Evaluation and applied research manager jobs

The National Youth Agency is looking for a new Chief Operating Officer to join our Executive Leadership Team.

Contract: Permanent
Hours: Full-time - 37 hours per week
Salary: £85,000 per annum
Remote: This role is homebased (within the UK) with occasional to meetings, events and conferences.

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

Responsibilities will include:

• The COO leads the day-to-day functioning of the organisation to ensure smooth, efficient, and effective delivery of services. This is vital for maintaining operational stability and achieving strategic outcomes.
• They design and execute strategies that align with the organisation’s mission and long-term goals ensuring resources are used effectively and priorities are clear.
• They promote a culture of excellence, innovation, and continuous improvement through supporting employee engagement, productivity, and organisational success.
• The COO collaborates closely with the CEO/CFO and other senior leaders to drive strategic initiatives and business growth, ensuring unified leadership and coherent decision-making.
• They partner with the CFO to manage budgets, forecasts, and resource allocation. Financial oversight ensures sustainability and supports informed investment in strategic priorities.
• Strengthen governance and risk management frameworks, aligned to regulatory expectations and best practice while proactively managing reputational and operational risks.
• The COO cultivates strong relationships with partners, clients, and stakeholders to enhance service delivery and reputation. These relationships are key to influence, collaboration, and impact.
• They lead efforts to improve processes and adopt best practices across the charity to enhance efficiency and keeps the organisation competitive and responsive.
• They ensure that daily activities support the charities long-term objectives.
• The COO mentors other directors and departmental heads and fosters leadership capabilities across teams.
• They establish and track KPIs to identify inefficiencies and guide improvements through data-driven decision-making to enhance accountability and results.
• They evaluate and refine workflows to boost productivity developing efficient processes to reduce waste and improve service quality.
• They act as a bridge between departments and the CEO to ensure cohesive execution of strategic plans preventing silos and promoting organisational synergy.
• The COO serves as a senior figure in national and cross-sector forums, conferences, and strategic partnerships to strengthens the organisation’s voice and influence.
• They demonstrate commitment to Equality, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging in both internal culture and external programmes to foster a fair and inclusive organisation.
• They work with the CEO, CFO and Director of Growth to identify and pursue new revenue streams and strategic partnerships. This expands the organisation’s reach and sustainability.
• They engage in public speaking, media interactions, and external representation demonstrating clear communication, credibility, and stakeholder engagement.
• They develop and embed evaluation frameworks to assess progress against strategic goals. The measuring of our impact ensures accountability and informs future planning.
• They promote the organisation’s brand at events and through networking.

The COO takes on other responsibilities as needed to support the organisation’s mission.

About You

Essential competencies of the Chief Operating Officer:

• Extensive experience in senior leadership with a proven track record in operations, financial and risk management, and delivering high-performing teams, ideally in the charity sector.
• Strong understanding of business functions such as HR, Finance, Marketing, etc.
• Excellent leadership, communication, and interpersonal skills.
• Ability to think strategically and execute effectively.
• Strong problem-solving and decision-making abilities. Commercially astute, process-driven, and highly pragmatic in approach.
• Experience in driving performance and fostering a collaborative culture.
• Bachelor’s degree in business administration or related field; MBA preferred

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 Monday 29th 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 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 80% AI generated content will 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.

Youth Work changes lives

Which is why we’re committed to ensuring that as many young people as possible get to benefit from it.As the national body for youth work in England, the National Youth Agency (NYA) exists to champion its transformative power. We believe all young people should have the opportunity to benefit from the life-changing impact of extraordinary youth workers and trained volunteers.

We help to grow youth work provision in ways that keep it effective, relevant, safe and engaging, to help millions of young people reach their potential and thrive. We do this by providing guidance, support, advice, training and staff development opportunities for youth workers and youth work organisations. At the heart of everything we do are young people themselves. We work hard to ensure their voices are integrated into all our work, to develop provision that truly meets their needs.

REF-223747

The Director of Policy, Strategy and Governance is a new leadership role at the forefront of shaping and communicating our strategic direction.

As a member of the executive team reporting to the CEO, the Director will work with school leaders, other key external partners and teams within Camden Learning to drive high standards and grow a school-led system striving for both excellence and equity.

The Director will be responsible for leading, developing and communicating Camden Learning’s strategic direction, including plans for future growth and success. This entails keeping abreast of current developments, not only identifying opportunities and trends but also developing and supporting innovative approaches while ensuring alignment with Camden Learning’s goals.

The Director will be responsible for overall governance effectiveness, as well as provide strategic leadership for school governor services, ensuring effective support for governors in their key strategic and statutory roles. This includes establishing high-quality development and training programmes, the provision of a clerking service and bespoke support for governing bodies, as needed.

We are looking for a leader who can take ownership of shaping this role from day one – a strategic thinker, a skilled communicator, and a champion of inclusive governance. This is a rare opportunity to influence the future of education in Camden and beyond. Your leadership will help us tell our story, measure our impact, and ensure that our strategy remains both ambitious and grounded in the realities of our schools.

Key dates

• Applications close: 9am Mon 6 October
• First round interviews: Tue 21 and Wed 22 October (online)
• Final round interviews: Tue 28 October (in person at 5 Pancras Square, London)
• Start date: As soon as possible (January 2026), to be agreed with the successful candidate.

ImpactEd Consulting is acting as recruitment advisor to Camden Learning on this appointment.

Job title: Director of Development: Principal Gifts and Global
Salary: circa £140,000 to £160,000
Location: Hybrid/South Kensington and White City (with travel to other Imperial campuses/meetings as required)

This is a unique opportunity to join one of the world’s leading universities and drive its principal gifts, global fundraising and foundation, corporates and trusts strategy. One of the most exciting leadership positions in the sector, the newly created role of Director of Development: Principal & Global, will be pivotal in helping Imperial scale its ambition and impact, at a moment of extraordinary momentum.

Founded in 1907, Imperial has long been recognised for its strengths in research, education and innovation. Throughout our history we have sought not only to be a world-leading university, but a world-changing one, with real-world impact at our core.

Earlier this year we launched our new strategy, Science for Humanity, which is bold and ambitious, and reflects the purpose of our global community. It is an actionable plan across all areas of our activity, a template for greater impact.

A strategy this ambitious requires us to think boldly, and we are in the planning stages of a comprehensive fundraising and alumni engagement campaign. Philanthropy already plays a significant role at the university, and we have a strong track record of securing principal gifts of £5m-£40m.

The Director of Development: Principal Gifts and Global sits at the heart of Imperial’s future. Reporting to the Vice President (Advancement), and sitting on their senior leadership team, the Director will steer high-level philanthropic engagement worldwide. Working closely with senior academic leaders and institutional stakeholders, you will lead a team that delivers gifts that are truly transformational.  You will build and deepen relationships with some of the most influential philanthropists globally and help to shape and drive Imperial’s next campaign.

With a track record of securing principal gifts and success in managing complex relationships, you will thrive in a collaborative and high-performing environment. You will be a values-driven strategic leader, energised by challenge, motivated by impact, and eager to inspire teams and donors alike.

This role will remain live until it is filled therefore please complete and submit your application at the earliest possible opportunity to avoid potential disappointment.

Interested?

Please familiarise yourself with the attached Candidate Pack.
To apply, please submit a CV and covering letter.

In addition to this post, we are going to be recruiting to two exceptional Global Development opportunities. As we continue to expand our international presence, we will shortly be recruiting for the following key leadership roles:

• Deputy of Global Development, North America
• Deputy of Global Development, Asia

Each of these roles offers a unique opportunity to shape our strategic direction, build impactful partnerships, and drive growth across diverse regions. 

Imperial College is partnering with Constellate Global Talent on this search. No agencies please.

Overview:
 

This role sits within a vibrant and ambitious fundraising team spanning major giving, trusts and foundations, prospect research, individual giving, community, events, legacies, innovation, and supporter experience. Together, we work to raise vital income for our three hospitals, helping them continue their life-changing work.
 

As Owned Events Lead, you will play a key role in developing and delivering a portfolio of our in-house fundraising events — from flagship campaigns like the St Thomas’ Abseil and Steps for Evelina, to new concepts we’re planning to pilot in the coming years. This is an exciting opportunity for a creative, hands-on event professional to shape original products, build memorable supporter experiences, and drive long-term income growth.
 

You'll be joining a forward-thinking team at a time of strategic growth, with the chance to make a tangible difference to how we engage supporters and grow our owned event programme for the future.

About us

Guy’s & St Thomas’ Charity, Guy’s Cancer Charity and Evelina London Children’s Charity are part of Guy’s & St Thomas’ Foundation. Our collective mission is to build the foundations of a healthier society.
 

As part of our team, you will work alongside talented people from a mix of personal and professional backgrounds. We are a Living Wage employer and support flexible working, part-time roles and job shares. Though our ambitions are serious, this is a friendly place to work with lots of opportunities to meet and socialise with colleagues. We believe there is immense power in diversity and aim to recruit and nurture talent who think and act differently.
 

There is more information about working with us on our website, where you can read about:
 

• how we approach recruitment

• our team, culture and values

• the benefits of working with us and our approach to diversity, equity & inclusion, health & wellbeing, and learning & development

Overall purpose of the role

The Owned Events Lead plays a pivotal role in shaping and delivering Guy’s & St Thomas’ Charity’s evolving portfolio of owned and virtual fundraising events — a strategically important area of growth for the organisation.  

Working as part of a dynamic and cross-functional fundraising team, this role leads on the planning, execution and scaling of original event products — from large-scale mass participation experiences like the St Thomas’ Abseil, to creative, insight-driven virtual campaigns and supporter-led challenges. It’s a diverse, hands-on portfolio that brings together live delivery, digital innovation and product development. 

With a clear focus on income growth, audience engagement and supporter experience, the role blends operational expertise, creativity, and entrepreneurial thinking. You’ll work closely with teams across fundraising, supporter experience, digital, innovation and comms to pilot new ideas, improve performance, and build events that inspire action and loyalty. 

This is a delivery-focused role requiring end-to-end event management experience — from logistics, safety and supplier coordination, to data-led decision-making, budget ownership and multi-channel stewardship. It’s an exciting opportunity for someone who thrives on building things from scratch and wants to make a real and lasting impact on how we connect with our supporters.  

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the development and delivery of a portfolio of owned and virtual fundraising events — from concept through to post-event evaluation — ensuring operational excellence, creativity, and supporter satisfaction.
• Deliver large-scale in-person events such as the St Thomas’ Abseil, including venue and supplier coordination, safety planning, risk management, insurance, and on-the-day execution.
• Develop and grow virtual fundraising products, such as Steps For Evelina, drawing on insight, testing and digital best practice to create scalable, supporter-led experiences.
• Lead cross-functional project teams and working groups — aligning stakeholders across digital, supporter experience, innovation, comms and fundraising to deliver shared outcomes.
• Manage event budgets end to end — including forecasting, reforecasting, reconciliation and performance analysis — and use financial insight to inform decisions on where to invest, scale or refine.
• Lead on supporter acquisition for owned products, including paid digital campaigns (PPC, social), segmentation strategies, audience targeting and grassroots recruitment.
• Create and implement behavioural, insight-led supporter journeys — driving engagement and long-term value through personalised, multi-channel communications.
• Produce and maintain risk assessments, permits and compliance documentation, ensuring safe and well-managed delivery across all owned events.
• Build strong, collaborative relationships with internal teams, suppliers, venues and agencies to ensure delivery is aligned, effective and on brand.
• Monitor KPIs and use performance data, feedback and market trends to evaluate success, inform future development and drive continuous improvement.

Work environment

• The post holder should expect to:

• Work in a hybrid hot desk environment, generally working 2 days a week in the London office and three from home. 

• Be responsible for the input and maintenance of databases and files relevant to the post requirements.

• Will occasionally be required to attend events in the evening and at weekends.

Skills, Knowledge and Expertise

• Experience

• At least 3 years’ experience delivering owned, public-facing or virtual fundraising events, with full responsibility for planning, delivery, compliance, and performance.
• Strong track record in hands-on event delivery, including supplier and venue management, live production, logistics, and on-the-day coordination.
• Experience developing and implementing risk assessments, permits, insurances and health & safety documentation.
• Demonstrated success in launching new fundraising products — from concept through to live delivery — using innovation frameworks or test-and-learn methodology.
• Knowledge of digital acquisition, including PPC, paid social and segmentation strategies for events.
• Proven ability to lead cross-team project groups and manage external partners, contractors or agencies.
• Experience managing detailed budgets, with strong financial accountability and performance tracking.
• Expert in live event planning, delivery, and documentation — including compliance, health & safety and supplier contracts.
• Strong understanding of virtual fundraising best practices and digital supporter engagement.
• Confident using audience insight and supporter data to drive product development and communications.
• Clear grasp of behavioural communications and how to apply them across email, WhatsApp, SMS and face-to-face.
• Skilled project manager with the ability to juggle multiple workstreams, deadlines and priorities.
• Collaborative, solutions-focused, and able to build strong relationships across teams.
• Familiarity with fundraising regulations, GDPR, and Facebook Fundraising platforms is desirable.

Personal Attributes
 

• Strategic and delivery-focused — equally comfortable shaping the vision and getting stuck into delivery.
• Entrepreneurial and innovative — thrives on building new things and improving existing ones.
• Proactive and accountable — takes ownership and drives progress without needing close oversight.
• Calm and composed under pressure — especially during live delivery or external stakeholder engagement.
• Highly organised and detail-oriented — ensures everything is well documented, planned and communicated.
• Passionate about delivering exceptional supporter experiences and meaningful fundraising moments.
• Adaptable and resilient — thrives in a fast-moving environment and embraces change with a positive mindset. 

Benefits

• Up to 12% employer pension contributions
• Annual personal development budget
• Annual health and wellbeing personal allowance
• Enhanced maternity, paternity, and parental leave pay accessible without length of service requirements.
• Health and wellbeing programme that offers optional free yearly health check-ups.
• Support for healthy eating via fruit bowls and onsite lunch facilities. 
• Agile working, flexible hours, and supportive IT kit. 
• Shower facilities and bike lock area. 
• Generous annual leave (27 days + bank holidays)
• Subsidies for glasses
• Employee Assistance Programme