentoring and capacity building. Each year, the Company distributes over £5.6 million to support schools, young people, churches and charities across North London, Southeast London, South Wales and the West Midlands, with a primary focus on education and community resilience.

The Role

We are seeking a Director for Charities to lead and further develop the Company’s grant-making, philanthropy and fundraising. This senior leadership role is responsible for shaping and delivering charitable strategy and ensuring the Company’s resources create meaningful, long-term impact for young people and communities.

The Director for Charities will oversee our grant-making, steward key funding relationships and play a central role in developing fundraising with members, including growing individual giving, legacies and events-based income. The role is inherently relational, working closely with charity partners, schools, dioceses, Company members and colleagues. You will support and advise grant-making committees, convene learning and engagement events, and represent the Company within external funder networks to remain connected to best practice in modern philanthropy.

Who We Are Looking For

We are looking for a values-driven leader with strong experience of flexible and responsive grant-making and fundraising in the charitable sector, and a clear commitment to improving outcomes for young people and communities. You will have excellent communication skills, a warm, engaging and reflective leadership style, and will thrive in a small but highly collaborative organisation. You will be comfortable engaging with grassroots charities, senior stakeholders, Company members and robust governance structures, combining an appreciation for heritage and service with a commitment to modern, progressive philanthropy.

To read more about the opportunity and our work, please download the full appointment brief.

Closing Date: 3 March 2026

People Beyond Profit Screening Conversations: 9-18 March 2026

The Haberdashers’ Company Panel Interviews:

• First Stage: 27 March 2026
• Second Stage: 13 April 2026

Associated Country Women of the World (ACWW) is an international non-governmental organisation which works to amplify the voices of rural women globally.  We are looking for an Executive Director for our small Central Office team which works with member organisations and individuals in the UK and around the world to ensure that rural women are represented, recognised for their critical importance in society, and have a platform to influence policy makers.  We combine advocacy and small-scale, women-led development projects designed by the local women who will implement them for the benefit of their communities.

This an exciting time to join ACWW in the lead up to our centenary and planning for the 32nd Triennial World Conference in 2029.  We are looking to appoint an Executive Director as our current Executive Director will be retiring this summer.

The successful candidate will be reporting to the Board of Trustees and working with colleagues and trustees to foster relationships, partnerships and collaborations with individuals, funders and networks in line with the Association’s objectives, priorities and values. You will have an important contribution to make in all aspects of the Association.

We are an equal opportunity, disability-confident employer and are dedicated to achieving the highest standards of diversity, equity and inclusion.  We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds, beliefs, customs, traditions and ways of life including groups currently underrepresented in our workforce.

This role is offered as full-time.  If you have successful charity sector experience, ability to build and maintain positive relationships and are looking to work for a charity focused on championing women’s empowerment and advocating for change, we’d like to hear from you. Please see application pack for further details and to apply.

Director of Fundraising

We are seeking an experienced Director of Fundraising to lead income generation and build strong relationships with major donors and corporate partners.

Position: Director of Fundraising
Salary: £58,000 to £65,000 per annum, pro rata
Location: Burnt Oak, North London, with some hybrid working
Hours: Full time or 0.8 FTE
Contract: Permanent
Closing Date: Wednesday 4th March at noon
Interviews: First round 11th, 13th or 16th March. Final round in person w/c 23rd March

About the role
The Director of Fundraising role sits on the Senior Leadership Team and has responsibility for delivering a fundraising programme with a target of around £2m per year. You will lead the fundraising function and personally manage a portfolio of major donors and corporate partners.

Key responsibilities include

• Generating substantial income to meet annual fundraising targets
• Managing and stewarding major donors, high net worth individuals and corporate partners
• Supporting trusts and grants fundraising to deliver high quality funding bids
• Leading and developing the fundraising team, setting KPIs and income targets
• Developing and delivering a fundraising strategy aligned to the wider organisational strategy
• Preparing reports and presenting to the Board of Trustees and relevant committees
• Ensuring compliance with fundraising legislation and codes of practice
• Working with partner organisations and networks to share best practice
• Acting as a senior leader within the organisation and role modelling organisational values

About you
As Director of Fundraising You will be an experienced fundraising professional with a strong track record of securing significant income from major donors and partners. Essential experience includes:

• Experience of securing six figure donations from major donors or corporate partners
• A strong track record of meeting challenging fundraising targets
• Experience of managing donor pipelines and aligning supporter interests with organisational need
• Experience of working with Trustees or senior volunteers
• Line management experience and the ability to lead and motivate a team
• Excellent communication and relationship building skills
• A strategic and target driven approach to fundraising
• Strong organisational skills and the ability to manage multiple deadlines
• Experience of using a fundraising database or CRM system

About the organisation
The organisation provides open access youth services for young people aged 8 to 19, and up to 25 for those with additional needs. It operates six days a week and offers a wide range of activities and targeted support. Fundraising is essential to cover the majority of its operating costs, and the charity is well established locally with strong community and philanthropic support.

The organisation is part of a wider national network, working collaboratively with partner organisations to increase funding and share best practice.

Other roles you may have experience of could include; Head of Fundraising, Head of Development, Fundraising Manager, Major Gifts Manager, Head of Corporate Partnerships, Philanthropy Lead, Fundraising Director, Development Director, etc.

If you are looking for a leadership position that requires creativity, that will enable you to flourish, be ambitious, operate both strategically and operationally, and drive success, then this is the position for you. #INDNFP

About School of Food
Set up in March 2020, Hackney School of Food (HSoF) is a food education hub on the grounds of Mandeville Primary School in Clapton, East London. Our mission is to improve the health and wellbeing of children, families, and our community by developing practical skills and confidence in food growing and cooking, from seed to spoon.

In 2023, we became a not-for-profit Community Interest Company (CIC), and have since grown our team, strengthened our governance and expanded our facilities with the addition of a new Garden Room, increasing capacity for workshops, dining and events. We are now well-positioned to grow and diversify our income streams, which enables us to subsidise our schools and community programmes.

Role Overview

This brand-new role offers an exciting opportunity to develop and deliver Hackney School of Food’s commercial and marketing strategy, with a focus on growing key income streams including corporate engagement, paid workshops and events, and venue hire. You will shape how HSoF positions itself externally and how we grow our trading income to subsidise our food education community offer.

While this is currently a freelance role, it is not a transactional position; you’ll collaborate closely with our team, supported by and reporting to our Managing Director. This is a role for someone who can think commercially and creatively and then roll up sleeves to put strategy into action. You’ll believe in our mission and feel passionately about helping Hackney School of Food grow and thrive. Starting as a six-month contract, there is potential for the role to become longer term as the organisation grows.

Key Responsibilities

Commercial Strategy & Income Generation

● Work with the Managing Director to develop and deliver a clear, mission-aligned commercial and marketing strategy.

● Grow earned income streams including corporate engagement, paid workshops and events, and venue hire, helping to sustain and expand schools and community programmes.

● Help shape and refine commercial offers, including pricing and packages, ensuring they are appropriate, achievable and aligned with our values and capacity.

● Contribute to commercial planning by sharing insight on what works and areas of impact.

Relationships and bookings

● Confidently present and explain our commercial offers to key audiences in a way that reflects who we are and why our work matters.

● Proactively identify and chase opportunities for new corporate partners that align with our work.

● Guide enquiries through to bookings, encouraging repeat engagement and longer-term relationships

● Work closely with the wider team to ensure commercial offers are deliverable, well-priced and aligned with organisational capacity.

Marketing & visibility

● Drive work to grow awareness of Hackney School of Food, create compelling externally facing marketing content targeted to the right audiences, across various channels.

● Help capture and share stories, feedback and learning from our commercial activity, support consistent messaging that connects our commercial work to our social impact.

● Conceive, promote and deliver events to market our space, both online and offline.

● Monitor and report on the impact of our external comms, sharing insights with our team to help refine offers, processes and focus over time.

Your experience

Essential

● Genuine passion for Hackney School of Food’s mission and values.

● Experience in income generation, commercial activity and/or promoting events.

● Proven experience in delivering a successful marketing strategy to support income generation.

● An existing network of relationships, or the confidence and credibility to build them, across organisations, businesses or sectors aligned with food, education or social impact.

Desirable

● Experience of working in a start-up, social enterprise or in a food or education context.

● Familiarity with Hackney and East London’s community, cultural or business landscape.

● Confident managing content and organisational activity on social and digital media platforms

● Understanding of how evaluation or feedback can support learning and improvement.

Outputs & Success Measures (First 6 Months – Indicative)
We recognise that Hackney School of Food is at a growth stage and that commercial income is shaped by many factors, including capacity, seasonality and market conditions. These outputs are intended as guiding success measures rather than rigid targets.

By the end of the initial six-month contract, the Commercial & Marketing Lead will have:

● Produced and agreed a clear Commercial & Marketing Delivery Plan for Hackney School of Food, setting priorities for growing our commercial income in a way that aligns with our mission.

● Refined our core commercial offers and packages (e.g. corporate away days, team volunteering, venue hire, paid public workshops), ensuring they are appealing and realistic to deliver.

● Built a healthy pipeline by identifying and actively pursuing 10–15 well-aligned commercial leads, with a focus on quality of fit as well as volume.

● Supported a meaningful increase in commercial enquiries, alongside capturing learning about what kinds of outreach, messaging and partnerships resonate most.

● Created a suite of core marketing assets for commercial activity (e.g. simple decks).

● Delivered at least two targeted promotional pushes (for example around corporate away days), testing approaches and learning what works best.

● Increased the visibility of our commercial offers across agreed channels (e.g. website, LinkedIn, email and partners), with light-touch reporting on reach.

● Supported Hackney School of Food to transition towards a higher volume of commercial bookings, strengthening operational processes and ways of working so growth is sustainable and doesn’t place undue pressure on delivery teams.

● Produced a short end-of-contract reflection summarising what’s worked well, what’s been challenging, and recommendations for the next phase of growth and investment.

Practicalities

Day rate: Subject to experience.
Location: We’re a place-based organisation and our team works on site in Hackney. We are open to exploring more flexible working given the freelance nature of this role but require at least 1 day per week in the office during the first three months.

How to apply: please send a CV and a concise cover letter telling us:

● Why this role and Hackney School of Food appeal to you

●  How your experience could support our commercial income generation.

● Your availability and preferred freelance working pattern

Send applications with Commercial & Marketing Lead in subject line to us via email. You'll find our email on our website (Charity Jobs restricts us from including it in this job ad).

Deadline: Wednesday 11 March at 9am.
Hackney School of Food is committed to equity, diversity and inclusion and welcomes applications from people of all backgrounds.

We have an exciting opportunity for an experienced Head of Communications to come and join our team providing maternity cover until January 2027 during a period of organisational growth.

Location – This role is mainly working from home with one day a week in our London office (usually a Monday). Occasional travel to our other programme sites (currently Stoke-On-Trent, Redcar, Middlesbrough and Scotland) will also be required.

Salary – Circa £60,000

Employment Type – Fixed term until January 2027, 35 hours per week

Team – Communications team

About you

We are looking for someone who can demonstrate the following:

· Strong experience in strategic communications, ideally within a start-up, growing, complex or place-based organisation.

· Experience setting up and embedding communications functions, including establishing foundations and building approaches as priorities evolve.

· Significant experience in people leadership, including developing others and building a strong, collaborative working culture.

· Experience influencing senior stakeholders and working with an SLT, including supporting government policy, media, funding and influence related activity.

· Strong content, storytelling and copywriting expertise and the ability to communicate a clear organisational narrative.

About the role

The responsibilities of this role include:

· Overseeing and ensuring the delivery of national and local communications strategies and plans, including national content activity and priority local campaigns and stakeholder engagement.

· Leading the set-up and embedding of new place-based communications functions.

· Leading and overseeing the planning and delivery of Thrive at Five’s 2026 Impact Report, communications relating to evaluations and learning, and our fifth-year anniversary, working closely with evaluation and fundraising colleagues.

· Maintaining and strengthening relationships with key national and local stakeholders in line with our communications strategy and goals.

· Providing professional and operational leadership and coaching to the wider Communications team to ensure they deliver to a high standard.

About us

Thrive at Five is a national charity focused on giving every child the best possible start in life. We know the foundations for life and learning are built in the earliest years, from pregnancy to five. By working alongside families, communities and local partners, we help build stronger, more connected support for parents, so more children get what they need to thrive and reach a good level of development by age five.

Thrive at Five is a relatively young organisation but with an already strong national and political profile, having been called out in Parliament for our ways of working in Stoke-on-Trent and invited to be interviewed at the 2025 Civil Society Summit by the Secretary of State for Education. We have grown rapidly in our first four years, with a growing team of nearly 40 across the country. 2026 will be a year of further growth and milestones for the charity as we celebrate our fifth-year anniversary and expand into our third and fourth regions. This will involve recruiting for a new teams, establishing our programmes and beginning to co-design and implement our work in partnership with communities.

About our benefits

· Pension contributions – We will contribute 3% and you can contribute 5% towards your pension through NEST.

· Hybrid working with one anchor day a week in our central London office near to Victoria train station, coach station and underground.

· 25 annual leave days per year plus bank holidays.

· In addition to your laptop and phone provided by us, you can also receive a £100 contribution towards your home-working set up.

· £100 contribution towards your professional body membership

Please note that as this role is subject to a successful Basic Level Disclosure check through the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). If you have any unspent convictions, but wish to apply for this role, please advise us in your application. The successful candidate will also need to provide satisfactory references and current right to work in the UK.

To apply for this role, please submit your cover letter and CV by following the Apply Now button. Applications will be reviewed and shortlisted as they are received. While the closing date is midnight on Wednesday, 18 February 2026, we may close the vacancy earlier if a suitable candidate is identified.

The Organisation

Together We Learn is a charity registered in England and Wales, working in close partnership with Together We Learn Ethiopia, a registered NGO in Ethiopia. Operating as two distinct legal entities, the organisations work as sister charities with a shared mission and vision: to enable disadvantaged children to access high-quality education.

While Together We Learn in the UK leads fundraising, governance and international engagement, Together We Learn Ethiopia is responsible for implementing and delivering programmes on the ground.

Our approach focuses on improving both access to education and the quality of education systems, while supporting the wider wellbeing of students, families and communities. We work in partnership with state education systems to deliver sustainable, long-term impact.

By addressing educational needs both in and beyond the classroom, Together We Learn aims to create lasting change for children and communities across Ethiopia.

The Role

As CEO, you will lead the UK team of Together We Learn and work in close partnership with the Ethiopian team, providing guidance and support to enable them to deliver programmes to a high standard. You will provide overall leadership for the charity, with responsibility for fundraising and stakeholder engagement, oversight of programmes, and management of finance and operations.

The annual turnover of Together We Learn is £350,000, and you will be responsible for line managing two staff in the UK and occasional interns, as well as supporting our Ethiopian partner, who has 15 programme and 8 support staff working across two regional offices: Gondar in the Amhara region and Addis Ababa in the Oromia region. The charity is managed by an experienced board of 5 trustees who meet quarterly and provide ad hoc support in their professional areas of expertise.

The charity is in a stable position with funds secured for the current year and a fundraising plan in place for the year ahead. You will have a detailed handover to enable you to carry out the varied functions required by the role and will be supported in these by the Programmes Manager and Sponsorship Coordinator. You will report to the board on a quarterly basis.

Our current three-year strategy focuses on building the capacity of our Ethiopian partner so that they can take a greater role in leading the organisation. This runs through our approach in all aspects of our work, and specific targets have been identified to help us achieve this goal over the strategic period. You will have the opportunity to advance our strategy using your unique skills.

Responsibilities

Team Leadership

• Line manage the Programmes Manager, Sponsorship Coordinator and interns.
• Collaborate with the Ethiopia Country Director and the staff or Together We Learn-
• Ethiopia on programme delivery.
• Deliver the organisational strategy.

Deliver High Quality Programmes

• Monitor delivery of activity plans related to projects, sponsorship and school linking.
• Track programme finances against budgets.
• Support the UK staff in their programme roles.

Finance and Operations Management

• Steward Together We Learn’s finances, including reconciling accounts, managing the finance database and tracking performance against the forecast and fundraising plan.
• Due diligence checks on Ethiopian partner finances.
• Prepare annual accounts for examination and develop the annual report for Charity Commission submission.
• Governance duties and other finance admin.

Fundraising

• Reporting and applications to trusts and foundations.
• Stewardship of donors and fundraisers.
• Oversight of the annual online fundraising campaign.

Communications and Stakeholder Engagement

• Quarterly supporter newsletters.
• Posting regular updates on our social media platforms.
• Maintaining the website content, including blog updates and basic SEO management.

The job of a CEO is hard to define, especially in a small charity, so the list above covers the key areas but is not exhaustive, and other duties may be required.

Person Specification

This role requires someone with excellent time management and interpersonal skills. The ideal candidate will have experience managing teams in a development or small charity environment, as well as significant experience managing finance systems, fundraising and having oversight of multiple programmes.

Essential Experience & Competencies

• Energetic and self-motivated individual who shares our mission.
• 3+ years of team leadership or experience in a senior management role directly responsible for staff and high-level reporting. Ability to provide positive, hands-on leadership to a small team of experienced and motivated individuals.
• 3+ years of financial management, including full-cost budgeting, tracking and reconciling finances, and reporting against forecasts and spending plans.
• 3+ years of proven experience in fundraising, a successful track record of securing and reporting on significant grants as well as maintaining positive funder relations.
• Experience working overseas in an international development or education context or working closely with overseas partners in the same sectors.
• A practical, collaborative and adaptable approach with good problem-solving skills.
• Excellent time management and organisational skills.
• Strong and adaptable communication skills, both written and verbal, to support sensitive cross-cultural working and inspire funders and supporters.
• Fluency with MS Office programs, gmail and shared drives.

Desirable Experience & Competencies

• Lived experience of Ethiopia, or of a comparable context, such as the Horn of Africa or East Africa, or a strong personal or professional connection to Habesha or other African cultures.
• Degree or master’s in international development, or similar field of study.
• Office management experience.
• Project delivery or programme management experience, especially in a small charity, international development or education context.
• Experience reporting directly to board level.
• Experience increasing online engagement or driving new donor recruitment.
• Familiarity with a CRM system (e.g. Salesforce).

Equal Opportunities

We value the benefits of a diverse team and encourage applications from candidates of all backgrounds. We particularly welcome applications from people with lived experience of the Ethiopian context, or from the African diaspora, for the knowledge and cultural insight they can bring to our work.

Flexible Working

Together We Learn operates a hybrid working style, where you will spend at least one day a week in the office. We find this regular face-to-face time beneficial as a small team, enabling positive collaboration, peer support and engagement with all areas of the organisation’s work. Other hours can be worked remotely or in the office according to individual preference.

You will be responsible for your own time management but must complete the majority of your work within office hours to ensure consistent management and collaboration with colleagues. This includes staff from our partner charity in Ethiopia (time zone GMT+3/ BST+2).

Ideally, we are looking for a candidate to work full-time; however we will consider an 80% part-time role or job share applications, for the right candidate. If you are applying for a job share, please clarify which responsibilities are best aligned with your abilities.

Please note that this post is subject to a satisfactory DBS check, and the successful candidate must have the right to work in the UK.

Application Process

To apply for this role, please submit a cover letter and CV by midnight on 8 March 2026.

The cover letter should explain how your experience and skills meet the criteria required for the role.

First-stage interviews will be held online during the week commencing 16th March, with second-stage in-person interviews at our London office during the week commencing 23rd March.

Role to start date from 13th April 2026.

We regret that we are not able to provide feedback on applications that are not shortlisted for interview.

Use of AI

We understand that AI may sometimes be useful in helping you clarify your ideas or check grammar. However, we want to learn about your voice and approach, so please ensure that the application submitted is written by you and a true reflection of your professional experience.

We look forward to hearing from you!

Join a charity which helps families wherever and whenever they need us

Lia’s Wings is the only charity delivering life-saving aeromedical transfers by plane both within the UK and overseas. We make sure babies and children receive the vital treatment they need, no matter where they are. Alongside these urgent medical transfers, we provide tailored, wrap-around support for families to help them through a crisis, creating long-term improved health and well-being outcomes.

We are seeking a new Director of Fundraising to help us increase our income to support more families. 

The successful candidate will set the strategic direction for fundraising, lead the team to build strong and sustainable income streams and ensure the charity has the resources it needs to deliver and expand our vital services.This is a wonderful opportunity to help shape the future of our small but mighty charity. The successful candidate will bring proven fundraising leadership experience, strong relationship-building skills, and a genuine passion for providing life-changing support to babies and children.   

Key Responsibilities: 

• Develop and deliver a multi-year fundraising strategy aligned to organisational goals.
• Lead income development and diversification across corporate, major donor, trusts and foundations, community fundraising and events.
• Lead the development of compelling cases for support, proposals, and donor communications.
• Build a strong corporate partnerships programme, including aviation sector engagement and charity of the year partnerships.
• Identify and cultivate major donor prospects, working closely with the CEO where appropriate.
• Grow individual giving, including regular giving, appeals, and legacy development.
• Oversee the trusts and foundations pipeline, ensuring high quality applications and stewardship.
• Provide strategic insight to the CEO and Board on fundraising performance, opportunities, and risks.
• As a member of our Senior Management Team, contribute to organisational planning, budgeting, and impact.  reporting.

We are looking for someone with: 

• Proven track record of delivering significant income growth across multiple fundraising streams.
• Experience developing and implementing fundraising strategies.
• Strong leadership skills, with experience managing and developing teams.
• Demonstrable success in building relationships with high-value donors, corporates, or trusts.
• Experience working in a small or growing charity environment.

For further details, please see the attached job description. 

How to apply: 

To apply, please submit a CV and cover letter. Your cover letter (no more than 2 sides of A4) should demonstrate how you meet the person specification set out in the job description. 

The deadline for applications is 5pm on Friday 27th February. 

Please note first round interviews will take place online Thursday 5th and Monday 9th March. A second (and final) round interview will take place in London on the morning of Wednesday 18th March. 

The Organisation

ImpactEd Group supports education and purpose-driven organisations to maximise and realise their potential.

We do this by helping our partners to be consistently impactful and operationally sustainable. Drawing on our domain expertise and technical skills in these areas, ImpactEd Group aims to be the first port of call for leaders across the education ecosystem.

This role exists as a senior leader in our Group, and leads the commercial growth of our Evaluation Practice. ImpactEd Evaluation (IEE) works with schools and organisations, analysing the impact of programmes and interventions to help them do more of what works and less of what doesn’t. The practice works with over 1,400 schools and 80 education and youth organisations, serving more than a quarter of million pupils. This includes helping our partners to design high-quality research projects, delivering them, and providing systems and tools for data collection, reporting and impact benchmarking.

The Opportunity

We are excited to be recruiting for a Principal Director to lead commercial growth within our Evaluation practice. This is a new role within the practice.  Reporting to our Group Directors and / or a Managing Director of IEE (subject to future appointment), the Director will work as part of a practice leadership team that will oversee all aspects of the evaluation team’s work, with a focus on leading business development. Our partnerships encompass education organisations such as charities, edtech organisations and government, and schools and multi-academy Trusts. Across all our partnerships, we aim to design and deliver high-quality research and evaluation projects that help our partners make better decisions for children using good evidence.

You will provide strategic leadership, represent the organisation both internally and externally, and be responsible for driving the commercial performance of the practice. This role will sit alongside a Principal Director focused on the delivery of our partnerships, and our Director of Research.

The role will focus on partnerships and business development, ensuring that ImpactEd Evaluation is positioned well as first port of call for schools and social purpose organisations. You will lead a number of sales and marketing campaigns, develop key propositions for our partners, scan and respond to relevant tenders and work closely with a team of evaluation experts to ensure we are able to continue to bring accessible expertise to our work and partners.

The role would be ideal for a candidate with deep understanding of the education sector, a track record in business development, and the ambition to shape the direction of a growing social enterprise.

About you

As a team focused on research and evaluation, we would also expect roles at this level to demonstrate:

• Values and people: Alignment with our values and ability to demonstrate them in your work. You will facilitate conversations about professional development for your direct reports and act as a coach and role model for other members of the team. 

• Partnership management: Modelling of excellence in partnership management, particularly on proactive driving of partnerships forward, scope management and stakeholder engagement.

• Scoping, sales and evaluation design: Leadership of business development for consultancy engagements and facilitation of evaluation design processes, including designing Theories of Change and evaluation plans, particularly for high-value and high-complexity partnerships, in collaboration with our in-house evaluation experts.

• Proposition development: Understanding of our sector and ability to combine that with our offers as a practice to create propositions that can drive partnership and business development opportunities.

• Reporting and improvement: Ability to listen to and synthesise partner needs to tailor evaluation reporting, quality assure others’ outputs, and help partners take action from research findings.

Why Us?

As well as a commitment to the organisations we work with, we have a commitment to our people and developing the next generation of leaders within the social enterprise, education and evaluation sectors.

Our employee experience is organised around four themes:

• Trust: we support hybrid working, provide flexible hours, and provide responsive management.

• Shared ownership: we are an employee owned organisation and look to increasingly share ownership with our employees, including in terms of governance and culture, and realise this in a number of ways such as ownership awards, and transparent governance including an Employee Voice board.

• Connection: we pay for your travel, provide termly company offsites, support informal clubs and societies, and provide opportunities for in-person and digital connection between colleagues.  

• Health and fulfilment: we have an extensive professional development programme, provide an annual books and development budget allowance and offer 3 days of CPD leave per year in addition to annual leave. We offer all employees access to a MediCash plan and wellbeing advice, including free therapist support.

WORKING WITH US

The founder and sponsor of the Harris Federation, Lord Harris of Peckham, opened our first school in 1990. We have, over the past thirty years, implemented ideas and initiatives that have transformed the opportunities of pupils from working class and disadvantaged backgrounds. Harris academies are widely recognised as a force for social mobility. We are immensely proud of the role that our alumni are now beginning to play in the world and of what we believe our current generation of pupils will go on to achieve.

We now have over 50 schools educating more than 40,000 young people across London and Essex, and employ over 5,000 staff across our academies and head office. With the majority of our academies located in areas of high socioeconomic disadvantage, a high-quality education is key to the futures of the pupils we serve.

As a provider of employment and education, we value the diversity of our staff and students, and all our staff are equally valued and respected. We are committed to providing a fair, equitable and mutually supportive learning and working environment for our students and staff.

Our work will impact many generations to come, and our staff come from all backgrounds and walks of life, coming together to inspire young minds. We promote an inclusive culture that embraces the valuable and enriching contribution that all of our community make. We continue to be proactive in uplifting and supporting all voices at Harris.

To discover more about our culture, ethos and what it is like to work here, visit the page.

ABOUT THIS OPPORTUNITY

We are seeking an organised, proactive and professional Personal Assistant to provide high-level support to the Director of Secondary Education at the Harris Federation. This 1-year fixed-term maternity cover role is central to ensuring the smooth running of the Director’s day-to-day operations, including diary management, stakeholder communication, meeting coordination and the preparation of key documents.

As part of our Head Office team, you will work closely with senior leaders and colleagues across our secondary academies, playing an important role in supporting the Federation’s mission to deliver an outstanding education for thousands of young people. This is an excellent opportunity for someone who thrives in a fast-paced environment, demonstrates exceptional attention to detail, and enjoys building strong, professional relationships.

MAIN AREAS OF RESPONSIBILITY

Your responsibilities will include:

• To present the professional and welcoming face of the Harris Federation and all secondary academies, to all visitors, staff and students, in person and on the telephone.
• To ensure that the Director’s diary is managed efficiently and effectively. This will involve liaising with a variety of external and internal stakeholders.
• To provide a daily/weekly diary and documentation and maintain an overview of approaching deadlines.
• To maintain the Director’s contacts.
• To maintain an exemplary professional environment for the Director at all times.
• To ensure that all visitors are welcomed and catered for in a professional manner, organising refreshments as appropriate.
• To exercise complete discretion when dealing with issues of confidentiality and sensitivity.
• To take all telephone calls, in the first instance, dealing with queries, passing on calls if necessary.
• To keep the Director’s meetings file and retrieve necessary paperwork as and when meetings arise.
• To be responsible for organising meetings and passing on messages between all stakeholders, parents/carers, external agencies and students and the Director.
• To liaise with clerks to Governors to ensure that all relevant paperwork and correspondence is efficiently managed for all the secondary academies.
• To support the Director with the preparation of paperwork and presentations for a range of meetings including interviews, disciplinary hearings, grievances, performance management, presentations, training sessions etc.
• To liaise with Federation admin teams, Data, HR, IT and Finance Business Managers, as well as PAs and Principals across the Federation as appropriate.

For a full list of responsibilities, please download the Job Pack.

WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR

We would like to hear from you if you have:

• Appropriate degree or equivalent experience in previous roles
• Trained in the use of a variety of ICT packages
• Knowledge of personal assistant roles and responsibilities
• Training in typing and formatting of a variety of documents including spreadsheets
• Experience of managing staff in relation to the PA role
• Some experience of human resources e.g. recruitment and/or monitoring attendance
• Experience of working to targets and deadlines
• Experience of managing meetings including preparation and circulation of papers, minutes and ensuring information is circulated as required
• Ability to communicate well both orally and in writing
• Ability to work to deadlines
• Ability to be flexible
• Ability to communicate exceptionally well with parents and carers as well as other stakeholders in the academy

For a full job specification, please download the Job Pack.

APPLYING FOR THIS POSITION

If you would like to discuss the opportunity further, or if you have any questions, please contact us via email to arrange a conversation.

Before applying please ensure you download the job pack from our careers website, this will help with completing your application. Please note that we only accept applications submitted online before the closing date.

When applying, you will have the option to import your CV or use a LinkedIn profile which will auto populate the online application.

A reminder to check your junk mail for our email communications and add us to your safe senders list to ensure all future email communication is received.

OUR VISION & VALUES

Our vision, from the start, has been to provide the structure and services needed for our schools to amount to more than the sum of their parts, and to free-up our teachers and leaders to focus on one thing and one thing only: the outstanding education of all their pupils. Our young people and communities are at the heart of everything we do. Our core mission has always been to close the educational gap between young people from disadvantaged backgrounds and their peers. Our ambition is one where every child in London, no matter their background, has equal access to high quality education, giving them the same opportunities and potential to succeed.

We know there are many challenges facing our young people and the communities we serve, and that’s why we need determined people like you to help us tackle those inequalities. Whilst each of our academies has their own unique cultures and values; as a whole Federation, we have four core values which are central to successfully achieving our vision: Excellence, Collaboration, Support, and Innovation. We are proud of our values because they guide us in how we work allowing us to achieve the best possible outcomes for our young people, communities, and colleagues.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

Safeguarding Notice

The Harris Federation and all our academies are committed to ensuring the highest levels of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people, and we expect all our staff and volunteers to share this commitment. All offers of employment are subject to an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check, references, an online search, and where applicable, a prohibition from teaching check will be completed.

Equal Opportunities

The Harris Federation is an equal opportunities employer and welcomes applications from all suitably qualified candidates. We value the diversity of our staff and students, and everyone at the Harris Federation is equally valued and respected. We aim to be an inclusive employer that reflects the communities we serve. We are committed to providing a fair, equitable and mutually supportive learning and working environment.

WHAT WE CAN OFFER YOU

Harris has a strong culture of collaboration and best practice, with professional development and career planning at its centre. We invest in our staff with support, coaching, mentoring, and a wide range of top-quality training programmes delivered at every level.

You will also have access to a variety of benefits, support programmes and initiatives including:

• Excellent opportunities for continuous professional development and career progression
• Annual performance and loyalty bonus
• Pension scheme (Teachers' Pension Scheme or Local Government Pension Scheme) with generous employer contribution
• 26 days' annual leave (inclusive of our Christmas Eve closure day) plus bank holidays, rising to 27 days after 2 years' service, or equivalent for staff on term time contracts
• Harris Wellbeing Cash Plan including cover for routine and specialist healthcare
• Employee Assistance Programme for free and confidential advice
• Cycle to work salary sacrifice scheme
• Wide range of shopping, leisure, and travel discounts
• 20% off at Tapi Carpets, exclusive to Harris employees
• Interest-free ICT and season ticket loans

For most non-teaching staff based at our Head Office in East Croydon, we also offer lifestyle friendly working arrangements including flexible start and end times, and hybrid working with two days from home and three days on site.