Head of community services jobs in belfast

Research Associate - National Youth Agency

Contract: 12-month Fixed Term Contract (with potential to extend)
Hours: Full-time - 37 hours per week 
Salary: £30,000 – £35,000 per annum, dependent on experience
Remote: This role is 100% homebased with occasional travel for staff residentials and other events.

What we do

As the national body for youth work, the NYA has a dual function. We are the professional statutory and regulatory body (PSRB) responsible for qualifications, quality standards, and safeguarding for youth work and services in England. In line with our charity mission and aims, we also champion youth work through research, advocacy, campaigns, and programmes.

We work in partnership and believe in collaborative leadership, listening to youth workers and the youth work sector so that we can understand their needs and respond to the challenges they face. We are ambitious for youth work and for young people and integrate youth voice and influence across our work

About the Role

This is an exciting opportunity to join our Knowledge Team, working alongside two existing Research Associates and a Data Analyst. 

You will be integral in delivering research, data, and insights that support organisational development and programme delivery across NYA.

We are looking for an experienced mixed-methods researcher with a strong understanding of social research and evaluation approaches. Ideally, you will have experience working in or alongside the youth sector and be confident using both qualitative and quantitative methods.

You’ll need to be flexible, proactive, and a strong communicator, able to explain complex ideas to varied audiences. 

This role is ideal for someone looking to make a tangible difference through evidence-led approaches that shape policy, practice, and impact in youth work.

Key responsibilities for this role will include:

• Designing and delivering research projects using a range of methods including surveys, interviews, and focus groups.
• Supporting the development of the NYA research and data hub, including external research collation and data visualisation.
• Leading on evaluations to meet funder requirements and contribute to NYA’s growing evidence base.
• Analysing data from NYA programmes to support impact measurement.
• Promoting evidence-based practice across NYA and the wider youth sector.
• Communicating findings clearly through reports, briefings, and presentations.
• Managing research projects and collaborating with internal and external partners to deliver on time and to quality.
• Responding to internal and external research enquiries.

The ideal candidate will have experience in social research, familiarity with various research methodologies, and the ability to communicate complex findings to diverse audiences. 

Please refer to our Candidate Pack for more information on the role and the requirements.

Why Work for NYA?

NYA operates as a people-first organisation, prioritising the well-being and needs of its employees.

NYA offers an exceptional flexible working approach which encourages our team to balance professional responsibilities with their personal life.

A remote based team, spread across England, fostering inclusivity and diverse talent. Despite geographical distances between team members, NYA maintains a highly motivated and connected team through the optimisation of digital tools.

NYA is committed to supporting the continual personal and professional development of our team and helping them achieve their ambitions.

We provide 25 days leave plus 8 days, life assurance scheme, 5% employer pension contribution and a comprehensive Employee Assistance Programme via Spectrum.life with unlimited specialist support available to all NYA employees.

How to Apply:

Please download our applicant pack to find out more about the role and requirements

To apply, please submit the following via our online application platform by 11:59pm on Monday 12th May 2025:

A detailed CV setting out your career history, with responsibilities and achievements in line with the person specification in the About You section. 

A covering letter (maximum two sides) highlighting your suitability for the role and how you meet the requirements in the

About You section. 

We will request data for our EEDI monitoring purposes, providing this is optional.

Please note: the covering letter is an essential part of the application process and will be assessed as part of your full application. We use AI detector software, so cover letters or CV’s with over 30% AI generated content with be disregarded. We understand that AI tools can offer support to candidates who have learning differences, which is why we will accept applications with some AI assistance. CV’s will not be accepted without a cover letter.

The National Youth Agency is an equal opportunities employer. 

At NYA our inclusive culture means that we embrace individual differences and understand that we need a diverse team to achieve our organisations mission. 

We wish to recruit candidates from all backgrounds to ensure our team reflects the rich diversity of the communities we serve. We encourage applications from anyone regardless of disability, ethnicity, heritage, gender, sexuality, religion, socio-economic background and political beliefs but we particularly welcome applications from global majority candidates and those from other minoritised ethnic groups in the UK as they are currently underrepresented in our team.

Youth Work changes lives

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

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

REF-221126

Responsible to: Engagement Team Manager
Team: Engagement
Place of work: Home-based (within specified geographical area)
 
Benefits:

• Salary – £27,000 per annum
• 35 hours per week, Monday to Friday
• Home-based (with occasional UK travel)
• 26 days annual leave plus all Bank Holidays
• bhsf cash plan, 3% pension contribution, death in service insurance
• Learning and development opportunities, Employee Assistance Programme

 
Job summary
 
Reporting to the head of growth and sitting within the engagement team you will:

• recruit volunteers by promoting Re-engage’s services,
• develop effective relationships with new and existing referrers such as social prescribers and community link workers
• identify and cultivate new, innovative referral pathways to connect with a broader demographic of seniors experiencing social isolation and loneliness
• support the wider Re-engage team in the delivery of our grant funded projects

 
Engagement officer tasks and requirements
 

• Growing and developing our network of referral partners, including social prescribers and link workers, ensuring that Re-engage's work is promoted to people aged 75 who are experiencing social isolation and loneliness.
• Partnering with communities to create regular, volunteer led, social gatherings for people aged 75
• Utilise Re-engage's CRM (OPUS) to inform evidence-based, data-driven decision-making to develop effective engagement plans.
• Working closely with the service delivery team ensuring that the right people are recruited and engaged into the right roles, in the right place, and at the right times.
• Collaborating with the communications team ensuring the widest possible publicity for the region’s needs through media and social media opportunities, local press, radio, TV, and online forums.
• Liaising closely with the fundraising team delivering against recruitment targets linked to grants.
• Working with the fundraising team on proposals and grant applications using regional knowledge, identifying local need, and collecting case studies.
• Identifying speaking and presenting opportunities ensuring that Re-engage's work is promoted to referrers.
• Working effectively as part of a regional team, maintaining, and growing all Re-engage services.
• Joint accountability, with colleagues in the region, for the engagement of older people and recruitment of volunteers into Re-engage's portfolio of services
• Carrying out any other reasonable tasks assigned to you by your line manager.
• You’ll be a proactive, solution-focused person with passion and skill for networking and building relationships. You’ll be experienced at building and maintaining effective relationships with referrers and social prescribers and will be a flexible, hands-on team player, who will deliver Re-engage's strategic objectives, values, behaviours, and working practices.

 
Knowledge, skills, and attributes
 
Essential

• Excellent people skills with a proven ability to network and collaborate with professionals, partners, older people, volunteers, and colleagues.
• Digital first approach with strong ability in all areas of working digitally.
• Experience of working across different sectors and developing links with other organisations.
• Excellent interpersonal, written, and verbal communication skills
• Organised and methodical approach to work with strong administrative skills
• Enthusiastic about using technology to its full advantage to engage and recruit older people and volunteers and make data informed decisions.
• Self-motivated, able to work remotely with minimal supervision.
• Experience of working to deadlines and meeting KPIs and targets
• A positive ambassador for Re-engage - committed to an organisation that challenges ageism, empowers volunteers and recognises and values diversity.
• Able to work your own initiative as well as collaboratively as part of a team
• A clear understanding of safeguarding systems and processes and of confidentiality and the implications of GDPR when working with volunteers and older people.

 
Desirable

• Experience of community engagement or sales, including online engagement.
• Experience working in a target-driven work environment
• Skilled at building and maintaining effective relationships with a wide range of stakeholders from the statutory, commercial, and voluntary sectors to deliver results.
• Interested in learning about loneliness, social isolation, and factors that impact the ageing population.
• Understanding of volunteer journey, including recruitment and engagement.
• Full driving license and own car preferred as this post will require regional travel as and when required and the occasional overnight stay.
• Understanding of, and empathy with, the issues affecting older people who are isolated, and lonely.

 
About Re-engage
 
Re-engage is a charity that is positive about older age and committed to reducing loneliness so that people can have social lives and friendship groups however old they are. We inspire and enable meaningful connections and shared experiences within communities across the UK for people over 75 facing loneliness and social isolation.
 
Our volunteers work together to create better communities and help to enrich the lives of our members. Older people who may have felt very alone now feel valued as individuals, continue to form friendships, and have groups that give support. We make sure that people know they are important well into their old age.
 
We are proud of our values - positive, innovative, transparent, evidence-based, and accountable - and of our ethos of bringing generations together.
 
Our vision is a world where no one is ever too old to make friends and enjoy social interaction.
 
Our mission is to work within communities to end social isolation and loneliness in older people.
 
Re-engage is committed to growing a staff team that enjoys coming to work every day and gets satisfaction out of being part of delivering significant impact to the lives of older people. We all work remotely, and we don’t let that stop us from getting to know each other and enjoying down time together. Our wellbeing programme includes multiple interest groups: music, books, hobbies etc as well as coffee and catch ups, quizzes, mindfulness, and other group activities. Everyone is encouraged to get involved in working groups and staff networks, all of which contribute to us getting to know each other. We have strong values and promote behaviours that underpin all we do.
 
How we recruit
 
Don’t meet every single requirement? Studies have shown that women and people from ethnic minority backgrounds are less likely to apply to jobs unless they meet every single qualification. At Re-engage we are dedicated to building a diverse and inclusive workplace, so if you’re excited about this role but your experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we’d encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles.
 
Re-engage uses the Hireful platform which helps remove unconscious bias for a forward-thinking, fair, and objective alternative to traditional hiring. Instead of using your CV alone, we'll be asking you to answer questions to test essential skills needed for the role. The responses are then anonymised and reviewed in a random order by members of our team. This enables us to make data-driven assessments focused on someone's ability, rather than their background.
 
The Hireful platform also asks some demographic questions before you start your application. We never see these responses with your application. We only see summary statistics to help us check if our candidate pool is balanced and if everyone has an equal chance to get hired irrespective of their background. If you prefer, you can easily opt out of answering these questions.
 
We would rather AI wasn't used for your answers as we want the real you, however we do reserve the right to reject applications if we feel the use of AI has been excessive.
 
The closing date is midnight on 18 May 2025 and interviews will be held week commencing 26 May 2025 and week commencing 2 June 2025
 
REF-221405

Strategic Volunteer Lead

We are seeking someone brilliant to be our Strategic Volunteer Lead and work collaboratively to support Youth Zones with their volunteering strategies, recognising and rewarding the huge benefits a volunteer workforce brings.

The organisation is an equal opportunities’ employer and welcomes applications from under-represented groups; in particular from Black, Asian, Mixed Race and other ethnically diverse individuals, people with disabilities, and members of LGBTQ+ communities. The dedicated Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Group, with support from the Senior Leadership Team, is actively promoting and advancing diversity and inclusion, ensuring a culture where everyone can be themselves and thrive.

Position: Strategic Volunteer Lead

Location: Home-based with travel (across North-West England & London) (home location within reasonable commutable distance of Youth Zones in North-West or London). Bolton and London offices can also be used as a working base, if preferred.

Salary: £32,500 to £37,000 0.8 FTE (dependent upon experience)

Contract: 18-month Fixed Term contract

Hours: Part-time, 30 hours per week (Hours can be worked flexibly – working pattern to be agreed at point of role offer)

Benefits: Agile working with flexibility in working hours; 25 days annual leave (calculated pro-rata) rising to a maximum of 30 days; birthday leave, additional annual leave purchase scheme; company matched pension; company sick, maternity, paternity & adoption pay; Employee Assistance Programme, active and engaged networks to join (including Equity, Diversity & Inclusion) and access to Charity Worker discounts.

Closing Date: 12noon Wednesday 14 May

First stage interviews (virtual): Friday 23 May 2025

Second stage interviews (in-person in Wigan): Tuesday 3 June 2025

There will also be a short, values-based phone interview between Stage 1 and 2.

About the Role

As a pioneering and growing Network of youth charities, it is paramount we have clear and robust volunteer strategies, maximising the value of volunteers.

You will promote a positive culture of volunteering across the Network, working collaboratively with Youth Zone senior leadership teams. This will include support and delivery of workshops, proactively focusing discussions to result in strategic commitment to volunteering. You will also support the Youth Zone Network with general volunteering advice and guidance, promoting best practice so our volunteers shine in their roles.

About You

You will have experience of volunteer recruitment and management, implementing volunteering strategies and thrive on working collaboratively. And you will be excited to work for an innovative, young person-centred organisation.

To apply, please submit a CV and cover letter (of not more than two pages), explaining clearly why you are interested in the role, and answering as many points as you can from the role profile. We’d also love to hear about your transferrable skills.

About the Organisation

A national charity that believes all young people should have the opportunity to discover their passion and their purpose that fund and build state-of-the-art, multimillion-pound youth centres called Youth Zones in the country’s most economically disadvantaged areas. We train the amazing people that run them and offer continuing support to Youth Zones nationwide through a national network of independent youth charities.

You are actively encouraged to submit anonymous applications; in practice this means removing your name and email address from your CV and cover letter. The HR Lead will have these details from your submission, but they will not be available to the selection panel when they are considering your application.

The charity is committed to the safeguarding of young people. In accordance with its Child Protection and Safeguarding procedures, this position requires a basic DBS check.

Other roles you may have experience of could include Volunteer Engagement, Volunteer Recruitment, Volunteer Manager, Volunteer Coordinator, Volunteer Engagement Lead, Volunteer Recruitment Lead. #INDNFP

PLEASE NOTE: This role is being advertised by NFP People on behalf of the organisation

Salary: (UK): £36,674 plus benefits (Our pay philosophy ensures consistency across locations and salaries. The starting salary for this opportunity plus benefits depends on location of the candidate). 

The role:

Due to internal movement, Mary’s Meals International (MMI) is delighted to be recruiting for a Finance Manager to join our growing global finance team. Reporting to our Head of Finance, you will play a key role in our finance team, leading on the strengthening of our financial processes and controls, managing our statutory accounts and external audit process.

You will:

• Lead on the production of the Annual Accounts in line with FRS 102 (Charities SORP) and statutory requirements and liaise with external auditors to ensure a smooth audit process throughout the year.
• Evaluate, develop and implement appropriate financial systems & processes, including liaising with suppliers/3rd party providers as required.
• Quality control the completion and recording of financial transactions and financial reporting.
• Manage treasury, cashflow activity, including proactive monitoring of our currency mix.  
• Provide direction, leadership and support to a small team of Finance Assistants.
• Support and challenge the financial control and financial management across MMI to ensure good stewardship of funds.  

About you:

• Strong experience in accountancy, including financial processes, controls, and annual accounts preparation.
• Proven experience of UK accountancy practices and statutory reporting requirements.
• Proven track record in delivering high-quality, accurate financial information.
• Excellent attention to detail and advanced Excel skills.
• Proficient in using financial software packages.
• Credible people manager with experience in supervision, coaching, and support.
• Confident communicator, able to explain complex finance processes clearly.
• Practical, hands-on, with a solutions-focused approach.
• Experience of managing external service providers, including auditors.
• Culturally sensitive and able to work effectively across diverse global settings.

A relevant degree/professional accountancy qualification or equivalent experience is desirable but not essential.

We are a global movement with a remote-first approach and are happy for you to work remotely and flexibly, in a way that best supports your work life balance. We are open to accommodating part-time working patterns where possible, please let us know about your requirements. We also have an office near Glasgow city centre for those who live nearby and would like to work from here occasionally or on a regular basis.

Mary’s Meals is a global movement supported by people from all walks of life and we are focused on one goal – that every child receives a nutritious daily meal in a place of education. We continue to change the lives of over 2.6 million children who today will receive Mary’s Meals. We are a values-driven organisation, we believe in the innate goodness of people, respect the dignity of every human being and family life and believe in good stewardship of the resources entrusted to us. In line with our values, Mary’s Meals is fully committed to a culture of safeguarding.

Mary’s Meals is committed to preventing any type of unwanted behaviour at work and we expect all the Mary's Meals family to share this commitment and work in the best interest of the communities we serve. Our safe recruitment practices ensure that only those that are committed to our high standards join our movement.

Our Benefits:

• 34 days annual leave (pro-rated for part time working patterns) including bank holidays, increasing by 1 day each completed calendar year, to a maximum of 39 days (+ option to buy another week)
• Flexible working
• Employee Assistance Programme
• Life assurance
• Medical insurance for candidates located in Kenya, Liberia, Malawi and Zambia
• Pension - depending on the location of the candidate. For international candidates - any pension contribution paid as part of salary will be subject to normal statutory deductions/ taxation 

How to apply:

This is a fantastic role where your daily work has real impact. If you are looking for more from your role and our work and values resonate with you, please click Apply to send your CV and a short covering note telling us why you would be a great Finance Manager here at Mary’s Meals International.

Closing date for applications is Sunday 18th May 2025.

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible.

DFN Project SEARCH offer an evidence-based supported internship model which takes place entirely in the workplace.  The programmes provide continuous support to young adults with a learning disability, and autistic people who are aged between 16 – 24 with an Education Health and Care Plan, or equivalent, in their final year of education.

You will be required to identify opportunities to develop and grow DFN Project SEARCH programmes across a geographical area with the aim of supporting the organisation to ensure that as many people as need it have access to DFN Project SEARCH programmes.

In addition, you will be required to develop strategies to ensure that the operational programmes in your area are achieving at least the average outcomes expected for young people in our programmes and so you must be committed to continuous improvement.

You will be specifically required to develop strong partnerships and train and support colleagues within your area. You may also be required to support colleagues promoting DFN Project SEARCH in other areas, further European projects as required and contribute to the development of relevant UK focussed materials.

As a Programme Specialist you will be expected to:

• Demonstrate effective project planning and preparation so that each project delivers achieves the highest quality programme possible and outstanding employment outcomes for the interns.
• Establish effective working relationships with schools, colleges, local authorities, employers and the project professional staff to promote the building of excellent, high quality partnerships at each site to ensure the effective running of programmes and promote sustainability in a volatile environment.
• Take an active part in decision making, planning and audit processes of each project
• Ensure that you implement DFN Project SEARCH policy and have a clear understanding of required quality standards and criteria which constitute effective teaching and learning
   

Department: Programmes

Reports to: Head of Programmes

Location: Home-based, with travel across England, Scotland, and Wales

Contract: Full-time, Permanent

Benefits:

• 25 days holiday plus England bank holidays
• Employer pension contribution up to 5%
• Life insurance, critical illness cover & private health benefits
• 37.5-hour workweek

Note: This role requires travel with overnight stays across England, Scotland, and Wales.

About British Gas Energy Trust (BGET)

British Gas Energy Trust (BGET) supports individuals and families across England, Scotland, and Wales who are struggling with energy debt and financial hardship. This is an exciting opportunity to support the effective management of the Trust’s third party funded organisation grant programmes across England, Scotland and Wales

Key Responsibilities

· To act as the managerial point of contact between the Trust’s Grantees & the Trust ensuring programme materials up to date.

· To create documentation linked to grant programmes, such as Applications, Review Templates, Scoring Matrix and Grant Agreements.

· Build & manage positive “listening & learning” relationships with organisational grant applicants.

· Help ensure BGET learns from best practice delivery, and identify, recognize & respond to issues or opportunities as they arise.

· Undertaking both face to face and virtual monitoring visits as part of the project initiation, ongoing KPI and impact evaluation process, creating comprehensive follow-up reports and end of year reports.

· Ensure visibility & assurance of current policies and practice are in place with funded entities, identifying any risk to the Trust e.g. Safeguarding & Data Protection.

· Collect communication materials and help the Trust to amplify the voices of the organisations we support.

· In-put to the day-to-day contractual relationship with our Grant Management System provider, keeping data current and identifying improvements.

Reporting & Contract Management:

· Help ensure that organisations are supported to meet their obligations under their grant agreement, including KPIs and other reporting tools.  Including identifying risks to delivery and supporting the grantee to help resolve any challenges with delivery that impact on the grant obligations. 

· Collate comprehensive and clear feedback, data and information to monitor performance and impact on an ongoing and regular basis.

· Input into coordination, collection and analysis of Ofgem end of year reporting information.

· Ensure all data collection aligned to current Data Protection regulations and use and storage of data is in line with the Trust’s own policies and provide reassurance to the CEO and Board.

· Prepare clear and informative monthly programme updates and support the preparation of quarterly programme reports to the Board to clearly evidence operational delivery across the grant portfolio. 

· Ensure that the outcomes and KPI information are used to create impact reports during the contract period.

· Conduct monitoring visits to funded projects, (in person and online) ensuring accurate briefing notes and write up of meetings are compiled and logged appropriately.

· Establish clear reporting systems with each grant organisation and ensure accurate notes of quarterly meetings with portfolio of projects.

· Work with Finance to ensure grant funds are expended in line with grant agreements and any regulatory requirements.

· Ensure accurate data is in place for year-end reporting.

Knowledge Sharing

· Identify and develop opportunities for the organisational grant applicants to work collaboratively and share learning.

· Create and deliver events for our projects either online or annually at our Annual Advisors Gathering.

· Ensure case studies and other content is collated from the projects to share through our channels.

Person Specification:

Skills and Knowledge:
Essential:

· Strong project management skills, with relevant project management software training.

· Good written communication skills, with the ability to build effective working relationships.

· Strong at operational and project management with the ability to meet deadlines.

· Accuracy and attention to detail with a methodical approach.

· Flexible approach to changing circumstances, prepared to re-order priorities as required. 

· Practical “can do” approach with ability to manage multiple work streams.

· Highly adept at Office 365 and Excel, technically confident in managing Grant Management systems.

· Significant experience monitoring grant programmes including KPI reporting, assessment and write-up.

· Excellent written communication skills, with an ability to communicate with confidence to a wide range of individuals and audiences.

· Excellent analytical & numerical skills with the ability to interpret data and share insights.

Desirable:

· Stakeholder management experience

Experience:

· A proven track record of managing effective operational delivery of impact focused grant making projects or programmes. Including grant programme design.

· Experience of developing and managing positive, equitable partnerships.

· Responsibility for managing our Grant Management System including establishing reporting systems and dashboards for the Senior Leadership Team and Board.

This role is an opportunity to make a real difference in communities across the UK, working directly with organisations that deliver tangible support to those who need it most. If you are passionate about tackling fuel poverty and have the skills to drive a high-impact programmes initiative, we encourage you to apply.

Please note that we are not able to offer sponsorship and the successful candidate must hold the right to work in the United Kingdom. 

A basic DBS check is a requirement of this role. 

* We are not accepting requests to work with third party recruiters for this or any other vacancy. *