Head of media and communications jobs in Cambridge

Who we are

IPSEA (Independent Provider of Special Education Advice) is a national charity working to ensure that children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) receive the educational support they are legally entitled to. Since we were formed in 1983, we have helped to improve the education experience of thousands of children and young people across England. We do this by providing free and independent legal advice and casework support for families, undertaking policy work and delivering training on the SEND legal framework.

What you’ll do

Reports to: Chief Executive

Location: Home-based or Hybrid (with frequent travel for events and meeting with parliamentarians and other stakeholders) 

We are seeking a Policy Manager to lead IPSEA's policy and influencing work to achieve positive change for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and their families. Working closely with the Chief Executive, Head of Legal and Training, trustees and colleagues across the organisation, you will set strategic policy priorities and develop evidence-based influencing plans that support IPSEA's mission and long-term objectives.

Drawing on insights from our advice and tribunal services, legal expertise and the experiences of families, you will identify systemic issues within the SEND system and develop policy solutions that improve children and young people's access to the support and education to which they are entitled. You will ensure that IPSEA's policy positions are credible, legally robust and informed by the lived experiences of those we support.

You will lead IPSEA's engagement with government, Parliament and other key decision-makers, identifying opportunities to influence legislation, policy and practice at both national and local level. This includes overseeing responses to consultations, parliamentary inquiries and calls for evidence, as well as preparing briefings and strategic advice to support senior-level engagement and advocacy.

Working collaboratively with colleagues across legal, communications, fundraising and training teams, you will ensure IPSEA's policy, campaigning and public affairs activities are aligned and maximise the organisation's impact. You will also monitor developments across the political, legal and policy landscape, helping IPSEA respond proactively to emerging opportunities and challenges affecting the rights of children and young people with SEND.

This role offers the opportunity to make a real difference as part of a small, friendly, and dedicated team. If you are passionate about helping children and young people with SEND and have the skills and experience needed, we would love to hear from you.

Who are we looking for?

You will have significant experience in a senior policy and campaigning/public affairs role and have good knowledge of local and national government structure including the legislative process.

You the ability to build and maintain relationships with a range of stakeholders including MPs, civil servants, campaigners and parents. You exhibit tact and diplomacy and can be impactful with people of varying levels and experience.

Your research and critical thinking skills enable you to analyse policy and data to produce relevant reports and position papers. You have experience of drafting organisation responses to government consultations and parliamentary calls for evidence.

IPSEA should also reflect the communities we support. We would particularly like to hear from candidates from ethnic minority backgrounds, LGBTQIA+ people, under-served communities and disabled people, as well as those with lived experience of the SEND system, either as a child or as a parent/carer.

What we can offer you

• 5% employer pension contributions
• Healthcare cash plan
• Flexible working arrangements
• 25 days annual leave plus bank holidays plus an additional day off for your birthday (pro-rata if part-time).

To apply

Visit our website to download a recruitment pack and application form.

Deadline for applications: 9am on 7 September 2026.

First-round interviews: on 15 September 2026 in our offices in Takeley, Essex, with second-round interviews (online) on 18 September 2026.

NO AGENCIES PLEASE.

We're growing our team and looking for an ambitious, driven, and relationship-focused Business Development Executive to join us.

This is an exciting opportunity to play a key role in expanding the reach of our innovative fundraising platform, helping charities raise more through technology.

As a Business Development Executive, you'll identify and connect with potential charity partners, understand their fundraising challenges, and demonstrate how our platform can help them achieve greater impact. You'll build strong, long-term relationships, guide organisations through the sales journey, and contribute directly to our continued growth.

Working closely with our marketing and technical teams, you'll also provide valuable customer insights that help shape our products, refine our sales approach, and ensure we're delivering the best possible solutions for our clients.

If you're passionate about building relationships, enjoy working in a fast-paced environment, and want to make a real difference by supporting charities, we'd love to hear from you.

Location note:please see location information below - we actively encourage applications from people across Europe, and a relocation package is available for candidates moving to either country if necessary.

Lead the strategy and team behind Europe’s push for protein diversification.

The Good Food Institute Europe (GFI Europe) is a nonprofit think tank at the forefront of the movement to transform meat production in order to solve some of the world’s biggest problems, from climate change and global hunger to antibiotic resistance and animal suffering. Our vision is a thriving world, fed sustainably.

With a nonprofit entity in Belgium, a branch in the UK and colleagues working from seven other countries that make up GFI Europe, we are also part of an international network of affiliates. We advance the science, policies and investment needed to make plant-based, cultivated and fermentation-made meat delicious, affordable and accessible across Europe. Please check out the rest of our website, our 2025 Year in Review and our 2025 Europe highlights blog post to find out more about who we are and what we do.

We are looking for an Executive Director to lead GFI Europe’s strategy and team, play a key role in shaping and advancing GFI’s global strategy, and foster the relationships and organisational strength needed to accelerate the shift towards a resilient and sustainable food system.

How you will make a difference 

You will have high responsibility and high impact. Reporting to, and appointed by, the Board of GFI Europe, you will lead a ~50-person team working from nine European countries. 

You will:

• Enable strategic focus:

  • Align the team around a clear and compelling organisational direction that aligns with the GFI network’s mission and theory of change.

  • Translate organisational direction into high-level priorities in collaboration with GFI Europe’s Leadership Team.

  • Ensure Europe’s strategic decisions are made well – soliciting the right input from the right people, preserving autonomy in areas of specific expertise, and making decisions when organisation-wide trade-offs are required.

  • Take ultimate responsibility for maximising outcomes and impact in pursuit of our mission.

• Provide leadership to the team:

  • Empower, develop and inspire a high-performing, people-centric team. 

  • Lead GFI Europe’s Leadership Team, formed of six department heads, ensuring they continue to function on a ‘first-team’ basis to achieve organisational objectives. 

  • Champion and uphold a values-driven culture built upon transparency, autonomy, collaboration, accountability, and psychological safety. Champion the integration of diversity, equity and inclusion into the team’s day-to-day work.

• Represent GFI Europe in GFI’s international network:

  • Participate in international strategic and coordination workstreams as a member of GFI’s Regional Leadership Group, comprising GFI’s affiliate leads.

  • Act as the primary liaison between GFI’s affiliates and European teams on strategies, processes and goals. Ensure the Europe team can successfully connect with, influence, support and navigate a complex international network, including global workstreams such as fundraising and impact reporting.

  • Participate in discussions about global strategy and resource allocation so as to maximise GFI’s overall mission impact, including communicating GFI Europe’s strategy, resourcing needs and contributions as part of the international GFI network.

• Represent GFI Europe in front of donors and external stakeholders:

  • Work closely with global and Europe-based fundraising teams to help ensure GFI achieves its fundraising goals.

  • Build and maintain strong relationships with donors, prospective supporters and key stakeholders.

  • Serve as a public representative of, and spokesperson for, the organisation by speaking at conferences, events, and with the media. 

• Oversee organisational health:

  • Ensure strong governance, legal compliance, financial sustainability and reporting in partnership with the Board and the Head of Operations. 

  • Be the main legal representative of the organisation, reviewing and signing all legally relevant agreements and organisational documents.

• Perform other duties as appropriate.

Core capabilities needed to succeed in this role:

• Mission alignment. A passion for GFI’s philosophy and mission.

• Strategic judgement. Strong analytical skills and sound judgement, being able to absorb and process a range of types of information, understand the activities that GFI undertakes, and provide leadership and guidance to team members. You have the experience and ability to make strategic trade-offs across projects, functions, teams, countries/regions, programmes, etc – weighing resource allocation, prioritising impact, and communicating those decisions clearly and inclusively to stakeholders. 

• Thoughtful leadership. You align teams behind a clear and impactful vision. You know when to persevere and when to change course, and have led people, both directly and indirectly, to deliver impact. You trust the people closest to the work to make decisions, and you address hard topics when they truly matter. You own mistakes and make a genuine effort to learn and grow from them. You are intentional about remote leadership.

• Understanding the wider context. You can make sense of the political, economic and cultural forces shaping Europe’s food system today and are adept at drawing on patterns and ideas from outside our field to identify possible implications for GFI Europe’s next move. 

• Excellent people skills. High emotional intelligence and an ability to diplomatically engage across perspectives, being able to build and maintain trust with colleagues and stakeholders across multiple cultures, viewpoints and needs within Europe and beyond. 

• Financial literacy. Skilled at overseeing substantial financial resources, including partnering with the operations team on resource allocation. You have held accountability for a significant organisational budget and can interpret financial data to make sound, well-informed decisions.

• Fundraising acumen. You understand how GFI’s strategy, culture, and mission impact shape the organisation’s ability to raise funds and steward donors, and you’re enthusiastic about partnering with the fundraising team to make this happen. You bring an understanding of the philanthropic sector and donor relationships, or of fundraising in other sectors (eg, the private sector or government), while deferring to the fundraising team’s expertise on how donor relationships are best managed.

• Strong communication skills. An ability to convincingly articulate and explain our mission and work and to represent the organisation in the media, with programmatic stakeholders, and with donors. Comfort adapting your tone and message for different audiences across diverse cultures, and excellent verbal and written English skills.

• Flexible approach to work. We estimate that travel will account for approximately six weeks of the year. This will likely consist of two GFI Europe team-wide retreats (3-5 days each), one leadership retreat (2-3 days), other sporadic trips generally lasting 1-3 days, and occasional longer trips of approximately 5-7 days (for conferences and donor or partner meetings across Europe and internationally). In addition, you will need occasional flexibility in your working hours to accommodate coordination with other affiliates around the world.

• Integrity. You do what you say you’ll do, and are discreet when handling confidential information.

It would be an advantage to have the following, though none are prerequisites:

• Sector familiarity. Familiarity with or experience working in the food system, alternative proteins or an adjacent sector in Europe.

• Impact leadership. Strong knowledge and/or experience of being part of the leadership team of a nonprofit, think tank or other social impact-focused organisation.

• Governance and compliance experience. Experience with legal representation and board reporting, and/or experience working on nonprofit compliance, especially in Belgium.

• Fundraising partnership experience. You’ve contributed to fundraising in a supportive capacity – whether managing a fundraising function, advising on donor and prospect strategy, joining donor conversations alongside a development team, or shaping fundraising strategy at an executive level.

• Network experience. Experience working in one or more network models (eg, affiliate or franchise-style, federation, confederation, etc).

• Languages. The ability to work in European languages in addition to English.

The Fine Print:

• Terms of employment: Full-time (flexible hours), permanent. 

• Location: This role can be based in either Belgium or the United Kingdom, where GFI Europe has established entities and where you must have the right to work. We actively encourage applications from people across Europe, and a relocation package is available for candidates moving to either country if necessary.

  • Relocation support will be provided with a budget of up to £8,000 in the UK or €8,700 in Belgium, which can be used for transport, temporary housing, and other relocation expenses deemed necessary.

• Salary and benefits: The salary and benefits packages for all of our roles are researched and benchmarked based on similar nonprofit roles in the country/location of hire. 

  • Belgium: €7,900-€8,900 gross monthly salary (€109,925-€123,907 annually including 13th month and holiday pay).

    • Plus benefits including home-working allowance (if applicable), meal vouchers, eco vouchers, and professional development allocation.

  • United Kingdom: £90,500-£104,000 gross annual salary.

• You can read more about our wider benefits offering on our website. 

• Right to work requirements: The successful candidate must, by the start of the employment, have permission to work in the country where they are based for the role, and be able to travel within the EU and internationally.

• Application Deadline: 13 September 2026, 11.59pm CEST. We will get back to all candidates after that date, no matter the outcome of their application.

• Right to work requirements: The successful candidate must, by the start of the employment, have permission to work in the country where they are based for the role, and be able to travel within the EU and internationally.

Experience of designing, delivering and improving participation, voice, involvement or lived experience programmes with children or young people is an essential requirement for this role. Please see the person specification below for all essential requirements before applying.

Role title: Voice Manager

Reporting to: Head of Impact and Innovation (note that this role will work collaboratively across the organisation to drive this agenda on lived experience being embedded through the charity) 

Location of work: The post holder will be home-based, with office visits required approximately once a month, and department/organisational away days which will be discussed with Line Manager. The role may involve some occasional irregular travel to attend events and meetings throughout England and Scotland.

Contract type: Ideally full time, 35 hours per week, although flexible hours may be considered. The role may require occasional evening and weekend work. 

Contract length: Permanent 

Salary: £43,500 

Background

For more than 20 years, Magic Breakfast has been helping children and young people start the day with the nourishment they need to learn, grow, and thrive. But the impact of breakfast goes far beyond food. Every morning, we help pupils arrive at school feeling valued, included, and ready to reach their potential.

Today, 2.1 million children across the UK are at risk of hunger, the equivalent of four pupils in a classroom of 30. Working with schools in disadvantaged communities across England and Scotland, Magic Breakfast is committed to ensuring no child is too hungry to learn. One breakfast at a time, we are helping children and young people build brighter futures.

This is a pivotal moment to join Magic Breakfast. Governments in both England and Scotland have committed to expanding access to free school breakfasts, recognising the vital role they play in children’s wellbeing and attainment. Yet significant gaps remain. Pupils in secondary schools, alongside younger children in nursery and early years settings, are still at risk of starting the day hungry. Hunger does not begin at age five, nor end at age 11, and neither does our mission.

By joining Magic Breakfast, you will become part of a passionate, ambitious organisation driving lasting change for children and young people across the UK.

Job Purpose 

Magic Breakfast has already begun developing its approach to embedding children and young people's voiceas outlined in ourorganisational Nourishing Futures strategy and business plan, launched in 2025. Alongside this, a Lived Experience strategy and roadmap set out the plan to ensure child and youth voice is heard at all points in our decision making.This role will operationalise that roadmap, strengthening the systems, standards, capability and accountability needed to embed participation across the organisation. 

The Voice Manager will lead the development and delivery of Magic Breakfast’s approach to lived experience voice, with a particular focus on children and young people. They will ensure that the processes, policies, practicalguidanceand organisational capability is in place to enable the views, experiences and priorities of children and young peopletoshapethe organisation. 

This is a new roleat Magic Breakfast, responding to our Nourishing Futures strategy with a vision of a UK where every child is nourished, empowered and thriving.It’sa dynamic, matrix role, that works with teams across the organisation and will evolve over time, initially seeking to develop and embed new practices and approaches,which will impacton the culture and practices of the organisation.Previous experience of working ina similar role is vital as this role will provide lead counsel on child and youth participation across the organisation. 

The role holder will provide expert advice to colleagues across the organisation, helping teams embed meaningful, safe,inclusive and non-tokenistic participation in their work.The aim is for children and young people from a diverse range of backgrounds and experiences, including those who may face barriersto engaging,are able to influence Magic Breakfast’s work.Anessential part of this role will be ensuring that,as well as the necessary internal infrastructure, the culture and mindset is in place to support the wider strategic aims. 

Key Responsibilities 

Voice leadership and organisational practice 

• Shape and operationalise Magic Breakfast’s children and young people’s voice function, ensuring it is aligned to organisational strategy, business planning and evaluation, safeguarding requirements and EDI commitments. 

• Reviewand maintain organisational guidance, processes andparticipation infrastructure that supportschildren and young people’s participation, includingconsent, accessibility, safeguarding,risk, recognition (e.g.remuneration), feedbackloopsand ethical storytelling. 

Organisational capability-buildingand support 

• Provide specialist advice to internal teams on when and how to involve children and young people, for examplein decision-making, service development, policy influencing, communications, fundraising,researchand evaluation. 

• Develop and deliver training, resources and reflective learning opportunities that help staff understand the importance of children and young people’s voice and build confidence in applying participatory approaches. 

• Work closely withourPeople and Culture team to embed voice and participation learning into wider performance expectations, ways of working, internal culture and learning,and development pathways. 

• Chair,coordinateor contribute to internal working groups that bring colleagues together to embed children and young people’s voice across teams and projects. 

• Champion a culture of listening, accountability and continuous improvement, highlighting whereand howchildren and young people’s views have influenced decisions to provide positive reinforcement of actions. 

Participation, engagementand co-design 

• Design,pilotand develop participatory approaches(such as regional lived experience panels, pupil panels, advisory groups, workshops, focus groups, creative consultation methodsand digital activities) for engaging children and young people,and support organisation-wide adoption. 

• Ensure participation approaches are accessible and inclusive for children and young people with different needs,experiences and communication preferences, including those who may be less likely to engage through traditional methods. 

• Ensure appropriate feedback loops are in place,s oparticipants and contributors understand how their views have shaped decisions, proposals, policy asks, breakfast provision or further research priorities. 

Safeguarding,ethicsand risk management 

• Ensure all voice and participation activity is delivered safely and in line with Magic Breakfast’s safeguarding, data protection, health and safety,consentand risk management policies. 

• Ensure children and young people are appropriately prepared, supported and followed up before, during and after participation activities, including signposting to support where needed. 

• Be an active member of the internal Safeguarding Committee, proactively flagging issues and developing or updating anyappropriate processes, whilst supporting a shift in approach from compliance to culturally embedded. 

• Support colleagues to develop appropriate risk assessments for online and in-person participation activities, and where needed, escalating concerns in line with organisational processes. 

• Support colleagues to apply ethical and inclusive approaches to gathering,analysingand using children and young people’s views, particularly where sensitive personal experiences may be shared. 

Insight and Influence 

• Develop and maintain approach to measure participation, influence, reach,qualityand impact, ensuring alignment with Magic Breakfast’s existing evaluation and reporting cycles. 

• Represent Magic Breakfast in external working groups,coalitions and participation networks, sharing learning and bringing sector insight back into the organisation. 

• Support funder conversations and proposals where required by clearly articulating Magic Breakfast’s ambitions,approachand impact in relation to children and young people’s voice. 

• Promote organisational learning by sharing participation insights, emerging themes and examples of influence across teams, helping to strengthen practice and decision-making. 

• Commission or manage external support, suppliers or partners where needed,ensuring quality of work 

Person Specification 

Essential knowledge and experience

• Experience of designing,deliveringand improving participation, voice, involvement or lived experience programmes with children or young people. 

• Experience of applying safeguarding, consent, confidentiality, data protection and risk management processes in participation or engagement activity. 

• Experience of managing projects or workstreams from design through to delivery, monitoring,learningand reporting. 

• Experience of facilitating workshops, focus groups, panels or advisory groups, both online and in person. 

• Experience of translating qualitative insight into clear findings, recommendations,reportsor resources for different audiences. 

• Experience of developing or managing place-based, community-ledor regional engagement structures. 

• Experience of developing guidance, tools,trainingor resources that support others to adopt good practice. 

• Experience of building trusting,appropriateand inclusive relationships with children and young people from a range of backgrounds and experiences. 

• Experience ofmatrixworking across teamsand influencing decision making 

Essential skills and behaviours  

• Strong understanding of meaningful,ethicaland non-tokenistic participation, co-designand lived experience practice within the UK. 

• Good understanding of safeguarding, emotional wellbeing, healthy boundaries and inclusive practice when working with children and young people. 

• Strong facilitation skills, with the ability to create inclusive spaces, encourage participation and manage group dynamics or challenging conversations sensitively. 

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to make complex information clear,accessible and engaging for different audiences. 

• Ability to work with data and evidence to develop metrics,monitor progress and report impact. 

• Commitment to equity,diversityand inclusion, and to reducing barriers to participation for children and young people. 

Desirable Knowledge, experience and skills 

• Experience of child or youth voice activity in schools, education, youth work, anti-poverty, food insecurity, health, socialactionor charity settings. 

• Experience of supporting children and young people to engage with policymakers, funders, media,campaignsor public-facing opportunities. 

• Experience of working with community partners, local authorities, combined authorities, youth organisations, faithgroupsor other trusted local intermediaries to support inclusive participation. 

General requirements 

• Willing and able to travel across the UK for school visits, workshops,eventsand partner meetings. 

• Willingness to work occasional evenings or weekends where participation activity requires it, with time off in lieuinline with organisational policy. 

• Enhanced DBS check may be required depending on the final design of the role and level of direct work with children and young people. 

APPLICATION PROCCESS

You can access our job pack and more information about Magic Breakfast via our website. 

Should you wish to discuss the role before applying please email our People and Culture Team (hr @ magicbreakfast. com)

Shortlisting: w/c 31st August

Interview 1: w/c 14th September

Interview 2 and Informal Panel: w/c 21st September

Due to the high volume of applications, this role is likely to close early and we reserve the right to do so. This is to ensure that we can manage application levels whilst maintaining a positive candidate experience. Unfortunately, once a vacancy has closed, we are unable to consider further applications. 

Community Fundraiser – East Midlands

Are you ready to take on a new challenge with a leading charity making a real difference in brain tumour research?

Brain Tumour Research is an exciting, innovative, and ambitious charity. We are passionate about finding a cure for brain tumours through the establishment of dedicated Brain Tumour Research Centres of Excellence around the UK.

After a successful 2025, we’re building on our momentum and looking ahead with ambition. As our work continues to expand, so does our impact. We are now looking for passionate people to join us on the next stage of our journey!

It is a fantastic time to be joining us and we are keen to share this with likeminded and talented individuals. We currently have an opening for a Community Fundraiser – East Midlands, to join our Income Generation and Development team.

• Do you want to make a difference in one of the most innovative and exciting medical research fundraising charities in the UK?
• Are you able to provide friendly and professional support to fundraisers and supporters?   
• Do you have experience in supporting events or community activities?
• Do you live in our East Midlands region (Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire or Rutland)?

Have you answered Yes to these questions?

Does this sound like the opportunity to really take the next step in your career?

Excited to learn more about this position? Then please take a read through our recruitment pack attached below. 

If you have the skills and ambition that we are looking for we are excited to receive your application.  We are really looking forward to welcoming a new member to our team!

We are asking for a CV as the first step but applicants may be asked to provide a targeted covering letter as part of the selection process.  Interviews will be conducted during the application window as appropriate, and will consist of a first interview via MS Teams, progressing, if successful to a face to face second interview, held at our offices in Milton Keynes.

We reserve the right to close the application window early and advise candidates to apply in good time to avoid disappointment.

Closing Date: 06th September 2026

We are looking for people who share our passion for finding a cure for brain tumours and who have the skills and experience to make a difference. We welcome applications from candidates of all backgrounds, cultures, genders, sexual orientations, abilities, and ages. We believe that diversity enriches our organisation and helps us achieve our mission. We are committed to providing an inclusive and supportive environment where everyone can be themselves and contribute to our vision.