This role presents opportunity to work innovatively & responsively, creating new, unique, & informative LGBTQ+ affirmative resources, providing crisis support, prevention & wellbeing initiatives; along with having a developmental role in upskilling & supervising sessional staff, trainees, interns & volunteers.
This is an exciting job opportunity to join a dynamic & committed team, in a key frontline role working directly within our Heads-Out mental health service, which provides individualised mental health plans, crisis safety plans and support, mental wellbeing workshops, varied mental health support groups including for those seeking asylum, a trans & non-binary group; LGBTQ+ mental health group, and LGBTQ+ social connections & activities group.
Opportunities will include delivery of specialised interventions, taking direct referrals and helping to support & stabilise those at heightened risk and/ or living through mental health crisis, plus psychoeducation workshops and group programmes will further enable you to engage, empower & support participants to build confidence, develop skills, strategies & achieve goals to improve, maintain & best manage mental health, increase mental wellbeing, and reduce and/ or prevent future crisis.
elop is a well established thriving and award-wining London based community-led LGBTQ+ mental health & wellbeing charity offering a range of high-quality and professional mental health, counselling and wellbeingsupport services to lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBTQ+) communities.
There will be one regular evening/ week and occasional other evenings and weekend working required.
NB: There will initially be both in-person office-based working with some remote home-based working required whilst we’re awaiting completion of building works and relocation to new premises
Interviews will take place Friday 26 June 2026 between 9.30am – 15.00 pm
Registered Charity
6 - 10
To better the mental health and well-being of LGBTQ+ people, and to challenge the discrimination and inequalities that our community face.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Thank you!
We are seeking an Assistant Director – Digital and Innovation to play a central role in shaping how Villiers Park delivers and develops its programmes at a pivotal point in the implementation of our 2025-30 strategy. This role represents an exciting opportunity to lead on the development of our digital education offer and innovation work, ensuring it enhances both the reach and depth of our programmes for young people across the UK.
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. As we continue to grow, digital provision and innovation are increasingly important in enabling us to reach more students, and to do so in engaging and inclusive ways.
Digital learning and programme innovation will be critical to the next phase in our strategy, building on the foundations we have already established, including the development of our learning platform and programme model. Alongside this, Leadership Challenge continues to expand as a key national outreach and social action programme, and this role will be instrumental in ensuring its quality and impact.
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 Assistant Director – Digital and Innovation will work closely with colleagues across programmes, partnerships, communications and fundraising, as well as external partners, to ensure our digital and programme offer is coherent, forward-thinking and aligned with our mission.
This is a unique opportunity to combine strategic leadership with practical delivery, helping to translate ambition into impact for the young people we serve.
Sarah Chick
Head of Programmes
Job purpose
The Assistant Director - Digital and Innovation leads the development, implementation and ongoing improvement of Villiers Park’s digital education provision. This includes the design and delivery of online learning experiences, the development of digital and physical resources for use across programmes, and ensuring that digital delivery is accessible, safeguarded and aligned with the organisation’s mission.
The role also provides strategic and operational leadership for Leadership Challenge, Villiers Park’s national student outreach and social action programme. This includes programme design, partner engagement, monitoring and evaluation, and ensuring the programme is effectively resourced and financially sustainable.
Working closely with the Head of Programmes, Senior Leadership Team (SLT), Communications and Fundraising teams, and external partners, the postholder supports the development of digital innovation, programme resourcing and Leadership Challenge activity to enhance reach, impact and quality.
Key responsibilities:
- Provide strategic leadership for the development, implementation and continuous improvement of Villiers Park’s digital education provision, ensuring alignment with our Theory of Change, priorities and values
- Lead the design and evolution of high-quality digital learning experiences, content and pathways for students, schools, parents/carers and volunteers
- Oversee the adoption and integration of digital platforms and tools, ensuring accessibility, safeguarding, GDPR compliance and scalability
- Drive innovation in digital delivery by monitoring sector trends and embedding relevant approaches to enhance reach and impact
- Ensure digital provision complements and strengthens face-to-face delivery across programmes, working closely with the Head of Programmes and Assistant Directors
- Provide strategic oversight of the use of AI within programmes, ensuring its application enhances learning experiences while maintaining safeguarding and ethical standards
- Provide strategic oversight of the development and ongoing review of physical resources, ensuring consistency, quality and alignment across programmes
- Ensure all resources are inclusive, engaging, curriculum-aligned and reflect organisational standards and brand expectations
- Maintain a coherent approach to resource development, ensuring materials support programme delivery and learning outcomes effectively
- Lead the strategic and operational development of the Leadership Challenge programme, ensuring it is high-quality, sustainable and aligned with organisational priorities
- In collaboration with the Senior Leadership Team, develop and strengthen partnerships with charities, corporates and universities to support programme growth and delivery
- Oversee the development of an appropriate recognition or award framework for participants
- Establish and oversee robust quality assurance and evaluation processes for digital and physical content and delivery
- As a member of the Senior Leadership Team, contribute to strategic planning, budgeting and risk management, and provide quarterly updates to the Board of Trustees.
- Work collaboratively with Fundraising and Communications teams to support income generation, bid development and programme promotion
This list is not exhaustive, and the post-holder will be required to undertake other tasks relevant to the role and within their capability.
Skills and experience:
- Significant leadership experience in education, youth or social mobility sectors
- Knowledge of school and college curricula and the needs of learners aged 13–19
- Proven experience in designing and/or delivering digital learning
- Strong understanding of safeguarding, digital accessibility standards and inclusive design
- Experience developing high‑quality educational resources (digital and physical)
- Ability to lead programmes, manage projects and deliver to deadlines
- Ability to build relationships with colleagues and external stakeholders to further organisational aims and fundraising objectives
Personal attributes:
- A genuine commitment to and care for social mobility and young people’s futures
- Organised and proactive, effectively, prioritising workload and delivering outcomes independently
- Strategic and forward-thinking, with an ability to see the bigger picture
- Collaborative and able to work effectively with colleagues, partners and stakeholders across different functions
- Willingness to learn and develop your own practice and experience
Additional Information:
- The postholder will be required to travel regularly to schools, events and partner organisations
- An enhanced DBS check will be required
- The postholder will hold responsibility to be one of the Deputy Designated Safeguarding Leads
- The postholder will require a full UK driving licence
- 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.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Thank you!
Do you possess the skills to engage people with lived experience of dementia in shaping more inclusive communities and services?
Can you adapt your communication style to connect with any audience?
Yes? We'd love to tell you more...
We have an incredibly rewarding and meaningful opportunity to join us as a Community Development Coordinator with a focus on lived experience and involvement covering the whole of the Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan area.
This role plays an instrumental part in making strong trusted relationships with people affected by dementia, families and carers within communities and diverse groups to support them to attend workshops and focus groups or community networks, Alzheimer's Society have a commitment to working with people with lived experience. This ensures that we create and adapt our services to be meaningful and reflect the needs of our service users. This role helps to embed this value and a improve dementia awareness and inclusivity in our communities, businesses and with stakeholders.
The successful individual will be working with the support of the team to ensure that individuals, local communities and health services have access to vital information about dementia support, ensuring that lived experience remains a real focus in local communities.
This is a highly rewarding and outward-facing role, focused on building strong relationships across diverse communities. You will engage and network with people at all levels—from senior healthcare professionals to people affected by dementia, their families and carers. Through community-specific workshops, awareness sessions, volunteer management and partnership working, you will help reduce health inequalities and improve access to dementia support across Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan.
You will be joining an established, knowledgeable and well-respected team, sharing learning, insight and best practice. Our work is rooted in communities, and we have built trusted relationships with local partners, professionals and people affected by dementia.
The service is recognised for its commitment to working collaboratively to ensure dementia support reaches those who need it most, including underrepresented and seldom-heard communities. This role involves significant time spent working directly in communities. You will identify opportunities to promote services, build trust, facilitate workshops and strengthen local networks to improve dementia awareness and support.
About you
You will have:
- Confidence and ability to approach and build trusting relationships with a diverse range of organisations and individuals including unrepresented or seldom-heard groups
- Skills and ability to coordinate and facilitate groups and workshops
- Understanding of equity, diversity and health.
- Have an understanding of dementia or be keen to develop knowledge of its impact on people diagnosed and those who care for them.
- Take a proactive approach and be motivated to achieve positive, meaningful outcomes.
Please don’t be put off from applying if you don’t meet every single requirement listed. We recognise the value of transferable skills and lived experience, and we’re keen to hear from candidates who can demonstrate potential, capability and a willingness to learn.
Key Responsibilities:
- Actively engage with communities, facilitating and attending community events, local forums and networking opportunities to raise awareness of dementia services.
- Build and maintain relationships with a wide range of stakeholders, from senior healthcare professionals (delivering presentations and briefings) to community leaders, charities and grassroots organisations.
- Deliver community-specific workshops and awareness sessions, working collaboratively with both internal colleagues and external partners.
- Develop strong links with organisations delivering similar or complementary services, helping to create a robust and collaborative local network.
- Influence and motivate individuals and organisations to take action, often encouraging people to work beyond their usual roles to create meaningful, long-term change.
- Gathering knowledge from communities—understanding what works, what doesn’t, and why - and using this learning to continuously improve engagement and reduce health inequalities, including those affecting smaller or less visible groups.
- Recruit and role manage community based volunteers
- Support and enable community members and volunteers who wish to run groups, events or activities, working alongside and empowering them to take action.
- Work flexibly, including some evening and weekend work, to meet community needs and attend events.
About Alzheimer's Society
Dementia is the UK's biggest killer. One in three people born in the UK today will develop dementia in their lifetime.
At Alzheimer's Society, we're the UK's leading dementia charity and the only one to tackle all aspects of dementia by giving help and hope to people living with dementia today and in the future. We give vital support to people facing the most frightening times of their lives, while also funding groundbreaking research and campaigning to make dementia the priority it should be.
Together with our supporters, we're working towards a world where dementia no longer devastates lives.
Our values make sure that our focus is clear for the challenges and opportunities ahead and remind us of what we all stand for.
Our commitment to Equity, Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging
We need to ensure the voices around our table better reflect and understand the communities we exist to serve. We strongly encourage individuals to apply who have a disability, impairment or health condition or individuals who identify as Black, Asian or from another minority ethnic background, as these groups are currently under-represented at Alzheimer's Society.
We want everyone we work with, as a colleague, volunteer, supporter, or someone we support, to feel included and that they belong at Alzheimer's Society.
Our Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy here along with our internal employee forum and Employee Lived Experience network groups help us promote inclusion and belonging, becoming an engaged and inclusive organisation for all our people.
Our hiring process
During your recruitment process we want to make sure that you bring your whole self and can be at your best. We are working hard to ensure our recruitment process is as inclusive as possible, so please do inform us of your experience and anything you think we could do better by completing our candidate survey when you apply.
To ensure fairness and consistency to select the best candidate for this role, all our applications are anonymised up until an interview has been confirmed. We recognise the benefits of AI, but if you're considering using it to submit your application, we encourage you to reflect on the value it truly adds. AI tools often lack the personal touch and authenticity that set candidates apart. We want to hear your unique perspective, experiences, and skills, so we encourage you to showcase them in your own voice.
We try to avoid closing roles early where possible, however if we receive a high volume of applications, we may close earlier than the advertised closing date. Should this occur, we will aim to provide you with at least 48 hours' notice.
We are committed to safer recruitment and ensuring the welfare of those we work with, due to the nature of some of our roles, we might need to carry out a Criminal Record Check at the relevant level. You can read more information via our Website.
Giving back to you
Our employees work hard every day to make a true difference in people's lives. We are proud to support them with a range of benefits, recognition and many options for working agilely, all contributing to a strong work life balance. We also have various learning programmes to support you in your development and help you grow to realise your potential and shape a career with Alzheimer's Society.
You can also visit our Working for Us pages, which give you more information about what it's like to be an employee at the Society.