Head of people services jobs in walton on thames, surrey
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Actively Interviewing
This organisation is scheduling interviews as applications come in. They're ready to hire as soon as they find the right person. Don't miss your opportunity, apply now!
Starlight has a long and successful track record of delivering high-profile, high-value special events, including the prestigious Blenheim Ball, Newbury Race Day, and until recently, the Highclere Clay Pigeon Shoot. These events are supported by influential committees and play a critical role in raising income, stewarding donors and connecting supporters with our purpose.
With a gap in our Philanthropy team and maternity leave expected to begin in March, this 18-month fixed-term role exists to lead and deliver Starlight’s flagship events at a senior level, with immediate responsibility for the Blenheim Ball (April) – the event Tatler refers to as “ society’s smartest ball “chaired by Lady Alexandra Spencer Churchill; and Newbury Race Day (May) – one of Starlight’s longest-standing and most successful supporter events, hosted by Nicky Henderson and his Committee.
This is a senior, delivery-focused role designed for an experienced events professional who can hit the ground running and immediately take ownership of two flagship events. Working closely with the Committees, you will bring leadership, strategic judgement and outstanding project management to ensure these events continue to excel in reputation, income and supporter experience.
We are specifically looking for talented individuals who have a short notice period and are available to start in January. Candidates need only apply if available through to April 2026 with no planned significant periods of leave.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Thank you!
About the Role
2026 marks 100 years since Gunnersbury Park was opened as a public park, and Gunnersbury Museum and Park Development Trust are looking to hire a freelance development manager to help us make the most of our centenary year.
We are looking for an experienced development professional to join our team on a freelance basis as part of an Arts Council funded project. This role will be a real opportunity to become embedded in an organisation at the beginning of a transformative period, as we focus our energies on raising awareness of the great work of GMPDT.
The successful candidate will lead GMPDT towards increased financial resilience by identifying new funding opportunities and managing the development of a new fundraising campaign.
They will work with staff and volunteers to develop a ‘project bank’ of fundable projects across the Museum and Park and identify appropriate funding streams for each.
They will also identify one key project to launch Gunnersbury’s first fundraising campaign, working with freelancers/subcontractors to create supporting materials for the chosen campaign.
About You
Experience
- Experience of fundraising and donor engagement in museum/heritage sector and/or environmental sector
- Proven ability to create and deliver successful fundraising campaigns
- Experience of writing compelling cause messaging, or managing the delivery of cause messaging
- Experience of working with small organisations
- Experienced in CRM databases including Beacon
- Confident in managing projects to tight deadlines
- Extensive knowledge of grant writing and reporting
- Experience in writing and producing impact reports
Skills:
- Self-starter with the confidence to work alone as well as within a small, busy team
- Excellent communication skills to reach a wide range of audiences
- A strong leader and trainer of others
- Comfortable working with a wide range of colleagues and stakeholders
- Creative thinker with new ideas for donor engagement and fundraising campaigns.
- Attention to de reporting requirements and compliance for successful grants.
Key Responsibilities
- Audit the existing fundraising/development functions of the organisation, and identify any gaps or missed opportunities
- Working with the Project Board hold workshops with staff and volunteers to develop a ‘project bank’ of fundable ideas, which will include detail of the ideas, potential funding sources and timeline for completion
- Develop new cause messaging, and help to foster a culture of identifying key stories to share with our audiences
- Work with the project team to identify a single project to anchor a new fundraising campaign
- Develop a suite of digital and print content to support the fundraising campaign, and train existing team on the best way to deliver messaging around the campaign
- Report regularly to the project board on the progress of the work stream, and identify any project delivery risks
Thank you!
Actively Interviewing
This organisation is scheduling interviews as applications come in. They're ready to hire as soon as they find the right person. Don't miss your opportunity, apply now!
Business Planning & Performance Specialist
Permanent. Full Time. Hybrid working. (You will be required to attend the office for a minimum of 2 days per week with the option to work remotely for the remaining 3 days).
Location: The role can be based in the following locations:
UK - Cardiff, Edinburgh, London, or Warrington
Salary:
London: £53,459 (including London allowance) per annum
Cardiff, Edinburgh, and Warrington - £48,576 per annum
Applications are reviewed on an ongoing basis. We will be conducting interviews as suitable candidates apply and we'll ready to hire if we find the right person before the job ad closes. So, if you're interested in this role we encourage you to apply as soon as possible.
About us
Christian Aid exists to create a world where everyone can live a full life, free from poverty. We are a global movement of people, churches and local organisations who passionately champion dignity, equality and justice worldwide. We are the changemakers, the peacemakers, the mighty of heart.
We’re committed to building a diverse and inclusive workplace, and recognise the value this brings in forming strong, creative and high performing teams. We welcome applications from all sections of the community, and from those with experience from outside of the voluntary sector. And no, you don’t have to be Christian to work here – we encourage people of all faiths and none to apply. We just ask that everyone lives out our values of dignity, equality, justice and love. We value a good work-life balance, so we’re open to part-time and flexible working. We also offer hybrid working for our office-based colleagues and the option of being a homeworker for most of our roles too.
About the role
Reporting in to the Strategy & Performance Lead, the Business Planning & Performance Specialist will co-lead the corporate planning and reporting cycle, cascading the global strategy into annual corporate plans and OKRs, while fostering a culture of continuous learning and improvement.
The post-holder will partner with their assigned departments to support them to be high performing teams with business plans aligned to organisational values and goals, and together with the Strategy and Performance Lead and the Business Insights & Intelligence Analyst, they ensure alignment between departmental objectives, operational plans, measures of success and support high performance.
Some of the main responsibilities of the Business Planning & Performance Specialist will include:
- Support the Strategy and Performance Lead in setting and maintaining the strategic planning framework cascading strategy into annual business plans for all business units, enabling alignment with organisational values and goals.
- Co-Lead Corporate Planning and Reporting: Co-lead the organisation-wide corporate planning and reporting cycle—shaping the organisation annual corporate plan, defining OKRs, and tracking progress. Work alongside the other Business Planning and Performance Specialist to drive a consistent and effective business planning process.
- Lead Development of Business Plans and OKRs: Lead the development of annual departmental business plans and OKRs, ensuring alignment with corporate OKRs and integrating budgeting and risk management to produce coherent, strategically connected plans.
- Support Departmental Leadership: Work closely with Senior Management Teams—particularly within Income and Public Engagement, Finance, and Governance—to develop and deliver clear, trackable business plans aligned with organisational strategy. Serve as an active member of relevant departmental management teams to ensure Christian Aid’s strategy and corporate plan are fully embedded across both operational and strategic workstreams.
- Manage Corporate Performance Reporting: Oversee organisation-wide performance tracking and reporting, ensuring timely and accurate updates for senior leaders and key external stakeholders, including inputs to Christian Aid’s Annual Report & Accounts.
- Ensure Strategic Alignment: Liaise closely with the Strategy and Learning Manager and the Impact and Evidence Manager to ensure departmental plans are aligned with the overarching organisational strategy and can support effective reporting and performance management.
- Facilitate strategic decision-making, prioritisation, and tracking of performance against plans in the department, feeding back continuously to improve performance.
- Strengthen Leadership Engagement: Coordinate with senior leaders to support strategic engagement with business plans and performance reports, enabling strategic thinking, accountability, and maximising impact.
- Champion Data-Driven Culture: Promote and embed a data culture across the organisation, working closely with Business Insights & Intelligence Analysts to support data-informed decision-making.
- Promote Continuous Improvement: Foster a culture of continuous improvement and lead enhancements to planning and performance processes to improve organisational effectiveness.
- Collaborate Across the Organisation: Work collaboratively with internal stakeholders to ensure quality engagement, consistent approaches, and alignment across planning, performance, and learning activities.
About you
Who we are looking for
Essential:
- Significant experience in leading organisational planning and performance within a complex, multi-unit environment, including translating strategy into coherent, actionable operational and business plans.
- Strong analytical skills, with significant experience using a range of qualitative and quantitative data sources to inform planning, prioritisation and performance monitoring.
- Proven ability to work collaboratively across departments and leadership groups, building consensus on strategic goals, OKRs and performance measures.
- Experience producing high-quality organisational reporting, such as Annual Reports, Progress Reports, Results Reports or similar publications.
- Broad organisational understanding, with knowledge and experience of working finance and governance, or fundraising teams
- High-level facilitation and engagement skills, with the ability to communicate planning and performance concepts clearly, run effective workshops, and ensure corporate processes are accessible and well understood- fostering high ownership and accountability behaviours in teams.
- Strong financial literacy, including understanding of budgeting and financial management practices, and the ability to integrate financial planning with business planning.
- Advanced planning, performance and prioritisation skills across diverse functions and operating contexts.
- Solid grounding in project management, including practical tools and methods for tracking and delivering multi-stream plans.
- Highly developed problem-solving skills and the ability to find innovative and practical solutions.
- Excellent negotiation and influencing skills, with the ability to secure buy-in, shift behaviours, and support adoption of new processes and ways of working across the organisation.
Desirable:
- Highly developed communication skills and the ability to understand and translate complex information to a variety of audiences.
- Experience working in multicultural and diverse environments with a strong commitment to Christian Aid’s values and mission.
- Experience of working in a dispersed team.
- Highly developed ability to think strategically and laterally, combining big picture thinking with practical application.
Further information
At Christian Aid we strive to be an inclusive and diverse employer and recognise the value that this brings in helping to build strong, creative and high performing teams.
We are actively encouraging racialised minorities, LGBTQ+, people with disabilities, returning parents or carers who are re-entering work after a career break, people with caring responsibilities, people from low socioeconomic backgrounds, women, and older workers to apply. This is because these groups are under-represented within our teams, especially at senior level, and we recognise and value the contributions members of these groups make to strong, creative and high performing teams.
We have a strong Christian ethos and we encourage applications from all faiths. Applicants will be expected to demonstrate an understanding of and sympathy with Christian Aid’s faith identity.
All successful candidates will require a DBS/police check appropriate to the role and location and a Counter Terrorism Sanction check as part of your clearance for commencing your role with us. We also participate in the Inter Agency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme. In line with this Scheme, we will request information as part of the referencing process from job applicants’ previous employers about any findings of sexual exploitation, sexual abuse and/or sexual harassment during employment, or incidents under investigation when the applicant left employment. By submitting an application, the job applicant confirms their understanding of these recruitment procedures.
This role requires applicants to have the right to live and work in the country where this position is based and undertake the role that you have been offered. If you are successful and we make you an offer for the role, we will be required to conduct a right to work check on your immigration status in the UK. We will contact you regarding the documentation you will need to provide to evidence this.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Thank you!
Social Development Direct is a mission-driven, international development consultancy with a global reputation for excellence in gender equality and social inclusion. As a social enterprise subsidiary of Plan International UK, we combine commercial agility with a deep commitment to social change.
We are seeking a Managing Director who will lead the next phase of SDDirect’s development, advancing the organisation’s influence and impact.
The Managing Director will report into the CEO of Plan International UK and the SDDirect Board, and will provide inspirational leadership to SDDirect’s talented and motivated executive and staff, ensuring the organisation continues to deliver excellent technical quality alongside sustainable commercial performance.
This role offers a unique opportunity for a dynamic, values-led and engaging leader, with drive, resilience and commercial acumen.A high level of commercial awareness combined with a social justice technical background, and a proven track record of successfully leading and managing a commercial enterprise, consultancy or similar organisation or unit in the international development sector, is highly preferable for this position.
For more information about the company, role and responsibilities, please find the full job description and person specification below.
How to Apply: Please click 'Redirect to recruiter' for details on how to apply for this position.
If you would like a confidential discussion about the role, please get in touch with Sue Griffiths, Managing Director, to arrange this. Contact details can be found in the job description.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Thank you!
GADN is recruiting for a new Director (Job share – Funding, Finance and Governance)
GADN brings together NGOs and individual experts committed to achieving gender equality and the rights of women and girls in all their diversity across the world. Our Secretariat is a small but highly respected team coordinating advocacy towards the UK Government and supporting our members to promote best practice.
This new position will work alongside the existing Director to provide strategic direction and vision to the network and oversee the organisation’s operational work. In addition, the primary purpose of this role will be to bring in new sustainable sources of funding for the network in an increasingly difficult funding climate, and to ensure the smooth running of financial and administrative systems and Board governance.
We are looking for someone with leadership skills and vision who is passionate about our work and able to enthuse others. The ideal candidate will have a track-record in securing new funds and experience of external representation at senior levels with donors. You will bring experience in management, ideally at a senior level, and an understanding of budgets and financial planning.
This is an 18-month fixed-term position, for 14 hours a week.
If you are interested in applying, please review the job description and complete the application form by 9pm GMT on Wednesday 7 January 2026.
GADN values diversity and inclusion and encourages applicants from all backgrounds and life experiences to join our team. As we continue working to decolonise our practice and build an anti-racist organisation, we actively welcome applications from Black women and Women of Colour who we recognise are under-represented in the UK international development sector. Selection will be based on skill, experience and suitability for the role. If you share our core commitments, we would love to hear from you!
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Thank you!
Actively Interviewing
This organisation is scheduling interviews as applications come in. They're ready to hire as soon as they find the right person. Don't miss your opportunity, apply now!
Battersea is entering an exciting phase of innovation and transformation as we embark on the first year of our new five-year strategy. With increased investment in income generation starting in 2025, we are expanding our team to drive the growth necessary to achieve our organisational goals. Our fundraising team bridges the journey of the animals in our care with the wider public, demonstrating how their contributions enable us to support every dog and cat. We now have several new roles within this team to further our mission.
This new role will oversee the development and delivery of engaging supporter journeys across a range of channels for Battersea’s Challenge and Public events, as well as our Supporter-Led Fundraising audiences. It will play a pivotal role in maximising event and supporter-led fundraising income, ensuring every supporter has a positive experience and feels inspired to continue supporting Battersea.
What we can offer you:
In return for your commitment to our cause and to recognise the value of our employees, Battersea offers a range of benefits to support the wellbeing of our employees. These include:
- 28 days of annual leave (plus 8 days paid public holidays) per year.
- Discounted gym memberships and cycle to work schemes.
- Employee Assistance Programme and access to Wellbeing Resources.
- Generous pension contributions - up to 10% employer contribution.
- Free healthcare cash plan, where you can claim for a range of treatment including dental, optical, physiotherapy, chiropody and acupuncture every year.
- Annual interest-free season ticket loans.
We are also committed to providing learning and development to our employees. During your time with us, we provide support for your professional and career development, including access to digital and in-person training programmes, leadership and management training, mentoring and much more.
Our hybrid working model:
We operate a 50% onsite hybrid working model, with our office-based staff splitting their time between site based and home working. This enables our office-based staff to balance the benefits of home working with onsite collaboration and maintaining a connection to our cause.
Diversity and inclusion:
We are committed to providing a welcoming and inclusive experience for all staff, volunteers and trustees and those hoping to join us. We operate an anonymised shortlisting process and actively seek to ensure our process is fair and equitable for all.
We understand the value of diverse voices, perspectives, and experiences to help us deliver even more for our dogs and cats, and we welcome applicants from all sections of the community.
As a Disability Confident Committed Employer we will ask about any adjustments you may need at application and/or interview stage, and if you are offered a role with us, we’ll talk to you about any workplace adjustments you may need to help you perform at your best.
More about us:
At Battersea, we aim to never turn away a dog or cat in need of help. We give each one lots of love, expert care and get to know their characters and quirks so we can find them a new home that’s just right for them. Join us and help us be here for every dog and cat, wherever they are, for as long as they need us.
Acceptable use of AI:
At Battersea, we value expertise. We recognise each candidate that applies to us will have a range of expertise they can offer us, so we want to hear about this in your own words. We understand the support that generative artificial intelligence (AI) software can offer but it can also lead to numerous applications presenting as generic and impersonal. This makes it difficult to gain understanding of your unique experience.
To best showcase yourself, we encourage you to write your responses without the assistance of AI. If you require the use of AI software to aid in completing your application, we ask you use the generative responses as a prompt for writing your answers and avoid copying and pasting. You must also ensure the information presented in your application accurately reflects your experience.
Closing date: 11th January 2026
All applications must be submitted before the closing date advertised. We reserve the right to close the vacancy early if a high volume of applications is received.
Interview date(s): To be confirmed
For full details on the role, please download the recruitment pack.
Registered Charity
501 - 1000
Battersea is here for every dog and cat, and has been since 1860. We believe that every dog and cat deserves the best.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.