Independent Age is the national charity focused on improving the lives of people facing financial hardship in later life. We believe no one should face financial hardship in later life.
Our Helpline and expert advisers offer free, practical support to older people without enough money to live on. Through our grants programme, we support hundreds of local organisations working with older people across the UK.
We use the knowledge and insight gained from our support services and partnerships to highlight the issues experienced by older people in poverty and campaign for change.
We would love to find individuals from all walks of life and diverse backgrounds to join us on this journey.
Responsibilities and Person Specification:
This is a critical and influential role at Independent Age, reporting to the Head of Governance. The post holder will provide high-quality support across a broad and impactful portfolio, including risk management, procurement and contracts, governance, safeguarding and business continuity, helping to build a culture where accountability, learning and continuous improvement drive meaningful change.
Working closely with senior leaders and the Board, you will play an important role in enabling effective and confident decision-making across every level of the charity. This is an opportunity to contribute across a wide range of areas and to see the direct impact of your work on how the organisation functions and delivers its mission.
We are looking for someone with a genuine passion for risk management, alongside a strong understanding of not-for-profit governance best practice. You will also bring experience in at least one of the following areas: procurement, contracts management, third party contract risk, business continuity planning, policy management or safeguarding.
You will be an excellent communicator, confident working with senior stakeholders, with strong attention to detail and a proactive, can-do approach. Above all, you will take pride in getting things done efficiently and to a high standard and be motivated by the opportunity to work for a values-led organisation making a meaningful difference to older people.
This is a full-time role, 35 hours per week, which you can choose to work over five days or a 9-day fortnight.
If your experience doesn’t align perfectly with all of the above criteria but you do meet most of them and are excited about the role, we encourage you to apply anyway.
What it’s like to work at Independent Age:
We celebrate diversity at Independent Age and champion the differences that make each of us unique. We actively support and encourage people from a variety of backgrounds, experiences and skill sets to join us and help shape what we do. We aim to attract and retain a wide range of talent and create an environment where everyone can feel safe, protected, welcome and included. In line with this, our office has many inclusive features, and there is no dress code.
We offer great benefits including 28 days annual leave plus public holidays, a generous pension scheme with life assurance, and fantastic learning and development opportunities. We also offer a number of enhanced leave provisions and benefits.
We know that a good work life balance helps us perform at our best and supports wellbeing. Flexible working hours and hybrid working is standard for all, but if you need a different form of flexibility, we are always happy to talk flexible working. Those contracted to work in the office are required to attend the office a minimum of 4 days per month. This role supports Board and committee meetings which may be held online or in the office, meaning availability to support with this is required.
You can find out more about what it’s like to work at Independent Age on the Careers page on our website.
Application Process:
To apply, please visit our website to submit a CV and a Supporting Statement, detailing how your skills and experience meet the criteria within the Job Description and Person Specification (please do not hesitate to contact us if you have specific requirements and need support to apply in an alternative format).
To support our commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion our hiring managers use anonymous shortlisting. Therefore, please do not include your name, photo, or information to indicate your gender or age in your CV and supporting statement. Please do not omit dates of employment. Please ensure the title of any uploads does not contain your name.
Independent Age is committed to safeguarding and follows Safer Recruitment practices to ensure we are safeguarding those we work with. We therefore ask that you supply your full work history with explanations for any gaps in the application documents you submit and, if offered the post, we will require two employment references including your current or most recent employer. A Basic DBS check will be carried out for the successful candidate.
Closing Date: Tuesday 14 July, 23:59
1st Interview Dates: Tuesday 21 and Wednesday 22 July, online via Microsoft Teams
2nd Interview Dates: Wednesday 29 July, in person at our London Office (Avonmore Road)
Registered Charity
101 - 500
Independent Age is the national charity focused on improving the lives of people facing financial hardship in later life.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Thank you!
Role Purpose
This role is at the heart of Child Bereavement UK’s identity, leading the strategy and delivery of our brand across the organisation to ensure we are recognised as the UK’s leading bereavement charity for children, young people and parents. You will champion our brand, supporting teams across all departments to apply it consistently, creatively and confidently, strengthening trust, recognition, and impact.
As the guardian of our brand, you will develop, protect, and embed our identity, ensuring all organisational output is clear, inclusive, and aligned with our values. You will also identify high-impact brand collaboration opportunities to enhance our reputation and drive recognition, building strong relationships both internally and externally to maximise our brand influence.
In this role, you will combine strategic vision with hands-on guidance, enabling teams to live our brand with confidence while positioning Child Bereavement UK as a bold, trusted, and inspiring voice in the sector.
Main Responsibilities
Brand strategy and positioning
· Lead the development and ongoing evolution of the Child Bereavement UK brand strategy, ensuring it is audience driven and reflects our purpose, values and strategic priorities.
· Collaborate with audiences to ensure brand components and their application are stakeholder evidenced and driven.
· Define and maintain clear brand positioning, messaging and tone of voice for key audiences.
· Conduct regular brand research and use insight and research to ensure the brand remains relevant, credible and distinctive.
Brand governance and quality
· Own, maintain and embed brand guidelines, ensuring consistent application across campaigns, communications, fundraising and digital activity.
· Organise, manage and proactively update the Child Bereavement UK brand asset and photo libraries by sourcing and organising new commissions.
· Provide advice, guidance and sign-off on high-profile or high-risk brand outputs.
· Support teams to use the brand well, balancing consistency with flexibility and creativity.
· Work closely with marketing, communications and fundraising colleagues to help shape campaign narratives, key messages and offer creative direction that align with brand principles.
· Ensure messaging and visual identity are aligned and coherent across channels.
· Contribute to creative briefs and support the development of compelling, audience-focused storytelling.
· Support the content and marketing teams with the development of branded content as required including but not limited to graphic design, filming, editing and copywriting.
Brand collaboration
· Identify, develop and nurture brand collaborations that strengthen awareness, credibility and reach, and align with the organisation’s purpose and values.
· Act as a brand advisor in discussions, ensuring opportunities are strategically aligned and reputationally sound.
· Work with colleagues to ensure brand collaborations are coherent, well-governed and mutually beneficial, with clear messaging and visual alignment.
· Support the development of collaboration narratives, co-branded materials and storytelling that reflect shared values and objectives.
Internal brand leadership
· Act as an internal champion for the brand, helping staff and volunteers understand and apply it in their day-to-day work.
· Deliver brand training, resources and guidance as needed.
· Create and deliver communications to ensure the brand is reflected consistently in how the organisation presents itself internally.
Design
· Own the creation and evolution of core evergreen brand assets, ensuring the Child Bereavement purpose, values, and visual identity are consistently and clearly expressed.
· Be the senior authority for design standards and frameworks.
· Support marketing colleagues to confidently create short-form, campaign, and project materials providing guidance, tools and access to approved freelance designers where needed.
· Focus brand design resource on high-value, long-term assets, avoiding unnecessary centralisation of short-term or one-off materials in order to reduce bottlenecks and keep work moving at pace.
· Manage and maintain relationships with approved design freelancers and agencies.
Insight, performance and reputation
· Monitor brand health, awareness and perception, using insight to inform decisions and improvements.
· Work closely with marketing and communications colleagues on reputation management and sensitive issues.
· Stay informed about sector trends, public expectations and best practice in brand management.
Collaboration & Stakeholder Engagement
· Work closely with the Directors of Marketing & Communications, Services & Service Transformation, and Income Generation to deliver strategic brand strategies.
· Foster strong cross-charity relationships to ensure coherent and consistent branded output and shared learning.
Person Specification
Essential
Experience & Knowledge
· A proven track record of success in leading and/or managing an organisation’s brand activity and maintaining a high-quality brand portfolio.
· Experience of communicating and implementing a brand across an organisation.
· Proven experience and confidence of brand guardianship and developing and implementing brand guidelines.
· The ability to lead, enthuse and inspire colleagues at all levels to be brand guardians and support brand and marketing activities.
· Strong understanding of how brand shows up across the full customer journey.
· Strong understanding of audience insight, segmentation and customer needs.
· The ability to provide clear, professional and well-reasoned brand feedback on a wide range of creative and content.
· Experience of collaborating with audiences to develop brand plans and assets.
· Experience of using insight, analytics, testing and research to develop and inform decision-making.
Skills
· Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
· Strong graphic design and video editing skills (e.g. Canva, Adobe, CapCut).
· Meticulous attention to detail.
· Ability to translate business goals into clear brand positioning and direction.
· Strong analytical thinking, using insight and data to inform decisions.
· Excellent creative judgement across visual identity, tone of voice and storytelling.
· Ability to brief, evaluate and elevate creative work.
· Strong project management skills and the ability to prioritise workload.
· Ability to manage multiple initiatives simultaneously.
· Ability to balance long-term brand building with short term performance needs.
· Ability to work collaboratively and bring colleagues on board a brand journey.
· Ability to demonstrate initiative and to work proactively and independently.
· Ability to work well under pressure.
Attributes & Values
· Compassion, emotional intelligence and ability to work respectfully with bereaved children, young people and families.
· Collaborative, approachable, and able to build trust across teams.
· Creative, innovative and proactive, with a solutions-focused, self-starter mindset.
· Customer-centric mindset, grounded in audience insight.
· Highly organised, resilient and able to work independently in a remote environment.
· Strong commitment to equity, diversity, inclusion and ethical storytelling, including amplifying lived experience safely and respectfully.
· Willingness to undertake relevant training and development opportunities.
· Willingness to work flexibly to meet organisational need.
· Ability to undertake periodic UK travel and represent the charity at meetings and events.
Desirable
· Previous experience in a Brand Lead or similar role.
· Experience working within the charity/third sector, particularly in bereavement, mental health or social care.
· Understanding of bereavement and the needs of bereaved children, young people and parents.
· Experience contributing to or leading the development of brand strategy including positioning, purpose and key messaging frameworks
· Experience leading a rebrand or major brand evolution including repositioning, visual identity refreshes or large-scale brand rollouts.
· Exposing adapted brand strategy across multi audiences.
· Knowledge of brand tracking, perception research and audience insight tools.
· Strong understanding of digital-first branding including expressing brands across digital products, platforms and social channels.
· Familiarity with CRM systems such as Salesforce.
Benefits
· 28 days’ holiday plus bank holidays (pro rata if applicable) with increase for long service.
· TOIL for our hours work.
· Contributory pension scheme.
· Company sick pay.
· Employee Assistance Programme.
· Life assurance.
· Training loans.
· Enhanced family friendly policies.
Recruitment Timetable
Application deadline: 6th July 2026 at midnight
We reserve the right to close the vacancy early if we receive a high number of applications for the role before the closing date.
Interviews
If you are progressed to an interview, you will be invited to attend a 1-hour competency-based interview on MS Teams with the Hiring Managers for the role. You may also be asked to complete an interview task, which will also be shared with you in advance.
Proposed interview dates: 20th and 21st July 2026.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.