Employment training coordinator jobs

People are at the heart of everything we do at Dandelion Time, whether they are our staff, volunteers, or the families we work with.  Being hands-on in the natural world is the basis for our activities and creativity at Dandelion Time. We care for the earth, plants, animals and each other.

We are excited to welcome someone new into our vibrant, committed and welcoming team as we deliver deeply rewarding work with vulnerable children and their families.  If you enjoy working with people, numbers, data and systems,and you get a buzz from keeping things running smoothly, this role will give you plenty of variety and purpose.

You’ll play a key part in our finance administration, keep essential policies and procedures up to date, and support the coordination of our staff and volunteers. From bookkeeping and invoice processing to maintaining accurate records, supporting recruitment and safeguarding checks and helping create a safe, well‑organised environment, your work will make a real difference every day.

Whilst some bookkeeping experience is important, you don’t need to be an expert in everything else.  Your confidence with numbers, organisation skills, willingness to learn and positive, “can‑do” attitude will ensure your success in this role. 

If you thrive in a lively and supportive team and want to contribute to something meaningful, we’d love to hear from you.

High Trees is seeking a Youth Employment Support Service Coordinator for our Build Your Future programme. Build Your Future is a targeted youth employment project supporting young people aged 16–24 who are not in education, employment or training (NEET). The project provides holistic, person-centred support combining outreach and engagement, pastoral support, employability skills development and progression into education, training or work.

The project is primarily delivered in-house by High Trees, working in partnership with other local delivery partners. Build Your Future focuses on young people facing multiple barriers, including care-experienced young people, migrants and refugees, young people with SEND, and those experiencing social or economic exclusion.

The Build Your Future Project Coordinator plays a central role in ensuring the effective day-to-day delivery of the project. Working closely with High Trees delivery teams and partner organisations, the postholder will coordinate outreach and engagement activity, support the provision of high-quality pastoral support for young people, and ensure strong project coordination, monitoring and reporting.

This role will suit someone who is highly organised, collaborative and passionate about supporting young people facing multiple barriers into education, training and employment.

The role requires a balance of coordination, communication and relationship-building skills. You will work closely with colleagues across Employment & Careers and Children, Young People & Families teams, as well as with delivery partners, to ensure Build Your Future is delivered to a high standard.

The post holder will also play an important role in monitoring and evaluation, maintaining accurate records and supporting reporting requirements linked to external funding.

ID: 1672 Peer Mentoring Coordinator

Service: Project Indigo, Off Centre

Salary: £32,750 - £35,564 FTE per annum, inclusive of Inner London Weighting (£19650 - £21338.40 pro rata per annum)

Location: Hackney
We typically work 2 days a week in the office but offer the flexibility to work fully remotely. Our office space is wheelchair accessible. 

Hours: 22.2 hours per week (part-time)
We offer flexible working arrangements - please see below for more details.

Contract: Permanent Contract

Family Action & the Role’s Impact: 

We are seeking a Peer Mentoring Coordinator to develop and manage our new LGBTQ+ Peer Mentoring Programme, training and supporting Project Indigo members to become mentors in the local community.

Project Indigo is the LGBTQ+ youth service based at Off Centre at Family Action. It is open to anyone aged 16-25 who identifies as LGBTQ+ or is exploring their sexuality or gender identity. Our weekly youth group is a safe, supportive space for LGBTQ+ young people to meet each other and participate in workshops and activities. In addition to the youth group, Project Indigo offers 1-to-1 support and advice sessions with the Project Lead. The group aims to support young people to build links with the local LGBTQ+ community, build meaningful relationships and get support around issues that are impacting them. Project Indigo maintains a youth-led and person-centred approach, with this role being developed in consultation with our members to support them in accessing training and support to do community-focused work. The Peer Mentoring Coordinator’s role will be to develop a new Peer Mentoring Programme, supporting older Project Indigo members to train as mentors and deliver mentoring sessions with younger LGBTQ+ people in the local community.

Off Centre is a service that provides a range of targeted mental health focused support services to young people aged 16 to 25 who reside/are registered with a City and Hackney GP. These include: individual, counselling and psychotherapy, individual and group art psychotherapy, key-work support, out of hours drop-in service on Thursday evenings; targeted provision for children and young people of African, Caribbean and mixed heritage (ACH); and an Information and Advice provision.

The role

As the Peer Mentoring Coordinator, you will develop and lead Project Indigo’s Peer Mentoring Programme. Central to the role will be understanding young mentors’ needs and goals, and providing high quality supervisory support throughout the training and mentoring process. You will further develop the Mentoring programme, consulting with relevant organisations, liaising with partners, and keeping accurate records to monitor progress for administrative and evaluative purposes.

Your impact

This role will enrich Project Indigo’s holistic offer by providing young people with the opportunity to access training, qualifications and work experience while receiving high quality support tailored to their needs. You will offer sensitive supervisory support to young LGBTQ+ mentors, supporting their diverse need by maintaining an empathetic, intersectional and youth-led approach.

Your skills

You will be a confident communicator with proven experience of working in a supportive role with LGBTQ+ young people and/or evidence of in-depth knowledge of issues relating to LGBTQ+ young people, in particular trans and gender diverse young people.

You will be empathetic and maintain an understanding of the social issues impacting young LGBTQ+ people. You will have excellent organisational skills and be able to manage your time and workload effectively. You will have an understanding of risk management, health and safety issues and the ability in accordance with local and organisational safeguarding policies.

We particularly encourage applicants with lived LGBTQ+ experience and/or those with experience working with LGBTQ+ young people. We offer a guaranteed interview scheme for disabled applicants and will reimburse your travel cost if you attend an interview.

What will we offer you

We’ll offer you a generous pension scheme and leave entitlements, eye care vouchers and a cycle to work scheme. Family Action has multiple internal staff diversity networks including the Anti-Racism and People of Colour Network, Disability and Accessibility Network, Gender Equality Network, LGBTQIA+ Equality Network and Parents and Carers Equality Network, open to all members of staff who self-identify into a particular group. We have a dedicated Trans, Intersex and Non-binary Inclusion Policy, including Transitioning at Work Guidance.

All roles in Family Action are open to a discussion about possible flexible working options and all new starters will have the right to make a flexible working request from day one of employment. We have an excellent wellbeing offer and we will invest in your continuing professional development with on-going quality training and career development opportunities. You’ll join an established, supportive and high-performing service and have the opportunity to thrive in an innovative organisation that values your opinion, encourages learning and has the needs of children and families at its core.

We are forward looking, ambitious and committed to continuous improvement. We are a people focused, can-do organisation, which strives for excellence in all we do and operates with mutual respect. If you share these values and behaviours and have the necessary skills then we look forward to hearing from you.  

To Apply: 

· Click the “Redirect to Recruiter” link above and fill out our digital application form

· Closing Date: Sunday 15th February 2026

For direct queries with the hiring manager, please email Nigel Lockley.

Appointments are subject to Family Action receiving a satisfactory disclosure from the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Our commitment to Equality, Diversity & Inclusion: 

We are happy to consider any reasonable adjustments that candidates may need during the recruitment process and you will be asked whether you require any adjustments if shortlisted for interview. We also make reasonable adjustments on the job, where required. 

We are committed to Equality, Diversity & Inclusion in all that we do and welcome applications from all sections of the community. Intersectionality is important to us and we welcome applications from ethnically diverse communities, LGBTQIA+ candidates and disabled candidates. We are committed to increasing the representation of these groups at Family Action because we know that greater diversity will lead to even greater results for families and children and we strive for our workforce to be truly representative of the diverse communities we support. 

All candidates with a disability are welcome to apply under the Disability Confident Scheme and request priority consideration for an interview, provided they meet the essential criteria for the role. 

To help remove financial barriers to working with us, we will reimburse travel costs if you are invited to attend an interview in person. 

*Ordinarily Family Action appoints new starters at the starting point of the salary scale (with subsequent annual pay progression), unless you have experience that would justify appointment further up the salary scale or there are any other exceptional reasons. 

Benefits advice to people with asbestos diseases, and organise the day-to-day running of the charity, GMAVSG. Manage two workers, cover phone helpline on a rota, maintain databases and case files, liaise with a panel of solicitors, organise and assist in two support groups, and participate in campaigns on asbestos issues at work and in the environment and on benefits and compensation.  You will deliver benefits advice mainly through home visits in Greater Manchester and some of the neighbouring areas of Derbyshire, Cheshire and Lancashire. Full driving licence and access to a car are essential.  GMAVSG is a registered charity, established by the Greater Manchester Hazards Centre (GMHC) in 1994. You will be doing GMAVSG work but employed by GMHC. Recent experience of welfare rights / benefits advice is essential, as are good ICT and administration skills.  Management experience (particularly in the charity sector) would be beneficial, but is not essential. Training will be given on compensation and industrial injuries benefits for people with asbestos diseases.  35 hour week; salary pro rata for part-time / job share.  Part-time / job share applications welcome, providing you are available during core hours of 9.30am to 4pm for at least 2 days a week. NB: closing date is 4th February 2026, Interview date is 13th February in person in Manchester.

Are you passionate about helping young people build brighter futures?

Do you love bringing programmes to life, building relationships, and making things happen in education? If so, we’ve got an exciting opportunity to join the Young Enterprise team as a Programme Coordinator – Money Heroes.

Who We Are

We’re Young Enterprise - a national charity with a bold mission: to give every young person the skills, confidence, and mindset to thrive in the changing world of work.

For over 60 years, we’ve empowered more than 7 million young people through hands-on enterprise and financial education programmes. Whether it’s launching a student business or learning how to manage money, we help young people develop key life skills - teamwork, leadership, problem-solving, and resilience.

We’re a passionate, down-to-earth team of 90+ staff and 2,000+ volunteers who believe that every young person, regardless of background, deserves a fair start in life.

Why Join Us?

We think Young Enterprise is a great place to work—and we’re proud of our people-first culture. Here’s what you can expect:

• A friendly and supportive team where your voice is heard
• A strong commitment to diversity and inclusion—we want everyone to feel they belong
• Generous holiday allowance and flexible working
• Cycle-to-work scheme, life assurance, and NHS top-up plan
• Ongoing learning and mentoring opportunities
• A chance to directly impact the lives of young people every single day

About the Role

As Programme Coordinator for Money Heroes, you’ll play a pivotal role in our flagship primary programme, helping children develop financial capability.

You’ll work closely with the Programme Manager and Money Heroes team to:

• Coordinate teacher training events and programme delivery
• Support marketing, promotion, and social media campaigns
• Coordinate content development and website updates
• Help monitor and evaluate programme impact
• Provide high-level customer service to teachers, educators, and YE colleagues

This is a varied role with lots of scope for creativity, independence, and collaboration. You’ll see the difference you make every day — from supporting classroom learning to help children and young people build vital life skills.

You’ll love this job if you are…

• a brilliant organiser, proactive, and keen to support the development and delivery of programmes
• experienced in programme coordination, but we welcome candidates with the drive to grow in this area
• enjoy working across projects, supporting teams, and delivering high-quality experiences for teachers and young people alike
• keen to visit some of the schools we work with to see the programme in action

Key Responsibilities

• Work with the Programme Manager and Coordinator to ensure the smooth day-to-day running of the Money Heroes programme, supporting planning, reporting, system set-up and clear communication.
• Deliver a high-quality experience for schools and partners, building positive working relationships with teachers, consultants, partner organisations and colleagues across Young Enterprise, including senior leaders.
• Support the delivery of the Money Heroes teacher training and mentoring offer, helping educators feel confident and well supported.
• Keep track of programme activities using databases and spreadsheets, including teacher and parent sign-ups and training or mentoring events.
• Collaborate with the Marketing team and Programme Manager to support the growth and visibility of the programme, including contributing to marketing communications and coordinating activity to maintain engagement.

A few practical things

• This is a hybrid role based in London or Oxford, with a minimum of 8 office days per month
• The contract runs until December 2027

Keeping Young People Safe

At Young Enterprise, safeguarding is at the core of everything we do. We are committed to promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults. All successful applicants will receive ongoing safeguarding training throughout their employment and be expected to uphold excellent safeguarding practice at all times.

How to Apply

If you’re ready to help shape the futures of young people, we want to hear from you!

Please send your CV and a separate document answering these three questions (max 250 words each).

1. Interest in Young Enterprise

What attracted you to Young Enterprise and the Money Heroes programme?

2. Experience and Achievements

Tell us about one or two of your personal or professional achievements that you’re proud of which demonstrate your ability to organise, support others, or get things done.

3. Skills for the Role

What relevant or transferable skills and experience would you bring to this role?

Applications must be submitted by 23.30 Wednesday 4th February 2026. Please note that applications without answers to the questions will not be considered.

We understand that candidates may use AI tools to assist with their applications. While these can be a helpful resource, we want to hear about your personal skills, experiences and insights that highlight your unique strengths and perspective

Interviews will take place via Teams w/c 9th February 2026. Please note that applications without answers to the questions will not be considered.

Full details can be found in the Job Description.

At YE we are passionate and committed to keeping your data safe and secure.  Full details can be found in the YE People’s Privacy Notice.

Join us – and help us give every young person the chance to thrive. Apply today!

Lead Growth. Build Impact. Inspire Futures.

A rare chance to join an incredibly supportive and inclusive employer that values hard work, flexiblity and employee well-being, and recognised by the GM Good Employment Charter! We are a small but vastly experienced team of family support/volunteer Coordinators, delivering highly respected volunteer-led home visiting support to families in the early years. 

We are looking for someone to provide direct support to families and also recruit, train and support a team of local parent/carer volunteers who will provide weekly home visiting and community support to families.

You will work  with other professionals from universal and specialist services to provide a coordinated response to families’ needs. You will assess need and risk prior to carefully matching volunteers with families or offering direct support, working as part of multi agency support, ensuring information sharing and safeguarding is at the forefront of your work. This will include instigating Early Help assessments, preparing for and attending Child in Need and Child Protection meetings.

You will have an understanding of recruiting, carefully selecting and managing volunteers to ensure they feel supported and fully trained to offer effective support to families in order to get the best outcomes for the family and in particular the children. 

You will be experienced in working with families in their own home - skilled in recognising and responding to safeguarding concerns, be apt in completing strengths-based assessments and conversations and have a deep understanding of the issues families can face and the link with childhood development and difficulties they may experience later in life.

Job Title: Regional Coordinator – North West (Inspiring the Future)

Reports to: Senior Project Manager - Primary Futures

Location: Home based with regular travel across the North West region with a primary focus on Chester, Cheshire West and a secondary focus on Northwest Lancashire. Very occasional travel to London where the charity itself is based. Travel costs will be remunerated via expenses.

Purpose: This is a fantastic opportunity to take on a newly created post in the role of Regional Coordinator – North West for Education and Employers Charity; supporting the delivery of our internationally recognised flagship career-related learning programme in schools. The programme is called Inspiring the Future and is known as Primary Futures in primary schools.

Through our programmes, we bring inspiring volunteers from the world of work into schools, helping children learn in a fun way about a wide range of future jobs and career pathways, broadening their horizons and raising their aspirations and attainment. School activity sits at the heart of our charity’s mission which is to: ‘ensure that every young person in our country, wherever they live, whatever their parents or carers’ circumstances, has the opportunity to meet a diverse range of volunteers to hear first-hand about jobs and the world of work’.

This important role will be part of a friendly and supportive ‘Schools Team’, and the post has responsibility for supporting the local northwest delivery of a key primary school focussed project for the charity, funded by the Westminster Foundation. Responsibilities include initiating, developing, and managing relationships with primary schools in Chester, Cheshire West and Northwest Lancashire.

The role will include working closely day to day with local teachers/ schools to organise and deliver an exciting range of virtual and face-to-face events and activities in their schools. The role will also require the postholder to initiate and build positive partnerships with local employers and organisations to recruit and engage more inspiring volunteers to support these activities in schools.

Remuneration: £26-28k per annum depending on experience

Additional Terms: We offer an excellent overall package with 30 days paid holiday, exclusive of Statutory Bank Holidays, plus a competitive pension scheme and a volunteering allowance of up to 5 days per annum – pro rata in accordance with the length of contract. Additional family friendly benefits, including enhancements to Statutory Payments.

Appointment Terms: Permanent and full time

Job Purpose:

The postholder will report to the experienced Senior Project Manager - Primary Futures and work closely with a friendly, supportive and experienced set of colleagues across the wider Inspiring the Future team. The successful appointee will be responsible for working closely with volunteers from the world of work and primary school staff – supporting the effective delivery of interactive career related learning activities aimed at primary school children. It is a fantastic opportunity to make a difference to children and young people, particularly in less advantaged areas, by helping to broaden their horizons and raise their aspirations.

This is a newly created role to support delivery of an exciting multi-year project, kindly funded by the Westminster Foundation as part of our Primary Futures programme. The postholder will draw upon our revolutionary online platform that helps connect schools with a huge range of diverse, inspirational volunteers that have registered with our charity and who come from a wide range of exciting sectors of the economy. You will have the chance to engage directly with primary school children by facilitating interactive virtual and in-person activities with volunteers. While experience of working in or with schools may be an advantage, it is not essential.

The role will be home based with regular travel to nominated primary schools within the allocated region and very occasional meetings at the charity’s office in central London. Working with schools, the successful candidate will be responsible for targets within their region, managing the relationship with schools and volunteers/ employers.

The role, will by its nature, involve extensive travel across the region with a primary focus on Chester and Cheshire West and a secondary focus on North West Lancashire. Therefore, access to a car/public transport is essential. Regular virtual meetings with the wider team and occasional face-to-face team meetings either in London or another convenient location will be a requirement. The Regional Coordinator will make effective daily use of our Customer Relationship Management system (based on Salesforce technology) to manage data and delivery. 

What we are looking for in a candidate:

We are seeking a driven, highly capable, and enthusiastic Regional Coordinator who can deliver engaging presentations to employers, children, and teachers; confidently manage relationships at varying levels; and work efficiently to support the achievement of key targets.  You will bring excellent communication, organisational, and administrative skills, along with experience in relationship management. If you are motivated, enjoy connecting with people, and want to make a real difference in schools, this role could be the perfect fit for you!

Education and Employers is a small charity of supportive and fun colleagues, working at a rapid pace to bring about change. This is a dynamic role for someone passionate about motivating and inspiring children and who relishes working with a range of stakeholders to create impactful activities.

The exact brief to be finalised with the successful candidate and the funder but the role will be expected to undertake the following key accountabilities:

Key Accountabilities:

We will look to finalise these with the successful candidate but the postholder will have a range of responsibilities, including but not limited to the following:

Relationship building – The job holder will need to build positive relationships

• Re-engage with primary schools who have previously worked with us under a forerunner project that was undertaken last year
• Identify and initiate relationships with new target schools across the identified regions of Chester, Cheshire West and Northwest Lancashire in relation to the Westminster Foundation project
• Develop and manage these school relationships over the lifetime of the project, coordinating their day-to-day engagement in our career related learning (CRL) sessions and deepening their connection to the charity’s work
• Organise virtual and face-to-face activities including school liaison, securing volunteers via the Inspiring the Future system and host on tech platforms (Zoom, MS Teams etc)
• Work with the Primary Futures Manager to build relationships and to capture and exchange good practice between schools and teaching professionals, from all areas involved in the project
• Build relationships with the charity’s partnerships team to ensure that contacts and volunteers from the wider work of the charity are harnessed to support the Westminster Foundation funded project where possible

Delivery – the job holder will need to present/facilitate sessions to local schools and stakeholders

• Plan and arrange all logistics for the events that the postholder will deliver directly with schools. These will be both virtual and in person delivered in school settings
• Facilitate interactive virtual and face-to-face activities to connect pupils with volunteers through themed sessions, Q&A or job guessing-game format.
• Support and host teacher training sessions, staff meetings and info webinars to promote Inspiring the Future and encourage engagement and independent usage of the platform.
• Identify and connect with local employers, engaging the support of their organisation and staff, to secure and encourage local volunteers to help deliver CRL activities within funded projects.

Resource development, technology, data and reporting – the jobholder will need to use our technology, gather impact data on our behalf, develop resources, and make improvement suggestions

• Track and report back to the Primary Futures Manager, delivery against agreed targets and impact. This could include gathering baseline and impact data like pupil/ teacher surveys, feedback quotes, and photos of our activities (permissions to be obtained from the schools).
• Use Salesforce CRM to support with data management, assisting with maintaining up to date records and supporting data cleansing as needed
• Support the development of educational resources for teachers and pupils that provide insight into the world of work and different sectors
• Other ad hoc administrative tasks to support successful delivery of the project whilst always having a positive focus on improvements and ‘how can we do things better’.
• Promote Education and Employers wider offer and programmes as appropriate across the wider North West region. This would include our pilot project with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) to inspire young people to consider future careers in local media

Person specification:

We are looking for someone with the following Skills/ Knowledge/ Expertise

Essential

• Minimum two years’ experience in a relationship management, school engagement, or school-based role. Other relevant experience will be considered if it demonstrates the candidate can undertake the accountabilities above
• Experience in successful relationship management – ability to engage confidently and sensitively with schools/colleges and employers and at a range of levels of seniority up to and including headteacher level
• Outstanding customer service and telephone manner, including handling large volumes of email enquiries and dealing with difficult situations politely and assertively
• Strong organisational and administrative skills including close attention to detail and effective time management
• Persuasive and confident communicator who is influential, and effective in presenting a concept both in person and on the phone.
• Good level of education, demonstrating capability in producing written content to a high standard.
• Demonstrable experience of managing a diverse workload; being able to prioritise work and working under pressure.
• Good working knowledge and practical application of Microsoft Office tools
• Willingness to travel either by car or public transport (‘Clean’ full driving license if preferred method of transport is driving)

Desirable

• Passion for supporting young people in realising their potential through harnessing skilled volunteers to engage in education
• Experience in virtual and in-person facilitation with children and young people
• Experience of project management and delivery
• Experience of client relationships management (CRM) databases, in particular Salesforce
• Experience of marketing to schools
• Experience of working in a small team
• Experience of working with volunteers
• Understanding of safeguarding, risk management and data protection
• Comfort and confidence in working with data to inform actions

Personal Attributes

• Commitment to uphold our charity’s five values - Inspiring, Inclusive, Innovative, Impactful, Integrity
• Flexible – responsive to changing operational context and new opportunities
• Team Player: working collaboratively and flexibly to achieve outcomes and is keen to add value to the organisation’s culture and ethos
• Able to undertake some occasional work in the evenings and at weekends, although this is not a regular or likely day-to-day requirement of the role

Application process

The Education and Employers Charity values having a diverse workforce.  We are committed to equality of opportunity and welcome applications from individuals from all backgrounds. We offer a range of inclusive employment and family friendly policies as well as flexible working arrangements in order to support staff from different backgrounds. 

The closing date for applications is 9am on Wednesday 4th February and interviews will take place at our London office on Wednesday 11th February. Please send a covering letter of no more than 2-3 sides of A4 setting out your interest in and suitability for the role against the job description and person specification, together with an up to date CV. Please include your name and the role applied for in the subject line of your e-mail. Thank you

*Please note, in your cover letter we have a strong preference for human-written content. We want to hear about you, your genuine interest in the role, and why from your experience, skills, and personality you feel you are a great fit for the role

We will only consider applications with both a CV and covering letter and applications will only be accepted from those with the right to work in the UK with a valid passport/visa. 

Thank you for taking the time to consider this role. We very much look forward to receiving your application!

The Charity is fully committed to safeguarding those in our care. We plan our recruitment processes to ensure effective timelines for any required vetting processes such as enhanced DBS, qualification, reference and identity checks. The Charity also ensures that each staff member is appropriately trained for their duties with a comprehensive induction process on commencement and regular CPD in areas like safeguarding. 

About the Education and Employers Charity

Education and Employers is an independent UK based charity launched in 2009 with the original vision of “providing children and young people with the inspiration, motivation, knowledge, skills and opportunities they need to help them achieve their potential”. Our current strategic plan and mission is available to read here. It aims to achieve this by working with schools, employers, the national bodies that represent them and a wide range of other partners including the government and third sector organisations. The charity also works with partners internationally – more details here.

The charity runs Inspiring the Future, a free service which uses innovative match-making technology to connect volunteers with state schools and colleges, quickly, simply and at scale. Schools can very easily search a massive database of willing volunteers, filter against a wide range of criteria – e.g. subject, sector, career route and send them a message. It enables young people, wherever they live, whichever school they attend, the opportunity to meet people from a wide range of backgrounds doing jobs from across the whole world of work.

Over 90,000 people have already volunteered in the UK - people from all levels: apprentices to CEOs and all sectors: apps designers to zoologists and over 85% of English secondary schools and 42% of primary schools have registered with us. People can volunteer from an hour a year in a local primary or secondary school to chat informally about their job and career route, take part in career speed networking session, give careers insights, provide mock interviews or feedback on CVs through to serving as a governor or trustee.  There is also the opportunity to link up with schools for workplace visits, job shadowing and mentoring.

Inspiring the Future operates on a technology platform kindly developed in partnership with Deloitte, Salesforce and Ordnance Survey. It allows the charity to run national campaigns and others focused on specific geographic areas or economic sectors such as engineering, science, health and arts and culture. The campaigns have secured high profile support across government, business and teacher associations and ongoing corporate partnerships including our lead corporate partner Bank of America.

In partnership with the National Association of Head Teachers the charity has developed a version for primary schools called Primary Futures and over 6,500 primaries have already signed up. To see a short clip on how it works please click here.  All campaigns run through Inspiring the Future share a common objective: to broaden young people’s horizons, raise their aspirations and show them the range of opportunities and careers routes e.g. apprenticeships and university open to them. Over 5 million interactions between young people and volunteers from the world of work have already taken place.

Since the Charity’s launch it has sought to understand what difference employer engagement in education makes to young people and the economy. It works with academics and researchers from around the world and its own research is regularly cited by government and international organisations like the OECD. The research, which has informed and influenced a range of government policies, shows that employer engagement helps improve social mobility, reduces the likelihood of young people becoming NEET (not in education, employment of training), increases the amount they earn in adult life, helps them make better informed career choices and leads to improvements in educational attainment.

We’re looking for an Out of Hours Activity Coordinator to be responsible for the development and delivery of our out-of-hours services. 

You will be creative and motivated, and will inspire the people we support through a range of activities and new opportunities, building upon our current offer. 

This role reduces social isolation and loneliness for disabled adults and children by creating new evenings and weekend opportunities. We’ll also look to you to create a brand for these new, standalone services which are designed with people who use our services and our co-production team.

Hours: 18 hours per week.

For more information about the role and to apply, please visit our jobs page.

Closing date: 2 February 2026. 

Interview date: from 9 February 2026. 

This role at ISEAL is an exciting opportunity for someone with strong administration experience, interested in moving into a HR role or broadening their HR experience in an organisation is now consolidating recent growth. If you have strong communication skills and would like to contribute to the HR function in a sustainability focused international organisation, this may be an excellent chance to develop your career.

With significant recent growth in employee numbers and with staff based both in London and international locations, the HR function is looking to continue to strengthen its processes to provide excellent support throughout the employee lifecycle. Continuing the improvement journey already started, you will coordinate the induction processes for new employees as well as supporting regular HR processes linked to probation and performance reviews and employee communications.

ISEAL is committed to providing good learning and development opportunities, starting with the induction process. The Coordinator will take a lead in bringing new ideas on how to develop the learning programme as well as coordinating relevant training and developing a more consistent approach to training provision. The role will also have the opportunity to contribute to optimising our remaining HR processes and procedures, helping to identify opportunities for improvements and taking ownership of the introduction of a new HR system to provide easy to access services for staff.

To succeed in this role, you will bring a proven interest in working in HR, possibly with studies in a related field or work experience in a HR/administrative setting. You will be organised and a strong communicator. You understand the confidential nature of HR and enjoy supporting others and ensuring they get the best out of their time at ISEAL. A specific interest, or existing experience with, learning and development would be a bonus.

The Key Responsibilities we will entrust you with:

HR administration

• Support Senior Manager, HR & Operations in day-to-day delivery of ISEAL´s HR provision
• Maintain accurate and up-to-date employee files, contracts, and HR records in line with legal requirements in the UK and other locations of employment
• Support onboarding processes, coordinating and overseeing employee inductions, including ownership of keeping Employee Handbook up to date
• Help with and monitor the implementation and administration of all HR policies, procedures and tools
• Develop and deliver guidance and training for ISEAL staff and line managers about HR policies, practices and procedures
• Organise timely review of policies and communication of updates or changes to any such documents and procedures
• Coordinate annual performance review processes, ensuring timely completion of documents
• When required, support recruitment process managed by external consultant

Improvement to Processes

• Input to continued improvement of Learning and Development provision
• Implement move to new HR system, including contributing ideas for how best to use the system
• Support revision of HR policies to ensure all policies are up-to-date and new policies produced if needed

Systems, data and reporting

• Improve processes and systems for HR data capture and to ensure consistent and accurate data
• Help identify an appropriate HR system for increased automation of HR processes and employee self service functions
• Analyse employee and HR data and help prepare regular reports 

Essential experience, knowledge and attributes

• Experience working in the HR function in a small to medium sized organisation
• Experience working on learning and development function
• Previous experience in an administration or coordination role, working with a variety of administrative systems and tools
• Track record in contributing to improving processes or procedures
• Strong ability to communicate and work effectively with individuals in a partly remote, international environment, including occasional international time-zone calls
• Service-oriented attitude and good interpersonal skills enabling effective relationships with internal clients and other stakeholders
• Excellent written and spoken English, with proven ability to provide clear guidance both in verbal and written format
• Proficient IT skills, familiarity with virtual meeting tools (e.g. Teams, Zoom, etc.)
• Demonstrated interest in sustainability issues
• Experience working with confidential information and an understanding of the need preserve confidentiality

Additionally desirable

• Experience working in the HR function in a small to medium sized organisation
• Experience working on learning and development function
• Experience using or implementing an HR system

About ISEAL

ISEAL supports ambitious sustainability systems and their partners to tackle the world’s most pressing challenges – from the climate emergency and biodiversity crisis to human rights and persistent poverty. ISEAL Community Members cover many sectors and include many of the leading standards and certification schemes worldwide such as Fairtrade International, Rainforest Alliance, Marine Stewardship Council, Forest Stewardship Council, Better Cotton Initiative, and others. Read more about us on our website.. 

ISEAL´s culture and how we will help you thrive

Our values are Connection, Empowerment, Inspiration, Wellbeing, Effective Working and Creativity.

These are traits we value in each other and in the organisation overall and we instil these in all our processes and interactions.

The issues we work on are of a global nature and our team reflects this, with individuals from many different backgrounds and nationalities. We know this diversity adds to the high quality of work we deliver as an organisation and through our commitment to diversity and inclusion we want to add strengths and perspectives in our team with each recruitment. Diversity for us includes race and gender identity, age, disability status, sexual orientation, religion and many other areas forming part of someone´s identity. We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer.

As an organisation, we also support our people in their personal and professional development, with specific budgets and processes enabling individuals to take advantage of growth and development opportunities.

We offer 25 days of annual leave, to which we will add a day a year after 2 years (to a maximum of 30 days), as well as an extra five days as a one off once you have been with us for a full five years.

We recognise individuals’ preferences when it comes to where and when to work through a hybrid working model with a minimum of 4 days per month in the London office as well as the opportunity to apply for flexible working arrangements to suit individual´s needs.

Other relevant information

Term: This is a permanent role

Salary:   £30,500-£34,500 p.a. depending on experience (full time, 37.5 hours per week)

Location: London is the preferred location. Applicants will need to provide evidence that they are entitled to work in the UK. An ability and willingness to work in a hybrid work environment is required.

How to apply

We want to hear from applicants in their own voice and would ask you not to use AI in writing your application.

Specific enquiries about this role and the application process can be sent to the recruitment(@)isealalliance(.)org.

Deadline for applications is 08 February 2026. Please note that we will only contact shortlisted applicants.

Interview process

Please see below the planned interview process (please note that we will endeavor to keep to this schedule, but some dates may be subject to change)

First interviews (Teams): 12th/13th February

Pre-interview timed exercises (between 60 – 90 minutes from home): 16th-18th February

Panel interviews (Teams or in person): 19th/20th February

Decision: from 23rd February

Accessibility

If candidates require additional time or other considerations for the interview process, we are committed to accommodating any reasonable requests.

Please note that ISEAL will cover travel expenses for in person interviews for candidates travelling from outside of Greater London. ISEAL also covers caring expenses for candidates who are carers and need to arrange of cover for the duration of the interview/exercises

We are now recruiting for a Programme Coordinator for our schools in Newcastle.

• The Newcastle Programme Coordinator oversees a caseload of up to seven partner schools. They manage the logistics and organisation of each school’s tutoring programme, working closely with the schools and pupils and managing the pool of volunteer tutors. They attend the weekly tutoring sessions at each school, as well as overseeing the quality of face to face and online tutoring, always working to deliver a great impact.
• The Newcastle Programme Coordinator supports the recruitment of volunteer tutors, manages the tutor sign up process, develops relationships with schools including their Senior Leadership Team and subject teachers, collects data for monitoring and evaluation purposes, and works with other internal teams on business development opportunities.

Deadline: Sunday 8th February 2026
Interviews: Thursday 12th and Friday 13th February 2026
Start date: Ideally Monday 2nd March 2026

Location: Newcastle, with expected travel to schools in Newcastle and the Blyth area.
Contract and hours: Full time permanent contract. A full working week is 37.5 hours.

Duties and responsibilities
 

• Responsible for the delivery of Action Tutoring’s tutoring programmes in partner schools, whether online or face to face. This includes working closely to manage all key stakeholders: schools, pupils and volunteer tutors; regularly attending weekly tutoring sessions; leading on reviewing and improving programme delivery, using data to reliably assess programme performance.
• Responsible for overseeing the quality of tutoring, engaging in quality assurance processes, and providing feedback to volunteer tutors to ensure effective and impactful delivery. Provide regular check-ins with tutors to ensure ample support and guidance is given to provide targeted tuition to pupils.
• Develop and strengthen relationships with key stakeholders in partner schools, including members of the Senior Leadership Team and subject teachers. Maintain clear and timely communication with relevant school staff, offering regular check-ins with key school stakeholders, and contribute to impact reporting to schools. Supporting the Programme Manager with strategies to retain and sustain school partnerships.
• Update and accurately maintain Action Tutoring’s database, including collecting timely data for monitoring and evaluation purposes, such as attendance records, baseline and interim assessments and pupil surveys. Reporting regularly on key performance indicators to key stakeholders and using them to enhance programme delivery. Work with the Programme Manager on business development, approaching new schools that might be interested in working with Action Tutoring.
• Proactively report to the Programme Manager on the details of Action Tutoring’s operations in their partner schools.

Person specification 

Qualification criteria:

• The right to work in the UK.
• A valid driving licence with access to a car for work purposes.

We are looking for some of the following attributes, though you might be more experienced in some areas than others:
 
Being the sole representative for a partner school, you will need to use your ability to work independently and with initiative, often organising your own time to meet deadlines. You’ll also need to have a strong aptitude for developing relationships with a range of stakeholders ensuring you uphold high standards of communication and adapt your style for different audiences. The nature of this role will also require you to demonstrate adaptability, resilience and the ability to cope with some uncertainty. 

This position would suit you if you’re looking to develop your experience in the education or charity sectors. Existing experience of working with young people and/or project management in a charity or education setting would be an asset. As a charity that values and celebrates people's diversity and champions opportunities for all young people, we are keen to receive applications from people who have experienced disadvantage and from those who are of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities who are currently underrepresented in the organisation. The role would be best suited if you are committed to equality, diversity and inclusion, as well as, committed to promoting and safeguarding the welfare of children.

You will be likely be more successful in this role if you have: 
 

• Experience of working with young people and/or project management. 
• Evidence of an interest in education and/or the third sector

How to apply:

To apply for this position you will need to complete and attach an application form to your application. To do this, please download the attached application form, complete the sections in full and save the new file, and then click the 'apply' button.

You will be able to upload the completed application form on the next page.

Applications without an attached application form will automatically be discounted. We want you to have every opportunity to demonstrate your skills, ability and potential; please contact us if you require any assistance or adjustment so that we can help you with making the application process work for you.​

Do you thrive on initiative and balance kindness and understanding with strong organisational skills?   Can you support 24 older women to move from temporary accomodation to their new homes?

The Sheppard Trust provides homes for older women in housing need, and we support them to live independently.  We reduce loneliness and isolation by fostering a supportive community spirit. 

We're planning to move to brand-new, purpose built accommodation near Hampton Court village in Surrey.   Whilst we wait for the build to complete, 20 of our existing residents are temporarily housed in Mill Hill, with 4 housed in Greenford.  Their new homes are expected to be ready in July 2026.   The aim of this role is to support these residents before, during and after our move, as well as to plan, organise and deliver the logistics of the moves.

We're a small friendly team who are currently flexibly hybrid working.  This role is based on 21 hours a week, with two visits per week to Mill Hill and occasional visits to Greenford and Hampton Court.  The rest of the work could be carried out from home if desired.  From July to September when the moves take place the workload will be higher and more on-site attendance may be necessary on move days.   

The right appointment is important to us, so we're willing to discuss proposals for alternative working arrangements including adding additional responsibilities to create a full time role. There will be the opportunity to apply for permanent positions at the  new site if wished.

You’ll bring:

• excellent people skills, and the ability to build trust with a wide range of people
• an understanding of the needs and concerns of older people and the desire to make a difference to their wellbeing
• the ability to work proactively and independently using your own initiative
• a strong commitment to safeguarding. 

We can offer:

• hybrid working
• a salary in the range of £35K – £37.5K pro rata
• membership of the Social Housing Pension Scheme (defined contribution)

For more information please see the full job description and person specification attached.

The Role

Nottingham Contemporary is a leading centre of contemporary art in Europe, and among the largest spaces of its kind in the UK. We have an exciting vacancy for a Development Coordinator to join our dynamic and supportive Development team, to assist with securing funding for the future of our organisation. As Development Coordinator, you will support the Senior Development Manager and Director to achieve our ambitious fundraising strategy. You will be a pivotal member of the team, undertaking tasks across administration, research, project and events management, and high-level writing.

Your main accountabilities will include:

• Providing administrative oversight of key areas related to gaining income from a wide range of sources, including but not limited to trusts and foundations, individual donors, and corporate giving (including from commercial galleries).

• Researching, drafting and preparing timely project and funding report templates and reports.

• Supporting the Director and Senior Development Manager in strategically cultivating and stewarding individual donors, as well as corporate and strategic partners.

• Undertaking prospect research, including due diligence of individual donors, researching opportunities for funding through Trusts and Foundations, and identifying relevant local and national government grant schemes.

• Supporting the planning, drafting and submission of grant applications and funding reports, with the aim of leading on select applications and reports over time.

• Supporting the planning and delivering of a high-quality programme of supporter, VIP and external events.

The Person

This is an exciting opportunity to gain experience in fundraising for a renowned arts organisation, and we’re looking for someone who is proactive and enthusiastic for the challenge! Your ability to be adaptable, calm, and to manage a busy workload will be vital when administering bids, preparing reports, and researching donors and funding opportunities. A team player, you’ll enjoy working collaboratively and supportively with internal colleagues and external stakeholders. You’ll have excellent written and verbal communication, and your strong organisational and project management skills will come in handy when managing cross-team funding applications and organising events for donors, funders and prospects.

You don’t need experience in fundraising to apply to this role. We understand the benefit of other skills and experience, and are excited to hear from those with transferable skills such as high-level writing, project management, administration, research, events management, customer service or commercial sales. If you don’t meet all of the criteria but are interested in the role, please do consider applying.

Closing Date: Monday 9 February 2026, 10am

Interview Date: Monday 23 February 2026

Location: London (hybrid, 3 days/week in the office)

Contract: permanent, full-time

Interviews: 18-19 February 2026

Are you passionate about delivering high-quality administrative support for a global organisation? The ITF is looking for a proactive and detail-oriented Administration Coordinator to join our team.

About the role

As Administration Coordinator - Global you will supervise and coordinate the work of a team of administrators responsible for providing reliable, high-quality administrative support for international governance meetings and events, and communications to member organisations and external partners.

You will work with colleagues and external stakeholders worldwide to ensure the smooth delivery of the administration function, including the logistical aspects of our global activities, contributing to the successful delivery of our Congress cycle and organisational work programme.

Reporting to the Head of Global Administration, you will help to strengthen long-term administrative systems that are efficient, coordinated and fit for purpose in a complex international environment.

Key Duties and Responsibilities

• Manage a team of administrators and foster an environment of continual development and support and high performance
• Coordinate the workload of the team in the delivery of organisational work programmes
• Develop, implement and update administrative policies and procedures, ensuring consistent and standardised ways of working
• Oversee the logistical delivery of global meetings and conferences
• Oversee the delivery of multi-lingual communications to members (circulars, meeting reports)
• Prepare meeting budget forecasts and contribute to the annual planning and budgeting cycle

About you

We’re looking for a self-motivated and highly organised individual to support the delivery of our global organisational work programme. With responsibility for oversight of the logistical delivery of committee meetings and conferences, you will need the following to be successful in this role:

• Proven experience managing and leading a team, including mentoring, performance development reviews and motivating others
• Strong knowledge of administrative practices, ideally with experience in the delivery of international meetings & conferences
• Ability to prioritise effectively, and manage multiple tasks and projects simultaneously, often working across international time zones
• Clear and accurate written and verbal communication skills with a high standard of written English and excellent attention to detail
• Confidence working with diverse internal & external stakeholders in a multilingual environment (knowledge of languages other than English would be an asset) 
• Maintain confidentiality when handling sensitive information
• Strong numerical skills, with experience of budgeting, reconciliation, and expense reporting
• Calm, adaptable and proactive problem-solver with a focus on continuous improvement
• Proficient with SharePoint, Teams, MS Office 365, and familiar with Zoom, Cvent and Concur (or similar tools).
• Experienced with CRM systems and data handling
• Willingness to travel overseas occasionally to support international meetings & conferences
• Commitment to social justice and trade union values, or mission-driven work

Job Title: Schools Engagement Coordinator (Inspiring the Future)

Reports to: Head of School Programmes

Location: Quantum House, 22 – 24 Red Lion Court, Fleet Street, EC4A 3AB. The role is open to hybrid working but the candidate would be expected to be in the office one day per week

Purpose: This is a fantastic opportunity to take on the role of Schools Engagement Coordinator for Education and Employers on the internationally recognised Inspiring the Future programme. As a charity, our mission is to: ‘ensure that every young person in our country, wherever they live, whatever their parents or carers’ circumstances, has the opportunity to meet a diverse range of volunteers to hear first-hand about jobs and the world of work’.

This key post is part of the Schools Engagement Team with responsibility for working closely with primary school and secondary school teachers and leaders to support them with running activities involving a diverse range of volunteers from the world of work. The role is rewarding and varied and will include supporting delivery of funded projects aimed at these audiences and general administrative support. 

Remuneration: £27k per annum

Additional Terms: We offer an excellent overall package with 30 days paid holiday, exclusive of Statutory Bank Holidays, plus a competitive pension scheme and a volunteering allowance of up to 5 days per annum – pro rata in accordance with the length of contract. Additional family friendly benefits, including enhancements to Statutory Payments.

Appointment Terms: Permanent and full time

Job Purpose:

Reporting to the Head of Schools Programmes, the Schools Engagement Coordinator is responsible for working closely with school staff in promoting and empowering schools to utilise Inspiring the Future and Primary Futures, alongside delivering virtual activities for schools. These programmes are an online system connecting schools to an enormous range of fascinating volunteers from the world of work for virtual or in person activities to raise aspirations, provide insight into jobs, tackle stereotypes and demonstrate how learning at school in the present links to opportunities in the future.

This role will be split between supporting the general self-service programme for schools nationally in an administrative capacity and delivering on funded projects including delivering activities to a case load of schools across parts of the country. There is opportunity to interface directly with children and young people from both secondary and primary schools. through facilitating virtual and in person interactive activities with volunteers.

What we are looking for in a candidate:

Education and Employers is a small charity working at a rapid pace to bring about change. This is a dynamic role for someone looking to gain a breadth of experience in the charity sector and keen to learn about the education sector and career-related learning, social mobility and volunteer engagement.  We are looking for someone passionate about motivating and inspiring children who relishes working with a range of stakeholders to create impactful activities.

The Engagement Coordinator will work closely with the Head of School Programmes and wider Inspiring the Future team to undertake the following key accountabilities:

Key Accountabilities:

The following areas are broken down to reflect the proportion of the role dedicated to each area, over the course of the academic year, with priorities differing at different times of year

Enquiries management and administrative support across the programme team:

• Managing the enquiries inbox and switchboard phone number, responding to enquiries from schools and volunteers about the charity’s work and programmes and how to sign up
• Providing targeted support to schools such as phone calls to primary, secondary schools and colleges independently utilising the programmes using a RAG (red, amber, green) system to convert them to successful activities
• Providing administrative support across the volunteer and school engagement teams, including record-keeping, data entry, meeting minute-taking, scheduling, event coordination, etc
• Monitoring new registrations from schools and sending welcome emails, keeping this up-to-date with the latest opportunities and messaging for schools
• Use Salesforce CRM to support with data management, assisting with maintaining up to date records and supporting data cleansing as needed
• Other ad-hoc administrative tasks as needed

School Engagement:

• Supporting new teacher registrants with onboarding processes such as welcome emails, platform demonstrations, info webinars
• Writing and coordinating persuasive communications campaigns to different groups of schools that have an interest in engaging with volunteers from the world of work
• In collaboration with rest of team, identifying need for and developing new resources and guidance to meet teacher needs and support them to make the most of our offers
• In collaboration with rest of team, developing and implementing new processes and technical improvements, to support increased school engagement.

Project Delivery:

• Recruiting and engaging schools according to the geographic or sector focus of a funded project
• Managing relationships with a case load of schools in different areas of the country to host planning calls, deliver sessions, gather evaluation data and ensure a legacy of independent usage
• Setting up virtual and face-to-face activities including school liaison, securing volunteers, test calls, setting up on the Inspiring the Future system and hosting on tech platforms e.g. Zoom
• Facilitating virtual and face to face activities to pupils to link with volunteers, hosting and designing themed sessions online to ensure an interactive and engaging experience for children and volunteers, following a Q&A or job guessing-game format.
• Supporting and co-hosting sessions to teachers including teacher training, staff meetings and info webinars to promote Inspiring the Future, deepen engagement and demonstrate independent usage
• Supporting the development of educational resources that provide insight into the world of work and different sectors

Person specification:

We are looking for someone with the following Skills/ Knowledge/ Expertise

Essential

• Minimum one year’s experience in a customer service, school engagement or school-based role
• Experience in successful relationship management – ability to engage confidently and sensitively with schools/colleges and at a range of levels of seniority up to and including headteacher level
• Outstanding customer service and telephone manner, including handling large volumes of email enquiries and dealing with difficult situations politely and assertively
• Strong organisational and administrative skills including close attention to detail and effective time management
• Persuasive and confident communicator who is influential, and effective in presenting a concept both in person and on the phone.
• Good level of education, demonstrating capability in producing written content to a high standard.
• Demonstrable experience of managing a diverse workload; being able to prioritise work and working under pressure.
• Good working knowledge and practical application of Microsoft Office tools

 Desirable

• Passion for supporting young people in realising their potential through harnessing skilled volunteers to engage in education
• Experience in virtual facilitation with children and young people
• Experience of project management and delivery
• Experience of client relationships management (CRM) databases, in particular Salesforce
• Experience of marketing to schools
• Experience of working in a small team
• Experience of working with volunteers
• Understanding of safeguarding, risk management and data protection
• Comfort and confidence in working with data to inform actions

Personal Attributes

• Commitment to uphold our charity’s five values - Inspiring, Inclusive, Innovative, Impactful, Integrity
• Flexible – responsive to changing operational context and new opportunities
• Team Player: working collaboratively and flexibly to achieve outcomes and is keen to add value to the organisation’s culture and ethos
• Able to undertake some occasional work in the evenings and at weekends
• Able to travel in the UK if required

Application process

The Education and Employers charity values having a diverse workforce.  We are committed to equality of opportunity and welcome applications from individuals from all backgrounds. We offer a range of inclusive employment and family friendly policies as well as flexible working arrangements in order to support staff from different backgrounds. 

The closing date for applications is 9am on Wednesday 4th February and interviews will take place in the week of the 9th February. The organisation reserves the right to conduct interviews and appoint prior to the closing date dependent on the calibre of applications received.

Please send a covering letter of no more than 2-3 sides of A4 setting out your interest in and suitability for the role against the job description and person specification, together with an up to date CV. Please include your name and the role applied for in the subject line of your e-mail. Thank you

*Please note, in your cover letter we have a strong preference for human-written content. We want to hear about you, your genuine interest in the role, and why from your experience, skills, and personality you feel you are a great fit for the role

We will only consider applications with both a CV and covering letter and applications will only be accepted from those with the right to work in the UK with a valid passport/visa. 

Thank you for taking the time to consider this role. We very much look forward to receiving your application!

The Charity is fully committed to safeguarding those in our care. We plan our recruitment processes to ensure effective timelines for any required vetting processes such as enhanced DBS, qualification, reference and identity checks. The Charity also ensures that each staff member is appropriately trained for their duties with a comprehensive induction process on commencement and regular CPD in areas like safeguarding. 

About the Education and Employers Charity

Education and Employers is an independent UK based charity launched in 2009 with the original vision of “providing children and young people with the inspiration, motivation, knowledge, skills and opportunities they need to help them achieve their potential”. Our current strategic plan and mission is available to read here. It aims to achieve this by working with schools, employers, the national bodies that represent them and a wide range of other partners including the government and third sector organisations. The charity also works with partners internationally – more details here.

The charity runs Inspiring the Future, a free service which uses innovative match-making technology to connect volunteers with state schools and colleges, quickly, simply and at scale. Schools can very easily search a massive database of willing volunteers, filter against a wide range of criteria – e.g. subject, sector, career route and send them a message. It enables young people, wherever they live, whichever school they attend, the opportunity to meet people from a wide range of backgrounds doing jobs from across the whole world of work.

Over 90,000 people have already volunteered in the UK - people from all levels: apprentices to CEOs and all sectors: apps designers to zoologists and over 85% of English secondary schools and 42% of primary schools have registered with us. People can volunteer from an hour a year in a local primary or secondary school to chat informally about their job and career route, take part in career speed networking session, give careers insights, provide mock interviews or feedback on CVs through to serving as a governor or trustee.  There is also the opportunity to link up with schools for workplace visits, job shadowing and mentoring.

Inspiring the Future operates on a technology platform kindly developed in partnership with Deloitte, Salesforce and Ordnance Survey. It allows the charity to run national campaigns and others focused on specific geographic areas or economic sectors such as engineering, science, health and arts and culture. The campaigns have secured high profile support across government, business and teacher associations and ongoing corporate partnerships including our lead corporate partner Bank of America.

In partnership with the National Association of Head Teachers the charity has developed a version for primary schools called Primary Futures and over 6,500 primaries have already signed up. To see a short clip on how it works please click here.  All campaigns run through Inspiring the Future share a common objective: to broaden young people’s horizons, raise their aspirations and show them the range of opportunities and careers routes e.g. apprenticeships and university open to them. Over 5 million interactions between young people and volunteers from the world of work have already taken place.

Since the Charity’s launch it has sought to understand what difference employer engagement in education makes to young people and the economy. It works with academics and researchers from around the world and its own research is regularly cited by government and international organisations like the OECD. The research, which has informed and influenced a range of government policies, shows that employer engagement helps improve social mobility, reduces the likelihood of young people becoming NEET (not in education, employment of training), increases the amount they earn in adult life, helps them make better informed career choices and leads to improvements in educational attainment.