Advocacy and communications programme officer jobs

Director of Operations – Finance & Support Services
Dartington (& Torquay as required)
Working Hours: 37.5 hours per week, 52 weeks per year, ideally Monday-Friday 08.30-16.30
Salary: £51,663.00 - £59,597.00 per annum (DOE)

Are you a skilled operations professional with a background in finance?

We have a brand-new opportunity at Lifeworks Charity, for a Director of Operations (Finance & Support Services) to play a crucial role in our Central Support team. You will drive the sustainable growth and operational efficiency of the charity, directly contributing to our charitable impact.

You'll blend your financial expertise with your keen eye for operational oversight in this hybrid role, ensuring our resources are managed effectively to benefit the young people and families we support.

Who we are:

Since 1996, we've been empowering people with learning disabilities in Devon to achieve their dreams and build fulfilling lives. Our core values of kindness, respect, and positivity guide everything we do.

What you’ll do:

Finance

- Manage and maintain all financial aspects of the charity, including (but not limited to), budgeting, forecasting, reporting, ledgers, balance sheets, bank reconciliations, debtor accounts, cash flow management, insurances, property and procurement.
- Take a lead on the development of financial and fundraising processes and strategies.
- Manage and be the main point of contact for all aspects of ESFA and DfE funding compliance and reporting.
- Lead a small team to deliver outstanding support to the charity and act as a key financial advisor to managers across the organisation.
- Produce clear and concise monthly management accounts and provide financial insights to senior managers and the Board of Trustees.
- Working closely with external auditors, prepare and oversee our year end accounts.

Operations

- Ensure that charity governance and compliance is upheld, by contributing to record maintenance, managing registers and supporting with reviews of policies and procedures.
- Work with our external IT partners to manage our technology. You will make sure that the correct infrastructure, systems and processes are in the right place at the right time.
- Lead on IT security for the charity, implementing regular reviews to monitor compliance.
- Act as the Data Controller and manage all areas of data protection regulations, always prioritising data security.
- Develop and review charity policies as necessary, ensuring they align with best practices and legal requirements.
- Ensure compliance of Health and Safety policies, liaising with external advisors to maintain safety within the workplace.

Last but not least, we are looking for someone that is an advocate for people with learning disabilities and shares our common goal of making sure the people we support achieve their best lives with us. You may not be involved in the day-to-day work with our service users, but the work you will do is vital to the success of our charity.

What we're looking for:

You'll be a motivated and experienced professional who is passionate about making a difference. You should be:

- ACCA/CIMA/ACA part-qualified with significant experience (or fully qualified is a bonus!).
- A proven leader with the ability to inspire and develop a team.
- An expert in financial management, from budgeting to reporting.
- An excellent communicator who can clearly explain complex financial information to all audiences.
- Experienced in managing a broad portfolio, ideally including Health and Safety, IT, or facilities.
- Knowledgeable about governance frameworks and risk management.

If you are a strategic thinker with a hands-on approach and a desire to contribute to a vital cause, we would love to hear from you.

We're passionate about supporting our staff just as much as we are about supporting our service users. When you join our team, you can expect:

- An hourly rate above the Real Living Wage
- A holiday entitlement of 33 days’ holiday (inclusive of bank holidays)
- A fully funded DBS check and update service to ensure a smooth onboarding process
- Access to valuable resources including an employee assistance program to support your mental and emotional health

Building a diverse and safe team:

At Lifeworks, we're committed to fostering a workplace that reflects the diversity of our community. As a Disability Confident Employer, we actively encourage applications from individuals with disabilities who meet the job criteria, and we guarantee qualified candidates with disabilities an interview.

Lifeworks is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and adults at risk. To achieve this commitment, we will ensure the continuous development, improvement and review of robust safeguarding processes and procedures that continuously promote a culture of vigilance in respect of safeguarding within our organisation. All staff undergo Safer Recruitment checks which include pre-employment checks, reference checks, and a DBS check with Barred List checks (where applicable).

Early applications encouraged!

This vacancy is scheduled to close on the 19th of July, but may close earlier if suitable candidates are identified. So, to ensure your application is considered, ensure you apply early!

The interview format will consist of 3 parts; a formal interview assessment, a short presentation and a Q&A with staff members. If you are selected for interview, further details will be shared ahead of the above date.

Apply today and tell us why you'd be a great fit for our team.

Please note that this role was previously advertised as Operations Manager. We ask that previous applicants of this role need not reapply.

We’d appreciate no contact from agencies regarding this role. We are only accepting direct applications.

Are you looking for a dynamic and rewarding role working for an organisation with the feminist agenda at the core of its ethos? Do you believe in our values; to listen and support, to empower and respect, collaborate, innovate, and take accountability? 

Then working at Advance Charity could be the career choice for you!

We are looking for a Development and Fundraising Co-ordinator

Salary: £25,000 - £32,000 (pro-rata)

Location: Hammersmith Head Office

Hours: 21 hours (part time)

Contract: This is a maternity cover fixed term contract. We anticipate that you will start at the beginning of August to have a handover with the post holder and the initial contract is likely to finish in January 2027. However the post holder is planning to take another period of leave in March/April 2027 so we may require further and continued resources into that period of leave. This provides flexibility to extend the contract if that is suitable for all parties.

We recognise that many working women have commitments outside of work, so we’re open to discuss flexible working options and solutions that suit you and still suit the needs of the business. Please indicate in your supporting statement if you’d like to discuss flexible working options with the Hiring Manager, should they contact you regarding your application.

About us:

Advance Charity is a well-respected, award-winning, and innovative women-only organisation, established in 1998, providing emotional and practical support to women experiencing domestic abuse, and supporting women with short-term sentences to reduce offending.

About the role:

As the Development and Fundraising Co-ordinator, you will support statutory and non-statutory funding across Advance’s services, with oversight by the Development Manager and support from the Bid Officer. You will also provide assistance to the Head of Fundraising.

The role will support a high standard of bids are created, showing strong attention to detail, an ability to work under pressure and to demanding deadlines. You will track prospective funding opportunities, submit successful proposals, maintain consistent, regular communication with external stakeholders, and provide administrative support to the department. Key to the success of the post will be the ability to research appropriate funding streams, contribute to bid application content, and keep clear, accurate records.

Key responsibilities include (but are not limited to):

• Conduct prospect research to identify suitable statutory and grant funding opportunities related to Domestic Abuse, Violence Against Women and Girls, Young Women and Girls and Criminal Justice by keeping abreast of research, procurement portals, and sector developments

• Support the execution and delivery of proposals, including completing technical documents, due diligence, and social value matrices, ensuring that proposals meet agreed specifications and deadlines, as well as Advance’s quality standards

• Assist the respective managers to review bid application processes, identify gaps, and increase efficiencies

• Support colleagues to generate standardised, high quality funder reports and communications to funders

• Lead on communication with Advance’s partners and internal teams to keep abreast of developments throughout the bid process

• Oversee due diligence of funders and delivery partners

• Support the Fundraising and Development team to maintain regular communication with existing and potential funders

• Maintain Advance’s donor database

• Keep up-to-date, accurate records on the progress of funding prospects and proposals

• Take responsibility for reviewing and keep clear, accurate records of agreement documents and contracts, following the team’s processes for filing and version control

About You:

To be successful as the Development and Fundraising Co-ordinator you’ll need the below skills:

• Excellent administrative and organisational skills and ability to plan, prioritise and workload to meet deadlines

• Excellent attention-to-detail and accuracy

• Good interpersonal skills and to develop strong working relationships with internal and external stakeholders

• Strong written and verbal skills

• Be committed to Advance’s values and ethos, with a clear understanding of safeguarding, equality, diversity and inclusion in the delivery of statutory services.

This post is open to female applicants only as being female is deemed to be a genuine occupational requirement under Schedule 9, Paragraph 1 of the Equality Act 2010.  

Please note: Any offer of employment will be made subject to references and confirmation of the right to work in the UK, and satisfactory enhanced DBS check.

How to apply:

Please submit your up-to-date CV with a supporting statement. Please note that only applications made via the job advert will be considered.

Closing Date for Applications: 2nd July 2026 *Advance reserves the right to extend the advert and/or close the advertisement early, or on the appointment of a candidate

Interviews are taking place: Week commencing 6th July 2026 (this may be subject to change)

We recognise that women often only apply to roles if they meet 100% of the criteria (whereas men apply if they meet only 60% of the requirements). We encourage you to demonstrate how your skills and experience would make you an asset to the role, and if you don’t have the exact skills/experience, tell us in your cover letter how you think you might grow and develop in the role.

Under the Equality Act 2010, we are required to make any reasonable adjustments. If you have a disability as defined under this act and/or have additional needs, please email the Talent Acquisition Team and we will aim to make the necessary arrangements to accommodate your needs.

What we can offer you - Employee Benefits: 

• An exceptional 30 days of paid holiday per year (pro rata for part time), PLUS public holidays on top (that's nearly 40 days paid holiday per year!) 

• Additional days off to celebrate International Women’s Day, and for religious observance and moving home

• Perkbox - an employee discount platform where you can receive free rewards as well as take advantage of savings on clothes, groceries, travel, leisure and more

• Pension scheme

• Enhanced maternity/adoption provision

• Access to our Employee Assistance Programme

• Access to Yoga/Meditation and many more activities on our wellbeing online platform

• Employee eye-care scheme

• Clinical supervision for front line staff and first line management roles

• Refer a Friend Scheme - £250 for each referral who passes probation

• Organisation wide away days

• Thorough induction and training

• Career development pathways 

Diversity, Inclusion and Equal Opportunities

We value diversity and believe the variety of ideas, perspectives and experiences it brings creates an effective environment in which talents can be fully utilised to achieve our goals.

We are committed to providing equality of opportunity and actively seek to recruit people from groups underrepresented in our current team. We have policies and processes in place to ensure that all employees are offered an equal opportunity in recruitment and selection, promotion, training, pay and benefits.

Safeguarding

Advance is committed to safeguarding and creating a culture of zero-tolerance of harm and expects all staff, including volunteers, to share this commitment. We follow rigorous safer recruitment practices, including references, Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks, and identity checks. We ensure all staff undertake mandatory safeguarding training relevant to their role and responsibilities, to empower them to be competent and feel confident in recognising and responding appropriately to safeguarding issues and promote wellbeing.

Icon, the Institute of Conservation, is a charity and professional membership organisation dedicated to safeguarding cultural heritage and championing the value of conservation. As a key member of our small, dedicated team, you will be instrumental in delivering the accurate, timely and compliant administration of Icon’s membership services.

The Membership Administrator is a core operational role responsible for delivering the accurate, timely and compliant administration of Icon’s membership services, whilst ensuring a consistently high standard of customer service to members and stakeholders.

About the Role

The post-holder will oversee day-to-day membership processing, maintain CRM integrity, administer subscription cycles, coordinate diaries and meetings relating to membership governance and committees, and ensure consistent, high-quality administrative support across the organisation. They will act as a key point of contact for member enquiries, demonstrating a proactive, helpful and solutions-focused approach to deliver a positive membership experience.

This role is based at Icon’s office in Clerkenwell, London. Icon operates a hybrid working policy, which requires staff to be in the office at least two days per week, with the flexibility to work remotely for the remainder.

The post-holder will report directly to the Marketing and Membership Manager.