Governance advisor jobs

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.

BACKGROUND

Church of England Birmingham (CofEB) is on a journey of growing churches at the heart of every community. Through this we are seeing growth in many exciting ways. Financially we are at a challenging point. We have had an operational deficit for a number of years and this cannot continue. There are current conversations happening with the National Church around how we get to a sustainable platform through partnership. One key aspect of this is for us to increase our Common Fund returns (the giving from our parishes that supports the costs of our life together). We are taking a radical new approach to our finances which includes intentional reallocation of income to support the costs in our most economically deprived parishes and deeper relationships with each parish around finance through conversation rather than correspondence. Over the next five years we are hoping to be able to move to a financially sustainable platform which will enable us to better serve our communities in the future. 

JOB DESCRIPTION

We need a Head of Generosity to lead the team, and project, that will focus on developing long term relationships with all of our parishes leading to:

• Greater support for our parishes.
• Increased generosity by, and within, our parishes.
• Increased Common Fund.

A steering Group has been established, which the Head of Generosity will be a part of, to plan, design and implement the activities needed to deliver our vision. Through partnership with the National Church we are expecting that there will be four members of this Generosity Team. 

This role, and the team, will need to work closely with Archdeacons and Area Deans, Directors of Mission, Ministry and Finance (and their teams), the Head of Communications and many others. We have one strategy and this is a part of that so needs to link well with all other parts. 

The Head of Generosity will also be Bishops Advisor for Common Fund. Bishop Michael is passionate about supporting our parishes and seeing Common Fund increase and this role will both channel his desire to parishes and help reflect what is learnt back to the Bishop as we progress.

The post holder will have the support of the National Giving Team who have extensive experience and resources to support those responsible for giving and generosity. They will also be given access to a strong and growing national network of people in similar roles. Their experience has proven invaluable to people in roles similar to this, building on best practice and learning from others across 41 Dioceses.

The role will have the following key responsibilities:

• Support in the recruitment and the establishment of the Generosity Team.
• Manage the day-to-day operations of the members of the Generosity Team.
• Support the delivery design of this project and deliver the actions agreed by the Steering Group.
• Lead on Parish engagement across all areas of generosity, including the spiritual / theological nature.
• Appropriately discern and allocate team members to support different phases of the process and the different and wide-ranging developmental needs of parishes. 

Through the team:

• Create a bespoke multi year plan for Common Fund with every parish with key stakeholders including Archdeacons.
• Provide consultancy, resources, and hands-on support to parishes to grow regular giving, legacies, and other forms of financial support. This work will be able to draw on the resources developed by the national church as well as the data held on their Cornerstone Platform. The post-holder will be expected to engage in the work of the National Giving Team as part of the development of these wider resources.
• Develop and deliver training for clergy, lay leaders and PCCs, on financial management and giving and generosity with the Ministry team.
• Encourage and assist parishes in the implementation of the Parish Giving Scheme, introduction of contactless giving mechanisms and related diocesan initiatives.
• Source, develop and curate practical resources (digital and print) to support local stewardship campaigns and initiatives.
• Evaluate the impact of stewardship and generosity initiatives and adapt strategies accordingly to achieve the project outcomes.
• Create compelling communication tools that articulate the impact of generosity with our communication team.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

Essential Qualifications & Experience:

• Proven leadership experience preferably in financial management, fundraising, or stewardship within a faith-based or nonprofit organisation.
• Strong understanding of church governance structures and financial operations and requirements.
• Knowledge of generosity principles and Christian financial stewardship.
• A prayerful Christian with a deep commitment to the Church’s mission (Genuine Occupational Requirement).

Essential Skills & Attributes:

• Resilient and adaptable, able to handle challenges and maintain momentum in a demanding role.
• Strong people skills, able to engage effectively with parishes and church communities.
• Good communicator being able to engage a wide range of stakeholders and hold their attention.
• Trustworthy and credible, able to build and maintain confidence with a wide range of stakeholders.
• Empathetic towards parishes and deeply committed to supporting the local church.
• Excellent conflict resolution skills, capable of handling difficult conversations with care and professionalism.
• Highly organised, able to manage multiple priorities and keep track of numerous ongoing responsibilities.
• Team leadership ability. A good line manager able to set a positive team culture.
• Capable implementer, ensuring initiatives are successfully delivered, both at a local and diocese wide level.
• Financially literate, with a good understanding of budgets, stewardship, and sustainability within the Church.

Other Considerations:

• The role requires significant evening and weekend work, demanding flexibility and commitment.
• Local presence is essential—the role must be delivered in an incarnational way, engaging directly with communities.
• Must be able to balance multiple demands, effectively managing several "spinning plates" at once.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

The post-holder will be employed by the Diocesan Board of Finance for five years.

Salary and Pension: Salary of £48,000 plus membership of the Church Worker’s Pension Scheme with 12% employer contribution. We are open to discussion especially if you are ordained and are moving out of parish ministry.

Hours:  Full-time 35 hours (5 days) per week. Weekend and evening work will be required, for which the equivalent time may be taken back from standard working hours. We are happy to consider requests for flexible working, and please do mention in your application if you would be interested in looking at alternative working hours. 

Holidays: 5 weeks per year plus Bank Holidays and 3 Discretionary Days between Christmas and New Year 

Employer: Birmingham Diocesan Board of Finance 

Responsible To: Director of Strategic Transformation

CLOSING DATE: 18th July 

INTERVIEWS: 1st August

The Church of England Birmingham is committed to promoting a diverse and inclusive community - a place where all can be themselves and bring their unique identity to their ministry and/or work.  

We welcome applications from any individuals who feel that they meet the person specification for any post, in particular from those who are currently under-represented in or staff teams such as those from Global Majority Heritage or UK Minority Ethnic backgrounds, those with visible or invisible disabilities and those who identify as LGBTQI+. 

We offer a range of inclusive employment policies, flexible working arrangements and other services to our staff teams.

The Church of England Birmingham is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. All post holders are expected to share this commitment.

East End Homes are partnering exclusively with Robertson Bell in their search for a permanent Financial Controller. East End Homes, is a locally based and community-led housing association in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. This year East End Homes is celebrating its 20th anniversary. In 2005 residents of five estates across Tower Hamlets voted for their homes and communities to be transferred to the newly established social landlord.  Today, its 120-strong team manages over 3,900 homes with local offices in each neighbourhood. 

The newly created Financial Controller position offers a rare opportunity for a technically strong, ambitious, and commercially aware finance professional to play a key role in reshaping East End’s finance function and influencing decision-making at a senior level. The Financial Controller will be a member of the Senior Management Team and this role is seen as a natural stepping stone toward Finance Director level within the sector.

The Role:

• Work closely with the Finance Director and Executive Team to support strategic planning and organisational transformation.
• Oversee the development and delivery of Eastend Homes’ long-term financial plans, annual budgets, and business modelling (including BRIXX).
• Deliver and embed a proactive finance business partnering approach across the organisation, influencing decision-making and performance management.
• Drive improvements to financial reporting, insight, and analysis, delivering value across the organisation.
• Coordinate the production of our financial plans and reports including monthly management accounts, the annual statutory accounts, forecasts and the budget.
• Oversee day-to-day financial operations, ensuring sound internal controls, process improvement, and compliance with relevant regulations (FRS102, SORP, RSH).
• Manage cash flow forecasting, covenant compliance, and other treasury responsibilities, with support available for professional treasury qualifications if desired.
• Play a leading role in mentoring, developing, and embedding a high-performing, collaborative finance team (c.3–4 staff).

• Actively contribute to the Senior Management Team and support wider change initiatives across the business.

The Organisation:

East End Homes has made significant progress in stabilising its operations and strengthening its governance. With the appointment of a highly experienced new CEO and completion of key commitments to the Regulator of Social Housing, the organisation is now focused on long-term sustainability, performance improvement, and resident impact. The recent appointment of an Interim FD has brought further structure and capability to the finance function, and this Financial Controller hire will be a cornerstone of building a modern, resilient, and insight-led finance team.

Person Specification – Essential:

• Qualified accountant (ACA/ACCA/CIMA/CIPFA).
• Strong technical knowledge of financial and statutory reporting including FRS102 and Housing SORP.
• Demonstrable experience in social housing finance including business planning, management accounting and regulatory compliance.
• Experience of delivering improvements in management reporting, financial controls, and/or business partnering.
• A confident communicator with excellent interpersonal skills and a track record of engaging with and challenging senior stakeholders.
• Digitally confident with strong Excel skills and familiarity with financial planning tools (e.g., BRIXX).
• Forward-thinking and inquisitive, with a continuous improvement mindset and strong problem-solving ability.
• Experience of coaching or leading teams and ability to develop others.

This role will be based at East End Homes’ head office in Tower Hamlets, with travel between estate-based local offices as required. The closing date for applications is 6th July with interviews taking place week commencing 21st July (first stage) and final interviews scheduled for week commencing 28th July.

Applications will be reviewed continuously before the closing date. Please apply via our exclusive search partner Robertson Bell.

You will lead all aspects of charity financial and resource management for two separate but closely connected charities, the Army Cadet Charitable Trust UK (ACCT UK) and the Combined Cadet Force Association (CCFA), which are supported by a single head office team. We are looking for someone to bring enthusiasm, personal credibility, discretion and sensitivity. You will be ultimately responsible for Finance and Resource Management within the charities.
You will work directly with the trustees of both charities and the wider Senior Leadership Team (SLT) which comprises of the Director of Development, the Deputy Chief Executive (DCE) (Director of HR and Programmes), and the Chief Executive. You will have primary responsibility for ensuring that the charities meet their statutory obligations, that financial functions are well ordered and support the work of the charities.
Managing and leading a small and diverse team through high pressure periods including month end, year-end and annual budgeting, you require high emotional intelligence and excellent communication skills. You will work closely with staff at all levels, often having to mentor the charities’ managers to help them plan and manage their own budgets.
Your financial responsibilities are substantial as you will have overall control and responsibility for all financial matters. You will be thinking both strategically and seeing the big picture, whilst also analysing figures in detail to ensure that the financial management of both charities are sound. In periods of change and growth, it is critical that you are effective in coordinating corporate finance (funding sources, non-profit capital structuring and investment decisions) and managing charity policies regarding capital requirements to deliver against each charity’s objects and plans, taxation, equity and investments as appropriate.