Head of customer engagement jobs in Bermondsey, greater london

The Difference is seeking a Director of Engagement and School Partnerships to grow our traded relationships with schools and sector partners, and build the systems and team to deepen impact at scale.

This senior role ensures partnerships, delivery and learning work as one coherent cycle from first contact to long-term partnership.

Key Responsibilities

• Grow traded relationships : build and convert a pipeline of trusts and LAs into our programmes
• Build a sequenced pipeline :turn engagements from press and events into a journey towards deeper work
• Design the partner journey :map and improve from first contact through onboarding and renewal
• Develop CRM and systems :track relationships and income with discipline
• Org-wide leadership :senior ambassador and leadership team member

About The Difference Every day, 5,500 children are suspended from England's schools, doubling their NEET likelihood by 24. The Difference tackles this through whole school inclusion  training leaders, researching what works and turning insights into policy. Our vision: lost learning falling nationally by 2030.

About You: Essential

• Shared values and commitment to the children most affected by lost learning
• Credibility with schools, trusts and local authorities
• Experience designing end-to-end partner journeys
• Hitting income targets while staying honest about quality
• Knowledge of school improvement or inclusion to work with programme experts
• Building routines that help a team deliver consistently
• CRM or pipeline experience to drive decisions
• Managing relationships :expectations, risks and progression
• Strategic judgement :balancing delivery against long-term value
• Managing people and building a culture of clarity, care and accountability
• Critical friend in a senior team

Desired

• Background in partnerships, engagement, account management or business development
• Experience scaling a programme while protecting quality
• Experience building business cases for school-sector audiences
• Experience designing renewal or progression models
• Experience with schools, trusts, LAs or education charities
• Insight into children affected by exclusion, poverty or SEN

Please see the attached Job Description for full details. We are committed to building a diverse team and encourage applications from under-represented groups. All applications assessed with names and protected characteristics redacted.

Create is seeking a dynamic, ambitious, driven, fundraiser (grants/major gifts) with strong strategic skills, an exemplary income generation track record, and a passion for the power of the creative arts. This Senior Leadership Team position reports directly to the Chief Executive and manages a small team.

Do you believe in the power of the creative arts to connect, empower and upskill isolated and vulnerable children and adults? Are you passionate about relationship building, storytelling, meeting targets and changing lives? Are you excited to use your extensive senior-level fundraising experience, knowledge and contacts to lead Create’s income generation from Trusts & Foundations (T&F), public sector and High Net Worth Individuals (HNWI)? 

Title:     Engagement Manager

Salary:     £42,000–£52,000 (depending on experience)

Contract:     Permanent

Hours:     37.5 per week (Monday to Friday) 

Holiday:     25 days per year plus bank holidays 

Location:     Home based with regular travel within / to London and across the UK

Probationary Period:     3 months

Reports to:     Head of Department 

Benefits:     An additional 3 days holiday between Christmas and New Year, Flexitime policy, 5% pension contribution

Line Management:     Depending on experience, may line-manage the Senior Engagement Coordinator. 

We are River Action

We are a small and agile campaigning organisation on a mission to rescue Britain's rivers from a toxic cocktail of agricultural, sewage and industrial pollution and water shortages. We support community action, galvanise and mobilise public opinion, influence government policy, take legal actions and call out destructive industrial practices to incentivise changes that end river pollution and secure freshwater. 

We are building a talented team of positive disrupters and stakeholder mobilisers to deliver our strategy to urgently protect and restore our rivers for the benefit of communities, rivers and wildlife.

Britain’s rivers are our life support system and they are dying. We need urgent action to bring them back to life.

Who we are looking for

As River Action’s profile, influence and policy impact continue to grow, we are expanding our Public Affairs function to strengthen engagement with decision-makers, regulators, businesses, NGOs, strategic partners and local communities.

The Engagement Manager will play a critical role in helping River Action influence change by developing high-level relationships, building strategic partnerships and providing strategic leadership across River Action’s engagement programmes to advance our policy, legal and campaigning objectives.

This is a senior engagement leadership role responsible for providing strategic oversight of both stakeholder engagement and community engagement activity, ensuring River Action’s grassroots campaigning and external influence work are mutually reinforcing

What you’ll be doing

The Engagement Manager will lead River Action’s overall engagement strategy, providing strategic oversight of both stakeholder engagement and community engagement activity across the organisation.

Building and managing relationships with senior leaders across government, regulators, NGOs, businesses, financiers, academia and civil society, the postholder will identify opportunities to increase River Action’s influence, support policy and advocacy objectives, and help position the organisation as a leading voice on river protection and environmental reform.

The role will provide strategic direction and oversight to River Action’s community engagement work, including the River Rescue Kit, Community Toolkit and catchment-based campaigning activities, working closely with the Senior Engagement Coordinator who will lead day-to-day delivery, community support and programme implementation.

Working closely with colleagues across Public Affairs, Campaigns, Communications, Legal and Development, the Engagement Manager will ensure engagement activities contribute directly to organisational priorities and campaigns and that community insights help shape River Action’s policy, legal and campaigning work.

Main Responsibilities:

Strategic Stakeholder Engagement

• Develop and deliver River Action’s stakeholder engagement strategy.

• Manage relationships with senior stakeholders and decision-makers.

• Develop and implement engagement or public affairs strategies.

• Identify, map and prioritise key stakeholders across government, regulators, business, NGOs, academia and civil society.

• Build and maintain productive relationships with senior external stakeholders.

• Create opportunities for strategic collaboration that advance River Action’s mission and objectives.

• Monitor stakeholder developments and identify opportunities and risks.

Managing Stakeholder and Community Engagement

• Provide strategic leadership and oversight of River Action’s stakeholder and community engagement programme.

• Ensure effective delivery and continuous development of the River Rescue Kit and Community Toolkit as key resources supporting grassroots campaigners and community groups.

• Oversee catchment-based engagement strategies that strengthen community-led action, advocacy and campaigning.

• Work closely with the Senior Engagement Coordinator to identify opportunities to expand and strengthen River Action’s network of stakeholder and community groups, campaigners and partners.

• Ensure insights, evidence and priorities emerging from stakeholders and local communities to inform River Action’s public affairs, policy, legal and campaigning work.

• Monitor the effectiveness and impact of community engagement activities and ensure learning is shared across the organisation.

• Support the development of engagement frameworks, systems and processes that enable effective community mobilisation at scale.

Public Affairs and External Influence

• Support the delivery of River Action’s Public Affairs strategy.

• Build relationships with parliamentarians, political advisers, local authority leaders and relevant government officials.

• Support engagement with regulators including the Environment Agency, Natural Resources Wales, Ofwat and other relevant bodies.

• Represent River Action in external forums, roundtables, conferences and stakeholder meetings.

• Coordinate stakeholder engagement around key campaigns, policy initiatives and legal actions.

Strategic Partnerships

• Develop partnerships with environmental NGOs, think tanks, academic institutions, financiers and businesses.

• Identify opportunities for joint initiatives, campaigns and advocacy activity.

• Strengthen River Action’s position within the wider environmental and public policy landscape.

• Convene strategic partnerships to support policy and campaigning objectives.

Organisational Leadership

• Work closely with the Head of Public Affairs to support delivery of organisational objectives.

• Provide strategic direction, support and oversight to the Senior Engagement Coordinator, ensuring community engagement activity aligns with organisational priorities and objectives.

• Provide stakeholder intelligence and strategic advice to senior leadership.

• Contribute to organisational planning and public affairs priorities.

• Support cross-team working between Public Affairs, Campaigns, Communications, Legal and Fundraising.

• Ensure strong integration between River Action’s community engagement, public affairs, campaigns, communications and legal work.

Communications and Representation

• Act as an ambassador for River Action externally.

• Support media opportunities through stakeholder engagement and relationship building.

• Prepare briefings, stakeholder reports and engagement plans.

• Help identify influential voices and advocates who can amplify River Action’s work.

Monitoring and Reporting

• Maintain stakeholder engagement plans and CRM records.

• Monitor engagement outcomes and report against agreed KPIs.

• Evaluate the effectiveness of stakeholder engagement activity and recommend improvements.

What you’ll bring

Essential Experience

• Significant experience in stakeholder engagement, public affairs, external affairs, partnerships or advocacy.

• Experience managing relationships with senior stakeholders and decision-makers.

• Experience developing and implementing engagement or public affairs strategies.

• Experience overseeing or managing community engagement, organising or grassroots campaigning programmes.

• Experience translating community priorities and local evidence into policy, advocacy or campaigning objectives.

• Experience working across complex stakeholder environments.

• Experience representing an organisation externally.

Essential Knowledge

• Understanding of UK water-related political, regulatory and policy-making processes.

• Understanding of stakeholder engagement and influence strategies.

• Understanding of community engagement, organising and mobilisation approaches.

• Knowledge of environmental, sustainability or public policy issues.

Essential Skills

• Exceptional relationship-building and networking skills.

• Strong influencing and negotiation abilities.

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

• Strong strategic thinking and political awareness.

• Ability to balance strategic stakeholder engagement with community-led campaigning and mobilisation.

• Strong understanding of how grassroots engagement can support policy, legal and public affairs objectives.

• Ability to develop engagement strategies that connect local action with national influence and impact.

• Ability to manage multiple priorities and complex stakeholder relationships.

• Excellent project management and organisational skills.

Desirable

• Knowledge of water policy, environmental regulation or agricultural policy.

• Experience engaging with Westminster, Whitehall or devolved administrations.

• Experience developing partnerships with businesses and financiers.

• Experience supporting policy or advocacy campaigns.

• Experience working with community-led environmental campaigns or citizen science initiatives.

Why join us?

• Be part of a mission-driven organisation working to restore and protect the UK’s rivers.

• Work at the heart of political and environmental change, influencing decision-makers at the highest levels.

• Work in an agile, supportive and happy work environment where your ideas and expertise will have real impact.

• Opportunities for professional development and growth within the organisation.

Diversity and inclusion

Don’t meet every single requirement? Studies show that women and people of colour are less likely to apply for jobs unless they meet every single criteria. We are committed to building a diverse, inclusive and equitable workplace. So if you like the look of this role but your past experience does not align perfectly with everything in the job description, we’d still love to hear from you. You may be just the right person for this role.

How to apply

To apply, please submit to jobs at riveractionuk dot com with the subject ‘Engagement Manager’:

• your CV (2 pages), 

• a cover letter (2 pages) explaining why you want to work for River Action and how your skills and experience meet the requirements of the role, and 

• a written submission (2 pages) as described below. 

Only applications including all three documents will be accepted. Please provide your documents in pdf format. 

Written submission

The Government is expected to bring forward a Clean Water Bill in Parliament. River Action wants to influence the Bill to secure stronger protections for rivers, hold polluters to account, and deliver measurable improvements in river health.

In no more than 750 words, set out how you would approach this challenge. Your response should explain:

• Which stakeholders you would prioritise engaging with, and why.

• How you would use partnerships, community groups and grassroots evidence to support your objectives.

• How you would measure the success of your approach.

• One significant challenge or risk, and how you would address it.

We are interested in your ability to think strategically, prioritise effectively, and demonstrate how engagement can help deliver policy and environmental change.

Application process

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until 5pm on Wednesday 15th July.

Should your application be selected during sift, the next stage will involve an initial 15-minute interview. You may then be invited to attend a second interview with a panel. 

Interviews will be held in the weeks commencing 19th July and 26th July via video conference. 

Please indicate in your covering letter or in a covering email your availability for interviews.

If you have any questions about the role or your application, please contact us on jobs at riveractionuk dot com.

Job Description

The Head of Delivery & Partnerships is a senior leadership role responsible for overseeing the 
successful implementation, quality of outcomes, and retention of DFN Project SEARCH programmes 
across the UK, the Republic of Ireland and Iberia, in line with our franchise agreement from Project 
SEARCH . This role leads the Delivery & Partnerships team, ensuring strategic alignment, excellence 
of delivery, and sustained impactful partnerships.
You will play a pivotal role in driving programme quality, ensuring retention, maintaining model 
fidelity, and ensuring high-quality outcomes for interns. Additionally, you will oversee the growth of 
our number of programmes, in line with our strategic regional and national plans. You will also 
contribute to the strategic direction of the organisation, working closely with cross-functional teams 
to maximise DFN Project SEARCH’s impact.
Regular travel throughout the UK will be required, with occasional travel to other areas of our delivery. 
In addition, occasional international travel may be required, for example to the annual conference in 
the United States.

Essential Experience and Skills
• A passion for changing the lives of young people with learning disabilities and / or who are 
autistic 
• Educated to degree level or relevant Professional Qualification 
• Highly motivated and organised self-starters with the ability to work under your own initiative 
• Strong understanding of supported employment, education, and local authority partnerships.
• Experience in project management, partnership development, and stakeholder engagement.
• Excellent communication, influencing, and negotiation skills.
• Experience using data systems and performance management tools.
• Experience delivering training and speaking at events or conferences.
• Understanding of SEND provision and funding arrangements in the UK (e.g., EHCPs, DWP, local 
authorities).
• Experience working with senior stakeholders via formal reporting mechanisms.
• Leadership experience managing people/teams.
• Financial literacy and experience managing budgets.

Desirable Experience and Qualifications
• Experience working with DFN Project SEARCH programmes or similar supported internship 
models.
• Experience in selling services or products and effective account management.
• Knowledge of safeguarding and health & safety in programme delivery.
• Knowledge and experience of using the Microsoft suite, in particular Outlook and Excel 
• Experience of using a CRM for administrative and reporting purposes

DFN Project SEARCH are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young 
people and adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. This post is subject 
to an enhanced DBS disclosure. 

We particularly welcome applications from black, Asian and minority ethnic candidates, LGBTQ+ 
candidates, disabled candidates, and from men, because we would like to increase the 
representation of these groups at this level at DFN Project SEARCH.

-Interviews will take place on:
  1st round July 23rd and July 24th
  2nd and final round: July 31st
  Closing date: Sunday July 12th

-Start date - Asap

This role offers a unique opportunity to make this role your own and take the charity to the next level, with the full support of a dedicated, experienced team.

The successful candidate will ensure that the charity remains resilient and able to deliver on its commitment to grow and evolve to meet the needs of the people we serve.

The role is a mix of operational activity, day to day management and strategic thinking; with the continuous building and nurturing of external relationships with our NHS, public sector and not-for-profit stakeholders.

Working alongside a committed trustee board, skilled staff and volunteers, you will bring drive, experience and passion to the team. You’ll get terrific support from the outgoing postholder as needed, with the space to act and bring your own ideas to the forefront.

Location: The role is national, managing teams in Northern Ireland, Wales and across England. You will need to be able to work at one of our BookTrust offices in London, Leeds, Belfast or Cardiff for an average of 8 days per month whilst some of these collaboration days may be worked in partner locations, at events or stakeholder meetings in any part of the country. The position will require regular travel to BookTrust office bases and to visit and engage as needed.

BookTrust is the UK’s largest children’s reading charity. We know that children who read are happier, healthier, more empathetic, and more creative. They also do better at school.

Working with every local authority and across every region in the country, and supported by Arts Council funding, we reach over 3 million families a year via partners in schools, children’s centres, health visitors and libraries. This incredible network helps us to get children reading across the country.

This is a new role within the organisation and the postholder will be responsible for defining aspects of the role, building relationships and processes that will enhance our ways of working as part of wider organisational processes. 

You will be an excellent communicator who manages up effectively and who is comfortable working across a matrixed managed team. You will work closely with the Director of Partnerships in building relationships, systems and processes that support our delivery across regions and countries as well as working closely with key role holders such as but not confined to the Head of Partnerships Development, and Head of Programme for Vulnerable Children.

The Head of Partnerships Delivery will lead and coordinate our early years scaled programme delivery as well as ensuring activities to support delivery and development of our vulnerable children’s work are catered or within team processes and relationship building with strategic and local stakeholders.

This work spans the organisation – and will have a close working relationships with key stakeholders in operations on aspects of the work as well as to research and impact, design and innovation, growth planning, communications, profile-raising and income generation – and requires strong collaborative working to draw on skills and capacity in all these areas. 

To apply, please complete the application along with a copy of your CV.

Want to join us? To find out more about who we are please go to our website. 

We actively encourage applications from underrepresented groups and welcome candidates from all backgrounds and communities. 

Please note that this advert may close early should we receive a high volume of suitable applications. 

Our Commitment to Diversity and Inclusivity

We aim to provide an inclusive recruitment process and actively welcome applications from diverse talent pools: minority ethnic candidates, candidates with disabilities and long-term conditions and candidates from underrepresented communities.

We are committed to equality of opportunity and want to ensure we have an accessible application process for all candidates. If you need any reasonable adjustments or would like us to do anything differently during the application process, please contact our HR team (contact details can be found on our website). 

BookTrust is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children. The recruitment and selection process reflect our commitment to safeguarding therefore, the suitability of all prospective employees will be assessed during the recruitment process in line with this commitment, and pre-employment checks.

£42,750 - £46,500 per year

Fixed term (6 months), full-time (37.5 hours per week)

Hybrid working with regular travel to our London Bridge Office

What the job involves

We’re looking for a Customer Journeys and Experience Manager to join our Customer Engagement and Experience Team on a fixed term basis for six months.

We’re about to launch our new, organisation-wide, segmentation project – Designed Around You, where you’ll play a key role in using this new insight to support teams to deliver the experience our customers have of Prostate Cancer UK. You’ll be responsible for developing and delivering multi-channel customer journeys that provide a consistent and engaging experience to all customers of Prostate Cancer UK. You’ll lead the ongoing development and optimisation of how we welcome customers to the organisation, as well as our engagement journeys, ensuring that customer needs are met, and behaviours and interests are tracked across every touchpoint.

You’ll take a lead on briefing, journey design development, analysis, and reporting, to optimise customer engagement and income. Additionally, you'll act as a liaison between data delivery, insights and product teams, sharing insights and best practice across the organisation. Coaching and collaborating with colleagues and external agencies is essential to ensure successful deployment of programmes.

What we want from you

We’re looking for someone who genuinely cares about giving our customers a great experience and always thinks about how messages will land with different audiences.

You’ll bring strong experience from a communications or direct marketing environment, with a clear track record of delivering multi-channel customer journeys for a range of audiences. You’re comfortable using data to guide your decisions, with the ability to turn analysis into clear, meaningful insights that others can easily understand and act on.

You build strong relationships at all levels and work well with both internal teams and external partners, including agencies and suppliers. Alongside this, you’re organised and proactive, with solid experience of planning projects and putting marketing activity into action from start to finish.

Why work with us?
Every man needs to know about the most common cancer in men – prostate cancer. It’s a real and present danger that takes over 12,000 of our dads, grandads, brothers and friends each year.

Prostate Cancer UK is the largest men’s health charity in the UK. We have a simple ambition – to stop prostate cancer damaging lives. We invest millions in research to revolutionise testing, treatment and care. We’re blazing a trail to a screening programme that could save thousands of lives with regular, accurate tests for all men at risk. And we work tirelessly to spread the word about risk and offer specialist support to people living with the disease.

Work with us and you’ll see your efforts pay off as we give men and their families the power to navigate prostate cancer.

Our commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion

At Prostate Cancer UK we’re committed to righting health inequalities across the UK, starting with those faced by Black men. This includes ground-breaking research into Black men's risk and working with communities directly to overcome barriers to the diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer. To make this happen, we're dedicated to being an inclusive, proactive organisation, as we strive to be Allies to Black communities. We’ll achieve this by advocating and working alongside those communities to promote change. We're also working to be Allies to each other, not only protected groups. In 2024, we launched our New Allyship Training Programme. All colleagues at Prostate Cancer UK will be trained to act and identify as an Ally.

We've also signed Business in the Communities Race at Work Charter, as a dedication to our Black health equity work and wider EDI priorities. As a signatory, we're responsible and accountable for driving positive change.

How and where we work

Colleagues attend the office at least four days per month (pro rata for part-time colleagues) to collaborate, build relationships, and support projects and decision-making. You can choose where to work the rest of the time. Travel to the office is a commute, so we pay our own travel costs.

Additional in-person attendance will be required during your first few months for induction and training, to support you to learn the role and get to know colleagues.

We trust colleagues to work flexibly while balancing personal commitments with the needs of the charity, and we are committed to making reasonable adjustments for colleagues with a disability, neurodiversity, or a long-term physical or mental health condition.

How to Apply
Visit our Prostate Cancer UK Careers page to learn more about this role and the benefits we offer. On the vacancy advert, you’ll find everything you need to know about the role, how to apply, and what to include in your application.

You can also download a copy of the job description and access the link to our careers portal to submit your application by visiting our website via the apply button.

The closing date is Sunday 19th July 2026.  Applications must be submitted by 23:45 UK time.

Interviews: By arrangement. Currently scheduled for the week of Monday 3rd August 2026.

Prostate Cancer UK is a registered charity in England and Wales (1005541) and in Scotland (SC039332). Registered company number 02653887.

The Head of Fundraising and Communications plays a pivotal role in shaping and driving Bowel Research UK's fundraising strategies and audience engagement initiatives.

This position is responsible for embedding and executing comprehensive fundraising strategies, growing the charity’s supporter base and income, building up new and under-developed income streams and communicating effectively with their audiences to expand their reach, and encourage financial and non-financial support to deliver the organisations mission.

You will have the autonomy and scope to drive elements of your work and take ownership of your own objectives. You will be required to collaborate on decisions to shape and deliver initiatives, programmes and processes as required for each area of income delivery. 

Key to the success of this role is a strong understanding of individual giving fundraising – an area that is underdeveloped at Bowel Research UK. This role blends the strategic oversight and leadership of a Head of Fundraising role, with the hands-on expertise of an IG fundraiser. Experience across other income streams would be a huge benefit as the role leads all fundraising income streams, but experience in individual giving is essential.

The successful candidate for this role will be someone who has already operated at a senior level within a charity such as at Senior Manager level, or Head of in a specific income stream.

Application notes 

Please download the Candidate Info Pack provided for further information about the role, timelines and next steps.

To progress your application, please contact THINK Recruitment to organise an informal screening call. Please note, we cannot shortlist candidates who have not had a screening call so please allow enough time to have a call before the closing date.

If you need assistance with downloading the pack or any reasonable adjustments to ensure you can engage with the selection process, please send an email to THINK Recruitment and our team will support you.

Closing date for applications: Midnight Tuesday 14th July 

There will be a two stage interview process: 

Stage 1 interviews: 22nd or 23rd July 

Stage 2 interviews: 29th or 30th July 

Salary: £45,000–£47,000 FTE (depending on experience)
Hours: 30–35 hours per week
Location: Hybrid/home-based. Ideally within easy reach of Chelmsford and London. Regular travel to meet colleagues, funders and visit programmes across England.
Reporting to: CEO

Be part of a mission that's transforming children's futures through food, farming and the countryside

For more than 45 years, The Country Trust has been connecting children from the UK's most disadvantaged communities with the land that sustains us all. Through inspiring farm visits, food education and countryside experiences, we've already reached more than 600,000 children, and we're just getting started.

We're entering an exciting new chapter as we develop our next organisational strategy, and we're looking for an experienced fundraising leader to help shape our future.

This is an outstanding opportunity for an ambitious and strategic fundraiser to join our Senior Leadership Team and lead the next phase of our income growth, enabling even more children to benefit from our life-changing programmes.

About the role

As Head of Fundraising, you'll provide strategic leadership across all fundraising activity while remaining hands-on in securing major income and developing key relationships.

You'll lead a dedicated fundraising team, drive innovation, strengthen fundraising systems and processes, and develop a sustainable fundraising strategy that diversifies income across:

• Trusts and foundations
• Corporate partnerships
• Major donors
• Individual giving
• Legacies
• Gaming and Streaming for Good
• Emerging fundraising opportunities

Working closely with the CEO, Senior Leadership Team, Digital and IT colleagues, you'll help embed new fundraising systems, champion data-driven decision making and ensure fundraising excellence across the organisation.

About you

We're looking for an inspiring fundraising leader who combines strategic thinking with practical delivery.

You'll bring:

• Significant senior-level fundraising leadership experience
• A proven track record of securing substantial income across multiple fundraising streams
• Experience developing and delivering fundraising strategies that drive sustainable growth
• Strong leadership skills with experience developing high-performing teams
• Excellent relationship-building, communication and influencing skills
• Financial and commercial awareness, including budgeting and forecasting
• Knowledge of fundraising regulation, GDPR and fundraising best practice
• A passion for improving opportunities for disadvantaged children

Experience developing new income streams, digital fundraising and CRM systems would be particularly valuable.

Why join us?

At The Country Trust, you'll be joining an ambitious charity where collaboration, learning and innovation are at the heart of everything we do.

We offer:

• Hybrid and flexible working
• 25 days annual leave plus Bank Holidays (FTE)
• Workplace pension
• Homeworking allowance
• Mileage and agreed travel expenses
• A supportive, values-led culture
• The opportunity to shape our future strategy and make a lasting difference to children's lives

We're committed to building a diverse and inclusive team that reflects the communities we serve and welcome applications from candidates of all backgrounds.

Key dates

Closing date: 12pm, 3 August
Shortlisting: 6 August
Interviews: Week commencing 24 August

The Country Trust is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people. The successful candidate will be subject to an Enhanced DBS check.

About us

Rainforest Foundation UK (RFUK) is a values-driven organisation working with Indigenous Peoples and local communities to protect the world’s rainforests and uphold their human rights. Since 1989, RFUK has partnered with forest peoples and grassroots organisations to secure land rights, challenge destructive industries, and influence laws and policies that safeguard forests and the people who depend on them.

Our mission is clear: to combine human rights and environmental protection to tackle deforestation. From the Congo Basin to the Amazon, our work has helped communities protect millions of hectares of rainforest. With a growing team of passionate advocates for social and environmental justice, we are committed to scaling up our impact to confront the accelerating climate and biodiversity crises.

About the role

The Head of External Relations is a key senior leadership role at Rainforest Foundation UK (RFUK) responsible for overseeing effective fundraising and communications strategies to support the organisation's work protecting rainforests and the rights of Indigenous Peoples and local communities.

Reporting to the Executive Director, this role is responsible for building RFUK’s external profile and support for its ambitious 2033 vision to scale up community-led protection of tropical forests. The position combines strategic communications, outreach, targeted campaigns, and media engagement to connect RFUK’s impactful programmes to its growing audience, supporters and funders.

This a key role in the organisation, managing a small team, working closely with the Programmes team to craft compelling narratives that drive engagement and action, with the Operations team to ensure financial sustainability, and with the Executive Director to create and implement targeted fundraising strategies.

About you

This role requires a strong commitment to social and environmental justice, the ability to form and cultivate relationships with a range of different groups, and the ability to communicate complex issues persuasively.

You’re an experienced leader with a proven track record in both strategic communications and fundraising. You’re a creative communicator who can turn complex issues into persuasive, accessible messages that drive change and support for our mission. You know how to secure significant income from foundations, corporates, individuals and major donors, and you’re confident in building long-term relationships with diverse stakeholders. You thrive on collaboration, motivate teams to achieve ambitious goals, and bring resilience and cultural sensitivity to everything you do.

Job description and benefits

Please download the full job description from our website. We offer 30 days annual leave, 4% pension contributions, Employee Assistance Programme, learning and development allowance, and four weeks of work-from-anywhere flexibility.

Location

This role is offered as a hybrid role based in our Bethnal Green, London office. The postholder will be required to work in the office 2 days per week during their 6-month probation period. This can be reviewed with their Line Manager thereafter.

Application Process

To submit your application, kindly complete the online application form by 9AM, Friday 10 July. Please be aware that the form will be anonymised for review by the panel.

Please note that CVs will not be considered.

We strongly encourage all candidates to read the Recruitment FAQs page on our website before submitting their application.

Regrettably, due to the large number of applications we usually receive, it is not possible to write to you should you not be shortlisted for an interview. If you have not heard from us within 10 working days of the closing date, please assume that your application has not been successful on this occasion. 

Initial interviews with shortlisted candidates will be held online on Thursday 16 July. Please let us know in your application if you are available to attend an interview.

The Head of Change leads the development, coordination and delivery of the Foundation’s strategic change portfolio. Reporting to the Director of Transformation, this role provides expert direction on organisational change initiatives, ensures alignment with strategic priorities, and builds a culture where transformation is understood, embraced and delivered confidently across the organisation. 

The Head of Change acts as the Foundation’s change leader, helping to shape strategy, establishing structures for high-quality programme delivery, and ensuring teams are ready and supported through change. This includes oversight of the Change team, taking a lead on cross-Foundation change initiatives, and ensuring all strategic programmes are governed effectively. 
This role is cross-organisational, working closely with the Chief People & Transformation Officer on the operating model, the Chief Financial Officer and the Director of Transformation on planning and delivery. 

This role delivers a transformational, organisation-wide approach to change, grounded in best practice, and provides a high-quality, consistent programme delivery through a strengthened PMO capability. The Head of Change delivers improved organisational staff readiness and staff confidence during periods of change, and produces clear, measurable outcomes across the Foundation’s strategic transformation priorities. This role also helps to foster a culture that embraces innovation, adaptability, and continuous improvement. 

Key Responsibilities 

Strategic Change Leadership

• Define, lead and manage the organisation-wide strategic change programme, ensuring alignment with the Foundation’s mission and long-term goals.
• Develop the strategic change governance forum, providing oversight, challenge and direction.
• Work with the Executive Team, senior stakeholders, and programme leads to ensure clarity of change objectives and secure stakeholder buy-in.
• Working with the Chief Financial Officer, oversee organisational planning, delivery and monitoring of key KPIs.
• Foster a culture of change readiness, adaptability, and continuous improvement, ensuring clear alignment with the Foundation’s overarching decision-making framework. 

Programme & Portfolio Management 

• Oversee a portfolio of high-profile strategic projects, ensuring consistent delivery standards and measurable outcomes.
• Lead and mature the Foundation’s project framework to support governance, reporting, assurance and delivery quality.
• Ensure that the organisation has the necessary resources – people, technology and budget – to implement change initiatives without creating bottlenecks or overwhelming Business As Usual operations.
• Monitor progress and evaluate the impact of change initiatives, adjusting the approach to achieve outcomes. 

Leadership & People

• Manage and mentor the Change team, building a high-performing group of change specialists.
• Cultivate collaboration across teams, ensuring consistent approaches to change management and project delivery. 

Stakeholder Engagement & Communication 

• Partner with senior stakeholders to build alignment, engagement and ownership across change programmes.
• Lead delivery of change communications and engagement plans, ensuring clarity, consistency and accessibility.
• Act as a trusted advisor to senior leaders, offering challenge, insight and strategic guidance. 

Change Management Practice

• Conduct enterprise-level change impact and readiness assessments.
• Design and implement training, coaching and resources for leaders and teams undergoing change. Ensure change methodologies, tools, and frameworks are embedded and consistently applied.
• Support the Chief People & Transformation Officer with organisational design activities, including target operating model development and capability mapping. 

Financial & Risk Management 

• Manage project and programme budgets effectively.
• Identify risks, interdependencies and issues across the change portfolio and develop mitigation plans. Ensure compliance with relevant regulatory, governance and audit requirements. 

Role responsibilities are not exhaustive, and you would be reasonably expected to take on wider tasks that are commensurate with the level of your role. 

Skills Knowledge and Expertise

Skills, abilities, and attributes:

• Self-starter who is adaptable, works with integrity and exhibits the Foundation’s core values.
• Committed to the principle of continuous improvement, with careful attention to detail and due process.
• Committed to delivering consistent and high-quality customer service to both internal and external stakeholders.
• Good interpersonal skills and able to effectively liaise with both internal and external communities.
• Exceptional communication and stakeholder management skills.
• Strong leadership skills with the ability to motivate, inspire, challenge and influence. 
• Excellent analytical skills with the ability to translate complex concepts into actionable plans.
• Financial acumen and experience managing significant budgets.
• Comfortable operating in fast-paced, ambiguous and highly collaborative environments. 
• Strong influencing skills with senior stakeholders, including C-suite and Board-level relationships.

Knowledge, experience, and qualifications: 

• Experience in delivering large-scale transformation within complex organisations (charity, private, public sector, healthcare or equivalent).
• Exposure to digital transformation, innovation programmes or organisation design.
• Proven track record leading enterprise-wide change and readiness programmes.
• Demonstrable experience building and leading PMO functions.
• Experience managing multidisciplinary teams and driving cultural and behavioural change.
• Experience operating within matrixed, multi-disciplinary or multi-site environments.
• Proficient, with recognised successes, in working with industry best practice project and change methodologies (e.g. Agile, PRINCE2, PMP, Prosci/ADKAR, CCMP). 

Benefits

• Contributory pension
• Annual personal development budget
• Annual health and wellbeing personal allowance
• Enhanced maternity, paternity, and parental leave pay accessible without length of service requirements.
• Health and wellbeing programme that offers optional free yearly health check-ups.
• Support for healthy eating via fruit bowls and onsite lunch facilities. 
• Agile working, flexible hours, and supportive IT kit. 
• Shower facilities and bike lock area. 
• Generous annual leave (27 days + bank holidays)
• Subsidies for glasses
• Employee Assistance Programme

First Give

First Give is a national charity that partners with secondary schools to inspire and equip young people with the knowledge, confidence, and skills to drive change. Through our structured programmes, students explore social issues, connect with charities, and take tangible steps to improve their community.

Empowering and equipping young people to meaningfully contribute to their community is a first step to addressing many of the challenges we face at this time of social disconnection and division. Our vision is of a more generous society where everyone is willing and able to give their time, money and skills to the causes they care about.

Trusts and Foundations Manager

We are seeking a dynamic, strategic and relationship-driven Trusts and Foundations Manager to lead on growing and stewarding First Give’s portfolio of high-value funders. This role will focus on securing income from Trusts and Foundations from first engagement to account management, delivery and reporting. 

First Give is a small charity, with a growing fundraising team and big ambitions. You will therefore be someone who thrives in a start-up environment, willing to try new things. We are looking for an exceptional writer, someone who can translate the impact of our work into proposals that inspire and motivate the reader to give.

You will play a pivotal role in shaping First Give’s income growth, working closely with our Head of Philanthropy and Partnerships and the Director to manage relationships with existing donors, and leading on the development of high value bids to expand our work. This role will also support key engagement activities, including hosting donors at student-led Final events and facilitating employee volunteering at schools.

This is an exciting opportunity for a confident communicator and grant fundraiser with experience managing and deepening relationships with high value trusts and foundations gifts – someone who thrives on storytelling and social impact. We currently have a strong pipeline of trusts and foundations and are looking for someone eager to write applications and secure funding.

Contract: Full-time, 35 hours per week; core hours - 10am till 4pm

Location: We have office space at the Pears Hub in West Hampstead, where some people come in one or two times a week, we're very flexible. 

Application process:

- Application form

- Task and interview (interviews will be conducted on MS Teams)

Please also fill out this equality & diversity monitoring form (this will not be linked to your application).

1. Application closes: 20th July 9am

2. Interviews: 23rd and 24th July

3. Start date: 1st September

The students we work with come from a diverse range of backgrounds, and so do we. We want to ensure that we are recruiting, retaining and promoting a diverse mix of colleagues. We want to foster a diverse and inclusive culture, to empower our teams to achieve our vision drawing on the broadest possible range of experiences. We therefore particularly encourage applications from candidates from minoritised groups currently underrepresented on our executive team, particularly black and minority ethnic and disabled candidates.

Please get in touch with Carmen O’Loughlin if you would like to request reasonable adjustments to the recruitment process or have any queries about the role.

The Head of Performance and Improvement is a new role that will lead our work to drive excellence in our grant making in England. They will play a critical role in ensuring our grant making is not only delivered, but understood, improved, and aligned with our purpose. This team helps us answer key questions about our grant making:

Are we doing what we said we would? How well are we doing it? What have we learned? And what should we do next? 

The Head of Performance and Improvement ensures our grant making is evidence-informed, insight-driven, and continuously evolving.

Partnering with the Head of England Operations and working closely with senior leaders, you will ensure performance insight informs improvements to our grant making as well as feeding into decision-making, and strategic direction. It’s a role that connects information and delivery, helping us fund with confidence and learn with purpose.

Key responsibilities may include: 

• Funding Development and Delivery 
• Directorate coordination of improvements to our grant making
• Performance Management & Management Information
• Learning & Continuous Improvement
• Grant making Risks & Issue Spotting
• Audit, Oversight & Compliance
• Leadership Collaboration & Strategic Alignment 

Interview details:

• Date: Week Commencing 20 July 2026
• Format: Online
• Location: UK-Wide 

We have a hybrid approach to working. Work pattern and location will be agreed with the successful candidate. The role can be based at any of our UK offices: Belfast, Birmingham, Cardiff, Exeter, Glasgow, Leeds, London, Manchester, Newcastle, and Newtown. 

We will be hosting a briefing session on Monday 6th July, 12pm. To register for the session or for any questions about the recruitment process, please email the recruitment team.

How to apply: 

Upload your CV in word format and write a supporting statement (1000 words) with the following criteria, we will use this to score your application. 

Essential Criteria: 

• Experience of leading a multi-disciplinary team. 
• Experience of embedding and establishing performance management frameworks.
• Strong knowledge of the funding cycle and implementing grant making best practice.
• Extensive experience of engaging effectively with a range of stakeholders.
• Excellent communication and negotiation skills, with an ability to communicate complex information to all levels of the business.
• Ability to build strong relationships, influence a range of stakeholders and build buy in to bring about changes for users and customers.
• Strong planning, priority setting and organisational skills within a complex environment.
• Forward-thinking and solutions-focused, able to balance immediate operational needs with long-term strategic goals. 

Equity, Diversity and Inclusion ​

Communities in the UK come in all shapes and sizes. National Lottery funding is for everyone – therefore, we are committed to equity, diversity and inclusion and we work hard to ensure our funding reaches where it is needed.  

We also believe our people should represent the communities, organisations and individuals we work with. That’s why The National Lottery Community Fund is committed to being an inclusive employer and a great place to work. We recognise and celebrate the fact that our people come from diverse backgrounds. We positively welcome applications from people from ethnic minority backgrounds, people with disabilities or longstanding health conditions, people who are LGBTQ+, and people from different socio-economic and educational backgrounds, as well as people of all ages. 

As a Disability Confident Employer, we take a proactive approach in making reasonable adjustments, if needed, throughout the recruitment process and during employment. (This can be related to a physical and mental health condition.) 

Location: The role is national, managing teams in Northern Ireland, Wales and across England. You will need to be able to work at one of our BookTrust offices in London, Leeds, Belfast or Cardiff for an average of 8 days per month whilst some of these collaboration days may be worked in partner locations, at events or stakeholder meetings in any part of the country. The position will require regular travel to BookTrust office bases and to visit and engage as needed.

BookTrust is the UK’s largest children’s reading charity. We know that children who read are happier, healthier, more empathetic, and more creative. They also do better at school.

Working with every local authority and across every region in the country, and supported by Arts Council funding, we reach over 3 million families a year via partners in schools, children’s centres, health visitors and libraries. This incredible network helps us to get children reading across the country.

This is a new role within the organisation and the new role holder will have a chance to shape and build the role over time.  You will be a strong leader with great people skills -experience of working with and leading teams working in geographically dispersed locations is advantageous. 

You will have a clear experience the public sector landscape with a track record of relationships building, and an understanding of the local government policy landscape. With a collaborative approach to working across interconnecting complex work areas, you will be comfortable working within a matrix style of management for your won direct reports and those of other teams. 

You may have charity or statutory setting experience, and will have the ability to set out a strategic direction for partnerships team members as well as being hands on in developing new relationships to support our work as well as being able to produce high quality written materials, analyse complex data and respond dynamically to a changing external landscape.

You will be an excellent communicator who manages up effectively and who is comfortable working across a matrixed managed team. You will have the ability to work closely with the Director of Partnerships in building relationships, and developing and delivering on strategies that support impact in our early years programmes by guiding the work of our partnerships team.  You will be working closely with key role holders such as but not confined to the Head of Partnerships Delivery, and Head of Programme for Vulnerable Children.

The Head of Partnerships Development will ensure increasingly effective pathways to families by setting out ways of working that ensure delivery teams can access these routes, influence decision makers and develop and build the right relationships for greatest impact. Along with the Director of partnerships the role holder will aim to both influence and respond to central, local and regional policy initiatives in the sector to support BookTrust’s mission to get all children reading, especially those from low income and vulnerable family backgrounds.
The role holder will ensure internal stakeholders are briefed on the local government landscape and that risks and opportunities are clearly articulated.

This work spans the organisation – from within our partnerships team to our research and impact, communications and external affairs, design and innovation, growth planning, communications, profile-raising and income generation – and requires strong collaborative working to draw on skills and capacity in all these areas. 

The role will work internally and externally to ensure the right inputs to ensure success for our scaled programmes, supporting everything from design to upskilling our team and relationship building across the local government and regional and country landscape.

To apply, please complete the application along with a copy of your CV.

Want to join us? To find out more about who we are please go to our website. 

We actively encourage applications from underrepresented groups and welcome candidates from all backgrounds and communities,

Please note that this advert may close early should we receive a high volume of suitable applications. 

Our Commitment to Diversity and Inclusivity

We aim to provide an inclusive recruitment process and actively welcome applications from diverse talent pools: minority ethnic candidates, candidates with disabilities and long-term conditions and candidates from underrepresented communities.

We are committed to equality of opportunity and want to ensure we have an accessible application process for all candidates. If you need any reasonable adjustments or would like us to do anything differently during the application process, please contact our HR team (contact details are available on our website).

BookTrust is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children. The recruitment and selection process reflect our commitment to safeguarding therefore, the suitability of all prospective employees will be assessed during the recruitment process in line with this commitment, and pre-employment checks.