Family support jobs in finsbury park, greater london
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Contract: Temporary for a maximum of 1 year
Job ref: V539 – 2
Hours: 15 hours per week (flexible days/ hours but some evening and weekend work required)
Salary: £9,523.80 for 15 hours per week (£22,222.20 FTE)
Location: 2 roles in Whitton, 1 role in Gainsborough an 1 role in Belstead Hills
Closing date: 26th June 2025 at noon
Interview date: TBC but will be in person in central Ipswich
We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications
Job Purpose:
Volunteering Matters are partnering with Active Suffolk to recruit 6 Community Connectors to work in the following areas of Ipswich:
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2 x Whitton
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1 x Gainsborough
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1 x Belstead Hills
The ideal candidates will have strong local knowledge of the area and preferably, live within the community they are assigned to. In this role, you will have conversations with local residents (aged 18+) to capture lived experience around barriers, motivations, perceptions of being physically active in the local community. You must be a confident communicator and able to work off your own initiative.
The information collected will be shared with project partners and local stakeholders to guide further learning and community development, with the goal of securing future funding for further investment in these areas.
Responsibilities
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Identify, plan and create opportunities to have conversations with local residents around being physically active in the local community
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Identify community needs – gather information from local residents on what they value the most, the challenges they face, and what services or initiatives could benefit them. This could be done through informal conversations, community meetings, surveys
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Share ideas with the local community and project partners/ stakeholders
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Signpost to information and support for residents wanting to get more involved with their local community
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Build relationships and networks locally to promote and create opportunities for conversations.
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Conduct conversations safely and effectively in a range of settings (eg cafes, outside local schools, community events etc) to reach a diverse range of local residents
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Participate in regular team meetings to support learning, problem solving and collaboration
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Work within agreed budgets and utilise community resources and venues to undertake conversations
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Skills & Experience:
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Strong connections with and experience of the Whitton, Gainsborough and Belstead Hills areas of the town. Preference would be from applicants living in these areas.
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Enthusiastic, friendly and approachable manner
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Experience of bringing people together in your community
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A confident self starter – some who is creative and can use their own initiative
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Flexible and proactive
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Great at putting people at ease and building rapport
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Excellent listening and communication skills
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Excellent organisational and IT skills including ability to manage workload and prioritise effectively
About us
At Volunteering Matters we use volunteering’s unique power to bring people together and build stronger, more resilient communities across the UK.
We bring people together to resolve some of society’s most complex issues. From social isolation and loneliness; improving health and wellbeing; building skills, confidence, and opportunity; to ensuring young people can become change makers in their community, the impact that we make is great. And we won’t stop until everyone in the UK has the opportunity to thrive.
People-led and impact driven, we are a national charity that is deeply embedded in local areas across the UK. We operate in five regions: London and the South East; Wales and the West of England; East of England; the Midlands and North West England; and Scotland and North East England. We also have an Employee Volunteering Team with over 25 years’ experience, acting as a broker to provide tailor-made solutions to employers. We turn local knowledge and energy into action and progress, building stronger communities and a better future for all.
Our Values & Way of Working:
In all that we do, we embrace a philosophy of ‘Freedom within a Framework’ and are guided by our values: Empowering, Inclusive, Compassionate, Positive & Straightforward.
This job description is intended to include the broad range of responsibilities and requirements of the post. It is neither exhaustive nor exclusive but while some variations will be expected, these will be at an appropriate level for the role.
Diversity & Inclusion
Volunteering Matters welcomes all applicants and are keen to ensure our team reflects the diversity of the UK and the communities we serve. We encourage applications from disabled, LGBT and Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic backgrounds, along with candidates with any protected characteristics and from disadvantaged groups.
Disability Confident & Reasonable Adjustments:
We guarantee to interview anyone with a disability whose application meets the minimum criteria for the role. Please provide evidence in your application, which demonstrates that you meet the level of competence required in the “Experience/Skills” section of this advert. To be considered for a guaranteed interview or to discuss any reasonable adjustments during the process.
We have also committed to the following pledges which positively encompass our recruitment and selection processes and methodology: The Promise, Show The Salary, Salary History.
Benefits
Our employee benefits reflect our culture which is built on an approach of full flexibility with accountability, and designed to let you make your most positive contribution; we offer Flexible Working by Default (re hours & place of work), Unlimited Annual Leave, Employee Pension scheme, Life Assurance, Cycle to Work Scheme, Season Ticket Loan, Employee Assistance Programme, enhanced sick and family leave. We are also open to discuss job share applications.
GDPR Statement
If you apply for a role with us, we will retain your contact details including your name, address, email address and phone number to help us manage your application for up to 6 months. We will not use your personal data for any other purpose or share it with any third party. You can contact us at any point to update your personal information or ask us to delete it from our records.
We turn local knowledge into action by working with volunteers and partners across the UK to build stronger communities for all.





The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
We are seeking a Head of Services to lead our Youth Work and Day Centre provision at NHYC. This is an exciting time to join the organisation as we prepare to launch our new five-year strategy. You should be a thoroughly organised individual with extensive experience and expertise in operational service delivery. You should be capable of balancing strong attention to detail with the ability to think strategically, and be flexible to respond to changing demands. You should be an inspirational leader, able to motivate a diverse staff team to deliver consistently high quality services to young people.
- Salary: £46,800 to £52,000
- Deadline: Midday Thursday 19 June
For more information on the organisation and role, please click 'Apply'.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
About Beyond Autism
We are experts in delivering autism education services from pre-school to 25. BeyondAutism is a nonprofit organisation, driving change in the world of autism education to ensure autistic children and young
adults access an education which empowers a life full of choice, independence and opportunity. We do
this by creating positive educational experiences, training for the professional team around a child, and
information, resources and support for families and carers.
Our services:
We deliver rapid and sustained outcomes in our Early Years’ service by working with parents and children
together. Empowering parents to feel resilient and confident in meeting the needs of their child leads to
aspirational, informed choices creating a positive and successful step into primary education.
Our two schools and 2 Post-19 services have a specialist curriculum that ensures sustained success beyond the
age of 25, setting children and young adults up with the skills and independence to lead a life of their choosing.
By teaching them the academic and life skills they need and through the promotion of a happy, caring
environment, we nurture the confidence, independence and self-belief to enable them to make the most of the
next stage of their life or education.
We also work more widely, activating networks and building local capacity with our solution focused Outreach
team. Our unique BeyondAutism Fast Responder® service works at the point of crisis to change the national
picture and reduce school placement breakdown
Our Values
At BeyondAutism we are:
Dedicated to delivering excellence
Developing expertise, outstanding services and positive engagement, always seeking to go above and beyond
expectations.
Committed to Behaviour Analysis, underpinned by the science of Applied Behaviour Analysis and Verbal
Behaviour
Contributing to research and ensuring our staff continually develop and share best practice that ensure
aspirational outcomes are achieved for autistic individuals.
Respectful
Embracing diversity, showing integrity, acting with compassion and always treating people with dignity.
Proud to challenge
Listening, changing thinking, shifting attitudes and educating
Overview:
• As COO you will be BeyondAutism’s second-in-command and be responsible for the financial well-being
of the charity, financial and commercial strategy and day-to-day operational excellence.
• The overarching purpose of the COO position is to work with the CEO on defining the financial and
operational strategy of BeyondAutism and then to implement it, thereby enabling the charity to deliver its
charitable objects.
• You will provide strong leadership of the finance function, being proactive, outward facing and an
exceptional manager of stakeholder relationships.
Responsibilities
• Leadership and management of a senior team to deliver business plans in pursuance of the strategic
objectives.
• Developing and leading the finance and operations functions (HR, Facilities, and Projects) so that they
facilitate the growth and reach agenda.
• Provide leadership on Finance and Accounting strategy, to optimise BeyondAutism’s financial performance.
• With the CEO and Heads of Services, ensure that our regulatory services remain outstanding.
• To deputise for the CEO as required.
Strategic leadership
• Delivering results during a period of unpredictability, negotiating with and influencing senior stakeholders from
a variety of disciplines (political, commercial, and Local Authority).
• Leading the operations functions so that they are proactive, outward-facing and viewed as an essential partner
in the decision-making process.
• Increasing the commercial capability throughout the organisation, with a focus on delivering value for money
through effective contract and supplier management.
• With the Heads of Services, review the model for service delivery as part of implementing the reach strategy.
This will include the service models currently operating in London.
• Building and enacting transformational change to the commercial strategic decision making in collaboration
with the CEO.
• With accountability for procurement and contract management, you will demonstrate ongoing improvement to
processes and transparency, working to create a system in which it is faster and easier to satisfy Trustee
scrutiny and meet accountability requirements.
• You will operate collegiately with the Senior Management Team to ensure we build effective customer
relationships and deliver services that meet the needs of the end-user.
• You will be accountable for an Operational Blueprint that delivers growth for the organisation.
• Assess the revenue opportunity versus the risk and cost profile of the pricing/operating models.
• Advise on strategic implications resulting from legal and regulatory changes.
• Define and oversee adherence to policies and procedures.
• Own and apply commercial scrutiny.
• Establish and embed a system to track and monitor all contracts, tracking all changes regardless of risk
attributed to the given clause.
• Localise and translate standard contract templates where applicable and maintain these templates.
• Provide risk advice to the Senior Management Team.
Financial leadership and management
• Ensure that company financial systems are robust, compliant and support current activities and future
reach/growth.
• Ensure that all regulatory requirements are met including the Charity Commission, Ofsted and Company Law.
• Take a lead role along with the CEO in arranging finance in accordance with Trustee strategy.
• Ensure appropriate reporting of the month end is timely and informs decision making.
• Write and share a monthly analysis flagging key risks and, with the CEO, ensure actions are taken to mitigate
risks.
• Provide reporting against budget/forecast, ensuring viability of each service within full cost recovery
parameters.
• Provide executive summary reporting to Trustees.
• Lead the budget setting process, liaising effectively with each member of SMT and the finance team.
• Presentation of Budget to Trustees.
• Reflect and present information in appropriate formats for internal and external use.
• Take the lead as appropriate on specified projects, following our project management processes.
• Ensure your team are supported and skilled in new service development.
About the role
5
Facilities
• Senior leadership oversight of the facilities strategy, including health and safety compliance, appropriate and
robust contracts and a viable maintenance cycle.
• Through your leadership team, ensure quality and compliance systems and processes are embedded,
informative and enabling of a learning organisation.
• Ensure that BeyondAutism has the best affordable IT infrastructure and resources.
• Ensure that our premises are fit for purpose, in the right place, at the right time.
HR
• Senior leadership oversight of the people strategy ensuring swift action and appropriate scrutiny of our
recruitment and retention strategy.
• With the CEO and wider SMT ensure that BeyondAutism is an employer of choice within our sector.
• With the Head of HR, support in the design and implementation of key HR strategic initiatives and drive
performance improvements across the HR team.
Projects
• Senior leadership oversight of the project portfolio, specifically driving sustainability and viability through our
reach agenda.
• With the Projects Manager, ensure deadlines are met and projects are delivered within agreed budgets.
• Ensuring reporting is timely and data rich to underpin decision-making.
General responsibilities
• To understand, adhere to and actively implement all the policies and procedures of BeyondAutism.
• To safeguard children and vulnerable adults at all times.
• To undertake training as required.
• Assist with other work, events and projects as needed.
• Any other duties that the Chief Executive Officer may reasonably require.
If selected for interview you will be required to fill out a full application form for safer recruitment purposes. There will be a 2-stage interview: The first stage will be a remote Teams interview. Successful candidates will then be invited to attend a face-to-face interview
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
ShareAction is an independent charity and an expert on responsible investment. We work to build a world where the financial system serves our planet and its people. We set ambitious standards for how financial institutions, through their investment decisions, can protect our planet and its people and campaign for this approach to become the norm. We convene shareholders to collectively push companies to tackle the climate crisis, protect nature, improve workers’ rights and shape healthier societies. In the UK and EU, we advocate for financial regulation that has society’s best interests at its core.
What you’ll do
ShareAction’s Financial Sector Research team works towards holding financial institutions accountable for their impact on globally important challenges such as tackling climate change, upholding human rights and reversing biodiversity loss.
Asset managers, insurance companies and banks hold a huge amount of influence over the world’s largest companies through their investment, lending and underwriting activities. While many of these financial institutions publicly claim to be taking environmental and social issues seriously, often, these claims do not hold up to scrutiny.
In this role, you will have many opportunities to challenge the financial sector by contributing to:
- Our financial sector benchmarks. In the first 12 months, you would primarily be working on our 2026 benchmark of some of the world’s largest insurance companies (following our 2024 report). Our research also covers asset managers and banks.
- Coordination with civil society allies and developing new collaborations with leading global NGOs.
- Engagement with financial institutions, regulators, and industry bodies to provide detailed recommendations for improvement.
- Communication of our research findings externally, for example, on webinars.
Working alongside the rest of the Financial Sector Research team, you will contribute to ShareAction’s key reports ranking financial institutions. This involves collecting information from institutions and databases, analysing quantitative and qualitative data, producing engaging graphics to communicate results and translating this analysis into actionable steps for financial institutions to take. You will collaborate with teams across ShareAction and may join meetings with financial institutions, other NGOs, or regulators to discuss this research. We will ensure that you receive sufficient support and oversight to ensure you feel comfortable and knowledgeable in delivering this bold and challenging work.
This is a very exciting time to be joining the team. In 2025, we begin the next instalment of our comprehensive benchmark of the insurance sector. In this rapidly evolving field, we are looking for a person with excellent research and communication skills and the passion to make a difference to join our team.
What you’ll bring to the team
We welcome anyone who shares our passion for environmental and social justice through the transformation of the financial sector. Please feel free to apply even if you’re not sure you tick every box.
Essential
- Excellent analytical skills, attention to detail, and a proven ability to conduct qualitative and quantitative research.
- A broad understanding of how the financial sector works and how financial institutions can have an impact on environmental and social issues.
- A keen interest in driving the finance sector to better serve people and the planet.
- Excellent organisational skills and a proven ability to manage competing demands while still meeting deadlines.
- Strong communication skills in written and spoken English.
- Competency in Microsoft Excel, including writing formulae and building charts.
- Strong teamwork skills and the ability to work collaboratively.
- A passion for ShareAction’s vision and mission.
Desirable
- Subject matter knowledge in climate change, biodiversity or human/labour rights.
- Experience in or with the finance sector; an understanding of responsible investment and its implications for different types of financial institutions.
- Experience giving presentations.
- Any experience programming, particularly an interest in learning Python for data processing.
- Experience with managing relationships with external stakeholders.
- Experience with Microsoft Office 365, particularly SharePoint.
- Experience with CRM systems, ideally Salesforce.
ShareAction currently operates a hybrid working policy, with staff permitted to work either in our office or remotely. The Financial Sector Research team normally meets in the office once a week, with some flexibility possible.
What we will do for you
We are a fast-paced organisation that has grown substantially over the past few years. We recognise that our people work hard to advocate for responsible investment and drive meaningful engagement with those who have the power to create a brighter future. Every day, they bring their expertise, passion and persistence to build a world where the financial system serves our people and planet. We want to ensure we provide the right environment for our colleagues to thrive, and we are committed to improving our employee offer where possible.
Currently, we are pleased to offer:
- A commitment to flexible working: over 60% of our employees have some sort of flexible working arrangement in place.
- Hybrid working: we are committed to supporting our staff to work in a way that suits their lifestyle and meets the requirements of their role.
- Internal promotion and development opportunities: we offer a range of ways to improve your skills and focus on what you love, including promotion, secondment, or sideways development opportunities. For some levels of roles, we also offer direct progression.
- The opportunity to help make a difference: we tackle some of the world’s biggest social and environmental challenges. We offer opportunities for you to develop your skills and experience in a friendly, flexible and supportive working environment.
- A unionised work environment: our staff have the opportunity to join the union and are supported by our recognised union, Unite. We regularly consult and negotiate with our employees on workplace matters ranging from working conditions to pay.
- Regular in-person meetings, including all-staff away days, retreats and directorate strategy days to create connected teams.
- An 8% non-contributory pension invested with NEST and their green funds.
- A healthcare plan with BUPA.
- An employee assistance programme: advice and support, lifestyle discounts and short-term counselling.
- Death in service cover of 3x salary.
- 25 days’ annual leave (increasing with length of service) plus office closure at the end of the year, ensuring everyone gets time to switch off together.
- Enhanced family leave pay: up to 18 weeks paid at 90% for either parent.
- Enhanced sick pay starting at 5 weeks’ full pay from day 1.
- Season ticket loan and cycle-to-work scheme.
ShareAction values and respects all differences in people (seen and unseen) and welcomes applications from all backgrounds, communities and industries. We are committed to having a team that is made up of diverse skills, experiences and abilities, and we are working hard to provide an environment where all can bring their authentic selves to work. We know that some people won’t apply for a role unless they meet all the requirements listed in the job description. If this is the case for you, but you think you would excel in this role, we want to hear from you!
For further information and to apply, please visit our website via the Apply button.
Closing date: 9.00 am on Wednesday, 18 June 2025.
First-round interviews: w/c 30 June 2025 (online).
Second-round interviews: w/c 7 July 2025 (online).
To be considered for this post, you must be legally eligible to work in the UK; unfortunately, we are unable to provide visa sponsorship.
Associate Director Commercial
Salary: £75,000 – £80,000 + excellent benefits, including 27 days holiday, 2:1 pension (up to 12% employer contribution), plus many more
Location: London/Hybrid with at least one day per month in the office
Did you know that there are at least 20m people in the UK in vulnerable financial circumstances, who are poorly served or unfairly excluded from mainstream financial services?
That’s nearly a third of all adults in the UK.
We are Fair4All Finance. We are a not-for-profit organisation working with Financial Services providers to improve the financial wellbeing of people in vulnerable circumstances by increasing access to fair, affordable and appropriate financial products and services.
We are continuing our work following our latest round of funding, and as a result we are now seeking an Associate Director to join our Commercial team.
As an Associate Director in our Commercial team, you’ll help lead the development, testing, and scaling of innovative financial products and services through strategic partnerships. Working at the intersection of commercial contracting, product development, and social impact, you’ll drive key initiatives to transform access to credit, insurance, and savings across the UK.
You will know your way around a contract and be adept at negotiating terms. You will also know how to dig through the ‘noise’ of a proposal to get to the real information, whilst ensuring you mitigate risk for the organisation on the schemes & pilots that you do progress.
You'll be joining a purpose-driven, high-performing team committed to long-term systemic change. If you're a commercially astute professional with a passion for improving financial inclusion, we’d love to hear from you.
This is a unique opportunity to contribute to a mission-driven organisation, ensuring resources are strategically aligned with our goals to drive meaningful social impact
Key Responsibilities:
· Lead commercial lifecycle for new product pilots – from opportunity development and partner engagement through to contracting, testing, and evaluation.
· Identify and engage mainstream and mission-aligned financial providers to co-design, pilot, and scale new propositions.
· Run transparent competitive processes, negotiate contracts, and manage supplier relationships to ensure clarity, value for money and impact.
· Oversee delivery and evaluation of pilot projects, ensuring robust data capture, impact measurement and evidence-based decision making.
· Design and structure long-term financial instruments (e.g. subsidies, guarantees) to enable sustainable scale-up of successful propositions.
· Work closely with our Propositions and Investment teams to structure deals and build investment cases for propositions.
· Represent Fair4All Finance externally with C-suite stakeholders, financial providers, and at sector events.
· Ensure sound financial and contract management; contribute to investment committee papers and internal reporting.
· Support internal knowledge sharing, deputise for senior leaders, and contribute to building a collaborative and inclusive team culture.
Essential experience and qualifications:
· Proven track record in developing and delivering commercial partnerships, ideally involving financial products or services.
· Expertise in commercial negotiations, procurement, contract management, and structuring financial arrangements.
· Familiarity with consumer-facing financial services and their delivery models.
· Strong stakeholder management, with experience operating in complex, multi-stakeholder environments.
· Experience working alongside investment teams on capital deployment or investment structures.
· High level of numeracy and ability to build and present commercial business cases.
· Excellent written and verbal communication, with the ability to influence senior stakeholders.
· Detail-oriented with strong organisational and project management skills.
· A collaborative team player with self-starter mentality and the flexibility to adapt in a dynamic environment.
Desirable experience
· Experience working in or with the public sector or civil service.
· Understanding of public procurement, subsidy control, and assessing economic/social value.
· Experience working with or supporting social purpose organisations or financial inclusion initiatives.
Person Profile
· Passionate about financial inclusion and committed to creating long-term social impact.
· Able to create partnerships and commercial structures that deliver value for all parties – customers, providers, and society.
· Comfortable working at both strategic and detailed levels, with a willingness to roll up your sleeves in a small, agile team.
· Values working with diverse stakeholders and across teams to co-create solutions.
· Adept at using data and insight to inform decisions, measure success and adapt for impact.
· Thrives in ambiguity and is able to flex priorities as new opportunities or challenges emerge.
· Confident engaging and influencing stakeholders at all levels, both internally and externally
Who are Fair4All Finance?
We are a not-for-profit organisation working with Financial Services providers to improve the financial wellbeing of people in vulnerable circumstances by increasing access to fair, affordable and appropriate financial products and services.
Founded in 2019, we are funded from the Dormant Assets Scheme. The scheme is led by the financial industry and backed by the UK government. This makes it possible for money in dormant bank and building society accounts to be used to help good causes.
Our vision is of a society where the long-term financial wellbeing of all people is supported by a fair and accessible financial sector.
Fair4All Finance is a Disability Confident Committed scheme member.
Fair4All Finance is a Disability Confident Committed member. We’re committed to an inclusive workplace and will offer an initial interview to disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the role. You’ll be able to indicate this in your application.
Our Benefits include:
Financial Security:
· Pension (2:1 up to 12% employer contribution), group life assurance, critical illness, and income protection, family leave
Wellbeing:
· 27 days holiday plus bank holidays, agile working, health cash plan, health & wellbeing resource hub (including an Employee Assistance Programme)
Personal & Professional Development:
· Individual discretionary Training budget
· Book Club – mission aligned, up to 4 per year
Fair4All Finance is dedicated to fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace that reflects the communities we serve. We value different perspectives, experiences, and expertise, encouraging everyone to grow and contribute fully. We welcome applications from all backgrounds, including age, gender identity, disability, marital status, race, sexual orientation, pregnancy, and socioeconomic status.
We ensure fair and equitable treatment for all team members and applicants and actively recruit from a diverse candidate pool. We are open to making reasonable adjustments to support candidates and promote flexible working for a healthy work-life balance.
To apply, submit your application via Applied by 5pm on Friday 4th July.
Please note that your application will be reviewed through a blind, unbiased process, so be sure to provide clear, specific examples in your responses. Your CV will only be reviewed at a later stage in the process.
Due to the nature of our work, and depending on the role, successful applicants may be required to undergo pre-employment checks, which include employment reference, financial and criminal record checks. All checks will be role appropriate and your recruiter will confirm which checks are required. We manage our checks via TrustID
The Youth Endowment Fund
Senior Research Manager (Toolkit)
Reports to: Head of Toolkit
Salary: £52,700
Contract: 2-year fixed term contract
Location: Central London, Hybrid*
Closing date: 27th June 2025
About the Youth Endowment Fund
We’re here to prevent children and young people becoming involved in violence. We do this by finding out what works and building a movement to put this knowledge into practice.
Last year, 244 people in England and Wales tragically died after being assaulted with a knife. Of these, 32 were children. Every child captured in these numbers is an important member of our community and society has a duty to protect them. Even beyond knife crime, we know that the fear of violence has a terrible effect on children’s daily lives.
The Youth Endowment Fund exists to try and permanently change things. To succeed, we must build an exceptional body of knowledge about violence affecting young people and how we reduce it. This knowledge has to be both rigorous and highly relevant to those making decisions about how to support vulnerable young people. We need to find out what works and what doesn’t through evidence synthesis, data analysis and qualitative research into children’s lives. We then need to convert this into highly accessible content on what works, how delivery organisations need to change their practice and how the systems they operate in need to be reformed.
About the Toolkit Team
The Toolkit team is at the heart of our work to spread knowledge of what works to prevent children becoming involved in violence. We want research to lead actual changes in outcomes for children.
Our flagship resource, the Toolkit, is a free, online resource that summarises the best available evidence about the effectiveness of various approaches to preventing children becoming involved in violence. It explains the evidence, how confident we can be about the findings, and provides actionable guidance to help policy makers, commissioners, and practitioners to turn evidence into action. The Toolkit is influencing real world policy and practice: the Home Office requires Violence Reductions Units to allocate at least 30% of their funding to interventions that have an impact rating of ‘high’ or ‘moderate’ in the Toolkit. Over half of Youth Justice Services use the Toolkit to align their work with the latest available evidence. Our Change team use the Toolkit to influence systems, policy and practice across children’s services, education, health, neighbourhoods, policing, youth services and youth justice.
The Toolkit is a live resource that currently contains 35 approaches to violence prevention, and we will add at least ten updates to the content this year. New research is published every day around the world. We collate relevant studies in our YEF programmes evidence and gap map and YEF systems evidence and gap map, and we collate study results in our Effect Size Database. We are working in partnership with the National Children’s Bureau and the EPPI Centre to implement new technology and to use machine learning to create a ‘living platform’, that contains relevant studies and their results in one place. This is an exciting development that will significantly speed up our production of systematic reviews and meta-analyses to keep the Toolkit up to date.
Key Responsibilities
The Senior Research Manager will be an essential part of the YEF Toolkit Team and will develop a portfolio of impactful projects. The core of your role will be leading the commissioning of evidence synthesis, using our new methodology, across a range of topics and producing Toolkit content.
You will:
Commission new systematic reviews.
- You will lead the commissioning and management of systematic reviews of the evidence through our Toolkit and Evidence Synthesis Partners: the National Children’s Bureau, the EPPI Centre, and the Race Equality Foundation. This will involve scoping and prioritising violence prevention approaches, convening expert advisory groups, reviewing research protocols and technical reports, and ensuring that research products produce actionable insights.
Write accurate and actionable summaries of evidence for the Toolkit.
· You will use findings from evidence synthesis to write new summaries for the Toolkit, and to inform YEF’s guidance and implementation resources.
· You will ensure that Toolkit content is only ever easy-to-understand and written in plain English with incredible clarity.
·You will collaborate with our Research team and our Change team to feed insights from the evidence into systems, sector and practice guidance.
Lead Toolkit communications.
· Collaborating with the YEF Communications and Public Affairs team, you will produce accurate social media content, blogs, and briefings on new Toolkit content to facilitate accurate journalism and press coverage.
Become an expert on the Toolkit.
· You will be an advocate for Toolkit evidence, and you will ensure insights from this evidence are accurately communicated to policy makers and practitioners. You will do this by delivering presentations on Toolkit evidence and providing briefings.
· You will also ensure YEF colleagues are up to date on the topics and content in the Toolkit by providing training and updates internally and sharing guidance about how to accurately explain the evidence.
About You
You are this sort of person:
· You want to play a significant part in reducing children and young people’s involvement in violence. You care about having an impact.
· You share our belief that an evidence-based approach is our best hope of preventing violence. You are fascinated by research, but you’re not just interested in research for its own sake. You want to achieve actual changes in outcomes for children.
·You’re a confident reader of research and have strong critical appraisal skills. You know when research can be trusted and when it can’t and can confidently articulate your views on the strength of research. You might have gained this expertise through your academic studies, research, or professional experience.
· You have a proven track record of commissioning or conducting high-quality evidence synthesis. You have a good understanding of these methods and can discuss the pros and cons of them. You might have gained this expertise through your academic studies, training, research or professional experience. You can scrutinise a budget to ensure it provides value for money.
· You have at least three years’ experience working in a role that required you to think about research. This could include a range of roles in policy, academia, funding, and practice.
· You write in a way that people easily understand. You have that rare skill of writing in plain English. You have experience of translating complex research findings into plain writing that everyone can understand.
· You have excellent project and time management skills. You can work independently, quickly, and to a high standard.
·You are good with people. You are comfortable working with a wide range of people, including senior academics and other research experts, children and their families, practitioners, and policy makers. You’re able to provide constructive challenges when required.
·You learn fast but remain humble. You like learning. You are very good at synthesising information. You know how much you don't know and that you can always learn more.
·You work well in a team. You care more that good things happen than who gets the credit. You support your colleagues to produce excellent work.
·You’re committed to equality, diversity and inclusion. You believe and act in a way that celebrates and encourages a range of experiences, views and values.
You may have:
·A good level of knowledge and understanding of crime or violence. You know the facts, understand the issues, know the key people, and can discuss the theories. You’re knowledgeable on this topic and very at ease discussing it with experts. Alternatively, you might have a strong understanding of a relevant area such as education, youth work or social care.
·Confident public speaking skills. You’re an excellent verbal communicator. You’ve delivered dozens of talks on complex topics. You’re calm and confident when answering challenging questions.
While it’s not a criterion, we’re especially interested to hear from applicants who have lived experience of violence.
It’s also important to us that the people we hire do not discriminate. We believe in being inclusive and giving everyone an equal chance to succeed. Applications are welcome from all regardless of age, sex, gender identity, disability, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, religion or belief, race, sexual orientation, transgender status or socioeconomic background.
Hybrid Working
The office is based in Central London. Those living in and around London are expected to be in the office for a minimum of 2 days per week. If you live outside of London and work remotely, you’ll be expected to work from the London office 2 days per month.
To Apply
To apply, please send a CV and cover letter, and complete the monitoring form click on "Apply for this" button by 27th June 2025.
When applying for this role, please ensure that your cover letter can answer, within a maximum of 1000 words, the following questions:
1. Briefly describe the key evidence synthesis projects that you have undertaken or commissioned and be clear about the role you played in the work.
2. Provide some clear examples of products, presentations, events, or other materials that you have produced to help explain complex research evidence to policymakers, commissioners, and practitioners.
You will also be required to provide proof of your eligibility to work in the UK. As part of our commitment to flexible working, we will consider a range of options for the successful applicant. All options can be discussed at interview stage.
Interview Process
Interviews will take place in the week commencing the weeks commencing 7th and 14th July.
If you are invited to interview, we will send you a systematic review ahead of the interview and we will ask you to prepare a 10-minute presentation to explain the main strengths and weaknesses of the review and its conclusions.
Benefits Include
- £1,000 professional development budget annually
- 28 days holiday plus Bank Holidays
- Four half days for volunteering activities
- Employee Assistance Programme – 24hr phone line for free confidential support
- Volunteering days - 4 half days per year
- Death in service - 4 times annual salary
- Flexible hours. Core office hours 10am – 4pm
- Financial support including travel and hardship loans
- Employer contributed pension of 5%
Personal Data
Your personal data will be shared for the purposes of the recruitment exercise. This includes our HR team, interviewers (who may include other partners in the project and independent advisors), relevant team managers and our IT service provider if access to the data is necessary for performance of their roles. We do not share your data with other third parties, unless your application for employment is successful and we make you an offer of employment. We will then share your data with former employers to obtain references for you. We do not transfer your data outside the European Economic Area.
We exist to prevent children and young people becoming involved in violence.

The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.