Grassroots development officer jobs in chichester, west sussex

Location: Home based, or office based at Society Building, 8 All Saints Street, London N1, in line with NCVO’s flexible working policy or home working policy.

About NCVO

We are the charities charity. For over 100 years, NCVO has stood shoulder to shoulder with communities, championing and celebrating voluntary action.

Our membership is made up of over 17,000 voluntary organisations across England, from small, grassroots community groups and social enterprises, to large, far-reaching charities.

We believe that communities are strengthened by voluntary action. We therefore want charities to thrive and be empowered to deliver for people and communities.

​​About the Voice & Impact directorate 

​​​This role sits within the Voice & Impact directorate; a team focused on amplifying the voices of charities in civil society and making positive change for the future. V&I comprises NCVO’s policy and public affairs team; communications, campaigns and marketing team; digital content team and membership and engagement team. 

​​About the Communications, Campaigns and Marketing team 

​Communications, campaigns and marketing team, which has evolved to include digital content, drives brand visibility, strategic messaging, and audience engagement. Through creative storytelling, innovative campaigns, and cross-channel marketing we deliver impactful campaigns that support engagement and income generation.

About the role

This is an exciting opportunity to join us and have a real impact on our creative output, giving you the chance to really promote and create engagement in the great work that NCVO does.

​The main elements of the role will be:

• working with a range of stakeholders across NCVO (and sometimes externally) to plan, design, deliver and maintain high quality multimedia content.
• ensure NCVO’s content is innovative and creative, driving multiformat engaging content that meets high usability and accessibility standards
• ​ensure that content is user-driven and impact focussed, helping us reach and support more members, in more ways
• ​develop content for a wide range of formats including video, audio and graphic design

Equality, diversity and inclusion

NCVO is fully committed to equity, diversity and inclusion in our sector. We want this to be reflected in the diversity of the people who work for us and we welcome applications from people from all backgrounds and identities. We particularly welcome applications from under-represented groups in the voluntary sector and those with diverse, lived experience. As part of our commitment to employing disabled people, all disabled candidates who meet the minimum requirement for all competencies on the person specification will be guaranteed an interview.

​If you have access needs or require reasonable adjustments as part of the recruitment process, please let us know. Shortlisted candidates will be asked to complete a pre-interview task and will have one week to complete the exercise. Interview questions will be shared in advance. 

NCVO is an equal opportunities employer and we welcome applications from everyone. Charity No. 225922.

How to apply

For more information and to apply, please click on the Apply button. Please complete both parts of our application, quoting the reference CCO.

If you have any queries regarding our vacancies or experience any issues downloading or submitting your application form, please email us.

Closing date: Wednesday 3 December 2025 at 8.00am
Shortlisting date: Thursday 4 December 2025
Interviews: Thursday 11 December 2025

Benefits for NCVO employees

NCVO offers attractive benefits including:

• 25 days’ annual leave (for full time staff and pro-rata for part-time staff) and office closure between 25 December and 1 January inclusive. After three years' service annual holiday increases to 27 days, and after five years to 30 days, (pro rata for part time staff)
• the option to purchase up to five more days each year
• five days’ volunteering leave (pro rata for part-time staff)
• 2.5 extra ‘wellbeing’ days off during the year
• enhanced pay for maternity/adoption leave
• subsidised gym membership
• season ticket loan
• flexible working, including opportunities to work from home/off site
• monthly homeworking allowance for permanent homeworkers
• monthly office worker allowance for those who have to work from the office on a daily basis
• generous employer pension contribution of up to 8.5% of salary, into our stakeholder pension scheme (linked to employee contribution)
• training and development opportunities.
• The opportunity to join Hospital Saturday Fund health cash plan for free at the basic level of cover, or at a reduced rate for other levels of cover
• 24-hour free and confidential employee assistance programme

We’re located a short walk from London King’s Cross station in a modern accessible building, overlooking Regent’s canal.

Location: Remote, North of England with some requirement to travel (UK) and to spend time in London 

The Organisation

The CSJ Foundation was born out of the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) an independent think tank, established in 2004 that studies the root causes of Britain’s social problems and seeks to address these through innovative policy recommendations to government. The CSJ has changed the landscape of our political conversation by putting social justice at the heart of British politics. This has led to some of the biggest welfare reforms in a generation. The CSJ Foundation is committed to ensuring the voices of grassroots charities are elevated to national decision makers. Our aim is to bring much-needed frontline experience into national policymaking. Utilising local networks and a philanthropic platform to guide investment, the CSJ Foundation will ensure that charities who are fighting the root causes of poverty receive the right support – both in policymaking and funding. The CSJ Foundation was established to magnify and amplify the crucial role played by grassroots charities and social enterprises around the country. These organisations are on the frontline in the fight against poverty and do incredible work, day-in-day-out. Despite this fantastic work, these organisations remain largely unseen and underfunded. The CSJ Foundation seeks to change that.

The Role 

The CSJ Foundation is looking for a Regional Portfolio Manager (North) to join its Portfolio team to help grow and professionalise it’s offering to charities and donors alike. The CSJF has big ambitions for its work with small charities over the next 3 years, central to this work is our Portfolio team. Based in the north of England (ideally north of Sheffield), the post-holder will be responsible for delivering first-rate charity due diligence on some of the best small charities in the UK. In this role you will use tech solutions to drive insights and understanding about CSJF’s work with charities, in addition, the post-holder will gather intel from frontline charities to create insights to inform the CSJ’s policy work. The post-holder will also seek to generate interesting media stories. The post holder will help to generate new income for the CSJF through multiple streams. The post-holder will work towards pre-agreed targets to grow the CSJF’s work, fully supported by the Managing Director and other colleagues. The Regional Portfolio Manager will hold responsibility for building and maintaining relationships with multiple charities based in the North of England, engaging in conversations with local organisations and individuals, to ensure that the CSJF’s work is driven forward effectively. 

The Person 

• Possessing the skills and aptitude to develop new policies and practices for delivering charity/portfolio services
• Interest in developing relationships with charity leaders, understanding their work and impact
• Proficiency for using and interpreting data, creating meaningful insights from gathered data about charities, philanthropy and the voluntary sector
• Understanding of systems and technology that can be used to interpret, analyse and present data
• Some proficiency with presenting information effectively using tools like Canva
• The ability to engage with stakeholders including business leaders, researchers, HNWs, and CEOs
• The ability to work independently and plan programmes of work and manage agreed timelines
• Ability to analyse, understand and synthesise complex information, and to present this in a concise and engaging way
• Ability to communicate well with colleagues and explain complex information simply
• A strong appreciation of the need for accuracy, quality control and process control
• An understanding of the economic and political environment of the day
• Ability to build relationships, utilising a high degree of social intelligence
• An interest in managing processes, driving business change, and developing the use of new technologies in business practice
• Strong understanding of UK charities, the issues faced by the sector, and the policy landscape that affects the voluntary sector.
• A commitment to the CSJF & CSJ’s vision, mission and values
• An interest in current affairs, politics and the social justice agenda
• Meticulous attention to detail and calm under pressure
• A collaborative team player with initiative and a positive “can do” attitude
• Highly organised, discrete, and with a high degree of personal integrity

Main Responsibilities 

Responsibilities for this post include:

• Be a leading member of the CSJF’s portfolio team helping to professionalise and enhance our charity due diligence work
• Helping generate insights from charities to contribute to recommendations in CSJ policy reports
• Work with colleagues to develop a first-class data-input and reporting platform (or database) of charities to monitor their impact and activities
• Use this data to generate insights and presentations to showcase our work
• Interpret data to create insights about charities, philanthropy and the voluntary sector
• Use tech solutions to enhance our data analysis and presentation ability
• Use of presentational tools like Canva (and others) to create information packs for internal and external stakeholders
• Work alongside the Comms team to deliver mainstream media stories generated from frontline insights from the Northern charities
• Responsibility to generate new income for the CSJ Foundation
• Become the internal expert and ‘go-to’ person for 2-3 policy areas connected to CSJ’s research
• Streamline and maintain network of charity contacts across all pathways and then connect the best charities to the CSJ policy team
• Grow and maintain network of regional funders and supporters
• Steward relationship with CSJF Founders Club
• Host visits, events and forums to glean insights from frontline charities based in the North of England
• Support the CSJ Awards application process and judging
• Use the Awards process to onboard new charities
• Manage annual review of Portfolio charities for on/off boarding

This is a key role in fulfilling CEASE’s aim to drive legislative reform that strengthens accountability, scrutiny and regulation of all parts of the commercial sex industry and other vested commercial interests, which are driving sexual violence, abuse and exploitation. It is about holding the UK government accountable in its duty to protect citizens from high-harm industries, appealing to robust evidence, survivor testimony and a careful critical analysis of the ideological justifications that uphold it. 

The work crosses multiple different areas, from policing, online safety and child protection to violence against women and girls (VAWG). It involves close collaboration with experts and partner organisations through strategic partnerships and coalitions, and the building of trusted relationships with MPs, Peers, civil servants and other decision-makers.

This role sits within the Activism strand of CEASE’s strategy, alongside media outreach and commercial advocacy, and works closely with the Chief Executive and Strategic Director 

Main Duties and Responsibilities

A. Strategic Leadership

• Work closely and effectively with the Chief Executive, Strategic Director and Trustees to advise on priorities and opportunities within this space.

• Develop both short- and long-term political strategies to engage key stakeholders with CEASE’s policy solutions.

• Identify and formulate strategies for gathering robust evidence on key issues where needed.

• Shape policy recommendations in line with CEASE’s strategic priorities and emerging trends.

• Ensure all external engagement reflects CEASE’s values and core messaging.

• Contribute political intelligence and insight to CEASE’s wider strategic planning and organisational development.

B. Policy

Goal: To ensure CEASE’s policy recommendations are robust, evidence-based, survivor-informed and coherent.

• Gather and present evidence on commercial and cultural drivers of sexual abuse and exploitation, and on systemic failures in regulation and enforcement.

• Identify evidence gaps and devise effective means for CEASE or partners within our networks to fill them.

• Produce policy briefings and consultation responses for parliamentarians and civil servants, often in collaboration with allies.

• Monitor parliamentary business in Westminster, analysing legislation and proposing amendments grounded in evidence and framed for maximum impact.

• Develop CEASE’s positions on new and emerging issues and technologies in line with our mission.

• Prepare speeches and statements for the Chief Executive or Strategic Director to deliver to parliamentarians, committees and inquiries.

• Integrate survivor insight and lived experience into policy and advocacy materials wherever appropriate.

• Analyse, distil and present research findings to provide credible, compelling evidence for policymakers and stakeholders.

• Track engagement outcomes and evaluate the impact of CEASE’s policy work, sharing learning internally.

C. Public Affairs

Goal: To ensure CEASE’s policy recommendations are seen, heard and acted upon.

• Create opportunities to promote CEASE’s policy solutions in Westminster through roundtables, drop-ins and parliamentary events.

• Engage directly with decision-makers, building trusted relationships across parties and with key officials.

• Identify and support parliamentarians who can champion CEASE’s issues through speeches, strategic questions, debate briefings and Private Members’ Bills.

• Build and maintain relationships with MPs, Peers, civil servants and officials in relevant government departments (Home Office, DCMS, DfE, etc.); participate in select committees and APPGs.

• Monitor the political landscape to identify alignment between CEASE’s goals and current government priorities, debates and legislative timetables.

• Collaborate with colleagues to nurture relationships with key stakeholders such as charities, public bodies, academic institutions, industry figures and experts.

• Lead or contribute to policy-focused coalitions and alliances aimed at influencing government and legislative reform.

• Support wider campaigns that leverage coalition backing (e.g. petitions, iParls or media initiatives), aligning messaging across CEASE’s team to amplify impact.

• Track and evaluate the reach and influence of CEASE’s public affairs activities to inform ongoing strategy.

D. Research

• Maintain awareness of political and legal developments in other countries and international bodies such as the UN.

• Commission or collaborate on research that strengthens CEASE’s evidence base and credibility.

• Distil complex research and policy information into accessible formats for internal and external audiences, in collaboration with the Chief Executive and Strategic Director.

• Work with the wider CEASE team to “demystify” the political process and support civic and grassroots engagement.

E. Fundraising

• Identify potential donors and funding opportunities through policy networks.

• Contribute to the development of compelling funding cases linked to CEASE’s policy impact and advocacy outcomes.

General Responsibilities

• Represent CEASE externally to promote its work and values.

• Uphold CEASE’s ethical and professional standards at all times.

• Undertake any other reasonable duties as directed by the Chief Executive.

Please see Job Description for full details.