Development research assistant jobs

City & Guilds of London Art School is a unique, small-scale, ‘not for profit’ Higher Education provider, offering specialist courses at Postgraduate, Undergraduate and Foundation levels. As a charity, the Art School has a mission to foster excellence in contemporary Fine Art, Carving and Conservation of cultural objects. It does this in part by providing our c 290 students with high levels of contact time with artist tutors and professionals. Our graduates go on to work as practising artists, as arts professionals and as conservators and craft experts on major heritage projects in cathedrals, museums as well as on public commissions.

We are seeking to appoint an arts and/ or crafts professional experienced in outreach and widening participation for Higher Education to join the Art School team to research, plan, further establish and co-ordinate a programme of outreach activity that is strategically aligned to the values and priorities of the Art School.

Ideally, you will have experience of research and relationship building for art and/or craft-related widening participation activity as well as experience of co-ordinating projects involving young people and/or community groups and of mentoring and/or training assistants, volunteers and participants in safe working practices. Experience of contributing to impact reporting is also sought.

You will need to be well organised, an excellent communicator, enthusiastic about the Art School and higher education in arts in general and keen to make our subjects accessible and widening access to Higher Education. You will require a practical and pro-active attitude, and a keen attention to detail.

For how to apply for the position, please visit our website via link provided. 

DEADLINE: 26 JUNE 2026 at MIDNIGHT

If you are a forward thinking professional with exceptional judgment, emotional intelligence and excellent communication skills, this might just be the role for you. Join ClientEarth, a globally respected environmental law charity driving real impact across climate, nature, health, and justice. We are hiring a Chief of Staff to the CEO (Strategy, Planning & Internal Communications)!

In this role you will play a pivotal role in shaping strategic priorities and organisational alignment, ensuring seamless information flow to inspire a diverse, global workforce around key priorities, and enabling effective and timely decision-making from the CEO’s office. 

This is a rare opportunity to work at the heart of a purpose-led organisation, partnering directly with the CEO and senior leadership. You will operate as a trusted advisor at the highest level, reporting to  the Chief Strategy & People Officer, with close collaboration with the CEO.

This role is based in our London office. ClientEarth has a Flexible working policy, however this post is expected to work from the office at least 2 days per week. 

Key Responsibilities

• Sets and delivers the strategic approach for CEO Office coordination and leadership communications (internal), aligning leadership rhythm, decision flow, and engagement to organisational priorities. This includes line management of the PA to the CEO, and close working with the CEO's external communications advisor
• Provides timely counsel to the CEO, flagging up risks and opportunities, and acting with discretion and diplomacy across the organisation to resolve challenges and provide solutions  
• (Where required) Leads on the delivery of key strategic projects for the CEO/Chief Strategy and People Officer, and / or engage to trouble-shoot on existing projects, depending on business need; this could be related to organisational effectiveness, collaboration and engagement, or internal services to the organisation 
• Oversees ClientEarth’s Global Internal Communications & Engagement Programme - including the line-management of our internal communications advisor - to connect colleagues across our offices, promote effective information flow, champion an equitable, diverse and inclusive culture, and embed ClientEarth’s values 
• Support the professional development of line reports through ongoing supervision, influencing them to take positive action and to be accountable for their work and contribution to the smooth-running of the organisation.  

See the job description for a full list of duties for this role.

Skills, Knowledge & Expertise

• Substantial experience of managing upwards and guiding senior leaders, trustees/directors and other high level internal and external stakeholders (essential) 
• Experience in copy-writing for senior leadership, drafting high-quality copy tailored to the relevant audience within tight time-frames (essential) 
• Experience in developing internal communication and engagement strategies for medium to large organisations (essential) within an international organisation (desirable)  
• Strong understanding of the external context in which ClientEarth operates, including the wider NGO landscape and political awareness (essential)  
• Strong alignment with ClientEarth’s Values and commitment to our Vision, Mission and Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy objectives (essential)  

See the job description for a full list of duties for this role.

Job Benefits

Flexible working:  We are proud to be a Flexa accredited Employer. Visit our Flexa Employer page for more information on our approach to flexible working. Our flexible working policy allows our people the choice to decide to work from home/another location in the country where their contract of employment is issued for 80% of their month, with the other 20% of their month being office-based. See our benefits page for more: Benefits | ClientEarth Careers as well as our flexible working FAQ.
 

ClientEarth values diversity and inclusion and the benefits this brings. We aim to appoint the most suitable candidate at all times and welcome applications from people from all different backgrounds. See our Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) at ClientEarth | ClientEarth journey page for more.

Please note that ClientEarth is only able to employ those who have the pre-existing legal right to work in the UK.
 

ClientEarth is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice or legal services to third parties.

JOB TITLE:

Fundraising & Partnerships Manager 

RESPONSIBLE TO: 

Director of Fundraising

LOCATION: 

Home based 

DURATION: 

30-35 Hours Per Week - Permanent 

SALARY/GRADE: 

Grade 6.4 (£36,043) PA FTE 

KEY WORKING RELATIONSHIPS

• Fundraising Team 

• Nation Directors 

• Public Affairs and Communications Team 

• Membership Team 

• Donors, Volunteers and families

ABOUT YOU 

You will have proven experience in fundraising, business development, or partnership management, with a track record of generating income and building strong external relationships. Ideally, you will have experience developing fundraising plans, pipelines, or income streams from an early stage, and will be comfortable working in an environment where processes, opportunities, and supporter journeys are still evolving. 

You will be confident identifying and pursuing new opportunities, developing compelling proposals and cases for support, and managing relationships with a wide range of stakeholders, including corporate partners, community fundraisers, volunteers, and individual supporters. 

We are looking for someone who is proactive, self-motivated, and creative, with strong communication and relationship-building skills. You should be comfortable working independently while also collaborating effectively with colleagues across fundraising, marketing, and operational teams. 

Most importantly, you will be motivated by the opportunity to help grow sustainable income that supports children, young people, and families across the UK. 

PURPOSE OF THE ROLE 

We are looking for a confident, ambitious, and entrepreneurial Fundraising Manager to help grow sustainable income for Adoption UK by building and developing strong relationships with corporate partners, supporters, volunteers, and local communities. 

This is an exciting opportunity for someone who enjoys creating fundraising plans from the ground up, developing new partnerships, and turning ideas into sustainable income. The role is ideally suited to someone who thrives in a developing fundraising environment and is motivated by the opportunity to shape and grow underdeveloped income streams into long-term success. 

This is an opportunity to help shape the development of a strategic and sustainable approach to fundraising, while continuing to deliver hands-on income across a diverse portfolio. 

MAIN DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Supported by the Director of Fundraising, take ownership of developing, delivering and monitoring fundraising events and activities in line with our fundraising strategy. 

• Lead on key income streams to maximise net income and develop sustainable income streams for short, medium and long-term growth. 

• Monitor and evaluate progress against plans using management information and budgets to produce reports and forecasts as required 

• Deliver effective supporter journeys to improve supporter experience, retention, and long-term engagement. 

• Work alongside the Director of Fundraising to develop and implement processes and policies. 

• Grow and diversify income across corporate partnerships, community fundraising, events, individual giving and digital activity. 

• Develop compelling proposals and pitches for corporate partners, clearly articulating social value, impact and return on investment. 

• Build and manage a strong corporate prospect pipeline using research, data and structured follow-up to convert opportunities. Identify opportunities to sponsor projects and activities. 

• Collaborate with marketing colleagues to develop assets and digital campaigns to support fundraising appeals and events. 

• Work with all Adoption UK teams to support local fundraising activities in each of the four nations including membership and community teams. 

• To ensure good working practices in line with Equality and Diversity policies and a pro-active approach is taken to equality, diversity and inclusion issues. 

• In compliance with the Code of Conduct, demonstrate high standards of personal conduct, courtesy and integrity. 

• Ensure full compliance with Adoption UK’s Safeguarding policies and procedures, reporting concerns in line with internal policies.

• Any other duty as required by the line manager commensurate with the post. 

Person Specification criteria

Knowledge  And  Experience 

• Experience of a fundraising, marketing, or event management role (E) 
• Experience of delivering multiple projects on time and to budget (E) 
• Ability to devise operational plans and deliver them effectively, and proven experience of planning and managing income generating activities and events    (E) 

Qualificationsand  Education

• Professional fundraising qualifications (D) 
• Marketing qualifications (D) 
• Event Management qualifications (D) 
• CIOF Diploma in Fundraising Management/equivalent professional experience/membership of CIOF (D) 

Skills and Abilities 

• Delivers high quality work with minimal supervision and direction (E) 
• Able to demonstrate excellent written and verbal communication skills, be competent with Microsoft Office (E) 
• Ability to assimilate and analyze financial and statistical information, including budget monitoring, management, and financial control (E) 
• An exceptional administrator and coordinator with excellent organisation and writing skills (E) 
• Communicate, engage and secure positive external relationships with stakeholders and supporters (E) 
• Has the capacity to deal with complex issues and is good at problem solving (D) 
• Self-starter, used to working to deadlines and delivering against KPIs (E) 
• Able to work communicate and engage with internal senior stakeholders effectively (E) 

Accountability

• Developing fundraising opportunities (E)  
• Event administration (D) 
• Stewardship and relationship management (E) 
• Contribute to departmental strategic goals, in liaison with the Director of Fundraising (E) 

Behaviours 

• Takes pride in Adoption UK and promotes its values and mission in all interactions with external stakeholders. 
• Demonstrates commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion in all aspects of role at all times. 
• Contributes to an open and honest culture 
• Encourages challenge and creativity, transparency and consistency. 
• Leads by example. 
• Offers outstanding service to members. 
• Promotes cross functional team working, sharing skills and knowledge 
• Communicates clearly, seeking clarity when unclear and valuing the opinion of others. 
• Valuing the opinion of other. Treating colleagues and other stakeholders with respect. 
• Takes pride in own development, committed to achieving high standards and agreed objectives. 

This is an exciting opportunity to lead our approach to monitoring and evaluation at a key moment, ensuring that high-quality evidence underpins our programmes and future growth.

Villiers Park is a national social mobility charity with a strong track record of delivering impactful programmes that support young people from under-represented backgrounds to fulfil their potential. The ability to demonstrate impact clearly and credibly, both to inform our own learning and to evidence our effectiveness externally, will be critical to achieving our strategic ambitions.

As a core part of our 2025-30 strategy, the Data and Insights Manager will work to embed consistent and robust evaluation across the organisation. This will be achieved by approaches such as Stories of Change, which combines quantitative data with rich qualitative insight to build a compelling and nuanced understanding of the difference our programmes make.

Our work is possible because of a brilliant team of staff, trustees and volunteers and committed funders and partners who believe in what we do and want to make the greatest possible difference. The Data and Insights Manager will work closely with colleagues across programmes, communications, fundraising and leadership, you will ensure that data and evidence are actively used to inform decision-making, improve delivery and demonstrate impact to funders, partners and the wider sector.

This is a highly collaborative role with organisation-wide impact, offering the opportunity to shape how Villiers Park learns delivers on its long-term strategic ambitions.

Alex Grant

Assistant Director

Job purpose

The Data and Insights Manager will play a key role in supporting Villiers Park through the collection, analysis and reporting of robust evaluation and monitoring. Working across teams and hubs, the postholder will support consistent data collection, lead analysis and synthesis, and help ensure evidence informs learning, decision-making and external communication. The role will focus on coordinating mixed-methods evaluation, with qualitative approaches, including Stories of Change, as a key way of understanding young people’s experiences of change, or clarity, and the impact of our programmes.

Key responsibilities:

• Working closely with the Assistant Director, develop, implement and review monitoring and evaluation approaches for all programmes, ensuring that the data outputs can be used in a range of ways.
• Collaborate with the Senior Leadership Team (SLT) and wider staff team to develop, implement and review Theories of Change.
• Work with the Programmes team to design and deploy monitoring and evaluation methods to capture and store relevant quantitative and qualitative data from a range of sources, including individuals and via schools/colleges and partner organisations.
• Undertake data analysis and write reports for internal and external audiences on process and impact evaluations for all programmes, including annual school impact reports.
• Support the Communications and Fundraising Teams by providing regularly updated data and evaluation, regional contextual demographic data and comparative national datasets.
• Manage programmes and impact data storage to ensure relevant access is delivered for SLT, Programmes, Fundraising and Communications teams and compliance with GDPR.
• Keep up to date with changes in regulation and best practice in data management and data protection/consent, especially when data subjects are under 18.
• Ensure that all data management and evaluation practices are compliant with statutory safeguarding and GDPR regulations and Villiers Park’s safeguarding, data protection and privacy policies.
• Deliver evaluation training and evaluation review meetings to inform and engage the wider organisation with evaluation practices and the implementation of data and insights.
• Undertake other duties as required to support the mission and work of Villiers Park.

Knowledge, experience and abilities (essential)

• Experience of, and strong interest in, high quality evaluation methodologies, including programme theory, process evaluation, mixed-methods approaches.
• Strong experience of critically appraising data and evidence, and staying abreast of developments within evaluation of youth-based charities and university widening participation, using this to support proportionate, well-evidenced conclusions.
• A strong track record in planning, coordinating and delivering successful evaluation activity across programmes, sites or stakeholder groups, including managing complex workloads, setting priorities and working to agreed timelines and standards.
• Experience of effectively communicating evaluation findings, both written and verbal, to different audiences.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving and decision-making ability, including using evidence, judgement and stakeholder input to resolve challenges in evaluation delivery.

Skills and competencies (essential)

• Strong communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to build effective relationships and influence stakeholders, articulating evaluation concepts and findings clearly and concisely.
• Skilled in planning, prioritising and managing multiple strands of work to deliver high quality evaluation outputs.
• Analytical and methodical, with the ability to interpret evidence carefully and proportionately.
• An effective manager of evaluation activity across teams, hubs and programme cycles.
• Strong qualitative and mixed-methods analysis skills, including interpretation and reporting.
• Ability to anticipate and identify challenges in evaluation delivery, and work with colleagues to resolve these productively.
• Demonstrate a curiosity about other evaluation methodologies and research from the wider evaluation sector.
• Strong IT and digital skills including Microsoft suite and data management systems.
• A collaborative team member who can also take initiative, work proactively and operate independently where needed, and who has excellent interpersonal skills to facilitate learning conversations and support and advise colleagues to use evidence confidently in practice.

Desirable

• Familiarity with longitudinal or progression tracking and/or data-sharing partnerships.
• Experience of contributing to fundraising proposals with ready evidence and an understanding of fundraising audiences.
• Proficiency in qualitative analysis software, such as NVivo, to support coding, thematic analysis and synthesis.
• Confidence using data management tools such as Dataverse, MS Forms and PowerAutomate, and Power BI for reporting or visualisation.
• Understanding of value-for-money or ROI-related analysis in a social context.

Additional Information:

• The postholder will have some travel to schools, events and partner organisations.
• An enhanced DBS check will be required.
• On occasion, evening work and overnight stays may be required. 
• Hybrid – location local to our Cambridge office or near to one of our Regional Hubs

Employee Benefits

• 26 days annual leave plus bank holidays (pro rated) and additional leave over Christmas.
• A dedicated wellbeing day for you to take at any time and three days (pro-rated) paid leave for volunteering or study each year.
• Training and professional development, including termly staff development days.
• Support from our wellbeing working group and access to an employee assistance programme.
• Opportunity to join working groups with other colleagues from across the organisation as well as wider networks such as the Fair Education Alliance.
• Flexibility in working hours.
• Additional sick pay and compassionate leave policies. 

Safeguarding

Villiers Park Educational Trust is committed to safeguarding and to providing a safe and supportive environment, which secures the well-being and best outcomes for the young people with whom we work.

Safeguarding is embedded in all aspects of Villiers Park's work and integral to the commitment we make to our schools, partners and the young people and communities we serve and work with. All employees and volunteers are expected to share this commitment by adhering to our organisational safeguarding procedures, attending regular in-house training and keeping up to date with developments in policies and legislation.

All employees and volunteers will also agree to undergo an Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Services check and successfully complete our mandatory online training courses including NSPCC Safeguarding in Schools and PREVENT training.

About NEON 

NEON is a not-for-profit organisation committed to accelerating social movements. We build capacity and infrastructure to accelerate the transition to a new economy. We work across a wide range of progressive issues including climate, housing, healthcare, and migration and we support over 1,000 organisers across the UK working towards political, environmental, and social justice. Our theory of change is rooted in understanding both the strategies, stories, and structures required to sustain a movement. Short term, this results in improved movement infrastructure, skills, and connections; long term, it leads to robust relationships and movement alliances capable of systemic change. 

Context

NEON’s People & Operations Hub makes sure all our internal systems run smoothly and that our team is happy, high-performing and cared for. The People & Operations Hub brings together people, culture, operations, fundraising and finance, and plays a key role in making sure NEON is both high impact and a joyful place to work, at the heart of this is ensuring our values of respect, generosity and solidarity and anti-oppression principles are embedded into all internal practices.

As part of this, we’re currently looking for someone to support us for a defined period of time to review and refresh some of our core operational and compliance areas, and support us with discrete ops tasks as they arise. This includes reviewing, updating and embedding key systems and processes so that they are clear, usable and consistently followed across NEON. Alongside this, we want to create a NEON-wide handbook, so that we have a simple accessible place where people can find everything they need to know about how we do things at NEON. We also want to strengthen our guidance around event safety, both online and in-person, so staff feel comfortable and supported when planning and delivering work. It’s crucial for us that this work is developed in collaboration with the People & Operations Hub as well as the wider team. 

Who we’re looking for

We’re looking for someone who is comfortable moving across operational and compliance work. Someone who has a solid understanding and experience in delivering high-level health and safety, data protection, IT and systems work, and other operational aspects of running an organisation, and can turn that into something practical, usable and genuinely helpful for our team. Someone who is self-motivated, comfortable working independently, and able to take ownership of pieces of work from start to finish

We’d love someone who has experience working closely in or within people and operations teams in small- medium sized not-for profits or charities, and who knows how to take complex or messy systems and make them simpler, clearer and easier to embed in day-to-day practice. We’re looking for someone aligned with our values of respect, generosity and solidarity and is well-versed in including anti-oppression principles into operational work. Someone who is motivated by working in a values-led organisation where decisions factor in culture, trust and care as well as the technical elements.

This person should be confident reviewing and improving systems and understands and is experienced in working closely with other people to do this, whether that’s with the Director of People and Operations to receive direction or troubleshoot, working alongside our Ops Assistant to put things into practice and draw on their organisational expertise, or engaging the wider team to elicit their ideas and challenges, and incorporate them into improvements. Similarly someone who is able to work with external support we have in place around IT, HR and data protection and translate their recommendations into practical action.

They’ll need to be able to hit the ground running and pick up discrete pieces of work, working thoughtfully and collaboratively with a team that’s juggling lots of different priorities. Aside from improving key pieces of work, the other core part of the role is bringing people with them, which will involve coaching and mentoring skills, a learning and development approach, and helping others feel confident taking on and owning this work.

Above all, we’re looking for someone who understands how to make organisations compliant and well-run in a way that feels proportionate, caring, and realistic for a team of our size. Someone who can embed these pieces of work, without overcomplicating things, and who can foster a sense of shared ownership. We’re also looking for someone who really cares about how operational work is truly embedded and put into practice across organisations, who thinks carefully about what happens after their involvement or support ends and knows how to build internal capability so work doesn’t stay dependent on them.

Key deliverables

By the end of the service period, the following outputs will have been delivered and fully embedded into NEON’s ways of working:

IT and systems

The freelancer will complete a high-level review of NEON’s current IT systems, identify key risks and gaps, and produce a set of recommendations. 

Outputs will include working with the People & Operations Hub to lead implementation and embedding of agreed improvements across tools and ways of working, including an improved GDrive structure, Google Workspace and IT security improvements and an IT and phones policy.

Data protection

The freelancer will complete a high-level review and strengthening of NEON’s GDPR and data protection approach.

Outputs will include updated core policies (GDPR policy, privacy notice, retention policy) and practical guidance to support consistent implementation across the organisation. It also includes delivery of staff training and further strengthening of our “Data Champions”.

Event processes

The freelancer will assess our current event-related practices (online and in-person).

Outputs will include clear, practical recommendations, strengthened guidance for managing event safety and risk in practice and staff training and support.

Health and safety

A review and update of NEON’s health and safety approach will be completed to ensure policies and processes are clear, practical and consistently applied.

Outputs will include an updated H&S policy, incident reporting process, risk assessment templates, and a simple event safety framework with guidance and checklists. It also includes delivering staff training and embedding of H&S practice across the organisation, including clarification of roles and responsibilities.

AI policy and guidance

The freelancer will research and develop NEON’s approach to AI use across the organisation, considering best practice, risks, opportunities, and the impact of AI on staff and NEON’s work. It should also include thoughtful consideration of the harms and ethical concerns associated with AI.

Outputs will include engagement with staff to understand current use and concerns, alongside the creation of clear and practical AI guidance and an organisational AI policy to support safe, thoughtful and consistent use of AI tools across NEON.

NEON Handbook

A NEON-wide handbook will be created, bringing together key processes, guidance and signposting to essential organisational information in one accessible place.

The handbook will be co-developed with staff and People & Operations Hub members to ensure it reflects day-to-day practice and is maintainable internally after completion.

Day-to-day operations support

The freelancer will provide additional operational capacity to support the Hub with emerging priorities, and time-sensitive pieces of work that arise during the contract period.

Outputs may include support with operational problem-solving and decision making, maintaining processes and procedures, providing subject knowledge expertise, maintaining documentation and other discrete operational tasks agreed with the Director of People and Operations.

A key part of this work will be ensuring that all outputs and improvements are properly embedded within the People & Ops Hub and the wider organisation. This includes creating clear documentation, guidance, training and handover processes so that NEON staff can confidently hold and maintain this work after the consultancy ends.

Timescales and fee schedule

The freelancer will be appointed and ready to engage from the end of July/ start of August 2026. We expect this work to be completed across two-three days per week for up to six months, ideally finished by the end of January or February 2027 (depending on start date). There may be a possibility of extension if other relevant and discrete projects arise and in agreement with the Director of People and Operations.

Call out information required

Interested freelancers are asked to provide the following information in response to this call out:

1. Brief career history and details of relevant assignments undertaken (this could be in the form of a CV)

2. A statement not exceeding 800 words on your proposed approach to the deliverables, including:

   1. Your technical and subject matter expertise

   2. Your personal style and approach to working with others

   3. How you will embed our values of respect, generosity and solidarity and anti-oppression principles into the deliverables

3. Your day rate, indicating whether VAT is payable (please note our indicative day rate that is aligned with our internal budget is £375)

4. A clear commitment to undertake the work within the timeframe set out above

5. Two testimonials from suitable clients or professional partners

The deadline for submissions is Sunday 28th June 11.59pm

Please find email address for submission of applications on our website.

We may wish to discuss submissions with you on Monday 6th July or Wednesday 8th July 2026. We will inform you if this is the case.

For any further information or clarification prior to submission, contact us at our website.