Contract Jobs
About the Youth Endowment Fund
We’re here to prevent children and young people becoming involved in violence. We do this by finding out what works and building a movement to put this knowledge into practice.
The Youth Endowment Fund (YEF) is a charity with a £200m endowment and a mission that matters. We exist to prevent children becoming involved in violence. We do this by funding great initiatives, leading cutting-edge research and working for change - scaling up and spreading the practices that make a difference.
The Chief Operating Officer (COO) has a critical role in ensuring we succeed in this work. You have a key leadership role in overseeing the overall health of the Fund in partnership with the Executive Director. The role oversees our finances, people management and – for the right candidate –much of our grant-making and project management.
Key responsibilities
You’ll lead on key organisational governance processes and ensure the Fund makes wise decisions, by:
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Being a leading member of our Directors’ team, overseeing all elements of the Fund’s work.
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Ensuring that the Fund operates as efficiently and effectively as possible by prioritising the right activities and matching resources to deliver on our mission.
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Ensuring we have the right long, medium and short-term financial plans in place and that we maintain close control over our financial decisions and spend.
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Informing our Board and our Risk and Audit Committee on our financial performance and risk.
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Ensuring the Fund’s investments are well managed through supporting the Endowment Investment Committee (this does not require investment experience).
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Managing our Grants and Evaluation Committee (this decides which evaluations we should fund) and ensuring it operates effectively.
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Ensuring that any ambiguities in the organisation are identified and removed.
You make sure that the Fund has the people, tools and resources in place to excel. This will require us to:
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Hire, develop and inspire the very best people: Managing our Head of People, you will ensure that we hire the best possible staff, compensate them appropriately, provide necessary and effective training, maintain a strong focus on staff well-being, manage and develop staff effectively and address poor performance when required.
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Provide staff with the tools they need to perform: Managing our Head of Grant Operations, you will ensure that we have the tools we need to deliver, including management information, databases, systems and processes and office facilities.
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Track performance: Track performance against our goals efficiently and effectively, championing a system of accountability and action to review, identify and empower the right people to act on delivering according to the plan.
Working with colleagues, you’ll ensure we award grants, manage grantees and oversee evaluations efficiently and effectively. This will require us to:
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Make excellent decisions about our grants: Working with – and potentially managing1 - the Assistant Director for Programmes, Impact and Partnerships, you will help to ensure that our processes for assessing funding applications achieve our organisational priorities for evidence generation. This requires you to understand what partners are trying to do, whether it’s likely to work, whether it will help us build an accessible and trusted body of knowledge, and whether we can build on it to make long-term change happen.
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Evaluate our programmes: Working with - and potentially managing - the Assistant Director of Evaluation, you will help to ensure that we select and partner with high-quality evaluators to understand how well different activities work.
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Ensuring the team maintains effective monitoring processes: Working with your team, you will develop the necessary skills, processes and decision-making processes to identify when things aren’t going to plan and respond accordingly.
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Build strong relationships with your external partners: You and your team will build strong, trusting relationships with the projects the YEF funds and the evaluators that we work with. Your team will be known for being attentive yet assertive and measured and efficient in the reporting information we expect. You will become well connected in the sectors that we are working in.
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Identify opportunities to scale up projects: You will be proactive in identifying projects that would benefit from capacity development support or that may be ready to scale up their work, collaborating with Impetus to deliver on this.
In support of these goals you will also
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Lead and build a team that is so much more than the sum of its parts: Working with your direct reports you will build a culture that brings the very best of the different skill sets and approaches in your team. You will lead this team, providing exceptional direction, culture and clarity.
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Make it easy to be effective when working in your team: You will bring clarity, lean processes, clear accountabilities, timely decision-making and effective systems so that people working in your team comment on how easy it is to get things done.
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See your primary team as the Directors team: As a core member of the Directors team, you will be part of making the most important decisions about the short-term and long-term strategy of the Fund. You will build and model the culture and values that we need to make a real difference. You will leave ego at home and look to make the rest of this team a great success.
Person specification
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You are excellent at leading on finance in an organisation: You find it easy and straightforward to develop and oversee, large organisational budgets and ensure timely preparation of management accounts. You’re excellent at financial forecasting and understand how to make judgements and recommendations based on future scenario planning. You have experience reporting to Boards on financial performance and health, and leading on organisational external audits.
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You are strategic about finance: You’ve got real skill in distilling complex financial information into simple, easy to understand reports and presentations that enable good decision-making. You see your knowledge of finance as a way to serve Director-level colleagues with overall decision-making. You also understand how to navigate competing priorities and how to calculate and articulate risk and reward, knowing few decisions are straightforward.
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You get teams to use data well: You understand that accurate data and excellent management information tools enable good decision-making. You understand how management information databases (like Salesforce) work and would be able to maintain and build a culture of recording data and maintaining data quality within big teams. Ideally, you have experience working directly with Salesforce.
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You get things done and are brilliant at improving things: In previous jobs, you have held significant responsibility for ensuring challenging projects are delivered on time. You like finding ways to make things operate better for everyone. You are excellent at designing and putting in place effective systems and processes.
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You are a low ego and effective leader: You have a track record of building and leading effective teams. You are thoughtful about how to get a team working well and people tend to warm to you and respect you. You are not afraid of managing someone brighter and better than you or of addressing poor performance. You leave ego at home. You work very well in a team. You like taking responsibility for things. You can balance the task, the individual and the team.
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You are interested and experienced in both staff development and financial planning: You are equally at home thinking about the processes and approach we need to recruit and develop great staff as you are thinking about how we control our expenditure and report our finances.
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You learn fast but remain humble: You are quick at getting your head around things. It wouldn't faze you to have responsibility for organising things that are new to you as long as you have an expert to ask advice from. You like learning and developing. You know how much you don't know as well as what you do.
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You are interested and thoughtful about grant-making and evaluation: You may not be an expert in grant-making, but you have experience of how charities think and approach applications for money. You have enough cynicism to know how these things can go wrong, but not so much that you can’t make them go right. You may not be an expert in evaluation, but you care about finding out what works.
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You are an excellent strategic thinker: People say that you are good at seeing the big picture as well as the detail. You have experience of wrestling into place a strategy for a project or organisation. You would be able to describe the strategy of the work you are leading at the moment. You are able to see things from different points of view.
While it’s not a criteria, we’re especially interested to hear from applicants who have lived experience of youth violence.
It’s also important to us that the people we hire do not discriminate. We believe in being inclusive and giving everyone an equal chance to succeed. Applications are welcome from all regardless of age, sex, gender identity, disability, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, religion or belief, race, sexual orientation, transgender status or social economic background.
All appointments will be made on merit, following a fair and transparent process. In line with the Equality Act 2010, however, the organisation may employ positive action where candidates from underrepresented groups can demonstrate their ability to perform the role equally well.
Additional benefits include
£1,000 professional development budget annually, 28 days plus Bank Holidays, four half days for volunteering activities.
If you’re interested
To apply, please send a CV and cover letter, and complete the monitoring form click on "Apply for this job" button by 5pm, Friday 31st May 2024.
We will plan to host the first round of interviews the week commencing the 3rd June 2024.
You’ll be required to provide proof of your eligibility to work in the UK. As part of our commitment to flexible working we will consider a range of options for the successful applicant. All options can be discussed at the interview stage.
Your data
Your personal data will be shared for the purposes of the recruitment exercise. This includes our HR team, interviewers (who may include other partners in the project and independent advisors), relevant team managers and our IT service provider if access to the data is necessary for performance of their roles. We do not share your data with other third parties, unless your application for employment is successful and we make you an offer of employment. We will then share your data with former employers to obtain references for you. We do not transfer your data outside the European Economic Area.
The people we are looking for do not discriminate and we believe in being inclusive and giving everyone an equal chance to succeed. Applications are welcome from all regardless of age, sex, gender identity, disability, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, religion or belief, race, sexual orientation, transgender status or social economic background.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Actively Interviewing
This organisation is scheduling interviews as the applications come in. Don’t miss your opportunity, apply now!
My client is a charity dedicated to transforming the lives of children in the UK. Funding and supporting charities working with young people from disadvantaged backgrounds, they work to ensure everyone gets the right support to succeed in education, work and life.
At present they are looking to appoint an interim Director of Finance & Operations to oversee a broad portfolio and lead on a number of key projects:
Key responsibilities:
- Working effectively with the CEO and other members of the Senior Leadership Team to contribute to the organisation’s strategy and financial management.
- Leading and directing the operations function including Finance, HR, IT and Facilities.
- Oversight of the delivery of the statutory accounts and annual report.
- Lead on office lease negotiations and/ or potential office relocation.
- Executive oversight on the implementation of a new people plan, including a pay and rewards review.
The successful candidate will be a fully qualified accountant and have previous experience of working at board level within a charity. Comfortable with leading teams outside of your financial expertise, you will be an empowering leader with strong coaching skills, and the ability to develop and inspire others.
My client offers a flexible hybrid working policy, with 2 days a week in their central London office.
A reputable housing association is looking for a Fixed Asset Accountant to join the team in an exciting period for the organisation.
The company provides safe, affordable homes that benefits communities and provides support for those who need it.
This is a great role for a candidate who has demonstrable experience working in housing/property on the Fixed Asset Register, who has made improvements to systems and procedures.
Role:
- Ensure accuracy and maintenance of Fixed Asset Register
- Update the Register and maintain the property ledger
- Assist with quarterly and annual returns
- Month end support within chosen area
Requirements:
- Qualified Accountant
- Housing Association experience including track record maintaining Fixed Asset Register
- Experience with complex reconciliations and financial records
- Excellent excel skills
If this role is of interest, please get in touch as the role is urgent.
In our company values we aim for equity at all stages of the recruitment process, please let us know if we can do anything to make the process more accessible to you.
Actively Interviewing
This organisation is scheduling interviews as the applications come in. Don’t miss your opportunity, apply now!
My client is a leading and pioneering UK health charity. From education to prevention, support and counselling to political campaigning, they deliver a wide range of services to people across the country.
Currently in the middle of a major transformation programme, they are keen to secure some additional resource for the busy finance team that can lead them through year end.
Key responsibilities will include:
- Preparation of year end statutory accounts – financial reporting and analysis, trial balance, P&L and balance sheet.
- Working with finance colleagues on information required for internal and external stakeholder reporting.
- Responsible for preparing analysis to support the statutory disclosures.
- Handling external audit queries with auditors.
The successful candidate will be fully qualified and have experience of preparing accounts for year end in the charity sector. A good level of Excel and practical, can-do approach are also essential.
This role has been assessed as inside of IR35. With flexible office working practices, this role can be delivered fully remote.
Does the prospect of working for a world-leading research institute, focused on promoting sustainability for the betterment of society worldwide, interest you? If so, this is an excellent interim opportunity for you with an ASAP start to at least the end of 2024. Reporting directly into the CEO and overseeing a total team of 15 across Finance, Procurement and Assurance, as Interim FD you'd play a pivotal role in the smooth running and strategic direction of the department.
In addition to team management, your main responsibilities will include:
- Providing financial leadership and strategic management advice to the CEO and, alongside the CEO, reporting to the Board
- Developing and overseeing transparent management reporting capabilities including budgeting and performance reporting
- Leading on the annual financial planning, budgeting and forecasting cycle, as well as the year end and audit
- Overseeing bids for new resources, such as capital bids
- Maintaining funder and investor relations with the organisation's main funders
- Being the primary liaison with regulatory bodies, leading on all matters for the consideration of the Finance & Audit committee
The successful candidate will:
- Be a CCAB qualified finance professional with significant post-qualification experience in senior management roles
- Have demonstrable prior experience working in a no.1 Director of Finance or CFO level role
- Be highly experienced managing substantial budgets, resources and funding
- Have an excellent track record of managing and motivating teams, as well as being able to demonstrate strong negotiation and influencing skills both externally and internally
This role falls inside of IR35, and is advertised on the basis of a hybrid working model (3 days per week in the office).
In our company values we aim for equity at all stages of the recruitment process, please let us know if we can do anything to make the process more accessible to you.
Actively Interviewing
This organisation is scheduling interviews as the applications come in. Don’t miss your opportunity, apply now!
The Walcot Foundation is an independent grant-making charity located in Lambeth, South London, providing a range of economic and social support directly to young people, schools and community groups in order to transform their prospects in the borough. To strengthen this mission the Foundation set up the BounceBack programme, now in its third year, working with a consortium of 10 place-based charities and community interest companies in South London to help young people find paid work.
As part of a joint project, the BounceBack partner organisations are looking for an experienced employer engagement professional to help them develop, manage and build stronger relationships with employers and broker work experience and employment opportunities for the Lambeth young people they support.
Please submit a proposal/cover letter of no more than three pages. Please note this would be a freelance consultancy role. In the proposal please include why you’re qualified for the work, and how you would approach this project. We strongly encourage applicants from diverse backgrounds to apply.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Actively Interviewing
This organisation is scheduling interviews as the applications come in. Don’t miss your opportunity, apply now!
These unique and rewarding freelance audit opportunities would suit experienced experienced audit professionals that are flexible, love diverse travel experiences, supporting worthwhile causes and inspiring people. AfID is recruiting on behalf of a leading specialist in international NGO grant audit services for development donors such as the UN and the World Bank. Assignments would suit experienced qualified audit professionals with grant audit / management experience, ideally in a not-for-profit/ international development context
Role overview.
Complete international grant expenditure audits for a diverse range of projects (grant recipients) funded by international donor institutions ranging from emergency aid, to long term development in areas such as agriculture, health or infrastructure or technical research. Assignments are 1-3 weeks in length and based across the European mainland and the developing world. These are offered on an assignment by assignment basis, one to two months in advance.
Contractors can be based outside the UK
Requirements
- Qualified ACA / ACCA or equivalent – 5+ years post qualified experience
- Grant management and audit and reporting experience with international institutions. Preference given to individuals that have worked on UN or EC grant assurance assignments
- Diplomacy and cultural sensitivity while working with a hugely diverse range of clients and beneficiaries
- A real interest in international development and associated funding structures
- Ideally but not essential fluency in a second language such as Spanish, German, French, Arabic & Portugese
- Excellent communication, report writing and presentation skills in English.
- Resilience and adaptability
Personal attributes:
- At least 5-10+ years of relevant audit experience
- Ability to work under pressure; Strong planning, organisational and time management skills
- Sound technical and analytical skills, report writing and presentation skills
Passionate about international travel and development and willing to work in international locations. Individual must be prepared to travel to challenging locations when it is deemed safe to do so. Individuals must also be able to demonstrate effective past working practices when working remotely with a range of clients.
LMK (Let Me Know) Youth Leader (Freelance Educator / Youth Worker)
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Across London boroughs
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£200 per 2hour workshop
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Sessional
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Available for a minimum of one delivery per month, pending workshop demands
About LMK
Good relationships shape our health and happiness, yet we are taught so little about them. LMK is a registered education charity on a mission to change that. We run workshops educating young people about healthy and unhealthy behaviours, so that they can avoid abuse and thrive in relationships.
Using film and guided discussions, our workshop leaders support children and young people in honest conversations about relationships and leave them better equipped to spot the early warning signs of abuse and inspire them to enjoy healthy, fulfilling relationships. We explore the 10 signs of healthy and unhealthy relationships and include practical lessons young people want to learn about (like consent) and practice scenarios in a safe, supportive and non-judgmental environment.
LMK is a learning organisation and prides itself in supporting leaders to develop their skills. We offer training and Continuous Professional Development (CPD) opportunities, as well as peer-to-peer learning and reflective practice sessions.
Job Description
LMK is looking for passionate and organised educators (LMK Leaders) to run community workshops, aimed at young people aged between 11 and 24. Through engaging, relatable, workshops you will help young people identify signs of healthy and unhealthy relationship behaviours, provide strategies for them to recognise the early warning signs of abuse and give them tools to keep themselves and their friends safe.
The minimum hours required per workshop is 3 hrs. This includes arriving 30 minutes before delivery, 1.5 to 2 hrs delivery and then remaining back 10 minutes and being accessible to young people who would like further information or a one-to-one conversation, surrounding the subject of relationships.
There is also 30 minutes admin, which is usually completed off-site, such as inputting student surveys and a Leader survey.
Responsibilities
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Always adhere to LMK and partner safeguarding practices and procedures.
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Respond to comms (emails/WhatsApp) sent out by LMK core team members, in a timely manner, to support planning and organising of sessions.
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Meet with co-facilitators to carry out pre-session planning, minimum two working days before delivery.
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Plan and deliver interactive LMK workshops in educational, sports and community settings in line with LMK delivery style and ethos.
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Use your experience and knowledge of the issues affecting young people to tailor the workshops accordingly.
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Ensure all youth participants and the adults in school/community organisations who attend a LMK workshop complete the post session feedback surveys.
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Complete reflective post session Leader surveys to support practice and programme development, after each workshop.
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Debrief with LMK’s Programme Manager and provide ongoing feedback about your sessions, through LMK’s reflective practice processes.
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Undertake relevant training associated with LMK’s work including but not restricted to child protection, safeguarding, violence against women and girls (VAWG).
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Continue to learn about and develop your skills on the issues affecting young people’s relationships including domestic violence, abuse, adverse childhood experiences, trauma informed practice, gang culture and grooming, mental health, sexual exploitation, consent, sharing of nudes /sexting, bullying in person and online, tech and online safety, pornography.
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Provide feedback and co-design training and educational resources on issues affecting young people and their relationships, including opportunities to share your knowledge and expertise at peer-to-peer learning sessions.
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Attend termly virtual Leader huddles to remain connected to peers and organisational values, mission, and purpose.
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Contribute towards and keep up to date with LMK internal/external communications platforms, such as LMK Newsletters and social media.
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Engage with LMK’s Youth Advisory Board Members, if and when invited to do so.
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Lead by example and promote healthy relationship behaviours in your own lives/communities and within LMK (team player; acknowledging and working with diversity; being receptive to new ideas and developmental feedback, etc)
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Use your own networks to recruit new schools and youth groups into the programme.
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Drive forward our evaluation programme - collecting data, as well as providing on-going feedback to LMK.
Knowledge, Skills and Experience
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Extensive experience of teaching or working with young people (9 to 24 yrs old) in an educational, sports or community setting.
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Minimum 2 years’ experience co-designing, delivering and evaluating group sessions, consisting of minimum, of 12 and maximum of 30 participants.
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Experience or co-designing session plans and co-facilitating with others; able to collaborate equally with others.
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A strong commitment to young people and knowledge and understanding of issues affecting their relationships.
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Excellent communication, interpersonal skills with the ability to create a safe and non-judgmental space, that allows young people to speak freely about their relationships and experience.
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Strong emotional intelligence and the ability to deliver sensitive information whilst treating young people’s concerns with respect.
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Capable of maintaining confidentiality and professional boundaries with young people, peers, and professionals.
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Able to adapt and be flexible in workshops to get the best engagement from a range of participants.
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Skilled at facilitating virtual workshops and working with a selection of online portals.
Requirements
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Entitled to work in the UK.
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Hold a DBS certificate or be willing to let us undertake a check on your behalf.
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Have a recent safeguarding qualification from a recognised provider or be willing to undertake additional training in this area.
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Flexibility to work non-traditional, after-school and occasional weekend / holiday hours.
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Comply with policies and procedures relating to child protection, confidentiality, data protection and reporting concerns to an appropriate person.
LMK strives to create a fair and healthy environment where all our colleagues feel valued and able to be their authentic selves at work. We understand that our people have commitments and personal interests outside of work and so we create a flexible working environment, in which people can perform at their best.
LMK values the differences that a diverse workforce brings and is committed to inclusivity. We welcome all applicants from any race, ethnicity, colour, religion, gender, age, sexuality, or any other protected characteristic.
We can make reasonable adjustments throughout the application process and on the job. Please let us know, by contacting us separately if you need any adjustments or changes to be made during the recruitment process because of a disability or long-term health condition.
You can learn more about how we handle your personal data and your rights by reviewing our privacy notice LMK Privacy Policy
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
The Waterways Ombudsman Scheme is in place to ensure the independent handling of complaints made against the Canal & River Trust and other navigation authorities. The Waterways Ombudsman is appointed by the Waterways Ombudsman Committee who oversee the working of the Scheme and the remuneration of the Ombudsman on an independent basis. The Waterways Ombudsman is a certified Alternative Dispute Resolution entity and a full voting member of the Ombudsman Association.
The Waterways Ombudsman Committee is recruiting for a new Waterways Ombudsman. We are aiming for a July 2024 start date.
Waterways Ombudsman
Working part-time and in a location of your choosing, you will take responsibility for all aspects of the ombudsman scheme. This includes handling complaints from initial enquiry through to resolution, as well as managing relationships with, the Committee, and the Canal & River Trust and other navigation authorities, waterway organisations and the media. You will also be responsible for administrative elements of the scheme, such as managing the website and preparing the annual report. The job involves working flexibly around four to five days over a month at a rate of £600 per day, which is paid through the independent Waterways Ombudsman Committee.
We’re looking for someone with a solid understanding of how public or private sector ombudsman schemes work. If you haven’t gained direct experience within one already, then you will certainly have worked at a senior level within a legal environment, dispute resolution system or similar. Sound judgment and integrity are important, as are strong analytical, problem-solving and negotiating skills. You must also be able to work alone and in a highly autonomous way.
For more information about the role and the scheme please visit the Waterways Ombudsman website.
First and second stage virtual interviews will be held by the Waterways Ombudsman Committee from mid to late May with a view to final appointment
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.