We’re recruiting a Governance Manager for a leading national charity in the adult social care sector. This is your opportunity to shape governance at the highest level, influence decision-making, and ensure robust systems underpin life-changing work.
This is a remote role with National travel. You must be able to travel to Watford, St Albans, Gloucester, West Midlands & North Yorkshire. This would be no more than four times a quarter.
Why You’ll Love This Role As Governance Manager, you’ll:
- Work closely with the Chief Executive, Chair, and Board of Trustees to ensure strong governance and compliance.
- Oversee board and committee meetings, from agendas to high-quality minutes.
- Lead the charity’s policy framework and ensure all policies are legally compliant and clearly communicated.
- Have oversight of major programmes/projects, ensuring performance reporting aligns with strategic priorities.
- Manage and develop a small, dedicated team.
- Play a central role in family and member engagement, ensuring stakeholders’ voices are heard and acted upon.
You’ll be part of a values-driven, collaborative culture where your expertise will have real impact — and where you’ll be supported to develop and grow.
What You’ll Bring We’re looking for a Governance Manager who can:
- Demonstrate strong understanding of governance, compliance, and charity regulation.
- Confidently support and engage senior stakeholders, including Trustees.
- Write clear, professional reports and take accurate minutes at a senior level.
- Organise multiple priorities and meet deadlines with ease.
- Bring experience of project or programme oversight.
Desirable:
- PRINCE2 or equivalent project management qualification.
- Experience working with membership models.
About the Organisation Our client is a respected national charity, committed to supporting adults with care needs, their families, and communities. Their mission is simple: to empower people to live fulfilling lives. They operate in line with the Charity Commission Code of Governance and NCVO’s ethical principles.
Inclusion Statement We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds, identities, and experiences. We are committed to building a diverse and inclusive workplace where everyone can thrive. If you need adjustments at any stage of the recruitment process, please let us know.
Apply Now If you’re ready to bring your governance expertise to a role where it really matters — don’t delay in applying. Shortlisting may close early if we receive strong applications.
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 with making the application process work for you.
Contract: Permanent
Hours: Full-time - 37 hours per week
Salary: £37,000 - £42,000 per annum, depending on experience
Remote: This role is homebased with travel for meetings, events and conferences and staff residentials.
What we do
As the national body for youth work, the NYA has a dual function. We are the professional statutory and regulatory body (PSRB) responsible for qualifications, quality standards, and safeguarding for youth work and services in England. In line with our charity mission and aims, we also champion youth work through research, advocacy, campaigns, and programmes.
We work in partnership and believe in collaborative leadership, listening to youth workers and the youth work sector so that we can understand their needs and respond to the challenges they face. We are ambitious for youth work and for young people and integrate youth voice and influence across our work
About the Role
This is a unique opportunity to shape the future of youth work in England. As Policy and Public Affairs Manager at the National Youth Agency (NYA), you’ll play a central role in influencing national policy and driving change that impacts young people’s lives.
We’re looking for a dynamic and strategic individual to join our Policy, Insights and External Affairs Directorate. You’ll work closely with the Head of Policy and Public Affairs, line manage the Policy and Public Affairs Officer, and collaborate with colleagues and sector partners to deliver a bold and proactive policy agenda that champions youth work in policy making. Your work will ensure the voice of the NYA and the youth sector is placed at the heart of national policy and funding decisions.
This role is central to driving NYA’s policy impact: you will lead high-profile policy projects, build strong relationships with political and policy stakeholders, produce influential written outputs, curate strategic events, and represent the organisation at key external engagements. You’ll also be at the forefront of monitoring and interpreting developments across Westminster - from government consultations to parliamentary debates - using these insights to shape our influencing and advocacy efforts.
This is an exciting time to join the NYA. Your work will directly contribute to meaningful change for young people, helping to secure the recognition, investment and support that youth work deserves.
Key responsibilities for this role will include:
- Work with the Head of Policy and Public Affairs, Policy and Public Affairs Officer, and key internal and external stakeholders to help design, manage and deliver a cutting-edge policy agenda and stakeholder outreach programme
- Line manage the Policy and Public Affairs Officer, delegating work effectively and supporting their professional development
- Identify and build positive relationships with key political and policy stakeholders who are critical to advancing our mission and amplifying the voice of the youth work.
- Manage policy projects, including drafting project plans, timelines and budgets, in collaboration with key internal and external stakeholders
- Monitor the shifting national policy and political landscape, including parliamentary inquiries, consultations, political briefings and government announcements, and advise internal and external stakeholders on opportunities and risks
- Provide the secretariat for the National Youth Sector Advisory Board (NYSAB), convening the youth sector with government departments
- Build strong relationships with peer organisations and stakeholders and identify opportunities for collaborative working to further NYA’s mission
- Organise high-quality events and policy seminars to raise the profile of the organisation
- Manage the creation of a range of high-quality written outputs for various audiences, including policy briefings, blogs and consultation responses
- Work closely with the Head of Policy and Public Affairs and Local Policy and Partnerships Manager to connect and align our national and local policy influencing and work
- Represent the NYA at external meetings and events
- Please refer to our Candidate Pack for more information on the role and the requirements.
Why Work for NYA?
- NYA operates as a people-first organisation, prioritising the well-being and needs of its employees.
- NYA offers an exceptional flexible working approach which encourages our team to balance professional responsibilities with their personal life.
- A remote based team, spread across England, fostering inclusivity and diverse talent. Despite geographical distances between team members, NYA maintains a highly motivated and connected team through the optimisation of digital tools.
- NYA is committed to supporting the continual personal and professional development of our team and helping them achieve their ambitions.
- We provide 25 days leave plus 8 days, life assurance scheme, 5% employer pension contribution and a comprehensive Employee Assistance Programme via Spectrum.life with unlimited specialist support available to all NYA employees.
How to Apply:
To apply, please submit the following via our online application platform by 11:59pm on Sunday 14th September 2025:
- A detailed CV setting out your career history, with responsibilities and achievements in line with the person specification in the About You section.
- A covering letter (maximum two sides) highlighting your suitability for the role and how you meet the requirements in the About You section.
- We will request data for our EEDI monitoring purposes, providing this is optional.
Please note: the covering letter is an essential part of the application process and will be assessed as part of your full application. We use AI detector software, so cover letters or CV’s with over 30% AI generated content with be disregarded. We understand that AI tools can offer support to candidates who have learning differences, which is why we will accept applications with some AI assistance. CV’s will not be accepted without a cover letter.
The National Youth Agency is an equal opportunities employer.
At NYA our inclusive culture means that we embrace individual differences and understand that we need a diverse team to achieve our organisations mission.
We wish to recruit candidates from all backgrounds to ensure our team reflects the rich diversity of the communities we serve. We encourage applications from anyone regardless of disability, ethnicity, heritage, gender, sexuality, religion, socio-economic background and political beliefs but we particularly welcome applications from global majority candidates and those from other minoritised ethnic groups in the UK as they are currently underrepresented in our team.
REF-223415
Actively Interviewing
This organisation is scheduling interviews as applications come in. They're ready to hire as soon as they find the right person. Don't miss your opportunity, apply now!
Individual Giving Assistant Manager
Full time, permanent contract with an option for some hybrid working.
We are Chester Zoo
We’re not just an amazing, award-winning visitor attraction that’s home to over 30,000 incredible animals within 128 acres of stunning gardens. We’re not just the UK’s most popular zoo. We’re an international wildlife charity that’s committed to the recovery of endangered species.
The Role – Individual Giving Assistant Manager
The Fundraising Department of Chester Zoo, a major wildlife charity, with a mission of Preventing Extinction works to secure income which contributes towards the delivery of our strategic development plan and ambitious conservation plan, helping to ensure nature can survive and thrive.
Reporting to the Fundraising & Philanthropy Lead and working with the wider Fundraising team, the Individual Giving Assistant Manager will lead on securing and managing small to medium donations from individuals. This includes our newly created Patron Scheme, multiple fundraising campaigns and all challenge events for the zoo (including Run for Nature).
We are looking for a proactive and conscientious individual who will take a data led approach to raise money in effective and creative ways, working with our Senior Marketing Manager and Senior Data and Insights Manager to identify patterns and drive donations through individual giving. They will also manage and drive revenue through onsite giving mechanisms including in-memory, naming opportunities and point of sale giving – all whilst helping to strengthen our supporter base and foster their long-term relationships with the zoo.
They will work across the organisation to support our team of conservationists and scientists at Chester Zoo to engage, train and support targets within our strategically important field, education and science led projects.
We’re looking for someone who can:
- Fundraising Strategy: Help to develop and implement new plans to continue to grow our Individual Giving income led by the Fundraising & Philanthropy Lead
- Prospect Development: Work with our Senior Marketing Manager and Senior Data and Insights Manager to identify patterns in giving using data from our CRM and drive donations through appeals and public campaigns across the organisation
- Donor Cultivation and Stewardship: Develop an annual programme of stewardship and contact opportunities
- Campaigns: Develop and deliver engaging campaigns across multiple channels (direct mail, digital, email, on-site) aiming to grow a sustainable donor base. Monitoring and reporting on campaign performance using data to optimise and drive continuous improvement and donor retention
- Onsite Giving: Maximise onsite giving opportunities including naming around animal habitats and our newly installed Celebration Tree, alongside site wide donation boxes, point of sale items, round-up giving and contactless. Working with the Fundraising Administrator to include coordinating collections, reviewing messaging, reporting and identifying areas for improvement
- Event Management: Work across the organisation to create engagement and stewardship opportunities through events and experiences as the role requires
- Donor Stewardship: Keep accurate records on the database to include all communications, donor plans, pledges, proposals, gifts and restrictions. Work with the Fundraising Administrator to maintain a regular and engaging program of communication with donors, keeping them informed on the impact their donation is having on conservation activities at Chester Zoo well as recognition.
- Reporting and Analysis: Track fundraising progress and report on KPI’s
What makes Chester Zoo a great place to work?
Well, where do we start? Here goes…
We’re a huge team of conservationists, scientists, educators, animal welfare experts, marketeers, visitor experience professionals, environmental policy influencers; the list goes on. Each and every one of us is on a mission to make Chester Zoo the best in the world, and our planet a better place.
As the UK’s biggest and best zoo, we have ambitious goals, exciting plans, and there’s always lots going on here. We’re an inclusive and diverse organisation, made up of over 600 permanent and 500 temporary team members, and we know how important it is to invest in our colleagues to help boost their career development. We have ambitious goals, and we want you to be with us for the long term on our exciting journey.
Our working environment could not be more different from a typical office – where else can you see critically endangered orangutans from your office window, or stroll among rare giraffes and tigers on your lunch break?
The Package
- Permanent Contract
- 40 hours per week
- Salary – £30,000 per annum
- Opportunity for some working, based at Chester Zoo a minimum of 3 days per week.
- 33 days annual leave (includes bank holidays) plus the option to buy or sell up to 5 days.
- Pension scheme with generous employer contributions up to 9%
- Healthcare plan and employee assistance programme.
- Staff pass so you can visit the zoo during your time off, plus multiple complimentary tickets for your friends and family.
- Cycle to work scheme.
- Discounted gym membership
- Discounts on cinema tickets, restaurants, high street shops and more via Perks
Our Requirements
- A demonstrable track-record in individual fundraising and/or high-level customer service
- Experience of using a database to manage and track donor gifts, relationships and pipeline
- The ability to create exciting and compelling fundraising campaigns across a range of different channels
- Skilled in managing and developing a portfolio of funders and meeting fundraising targets
- Experience in developing and building long-term donor relationships
- Confident communication skills, motivating supporters, as well as internal and external stakeholders and face-to-face contact with supporters
- Proven experience of delivering consistently high levels of supporter care
- Experience in curating and managing stewardship events
- Experience of prioritising and balancing a busy workload
- Experience of working closely with other fundraising streams
Although not essential, the following would be desirable:
- Strong working knowledge of Individual Giving, fundraising regulations and best practice
- Ability to recognise the needs of differing stakeholders
- Ability to manage varied tasks and workload
- Ability to work well independently and under pressure
- Highly organised with exceptional attention to detail
Shortlisting of applications and arrangement of interviews will take place while the advert is live, candidates are therefore encouraged to submit applications as soon as possible. We reserve the right to close the advert early.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.