Head of hub jobs in Newcastle

Contract Type: Permanent

Salary: Circa £32,300

Hours: 37 per week

Department: People Culture & Leadership

Directorate: Continuous Improvement

Location: Working from home, with occasional UK travel

Reports to: Senior PCL Specialist

As part of the NFCC People Culture and Leadership (PCL) Hub this post plays a key role in supporting and enabling fire and rescue services (FRS) to drive organisational and culture change.

The postholder will use their subject matter knowledge, skills and experience alongside the principles of project management to support the design, development and implementation of a range of PCL products and services. Whilst the role supports all PCL activities, the role will have a focus on Equality Diversity and Inclusion (EDI)-related projects, therefore experience in this area is particularly desirable. Moreover we require someone with relevant knowledge and experience in one or more fields of the people/HR/OD/EDI profession.

Evaluating the effectiveness of the NFCC’s PCL products and their benefits to FRS’s will be a key aspect of the role and the postholder will undertake a range of evaluation activities to identify improvements and make recommendations for improvement. They will be responsible for implementing agreed changes and maintaining PCL products to ensure they remain fit-for-purpose.

Stakeholder engagement is a key element of the role by building effective relationships and establishing networks to improve the uptake/adoption of PCL products and drive culture change.

If this sounds like the kind of opportunity that you would be interested in; please have a look at the detailed Job description on the NFCC website and apply.

How to apply:

Please complete the application form linked from the ‘apply now’ button on the NFCC website. CV’s will NOT be accepted for this position.

Closing Date – 4 January 2026 with interviews being conducted on the 15 January 2026.

PLEASE NOTE - THIS VACANCY WILL CLOSE BEFORE THE CLOSING DATE IF WE RECEIVE A HIGH NUMBER OF APPLICATIONS.

NFCC is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and adults and will require a DBS check to be completed prior to commencing in post.

NFCC is committed to being an inclusive employer. We comply with the Equality Act 2010, and we believe that everyone deserves to work in safe environments that are free from bullying, harassment and discrimination, abuse, and harm, where they feel supported, welcome, and able to thrive.

NFCC acknowledges the duty of care to safeguard, protect and promote the welfare of children and vulnerable adults and is committed to ensuring safeguarding practice reflects statutory responsibilities, government guidance and complies with best practice, all staff are expected to share this commitment.

Role Description

The purpose of the Executive Assistant role is to provide administrative, organisational and coordination support to the Executive Team, ensuring their time and attention are aligned with organisational priorities, goals, and objectives. The role covers executive coordination, governance administration and project support.  The Executive Assistant enables effective decision making across the Leadership Team, supports the smooth delivery of priorities, and contributes to the execution of long-term strategic goals.

The Executive Team comprises the Chief Executive, Operations Director and Business Development Director.  They work together as part of the Leadership Team, comprising key leaders from across the charity.

Excellent attention to detail is crucial, as is the ability to operate with discretion and flexibility. A high standard of written and verbal communication is essential. The role requires collaboration across Finance, HR, Trustees, and external stakeholders, and an understanding of effective charity governance would be desirable.

This role requires a high level of emotional intelligence, sound judgement, and the ability to build trusted relationships across all levels of the organisation. Success in this role depends on a proactive mindset, strong interpersonal skills, and the ability to remain calm and resourceful under pressure. The Executive Assistant must be highly dependable, detail-oriented, and capable of managing sensitive information with discretion and professionalism.

Responsibilities

Executive Coordination

• Manage calendars, inboxes, travel and meeting preparation for Executive Team
• Coordinate agendas and logistics for internal and external meetings
• Liaise with stakeholders, clients and partners to ensure smooth engagement

Governance Support

• Own the established governance timetable, board meeting scheduling, and trustee communications
• Draft and distribute board packs, take minutes, and track actions
• Support governance processes in collaboration with the Operations Director
• Support trustee onboarding, training, and engagement
• Ensure timely completion of Charity Commission and Companies House submissions
• Leverage AI tools and platforms to enhance business processes

Strategic communications

• Communicate with external stakeholders on behalf of the Executive Team
• Coordinate staff events and meetings
• Work with marketing and communities & projects teams for conferences and external events

Project support

• Support ongoing transformation projects in collaboration with Head of Business Functions
• Support recruitment and onboarding for senior roles led by the Head of Business Operations
• Support strategic planning and performance tracking led by the Operations Director and Business Development Director
• Support handover and re-onboarding of Executive Assistant on her return April 2027

Role Requirements

Required:

• Minimum of four years’ experience in a similar role.
• Experience supporting senior leaders in a fast paced and changing environment, taking initiative and managing competing deadlines calmly and flexibly.
• Confident communicating with the executive and leadership team, trustees and external partners in a professional and timely way.
• Able to handle sensitive and confidential information with discretion and good judgment.
• Confident coordinating meetings, preparing papers and taking accurate minutes.
• Ability to research, digest, analyse and present material clearly and concisely.
• Ability to identify and apply AI-driven tools to enhance business activities and using AI to streamline workflows and personalise business engagement.
• Comfortable stepping into an established role quickly and maintaining continuity during the maternity leave period.

Desirable:

• Experience in charity governance
• Experience in project support/management

Employees are also expected to be flexible in undertaking the duties and responsibilities attached to their post and may be asked to perform other duties that are consistent with the grade, responsibilities, and typical scope of the role. Any additional tasks should remain appropriate to the nature of the post and not extend into unrelated functions or specialisms.

All employees are expected to work in accordance with the organisation’s values and behavioural standards, which include being supportive, transparent, respectful, kind, honest, and collaborative. This means fostering a culture of empathy, openness, integrity, and teamwork in all interactions, and contributing positively to the organisation’s mission and strategic objectives.

We are committed to flexible working and are open to requests for different working patterns. This includes part time arrangements and four day working week requests, which we will always consider as part of the recruitment process.

To apply for this role, please share your CV with a one-page cover letter setting out why this role appeals to you and how your skills and experiences meet the key skills points in the job description.

Interviews expected to take place on week commencing the 2nd of February 2026.

Business Development Officer 

Salary: £28,346 – £31,656 (depending on experience) (see below for more details on remuneration)

About Voice 21

Voice 21 is the national oracy education charity. We exist to empower every child to use their voice for success in school and life. Our work transforms learning and life chances through talk by increasing access to a high-quality oracy education for those that need it most. Follow the links to find out more about why oracy is so vital and the impact Voice 21 has.

Your opportunity

Tackle a vital challenge, with great people.  Voice 21 exists to transform children' s learning and life chances through talk and we are aiming to be working with 2,000 schools a year by 2025. To reach this goal we recruit great people and give them real responsibility, training and support.

Output focused culture, with flexible working opportunities. We have an agile and flexible approach – our team can work when and wherever works best to deliver the requirements of their role. For staff working at home, we support them to create a workspace and provide technology that enables them to work effectively.

Real development opportunities. We believe in supporting people to develop the skills they need to be excellent – whether this means funding external training, finding a mentor to support them or giving them the time to learn from others in the organisations through our regular CPD sessions. We also offer paid study leave for team members taking part in formal studies outside of work.

Great benefits. 33 days holiday (inclusive of bank holidays) and additional Christmas closure period. Holiday entitlement increases linked to length of service, 5% employer contribution to pension, interest-free season ticket, cycle and technology loans, employee assistance scheme.

Remuneration. Our pay is a band and spine point approach where there is up to 7 years progression available (depending on starting point). 

Your purpose

To support school recruitment by analysing school and trust data, identifying areas of opportunity, and holding early conversations to understand context and check alignment with our membership criteria. You will qualify leads, progress straightforward opportunities, and help ensure schools receive clear information and timely follow-up. Your insight will support targeted campaigns, pipeline planning, and a smooth route into membership.

Your responsibilities

• Work with school and trust data (GIAS, DfE, IMD/FSM, MAT lists, regional reports) to spot patterns, understand need, and help us focus on the right areas.

• Create named lists of schools and trusts connected through MATs, clusters, networks, or regional activity, so outreach is targeted rather than broad.

• Hold early conversations with schools, listen to their situation, check fit against our criteria, and progress straightforward opportunities through to joining.

• Manage the early stages of the sales/BD pipeline, keeping information up to date, noting next steps, and moving schools through the lifecycle.

• Nurture early interest, sharing helpful information, answering simple questions and booking follow-ups at the right time.

• Share insight with colleagues, including patterns, questions and common needs heard from schools.

• Support events and outreach activity, helping identify who to invite and following up afterwards.

• Take on practical research and follow-up work that supports the Head of Growth and Senior BD Lead to focus on more strategic accounts, MATs and Teaching School Hubs.

Your progression (link these to measurables that can be considered during the probation period and used as a measure of ‘passing’ probation)

 
Within 1 month, you’ll have:

• Understood our segmentation logic and data sources, and started to have ideas of how to support this work.

• Begun supporting early outreach with named schools and trusts.

• Held your first qualification calls (supervised and supported).

• Met colleagues across Growth, Programmes, and Events.

Within 3 months, you’ll have:

• Created lists of priority schools and groups based on need and opportunity.

• Shared insights that support targeted campaigns.

• Managed a steady set of early-stage conversations.

• Contributed to event planning and follow-up.

 Within 6 months, you’ll have:

• Helped progress a number of schools through to joining.

• Provided useful insight that shapes where we focus.

• Supported regional or trust-level activity.

• Helped build a warm list of schools not yet ready to join.

From 6 months onwards, we expect you to be:

• Confident working with education data and context.

• Managing the early pipeline smoothly and accurately.

• Sharing patterns and opportunities with colleagues.

• Helping ensure that schools have a clear, positive experience of Voice 21 from first contact.

This job is for you if...

• You are comfortable working with data and spreadsheets.

• You enjoy speaking with external stakeholders, can ask great questions, and understand the impact of their answers.

• You are comfortable learning new systems and working with digital tools like CRMs.

• You can organise information clearly and keep things moving.

• You like spotting patterns and making helpful recommendations.

• You are curious, friendly and motivated by helping schools take part.

• You enjoy both independent work and being part of a small, collaborative team.

Who you’ll work with: 

• As part of our Operations Directorate, you’ll work in the Growth team with our Head of Growth, Marketing Lead, and Senior Business Development Lead.

• You’ll work closely with our Events, Comms, and Programmes teams as well as the wider Ops Directorate.

Where you’ll work: Remote, with potential regional and national travel to visit schools and attend Development Days/meetings, including some overnight stays. 

Terms: Full Time 

Application details 

To apply: 

Please apply with your CV and a short cover letter with the subject line:
“Business Development Officer application.”

Your cover letter should briefly:

1. What do you think are the main challenges of nurturing the sales / business development pipeline within the education sector? (max. 400 words).
    

2. What are the opportunities you foresee for Voice 21 in 2026? What are potential challenges? (max 400 words).

We welcome applications from candidates based anywhere in the UK.

Closing date: Midnight, 11th January 2026.

Interview date: TBC but beginning as soon as suitable candidates are found. 

Start date: ASAP.

Questions: If you have any questions about the role, or would like to discuss it before submitting an application, please contact John Stabler-Wright.

Valuing every voice

Voice 21 believes that every voice should be heard and valued. We are committed to the equal treatment of all current and prospective employees and do not condone discrimination on the basis of age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity, race or ethnicity, religion or belief, gender identity, or marriage and civil partnership.

We aspire to have a diverse and inclusive workplace and strongly encourage suitably qualified applicants from a wide range of backgrounds to apply and join Voice 21.