Engagement manager jobs in ashton under lyne, greater manchester

Community Relationship Fundraiser

Hours: full-time 36.25 hours worked between the hours of 8am–6pm Mon-Fri (there is flexibility to adapt the working pattern to suit you)

Working pattern: Remote work with occasional travel as required. Applicants must be based in the UK.

Deadline for applications: 4th May 2025 (we reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive a high volume of applications)

Interviews to be conducted: early May (interviews conducted remotely)

Start date in role: Early June

Rare opportunity: Create lasting change with Brake, the renowned road safety charity.

Who we are: Brake has been supporting victims of road carnage since 1995, and we're on a mission to prevent future collisions. Every 20 minutes, someone is killed or seriously injured on our roads, impacting lives profoundly.

What we offer:

- A generous 35 days of annual leave (including bank holidays and 3-day end of year shutdown period, pro-rata for part-time working patterns)

- Annual leave entitlement increases to 37 days following 5 years of service

- Birthday day off

- Enhanced sick pay and compassionate leave

- Death in service benefit

- Pension

- Employee Assistance Programme

- Flexible working

- A rewarding role with purpose

- Be part of a skilled, friendly team with an engaged Board of Trustees 

Who you are: We're searching for a compassionate, and energised, self-starter with competent IT skills to work remotely and outstanding communication skills.

Job purpose:

Reporting to the Fundraising manager & team lead and in the Income Generation team, you will support and guide individuals who raise funds for Brake in our communities, helping them reach their goals and, in turn, raise essential funds for our cause. The Community Relationship Fundraiser plays a key role in developing and growing our community fundraising programme. You will be responsible for inspiring and supporting individuals and groups who undertake community fundraising on behalf of Brake.

You will be supporting Brake's work by increasing income generated from community fundraisers, including individuals, community groups, clubs and associations. Working together with teams across the organisation, you will contribute to a culture of innovation and collaboration to maximise the overall fundraising objectives. 

Make sure you take a look at the job description for further information.

Specifically seeking candidates with:

Essential

• Demonstrate a commitment to ongoing learning and development and to participate in any training relevant to the role and to advance your competencies 

• Previous experience of working successfully within a fundraising role & good knowledge of the charity sector 

• Proven experience of working to and achieving financial targets 

• Strong ability to innovate and drive income growth across different fundraising channels 

• Excellent attention to detail, experience of managing a busy workload, showing resilience, self-motivation, adaptability, working to tight deadlines and meeting your objectives successfully both as an individual and as part of a team 

• A good communicator, with the ability to converse sensitively and empathetically with members of the public, who may be going through current or recent emotional and challenging experiences 

• Good interpersonal and verbal communication skills, professional telephone manner. 

• Flexible, embraces change and development, and can work occasional evenings and weekends when necessary. 

• Proven strong experience of using IT software such as Microsoft Office (Word/Excel/PowerPoint), Outlook, Teams and databases to enhance and improve the delivery of your duties 

• Ability to work proactively and independently 

Desirable

• Ability to analyse data to identify trends and report on findings to support decision making processes 

• Experience of using a CRM database

• Knowledge and understanding of fundraising rules and regulations 

Join our mission: This role is critical in expanding our supporter base, increasing engagement, and maximising fundraising income, ultimately enabling the charity to achieve more.

About us: Brake is passionate about creating an inclusive workplace that values diversity. We welcome your application whatever your background or situation. We particularly welcome applications from those who are part of the global majority, the LGBTQIA+ community or disabled. We are proud to be a disability confident employer. We don’t want you to ‘fit’ our culture, we want you to enrich it. So, if you have a passion for making a difference and share in our vision for a world where no one is killed on our roads, we would love to hear from you.

Apply now: If you're up for a new challenge and have the skills, apply now. We'd like to get to know the real you through your application, not an AI version. If you do use AI to write your cover letter, please check it and make sure it reflects who you are.

Not for traffic offenders: Due to the nature of our work we can't accept applications from traffic offenders. Candidates will be asked to disclose whether they have any unspent points on their licence at interview.

Join us today and be part of the solution! 

Location: Various locations across Manchester
Job Type: Full-time
Salary: £12.50-£16.50

Are you passionate about making a difference? Do you have the confidence and charisma to inspire people to support the fight against the current housing emergency? Join Shelter as Door-to-Door Fundraiser and take the first step toward a meaningful career in the charity sector!

Why This Role?

• Exciting & Rewarding – Every conversation you have could help provide advice, support and access to secure housing
• Career Growth – Many of our fundraisers go on to work in senior roles within Shelter and the wider charity sector.
• Be Part of a Team – Join a vibrant, passionate community of like-minded individuals working together to create change.
• Develop Valuable Skills – Gain experience in communication, persuasion, and public engagement—essential skills for a career in NGOs, advocacy and fundraising.

Your Role:

As a Door-to-Door fundraiser, you'll be going across London and interacting with people at their homes inspiring them to help support Shelters mission. You’ll be trained to confidently share Shelter's mission and work, helping raise vital funds for people affected by the current housing climate and homelessness.

What We’re Looking For:

• Passion for the cause
• Confidence and excellent communication skills
• A team player with a positive attitude
• Resilience and motivation to achieve fundraising targets
• Previous fundraising or sales experience is a bonus (but not essential!)

What You’ll Get:

• Competitive hourly pay
• Comprehensive training and ongoing support
• Career progression opportunities within Shelter and the charity sector
• A fun and inspiring work environment
• The knowledge that your work directly helps save lives around the world

Apply Now & Start Your Journey in the Charity Sector!

If you’re ready to make a real impact and start a career that matters, we’d love to hear from you! Apply today and help us bring rally support to those who need it the most!

Everyone has the right to a safe, stable and affordable home. Join Shelter as a Door-to-Door Fundraiser today!

Overview of the Regional Coordinator role and the team

The Regional Coordinator plays a vital role in advancing the mission of Barnabas Aid by building and nurturing relationships with churches, Christian organisations, and individuals. The role aims to raise awareness, prayer, and financial support for the persecuted church, fostering a network of engaged supporters and expanding the organisation’s outreach.

Face-to-Face Fundraiser – End Homelessness With Shelter!

Location: Various locations across Manchester
Job Type: Full-time
Salary: £12.50-16.50

Are you passionate about making a difference? Do you have the confidence and charisma to inspire people to support the fight against the current housing emergency? Join Shelter as Face-to-Face Fundraiser and take the first step toward a meaningful career in the charity sector!

Why This Role?

• Exciting & Rewarding – Every conversation you have could help provide advice, support and access to secure housing
• Career Growth – Many of our fundraisers go on to work in senior roles within Shelter and the wider charity sector.
• Be Part of a Team – Join a vibrant, passionate community of like-minded individuals working together to create change.
• Develop Valuable Skills – Gain experience in communication, persuasion, and public engagement—essential skills for a career in NGOs, advocacy and fundraising.

Your Role:

As a Face-to-Face Fundraiser, you’ll be engaging with people in high streets and events, inspiring them to become long-term supporters of Shelters crucial work to end homelessness. You’ll be trained to confidently share Shelter's mission and work, helping raise vital funds for people affected by the current housing climate and homelessness.

What We’re Looking For:

• Passion for the cause
• Confidence and excellent communication skills
• A team player with a positive attitude
• Resilience and motivation to achieve fundraising targets
• Previous fundraising or sales experience is a bonus (but not essential!)

What You’ll Get:

• Competitive hourly pay
• Comprehensive training and ongoing support
• Career progression opportunities within Shelter and the charity sector
• A fun and inspiring work environment
• The knowledge that your work directly helps save lives around the world

Apply Now & Start Your Journey in the Charity Sector!

If you’re ready to make a real impact and start a career that matters, we’d love to hear from you! Apply today and help us bring rally support to those who need it the most!

Everyone has the right to a safe, stable and affordable home. Join Shelter as a Face-To-Face Fundraiser today!

Brain tumours kill more children and adults under the age of 40 than any other cancer, yet historically just 1% of the national spend on cancer research has been allocated to this devastating disease. Brain Tumour Research is determined to change this. 

Their vision is to find a cure for all types of brain tumours. To achieve their mission, they are looking for a Community Fundraiser who will proactively engage with supporters, community groups and volunteers across the West Midlands to join their team of 12 Community Fundraisers across the UK.

The Community Fundraiser (West Midlands) is responsible for providing support and guidance to fundraisers within their communities to achieve their ambitions and ultimately raise vital funds for Brain Tumour Research. This is achieved through a wide variety of activities such as helping supporters to make the most of their own fundraising, engaging participants with externally organised events such as the Great Birmingham Run, and encouraging communities to get involved in events organised by Brain Tumour Research such as Wear a Hat Day and Walk for Hope. The Community Fundraiser will be the face of Brain Tumour Research in the area, providing excellent stewardship to existing supporters, and building great relationships with new supporters.

This post has been vacant since Autumn, and as such needs a fundraiser with confidence and capability in fundraising to join the team, provide donor love to the loyal supporters in the area, and approach developing the areas potential with energy and enthusiasm. If you have fundraising experience and are keen to join a charity with ambition and an amazing supporter base, then this could be the role for you.

Please note the successful candidate will need to live within the region (Warwickshire, Staffordshire, Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Shropshire and Gloucestershire), have access to a car and be willing to travel around their region. If you are not currently based in this area, please clarify if you have plans to relocate.  

Application notes 

Please download the Candidate Info Pack provided for further information about the role, timelines and next steps.

To progress your application, please follow instructions in the pack to organise an informal screening call. Please note, we cannot shortlist candidates who have not had a screening call. 

As this role has been vacant for some time, we are running rolling interview to see suitable candidates as they apply. Interviews will be kept to one stage, and organised to suit the candidate, where possible. Don’t delay – apply today! 

We have an opportunity available for a Part Time Cook to join the team at Kingshill Court, you will be based in Wigan, Greater Manchester WN6 0AR and will also cover two of our other services, Ashwood Court Residential and Ashwood Court Supportive Pathways (Lowton, Cheshire WA3 2RB).

Please click here for further details about Kingshill Court, click here for further details about Ashwood Court Residential and click here for further details about Ashwood Court Supportive Pathways.

Salary: £12.60 hourly 

Hours: 25 weekly

At Making Space we are a team that are driven by a strong set of company values that guide us in our mission to make a positive impact on the lives of those we serve in our community.

Our values of Kind Hearts, Tailor Making, Dreaming Big, Having Courage and Being Ready are at the core of everything we do.

Our focus on Kind Hearts is about generously building empathy and connection to create a sense of belonging. We believe that every person deserves to feel like they are a valued and respected.

Tailor making is about nurturing unique relationships to make every day count. We understand that every person’s needs circumstances are different, so we strive to provide customised support and assistance to ensure all those in our care are able to live their best lives.

Dreaming Big is about harnessing imagination to generate confidence in ourselves and others to take the first step. We believe that anything is possible when we set our minds to it and we are 100% dedicated to helping others believe in themselves too.

Having Courage is about committing bravely to working in ways that take us to new places.  We believe that our team at Making Space really do make a real change to those we serve and we must be willing to take risks and be bold in our decision making.

Being ready is about responding to whatever comes our way by moving forward together. We know too well that life can be unpredictable but by working together and being prepared we can overcome any obstacles.

At Making Space we are committed to making a difference in the lives of those in our care, we live and breathe our core values and our looking for likeminded individuals to join our team on our mission to make a positive impact to those in our community who need us most.

Responsibilities

As a culinary maestro, you'll be responsible for ensuring that our residents' taste buds are delighted with every bite! You'll be the conductor of the kitchen, organising and controlling the efficient production of quality freshly prepared food, all while meeting individual dietary requirements and staying within agreed budgets.

With your keen eye for detail, you'll review menus regularly with residents, ensuring their feedback is taken on board to create mouth-watering dishes. Not only will you have a knack for cooking, but you'll also be a cleanliness and hygiene champion, making sure everything is in line with legislation and organisation procedures.

We're looking for someone with previous kitchen/catering experience to bring their creativity and culinary expertise to our team.

Additional information can be found in the full Job Description here.

Qualifications

We are happy to work with you to help you become a skilled worker however previous busy kitchen experience is essential for this role and you must have food and hygiene skills.

It’s important to note that you do not need prior industry experience or any specific qualifications to be considered for this role. On joining Making Space you will be supported step by step with on-the-job training as well as the opportunity to undertake professional qualifications if desired and required for your role. 

We are seeking individuals who can showcase that their personal values align ours here at Making Space.

Benefits

We are constantly reviewing our benefits packages to ensure our employees are receiving the very best company perks and we are always seeking out further additions.

Our current benefits include:

• Wagestream – Access up to 30% of your wages as you earn,
• Lifestyle benefits through Bravo Benefits and Health service discounts
• Up to 28 days holidays per year including bank holidays (pro rata for part time)
• We pay double time for Xmas day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day
• Our employees can buy and sell up to 2 weeks holiday – statutory limits apply
• Access to our library of learning through our e-portal
• Want to upskill? We will invest in you and provide you with qualifications in level 2-6 in Health and Social Care, Management, Admin plus other continuous professional development should you wish to further your career within Social Care.
• We invest heavily in your career progression; did you know at least half of our senior posts are filled internally through promotion.
• Travel schemes including cycle to work, car maintenance and 40p per mile travel expenses.
• We run a colleague engagement hub with monthly and annual colleague awards
• Pension Scheme 3% employer contribution as a minimum
• Paid Sick leave

Successful applicants will be subject to employment checks, including DBS and references checks and provided with safeguarding training. Making Space is an equal opportunities employer.

We can only accept applications from those who are legally entitled to live and work within the United Kingdom.

About Open Cages

Open Cages is a UK-registered charity fighting animal suffering. We are part of an international organisation, Anima International. To achieve our goal we use scientific evidence, careful reasoning, and draw upon decades of collective experience. Just in the last few years, we have successfully helped improve the lives of hundreds of millions of farmed animals in the UK.

We are impact-oriented and use a wide array of tools to make the world a better place. Our current toolkit includes:

• Investigations which reveal the reality hidden behind the walls of factory farms
• Negotiations with companies to encourage them to eliminate cruel practices from their policies
• Advocacy to secure legal milestones for animals

At Open Cages we won’t stop until we end animal suffering. We would like to invite you to join us and help us achieve this goal.

What do you gain by working at Open Cages?

• Meaningful work – you will help build a world free from animal suffering
• Time – you will be able to focus full-time on helping animals
• High degree of flexibility – the work is almost totally remote and you will organise your working hours and workflow yourself
• Trust – we expect you to make mistakes as a given and learn from them
• Autonomy – you will experience freedom and independence in your decision-making
• Transparency – you will have access to the work and decisions of others
• Honest work culture – you will know what your colleagues are doing and what they really think
• Knowledge – you will learn and receive support from people who have been fighting for animals for many years
• Opportunity to grow – you will learn every day and be encouraged to experiment beyond your skill set
• Ability to influence the organisation – we encourage our people to openly speak their mind and thus you will be able to impact what kind of organisation we are
• A laugh – animal advocacy can be dark at times, we think that having a fun atmosphere is key to balance this
• Transparently set compensation – Our salaries are not negotiable and are based on a transparent algorithm that is the same for each role

Following a 3-month probation period, you will transition to a fixed-term contract. Upon successful completion of this term, you will be offered a permanent employment contract. A minimum salary of £39,695.24 gross (our salary base for people resident in the UK) will apply from the beginning of the probationary period. The salary base may change due to your previous experience related to the position, or your experience in animal advocacy (+3% for each year). In addition, the salary increases with your seniority in Open Cages according to the following model:

+ 7% – for every year worked at Open Cages during the first 5 years of work

+ 5% – for every year worked at Open Cages during the next 5 years of work

+ 3% – for every year worked at Open Cages during the next 5 years of work

+ 2% – for every year worked at Open Cages during the next years of work

About your role

We are a small and ambitious early-stage organisation with two full-time team members. Our current objective: to help the 1 billion chickens raised annually in the UK. By joining us as a campaigner who focuses on communications, you will work on the frontlines by shining a light on the hidden suffering of animals trapped on factory farms, and mobilising the public to take action. Your first task will be to help us convince the UK’s largest food businesses to improve their chicken welfare policies, primarily through crafting media stories and marketing campaigns that capture the hearts and minds of the public.

While this may sound challenging, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make a historic change for those who cannot stand up for themselves. Someone has to pick up the fight, and we hope it will be You.

We can accommodate to you

Due to the broad scope of our work, there is no simple description of the perfect campaigner. There may also be certain areas where you are stronger than others, and we are open to fitting the role around you. We are looking for a generalist rather than a specialist. However, you do need to have some particular strengths such as resilience, persistence, creativity, and critical thinking. Ideally, some day, you will be able to lead a big team and transfer your knowledge to them.

No previous experience is required for this role. While experience will be valued (and reflected in the salary), we welcome applications from both seasoned professionals and passionate newcomers who align with our organisational culture.

What do we require from you?

• Strong belief in the mission of our organisation. Working for us should not be thought of as a ‘career step’. We want people who are motivated by our mission above all.
• Flexible availability. We think of ourselves as a small startup. The fate of the organisation rests on a handful of highly motivated advocates who want to do something ambitious with their lives. We want to maintain the intensity of our current operating culture, so you should expect to work the occasional weekends and late evenings.
• Not being an asshole. We expect you to treat others with respect, decency and compassion – even the occasional adversaries.
• A preference for hard work. Activism is our passion and one of the main motivations in life. To fit our culture, you have to be a person that is proactive and enjoys work.
• Growth mindset. Nobody knows how to fix the world, so we need you to keep learning. We constantly strive to be better at our activism, but also as people.
• Strong interest in a high-feedback culture. We have a culture of honest and direct communication. We talk openly about our strengths and weaknesses on a daily basis because we want to be the best. You will know what your colleagues really think of you and be encouraged to speak your mind.
• Ability to reason and communicate your thinking, especially in written form. In order to thrive in our organisation you must be able to think carefully, try to back up your ideas with reasonable evidence, and above all be open to being proven wrong and changing your mind.
• Fluency in English. You will be working in a UK-based organisation which will require constant communication with English speakers.
• Ability to work in the UK. This offer is open to candidates who are either currently UK-based, or are willing to move to the UK for the job. We are happy to do whatever we can to help you in relocating, depending on your needs and our ability. If you have any questions about what we can help with, don’t hesitate to write to us!

You do not need to be vegan or vegetarian. While all of our events provide only plant-based meals, we are open to anyone who wants to fight for a world that is free from animal suffering. We won’t turn down any help.

What will you do?

• Build culture – you will help build and reinforce our culture, so we never lose what makes up the strength of Open Cages.
• Embrace reality – you will make it your mission to understand the world as it is rather than as you would like it to be.
• Manage activists – you will manage and work with teams of both employed and voluntary activists.
• Experience frustration – you will feel frustrated about things you could do better or things that are not working in the organisation or your team, and use this frustration as an opportunity to refine and elevate our organisation.
• Question ideas – you will question common knowledge, especially your own ideas, so that our results are always as good as they can be.
• Optimise your performance – you will continuously deepen your knowledge – both about particular areas of animal advocacy and about how the world works – and enjoy this process.
• Prioritise action – you will act even when there is not sufficient data.
• Abandon projects – you will change your objectives when it makes sense, no matter the time already invested.
• Respect and trust others – you will be there for others and trust their intentions. You will support them when they succeed and when they fail.
• Seek information independently – you will be responsible for acting very independently which will require you to obtain and verify data.
• Make mistakes – you will embrace your mistakes without being ashamed with the desire to learn from them.
• Strategise – it is not easy to change the world. As a campaigner you will ask yourself endless questions. You will be responsible for campaign strategy which requires careful planning and the ability to think ahead.
• Try again and again and again – the decision makers we want to convince often don’t want to improve animal welfare, others may simply not have time for you. You will need extreme persistence in order to gain traction with companies.
• Take risks – negotiating in a high stakes meeting, attending a farming conference, organising a protest, taking hundreds of videos of a retailer’s chicken products for a BBC story (yes, we did this!) – in this role you will need to be comfortable with stepping out of your comfort zone.
• Conduct research – you will spend many hours online gathering information, working with investigators and lawyers, or delivering chicken products to a lab in Germany (we did this too).
• Create marketing content – you will produce graphics and videos for social media, and utilise marketing tools to reach millions of people.
• Work with the media – you will engage with journalists, write press releases, pitch stories and be animals’ voice on the radio and TV.
• Mobilise advocates – you will write emails to our supporters and motivate them to take action with us. You will also organise and run street actions like protests and stunts.
• Connect with diverse audiences – you will need to talk about the suffering of animals to very different groups of people that compose our society. To do that effectively, you will need to understand their perspective and be a good, empathetic communicator.
• Ask for support – you will help us fundraise to increase our impact.

Do you think this role is too challenging and you're not fit for it?

You may be thinking that this role would be interesting for you, but you won’t make the cut. 

We encourage you not to worry and fill out the application nonetheless, especially if you meet our requirements (even on a basic level) and you think this position could bring you a lot of joy. Leave the judgment about your competence to us. You may even learn something useful along the way.

We prepared support materials to help you through the application process. We'll also be hosting informational webinars about this role and our recruitment process – click ‘Redirect to recruiter’ to see the website for more details.

‘’Without Yorkshire Air Ambulance, I honestly believe I wouldn’t be here today. The team were instrumental in getting me to hospital as fast as they did. I cannot thank each and every person enough for their help, you have my utmost respect and gratitude.’’ [Sam, East Yorkshire]

Established in October 2000, Yorkshire Air Ambulance (YAA) is an independent charity providing a lifesaving rapid response emergency service to 5 million people across the whole of Yorkshire. The service is operational seven days a week, 365 days a year and provided emergency care to over 890 people across Yorkshire last year alone.

Yorkshire Air Ambulance helicopters bring A&E to the scene of an incident, equipped with advanced medicines and surgical technology administered by a specialist Critical Care Team. The service is funded solely on the donations of individuals and organisations.

We are looking for a talented Events Coordinator to take on this brand new, varied and pivotal role.

It is an exciting time to be joining the team at Yorkshire Air Ambulance as they celebrate their 25th anniversary! Could you be part of a dedicated team that ensures this vital service can continue to save lives, like Sam’s?

The Role

As an Events Coordinator you will be responsible for a varied portfolio of events, from challenge events

to the Yorkshire Air Ambulance’s very first ball this October! Duties will include:

•  Effectively managing a range of events including charity owned and third party led events
• Ensuring exceptional stewardship of event participants and supporters
• Building long lasting relationships with suppliers and stakeholders
• Maximising income from each event, ensuring targets are met and costs are in line with the agreed budget
• Evaluating and making recommendations for each event, to ensure income grows year on year 

The Person

To be considered for this exciting, brand new, opportunity you should be a confident and experienced events coordinator. We are looking for someone who can demonstrate their success in managing a diverse range of events.

You should have excellent project management skills, with the ability to juggle multiple tasks at once. It is key to build strong relationships with internal team members, external stakeholders, suppliers and supporters in this role, so these qualities are vital. You must be able work collaboratively, so strong communication skills alongside attention to detail are important attributes to be successful in this role.

Why Yorkshire Air Ambulance

Not only is YAA hugely passionate about the incredible range of individuals and families whose life it changes every year, the charity also puts significant emphasis on staff welfare. YAA has a hugely reputable positive organisational culture and has a range of wellbeing initiatives that ensure all staff feel valued and respected, but also supported in their roles. The charity also has a focus on personal welfare and promotes a positive work life balance through its inherent flexible approach. Additional benefits include:

• 25 days paid holiday per annum plus statutory Bank Holidays
• Generous discretionary annual staff bonus scheme
• Contributory pension scheme
• Life Assurance plus access to an Employee Assistance Programme
• Work Life/Family Balance
• Commitment to training and personal development for all staff
• Eligibility to apply for a Blue Light Card, gaining discounts at 100’s of businesses
• Regular team-building and away days.

This role is part time and permanent (although flexible working patterns will be considered), and due to the nature of the role you will require a full UK driving licence with access to own car.

If you would like to be part of this high-profile, successful regional charity and think that your skills and experience fit the bill for this exciting role we would love to hear from you! To register your interest please apply here, or for more information contact Charlie or Leanne at Charity Horizons.

Please note: If you would like to submit an application or express your interest in an alternative format, such as audio or video upload, please contact either Charlie or Leanne who will be happy to advise on this. Also, please let us know if you require any adaptations for your initial engagement with us.

Please also be aware that we use anonymous recruitment methods when submitting shortlists for all our roles and we only work with organisations that are happy to engage with us in this way.

Charity Horizons is an equal opportunities employer and as such actively promotes equality, diversity and inclusion in the workplace. We welcome and encourage applications from all suitable candidates irrespective of age, disability, hidden disability, race or national origin, religion or belief, gender, gender expression, political view, sexual orientation, medical condition and pregnancy.

About Open Cages

Open Cages is a UK-registered charity fighting animal suffering. We are part of an international organisation, Anima International. To achieve our goal we use scientific evidence, careful reasoning, and draw upon decades of collective experience. Just in the last few years, we have successfully helped improve the lives of hundreds of millions of farmed animals in the UK.

We are impact-oriented and use a wide array of tools to make the world a better place. Our current toolkit includes:

• Investigations which reveal the reality hidden behind the walls of factory farms
• Negotiations with companies to encourage them to eliminate cruel practices from their policies
• Advocacy to secure legal milestones for animals

At Open Cages we won’t stop until we end animal suffering. We would like to invite you to join us and help us achieve this goal.

What do you gain by working at Open Cages?

• Meaningful work – you will help build a world free from animal suffering.
• Time – you will be able to focus full-time on helping animals.
• High degree of flexibility – the work is almost totally remote and you will organise your working hours and workflow yourself.
• Trust – we expect you to make mistakes as a given and learn from them.
• Autonomy – you will experience freedom and independence in your decision-making.
• Transparency – you will have access to the work and decisions of others.
• Honest work culture – you will know what your colleagues are doing and what they really think.
• Knowledge – you will learn and receive support from people who have been fighting for animals for many years.
• Opportunity to grow – you will learn every day and be encouraged to experiment beyond your skill set.
• Ability to influence the organisation – we encourage our people to openly speak their mind and thus you will be able to impact what kind of organisation we are.
• A laugh – animal advocacy can be dark at times, we think that having a fun atmosphere is key to balance this.
• Transparently set compensation – Our salaries are not negotiable and are based on a transparent algorithm that is the same for each role.

Following a 3-month probation period, you will transition to a fixed-term contract. Upon successful completion of this term, you will be offered a permanent employment contract. A minimum salary of £39,695.24 gross (our salary base for people resident in the UK) will apply from the beginning of the probationary period. The salary base may change due to your previous experience related to the position, or your experience in animal advocacy (+3% for each year). In addition, the salary increases with your seniority in Open Cages according to the following model:

+ 7% – for every year worked at Open Cages during the first 5 years of work

+ 5% – for every year worked at Open Cages during the next 5 years of work

+ 3% – for every year worked at Open Cages during the next 5 years of work

+ 2% – for every year worked at Open Cages during the next years of work

About your role

We are a small and ambitious early-stage organisation with two full-time team members. Our current objective: to help the 1 billion chickens raised annually in the UK. By joining us as a campaigner you will be both strategising and spending time on the frontlines, by talking to the biggest companies, producing investigative reports and giving media interviews. Your first task will be to help us convince the UK’s largest food businesses to improve their chicken welfare policies through public and behind-the-scenes advocacy. While this may sound challenging, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make a historic change for those who cannot stand up for themselves. Someone has to pick up the fight, and we hope it will be You.

We can accommodate to you

Due to the broad scope of our work, there is no simple description of the perfect campaigner. There may also be certain areas where you are stronger than others, and we are open to fitting the role around you. We are looking for a generalist rather than a specialist. However, you do need to have some particular strengths such as resilience, persistence, creativity, and critical thinking. Ideally, some day, you will be able to lead a big team and transfer your knowledge to them.

No previous experience is required for this role. While experience will be valued (and reflected in the salary), we welcome applications from both seasoned professionals and passionate newcomers who align with our organisational culture.

What do we require from you?

• Strong belief in the mission of our organisation. Working for us should not be thought of as a ‘career step’. We want people who are motivated by our mission above all.
• Flexible availability. We think of ourselves as a small startup. The fate of the organisation rests on a handful of highly motivated advocates who want to do something ambitious with their lives. We want to maintain the intensity of our current operating culture, so you should expect to work the occasional weekends and late evenings.
• Not being an asshole. We expect you to treat others with respect, decency and compassion – even the occasional adversaries.
• A preference for hard work. Activism is our passion and one of the main motivations in life. To fit our culture, you have to be a person that is proactive and enjoys work.
• Growth mindset. Nobody knows how to fix the world, so we need you to keep learning. We constantly strive to be better at our activism, but also as people.
• Strong interest in a high-feedback culture. We have a culture of honest and direct communication. We talk openly about our strengths and weaknesses on a daily basis because we want to be the best. You will know what your colleagues really think of you and be encouraged to speak your mind.
• Ability to reason and communicate your thinking, especially in written form. In order to thrive in our organisation you must be able to think carefully, try to back up your ideas with reasonable evidence, and above all be open to being proven wrong and changing your mind.
• Fluency in English. You will be working in a UK-based organisation which will require constant communication with English speakers.
• Ability to work in the UK. This offer is open to candidates who are either currently UK-based, or are willing to move to the UK for the job. We are happy to do whatever we can to help you in relocating, depending on your needs and our ability. If you have any questions about what we can help with, don’t hesitate to write to us!

You do not need to be vegan or vegetarian. While all of our events provide only plant-based meals, we are open to anyone who wants to fight for a world that is free from animal suffering. We won’t turn down any help.

What will you do?

• Build culture – you will help build and reinforce our culture, so we never lose what makes up the strength of Open Cages.
• Embrace reality – you will make it your mission to understand the world as it is rather than as you would like it to be.
• Manage activists – you will manage and work with teams of both employed and voluntary activists.
• Experience frustration – you will feel frustrated about things you could do better or things that are not working in the organisation or your team, and use this frustration as an opportunity to refine and elevate our organisation.
• Question ideas – you will question common knowledge, especially your own ideas, so that our results are always as good as they can be.
• Optimise your performance – you will continuously deepen your knowledge – both about particular areas of animal advocacy and about how the world works – and enjoy this process.
• Prioritise action – you will act even when there is not sufficient data.
• Abandon projects – you will change your objectives when it makes sense, no matter the time already invested.
• Respect and trust others – you will be there for others and trust their intentions. You will support them when they succeed and when they fail.
• Seek information independently – you will be responsible for acting very independently which will require you to obtain and verify data.
• Make mistakes – you will embrace your mistakes without being ashamed with the desire to learn from them.
• Try again and again and again – the decision makers we want to reach often don’t want to improve animal welfare, others may simply not have time for you. In this role you will need extreme persistence in order to gain traction with companies.
• Build relationships – you will need social competence as you try to build trust and work with company executives to make progress for animals.
• Strategise – it is not easy to change the world. As a campaigner you will ask yourself endless questions. You will be responsible for campaign strategy which requires careful planning and the ability to think ahead.
• Take risks – negotiating in a high stakes meeting, attending a farming conference, organising a protest, taking 500 videos of a retailer’s chicken products for a BBC story (yes, we did this!) – in this role you will need to be comfortable with stepping out of your comfort zone.
• Conduct research – you will spend many hours online gathering information, working with investigators and lawyers, or delivering 50 chicken products to a lab in Germany (we did this too).
• Create engaging content – you will produce emotive graphics and videos for social media, factual reports and data-driven briefings for journalists and politicians.
• Work with the media – you will engage with journalists, write press releases, and give the odd interview.
• Mobilise advocates – you will write emails to our supporters and motivate them to take action with us. You will also organise and run street actions like protests and stunts.

Do you think this role is too challenging and you're not fit for it?

You may be thinking that this role would be interesting for you, but you won’t make the cut. 

We encourage you not to worry and fill out the application nonetheless, especially if you meet our requirements (even on a basic level) and you think this position could bring you a lot of joy. Leave the judgment about your competence to us. You may even learn something useful along the way.

We prepared support materials to help you through the application process. We'll also be hosting informational webinars about this role and our recruitment process – click ‘Redirect to recruiter’ to see the website for more details.

About us 

The Early Education and Childcare Coalition unites the voices of parents, children, providers, early years professionals and the wider business community, working together for investment and reform of early education and childcare in England. 

We believe that we all benefit from investing in early education and childcare, and we all have a role to play in shaping a system that delivers for children, families and the economy. 

We are backed by some of the most high-profile campaign and research organisations in England. Our members include early years provider membership bodies, parent campaign groups, early childhood experts, trade unions, the business lobby, anti-poverty campaigners and NGOs. Together, we use our collective voice and research to build public and political support for early education and childcare.

And it’s worked. Thanks to the dedication of our members, early years is now one of the top six priorities for the new government’s Plan for Change, but our work isn’t done – we have an ambitious agenda to ‘rescue and reform’ the system, ensuring that: 

• every child can access high-quality education and care that their parents can afford and that will support them to thrive 

• every provider is funded fairly for the places they offer 

• every early years professional is rewarded and recognised for the skilled work they do 

About the role

We are now recruiting a Senior Research and Policy Officer on a fixed-term contract to help drive our aims during this exciting period. 

• Hours: 37.5 hours (5 days per week). Some out-of-hours work may be required for which TOIL will be given. 

• Duration: One-year contract with possible extension subject to funding. 

• Location: Home-working but located in Greater Manchester 

• Salary: £44,755 per annum 

Your time will be split between two key strands of work: 

• Our core research and policy function which responds to emerging early years policy, government consultations and shapes our own original research 

• A ‘test and learn’ pilot on workforce development. 

The former will require you to have a good grasp of mixed research methods, some understanding of the challenges facing early education and childcare, as well as a good understanding of the political and economic climate we’re working in. Naturally, you should be able to produce clear and compelling briefings that can be of use to policymakers and our members. 

The latter is an exciting new project that is a key output in our three-year programme, ‘Building the Early Education Workforce in England’. It will see you partner with combined authorities, think tanks and coalition partners. You will need to be comfortable handling data in this role.

We are a fully remote organisation, but ideally you should be based in Greater Manchester where the ‘test and learn’ pilot is being conducted. This will be important in building relationships with providers and local authorities that are participating in the project. 

We work flexibly and it won’t come as a surprise to you that we understand the challenge of caring commitments. We trust you to manage your time, but as a minimum requirement, we expect you to be available on Thursday mornings for our staff meeting. As a remote team this helps us to stay in touch and connect. 

The Coalition has experienced significant growth over the last two years and with early years firmly on the political agenda, we expect this to continue. Our hope is that this role will evolve and the successful candidate will continue to progress within this growing and impactful organisation. 

For the last two years, the Coalition has been incubated by the Women’s Budget Group, the UK’s leading feminist economic think tank. Our growth means that we are now ready to spin out into a separate and independent legal entity. That means that your employment contract will initially be with WBG on behalf of the Coalition but will then transfer across to the newly constituted organisation. This won’t change your role, your terms or your pay, but we want to tell you now. We are happy to answer questions at interview about that. 

What you can expect to be doing 

• Use detailed knowledge of quantitative and qualitative methodologies to produce policy papers  and reports on topics relevant to the Coalition’s aims 

• Work closely with our Associate Director of Research and Coproduction, to deliver our ‘test and learn’ pilot analysing data from local authorities and early years providers and codesigning the final outputs with stakeholders. 

• Support our response to key fiscal events including the Spending Review 

• Work with Coalition members to promote shared learning of innovative practices and coordinate joint research 

• Maintain awareness and knowledge of research and policy literature related to early education and childcare 

• Support the advocacy and communications team with the dissemination of research and policy 

About you 

You will have experience in a research or policy role where you’ve been responsible for responding to government policy, producing briefings and reports, and shaping future research. Given the nature of coalition-working, experience of working with a broad range of stakeholders would be beneficial, as would any experience of codesigning policy solutions, although this is not essential.

We are looking for someone who is comfortable handling data and using data to make policy recommendations. Experience of working on public service reform would be a bonus. 

Person specification 

Essential 

• Educated to degree level in social sciences and/or demonstrable research experience in public service reform issues 

• Experience of data collation and statistical analysis, working with large datasets and data analysis packages 

• Experience of working in research within an applied setting 

• Knowledge and experience of analysing and summarising quantitative and qualitative research 

• Comfortable with remote-working with the ability to work on own initiative 

• Commitment to the aims of the EECC and our principles. 

• Excellent written and oral communication skills and the ability to write reports for a policy audience 

• Ability to communicate effectively in writing and in person with a range of different audiences 

• Experience of liaising with a wide range of stakeholders in the context of a research and policy project 

Desirable 

• Experience of leading on research projects 

• Experience of working on codesigned projects 

• Some knowledge of the challenges facing the early education and childcare system 

• Experience of stakeholder engagement or engaging research participants

The application process 

Please apply with CV and cover letter by the listed closing date. No agencies please. We are using anonymous recruitment via Charity Jobs so please apply via that process.

The EECC is committed to equity, diversity and inclusion. We use anonymous recruiting during the application process and we use positive action under section 159 of the Equality Act in relation to disability or race. This means that if we have two candidates of equal merit in our process, we will seek to take forward the disabled or Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic candidate in order to diversify our staff team. 

Please note we can only consider applications from candidates with the right to work in the UK.

We regret that our small team does not have capacity to respond to unsuccessful applicants individually. 

Closing date for applications: 9am, Monday 12th May

Interviews: w/c 19th May 

Start date: ASAP