Head of education and advocacy jobs

Lead a transformative project to expand vital healthcare support services across the Southwest.

Hearts Together is a much-loved Plymouth-based charity supporting thousands of families each year with a safe and compassionate place to stay near Derriford Hospital.

We’re searching for a visionary Chief Executive to lead our charity into its next chapter of purposeful growth—including supporting the ongoing £6M capital build project that will ultimately double our capacity and ensure no family is ever turned away for lack of space.

If you're an empathetic, values-led leader with a passion for social impact—committed to driving organisational success through focused investment in people, capability, and leadership at all levels—this is your moment.

You will bring:

• Proven experience in strategic leadership, income generation and organisational development
• A strong connection to our mission and values
• Exceptional relationship-building and ambassadorial skills
• Confidence leading capital projects and working with professional advisors
• A passion for social impact, innovation, and compassionate service

This is a rare and exciting opportunity to shape the future of a well-established charity and lead the delivery of life-changing services across Devon, Cornwall and beyond.

To apply:

Download the full candidate brief and for a confidential conversation with our recruitment partners Public Leaders Appointments, please contact Melissa Stewart (details in the attached)

Apply by sending your CV and a cover letter (each max 3 pages) outlining your motivation and suitability (applications submitted without a cover letter will not be considered)

Deadline: Midday, Friday 18 July 2025
Interview date: TBC August. Plymouth

Hours: Full Time (37.5 hours per week)

Location: Brightspace, Ipswich with blended home working

Salary: £60,000 per annum

Start date: As soon as possible

About us

Community Action Suffolk (CAS) is the county’s infrastructure organisation for the Voluntary, Community, Faith and Social Enterprise (VCFSE) sector. We exist to ensure our sector, and its volunteers are supported, safe and sustainable and that our communities are active and resilient.

Our values of collaborative, enabling, person centre, responsive and trusted are the golden thread which runs through who we are and how we operate, and we aim to make them real every day.

About the role

Community Action Suffolk has an exciting new vacancy to support the Chief Executive drive forward its vision and services.

We are looking to recruit a strategic leader as the Chief Operating Officer.

As part of the Executive Team this role will provide strategic leadership across the charity and subsidiary companies operations.

The successful candidate will have a passion for the VCFSE sector and champion community action and volunteering.  You will be an excellent communicator at all levels, able to write and speak persuasively to a diverse range of groups. You will provide inspiration and strategic leadership, enabling and supporting all parts of Community Action Suffolk to successfully engage in delivering its strategic objectives.  You will need to be driven, pro-active, flexible and resourceful, and capable of embracing change with open arms. 

Contributing to the implementation of CAS’s core strategy, annual budget, business plan and strategic priorities, you will be responsible for leading and motivating staff, and will work with the Deputy Director of Operations and Business Development to support provision across the county and generate sustainable forms of income.  You will be expected to continually and ambitiously seek further funds to support our priorities and help develop CAS as the ‘go to’ organisation for the VCFSE sector in Suffolk.

You will foster a culture of accountability, transparency, and high performance ensuring alignment between functions to improve collaboration and drive results and will identify operational risks and develop mitigation strategies to ensure business continuity.

You will be a natural influencer with the ability to persuade, guide and motivate.  Innovation plays a significant role in everything we do at CAS and your ideas will play a pivotal role in CAS’s future.  In addition to deputising for the Chief Executive when required, you will also need to be able to work operationally to support the wider management team problem solving and dealing with issues, obstacles and opportunities as they arise.  So, if you are ready for a challenge, enjoy accountability and have plenty of ideas we welcome your application.

We are a friendly organisation, committed to promoting a diverse and inclusive culture in all that we do, and welcome applications from individuals of all backgrounds. We aim to create a workplace which is welcoming, fair, and inclusive, where people can be themselves and contribute to our vision and values.

We are happy to discuss any reasonable adjustments individuals may require in the recruitment process, or on commencement of post. 

For more information, please visit our website.

 What we offer

You will work within a reputable charity which offers its employees benefits which include:

· Blended working where role allows

· Flexible working options to support work/life balance

· 33 days increasing to a maximum 36 (FTE) annual holiday which includes an allowance for bank holidays

· Up to 4% matched pension contribution

· 2 days pro rata volunteering days to support volunteering in Suffolk

· Staff Discounts Scheme for a range of retailers including; shopping, holidays, insurance, eating out and health and leisure activities

· Company Sick Pay Scheme

· Continued Professional Development for job related development

· Family Friendly policies and practices

· Tailored induction

Closing date: Applications for this role will be reviewed and considered on an ongoing basis until the role is filled. Interviews will be arranged according to availability. The final closing date for applications is 9am on Monday 28th July 2025.

We therefore encourage you to submit your application at the earliest opportunity to avoid disappointment, as we reserve the right to close this job listing once a successful candidate is appointed.

Interviews: First stage interviews will take place throughout July, with a second stage interview day in August.Upon submitting your application, a receipt will be issued and you will hear within 7 days if you have been selected for the first stage interview to arrange a mutually convenient time.Due to anticipated volume of applications, if you do not hear from us within this timeframe, please assume you have not been successful.

Turn2us is a national charity tackling poverty and the structural causes of financial insecurity. We work with co-producers and partners to provide people in financial crisis with the means and agency to get back on their feet, build resilience, move forward with their lives and thrive.

As an equal opportunities employer, we are committed to equity, inclusion and diversity and the value people from different backgrounds bring to a team. If, like us, you believe everyone has the right to have enough to live on, and you are ambitious about eradicating poverty, join us and build your career with a charity dedicated to ensuring dignity and equity for all.

We're now looking for an exceptional Senior PR and Press Officer to help us amplify voices, challenge persistent, negative narratives around the social security system, and shift public attitudes about financial insecurity. Ideally, you’ll already have solid PR and press experience within a charity or comparable organisation’s press office, excellent media contacts, and the strategic mindset to put people’s real lives and complex challenges front and centre in your storytelling.

You’ll be someone who writes clearly and persuasively, handles sensitive topics with genuine care, and who’s excited by the challenge of finding creative ways to engage diverse audiences. Your strong relationships with journalists will help us ensure the voices of people facing financial insecurity are represented accurately, widely, and compassionately in the media.

We offer flexible working patterns, both in terms of hours and remote working. All team members come into our welcoming Farringdon office at least once a week, and you'll be joining a warm, supportive team that believes in each other, celebrates great work, and loves what we do.

Please note that all employees are required to work from the office a minimum of 1 day a week.

Some roles may be required to be in the office more often than others and this will be agreed with the hiring manager upon starting at Turn2us.

Please note that all job offers are subject to 2 – 3 satisfactory references and a disclosure satisfactory to Turn2us from the Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS). 

We’re genuinely excited to hear from you.

Closing date: 20th July, 23:59

Interview date: 11 Aug for first interviews, 18 Aug for second interviews