Finance and support services officer jobs

HEAD OF TRAINING AND IMPACT
Salary: £50,000–£55,000 (subject to experience)
Contract: Permanent
Working pattern: Full time, 9am–5pm, hybrid with minimum 3 days in the office, or on site at projects in prison, or in the community.
Location: Our Head Office is in Herne Hill, SE24 London
Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, so early applications are encouraged. The closing date is Friday 3 April at 09:00am.

ABOUT THE CLINK CHARITY

The Clink Charity, founded in 2009, aims to prevent and reduce reoffending through training, rehabilitation, and support. We deliver hospitality and horticulture training behind the prison walls and in the community by creating an environment where our students are supported to gain the skills, confidence and qualifications they need to rebuild their lives.

Since that time, we have trained approximately 5,000 people in prison and delivered 2,600 City & Guilds qualifications in a variety of hospitality and food courses.
What makes The Clink unique is our post-release support and mentoring programmes that rehabilitates an offender back into society through assistance with health mental health issues, housing, employment, family connections and friendships.
The charity operates an award-winning fine-dining restaurant open to the public inside HMP Brixton, training kitchens in the prison estate, horticulture projects at HMP Send and HMP Erlestoke, a commercial bakery in Brixton, and a bespoke delivery service, Catered by Clink.

Additionally, Clink Events is our social enterprise catering business with food produced by the women at HMP Downview and also in additional kitchen at Herne Hill and then served by alumni in front of house at some of the best venues in London including: the Guildhall, the Science Museum, Cutty Sark, Kew Gardens and the Camden Roundhouse. In 2024, across 218 events, The Clink fed 36,000 people.
More information can be found on our website and social media channels

ABOUT THE ROLE

Our Head of Training and Impact is a vital and high-profile role within the organisation, responsible for overseeing the implementation of all training projects at The Clink Charity across our portfolio, both in prisons and out in the community, evaluating the outcomes and impact of our work for our beneficiaries.

This is a broad and varied role allowing the incumbent to work across catering, hospitality and horticulture training projects, delivering nationally accredited and high calibre City & Guilds qualifications to vulnerable learners.
Having oversight of the projects, and working closely with our team of expert project leads in our restaurant, bakery, gardens and in our youth café of South London, this role offers the opportunity to develop exceptional training programs, rigorous quality assurance processes, and reflective practice in evaluation work.

As we scale our youth projects to a second site in Guildford, this role also comes with the wonderful opportunity of mobilising a brand new project to meet the needs of a NEET community of 16–25 year olds in a café based at Guildford County Court.

The Head of Training and Skills will onboard referral partners, design the delivery program and impact framework, and work alongside a skilled support team to ensure the success of the site, with a view to opening more of these projects in 2027.
If you are committed to the mission of The Clink Charity to reduce reoffending by changing attitudes, transforming lives and creating second chances, and you have great experience and passion for using education, skills and training to be the tool to generate this rehabilitation, we want to hear from you.

A LITTLE ABOUT YOU

You could be a great fit for our Head of Training and Impact role if you bring a strong background in hospitality and a passion for developing others. Perhaps you’ve led hospitality training in a college or cookery school, delivered City & Guilds qualifications within an FE setting, or built your career as a Chef or hospitality professional in a busy restaurant, hotel or catering environment.

You may have combined industry experience with teaching, or progressed from the kitchen into education and leadership. We welcome applications from a wide range of professionals across the hospitality and training spectrum who are ready to use their expertise to drive quality training, inspire our learners and shape meaningful outcomes.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Leadership and line management

• Work with the CEO, ELT and Board to achieve The Clink’s mission, vision and strategic objectives.
• Lead the design and implementation of a skills and training strategy which delivers the agreed vision and goals, and to communicate its effectiveness to project leads via KPIs, targets, and regular briefings.
• Lead the design and implementation of effective and robust systems and processes for the operational delivery of training programmes in achieving required delivery outputs.
• Lead on the embedding and implementation of an effective Quality Assurance programme for all project delivery across the Charity.
• Provide line management support for the programme leads in the Restaurant, Bakery, Gardens and Café, providing wider leadership to the staff team on all matters connected to delivering training and measuring the outcomes and impact of our work.
• Line manage the Data and Compliance Manager and support him with preparation of data driven insights informing strategic decisions.
• Conduct 1:1s with your direct reports, manage appraisals and oversee performance management processes.
• Ensure the learning and development needs of all delivery staff are met.

Project delivery

• Oversee all project delivery work at The Clink Charity, ensuring consistent, quality delivery and effective monitoring, evaluation and reporting of all projects.
• Manage the recruitment, training and development of our training staff continuously reflecting on improvements to the roles that can more effectively achieve project outcomes.
• Own the design and implementation of our work based on insight and learnings, lead on reviewing existing services and assessing new services or approaches.
• Make operational delivery decisions to ensure quality projects and provision – oversight of logistics, staffing, and resource management.
• Provide cover and support for staff delivering projects across our portfolio as/when needed.
• Ensure the CPD needs of staff delivering projects are met – including tracking completion of IHASCO courses for mandatory training.

Qualifications, assessing and verification

• Act as the lead link to City & Guilds for the delivery of the charity’s training courses across all projects ensuring that the content of the training programmes enables learners to achieve their qualifications and meet the high standards of City & Guilds NVQs.
• Work with the project leads on preparing portfolios for hospitality, catering and horticulture projects ready for assessment and verification.
• Oversee all verification of these courses. Act as one of a team of IQA’s for The Clink Charity and facilitate the EQA (External Qualification Assessor) visits, and HMPPS/HMI inspections across all sites.
• Host standardisation meetings with colleagues to build a collaborative training culture.
• Regularly monitor qualification outcomes against targets.

Monitoring, evaluation and insight

• Work with the project team in prisons and in the community to develop measurement and evaluation processes to assess the impact and outcomes of The Clink’s training programme, inform future decisions about programme development, and enable robust reporting to stakeholders.
• Attend quarterly reporting meetings with the MoJ to share the outcomes of our projects, preparing reports for those meetings and working with colleagues at New Futures Network who monitor our work for the MoJ.
• Regularly review impact methodology and implementation to ensure The Clink’s impact is measured and demonstrated in the most effective way, showing the full impact of our programmes.
• Develop efficiencies in collecting and analysing data.
• Be impact-driven and use data and results to ensure the planning and delivery of high-quality programme to drive continuous improvement.

Safeguarding

• Champion safeguarding in all the work that you deliver in and out of prisons, ensuring processes are adhered to and a culture of safeguarding is sustained throughout the organisation.
• Act as a DDSL – Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead.
• Approve updates to related policies and procedures annually.
• Ensure all staff working in our projects are appropriately trained in safeguarding practice at The Clink Charity.

New business, income generation and programme development

• Lead on strategic planning for delivery and programme development across all sites, seeking opportunities to grow/scale our impact by exploring new opportunities with our partners.
• Build and develop relationships with all relevant stakeholders, including MoJ and HMPPS colleagues, referral agencies for our community work, and strategic funding partners to increase our reach and deepen our impact on beneficiaries.
• Build and develop The Clink’s network of potential delivery partners including HMPPS, DWP, DfE, local authority, social care, schools, and other third sector organisations who work with us in supporting our beneficiaries.
• Provide expert content surrounding programme delivery and development for funding bids and proposals.
• Support the work of the CEO and Grants Manager in raising funds for the charity, including through attending pitches and meetings with current and prospective funders.

Finance

• With the support of the Director of Finance and Resources, prepare and oversee budgets for project delivery and track spending against forecasts ensuring good fiscal management of projects.

General Duties

• Report on delivery to the Board of Trustees, prepare papers for and attend subcommittee and full board meetings every quarter as requested.
• Carry out other duties as required by The Clink Charity.
• Act in a manner that is in keeping with The Clink’s values and promote inclusive practices.

PERSON SPECIFICATION – DESIRABLE EXPERIENCE

• Experience of leading projects and training and developing a team made up of staff members of differing levels of seniority.
• Experience of working in: social justice, education, youth work, or criminal justice projects, or having worked in hospitality or horticulture before, or having lived experience that reflects the lives of the beneficiaries that we serve.
• Have an IQA qualification or be willing to complete the course to become accredited.
• A track record of excellent project management skills (accuracy, attention to detail, scheduling, problem solving and monitoring) at a national level and have a strong working knowledge of GDPR.
• Excellent interpersonal skills and experience of building relationships with various stakeholders at a senior level.
• Experience of contributing to the development of overall strategy as part of a senior management team, and ability to translate this into operational strategy and plans that help deliver the organisation’s vision and mission.
• Knowledge of implementing quality assurance systems and the ability to objectively assess the performance of partners and colleagues against an agreed competency matrix.
• Knowledge of report writing and extrapolating data to inform decisions.
• An understanding of the catering, hospitality or horticulture courses (NVQs) provided by City & Guilds.
• Proven experience and working knowledge of safeguarding principles and practices and investigation / reporting protocols.
• Proficient IT skills, including use of Microsoft Office programmes.
• Can work flexible hours when necessary and is willing to travel between our South East projects.

PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES

• Demonstrable belief in The Clink’s mission and passion for our work.
• High levels of self-awareness, humility and flexibility, as well as an open and collaborative leadership style.
• Personal integrity, kindness, warmth and sound judgement.
• Good communicator: orally and in writing.
• Proactive, adaptable and can use initiative and find solutions to problems.
• Positive, entrepreneurial, energising and adopts a “can do” mentality.
• Values driven and promotes inclusion, diversity, equity and accessibility (IDEA).

REPORTING LINES AND MANAGEMENT EXPECTATIONS

You will report to our CEO and to the MD of Clink Events. You will line manage and support members of the delivery team across projects.

GENERAL CLINK CHARITY INFORMATION

All staff are expected to comply with all current legislation, comply with prison operational policies, comply with The Clink Staff Handbook and undertake such other duties within the scope of the post as may be requested by your manager.

Special requirements include passing the prison security vetting process to be able to draw keys and holding a valid driving licence.
Benefits include 28 days holiday plus bank holidays, a company pension scheme, and free meals on duty when based in a restaurant or visiting for business.

HOW TO APPLY

If you would like to apply for this post, please send your CV and a supporting statement (maximum 2 sides of A4).

In your supporting statement you should ensure that you try to address the desirable criteria set out in the person specification for the role. Make sure you give evidence which shows how you meet the criteria, not just telling us that you did it.

Interviews will be arranged on a rolling basis for this role, so early applications are encouraged. The deadline for applications is Friday 3rd April .

We do not send individual acknowledgment of applications due to the high volume we receive, and we will only contact candidates who are shortlisted for an interview. If you do not hear from us within two weeks of the closing date, your application has not been successful on this occasion.

If you would like an informal chat about this role, we can offer a call with a member of The Clink Team. Even if you feel you do not meet some of the criteria listed above, we would still welcome applications from passionate candidates who are keen to make a difference.

Appointment process

Applicants who have demonstrated that they meet the desirable criteria set out in the person specification will be contacted and interviews arranged on a rolling basis.

Interview
If you are shortlisted for interview, you will be invited to a selection process. A panel of two or more, including the recruiting manager conducts all interviews. If there are any special arrangements associated with the selection process e.g. tests or presentations, you will be informed accordingly.

Interview outcome
If you are invited to attend an interview, you will be informed either verbally or in writing of the outcome. The successful candidate will have the decision confirmed in writing as an offer of employment. Unsuccessful candidates will be offered the opportunity for feedback.

References
If you are successful in your application, you are asked to provide us with the details of two referees. We only contact referees with your permission after an offer of employment has been made.
All offers of employment are conditional upon the receipt of references that are satisfactory to The Clink Charity, verification of right to work in the UK and where applicable, verification of qualifications and Disclosure and Barring Service (where required).

Personal information
The personal information that you have supplied will only be used for recruitment and selection purposes. You should refer to the Privacy Notice on our website, which sets out how The Clink Charity will deal with the personal and sensitive data you have provided in your application form and supporting information.

EDIA
We welcome all applicants and are keen to enhance our team to reflect the diversity of the UK and the communities we serve. We would like to encourage applications from disabled people, those from LGBTQIA+ and Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic backgrounds and those experiencing other forms of marginalisation, as they are underrepresented at this level. In addition, as this role works directly with people in prison and those at risk of offending, those with lived experience are encouraged to apply.

Accessible recruitment
The Clink Charity is committed to making our recruitment process and workplace accessible to all. If you are an applicant with a disability and/or have any specific needs or adjustments that you would like us to consider, at application, interview, or appointment stage, please make us aware in your application.

The HR team is committed to the attraction and retention of a highly engaged and performing workforce that is committed to delivering our vision to see isolated communities changed by the love of Christ. We do this by nurturing a supportive and encouraging environment, where strong relationships are built, personal growth, innovation and creativity are encouraged, and performance achieved.

As our new Talent Acquisition Manager, you will be doing exactly that. You will drive the recruitment operations for placements for both UK and overseas staff, leading the team and taking ownership and responsibility to execute a best-in-class candidate experience. 

The Talent Acquisition Manager will lead recruitment for us in support of our strategic goals in this area, partnering with hiring managers and offering innovative and creative advice and solutions on how to attract and recruit the best talent available. This is a managerial role that requires strong decision making and the ability to drive the department forward progressively, but still very much a position where you will be expected roll your sleeves up and take a hands-on approach to deliver first-rate talent for the organisation, and experience for our candidates. You will oversee all recruitment activity passing through the UK office, owning our ATS and line managing the Talent Acquisition Officer.

1. Talent Acquisition Strategy 

• Contribute to the development and implementation of the talent acquisition strategy, with a strategic focus on digital optimisation, to ensure improving placements for both UK and overseas roles. 

• Oversee and deliver all employer brand initiatives and recruitment campaigns including hiring events to drive candidate engagement and boost our employer brand. 

• Build diverse candidate pools, and create initiatives to attract and retain diverse talent. 

• Develop and analyse our recruitment metrics, and use your knowledge, market insights, numbers and analysis to continually refine and improve the talent acquisition process using a data-led approach. 

• Offer a clear, supportive and innovative voice in interactions with international colleagues to streamline processes and ensure seamless, effective collaboration.

• Use creative and innovative approaches to continue to reach new candidate audiences in a narrow field. 

• Continuously review our process to drive improvements and change, especially through the use of emergent technologies. 

• Work closely with colleagues in our youth outreach programme ‘Co-Pilot’ to develop, maximise and harmonise our approach in bringing a younger demographic into our talent pools, incorporating this relationship into our strategy. 

2. Transactional Recruitment Management 

• Create and deliver an annual international recruitment action and promotional plan 
• Work in close collaboration with our marketing team in the promotion and delivery of recruitment advertising including online/offline and social media campaigns and analysing results to inform planning and performance improvements. Ensure that the recruitment message remains central throughout our range of communications activities and that our voice is clear, compelling and interactsand synergizes seamlessly with our existing central campaign operations 

• Monitoring, reviewing, and developing the recruitment pages on our website to maximize engagement

• Being responsible for the discernment and wisdom required to undertake spiritual personal and assessments, refining a clear and robust framework to ensure a fair and consistent candidate experience. 

• Overseeing the development and maintenance of physical resources for overseas recruitment 

• Representing MAF throughout the year at festivals and other events within the UK as a passionate and compelling advocate 

• Initiating high quality recruitment events in various forums throughout the year, focusing on producing a clear ROI 

• Leading in the development of the Online Recruitment Journey 

• Leading in the recruitment of UK roles

• Training and supporting UK managers with hiring responsibilities in effective recruitment techniques and selection processes, ensuring that colleagues are coached and upskilled to sufficiently assist in the delivery of an efficient campaign.

• Review the workflow of the recruitment process to ensure that the workload requirement for managers supporting the process is mitigated and manageable, whilst maintaining their engagement in the process. 

• Work with the UK and International HR Managers to support a seamless onboarding process for all joiners 

3. Overseeing our selection processes to ensure the progression of suitably skilled applicants who meet our faith, vision, and values criteria 

• Designing and implementing robust, efficient, and personable selection processes that deliver an excellent candidate experience 
• Overseeing MAF UK’s assessment processes and assisting with interviews where required 

• Liaising with MAF International (MAFI) to discuss candidates’ potential fit for overseas roles 

• Managing our use of UK psychometric assessment 

4. Envisioning and delivering new initiatives to attract and build our talent pipeline 

• Overseeing and driving proactive digital acquisition using LinkedIn and other platforms 
• Working with other teams to design and deliver creative, engaging, and high-quality recruitment campaigns and promotional initiatives 

• Raising awareness and leveraging team support for recruitment initiatives

• Establishing, developing, and sustaining collaborative relationships with key external bodies e.g., Christian bodies within the aviation industry, armed forces, and universities

• Selecting, training, and managing a network of volunteer recruitment champions, increasing the scale of our capacity to support at events and build a greater presence in the community specifically from a recruitment perspective 

• Designing and implementing approaches to encourage greater diversity with applicants 

• Demonstrating a data-led approach, monitoring recruitment statistics and measures to inform decision making, identify issues and prepare management information reports. 

5. Partnership 

• Building strong relationships with the MAFI recruitment team and proactively sharing resources, experience, and expertise with Engagement Units 
• Member of the MAFI Recruitment Steering Group 

• Establishing or contributing to recruitment learning circles with other Engagement Units 

• Support efforts to integrate into one global entity from a recruitment perspective 

• Contribute to the launch and maintenance of the Mission Aviation Academy, to continue to enhance our employer brand around our training schemes and ensure a sustainable funding pipeline for them for the future 

6. Management  

• Overall management of the relationship portfolios and specific management of ‘Premium’ enquirers portfolio 

• Line manage, coach, develop and champion the Talent Acquisition Officer 

• Participating in MAF UK organisation development initiatives and policy review 

• Managing own time effectively to maximize organisational benefit 

• Lead on the overall management and administration of the Applicant Tracking System 

7. Legal, finance and professional 

• Maintaining a high level of legal awareness and ensuring our legal obligations are maintained throughout the recruitment process 
• Preparing and managing the recruitment budget 

• Modeling self-leadership through continual professional development 

8. Travel 

• This role will involve some travel within the United Kingdom, particularly around the events season. 

Other duties as may reasonably be assigned by the Director of People and Culture including covering for other members of the team as required. 

DIMENSION AND LIMITS OF AUTHORITY:  

• Expenditure up to agreed budget. 

• Responsible for managing the Talent Acquisition Officer and conducting regular 1-1s and Personal Development Reviews according to agreed standards. 

• Decision making within agreed parameters. 

TASKS COMMON TO ALL MANAGERS:

• Role modelling of organisational values and beliefs 

• Contributing to the shared spiritual life of the MAF UK team as a Christian mission

• Attendance and participation in team and corporate times of biblical reflection and prayer 

• Encouraging team members to attend, participate and lead in times of Biblical reflection at regular corporate prayer meetings 

• Participate in planning in accordance with the MAF UK strategic plan and as outworked through matrix programme and project teams 

• Keeping line manager informed of all relevant information in a timely manner 

• Complying with statutory and organisational requirements for the proper handling of personal and sensitive data and ensuring good personal data handling practices are developed, reviewed, and encouraged 

• Abiding by Safeguarding, Conduct and other MAF UK policies provided on the Intranet. 

CHRISTIAN VALUES, BELIEFS AND ETHOS: 

As a Christian mission, MAF UK seeks staff who share in the evangelical Christian values and beliefs as described in the mission, purpose, values, and beliefs statements.All staff will be required to actively support and demonstrate the Christian values of the organisation and to take part in organisational activities such as staff devotions, prayer meetings, and fellowship days.

Location: Hybrid working with the requirement to work in the UK offices in either Folkestone or Cranfield. 

Working Hours:Office open officially from 9.00 to 5.30pm (9-4pm on Friday). Hours to be agreed according to flexible working policy. 

Salary:£48,500

Terms: 

Hours: As a senior appointment at least 36 hours per week but in addition those required to achieve the agreed responsibilities, with a one-hour unpaid lunch break each day. 

Flexibility will be required for working additional hours and travel to meet business needs or for travel or meetings on weekends or evenings.

This role involves some unsocial hours, weekend work and travel within the UK 

Leave:Annual leave entitlement of 22 days per year plus eight paid public holidays per year. 

Pension: Non-contributory pension scheme (10%) of salary on joining. 

Additional Benefits:

• Access to our Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) for free, confidential support on personal and professional issues. 

• Death in Service/Life Assurance scheme. 

• Free on-site parking at our offices. 

Probationary and notice period: 

• 6-month probation period with mid-term review 

• Notice period is 3 months. 

Closing Date for Applications 22nd March