Head of professional status jobs in edinburgh
Fixed-term (12 months) | Remote (UK-based)
Oak is a fully remote, mission-driven organisation offering high levels of flexibility, autonomy, and purpose. We’re a national not-for-profit working in partnership with teachers to create the highest-quality, sequenced curriculum and lesson resources for pupils across all subjects and age groups.
Our culture has been independently recognised through:
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Flexa verified (93% overall score, including 95% for working hours and 97% for role modelling)
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Escape the City's Top 1% Employers – based on anonymous colleague reviews of culture, development, and impact
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Investors in People Gold - through external accreditation and colleague feedback
About the Role
Oak National Academy is looking for an exceptional Head of People & Planning to join our leadership team on a maternity cover basis.
This is a pivotal role at the centre of a small, high-performing public body. You will lead Oak’s people, planning and governance functions, shaping the culture, systems and assurance that help every colleague do their best work.
You will build and strengthen our HR capability, creating practical approaches that balance care, compliance and performance. You will also oversee our governance and planning, working closely with the Department for Education to ensure Oak remains focused, agile and accountable.
We are looking for someone who brings good judgement, clear thinking and a genuine commitment to people and culture. You will enjoy working collaboratively, solving problems and helping others succeed.
If you want to make a meaningful difference by helping a values-driven organisation evolve for its next chapter, we would love to hear from you.
What You’ll Be Doing
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Establish and lead a people function within the planning team, building a sustainable HR capability, ensuring compliance, and enabling intelligent use of external HR expertise to support organisational needs.
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Responsible for all decisions relating to the performance and function of our internal and external governance (including communications, meetings and whole-org offsites).
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Maintain specialist expertise in the governance of non-departmental public bodies and be the authority across Oak and more widely across the sector.
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Build and maintain an excellent relationship with Oak’s Sponsorship Team and be the main contact for all DfE governance and support.
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Leading, chairing and continuously improving the performance of the Oak Leadership team.
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Manage the internal and external governance budgets (6-figures).
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Recruit, develop and manage a high-performing operations planning team.
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Contribute to the strategy and planning, and model the culture of the organisation.
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Work in cross-functional and product-oriented squads with colleagues from across the organisation, as required.
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Deputise for the Director of Operations and take on other general responsibilities as required.
What We’re Looking For
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3+ years holding responsibility for leading organisational governance, people and/or culture functions within a public body.
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Professional qualification or equivalent experience in UK employment law.
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Extensive experience of working with senior stakeholders.
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Excellent communication skills with the ability to use different channels and media to support successful organisational development and stakeholder engagement
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Experience of recruiting, developing and managing a high-performing team.
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Experience of managing a six-figure budget
The successful candidate will have a desire to contribute in all areas to ensure Oak is successful. You will be comfortable working at pace, with a range of digital systems (including proprietary ones as required) and you will continuously look at ways that the team can keep getting better. You will be excellent at working as part of a remote team, building relationships and managing your time effectively.
Our Benefits
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25 days annual leave, plus one extra day for each year of service (up to 28)
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Additional Oak closure days over Christmas/New Year
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11% employer pension contribution (with no minimum employee contribution)
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A 36-hour working week, with half-days on Fridays or every other Friday off
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Fully remote working — we’ll support your home set-up and offer coworking options if preferred
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Twice-yearly in-person offsites to collaborate, connect, and have fun
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A culture that genuinely supports flexibility, autonomy, and trust
Inclusion and Belonging
We believe diverse teams build better products. We warmly welcome applicants from all backgrounds, particularly those who are underrepresented in the tech and education sectors.
We use the Applied recruitment platform to help reduce bias in our hiring process.
Key Info
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Location: Remote, but you must be based in the UK with the legal right to work here
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Sponsorship: Unfortunately, we’re unable to offer visa sponsorship at this time
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Closing date: We’ll be reviewing applications as they come in and may close the role early
If this sounds like the kind of role and team where you could do your life’s best work, we’d love to hear from you.
Next steps
You’ll answer some questions related to your day-to-day job. Your answers will go through our sift process: all answers will be anonymised, randomised, and then reviewed by a panel of reviewers (real humans).
We aim to begin interviews in late November/early December 2025.
We are receiving excellent responses to our job advertisements. This may lead us to close the role early, so if you are considering applying, please submit your application promptly to avoid missing out.
We are an equal opportunities employer.
We are committed to a policy of Equal Employment Opportunity and are determined to ensure that no applicant or employee receives less favourable treatment on the grounds of gender, age, disability, religion, belief, sexual orientation, marital status, or race, or is disadvantaged by conditions or requirements which cannot be shown to be justifiable.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
About you
Do you want to use your skills to make it possible for people with myeloma to live longer and better lives?
Myeloma UK is looking for a motivated and experienced Special Events professional to join our Philanthropy team.
Special events play a vital role in engaging our supporters, inspiring their support, and raising vital income for the charity. Throughout 2026 we have a range of events planned, including private dinners, receptions and large fundraisers in London and Edinburgh.
Special Events is an area of growth for the charity, and this is an exciting opportunity to work alongside our major donor team and senior volunteers and supporters to develop and deliver an engaging fundraising events programme.
Experience in Special Events is essential, ideally in a charity environment. The successful candidate will have excellent event management skills, experience of working with senior stakeholders, and the ability to deliver creative and engaging events to inspire donor support.
About the role
Myeloma UK is embarking on an ambitious five-year income generation strategy, which aims to double our income by 2030.
The post holder will lead the planning and delivery of a programme of high-quality events. You will work with colleagues from across the charity to develop programmes that will engage our audiences and communicate the impact we deliver as a charity. You will have excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to work with a range of stakeholders.
About us
Myeloma UK is the only UK charity focused on the incurable blood cancer, myeloma and its related conditions. We provide support and influence access to treatments, while researching a cure. Thanks to life-extending treatments and support, today many people affected by myeloma are able to live longer and to live well. Together, we support, so no one faces myeloma alone.
We are committed to bringing together the best and brightest people to help us ensure that every person affected by myeloma has an empowered present and a hopeful future.
Our ultimate goal is to find a cure and make myeloma history. Until then, our mission is to help every person living with myeloma, live well, for as long as possible. We are committed to diagnosing myeloma earlier, discovering and sharing knowledge, transforming the patient experience and influencing positive change.
Our culture
Wellbeing and staff engagement are at the heart of our culture. We offer employees a range of benefits including a pension salary exchange scheme, flexitime, flexible working which includes both home and hub-based office working, health plan, employee assistance plan and holiday purchase scheme. We are committed to providing learning and development opportunities for all our employees
How to apply
If you think you would be a great fit for this role, get in touch and tell us more about yourself by sending the following:
1. A cover letter telling us more about you and what you think makes you a good fit for this role
2. A CV that sets out your career history, with key responsibilities and achievements
Applications close on 9am 10 December 2025 and interviews will be held 17 and 18 November 2025.
Myeloma UK is an equal opportunities employer and always welcomes applications from suitably qualified and eligible candidates regardless of:
· sex
· race
· disability
· age
· sexual orientation
· gender reassignment
· religion or belief
· marital status
· or pregnancy and maternity
Please note, you will be asked to provide evidence of your eligibility to work in the UK prior to interview selection.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
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!
Are you a strong marketer who can help us achieve our vision of making legacy giving a social norm across the UK?
At Remember A Charity, we're looking for a marketer with exceptional communication and planning skills, who will be inspired by the opportunity to play this key role in a small but dynamic team.
Remember A Charity (part of the Chartered Institute of Fundraising)
Hours: Full Time (35 hours per week). Requirement to work outside of regular office hours occasionally, as required, with time off in lieu.
Key benefits:
- Leave: 25 days per year (rising to 30 with service) + bank holidays.
- Pension scheme: After probation ends, we offer up to 7.5% employers’ contribution to our stakeholder pension scheme.
- Enhanced sick pay from day one.
- Great work/life balance through flexible and remote-first working.
- We also focus on staff wellbeing, training and development and support you with your volunteering.
- See our benefits list for all other details
Location: This is predominantly a home-based role, days in the office in Bermondsey, London will be agreed with the line manager. Occasional travel will be required to scheduled meetings/training/events.
The Chartered Institute is proud to be an equal-opportunity employer committed to a diverse and inclusive workplace where we can all be ourselves and succeed on merit. We particularly welcome applications from those who are significantly underrepresented in our sector, such as Black, Asian, people of colour, or from a specific minoritised ethnicity, neurodivergent, oppressed, or marginalised individuals or groups.
About us
Remember A Charity
Remember A Charity is a vibrant behaviour change campaign that aims to inspire the public to leave a charitable gift in their Will. Working collaboratively, the campaign’s mission is to do what no organisation can do alone, growing the legacy market and normalising charitable gifts in Wills.
Why grow legacy giving? Charitable gifts in Wills are one of the largest sources of voluntary income in the UK, raising £4.5 billion for good causes each year. As such, it’s a crucial source of income for thousands of charities, particularly in the current economic climate.
Established in 2000, Remember A Charity now represents almost 200 member charities, who work together to drive change through inspiring consumer campaigns, strategic partnerships with solicitors, Will-writers and professional advisers, and by lobbying government to enhance the wider legacy giving environment. The consortium encompasses a diverse range of charities, giving them the platform, resources and guidance to maximise their legacy fundraising. Remember A Charity works all year round to promote legacy giving, also running Remember A Charity Week each September as a central focal point for public awareness activity.
Our four key strategic pillars are:
- Inspiring the UK public to leave a charitable legacy
- Embedding legacy giving across Will-writing and estate planning
- Influencing government & decision-makers to protect and nurture the future of charitable legacies
- Equipping & enabling our members to maximise their legacy fundraising
Remember A Charity is part of the Chartered Institute of Fundraising and our goals align with its strategic priority of growing charitable giving.
Chartered Institute of Fundraising (CIOF)
The Chartered Institute of Fundraising is the UK's professional membership body for fundraisers, championing excellence, providing professional development and education, and fostering connections across the sector. We've launched a new ten-year strategy to tackle critical challenges like diminishing income, increasing demand for services, and issues such as fundraiser burnout and lack of investment that are impacting charities nationwide. We believe that every fundraiser should feel valued and nurtured.
This strategy focuses on four key pillars with clear five and ten-year targets: attracting, retaining, and nurturing fundraising talent to combat the "revolving door"; reframing the narrative to change perceptions of fundraising and drive investment; driving excellent fundraising practice, setting standards, ethics and guidance to build public trust; and fostering a culture that inspires more people to give to reverse declining donor numbers. Our ultimate aim is to double our impact in a decade, ensuring a sustainable future for both fundraisers and charities.
Role Background
This is a unique opportunity to use your creativity and marketing expertise to help charities across the UK grow their legacy giving and increase their resilience for the years ahead. The Marketing Manager will work within a small and talented staff team at Remember A Charity to expand its reach, grow its network and build engagement among its key audiences: charities, professional advisers and the giving public. The priorities for the Marketing Manager are to develop and deliver a marketing and communications plan in line with the campaign strategy.
Reporting Structure
Reports to: Lucinda Frostick, Director of Remember A Charity
Job Description
Job purpose: To lead and develop Remember A Charity’s marketing and communications programme, in line with our core mission of making legacy giving a social norm. This core focus of the role is on growing and engaging our audiences across the charity sector (members and non-members) and professional adviser communities (solicitors, Will-writers, wealth advisers).
The Marketing Manager will also contribute to the development of our consumer PR, marketing and digital programmes, led by the Director and Digital Communications Manager respectively.
This role would suit a confident and creative individual who is enthused by the opportunity of helping charities across the UK to grow and develop their long-term income. The successful candidate will work closely with the campaign’s members, professional advisers and, of course, colleagues within Remember A Charity and the wider CIOF.
Key Accountabilities:
- Lead the planning, delivery, and evaluation of marketing activities targeting charity sector and professional adviser audiences, aligned with organisational strategy and KPIs.
- Develop and deliver communications for charity members and Campaign Supporters.
- Collaborate with internal colleagues and external agencies to support the execution of consumer-facing marketing and PR campaigns.
- Create compelling assets and resources to support recruitment, engagement, and retention of members and professional partners.
- Ensure external communications and creative outputs are consistent with the Remember A Charity brand.
- Represent the organisation, exhibiting and/or presenting at relevant events or meetings.
Responsibilities by area:
Charity sector
- Creation of promotional assets to support member acquisition and retention.
- Plan and deliver a dynamic member comms programme, including e-bulletins, impact reports and others.
- Help colleagues to coordinate and present at select member events.
- Manage sector-facing social media accounts (LinkedIn, X, and Bluesky).
- Support the Director with sector-facing editorial content.
- Gather and showcase member testimonials and case studies.
- Develop and promote guidance and resources to help members maximise their legacy fundraising.
- Enhance and develop the members’ area of the website, ensuring content is up to date and relevant.
Professional Advisers
- Responsibility for the marketing budget for professional advisers.
- Planning and delivery of marketing activity to grow our professional adviser network and maximise our impact, in line with our KPIs.
- Manage and grow the Campaign Supporter scheme for solicitors and Will-writers, delivering engaging communications and digital content that keeps charitable giving front of mind.
- Promote the importance of referencing the charitable option during Will-writing to professional advisers through events, direct marketing, social media, and advertising.
- Coordinate the campaign’s Legal Sector Advisory Group, organising quarterly meetings and fostering strong relationships with key stakeholders.
- Identify and pursue opportunities to engage wider professional audiences and influential groups within and beyond the legal sector, including but not limited to, wealth managers, Will-writing software providers, local government, regulatory and trade bodies (e.g. CILEX, CLC, NALP).
- Collaborate with CPD content providers to deliver training programmes on charitable Will-writing.
- Coordinate quarterly webinars for professional advisers on relevant Will-writing topics, working with internal and external partners.
- Create materials and promotional assets for professional advisers and campaign partners to equip them to advocate for legacies.
Consumers
- Contribute to the planning and delivery of consumer marketing and PR activity.
- Support members in making best use of the consumer-facing assets provided for them to use during Remember A Charity Week and beyond.
- Equip Campaign Supporters and Will-writing partners with resources to promote legacy giving during Remember A Charity Week and beyond.
All
- Collaborate with the team to review campaign activity and success measures against KPIs.
- Maintain and update website content for charity and professional adviser audiences.
- Uphold brand consistency across all external communications and creative outputs.
About You
Experience & Skills
- Experience of planning and delivering successful marketing programmes.
- Knowledge of the UK charity sector and/or legal market.
- Experience working in a customer-facing environment or dealing with a wide range of members and stakeholders.
- Effective presentation and networking skills.
- Familiarity updating webpages and using simple web-based design / delivery tools such as Canva and Mailchimp.
- Computer literacy (Word, Excel, PowerPoint etc.) and experience of using a CRM system,
- Budget management preferable but not essential
Attributes
- Confident and clear communicator, with strong writing skills and a creative solutions-driven approach.
- Excellent organisational skills, including the ability to work independently and prioritise, managing time effectively.
- Team player, but also a confident self-starter, able to work independently when necessary.
- A positive attitude, with the ability to keep calm when managing multiple projects.
Reflecting the CIOF’s values
Passionate: Takes immense pride in their work and is driven by a strong desire to achieve success for our mission.
Professional: Consistently champions and upholds the highest standards, operating with unwavering integrity and ethical conduct.
Enabling: Proactively supports others, feels empowered to take ownership, identifies effective solutions, makes sound decisions, and collaborates seamlessly across teams.
Enterprising: Demonstrates an openness to explore new solutions and is deeply committed to excelling in all areas of their work.
Respectful: Acts with honesty and fairness, consistently treating all individuals with consideration, dignity, and respect.
Circumstances
- Based in the UK.
- Able to work/travel outside office hours on occasions (i.e. attending conferences and meetings).
If you would like to discuss access requirements or have any questions about the role, please contact us directly.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.