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:

• Flexa verified (93% overall score, including 95% for working hours and 97% for role modelling)

• Escape the City's Top 1% Employers – based on anonymous colleague reviews of culture, development, and impact

• 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

• 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.

• Responsible for all decisions relating to the performance and function of our internal and external governance (including communications, meetings and whole-org offsites).

• Maintain specialist expertise in the governance of non-departmental public bodies and be the authority across Oak and more widely across the sector.

• Build and maintain an excellent relationship with Oak’s Sponsorship Team and be the main contact for all DfE governance and support.

• Leading, chairing and continuously improving the performance of the Oak Leadership team.

• Manage the internal and external governance budgets (6-figures).

• Recruit, develop and manage a high-performing operations planning team.

• Contribute to the strategy and planning, and model the culture of the organisation.

• Work in cross-functional and product-oriented squads with colleagues from across the organisation, as required.

• Deputise for the Director of Operations and take on other general responsibilities as required.

�� What We’re Looking For

• 3+ years holding responsibility for leading organisational governance, people and/or culture functions within a public body. 

• Professional qualification or equivalent experience in UK employment law.

• Extensive experience of working with senior stakeholders.

• Excellent communication skills with the ability to use different channels and media to support successful organisational development and stakeholder engagement

• Experience of recruiting, developing and managing a high-performing team.

• 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

• 25 days annual leave, plus one extra day for each year of service (up to 28)

• Additional Oak closure days over Christmas/New Year

• 11% employer pension contribution (with no minimum employee contribution)

• A 36-hour working week, with half-days on Fridays or every other Friday off

• Fully remote working — we’ll support your home set-up and offer coworking options if preferred

• Twice-yearly in-person offsites to collaborate, connect, and have fun

• 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

• Location: Remote, but you must be based in the UK with the legal right to work here

• Sponsorship: Unfortunately, we’re unable to offer visa sponsorship at this time

• 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.

About Adolescent Health Study

The Adolescent Health Study (AHS) is an ambitious new UKRI-funded initiative to establish a prospective, longitudinal population study that will generate a globally leading open science data platform and research resource. AHS aims to recruit at least 100,000 young people from across the UK and to follow their mental and physical health and wellbeing over at least 10 years. It plans to collect data through questions and measures; to obtain bio-samples for a wide range of genomic and other high-throughput assays; and to capture linked data relevant to health and wellbeing from participants’ health, education and other administrative records. There will be a strong emphasis on engaging with and involving young people, schools, parents and other relevant stakeholders in the design and delivery of the study, as well as on including young people that represent as wide as possible a range of backgrounds, experiences and characteristics. AHS will focus on enabling a wide range of research, including studies of the critical biological and social developments that occur during the transition from childhood to adulthood and the determinants of both mental and physical health and wellbeing in adolescents and young adults.

Purpose of the post

The Finance Manager will play a pivotal role in ensuring the financial health and sustainability of the organisation. Reporting to the Head of Business Operations, the postholder will oversee all financial operations, providing strategic insights to inform decision-making and ensuring compliance with financial regulations and best practices.
This role is integral to supporting the organisation’s mission of advancing health research through effective financial stewardship, and it offers an exciting opportunity for a motivated and experienced finance professional to make a significant contribution within a mission-driven organisation.

Main responsibilities

Financial Strategy and Planning
• Develop and implement robust financial strategies to support the organisation’s strategic goals.
• Prepare and monitor budgets, forecasts, and financial plans, ensuring alignment with organisational objectives.
• Support procurement and commercial processes, ensuring value for money and delivery assurance.

Financial Management, Reporting and Regulatory Compliance
• Oversee day-to-day financial operations, including accounts payable, receivable, and cash flow management.
• Prepare accurate and timely financial reports for the executive team, Trustees and external stakeholders.
• Lead the preparation of annual accounts and coordinate with external auditors, specifically in relation to Companies House and Charities Commission obligations.

Stakeholder engagement
• Work closely with workstream leads to provide financial advice and insights that guide strategic decisions.
• Collaborate with external funders, grant providers, and other stakeholders to ensure transparent financial management.

Process improvement
• Identify and implement improvements to financial systems, processes and tools, to enhance efficiency and accuracy.

Knowledge, skills and experience

• Professional accounting qualification (e.g., ACA, ACCA, CIMA) or equivalent.
• Proven experience in independent financial management, including budgeting, forecasting, and reporting.
• Strong understanding of financial regulations and compliance requirements in the UK, specifically in relation to not-for-profit, charitable and research organisations.
• Excellent analytical skills with the ability to interpret complex financial data.
• Advanced proficiency in financial software and Excel.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to engage effectively with non-finance stakeholders.
• Experience of working in a health and/or data research environment.
• Familiarity with grant management and reporting requirements.
• Knowledge of financial systems, implementation and optimisation.
• Experience in developing financial strategies within a growing organisation.
• Experience of modelling operational costs to support decision making and delivery.
• Excellent organisational and time management skills with the proven ability to prioritise and, at times under pressure, produce accurate work to deadlines.

​Desirable criteria

• Experience of working in an organisation in its infancy or a start-up.
• Understanding and experience of using project management tools and techniques.
• Understanding and experience of procurement of good and services in a health and/or data research environment.

Dimensions

• This is expected to be a full-time post however AHS would consider applicants looking for part-time opportunities.
• AHS is a national organisation, and our activities take place across the UK.
• Flexible working will be required across several geographical locations in the UK.

Application Process

This post is subject to receipt of satisfactory references and the post holder having the right to work in the UK (visa sponsorship is not available). Please apply online with a CV and a covering letter (of no more than two pages) explaining what you can bring to this role, your preferred working hours (FTE or PTE) and including your current salary.

The closing date for this position is midnight on Sunday 23 November 2025.

Interviews are currently expected to be held during the week commencing 15 December 2025.

Equal Opportunities Policy Statement

AHS is an equal opportunities employer, and as such aims to treat all employees, consultants and applicants fairly. AHS is an equal opportunities employer, and as such aims to treat all employees, consultants and applicants fairly. It is our policy to provide employment equality to all, irrespective of age, disability, gender identity or expression, marital or civil partnership status, pregnancy or maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, or sexual orientation.
Beyond these protected characteristics, we acknowledge the importance of socio-economic background, childcare and caring responsibilities, educational background, neurodiversity, and any other factors that shape an individual’s identity and opportunities. We strive to create an environment where all colleagues feel valued, supported, and able to contribute fully.

Values

It is an exciting time for the Adolescent Health Study (AHS) as we establish our senior leadership team in 2025. As the senior executive team evolves, the AHS values will be grounded in inclusivity, integrity, accountability, and collaboration.

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.

Governance Manager (12-months maternity cover)

About the role

This is an exciting time to join Emmaus UK and provide maternity cover for our Governance Manager.

This standalone role is responsible for managing the operations of the board and committees of Emmaus UK, as well as for providing support to local boards at Emmaus communities across Great Britain as they look to develop their governance arrangements.

The postholder will manage the board of trustees, leading on recruitment, induction and compliance, ensuring meetings run smoothly and are minuted effectively. They will also work as company secretary, managing the smooth-running of the AGM, and ensuring returns are made to Companies House and the Charity Commission within appropriate timeframes.

The Governance Manager is responsible for monitoring the development of policies, tracking completion and working with managers to continuously improve policies in line with changing regulation.

The role will also involve extensive work with members of the Emmaus movement, through the performance of reviews of local governance of members, reporting back to local boards on areas to celebrate and actions to develop. They will also be responsible for developing Emmaus UK’s best practice toolkit for trustees to refer to in developing their local governance arrangements, and for liaising with the wider Emmaus movement through facilitation of the membership processes with Emmaus Europe and Emmaus International.

About Emmaus UK

We understand that a home is more than just a roof over your head; it’s somewhere to belong, where you feel part of a community, and that’s what Emmaus offers. 

Emmaus is a unique, secular organisation supporting homeless and socially excluded people by providing a home, meaningful work opportunities and a sense of belonging. 

There are currently over 30 Emmaus communities across the UK, stretching from Glasgow to Dover and Norfolk to South Wales, including three Emmaus groups working towards the development of services in their areas. Collectively the Emmaus federation supports more than 1,000 people with experience of homelessness. 

Emmaus UK Governance

• Manage the board of trustees, leading on recruitment, delivering a comprehensive and appropriate induction, dealing with enquiries, maintaining declarations of interest, skills audit and eligibility forms and ensuring all details are up to date and accurate.
• Act as company secretary for Emmaus UK, leading on the preparation for and delivery of the Annual General Meeting, filing required returns, developing documents associated with membership, and ensuring the charity is compliant with relevant charity and company law.

​Board and Committee Meetings

• Coordinate board meetings including organising venues, liaison with the relevant secretary and chairs in creating agendas, preparing and distributing papers and taking and circulating accurate minutes
• Oversee the smooth-running of committee meetings in conjunction with the admin team, including creation of the annual calendar.
• Ensure all follow up actions are coordinated, and ongoing rolling actions logs are maintained and appropriately shared with the Emmaus UK staff team.

Emmaus UK Governance Development

• Lead on governance projects within Emmaus UK, including but not limited to risk, policy management and internal governance reviews, reporting to the Board and subcommittees as appropriate.
• Provide governance advice and support to staff members on an ad hoc basis.
• Monitor all internal policies and procedures ensuring they are fit for purpose and kept under review by the relevant staff members.

​Federation Governance

• Lead on reviews of members’ local governance arrangements, scheduling, undertaking analysis, reviewing documentation, collating responses from members and observations from Emmaus UK Senior Leadership Team members, and reporting to local boards on findings and Emmaus UK’s Audit & Risk Committee on emerging themes.
• Provide guidance for federation members on governance development through ad hoc advice, the production of governance toolkits and supporting resources.
• Facilitate the membership processes and requirements for Emmaus Europe and Emmaus International, supporting transitioning members and contributing to movement-wide events such as the World and Regional Assemblies, international visits and exchange programmes.

To apply 

· To apply for the role, please complete our application form and equal opportunities monitoring form and email us, our Email address is in the application Pack by COP Wednesday 19th November 2025. 

· Please ensure you download the job pack and refer to the job description and person specification when completing your application form.

· Those shortlisted will be invited to an interview conducted via Microsoft Teams on Wednesday 26th November or Friday 5th December 2025.

· If you would like to arrange an informal discussion about the role, please email us, the email address is in the Application Pack.