Employment advisors jobs

Can you tell a great story?

Hope into Action is an inspiring story.  It starts with a couple, Ed and Rach Walker, who decide to use £30,000 of their own money to buy a house for people who were homeless in Peterborough in 2010.  And from this seed, an organisation has grown which 16 years later has 134 houses and has seen over £34 million invested in homes for people who were homeless.

Hope into Action is a story of how faith in God has been put into action and led to resources being shared, new relationships being formed and people’s lives being transformed.

Last year we housed over 500 people who had been homeless. Each of those individuals has a story to share of how Hope into Action has helped them. This is the story we want to share.

The Communications & Engagement Lead is responsible for implementing Hope into Action’s communications and engagement strategy. Working closely with the CEO, they will be responsible for telling the Hope into Action story and driving increased engagement with our vision for every church in the UK to be engaged in ending homelessness.

At least 50% of the role is harvesting stories from around our Network to create engaging content which expresses our vision and mission. We want someone who can be both responsive and strategic. To hear a story from our frontline workers and be able to share it on our website and social media later that day – whilst also working towards the longer term goal of more people in the UK being aware of our work and its impact.

We are focused on combining both professional excellence and spiritual passion. The first quality we look for in our staff, therefore, is a passion for the work we do. This needs to be matched by integrity and commitment to leading by our values. You will work closely with all other departments in the organisation, so an ability to build and maintain strong relationships in a rapidly growing and constantly changing organisation is essential.

A deep commitment to the Christian faith is essential as is the ability to communicate the nuance of our faith-driven work sensitively, maturely and passionately. Whilst our office hours are 9am-5pm we support staff in their flexible working. For this role you will be expected to be in our Peterborough Support Centre Office at least 2 days per week with occasional travel to other locations. Our office is located 5 minutes’ walk from Peterborough railway station and with good parking facilities available.

We are committed to staff care and realise the importance of a good work-life balance. To help our staff perform to their best, we offer a range of benefits including generous leave allowance and occupational sick pay provision, retreat days and sabbatical leave, an employee assistance programme and a generous workplace pension, to name a few.

Hope into Action has a great story to share – could you come and help us tell it better?

Salary: £39,000–£42,000 per annum (£65,000–£70,000 FTE equivalent) 

Contract: Permanent – Part time, 3 days a week 

Location: London or Birmingham 

Working pattern: Hybrid. Cross-region travel up to twice a month for in-person SMT meetings. 

Envision is at an exciting moment. Our programmes are working, our partnerships are growing, and our team cares deeply about getting it right. What we need now is someone to help us build the infrastructure to match our ambition – reaching and impacting more young people from less-advantaged backgrounds across London, Birmingham and Bristol. 

As our Chief Operating Officer, you will join our Senior Management Team and take clear ownership of Envision's finance, compliance, HR governance, and operational efficiency. This is a newly defined role – created to give the function the senior leadership it needs and to free the CEO to focus on external leadership, fundraising, and strategy. 

You will join an SMT of four, working alongside the Director of Programmes and Impact and the Director of Philanthropy and Partnerships, led by the CEO. It is a collegiate team that operates with a high degree of mutual trust and collective ownership – and we are looking for someone who is as comfortable in a strategic conversation about Envision's future as they are reviewing a set of management accounts. 

Key Responsibilities 

• Play an active role in SMT – contributing operational and financial insight to organisational planning, strategy development, and decision-making alongside the CEO and senior leadership team. 

• Lead finance oversight and board reporting: overseeing monthly and quarterly management accounts, leading the annual budget-setting process, owning the audit cycle, and preparing papers for the Finance, Audit and Risk Governance (FARG) Committee. 

• Own HR policy and governance: maintaining Envision's HR framework, handling complex employee relations matters, and overseeing the full employee lifecycle with execution led by the Business Admin and Finance Officer. 

• Line manage the Finance Manager and Business Admin and Finance Officer, providing clear direction and developing a high-performing team. 

• Lead operational improvement: conducting a review of processes and systems, building a live improvement register, and implementing agreed changes through to completion – not just to proposal. 

• Explore and pilot AI and automation tools for high-friction tasks. Genuine curiosity and willingness to experiment matters more than technical expertise. 

• Hold compliance and risk governance oversight – GDPR, Health and Safety, regulatory filings – ensuring a clear calendar of requirements is owned and met. 

Essential Experience, Knowledge and Competencies 

• Qualified or part-qualified accountant (ACA, ACCA, CIMA or equivalent), or demonstrable equivalent finance expertise. 

• Proven experience in a senior operational leadership role with finance oversight responsibility. 

• Experience of audit management and board-level financial reporting. 

• Track record of leading and developing small teams. 

• Working knowledge of GDPR and charity compliance obligations. 

• Demonstrable ability to operate at a strategic and governance level 

• Experience leading operational process or systems improvement, from diagnosis through to implementation. 

• Active interest in AI and automation tools, with a practical approach to exploring and applying them. 

• Commitment to Envision's vision, mission and values and ability to work well in, and contribute to, our organisational culture. 

Envision actively encourages applications from those from Black and Minority Ethnic backgrounds and from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds, as they are currently under-represented in our organisation. We seek to ensure we achieve diversity in our workforce and that all applicants and employees receive equal and fair treatment, regardless of age, race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, disability or nationality. Envision graduates will be guaranteed a first-round interview. 

Please note: we are unable to support visa applications and therefore applicants must have the right to work in the UK. 

To apply, please apply through CharityJob.

Closing date for applications- Wednesday 10 June (midnight) 

Round 1 interviews (online) : Thursday 18 June 

Round 2 interviews (in person- London): Thursday 25 June 

We will only be contacting candidates who have been shortlisted for interview. The safety and wellbeing of the young people we work with is paramount at Envision. Successful candidates will be subject to a full Enhanced DBS check and reference checks. All new staff must attend safeguarding training during their induction period.