Economics jobs

About Chapter One 

Chapter One is a dynamic, growing charity with a vision of a world in which all children have the literacy skills needed to thrive. Our mission is to close the reading gap by providing children with one-to-one support at the time they need it most. We work in thirteen areas/regions of the UK and will support over 4,000 children in 2026-27.

Our unique Online Reading Volunteer programme pairs struggling five to seven-year old (P2-4) readers with reading support volunteers who are working professionals. The volunteer ask is very focused: readers commit 30 minutes a week to read with a child using a bespoke digital platform for an entire academic year. The results are transformative, boosting children's reading confidence and ability. 

From a school perspective, online reading volunteers provide direct, meaningful literacy support for up to 10 pupils per class. The programme is particularly suitable for communities where it might be challenging to find parents and other volunteers who can commit to physically visiting schools to boost reading. For more information please visit our website and watch this short video!

About the Role

Chapter One is seeking a Scotland Programme Manager who is an excellent communicator and is able both to motivate and support schools and teachers to implement our online reading volunteers programme, and also to ensure that the programme’s impact and benefit to disadvantaged communities is maximised throughout the academic year. 

The post is ideal for someone looking for part-time, flexible, term-time only work from a home base and who is able to travel frequently in and around Edinburgh and Glasgow. The postholder will be joining a team of established Programme Managers who work in different parts of the UK and will need to have some flexibility to work some additional hours during busy autumn weeks, and conversely to work fewer hours during quieter periods of the year. 

Key Responsibilities: 

• Effectively explain Chapter One’s online reading volunteer programme and its benefits to school leaders and teachers.

• Install, setup and maintain Chapter One equipment in participating classrooms. This will include technical configuration/troubleshooting of mobile internet hotspots with IT team support.

• Organise and conduct initial teacher training and follow-up.

• Ensure a smooth initial launch of Chapter One’s programme in every classroom.

• Fully understand the operation of the Chapter One platform and database and effectively communicate this to others as needed.

• Liaise with colleagues performing technical and volunteer support roles.

• Through regular visits to/contact with schools, provide on-going embedded professional learning and support to teachers throughout the year as needed.  

• Proactively monitor classroom adherence/fidelity to the Chapter One model, including systematic review of data reports and volunteer feedback, taking proactive action to resolve problems that arise.

• Analyse and manipulate data (largely in Google sheets) to produce reports and identify trends.

• Create regular data summaries for all participating classrooms.

• Lead annual review meetings for senior leadership at participating schools.

• Support programme monitoring, evaluation and research as required.

• Coordinate in person and virtual school ‘visits’ of volunteer teams to classrooms where necessary. This may include opportunities for Chapter One children to visit the office of the volunteers.

• Liaison with corporate partners as required.

• Weekly communication and status updates with Senior Programme Manager(s) and wider team.

• As a new school year approaches, secure commitments from returning schools and help find and target new schools to join Chapter One’s programme. 

We are looking for applicants with the following essential qualities:

• Highly motivated individual with excellent interpersonal and organisational skills. 

• Proven track record of working at a senior level in education, project management or a related field. 

• Proven strength in both written and verbal communication. 

• Highly IT literate, with excellent computer skills, able to troubleshoot software and technical  hardware issues, adept with Google suite and Microsoft Teams.

• Ability to manipulate and analyse data to draw useful conclusions to improve programme delivery.

• Proven ability to work independently. 

• Self-starter and quick learner.

• Ability to adapt and embrace a changing environment. 

• Ability to drive and access to a car for work purposes.

Ideally, applicants will also have the following desirable qualities:

• Two years of teaching/education experience with primary age children.

How to Apply

Please send your CV (maximum 2 A4 sides) and a covering letter via Charity Jobs. Your covering letter (maximum 1 side of A4) should:

1) Explain your relevant experience and why you’re interested in this role at this point in your career.

2) Share your ability to be resilient when things are not going the way you thought, including clear examples of past experiences.

3) Explain how our organisational mission is in line with your values.

Applications that fail to meet these criteria will automatically be discounted. We understand that you may use AI to help craft your application, but do remember that we will be looking for individuals who write a letter that stands out. We want you to have every opportunity to shine and to show us your talents - please let us know if there is anything we can do to make sure the assessment process works for you.

Chapter One is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We value and celebrate diversity in backgrounds and experience and are deliberate about the kind of teams we are building. Literacy is a universal concern, and we need people from all backgrounds to maximise our innovation, creativity and impact. We especially welcome applications from persons who have experienced disadvantage and/or from those who are of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities who are currently underrepresented in the organisation. 

Chapter One is committed to safeguarding children and young people. All postholders are subject to satisfactory references and a PVG check.  Copies of our Safeguarding Policy and Safer Recruitment Policy are available on request.

N.B. Shortlisting and phone screens are likely to take place week commencing Monday 1st June.  For successful candidates, interviews are likely to take place week commencing Monday 8th June.

Chapter One is a dynamic, growing charity with a vision of a world in which all children have the literacy skills needed to thrive. Our mission is to close the reading gap by providing children with one-to-one support at the time they need it most. 

Our unique Online Reading Volunteer programme currently supports around 3,600 children a year. It pairs disadvantaged, struggling five to eight-year old (KS1) readers with reading support volunteers who come from over 170 local and national businesses. The volunteer ask is very focused: readers commit 30 minutes a week to read with a child using a bespoke digital platform for an entire academic year. The results are transformative, boosting children's reading confidence and ability. 

Our Volunteer Engagement Department, which the Volunteer Support Assistant role will be part of, ensures that volunteers have everything that they need to make a success of their reading sessions with pupils. 

For more information about our programmes please visit our website. Please also take some time to visit our social media channels and watch our videos.

About the role:

Please read the attached Job Description PDF.

The required start date is Monday 3rd August 2026. This is a part-time role of 20 hours per week, working 4 hours per day, Monday to Friday. The set working hours are 10:00 - 14:00. Please note that the start date and hours are fixed in line with business needs and cannot be adjusted.

This role is subject to an Enhanced DBS check, and the post-holder must be permanently based in the UK at the time of applying and for the duration of their employment. All Chapter One employees must attend quarterly in-person staff meetings held in various locations across the UK (all expenses covered); attendance and participation is mandatory.

Applying for the role:

Please do not send any applications or correspondence via the Chapter One website. If you’d like to ask anything about the role, you’ll have the chance to do so if you progress to the next stage.

Please read the attached Job Description PDF, and write a cover letter. Your cover letter should:

• Clearly outline your suitability for this role, paying attention to the essential qualities listed within the attached Job Description PDF, and how you can apply these to the main duties of the role.

• Show your interest and understanding of Chapter One.

Any applications without a cover letter will be discarded.

As part of your application, you will be asked some questions designed to allow you to showcase key skills required for this role. Please spend up to 30 minutes on this part of your application, and please read all questions carefully.

Please note that, due to the high volume of applications we expect to receive, we’re unfortunately unable to provide individual feedback to applicants who are not shortlisted at the first stage

Deadline for applications: 

23:30 on Sunday 31st May 2026. No applications will be accepted after this time. We will actively review applications throughout the period of the advertisement. We encourage early applicants as we reserve the right to bring the closing date forward if this is deemed necessary due to volume of applicants.

Next steps:

During shortlisting, your CV, cover letter and answers to the application questions will be reviewed together by senior members of the Volunteer Support Team. If successful, the next stage will be an interview via a video call. There will be at least one further stage after this. Whether successful or unsuccessful, all applicants will be contacted as soon as we are able to. Please monitor your junk/spam email folder regularly, we make contact from the Charity Job website directly and often these emails are detected as spam. 

Chapter One is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We value and celebrate diversity in backgrounds and experience and are deliberate about the kind of inclusive teams we are building. Literacy is a universal concern, and we need people from all backgrounds to maximise our innovation, creativity and impact. We especially welcome applications from persons who have experienced disadvantage and/or from those who are of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities who are currently underrepresented in the organisation.

We are seeking a creative and conscientious communications leader with exceptional attention to detail and demonstrable expertise in developing and delivering high-impact strategic communications outputs in the international development or third sector. We are a relatively small team and are therefore looking for someone who is both highly strategic and able to see the ‘big picture’, while also being happy getting stuck in at an operational level to ensure timely, on-budget delivery of outputs. Experience of working with or within networks or membership organisations would be a particular asset in this role. It is also important that you are comfortable working across all areas – from digital, to design, to publishing, to events – as well as being an exceptional project manager, confident liaising with a range of partners and stakeholders at different levels, and an experienced line manager.

The Global Distributors Collective (GDC) is in an excellent position, with a strong track record of delivery and impact, a solid funding pipeline, and a clear 2026-30 strategy. High-impact communication crosscuts the entire GDC programme and is essential to ensuring that beneficial products can be made affordable and available to all. As Communications Manager (maternity cover), you will therefore need to both hit the ground running to deliver our ambitious schedule of upcoming communications activities – from in-person and online events, to high-profile research, publications, and digital outputs – as well as to work proactively with the Head of GDC, Bopinc team, GDC strategic advisors, and fellow communications colleagues to shape and embed communication activities across a range of new projects that are kicking off in 2026-27.

About Practical Action and the GDC

Practical Action is an international development organisation putting ingenious ideas to work so people in poverty can change their world. For the past eight years, Practical Action has been hosting and building the Global Distributors Collective (GDC): a collective of 300 last mile distribution companies that cumulatively reach millions of the poorest consumers in the world with beneficial products like solar lanterns, water filters and improved cookstoves. GDC activities are delivered in collaboration with strategic and implementing partner Bopinc.

The GDC provides a collective voice for distributors to ensure their priorities are heard; drives research and innovation across the sector; facilitates the exchange of information, insight, and expertise; and provides critical services that leverage economies of scale.

Moving into our 2026-30 strategy phase, we are proactively shifting from creating and setting up advisory services and tools that support last mile distributors to embedding and scaling these initiatives. Specifically, we will focus on four key strategic pillars:

· Unlocking finance: Prepare more last mile distributors (LMDs) for investment and help to unlock country-level financing mechanisms and create LMD-focussed debt facilities. 

· Strengthening business performance: Deliver training, shared services, and data tools that reduce business costs and improve efficiency, in scalable formats.

· Scaling innovation: Identify, test, and replicate high-value business innovations and remove eco-system barriers.

· Shaping systems and local leadership: Build local chapters and influence global and national agendas so LMDs are visible, valued and represented. 

About you

We are looking for a go-getting, ambitious and proactive communications specialist who is ready to lead the GDC communications team to deliver a range of high-impact, top-quality, communications activities over the next 12 months. To succeed in this role, you must be a communications all-rounder, an experienced line manager, and an excellent written and verbal communicator with exceptional attention to detail, robust project management and interpersonal skills. You will be a strategic thinker with the ability to multitask, work independently and adapt in a fast-paced environment, while also being willing to “muck in” in our relatively small team. Depending on where you are based, demonstrable experience of managing remote staff will be important; as will the ability to thoughtfully support and coach team members to achieve their full potential.

Why join us?

This is the opportunity to lead a globally recognised initiative driving innovation and impact in last mile distribution. At Practical Action, you will be part of a values-driven organisation committed to reducing poverty and inequality through sustainable, practical solutions. You will work alongside passionate colleagues and partners, contributing to meaningful change for communities around the world. We offer a collaborative and inclusive working environment that supports learning, innovation, and personal growth.

We treat all applications for employment on their merits and do not take into consideration any factors that are not relevant to the job such as disability, race, age, religion, gender, gender reassignment or sexual orientation. Practical Action is committed to safeguarding and protecting children and vulnerable adults and as such candidates will be subject to pre-employment checks including criminal checks and terrorist financing.

Additional information

We are seeking candidates based in ether Kenya or the UK. The successful applicant must have the pre-existing right to both live and work in the country in which they will be based. Please note this is being recruited as a 12-month fixed term contract. Hybrid working pattern; if UK-based, the role could be predominantly home based

To apply please submit a copy of your CV and supporting that includes the answers to the following questions:

1. Why do you consider yourself a strong candidate for the role of GDC Communications Manager at Practical Action?

2. What most excites you about working on the Global Distributors Collective programme?

3. What do you think would be your biggest strength and steepest learning curve in this role?