Head of programmes and impact jobs in Birmingham, west midlands

Acorns Children’s Hospice provides specialist care and support for babies, children and young people who are life limited or life threatened. Supporting over 750 children and nearly 1,000 families annually, Acorns is a vital lifeline for families across the West Midlands and Gloucestershire during unimaginably difficult times.

Over the past three years, Acorns’ leadership has enhanced collaboration and innovation across the charity and embedded an organisation-wide fundraising culture. They are now seeking a senior corporate partnerships specialist to lead Acorns’ newly formed Partnerships Team, which combines corporate new business, account management and community income streams.

A member of the Fundraising Leadership Team, the role will be responsible for securing and managing high-value strategic partnerships with businesses while simultaneously driving engagement with local community groups, education partners, and faith groups, ensuring clear tiering, structured pipeline progression and robust income performance.

The role will also act as Partnerships lead for the upcoming £5m fundraising appeal, co-canvassing alongside the Head of Philanthropy and executive leadership, and mobilising corporate and community networks around key campaign moments.

As Head of Partnerships, you will:

• Report to the Associate Director of Fundraising and line manage a team of four (Senior Business Development Manager (Corporate), Senior Corporate Partnerships Manager Senior Community Partnerships Manager, Partnership Engagement Officer)
• Form part of the Fundraising Leadership Team, with shared accountability for strategic decision making, compliance and cross-directorate working
• Lead and integrate Corporate and Community fundraising into a cohesive partnerships strategy aligned to the wider Fundraising Strategy
• Design and implement a three-year corporate and community income plan, with full budget and forecasting responsibility
• Conduct an audit of current partnerships activity, pipeline and resource allocation to ensure effort aligns to regional and national potential
• Lead corporate new business acquisition, securing multi-year strategic partnerships, Charity of the Year agreements, cause-related marketing, sponsorship and stock generation partnership

Essential skills and experience:

• Strong corporate fundraising background within a charity setting
• Proven track record of securing six-figure corporate gifts
• Experience managing and motivating teams to deliver robust income targets
• Experience designing strategies, annual plans and budgets and adapting them as required
• Strong knowledge of the corporate landscape, regionally and ideally nationally
• Confidence leading high-value pitches, negotiations and senior stakeholder engagement
• Experience of forecasting, reporting and managing income performance
• Strong working knowledge of CRM systems and fundraising compliance

Desirable:

• Experience across both local AND national corporate partnerships
• Exposure to community fundraising or engagement programmes
• Experience working on appeal boards or high-value campaign activity

Employee benefits include: 

• 27 days annual leave plus bank holidays
• 5 days holiday buyback scheme starting from April 2026
• 7.5% employer pension contribution
• Life assurance scheme (2 x annual salary)
• Retail discounts (including the Blue Light card)
• Cycle to work scheme
• Discounted gym membership
• Access to expert financial health and wellbeing support

Hybrid working with 2dpw at preferred location (Birmingham, Worcester or Walsall). 

Acorns Children’s Hospice provides specialist care and support for babies, children and young people who are life limited or life threatened. Supporting over 750 children and nearly 1,000 families annually, Acorns is a vital lifeline for families across the West Midlands and Gloucestershire during unimaginably difficult times.

Over the past three years, Acorns’ leadership has enhanced collaboration and innovation across the charity and embedded an organisation-wide fundraising culture. With an integrated fundraising structure and an upcoming £5m appeal, Acorns is looking for a senior leader to review, refine and scale its end-to-end donor experience across all income streams.

Forming part of the Fundraising Leadership Team and reporting to the Associate Director of Fundraising, the Head of Donor Experience will lead a central support function covering donor journeys, supporter care, data and insight, digital fundraising and compliance. They will be responsible for shaping and delivering a comprehensive donor-centred strategy that drives engagement, loyalty and long-term value, while championing a digital-first, data-driven approach to stewardship.

As Head of Donor Experience, you will:

• Lead a high-performing Donor Experience team of nine, with four direct reports across Donor Experience, Data & Insight, and Digital Fundraising
• Develop and embed a cohesive donor experience strategy aligned to the wider Fundraising Strategy
• Design and implement a structured supporter journey framework, ensuring appropriate automation and personalisation across channels and income streams
• Drive innovation in stewardship, including digital engagement, journey design, automation, and personalisation
• Review and refine thanking, banking, fulfilment and supporter care processes to improve efficiency and supporter satisfaction
• Oversee CRM development and optimisation, ensuring robust data governance and a clear single supporter view
• Lead insight generation and segmentation strategy to inform fundraising performance and income growth
• Establish and maintain a centralised compliance framework across fundraising activity
• Strengthen collaboration between Fundraising and Marketing to enable more coordinated, funnel-led campaigns

Essential skills and experience:

• Strong background in fundraising operations, supporter care, compliance or customer experience within a charity setting
• Proven track record of developing and delivering stewardship strategies that improve retention and long-term supporter value
• Experience managing and motivating teams to deliver operational excellence and performance improvement
• Experience designing and implementing strategy, annual plans and process improvements
• Strong working knowledge of CRM systems, data governance and supporter database management
• Confidence influencing senior internal stakeholders and driving cross-team collaboration
• Experience of reporting, performance analysis and using insight to inform decision-making
• Strong understanding of fundraising compliance, including GDPR and sector regulation

Employee benefits include: 

• 27 days annual leave plus bank holidays
• 5 days holiday buyback scheme starting from April 2026
• 7.5% employer pension contribution
• Life assurance scheme (2 x annual salary)
• Retail discounts (including the Blue Light card)
• Cycle to work scheme
• Discounted gym membership
• Access to expert financial health and wellbeing support

Help us advance race equity in sport and physical activity through key leadership openings at Sporting Equals.

Sporting Equals is entering a significant new phase of growth and impact. We are expanding our team to strengthen our influence, deepen community impact, and accelerate system-wide change. This is an exciting moment to join Sporting Equals - a time of renewed energy, new and strengthened partnerships, and bold ambition to create lasting equity across the sport sector.

We are now recruiting for these pivotal roles:

- Head of Race Equity and Impac

This role offers the opportunity to play a central part in shaping national conversations, delivering meaningful programmes, and driving measurable change for ethnically diverse communities.

 Why Join Sporting Equals?

-Be part of a mission-driven organisation creating real systemic change

-Work alongside passionate leaders, partners, and communities across the UK

-Contribute to a period of organisational growth, innovation, and renewed strategic focus

-Help ensure sport and physical activity are spaces of belonging, fairness, and opportunity for all

-If you are motivated by purpose, impact, and equity, we welcome you to apply.

 Recruitment Timeline

Application deadline: Monday 16th March 2026, 4pm.

Interviews: Scheduled to take place between Monday 30th March 2026 and Friday 10th April 2026.

Please note, our recruitment timeline is indicative and may be adjusted based on the number of applications we receive.

Who We’re Looking For

We are seeking values-driven, collaborative, and forward-thinking leaders who:

- Are passionate about racial equity and social justice

- Bring credibility, empathy, and energy to their work

- Thrive in purpose-led, fast-moving environments

- Are committed to inclusion, honesty, creativity, and sustained impact

Most importantly, we are looking for people who want to make a meaningful difference.

How to Apply

For job descriptions and details on how to apply, please visit our careers page. 

We anticipate that we will receive a high volume of applications for the advertised roles. If you do not hear back from us after a reasonable amount of time, please assume you have not been unsuccessful on this occasion. 

Sporting Equals is an equal opportunities and Disability Confident Committed Employer

We’re committed to creating an inclusive environment where all individuals feel valued and supported. 

We welcome applications from people with disabilities. If disabled applicants meet the essential criteria, they will be offered an interview.  

If you require any reasonable adjustments, we’d be delighted to discuss this with you. To find out more and request additional support during the recruitment process, please contact us (further details are on our careers page).  

 

About the Department
The Church of England Foundation for Educational Leadership was set up in 2017 with the mission to 'develop inspirational leaders who are called, connected, committed to deliver the Church of England vision for education'. Since then, it has operated a wide range of leadership development programmes, networks, research, conference and events, and published a range of key leadership resources to equip school leaders at every level to put their vision into practice.
Part of this provision has been as a very successful national provider of NPQ programmes. Beginning in 2017 with the delivery of NPQs for Headteachers, our suite of programmes has now expanded to include programmes for Specialist Teachers, Senior Leaders and also Executive Leaders. More recently, a partnership between the Church of England and the Catholic Education Service is also enabling programmes to be delivered more widely as together our school provision represents around 34% of the sector.

In 2025, the department will launch three new national programmes: Flourishing Leaders, Flourishing Teachers, and Flourishing ECTs (in partnership with UCL). These programmes respond to growing demand for high-quality, values-led professional learning and represent a significant expansion of our work across the education sector.

About the role
As Head of Flourishing Programmes, you will lead the strategic and operational delivery and expansion of our growing suite of values-led professional learning programmes: Flourishing Leaders, Flourishing Teachers, Flourishing ECTs (in partnership with UCL), and Leaders Like Us. These programmes are designed to support the flourishing of educators at every stage of their journey, with a strong emphasis on inclusion, vocation, and leadership development. You will oversee a dedicated team and work closely with internal colleagues, delivery partners, and national collaborators to ensure these programmes are impactful, inclusive, and sector-leading. This role requires a visionary and relational leader who can manage complexity, inspire excellence, and drive continuous improvement across the programmes.

For an information conversation about the role, please contact

Closing date for applications is 8 March at 11:55 pm.

About the Programmes Officer role:
This is your chance to sit at the heart of a pioneering national programme that could reshape how kinship families are supported across England.

As Programmes Officer, you’ll be part of the operational engine behind a complex, high-profile feasibility Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT) – keeping delivery tight, evidence strong and nothing falling through the cracks. If you thrive on pace, precision and being the person who quietly makes big things happen, this might be the role for you. 

Kinship is undertaking a major feasibility RCT of Kinship Connected, a Kinship Navigator Programmes.

This is a complex, multi-partner programme involving funders, independent evaluators, local authorities, internal delivery teams and kinship carers with lived experience.

The Programmes Officer plays a critical role in ensuring the programme runs smoothly day to day. This is a technically demanding, detail-heavy role requiring excellent administration, strong initiative and the ability to anticipate what is needed next.

The Programmes Officer works closely and day-to-day with the Mobilisation and Delivery Project Manager and is a key part of the core delivery spine of the Kinship Navigator feasibility RCT.

The role provides structured operational, administrative and coordination support that enables the Mobilisation and Delivery Project Manager to maintain oversight of timelines, risks, dependencies and delivery quality.

This role requires someone who is comfortable working at pace, highly responsive to direction, and able to anticipate what the Mobilisation and Delivery Project Manager will need next in order to keep the programme running smoothly and evidence-ready.

Please note - we are looking for people who can start immediately ideally. This is due to the nature of the mobilisation and delivery timescales. 

Purpose of the role:
To support the Mobilisation and Delivery Project Manager in mobilising and delivering the Kinship Navigator feasibility RCT through exceptional administration, proactive coordination and anticipatory problem-solving.

You will act as a trusted operational support, ensuring systems, data, documentation and local engagement activity are accurate, well organised and up to date, allowing the Mobilisation and Delivery Project Manager to focus on delivery oversight, risk management and external accountability.

Key responsibilities:

Programme delivery and coordination

• Support mobilisation activities across all workstreams, ensuring actions, documentation and timelines are tracked and followed up.
• Maintain delivery plans, action logs and trackers using Asana.
• Support coordination of onboarding activities with local authorities and internal teams.
• Ensure all operational documents are version-controlled, accessible and kept up to date.
• Flag emerging issues, risks or capacity pressures early, with clear evidence.
  

Local authority engagement and ecosystem mapping

• Coordinate local engagement activity across participating local authorities, including planning, logistics and follow-up for local events.
• Map each local authority’s kinship care ecosystem, including statutory services, voluntary and community organisations, referral pathways and gaps in provision.
• Maintain accurate, up-to-date local authority profiles and ecosystem maps.
• Ensure local intelligence is captured consistently and stored accessibly using agreed systems (e.g. Notion).

Outreach and local marketing support

• Support outreach and engagement activity by helping develop programme-specific marketing and engagement materials, working with the Marketing and Communications team to ensure alignment with Kinship’s brand and messaging.
• Adapt and manage local collateral for each participating local authority, ensuring materials are accurate, up to date and easy to use.
• Maintain clear version control and accessible storage of outreach materials, incorporating feedback from local partners where appropriate.
• Use Canva, Padlet and other agreed tools to adapt and produce local materials for events, Communities of Practice and local authority engagement.

Communities of Practice support

• Provide operational support to the Head of Programmes in coordinating Communities of Practice in each participating local authority.
• Support scheduling, logistics, materials and follow-up actions.
• Capture learning, actions and insights clearly and consistently.
• Support translation of local learning into insight for programme improvement and future scale-up.
  

Administrative excellence and anticipation

• Deliver a consistently high standard of administration across the programme.
• Maintain clear, structured and accurate records across all systems.
• Anticipate upcoming needs, deadlines and risks, taking initiative to address them early.
• Proactively prepare information, materials and updates without needing to be prompted.
• Act as a reliable operational anchor, ensuring nothing falls through the cracks.
• Anticipate the information, updates and preparation the Mobilisation and Delivery Project Manager will need to manage delivery effectively.
  

Data, systems and technical delivery

• Maintain accurate and timely data entry across Salesforce and related systems.
• Support data quality checks and evaluator requirements.
• Use Asana, Salesforce, Notion and Canva confidently and fluently.
• Support documentation, manualisation and knowledge management.
• Ensure systems are used consistently and to a high technical standard.

Coordination, reporting and communications

• Coordinate meetings, agendas, notes and follow-up actions.
• Support preparation of dashboards, updates and reports.
• Ensure information is shared clearly, accurately and on time.

How to apply:
Please apply for the role of Programmes Officer by sending a tailored CV and responding to these 4 questions below in the online application process. Please read the guidance notes in the job pack. 

Closing date is 9.30am on Weds 4 March, with interview in person on Tues 10 March 2026. 

1. Alignment to Kinship and the role: Why do you want to work for Kinship? And what can you bring to this role (think about the job specification)  

2. Programme coordination and administration: Tell us about a time you supported the delivery of a complex programme or project. What were your specific responsibilities, and how did you keep work organised and on track?  

3. Initiative: Describe a time when you spotted a potential issue, gap or risk before it became a problem. What did you notice, what action did you take, and what was the outcome? 

4. Digital systems and learning new tools: Give an example of a time you had to learn a new digital system or tool quickly to support delivery. What was the context, how did you learn it, and how did you use it in practice? 

What we offer you:

• Flexible working - we understand how important it is to balance family and work life.
• ​30 days annual leave, plus bank holidays (1 April to 31 March) pro rata (3 to be taken at Christmas shutdown)
• Employee Assistance Programme (24/7 confidential advice line and counselling)
• Charity Worker Discounts. 

Help shape a future where people with motor neurone disease (MND) receive joined-up, person-centred support. As a Programme Lead - Integrated Support, you will guide the development of a new integrated support model, coordinating activity across seven connected work-packages and ensuring progress that is timely, focused, and grounded in real need.

As the Programme Lead, you will work across teams to plan, align, and drive programme delivery. You will ensure each area of work is clearly structured, purposeful, and supported, while maintaining strong relationships across the Motor Neurone Disease Association.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead planning and delivery of projects within the Integrated Support Programme
• Maintain a clear programme framework that supports governance, prioritisation, rick-management and quality assurance
• Collaborate with senior leaders to inform strategic direction and future development
• Engage colleagues, volunteers, and community stakeholders to support innovation and inclusive co-production
• Track progress, evaluate effectiveness, and embed continuous improvement
• Oversee budgets, resources, timelines, and project standards
• Identify and manage risks and interdependencies
• Promote integrated, person-centred approaches rooted in lived experience and best practice

About You

• Experience leading complex project portfolios within service-focused settings
• Knowledge of service improvement and the ability to apply recognised Quality Improvement methods
• A formal project management qualification (e.g., PRINCE2, APM, Agile)
• Skilled in programme framework development, resource planning, and financial oversight
• Strong analytical skills and confidence using metrics to inform decisions
• Excellent stakeholder engagement skills and clear, inclusive communication
• Ability to lead collaboratively, supporting both staff and volunteers
• Strength in risk management and constructive problem-solving

Further information about MND Association and full job description is available in the attached Candidate Pack.

This is a home-based role with a requirement to travel to Northampton, London and regionally in-line with role and organisation requirements.

We are committed to equality, diversity, and inclusivity. We work to remove barriers for everyone affected by MND, employees, volunteers, and stakeholders.

As part of the Disability Confident Scheme, we guarantee interviews for disabled applicants who meet the role's requirements.

What We Offer

• 28 days holiday, increasing to 33 days after 5 years, plus Bank Holidays
• Access to UK Healthcare, including dental, eyecare, health screenings, and therapies
• 24/7 GP access via phone and video
• Life assurance and confidential counselling helplines
• Salary sacrifice schemes (Cycle to Work, Buy/Sell Annual Leave)
• Access to Benefit Hub for discounts on everyday shopping
• Enhanced pension scheme
• Opportunities for training and personal development
• Hybrid working

About Us

Motor Neurone Disease moves fast. It takes away time, it takes away independence and it has no cure. Every day we support people affected by MND. We fund ground-breaking research. We campaign for better care. We’re here for everyone who needs us. Because with MND, every day matters.

Safeena is the UK’s first Muslim Cancer Support Network. We are entering a pivotal phase of growth as we transition from a volunteer-led initiative into a professionally governed, nationally scalable charity.

We are seeking an exceptional Head of Transformation to lead this organisational step-change.

The Role

You will drive transformation across governance, systems, culture and delivery. Working closely with the Board and senior stakeholders, you will build the operational infrastructure required to scale Safeena’s three-pillar model:

• Patient-centred faith-sensitive support

• Healthcare navigation and advocacy

• Community awareness and stigma reduction

You will ensure Safeena becomes compliant, data-driven, financially sustainable and ready for national expansion.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead organisational development, governance and risk management

• Embed safeguarding, GDPR and quality assurance systems

• Build and oversee operational systems (CRM, reporting, dashboards)

• Strengthen partnerships with NHS, mosques and community partners

• Support income generation and long-term sustainability

• Develop a high-performing, accountable culture

About You

You will bring:

• Proven experience delivering organisational transformation

• Strong governance, compliance and risk oversight expertise

• Experience building systems and infrastructure in a growing charity

• Financial literacy and strategic planning capability

• Exceptional stakeholder and partnership management skills

• A commitment to equity and culturally competent service delivery

Experience within the charity, health or community sector is desirable.

This is a rare opportunity to shape the future of a nationally significant, faith-sensitive cancer support network addressing health inequalities across the UK.

Funders In Good is looking for a Programme Officer to join our programmes team and help deliver initiatives that support and grow social ventures.

Funders In Good provides capacity-building support, including training, diagnostics, tailored grants, and strategic support, to help social ventures enhance their growth and impact. By 2035, our goal is to help build 10 best-in-class community organisations serving Islam and Muslims in the UK. We back ventures and leaders who are contributing to our vision of a society in which commitment to God is flourishing.

As a Programme Officer, you will work closely with the existing team to develop and deliver high-quality interventions. You will support key areas of work within our programme framework, contribute to the delivery of ongoing projects, and assist in other important areas of the organisation, such as our Funder Community and core operations.

We are looking for an organised, experienced, and confident Programme Officer who is committed to our vision.

To apply for the role, please submit your CV and prepare a supporting statement (maximum 200 words per question), answering the following questions:

1. What resonates with you about Funders In Good’s God-centred mission and long-term approach?

2. How you would plan, deliver, and evaluate a cohort-based capacity-building programme.

3. How you would handle a disengaged venture leader while managing competing programme priorities.

Please read the Job Description for full details or to arrange an informal chat with the team. Please note the applicant should be UK based, as the role will require travel to London.

The National League Trust is a registered charity and is one of a group of community focused organisations that are linked to professional football.  As a critical partner of the National League, the Trust supports the development of community projects at football clubs who are members of the competition.  

We are looking for someone who can lead the Trust, with a vision to use knowledge, influence and funding to improve the lives of those who benefit from the work of the organisations the Trust supports. This will involve change and shaping the Trust so that it is guaranteed a successful future.

As our new Head of Trust, you will lead a resilient, dedicated small team with a clear strategic focus on impact, innovation, strengthening standards and improving visibility. You will be guided by our values which include working with trust and accountability, learning, sharing what works and collaboration.  You will shape our direction, embed our strategic framework, strengthen relationships and ensure robust governance. 

We are looking for a strategic, relational and operational leader to take the Trust forward in its development over the next five years.  This includes:

• developing and delivering our strategy
• overseeing grant funding operations
• working to increase our unrestricted income
• raising the Trust’s profile
• growth of activity and impact.  

Critical to the role is building and sustaining strong relationships with key stakeholders in all sectors: including potential funders and other third sector bodies.

You do not need to have a background in football for this role. Your skills and experience can be obtained in any sector.

About Us

We’re the UK’s leading bowel cancer charity. We’re determined to save lives and improve the quality of life of everyone affected by bowel cancer. We support and fund targeted research, provide expert information and support to patients and their families, educate the public and professionals about the disease and campaign for early diagnosis and access to best treatment and care.  

We currently have around 95 staff based in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Thanks to the generosity of our community, we’re in a privileged position to be able to grow our staff team to deliver our ambitious strategy, On a mission. There are huge challenges facing bowel cancer patients across the UK and our community needs us now more than ever. We’re building a strong and united team to bring us closer to a future where nobody dies of bowel cancer. 

Senior Early Diagnosis Programme Manager

The Senior Early Diagnosis Programme Manager is a key role as we develop and evolve our early diagnosis programmes at Bowel Cancer UK. The role will provide strategic and operational leadership across the charity’s awareness and engagement programmes and the new Bowel Towns programme. This role will manage a multi-disciplinary team delivering programmes that improve cancer awareness, empower communities, and drive earlier diagnosis.

In addition, as the charity’s services lead for Northern Ireland (NI), the post holder will build high-impact partnerships and develop a regional plan to enhance awareness, early detection, and support for people affected by cancer. You’ll work closely with the Head of Services and Support to ensure our early diagnosis services are impactful, inclusive, and evidence-based.

Safeguarding

Safeguarding is everyone's responsibility and at Bowel Cancer UK we are committed to safeguarding children, young people and vulnerable adults and we expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

Successful candidates may be subject to either a satisfactory basic, standard or enhanced DBS check from the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) dependent upon the role.

About the Foyer Federation

Young people who experience homelessness are more likely to experience it later in life too. Our purpose is to break this cycle.

For over 30 years, we have led a national network of 51 Youth Foyers, reaching approximately 3,100 young people aged 16-25 who can’t live at home every year.

Youth Foyers are more than a place to stay: they are thriving communities, with people - not circumstance - at the heart. By building on young people’s strengths, talents and aspirations, Youth Foyers offer a holistic living and learning opportunity for young people to realise their power and purpose, and move on equipped to thrive as independent adults.

What we do

Through community of practice events, consultation and training, and our quality development programme, we provide youth supported housing services with infrastructural support to adopt and deliver an impactful Youth Foyer service.

By working with services to build their resilience to external challenges, capacity to work holistically with young people, and high quality provision that centres youth voice, we increase the number of young people who move on from supported housing with the power and agency to thrive.

We’re now looking for a passionate programme coordinator with a flair for building positive relationships to join our team in the north west of England.

As Network & Programme Coordinator, you will be responsible for developing and nurturing relationships with staff and young people in our Youth Foyer network.

By proactively listening to the network’s needs, ambitions and experiences; offering coaching and development opportunities; and guiding Youth Foyers through our accreditation programme, you will support services to develop and deliver transformational opportunities for young people who can’t live at home.

You will also be responsible for the delivery of funded programmes for and with young people (16-25) and staff in north west Youth Foyers.

Find out more and apply

If you’re a proactive relationship builder with a passion for enabling young people to realise their power and purpose, we’d love to hear from you. 
More information on the role, who we’re looking for and how to apply can be found in the job pack on our website.

About the role

Plantlife is the global voice for plants and fungi. Together with our partners, we work to ensure that global and national strategies for nature, people and the climate prioritise and invest in the restoration of native wild plant species and habitats for a healthy, diverse, plant rich world.
The Head of Plantlife Scotland is a leadership position, to inspire and influence programmes that develop and deliver Plantlife’s ambitions for conservation impact in Scotland.

About you

We are looking for an experienced, inspirational leader who has the skills and drive to grow Plantlife’s impact and influence via partnerships and programmes in Scotland. You will be confident in networking and collaborating, able to engage diverse and high-level audiences in external fora, with substantial experience of working to influence conservation outcomes. 

 As a member of Plantlife’s Leadership Group you will foster an organisation-wide culture that is ambitious, collaborative, and expert and credible

To apply for the role or view the full recruitment pack, please visit our website. We look forward to hearing from you!

Please note we do not accept CV's.

Role outline and purpose

The Head of External Relations leads strategic engagement and influencing activities to ensure hunger and hardship remain a priority for key external audiences, to build the breadth and depth of support needed to help end the need for food banks.  This role engages and influences target stakeholders in government, business, civil society and faith communities to prioritise hunger and hardship in their decisions and actions.

This role is part of Trussell’s Prioritising Hunger and Hardship programme, the goal of which is to keep hunger and hardship at the forefront of conversations and decision making – both amongst the public and key individuals and organisations relevant to our cause.  This role is focused on the successful delivery of the overall programme outcomes, contributing to the fulfilment of our long-term vision of a UK without the need for food banks.

Role responsibilities

· Leading the organisation’s external influencing strategy to shape key conversations, decisions, and activities among target audiences to ensure hunger and hardship remain a national priority.  Working closely with colleagues across the organisation focused on influencing and advocacy with relevant stakeholders (e.g. policymakers, advice sector, local authorities).

· Develop and maintain high-impact senior relationships with key parliamentarians, civil servants, faith leaders, youth organisations, the wider charitable food sector and other partners to build strategic support and unlock change.

· Oversee targeted engagement programmes that deepen collaboration with, and activate, key stakeholders and organisations to build and amplify the long-term wide-ranging support needed to end the need for food banks – including youth and wider civil society organisations, charitable food providers and faith communities.

· Shape and support coalitions that align around shared priorities, build a unified narrative, and strengthen the collective voice of organisations working to support people facing hunger and hardship.

· Act as an external spokesperson representing the organisation in media, at external events and high-level meetings and through written commentary.

· Provide team leadership, direction, support and line management.  This will include regular 1:1s and reviews to ensure object and targets are met.

Person Specification

Technical skills and minimum knowledge:

· Proven track record of developing and delivering successful influencing strategies, focused on wide-ranging and high-profile external audiences

· Extensive experience in senior stakeholder engagement, coalition building, and influencing with impact across a wide range of partners, including a strong understanding of the UK political landscape and policy processes

· An understanding and appreciation for faith communities, particularly the role churches play in mobilising communities to end the need for food banks

· Knowledge of issues related to hunger and hardship, with an ability to translate complex policy into accessible messaging

Behaviours and competencies:

· Strategic thinker with the ability to anticipate and respond to changing political and social environments

· Role model inclusive behaviour, values and leadership including empathy for people from disadvantaged, marginalised or socially excluded backgrounds

· Comfortable working in a fast-paced and high-performing organisation, combining problem-solving with collaborative interpersonal skills

· Effective communications and influencing skills: diplomatic, builds rapport, accessible and audience-appropriate presentation, and highly persuasive

Key Stakeholders

· Programme Leadership Team, particularly Heads withing Prioritising Hunger and Hardship (Head of Programme, Communications, and Research)

· Key influencing stakeholders within Making Social Security Work, Sustainable Holistic Advice, and Supportive Communities programmes (including Heads of Policy, Advice Advocacy, Community Building, and Community Design)

· Senior Audience messaging specialist (in programme)

· Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland leads

· Assistant Director of Income Generation

· UK parliamentarians and officials

· Senior sector partners

· Senior Church leaders

Head of Product - Alzheimer's Society

Nearly one million people in the UK are living with dementia. How they access support, information and hope increasingly depends on the digital products we build. As Head of Product at Alzheimer's Society, you'll set the strategic vision for the digital services that shape their experience. You'll also lead the multidisciplinary teams that bring those services to life.

Why this role is important:

Digital products aren't just part of our work at Alzheimer's Society, they're central to how we reach people who need us. As Head of Product within our Technology directorate, you'll own the vision and strategy for our digital experiences. From the platforms where people find information in moments of crisis, to the tools that enable our services, campaigns, and fundraising user journeys.

This is a leadership role with real breadth and impact. You'll shape investment decisions across the digital portfolio. You'll set the standards for accessibility and user-centred design, and build the operating models that enable product teams to solve the right problems. But you'll also lead people. A multidisciplinary function spanning product management, delivery management, user-centred design, and matrix leadership of engineering teams. Your role is to create the environment where these disciplines don't just coexist but genuinely collaborate to deliver outcomes that matter.

You'll work at the intersection of strategy and practice. That means setting direction and guarding principles, while staying close enough to product teams to understand the trade-offs they're navigating. It means partnering with senior stakeholders across the organisation, from service delivery to fundraising. It means ensuring that our digital strategy serves the whole Society. And it means championing the voices of people affected by dementia through our Involvement team, ensuring lived experience shapes every product decision.

The digital landscape is changing rapidly, and so are the possibilities for how we support people. You'll balance the discipline of keeping existing products reliable and secure with the curiosity to explore what's emerging. Including AI-enabled services where they can genuinely improve reach or quality of support.

About you

You're an ambitious, values-led digital leader who sees product thinking as a powerful tool for social impact. You excel at developing clear digital visions aligned to organisational objectives. You understand that great products emerge from genuinely collaborative, multidisciplinary teams working together from discovery through to live service improvement. You bring fresh thinking to digital challenges and know that user-centred, outcome-led practice enables organisations to achieve their goals.

You'll have:

- Significant experience leading a multidisciplinary digital function, including product management, delivery management, and user-centred design.
- Proven track record of leading complex digital portfolios using agile, outcome-led and evidence-informed delivery approaches, with demonstrable ability to develop and deliver clear digital strategy aligned to organisational objectives.
- Good understanding of user-centred design and continuous improvement, with experience embedding these practices at organisational scale.
- Significant experience balancing user needs, organisational priorities, operational constraints and technical sustainability, with ability to define meaningful outcomes and success measures.
- Evidenced experience of working in partnership with software engineering, platform and data teams within a matrix-managed environment.
- Good communication and stakeholder management skills, with the proven ability to influence senior leaders and engage non-technical audiences.
- Experience of budget management, resource planning, and working with external suppliers to achieve value for money.
- A champion for diversity, inclusion, equity and belonging, with experience embedding these values in leadership, culture and ways of working, and with a strong understanding of accessibility standards and ethical digital practice.

What you'll focus on:

- Owning and leading the Society-wide digital strategy, defining strategic outcomes, investment priorities and success measures for the overall digital portfolio.
- Leading delivery of strategically aligned digital products that support information, services, campaigning, fundraising and internal operations.
- Establishing and continuously improving a modern product operating model, influencing governance, funding, planning and decision-making processes across the Society.
- Leading, inspiring and developing your multidisciplinary digital function, ensuring digital capability, skills and structures evolve to meet future organisational needs, with clear professional standards across disciplines.
- Building strong, trusted relationships with senior stakeholders, communicating complex concepts clearly to executives, trustees and external partners.
- Championing accessible, inclusive and ethical design for people affected by dementia, working closely with our Involvement team.
- Managing the overall digital budget and strategic supplier relationships, ensuring effective prioritisation, resourcing, transparency and value for money.
- Providing matrix leadership to software engineering teams, working in close partnership with engineering and platform leaders to create conditions for genuinely collaborative teams working from problem discovery through to live service improvement.

We are looking for someone who shares our values of Determination, Compassion, Trusted Expertise, and Better Together. Are you ready to bring strategic digital product leadership to one of the UK's largest health and care charities? Can you combine technical expertise with compassionate, mission-driven leadership to ensure our digital services help end the devastation of dementia?

Important dates

The deadline for applications will be 12:00 PM on Tuesday 24th February 2026.
There will be three stages of interviews that will take place:

- In person at Crutched Friars, Tower Hill, London on W/C 2nd March 2026.
- A 45-minute session with our Involvement Panel taking place via Video Call on W/C 9th March 2026.
- A final 45-minute interview taking place via Video Call on W/C 9th March 2026.

There will be a presentation to prepare for the first interview which we will ask you to present in person at our London HQ.

About Alzheimer's Society

Dementia is the UK's biggest killer. One in three people born in the UK today will develop dementia in their lifetime.

At Alzheimer's Society, we're the UK's leading dementia charity and the only one to tackle all aspects of dementia by giving help and hope to people living with dementia today and in the future. We give vital support to people facing the most frightening times of their lives, while also funding groundbreaking research and campaigning to make dementia the priority it should be.

Together with our supporters, we're working towards a world where dementia no longer devastates lives.

Our values make sure that our focus is clear for the challenges and opportunities ahead and remind us of what we all stand for.

Our commitment to Equity, Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging

We need to ensure the voices around our table better reflect and understand the communities we exist to serve. We strongly encourage individuals to apply who have a disability, impairment or health condition or individuals who identify as Black, Asian or from another minority ethnic background, as these groups are currently under-represented at Alzheimer's Society.  

We want everyone we work with, as a colleague, volunteer, supporter, or someone we support, to feel included and that they belong at Alzheimer's Society. 

Our Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy here along with our internal employee forum and Employee Lived Experience network groups help us promote inclusion and belonging, becoming an engaged and inclusive organisation for all our people. 

Our hiring process

During your recruitment process we want to make sure that you bring your whole self and can be at your best. We are working hard to ensure our recruitment process is as inclusive as possible, so please do inform us of your experience and anything you think we could do better by completing our candidate survey when you apply.  Please also contact Alzheimer's Society Talent Acquisition Team via [email protected] for application support or any adjustments you might need.

To ensure fairness and consistency to select the best candidate for this role, all our applications are anonymised up until an interview has been confirmed. We recognise the benefits of AI, but if you're considering using it to submit your application, we encourage you to reflect on the value it truly adds. AI tools often lack the personal touch and authenticity that set candidates apart. We want to hear your unique perspective, experiences, and skills, so we encourage you to showcase them in your own voice.

We try to avoid closing roles early where possible, however if we receive a high volume of applications, we may close earlier than the advertised closing date. Should this occur, we will aim to provide you with at least 48 hours' notice.

We are committed to safer recruitment and ensuring the welfare of those we work with, due to the nature of some of our roles, we might need to carry out a Criminal Record Check at the relevant level. You can read more information via our Website.

Giving back to you

Our employees work hard every day to make a true difference in people's lives. We are proud to support them with a range of benefits, recognition and many options for working agilely, all contributing to a strong work life balance. We also have various learning programmes to support you in your development and help you grow to realise your potential and shape a career with Alzheimer's Society. 

You can also visit our Working for Us pages, which give you more information about what it's like to be an employee at the Society.