Jobs for the Disability sector

• Develop and deliver a statutory fundraising strategy to maximise income from public sector and lottery funders
• Lead the development of compelling funding bids with senior stakeholders across Sense
• Manage relationships with statutory funders, including reporting and stewardship
• Take responsibility for statutory income and expenditure budgets
• Oversee narrative and financial reporting, database management and compliance
• Identify new funding opportunities aligned with organisational strategy
• Develop and contribute to consortia bids and partnership working
• Collaborate widely across fundraising, marketing and operational teams

• Experience of securing significant income from statutory sources, including six figure grants
• Experience leading relationships with government departments and lottery bodies
• Ability to develop proposals aligned to organisational priorities and impact frameworks
• Confidence managing budgets, financial reporting and complex funding requirements
• Strong influencing, planning and organisational skills
• Excellent written communication and report writing skills
• Commitment to Sense’s vision, values and inclusive practice

Be the person who makes the system work for children and young adults

Circles Network is looking for a skilled, compassionate Keyworker to join the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Keyworker Collaborative, supporting children and young adults up to 25 with learning disabilities, autism, or both, who have complex needs and are at risk of admission to specialist hospitals or out‑of‑area placements.

This role exists because the system does not always work as it should. Your job will be to make it work better, by standing alongside young people and their families, coordinating support, challenging poor practice, and ensuring the right help is in place at the right time.

If you are passionate about rights, inclusion, trauma‑informed practice, and persistent advocacy, this role will give you real scope to make a difference.

What the role involves

As a Keyworker, you will:

• Work directly with children and young adults, and with those who support them, to reduce risk and improve outcomes
• Act as a consistent, trusted point of contact for families navigating education, health, and care systems
• Coordinate and challenge multi‑agency support, holding services to account when needed
• Contribute to Care, Education and Treatment Reviews and Dynamic Support Register processes
• Use creative, accessible communication to ensure children and young adults are truly heard
• Champion person‑centred, trauma‑informed approaches across the system
• Maintain clear, accurate records and share learning locally, regionally, and nationally

This is a role for someone who is organised, resilient, values‑driven, and comfortable working in complexity.

About you

You will have:

• Experience supporting children or young adults with learning disabilities, autism, or related needs
• A strong understanding of the education, health, and care system, or the confidence to navigate it quickly
• Excellent communication skills, including adapting your approach to different needs and situations
• The confidence to escalate concerns and advocate firmly but respectfully
• A commitment to equality, inclusion, and safeguarding
• The ability to manage your own workload while remaining responsive to families

Lived experience, professional qualifications, or knowledge of CETRs and the Dynamic Support Register are welcome, but what matters most is your values, curiosity, and commitment to doing the right thing.

Role/Job Title: Head of Kent Services
Location: Pembury, with travel between services as required 
Contracted Hours Full time -37 hours per week (Mon-Fri)
Salary: £55,000 - £65,000 per annum FTE

Application Deadline Date:  Friday 24th May 2026 / Interviews to take place at Cornford Lane site (Pembury) on Wednesday 10th June
We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible.

FULL JOB DESCRIPTION

Equal Opportunity/Accessibility and Accommodations Statement:
As a Disability Confident employer, Aspens Charities is committed to fostering an inclusive and supportive environment for individuals with disabilities. We actively promote the recruitment, retention, and career development of people with disabilities, recognising the invaluable contributions they make to our organisation. We are dedicated to ensuring an accessible recruitment process for all candidates. If you require any accommodations during the application or interview process, please don’t hesitate to reach out.

Aspens’ mission is to provide high-quality care and support to individuals on the autism spectrum and with learning disabilities; meeting their needs and aspirations and empowering them to learn and grow through an integrated network of services across the South-East.

We provide support and care to children, families and adults across Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Brighton and Hove, Surrey and the London Borough of Bexley. Our services include registered care homes; supported living; community outreach; day services, including pathways to employment; children and young people’s groups and support; specialist support; and free online support for families and carers across the South-East.
 

About the role:
This is a tremendously exciting time to join Aspens. With our new Chief Operating Officer in place, we are actively shaping how we work to ensure we deliver the very best for the people we support. Her focus and ambition are centred on establishing consistent, high-quality practice across the organisation and ensuring that everything we do enhances, in a meaningful and measurable way, the lives of those we support.
 

The Head of Kent Services is a leadership role responsible for the strategic, operational, and financial oversight of services within Kent, currently residential services for adults with autism and/or learning disabilities, supported living services, and services for children and families across Kent.

The postholder will ensure the delivery of safe, high-quality, person-centred care and support that promotes autonomy, dignity, inclusion, and positive outcomes for individuals and families. The Head of Kent Services will lead and develop a small team of locality managers ensuring regulatory compliance, financial sustainability, and continuous service improvement across the portfolio.

The Head of Kent Services will be a member of the Inclusive Executive Leadership Team, working in collaboration with other leaders to drive the best outcomes for the People we Support and the Charity.

 

Knowledge and Experience:

We’re looking for someone who brings a combination of the following experiences, whether gained through formal roles, lived experience, volunteering or other pathways.  We value diverse routes into leadership and welcome applications from individuals who may not have followed traditional career paths.

Essential Experience:

• Significant senior management experience in health and social care.
• Proven leadership experience managing CQC Registered Managers.
• Strong knowledge of autism and learning disability support models.
• Experience managing budgets and financial performance.
• Demonstrable experience of regulatory compliance and inspection processes.
• Experience working with commissioners and local authorities.
• Experience managing large-scale change programmes.
• Significant experience in building team capability and managing complex employee relations.
   

Essential Skills & Competencies:

• Strategic thinking and operational delivery capability.
• Strong financial acumen.

• Experience overseeing impactful, outcomes-driven services at a strategic level.

• Strong project and programme management skills.
• Excellent leadership and people management skills.
• Excellent analytical and data interpretation skills.
• High-level communication and stakeholder engagement skills.
• Ability to manage complexity and drive change.
• Strong problem-solving and decision-making ability.
• Ability to build and sustain relationships, with trust and integrity
  
  
   

Desirable:

• Relevant professional qualification in health or social care (Level 5 or above).
• Experience overseeing multiple residential and/or supported living services.
• Experience in service mobilisation or turnaround.
• Experience with Positive Behaviour Support at strategic level.
   

Core Values & Leadership Expectations:

• Commitment to person-centred, rights-based and autonomy approaches.
• Passion for inclusion, dignity, and empowerment.
• Dedication to safeguarding and promoting welfare.
• Evidence-informed decision-making.
• High levels of integrity, resilience, and accountability.

• Reflective, open to feedback and committed to continuous learning
• Brings authenticity, empathy and a collaborative spirit
  
   

What we can offer you:

• An exciting and rewarding role that you can really make your own
• An opportunity to learn and grow in a supportive environment, with formal and informal training and development initiatives.
• Member of the Inclusive Executive Leadership Team.
• Hybrid working
• Adjusted Hours or compressed working weeks
• Fantastic paid training and career progression opportunities (including recognised qualifications in health and social care)
• Paid DBS 
• Annual Leave / Pro rata dependent on hours. Annual leave entitlement increases with length of service
• Nest Pension and Death in Service Benefit
• Dedicated Employee Assistance Programme and Access to Mental Health First Aiders
• Aspens High Street Stores -20% discount on all items for Aspens’ staff
• Bluebell cafe- Discounted staff menu available
• Refer a Friend scheme, so you can earn up to £250 for every person you refer to work for Aspens
• Recognition schemes, including ‘Employee of the Month’
• Wellbeing initiatives such as: no email/meeting Fridays, no meetings over lunchtime to ensure people can take a break, encouraged not to read or reply to emails outside of working hours, and access to counselling

If shortlisted, we will contact you directly to schedule an interview. We strive to respond to all applicants; however, if you have not received a response within a reasonable timeframe, please feel free to contact us for a status update or feedback (where available). After the interview, you will be notified of the outcome. If successful, you’ll receive a formal offer in writing. Upon acceptance, we’ll guide you through the onboarding process, providing you with all the details you need.

Please note, any offer of employment will be subject to Disclosure and Barring checks (which we will arrange on your behalf if you don’t already have one) and satisfactory employment references.

We are looking for a creative and passionate person to be responsibile for securing financial support to sustain and grow the Charity's work. A priority is to lead a £3M campaign for a new building. 

Background

The history of our Charity stretches back over 230 years to the foundation of a school for the blind by Edward Rushton. Since 1898 the school has been based in Wavertree and in 2016 Rushton Futures opened alongside the school, providing a service for young adults aged 19+ with complex needs. 

About the Rushton Centre Project

The Development Manager's primary work in the initial phase of the role will be to direct a fundraising campaign for the new Rushton Centre. The Centre is being designed to meet the changing needs of the Charity. As well as a hydrotherapy pool, we want to open a cafe which will give young people with additional needs opportunity for work, and we want to create additional spaces. The Centre will cost an estimated £4M. The Trustees are in a position to contribute £1M from reserves, but the Development Manager will play a crucial role in designing and implementing a fundraising strategy for the remaining funds. 

Key Tasks

1. Develop and implement fundraising strategies and campaigns to meet organisational goals and ensure financial sustainability.

2. Identify and cultivate relationships with potential donors, sponsors, and foundations, including individuals, corporations, and community organisations.

3. Research and pursue grants and trusts applications, managing the process from start to finish.

4. Coordinate and oversee current charitable donations and legacies.

5. Work with colleagues at the Charity to identify funding priorities; liaise with key post-holders, including the Finance Manager, to meet audit and compliance requirements.

6. Organize fundraising events and initiatives, such as galas, charity drives, and online campaigns, to generate donations and increase public awareness.

7. Manage donor databases and maintain accurate records of contributions, sponsorships, and communications.

8. Take a supporter-centred approach in all your work, building strong, respectful relationships with donors.

9. Communicate the organization’s mission and impact to donors, stakeholders, and the public through presentations, newsletters, and promotional materials.

10. Be responsible for managing and promoting our fundraising profile through social media and other online presence.

11. Monitor and evaluate fundraising campaigns to assess effectiveness and inform future strategies.

This post is not exhaustive of the above responsibilities. For full roles and responsibilities, please contact our HR Team for an application pack. 

Job details, benefits and application process

Hours: Full time (37 hours per week)

Location: Hybrid. Based in Wavertree and Remote. You will be required to be on site for a minimum of 2 days per week. 

Pay: £35K - £40K, depending on experience

Benefits:

• Flexible working
• 24 days annual leave + Bank Holidays
• Pension Scheme (7.5 employer contribution)
• Refer a friend Scheme (Currently £500)
• Employee Assistance Programme
• Medicash
• Cycle to work Scheme
• Salary Sacrifice Pension Scheme
• Christmas Club
• Occupational Sick Pay
• Death in Service

Please note we do not accept CVs. To apply for this post, please complete the application form and return to our HR Team by 9am on Thursday 21st May. Interviews will be on Wednesday 10th June.

This post is subject to an Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service Check.