Impact lead jobs in birmingham

Policy Specialist (Children and Young People)

Are you interested in improving the lives of children and young people with a learning disability? Can you turn complex ideas into evidence-based policy? Are you a skilled communicator able to influence decision-makers? If so, we would love to hear from you!

We are currently looking for a Policy Specialist to join Mencap. This position sits within the Policy and Public Affairs teams of Mencap’s Campaigns, Advocacy and Activism Directorate (CAA). You will work closely with our influencing, information and advice, campaigning, and research work, as well as sector partners like the Disabled Children's Partnership. 

This is an exciting new role to deliver policy change and enhance the rights of children and young people with a learning disability. At a key time to influence Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) education reform, we are seeking a policy specialist to shape policy work that reflects the needs and experiences of children, young people, and their families. Working within the policy team, you will be responsible for developing evidence-based policy work and influencing decision-makers.

This is a full time position (37.5 hours per week). We are flexible with your work location, but there may be some occasional travel needed to our London office or Westminster.

You will: 

• Translate complex work into clear and persuasive policy briefings, consultation responses and reports.
• Work within wider coalitions of charities, building collaborative relationships and ensuring that the needs and priorities of our community are addressed.
• Develop and expand Mencap’s ‘Policy Shapers’ work, ensuring our work reflects the experiences of children and young people with a learning disability and their families.
• Support our information and advice team, briefing them on important developments, inputting into casework discussions relevant to your areas of work, and supporting the creation of public information resources.
• Represent Mencap at meetings and events, with MPs, civil servants, and sector partners.
• Identify and analyse relevant research to develop evidence-based policy recommendations.

You will bring to this role:

• Experience of working on public policy issues.
• Strong communication skills: experience tailoring your messaging to a variety of different audiences and representing an organisation.
• Experience building positive relationships and working collaboratively to achieve outcomes; able to positively challenge, negotiate and compromise.
• The ability to work on your own initiative while contributing to team priorities and sustain enthusiasm under pressure.
• Experience analysing evidence to develop recommendations.
• Knowledge the issues facing children and young people with a learning disability and/or the SEND system, as well as the wider parliamentary system. 
• Passion about making the world a better place for people with a learning disability. 

If you're passionate about driving meaningful change for children and young people with a learning disability and you're ready to use your policy expertise to make a real impact, please apply now with an up-to-date CV. This role will close on Monday 27th October. Interviews will be held via Microsoft Teams during the week commencing 3rd November.

Benefits

Here at Mencap, we offer an impressive range of benefits designed to support and reward our employees to ensure that our teams feel valued and appreciated.

Our benefits package offers 32 days of paid holiday (including bank holidays, pro rata), along with a range of perks such as discounts at leading high-street retailers, access to health cash plans, interest-free loans, and many more exciting offerings.

For more details on what we have to offer, please see the attached document outlining all the fantastic benefits available to you as a member of our team!

About Mencap

Our vision is for the UK to be the best place in the world for people with a learning disability to live happy and healthy lives.

We're here to support people with a learning disability, their families and their carers. We fight for a kinder, fairer and more inclusive society for people with a learning disability to live in.

At Mencap, everyone works with people with a learning disability either providing support or advice, or alongside one another as colleagues.

Belonging at Mencap is for everyone, every day, everywhere.

• Everyone is expected to treat people well and make Mencap an inclusive organisation.
• Every day we grow and learn. It’s okay to make mistakes but we learn from them and make changes
• Everywhere people will feel respected, valued, and safe to be themselves.

We have Belonging network groups that meet online and are open to all colleagues. The groups include people who identify as Black and Asian, LGBTQIA+, disabled or with a long- term health condition, women, parents and carers, and their allies.

We want to encourage everyone to apply to work at Mencap and we offer a variety of different contract types and working patterns. We’re not looking for specific experience. It is your personality and values that will make you a great colleague. We will train and develop you to succeed in the role you’re applying for.

Salary: £25,593.44 per annum (inclusive of shift allowance) + excellent benefits  

Remote Birmingham (remote with some hybrid working)  

Contract: Permanent,  Full time, 35 hours per week (rota basis including evenings and occasional Saturdays). 

Are you passionate about helping people manage their finances and overcome debt challenges? Do you thrive in a supportive, client-focused environment? Join our team as a Debt Advice Support Officer and make a real difference in people’s lives. 

About the Role 

As a Debt Advice Support Officer, you’ll be the first point of contact for clients preparing for debt advice. You’ll guide them through budgeting, gather key information, and support our Money Advisers by ensuring clients are ready for their advice sessions. 

This is a role for resilient candidates who are consistent in approach and can demonstrate that they are able to deal with subjects that can be highly emotive and sensitive. With proven experience in a customer service role, you will possess accurate data entry skills and have the desire to learn and develop. We offer full training and there is the opportunity, with experience in this role, to progress your career further as a Money Adviser. 

This role is an excellent way to begin your career at the Money Advice Trust in debt advice and financial support. With comprehensive training and hands-on experience, you’ll gain valuable skills that can lead to progression into a Money Adviser role and beyond. Whether you're just starting out or looking to build a meaningful career helping others, this is a fantastic opportunity to grow and make a lasting impact.

Your key responsibilities will include: 

· Support clients in creating budgets and gathering financial information 

· Maintain accurate records and appointment systems 

· Communicate empathetically and clearly with clients and colleagues 

· Ensure compliance with GDPR and internal quality standards 

About You 

Our ideal candidate will bring: 

· Strong verbal and written communication skills 

· Empathy and understanding of client needs 

· Proficiency in Microsoft Office and remote working tools 

· Attention to detail and good numerical skills 

· Experience in a customer service role 

Don’t worry if you don’t meet every requirement — if you’re excited about the role, we’d still love to hear from you. You may be the right person for this job, or for another opportunity with us. 

What We Offer 

We provide full training and extensive support to give you all the tools needed to become an exceptional Debt Advice Support Office. The majority of our three-week training programme will be conducted at our offices in Birmingham (Five Ways) along with some remote training too. 

We believe in taking care of our people, and we offer a great range of benefits, including: 

· 29 days annual leave plus bank holidays 

· A contributory pension scheme 

· Flexible hybrid working arrangement 

· Generous life insurance 

· Wellbeing days to support your mental health 

· A healthcare cashback scheme 

· Access to an Employee Assistance Programme 

· Working outside the UK (up to 30 days in a 12-month period) 

· Free on-site gym 

· Enhanced maternity pay 

· A birthday voucher to celebrate your special day 

How to Apply 

We’d love to learn more about you! Please send us your CV and a short cover letter (max 500 words) outlining how you meet the criteria in the job description and why you would be a great Debt Advice Support Officer. 

We value authentic applications, so please refrain from using AI-generated content. We’re interested in hearing your own words, experiences, and motivations, this helps us understand your genuine interest in the role and what makes you unique. 

If you need any adjustments to help you perform at your best during the recruitment process, please contact us and we’ll be happy to discuss them. 

Important Information 

We may close this advert and process early if we receive a high number of applications, so please apply as soon as possible. 

We will only use the data you supply to us for recruitment purposes, and it will be held for twelve months. For further details, please see our Privacy Notice for Job Applicants on our vacancies page. 

Our Commitment to Inclusion 

We take diversity seriously and are committed to creating a workplace that reflects the communities we serve. Our values: ‘We put people first, We support each other, We solve problems’ underpin our vision to be a place where everyone feels welcome, respected, and empowered to bring their authentic selves to work. 

We use a blind recruitment system to ensure fairness. Personal details such as name, address, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or educational institution remain hidden until shortlisting is complete. We warmly welcome applications from all backgrounds. 

What if your expertise in risk and resilience could help a leading charity make better decisions, prepare for the unexpected, and protect its ability to deliver life-changing support to people affected by dementia?

About the opportunity

As a Risk & Resilience Officer, you'll work in partnership with colleagues across all our directorates to strengthen how we identify, assess, and respond to risk. This is a role where your facilitation skills and risk knowledge directly contribute to building a more mature, risk-informed organisation that can navigate uncertainty while staying focused on its mission.

You'll be part of our Finance & Assurance directorate, working alongside the Risk and Resilience Manager to champion a positive risk culture and deliver high-quality risk and resilience information that supports decision-making at every level. From coordinating enterprise risk management and maintaining our risk framework to supporting business continuity arrangements and ensuring our resilience plans stay current, you'll play a central role in helping the Society operate with confidence.

This is an opportunity to work across the organisation, liaising with diverse teams to embed effective risk and resilience practices into how we work. You'll share best practice, drive consistency, and help ensure that our approach to risk is aligned with our strategic objectives and truly adds value.

About you:

You're either part-qualified in Risk Management or Business Continuity (through IRM, BCI, or similar), or you have proven experience maintaining successful risk management arrangements within an organisation. You understand risk frameworks and methodologies, you've provided risk and resilience advice to stakeholders, and you know how insurance processes work.

You'll have:

- Part-qualification in Risk Management or Business Continuity (IRM, BCI, etc.) or proven experience maintaining risk management arrangements.
- Experience providing risk management and resilience advice, support, and facilitation.
- Knowledge of risk management and business continuity frameworks, processes, and methodologies.
- Understanding of insurance processes, limits, and claims.
- Strong communication skills that balance being persuasive with building collaborative relationships.
- Ability to connect with and influence colleagues at all levels.
- Initiative and comfort working both independently and as part of a team.
- Critical thinking approach that identifies opportunities for improvement.

What you’ll focus on:

- Supporting the coordination of enterprise risk management across the organisation.
- Championing the development of a positive risk culture and effective risk management processes.
- Maintaining and reviewing key elements of our risk management framework, including policy, guidance, and risk appetite statements.
- Contributing to the facilitation and coordination of business continuity arrangements.
- Maintaining and reviewing our organisational resilience framework, including policies, plans, and incident management procedures.
- Working with colleagues to ensure risk and resilience practices are embedded effectively across key processes.
- Producing and coordinating high-quality risk and resilience information for directorates and the wider organisation.
- Sharing best practice across teams to drive consistency and effective escalation.
- Supporting insurance-related tasks as needed.
- Keeping current with sector trends and emerging practices in risk, business continuity, and insurance.

Could your risk and resilience expertise help protect an organisation that's making a real difference every day? Are you ready to champion a mature approach to risk in an environment where good governance enables greater impact? If you're looking for a role where your professional skills support a meaningful mission, we'd love to hear from you!

Important Dates

The deadline for applications is 23:59 on Sunday 9th November.
Interviews will take place virtually on 19th/20th November.

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 DBS check at the relevant level.

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.

We are advertising for this role in three different regions - Scotland, South East, and London. Please specify which region you are applying for.

Working hours for each regional role:

Scotland: 3 days (22.5 hours)

South East: 4-5 days (30-37.5 hours)

London: 3-4 days (22.5-30 hours)

Flexibility can be discussed at the interview. The salary shown is for full time hours and would be pro rata for part time. 
 

CAP celebrates the value of diversity and our aim is for our workforce to be as inclusive as possible as well as representing the communities we serve. With this in mind, we welcome and encourage job applications from people of all backgrounds. We particularly welcome applications from candidates from black and ethnic minority backgrounds. We are committed to continue building an environment that embraces diversity and includes all. 

Partnership Development Managers (PDM) are motivated and driven to broaden and deepen CAP's relationship with the church to fulfil CAPs Purpose, Vision & Mission.

Purpose Statement

To inspire and equip churches across the UK to help people out of debt andpoverty and invite them to become followers of Jesus.

Vision:

Transformed lives - We want to see people across the UK released from poverty, living with faith in Jesus and hope for the future.

Thriving churches - We want to see churches that have become the beating heart of their communities, actively serving them and bringing the hope of Jesus.

An end to UK poverty - We want to see a hope-filled society, free from poverty, with churches united to improve the lives of those facing debt and financial hardship. 

Mission

No one should face debt and poverty alone:  The steadfast presence of a local church, ready to walk alongside you during the toughest financial storms.

Our aim is that when a vulnerable person who needs our type of face to face help is experiencing financial crisis or vulnerability, there will be a church in their community that is ready to walk alongside them. That church will offer steadfast support as they restore their financial resilience and hope for the future whilst  introducing them to the fullness of life that Jesus offers.

Partnership Development - Team Purpose

Our work is fundamental to the growth and success of CAP, encapsulated in our Mission statement: to have a partner church in every community ready to walk alongside the poorest and most vulnerable people. We are responsible for achieving this by establishing Church Partnerships. 

Together with our Church partners, we deliver our life-changing services, firstly our core Debt Help service that is then supported by essential wrap-around resilience programs like Job Clubs, Life Skills, and Money Coaching. This work isn't just about helping people get out of debt and poverty; it's about seeing lives radically changed. We are driven by a passion to see people not only find financial freedom, thriving in life, but also become followers of Jesus and find a true sense of belonging in a local church.

Our team

We're looking for a compassionate, self-starting individual who is tenacious, goal-oriented, and target-driven with a make it happen mentality, because they know the impact growing this movement will have on thousands of people's lives.

This role is part of the Partnership Development Team within the Mission & Movement Directorate. Reporting to the Head of Movement Development, you will be responsible for initiating and engaging with senior church leaders and wider networks to partner with CAP, primarily through our life-changing Debt Centre service.

As a Partnership Development Manager, you'll be a key driver of our mission. We're looking for a self-motivated, results-oriented, problem solving individual who can build and nurture relationships across diverse church networks and denominations.

You will be responsible for generating new partnership opportunities, inspiring church leaders and wider networks to engage with CAP's vision and partner with us. You'll need to be an entrepreneurial self-starter with a proven ability to build a robust pipeline and deliver on growth targets, specifically around Debt Centre growth motivated by our desire to help more people out of debt and poverty and see them become followers of Jesus.

Partnership Development Manager Scope

• The team is split between full time and part time PDMs. 
• Significant amount of travel with large regions to cover. 
• This role has no direct reports.
• In line with our expenses policy, all expenses (e.g. mileage costs) are claimed retrospectively via our CAP Expenses system. 

Role:

Accountabilities:

• Responsible for expanding CAP's partnership network across your region alongside the Regional Director and Head of Movement Development, strategically prioritizing and developing relationships with church leaders and networks to establish new partnerships and services. You'll achieve this by collaborating with other teams, proactively networking with Christian organizations and denominational leaders (where appropriate), and representing CAP at various events, all with the goal of growing our influence and opening new services in every community.
• Proactive management of contacts as they progress through the pipeline, working alongside churches to identify if a CAP service supports their church vision, and if appropriate, manage them through the church journey and experience to open a new CAP service.
• To open new Debt Centre Partnerships as laid out in regional Development plans in target areas of deprivation and communities across the region. 
• To open resilience services (Job Clubs, Life skills & Money Coaching) with new and existing church partnerships.
• Alongside Regional Director to identify key areas from across the region to host and organize a targeted number of CAP Spotlight Events per term. These events are designed to gather church leaders around a table to have conversations around opening a multi Church Debt Centre. 
• To proactively build, manage and progress a self generated caseload of churches within your region, through cold calling, face to face meetings and all other appropriate forms of communication. This will include frequent travel across the region to meet with appropriate churches/ leaders.
• Refer potential new Debt Coaches or Churches that might want to work with an existing or expanding Church Partnership to the relevant Area Partnership Managers who are responsible for existing centre growth and sustainability.
• To work with Regional Leaders and Area Partnership Managers to deepen local knowledge and connections in order to deliver new church partnership opportunities. 
• To collaborate across departments where needed to support and engage with Church Events, Talks, Conferences, Festivals, Church Leaders Meetings and other relevant events within your region, working on exhibition stands (when necessary) to help generate enquiries.
• To work with local church teams to ensure appropriate candidates are identified and have a full understanding of the role and responsibilities involved, ensuring CAP¿s selection team receive the appropriate information in a timely manner. 
• To advocate and make introductions where appropriate for Church talks, CCT and fundraising opportunities.
• Where appropriate, to represent Partnership Development in additional projects which improve the delivery and content of CAP's products and services.

Measurable Outputs:

• Consistently exemplifies a can do, above and beyond go-getter attitude to deliver results, keeping the main thing, the main thing. 
• Achieve targets around the number of new Debt Centre openings in your region per term and year. 
• Achieve targets around the number of new to CAP, Job Clubs, Life Skills and Money Coaching openings in your region per term and year. 
• Achieve targets around the number of self generated warm leads (warm = actively engaging in conversation with a view to partnership).
• Achieve targets around Regional Spotlight events. 
• Active pipeline management (closed, lost, won). 
• Ensure that every new partner church completes and returns partnership agreements, additional policies and all candidate paperwork by the relevant deadlines for every new service prior to training (including Direct Debit Agreements).
• Active involvement to support the wider team around logistics, processes and a small amount of project management.

Culture:

• Clearly live out and embrace the cultural values of CAP.
• Clearly demonstrate a heart and passion for the charity.
• Sincere acceptance, understanding and practice of the Christian ethos and purpose of the Charity.

Other Responsibilities Include:

• Being willing to pray with staff and be fully engaged with our Christ Centred  culture.
• To encourage friends, family and other contacts to support the charity through the Life Changer program, and other fundraising initiatives.
• Attendance at annual CAP staff conferences 

• Ability to self generate opportunities through hard work, tenacity and relationship.
• Ability to build relationships and inspire others to take action, especially church leaders from across a range of denominations, your passion for the mission is infectious and is your key motivator. 
• Ability to manage the whole sales process, confidently leading the conversation and directing the next steps for action at every step. 
• Ability to talk confidently and with compassion about the subject of poverty inspiring Churches to respond to the need.
• High levels of emotional intelligence with an ability to progress relationships and conversations to reach desired outcomes.
• Strong telephone manager with an ability to connect over the phone.
• Strong influencing and negotiating skills.
• Naturally decisive and proactive.
• Natural relationship builder.
• Able to work remotely, unsupervised, under pressure and juggling multiple priorities and deadlines.
• Resilient.
• Confident Public Speaker
• A confident communicator who promotes CAP's culture and values at all times.
• Ability to prioritise time, tasks and attention effectively in a pressured environment.
• High levels of organisation skills and drive to reach targets quickly and efficiently

The above job profile is a guide to the work you may be required to undertake but does not form part of your contract of employment and may change from time to time to reflect changing circumstances. 

Experience

• Absolute passion and experience to advance the Kingdom of God, either through, with or as part of your local church.
• Demonstrable example & experience of what it takes to grow a business / portfolio / partnership / and or client base. 
• Demonstrable examples & experience of what it takes to drive success in a commercial context. 
• Demonstrable experience of what it takes to be a self starter
• Experience of managing multiple stakeholders.
• Experience in driving and delivering results.
• Experience of building networks and relationships with external organisations.
• You know what it takes and what¿s required to work to deadlines and targets. 
• Administrative experience.
• Good I.T. skills
• Comfortable praying for and with Church leaders

 Christian Commitment:

The candidate must be able to give both verbal assent to and practical demonstration of Christians Against Poverty's Statement of Faith and Core Values

Must be able to actively participate in prayer and worship, whether individual, small group or corporately, as an expression of own personal faith and in line with CAP's Statement of Faith.

All adults working in, or on behalf of the CAP have a responsibility to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and adults. This includes: A responsibility to ensure a safe environment in which CAP Services can be delivered. Identify children and adults where there may be safeguarding concerns and to follow the CAP Safeguarding Policy in addressing any concerns appropriately.

Educational requirements:

• A proven track record is what matters to make this role a success.

The Local Hub (Bloxwich West Ltd) is a not-for-profit organisation; our vision is to support and

empower residents. Local Hub will be the centre point for local people to come to when they need

advice and support. There will also be weekly activities, music concerts, monthly quizzes, etc. all part

of income generation to enable the hub to become sustainable.

The Community Officer plays a vital role in enhancing the well-being of the community through Local

Hub. This position involves meeting & greeting customers, taking room bookings, minute taking,

collaborating with local organisations to promote community engagement, overseeing activities,

serving customers, outreach work and collating information.