Global programmes director jobs

The HR team is committed to the attraction and retention of a highly engaged and performing workforce that is committed to delivering our vision to see isolated communities changed by the love of Christ. We do this by nurturing a supportive and encouraging environment, where strong relationships are built, personal growth, innovation and creativity are encouraged, and performance achieved.

As our new Talent Acquisition Manager, you will be doing exactly that. You will drive the recruitment operations for placements for both UK and overseas staff, leading the team and taking ownership and responsibility to execute a best-in-class candidate experience. 

The Talent Acquisition Manager will lead recruitment for us in support of our strategic goals in this area, partnering with hiring managers and offering innovative and creative advice and solutions on how to attract and recruit the best talent available. This is a managerial role that requires strong decision making and the ability to drive the department forward progressively, but still very much a position where you will be expected roll your sleeves up and take a hands-on approach to deliver first-rate talent for the organisation, and experience for our candidates. You will oversee all recruitment activity passing through the UK office, owning our ATS and line managing the Talent Acquisition Officer.

1. Talent Acquisition Strategy 

• Contribute to the development and implementation of the talent acquisition strategy, with a strategic focus on digital optimisation, to ensure improving placements for both UK and overseas roles. 

• Oversee and deliver all employer brand initiatives and recruitment campaigns including hiring events to drive candidate engagement and boost our employer brand. 

• Build diverse candidate pools, and create initiatives to attract and retain diverse talent. 

• Develop and analyse our recruitment metrics, and use your knowledge, market insights, numbers and analysis to continually refine and improve the talent acquisition process using a data-led approach. 

• Offer a clear, supportive and innovative voice in interactions with international colleagues to streamline processes and ensure seamless, effective collaboration.

• Use creative and innovative approaches to continue to reach new candidate audiences in a narrow field. 

• Continuously review our process to drive improvements and change, especially through the use of emergent technologies. 

• Work closely with colleagues in our youth outreach programme ‘Co-Pilot’ to develop, maximise and harmonise our approach in bringing a younger demographic into our talent pools, incorporating this relationship into our strategy. 

2. Transactional Recruitment Management 

• Create and deliver an annual international recruitment action and promotional plan 
• Work in close collaboration with our marketing team in the promotion and delivery of recruitment advertising including online/offline and social media campaigns and analysing results to inform planning and performance improvements. Ensure that the recruitment message remains central throughout our range of communications activities and that our voice is clear, compelling and interactsand synergizes seamlessly with our existing central campaign operations 

• Monitoring, reviewing, and developing the recruitment pages on our website to maximize engagement

• Being responsible for the discernment and wisdom required to undertake spiritual personal and assessments, refining a clear and robust framework to ensure a fair and consistent candidate experience. 

• Overseeing the development and maintenance of physical resources for overseas recruitment 

• Representing MAF throughout the year at festivals and other events within the UK as a passionate and compelling advocate 

• Initiating high quality recruitment events in various forums throughout the year, focusing on producing a clear ROI 

• Leading in the development of the Online Recruitment Journey 

• Leading in the recruitment of UK roles

• Training and supporting UK managers with hiring responsibilities in effective recruitment techniques and selection processes, ensuring that colleagues are coached and upskilled to sufficiently assist in the delivery of an efficient campaign.

• Review the workflow of the recruitment process to ensure that the workload requirement for managers supporting the process is mitigated and manageable, whilst maintaining their engagement in the process. 

• Work with the UK and International HR Managers to support a seamless onboarding process for all joiners 

3. Overseeing our selection processes to ensure the progression of suitably skilled applicants who meet our faith, vision, and values criteria 

• Designing and implementing robust, efficient, and personable selection processes that deliver an excellent candidate experience 
• Overseeing MAF UK’s assessment processes and assisting with interviews where required 

• Liaising with MAF International (MAFI) to discuss candidates’ potential fit for overseas roles 

• Managing our use of UK psychometric assessment 

4. Envisioning and delivering new initiatives to attract and build our talent pipeline 

• Overseeing and driving proactive digital acquisition using LinkedIn and other platforms 
• Working with other teams to design and deliver creative, engaging, and high-quality recruitment campaigns and promotional initiatives 

• Raising awareness and leveraging team support for recruitment initiatives

• Establishing, developing, and sustaining collaborative relationships with key external bodies e.g., Christian bodies within the aviation industry, armed forces, and universities

• Selecting, training, and managing a network of volunteer recruitment champions, increasing the scale of our capacity to support at events and build a greater presence in the community specifically from a recruitment perspective 

• Designing and implementing approaches to encourage greater diversity with applicants 

• Demonstrating a data-led approach, monitoring recruitment statistics and measures to inform decision making, identify issues and prepare management information reports. 

5. Partnership 

• Building strong relationships with the MAFI recruitment team and proactively sharing resources, experience, and expertise with Engagement Units 
• Member of the MAFI Recruitment Steering Group 

• Establishing or contributing to recruitment learning circles with other Engagement Units 

• Support efforts to integrate into one global entity from a recruitment perspective 

• Contribute to the launch and maintenance of the Mission Aviation Academy, to continue to enhance our employer brand around our training schemes and ensure a sustainable funding pipeline for them for the future 

6. Management  

• Overall management of the relationship portfolios and specific management of ‘Premium’ enquirers portfolio 

• Line manage, coach, develop and champion the Talent Acquisition Officer 

• Participating in MAF UK organisation development initiatives and policy review 

• Managing own time effectively to maximize organisational benefit 

• Lead on the overall management and administration of the Applicant Tracking System 

7. Legal, finance and professional 

• Maintaining a high level of legal awareness and ensuring our legal obligations are maintained throughout the recruitment process 
• Preparing and managing the recruitment budget 

• Modeling self-leadership through continual professional development 

8. Travel 

• This role will involve some travel within the United Kingdom, particularly around the events season. 

Other duties as may reasonably be assigned by the Director of People and Culture including covering for other members of the team as required. 

DIMENSION AND LIMITS OF AUTHORITY:  

• Expenditure up to agreed budget. 

• Responsible for managing the Talent Acquisition Officer and conducting regular 1-1s and Personal Development Reviews according to agreed standards. 

• Decision making within agreed parameters. 

TASKS COMMON TO ALL MANAGERS:

• Role modelling of organisational values and beliefs 

• Contributing to the shared spiritual life of the MAF UK team as a Christian mission

• Attendance and participation in team and corporate times of biblical reflection and prayer 

• Encouraging team members to attend, participate and lead in times of Biblical reflection at regular corporate prayer meetings 

• Participate in planning in accordance with the MAF UK strategic plan and as outworked through matrix programme and project teams 

• Keeping line manager informed of all relevant information in a timely manner 

• Complying with statutory and organisational requirements for the proper handling of personal and sensitive data and ensuring good personal data handling practices are developed, reviewed, and encouraged 

• Abiding by Safeguarding, Conduct and other MAF UK policies provided on the Intranet. 

CHRISTIAN VALUES, BELIEFS AND ETHOS: 

As a Christian mission, MAF UK seeks staff who share in the evangelical Christian values and beliefs as described in the mission, purpose, values, and beliefs statements.All staff will be required to actively support and demonstrate the Christian values of the organisation and to take part in organisational activities such as staff devotions, prayer meetings, and fellowship days.

Location: Hybrid working with the requirement to work in the UK offices in either Folkestone or Cranfield. 

Working Hours:Office open officially from 9.00 to 5.30pm (9-4pm on Friday). Hours to be agreed according to flexible working policy. 

Salary:£48,500

Terms: 

Hours: As a senior appointment at least 36 hours per week but in addition those required to achieve the agreed responsibilities, with a one-hour unpaid lunch break each day. 

Flexibility will be required for working additional hours and travel to meet business needs or for travel or meetings on weekends or evenings.

This role involves some unsocial hours, weekend work and travel within the UK 

Leave:Annual leave entitlement of 22 days per year plus eight paid public holidays per year. 

Pension: Non-contributory pension scheme (10%) of salary on joining. 

Additional Benefits:

• Access to our Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) for free, confidential support on personal and professional issues. 

• Death in Service/Life Assurance scheme. 

• Free on-site parking at our offices. 

Probationary and notice period: 

• 6-month probation period with mid-term review 

• Notice period is 3 months. 

Closing Date for Applications 22nd March

Head of Policy and Public Affairs

Bring your energy, creativity and expertise - and help us impact young people positively.

Location: Sherborne House, London (hybrid)

Salary: £52,535 per annum

Closing Date: 29 March, 2026

Employment Type: Permanent

Hours per week: 37.5

About the Role

Step into a role where your policy expertise drives real change. As Head of Policy and Public Affairs, you’ll lead an ambitious strategy to influence national decision‑makers, shape legislation and ensure the voices of people affected by homelessness are impossible to ignore. You’ll turn insight into impact, championing our values while strengthening our political presence and public profile

You’ll build powerful relationships across Westminster, Whitehall and the wider sector, producing sharp briefings, commissioning research and delivering high‑profile events that elevate Depaul’s influence. Confident in the media and skilled at simplifying complex issues, you’ll work across teams to anticipate policy change, spark innovation and help drive forward our mission to end homelessness. If you’re driven, strategic and ready to make national change happen, this is your platform.

Key deliverables:

• Develop organisational policy positions on key strategic issues for Depaul UK, focusing on policy areas that matter for our client group including homelessness, housing, welfare, health and care leavers.

• Working with the Director of Development and External Affairs to deliver a multi-year policy and public affairs strategy, you will own its delivery, having demonstrable impact on policy through influencing legislation, as well as securing funding and commitments from the government .

• Work with the Executive Director of Fundraising and Communications and their team to improve Depaul’s public profile by giving us a louder political voice.

• Work with the Executive Director of Operations and their team to ensure Depaul is well positioned to respond to changes in policy and regulation.

• Work in partnership with Depaul UK’s Head of Data and Insights on research projects designed to influence policy.

• Monitor, analyse and report on policy developments which may impact on the work of Depaul UK.

• Provide high quality written and verbal briefings, reports and submissions to consultations.

• Work with senior colleagues to develop positive relationships for Depaul UK with ministers, senior officials, elected Mayors, Parliamentarians and with other policy influencers including our peers in the homeless sector.

• Ensure that the voices and experiences of clients are heard and understood to improve and change services delivered by Depaul, commissioners and policy makers.

• Give interviews to the media.

• Organise and coordinate events and meetings.

• Strengthen Depaul’s links with other voluntary sector organisations in the homelessness, youth and faith sectors.

• Contribute to Depaul International’s global influencing work.

What we are looking for from you (Person Specification)

When completing your application form please address all the areas below. Try to provide clear examples in your supporting statement that clarify how and when you gained the experience or knowledge as well as your level of capability.

To carry out this role we are looking for the following from you in terms of qualifications, experience, skills and competencies:

Knowledge

• Strong knowledge of the homelessness sector and policy context is desirable but not essential, it is essential that you have developed strong, specialist knowledge of a UK policy area or areas.

Experience and skills

• Having had demonstrable impact on government policy.

• Developing and maintaining positive relationships with Parliamentarians and officials

• Organising or helping to organise events, it is desirable but not essential that you have organised events in Parliament

• Leading projects with colleagues from different internal or external teams

• Delivering high quality verbal and written policy briefings and presentations to senior stakeholders

• Working with colleagues to secure media coverage

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills

• Ability to work on own initiative and with low levels of supervision

• Ability to prioritise key tasks and manage conflicting priorities

• Ability to deliver to deadlines, sometimes at short notice

• Desirable - drafting and delivering policy and/or public affairs plans/strategies

• Desirable - representing organisations in the media and at events

You will need to be able to travel throughout the UK and on occasions work out of hours.

You believe in people — their strengths, their rights and their potential. You bring empathy, energy and a solution‑focused mindset to your work. You communicate clearly, stay organised and adapt well in a fast‑moving environment. You’re committed to inclusion, fairness and continuous learning, and you turn values into meaningful action, whatever your role.

What You’ll Receive

• Tailored training and development
• Flexible working options where suitable
• 26 days annual leave, rising with service
• Family‑friendly leave policies
• Pension scheme with employer contributions up to 7%
• Employee Assistance Programme with 24/7 GP access
• Discounts across retail, travel, food, fitness and more
• Cash health plan for you and your family
• Death‑in‑service benefit
• Access to legal and practical support

Safer Recruitment

Depaul UK is committed to fair and inclusive recruitment, and we welcome applications from people of all backgrounds. If a role requires it under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975, we will carry out the appropriate Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) check. We only look at information that is relevant to the role, and a criminal record will never be treated as an automatic barrier to employment. All DBS information is handled sensitively, confidentially and in line with the DBS Code of Practice, and we encourage applicants to discuss any concerns with us openly.

About Depaul UK

In the 1980s, high unemployment and steep inflation was contributing to a shocking rise in youth homelessness across London. Thousands of young people were sleeping rough every night, with many areas notoriously dubbed “cardboard cities” due to the visible rise in street homelessness. Appalled by the scenes playing out across the capital, a group of people came together to tackle the challenge head on. Led by Cardinal Basil Hume and Mark McGreevy OBE, in 1989 Depaul UK was born.

What began as a single housing project in North London soon expanded across London, Greater Manchester and the North East of England. Today, Depaul UK provides accommodation, prevention and support services to thousands of marginalised young people across the UK each year.

As our name suggests, the work of Depaul UK has been inspired by St. Vincent de Paul – a man who devoted his life to helping vast numbers of people throughout the 17th century. St. Vincent de Paul’s belief in the intrinsic worth of all people and his commitment to taking bold action remain central to our values today. Depaul UK now forms part of a family of Depaul charities around the world. We each focus on the specific challenges in our own countries, but we’re united by our shared values and mission to end homelessness.

Please note this role is advertised by the recruitment agency acting for the client – Not For Profit People.

Citizens UK 

Citizens UK is the UK’s biggest, most diverse and most effective people-powered alliance. We bring communities and local organisations together to work on issues that matter; from campaigning for zebra crossings on dangerous roads, to reforming the immigration system, to the Living Wage campaign. We have a track record of winning change through hundreds of local and national campaigns. We know everyday people have the ability to shape the world around them. We believe that through developing local leaders, we can drive nationwide change and create community-led solutions to big and small problems.

Project Information 

Butetown and Grangetown Neighbourhood Fund project, funded by the Youth Endowment Fund. More details here: Neighbourhood Fund | Youth Endowment Fund 

Citizens Cymru Wales has developed an innovative approach to reducing youth violence with community organising at its heart, working across four unique assumptions:  

• ‘It takes a village to raise a child’  

• ‘Anger without power leads to rage’  

• ‘Recognising the need to address Adverse Community Experiences’  

• ‘If you are not at the table, you’re on the menu’  

In 2021 it developed a community led action plan to address youth violence in the neighbourhoods of Butetown and Grangetown. This work then secured £1m funding from the Youth Endowment Fund (YEF) to demonstrate how community organising can improve the lives of children and young people. Across Grangetown and Butetown, almost 2500 people were listened to, and issues workshops took place from which seven interventions were identified including Mental health, Additional Learning Needs and Literacy, an Employment partnership, Sports and diversionary activities and local microgrants. Each intervention is led by a local community-based organisation. At the heart of the work is building a hyperlocal community organising alliance.  Underpinning the work is the development of a Youth Action Zone, a youth-led multi-agency partnership to support young people in the neighbourhood for the long term. The project is in its final year of delivery and needs a locally based project manager to support the current organisations to fulfil the action plan and build a long-term legacy.

Main Responsibilities 

This is a unique role, focused on project management but embedding community organising. As project organiser for Butetown and Grangetown Neighbourhood Fund you will support the project aims, enabling core partners and intervention leads to fulfil the action plan and build a legacy for the long term. Alongside this, you will develop a craft of community organising, working closely with civic organisations based in the neighbourhoods, understanding local power and building partnerships with wider stakeholders, and developing local institutions and youth leaders. All of this should ladder up to building the power of the broader Cardiff Citizens alliance. 

You will embed the ethos of community organising across the project and its legacy by: 

• developing the leadership of people within local organisations - our 'leaders' who lead the campaigns we work on 

• helping them to collectively identify the changes they want to see and create strategies to win those changes 

• strengthen institutions’ own abilities to achieve their missions. 

• Support leaders in connecting the hyperlocal work to the Cardiff Citizens alliance – developing their capacity to work with other leaders and civic institutions across the city to develop collective ambitions and actions (leading up to the 2027 Local Authority elections). 

We envisage the role to be roughly 2 days project management and 1 day Community Organising, but given the nature of the project, these will naturally bleed into one another. 

Working as the Project Organiser for Citizens UK, your main responsibilities will include: 

Career Pathways Headings 

Build and manage projects and achieve work targets effectively 

• Project manage the YEF/Citizens UK Neighbourhood Fund project in the neighbourhoods of Butetown and Grangetown

• Support the delivery of four interventions (Mental health, ALN & Literacy/Sports and Police action team) including due diligence, accountability, measurement and impact monitoring. 

• Ensure good governance; setting up stakeholder meetings and working with community leaders to develop the agenda and actions 

• Develop an understanding of place-based systems change and support system behaviours across the project, including feedback, collaborative leadership and shared power 

Develop and manage external relationships 

• Maintain and extend local relationships and partnerships with community and civic organisations and wider statutory power 

• Map and develop an ecosystem of strategic relationships at the local level

• Ensure the YEF work is embedded within the local ecosystem of support for young people.

Communications 

• Support the interventions with communicating the impact of their work individually and collectively 

• Create comms outputs that communicate the work of the YEF project for internal and external stakeholders 

• Represent the organisation effectively to external audiences in meetings and at events

Generate income and resources 

• Support the interventions to seek additional funding to continue their work beyond 2027 

• Support local organisations to increase their capacity  

Identify and develop relational leaders prepared to act with others for the common good and support them through a cycle of action and training in our curriculum 

• Conduct 5 relational one-to-ones per week 

• Identify and discern actual and potential leaders with the passion and ability to drive change

• Achieve significant development of primary and secondary leaders; nominate new leaders for training on the Citizens UK core taster curriculum and for National Training

• Attend Citizens UK 6-day training to further understanding the method of Community Organising used by CUK 

• Teach sessions of the core taster Community Organising curriculum at a local level (supported by a senior Organiser) 

Strengthen institutions and develop a broad-based neighbourhood alliance 

• Ensure good understanding of the basic interests and traditions of typical member institutions

• Support the development of the Cardiff Citizens alliance 

• Support with running institutional development campaigns in a range of organisations in the local area 

Personal Specification 

(D) Desirable, (E) Essential 

Qualifications 

Bachelor’s degree in any subject (D) 

Qualification in a subject of relevance to community work or community organising (D) 

Experience 

• Evidence of having acted in a leadership role with peers or in local community activities (e.g., organising clubs or societies) (E) 

• Experience of project management; evidence of having set up and/or delivered projects on time and to standard (E) 

• Able to demonstrate previous experience of ‘learning by doing’ in a work or project environment; evidence of being open to feedback and comfortably coachable (E) 

• Experience of building consensus between diverse stakeholders to drive progressive change (D) 

• Previous campaign experience (D) 

Key skills and knowledge 

• Excellent interpersonal awareness – ability to listen well and appreciate a viewpoint or opinion that is different from one’s own (E) 

• Excellent concern for impact – ability to adapt own behaviour to address the needs or concerns of someone else (E) 

• Good communication skills – able to speak with conviction and passion; and to make a logical argument (E) 

• Excellent time management skills with the ability to juggle a wide range of competing demands (E) 

• Strong IT skills to include MS Office (E) 

• Understanding of policy and campaign landscape in the UK, particularly around young people, community empowerment and neighbourhoods (D) 

Personal qualities & values 

• A self-starter with ability to take initiative and work independently (E) 

• A passion for justice (E) 

• A positive enthusiasm for working with faith congregations, trade unions, schools, and other community organisations (E) 

• An interest in and experience of politics and public life (E) 

• Able to work in a team (E) 

• Willingness to work within accountable relationships (E) 

• Self-motivated and adaptable (E) 

Our Organisers and some project teams work closely with our member institutions and will be expected to attend member events that take place in the evenings and occasional weekends. We operate a Time Off in Lieu approach and have very flexible working arrangements to ensure a good work-life balance. 

The successful applicant will be required to undertake a satisfactory Enhanced DBS check. DBS checks are renewed on a 3-year cycle. 

About the application process 

We work within diverse communities bringing people together. In line with our Inclusion value, we would love to see applications from LGBTQIA+ people, people from racialised communities, people living with disabilities and people of faith, all to better represent the communities we work in. We want our employees to have the working conditions that allows them to fully participate, be able to be their best authentic selves and thrive doing so, and we have employee networks to support staff. Even if you don’t quite meet all the required criteria still consider applying, as we invest in our employees and support them to develop the skills and knowledge required to deliver their role.

For questions and reasonable adjustments regarding your application including information in a different format, or our recruitment process, please email us.