Happier volunteer volunteer jobs

Do you want to work for a dynamic, creative, fast-paced charity?

At Action Together we see the amazing things people achieve when they work together to make the lives of others better. If you share our values: believe it’s possible, strengthen others, and be true, we’d love you to consider joining our team.

Operations Director

The ideal candidate

We are looking for a values‑driven operational leader with significant experience in senior operations, systems, or transformation roles. You will bring strong technical capability in designing and embedding systems and processes, excellent analytical skills, and the ability to produce high‑quality management information for senior leaders and Boards.

You will be an influential communicator who can lead through change, build strong relationships across the organisation, and support others to work in consistent, effective, and collaborative ways. With a strong grasp of governance, risk, compliance, and organisational assurance, you will balance strategic vision with hands‑on delivery. Above all, you will share Action Together’s commitment to social justice, equity, and strengthening people, places, and partnerships

The role

The Operations Director will lead the development, optimisation, and continuous improvement of Action Together’s systems, processes, and organisational infrastructure. Working as part of the Senior Leadership Team, you will co-design, develop, and maintain internal systems and processes that enhance operational delivery and organisational efficiency, ensuring they are fully embedded into day-to-day use with clear ownership, guidance, and effective performance monitoring.

You will oversee core central functions including HR, Communications and Impact, Data Protection and Information Management, and Health & Safety. You will play a key role in internal digital transformation, policy development, risk management, and organisational compliance. You will produce high‑quality management information that supports strategic decision‑making, work closely with Locality Directors to standardise and enhance delivery models. In addition, with reference to our constitution and Scheme of Delegation you will be responsible for supporting governance at Board meetings, and the AGM.

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

At Action Together we value diversity, promote equity and challenge discrimination. We encourage and welcome applications from people of all backgrounds. We are committed to ensuring that no applicant or employee receives less favourable treatment on the grounds of gender, age, disability, religion, belief, sexual orientation, marital status, or race.

In order to ensure that our workforce reflects our communities across all levels of seniority, Action Together is offering a guaranteed interview to any candidate who meets the essential criteria listed in the person specification and who is also:

• A disabled person and/or
• A member of a community experiencing racial inequality

Action Together is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all children, young people and vulnerable adults with whom we work. We expect all of our employees to demonstrate this commitment.

Right to work

We do not hold a Sponsor License and are unable to accept applications which require sponsorship to work in the UK

Please note, the successful candidates will be required to undertake a basic Disclosure and barring Service (DBS) check. A positive Disclosure of Offences will not automatically bar an applicant from being appointed and suitable applicants will not be refused employment because of offences that are not relevant.

Do you want to work for a dynamic, creative, fast-paced charity?

At Action Together we see the amazing things people achieve when they work together to make the lives of others better. If you share our values: believe it’s possible, strengthen others, and be true, we’d love you to consider joining our team.

Finance Director

The ideal candidate

We seek a finance leader driven by values, with extensive experience directing finance operations and delivering top-tier financial planning, reporting, and governance. This role requires strong technical accounting abilities, exceptional communication skills, and the talent to explain complex concepts to diverse audiences.

You should be a collaborative, inclusive leader who excels at developing team members, managing risks, negotiating effectively, and guiding the organisation through periods of change. Most importantly, you must be committed to Action Together’s mission of social justice, equity, and community empowerment.

The role

The Finance Director will play a pivotal role in ensuring Action Together remains financially robust, sustainable, and compliant as a charity and employer. As a key member of the Senior Leadership Team, you will partner closely with the CEO and Board to shape a resilient business model, strengthen financial governance, and provide strategic direction that supports our mission and values.

You will lead and develop a high performing finance function, oversee annual budgeting and long‑term financial planning, and ensure high‑quality financial insight is available to the CEO, SLT and Board. The Finance Director has responsibility for the production of monthly accounts package, annual audit and statutory accounts, risk management, payroll assurance, investment strategy, and organisational compliance with Companies House, the Charity Commission, and all financial governance requirements.

You will play an integral role in supporting strong governance, working closely with the Treasurer and Board to provide clear, timely, and insightful financial performance updates, forecasts, and risk assessments.

You will also work with the Treasurer to shape investment strategy, strengthen financial controls, and uphold governance across all statutory, regulatory, and organisational requirements

Equality , Diversity and Inclusion

At Action Together we value diversity, promote equity and challenge discrimination. We encourage and welcome applications from people of all backgrounds. We are committed to ensuring that no applicant or employee receives less favourable treatment on the grounds of gender, age, disability, religion, belief, sexual orientation, marital status, or race.

In order to ensure that our workforce reflects our communities across all levels of seniority, Action Together is offering a guaranteed interview to any candidate who meets the essential criteria listed in the person specification and who is also:

• A disabled person and/or
• A member of a community experiencing racial inequality

Action Together is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all children, young people and vulnerable adults with whom we work. We expect all of our employees to demonstrate this commitment.

Right to work

We do not hold a Sponsor License and are unable to accept applications which require sponsorship to work in the UK

Please note, the successful candidates will be required to undertake a basic Disclosure and barring Service (DBS) check. A positive Disclosure of Offences will not automatically bar an applicant from being appointed and suitable applicants will not be refused employment because of offences that are not relevant.

About Starlight

No one enjoys medical procedures, least of all children. From facing everyday vaccinations to the most serious of surgeries and chronic conditions, all children experience varying degrees of apprehension and fear. Feeling scared, powerless, or anxious in healthcare settings doesn’t just trigger a child’s emotions; it can create traumas that impact treatment success and that can have a life-long impact. Starlight’s aim is to transform children’s health through better experiences, by putting play at the heart of every child’s healthcare.

Evidence shows that play in healthcare can reduce anxiety, fear and even pain; it helps children engage and prepare for their treatment and cope better with procedures; it minimises trauma and contributes to a better experience; and supports children to have some sense of agency and control in an environment where these opportunities are limited. Play can also reduce the number of attempts to deliver treatment, the need for sedation and the need for repeat appointments. Prioritising children’s right to play in healthcare results in healthier, happier children who are involved in their own healing and recovery as well as more efficient treatment and care.

We work in over 900 healthcare settings across the UK with an ultimate vision to ensure that no child endures trauma in healthcare.

Our Strategy and the Professional Training & Development Manager role

Over recent years, we have been re-positioning Starlight from a wish-granting charity to a charity that supports children to experience the power of play in healthcare settings to improve their mental health and wellbeing. These changes have made an exponential difference to the immediate impact that we can achieve for children, as well as the opportunity to create real social value in the efficiency of treatment; and to our ability to advocate for long-term systemic change in the way children experience healthcare.

Central to improving children’s experience is having access to experienced and properly equipped play professionals. Through our Champions network and collaborative working across the healthcare sector, we have developed strong networks; shared best practice, offered opportunities for training and connection and raised awareness of the importance of play professionals and a culture of play in healthcare settings. Our Taskforce work with NHS England has also clearly outlined the need for workforce accreditation and development.

While we continue to advocate at a systemic level for the recognition of the play workforce and their need for a strategy for their development, this role is vital in providing more immediate and tangible support to the professionals who make our work possible. 3 The Professional Training & Development Manager will be integral in sharing Starlight’s knowledge of Play by training and developing key roles within health play settings to ensure Play becomes a foundation of every child’s health care journey. They will support wider understanding of the importance of a culture of play in paediatric healthcare.

Main purpose of the role

The main purpose of this role is to develop and maintain effective and mutually supportive relationships with health professionals, creating communities of practice and resourcing knowledge exchange across the sector. Through these relationships, you will deepen our understanding of the training and workforce development needs of play professionals and identify and develop opportunities for training and sharing of best practice, Working closely across the Children’s Services your work will contribute to raising awareness of the importance of a culture of play for children’s mental health and wellbeing and for the health and efficiency of the NHS.

You will report directly to the Head of Professional Training & Development and will line manage a coordinator.

The Programmes and Projects Executive will play a key role in supporting our community of primary and secondary schools throughout the school year. You will help design and deliver Bite Back in Schools, ensuring a positive and engaging experience for young people, their teachers and their schools — and making sure the programme achieves meaningful impact.

Alongside day-to-day programme delivery, you will contribute a range of projects across the organisation, including supporting an exciting new collaboration with other school food charity partners and helping to coordinate and support wider organisational initiatives.

This role would suit someone who enjoys working with young people, is proactive and adaptable, and is ready to learn and grow at a leading youth-led health charity. You’ll be motivated by helping young people turn their ideas into action and seeing the difference that makes in schools and beyond.

The Programmes and Projects Executive will join a friendly and ambitious Programmes team to support schools and local authorities to deliver high-quality programmes and maximise impact, making canteens and high streets healthier, happier places.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Relationship management 

• Provide ongoing support to both primary and secondary schools throughout their time on the programme, building strong working relationships with participating schools. 

• Support communication with all primary schools, providing a point of contact for the coordinator and lead teacher in each school. 

• Support monitoring and evaluation through creation of surveys, ensuring completion of baseline and end of year surveys, and analysis of data submitted (working with our Impact & Evaluation Manager).

• Provide timely responses to school queries and alert the Programmes Manager of any potential risks.

• Proactively seek feedback from teachers and young people on our programmes.

• Ensure opportunities for schools to engage in at least two one-on-one meetings with our team during the school year. 

• Build productive relationships with programme partners, including Chefs in Schools and School Food Matters. 

Community management 

• Celebrate and share examples of best practice and impactful social action projects amongst our community of schools. 

• Deliver training and webinars for schools.

• Grow our movement - supporting the recruitment of future cohorts by promoting the Bite Back in Schools programme, distributing recruitment comms, holding set up calls with interested schools, and guiding schools through the application and enrolment process, working closely with the Programmes Manager on the design of these processes.

Programme delivery 

• Schedule and organise visits to schools, agreeing agendas with the schools in advance to include elements including meeting pupils and teachers, leading feedback sessions and focus groups and supporting the development of their social action campaigns. 

• Schedule and deliver assemblies with primary and secondary schools partaking in the programme.

• Ensure schools submit invoices on time as part of their grant funding, providing support where needed and coordinating with the finance team to ensure prompt processing.

• Book and arrange assemblies, coordinating between schools and our Bite Back Ambassadors.

• Support the School Ambassadors with travel logistics as they deliver assemblies in schools across England and Scotland.

• Maintain and regularly update programme management software and associated data to ensure accurate and up to date information for all participating primary schools.

• Ensure successful end-to-end support for the 10+ primary schools participating in the programme throughout the next school year.

Project support 

• Provide support to Programme Manager in the delivery of projects, ensuring projects are delivered on time, within budget and scope.

• Coordinate our relationship with our partners in The School Food Project, including Chefs in Schools, School Food Matters, Food Foundation & Jamie Oliver’s Group.

• Support the national rollout of the Bite Back in Schools Primary programme by contributing to the design, development, and refinement of engaging, age-appropriate resources for primary settings, building on insights and proven impact from two successful pilot programmes.

• Assist with the organisation and delivery of Bite Back events throughout the year, including travelling as needed to support the Youth teams' operational requirements. 

• Provide ad hoc input to evolving organisational requirements as directed by senior team members.

SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE 

What we will be looking for as we evaluate applications is demonstrable experience in at least some of these areas, and evidence of capacity to build skills in other areas. Please don’t be put off applying for one of our jobs because you can’t demonstrate every skill. If you're passionate and excited about working for us, and possess the main skills and experience we are looking for, go ahead and apply. You could be just what we are looking for!

The ideal candidate would have the following experience and qualities:

Essential

• Ability to build and maintain strong working relationships with a broad range of stakeholders at the individual level and in representation of the organisation.

• Strong organisational and project management skills, with excellent time management, ability to manage competing priorities and attention to detail.

• Excellent writing and communication skills, with the ability to adapt messages and language to resonate with different audiences.

• Ability to travel across England and Scotland when required (occasional).

• A willingness to build relationships across sectors, with young people and adults.

• Experience of creating resources which are engaging for young people.

• Experience of youth facilitation and/or delivering training.

• Experience in presenting and delivering content, ideally to young people such as an educational, heritage or other  setting, for example such as leading assemblies and workshops.

• Demonstrated experience planning and coordinating events, including logistics, stakeholder communication, and on-the-day delivery.

• Confident public speaker or willingness to learn.

Desirable

• Proven experience coordinating programmes in partnership with external stakeholders, fostering strong collaborative relationships to ensure successful delivery and shared outcomes.

• Experience of working with CRM systems.

• Strong understanding of the education sector and experience of working with schools and teachers.

• Experience in drafting compelling copy and uploading content to digital platforms.

• Understanding of youth social action and extracurricular programmes.

• Interest in campaigning, social justice, food, and child health.

• Experience with design tools like Canva.

The Childhood Trust is London's child poverty charity. We are dedicated to creating opportunities and brighter futures for the 700,000 children growing up in poverty in London. While we work to alleviate today’s impact of poverty, we support children and families to build pathways to become happier, healthier, safer and more resilient, breaking the cycles of inequity. Listening to and engaging with young people who have experience of living in poverty, is critical to ensuring our efforts truly reflect their needs and aspirations.  

As a grant-making charity, we award funding to charities actively supporting children in poverty across the capital. This funding is made possible thanks to the partnerships we build with corporate organisations, other trusts and foundations, philanthropic individuals and families, and public donations. Since 2013, The Childhood Trust has raised over £50 million through our matched fundraising campaigns, enabling us to fund impactful child poverty projects across all London boroughs.  

We are entering an exciting new phase of development. We are seeking a Capacity Building Manager to lead the development and implementation of our organisation-wide funder plus approach -strengthening the support we offer beyond grant funding and helping to build a more connected, resilient and effective sector. This role will play a key part in ensuring our work delivers greater benefit for children, young people and communities across London. 

Benefits to working at the Childhood Trust include:

• Competitive holiday package including a day off for your birthday and the days between Christmas and New Year Off 

• Enhanced Maternity/Paternity Leave 

• Flexible working environment 

• Hybrid working, with the expectation of ideally one day a week, in our office in Victoria 

To read more about the responsibilities in the role, please read the attached Job description. 

Interviews will take place, in person at our office in Victoria, on Wednesday 15th April.

JOIN OUR WORK TO SUPPORT OUR COMMUNITIES TO THRIVE

We are looking for an ambitious and Wellbeing and Learning Development Manager to lead two of our flagship wellbeing and employment projects, aimed at supporting purposeful activity, health and wellbeing. You will provide expert leadership and support to a small team, creating a culture that best supports our friendly community-based services. You’ll have an excellent eye for systems and structure, understand the importance of person-centred services and be able to spot and capitalise on development opportunities, from partnerships to funding. You’ll be passionate about reducing health inequalities and community work. You’ll believe in the power of partnership working to deliver the best outcomes for our community. 

ABOUT US

Southmead Development Trust is a Bristol-based charity made up of staff, volunteers, and residents working together to keep power in our community. We work alongside local people and partners to improve health, wellbeing, employment, and local pride — while tackling social isolation and bringing investment into the area.

Guided by residents, our vision is a thriving and healthy community. We provide the support, spaces, and services our community needs through our two well-loved sites: the Greenway Centre and Southmead Adventure Playground (The Ranch). These venues host a wide range of activities including wellbeing services, youth and play sessions, fitness classes, community groups, and local celebrations.

We’re proud to be a Disability Confident employer and welcome applications from everyone. We’re committed to building a team that reflects the diversity of our community. If you need any adjustments during the recruitment process or in the workplace, just let us know — we’ll do our best to support you.

ABOUT YOU

· 3+ years experience in a role supporting holistic wellbeing, employability or health

· Experience leading a team

· Experience developing cross sector partnerships for joint aims including facilitating meetings and information sharing

· Experience contributing to fundraising applications or business cases

· Understanding of the importance of employability and the connection with health and wellbeing

· Interested in health system change to support prevention and community-based models of working

· Project management experience, including programming, reporting, budgeting, evaluation

· Excellent working knowledge and understanding of managing safeguarding issues and ensuring best practice for service delivery

· Proactive and creative, with an aptitude for building relationships and problem solving

· Understanding of equalities and health inequalities

· An understanding of the complexity that may affect the participants of our services

· Good inter-personal skills with the ability to relate to others and build strong relationships

· Most importantly, you embody our values of:

· Positivity – Integrity – Excellence – Welcoming – Entrepreneurial

ABOUT THE ROLE

You will be key part of our Wellbeing and Communities directorate, offering vital support and strategic direction to our Learning and Wellbeing team to achieve our vision and meet funder requirements and coordinating the development of a new partnership aimed at improving health and wellbeing for people across North and West Bristol. You will lead a team that combines wellbeing and health and employment support, as well as offering support and synergy to other teams in the directorate. This role will ensure support for wider social issues, such as debt, housing, family and health barriers faced to engage with employment and learning opportunities.

You will work closely with our Senior Wellbeing and Learning Coach to develop interventions to improve confidence, physical and mental health and employment prospects.

You will work closely with our Wellbeing and Communities Development Manager to ensure synergy between our wellbeing teams and develop our service offer.

DETAILS:

Location: Greenway Centre, Bristol, BS10

Contract: Permanent

Salary: £35, 455 - £36, 887 (with pending cost of living rise in April 2026)

Hours: fulltime, 37 hours per week

Reports to: Wellbeing and Communities Development Manager

Holiday: 33 days annual leave pro rata (inclusive of Bank Holidays), occupational pension, free membership to Greenway Gym and classes.

Sick Pay: 4 weeks over rolling year, pro rata

Training & Development Opportunities: All mandatory training and job specific training offered, e.g. First Aid, Safeguarding, Motivational Interviewing, Management and Leadership, Trauma Informed Practice and Reflective Practice.

Pension Contribution: Nest Pension Scheme, combined 7% (employer 3%, employee 4% as standard)

Benefits: free membership to Greenway Gym and classes, cycle to work scheme, cafe discount.

Sick Pay: 4 weeks at full pay over rolling year, pro rata

Pension Contribution: Nest Pension Scheme, combined 7% (employer 3%, employee 4% as standard)

Interview process: if you are successful in the shortlisting stage, you will be invited to an in person interview. This will consist of a series of questions, short presentation on your vision for the role and an admin task.

Deadline: 9am, Wednesday 4th March

RESPONSIBILITIES

Key Responsibilities:

Leadership and Partnerships

· To develop and contribute to forums and partnerships that support the growth of our work in North Bristol, including working closely with health partners (community health, Primary Care and acute services) and the learning and employment sectors to develop collaborative services.

· To oversee the Learning and Wellbeing Service and activities, ensuring they meet funder requirements, targets, and quality standards, and are safe, effective and well-managed, including oversight of reporting and budgets and providing leadership and guidance to the Senior Coach.

· To support the development and delivery of the Healthy Ageing Research Project and Community Consortium, working closely with the CEO and Wellbeing and Communities Development Manager.

· To deputise for the Wellbeing and Communities Development Manager at relevant meetings and support the ongoing development of the Communities and Wellbeing team to meet Southmead Development Trust’s strategic objectives.

· To embed community development principles across all work, including strength-based approaches, participant involvement, engagement, and the nurturing of volunteers to help build a resilient community.

· To ensure the safe and effective delivery of activities, interventions and services, including oversight of risk assessments, safeguarding processes, data recording and quality assurance, in collaboration with the Wellbeing and Communities Development Manager.

· To work alongside research partners to develop effective methods for evidencing the impact and effectiveness of interventions, activities and services.

Team Leadership and Line Management

· To lead and inspire the team to create a positive and collaborative culture.

· Coordinate, manage and supervise our Learning and Wellbeing team, and other practitioners as appropriate.

· To provide proactive performance management of staff via the Trusts’ processes, to include but not limited to, holding monthly one-to-one meetings, establishing development opportunities and training.

· To lead team meetings and ensure all practitioners have access to reflective practice and appropriate training

Systems and Marketing

· To work with SDT colleagues and others to improve systems and processes to best support services and other contractual obligations

· To be a key advocate for Beacon database

· To work alongside SDTs Communications Manager to ensure that our services and activities are known and understood by residents of Southmead and North Bristol

Relationship Development, Fundraising New Opportunities 

· Build relationships with external agencies, organisations and stakeholders to best support staff and participants and develop new opportunities for delivery and collaborative working. 

· Coordinate the Learning and Wellbeing steering group meeting, gathering feedback, advice and ideas to continually improve the service

· Work with teams across Southmead Development Trust to develop engagement and volunteering opportunities for participants.

· Produce content, with the support of the communications team, for social media, mail shots and other channels, to promote and celebrate our wellbeing and learning work

· To develop external funding bids and proposals to sustain and expand our programmes, working with colleagues from the Senior Leadership Team and across the Trust; supporting other income generating activities including supporting the development of tender responses to sustain health and wellbeing initiatives

General Responsibilities

All staff at Southmead Development Trust are expected to:

· Follow all Trust policies, procedures, and safeguarding requirements.

· Model our values: Positivity, Integrity, Excellence, Welcoming, Entrepreneurial.

· Work proactively, use initiative, and collaborate well with colleagues and the community.

· Maintain confidentiality, data protection standards, and a safe, inclusive environment.

· Take part in training, development, staff meetings and occasional evening/weekend work when required.

· Carry out any other reasonable duties to support the organisation.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

ESSENTIAL

· Passion, empathy and desire to support residents to lead healthier and happier lives through holistic, person‑centred, community‑based models.

· Experience of successfully developing and delivering community‑based wellbeing, health or employment services/interventions.

· Track record of developing proposals and securing funding for new wellbeing or health interventions.

· Experience implementing project plans, managing budgets, producing reports and meeting deadlines, and performance managing contracts or projects

· Experience of implementing systems and processes to improve service delivery and evidence.

· Experience of outreach, engagement and working directly with residents to shape and inform services.

· Excellent people management skills with proven experience of supporting, motivating and managing staff and volunteers.

· Experience implementing monitoring and evaluation systems and reporting to funders/stakeholders.

· Experience working holistically with people in 1‑2‑1 or group settings and achieving change.

· Excellent interpersonal, relationship‑building and communication skills with a range of stakeholders and diverse communities.

· Excellent IT skills including Word, Excel, email, web research and presentations.

· Understanding of health inequalities, complexity and barriers to employment/learning, and knowledge of community‑based interventions.

· Highly motivated with the ability to creatively problem‑solve.

· Capacity to work under pressure and adapt to changing workloads.

· Commitment to continual professional development and a personal drive for excellence.

· A flexible team player able to work collaboratively and adapt to changing needs.

· Ability to act as a positive role model and remain calm under pressure.

· Commitment to the charitable objectives and values of Southmead Development Trust.

· Willingness and ability to work outside normal office hours and across multiple sites when required.

· Flexibility to travel locally and work outside core hours as part of service delivery.

DESIRABLE

· Relevant employment, health or wellbeing qualification.

· Management and/or leadership qualification.

· Proven track record of working successfully with partner agencies (health, employment, GPs, NHS, VCSE partners) to deliver measurable outcomes.

· Up‑to‑date knowledge of public health, NHS service developments and funding sources.

· Knowledge of Southmead, North Bristol or similar communities and the issues facing residents.