Head of development and communications jobs

Are you looking for a dynamic and rewarding role working for an organisation with the feminist agenda at the core of its ethos? Then Advance Charity could be the career choice for you!

We are looking for Senior Operations Contracts Lead

Salary: £38,000 - £48,000

Location: Based across multiple locations with the flexibility to work from home up to two days each week. The three key locations for this role are Essex, Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire. The expectation is that a minimum of three days per week are spent in face-to-face, in-person contact (e.g. in Women’s Centres, Estates or external visits), and one of these days being a monthly visit to Head Office (the purpose being for interaction with colleagues and Central functions). Visits also required to HMP Peterborough and HMP Bronzefield.

Hours: 35 hours per week

Contract: Permanent

This post is open to female applicants only as being female is deemed to be a genuine occupational requirement under Schedule 9, Paragraph 1 of the Equality Act 2010.

Please note: Any offer of employment will be made subject to references, confirmation of the right to work in the UK, and satisfactory enhanced DBS check. This role is also subject to Police Vetting.

About us

Advance is an award-winning and innovative women-only organisation, established in 1998, providing emotional and practical support to women and girls survivors of domestic abuse and supporting women with short-term sentences to reduce offending. We believe in empowering women and girls to lead safe, non-violent, equal lives so that they can flourish and contribute to the community.

We are a community-based organisation who lead in best practice approaches to supporting women in their local community. We achieve this by being available to meet and support women in local settings and at our women’s centres, and by working in close partnership with other agencies.

Our values are to listen and support, to empower and respect, collaboration, innovation, and accountability.

About the role:

As an experienced senior manager with a proven track record of leadership in providing services to women in contact with the criminal justice system and working with partners and funders, you will manage criminal justice projects, work to develop and expand our services and partnerships and manage criminal justice managers and other staff as required.

You will work with the management team to ensure, manage and oversee that the services work within the budget, are complaint with financial regulations, policies and procedures, and meet funding and Advance requirements.

About You:

To be successful as the Senior Operations Contracts Lead you will need the below experience and skills:

A thorough understanding of and knowledge of the issues relating to women in the criminal justice system

• A sound knowledge of safeguarding adult and children principles, child abuse, child protection issues and safeguarding

• A good knowledge and understanding of organisational systems and frameworks, line management and project management

• Significant experience, likely to have been gained over several years, of strategic planning and operational management at a service manager level, and developing and delivering services at senior service management level

• Significant experience of working with women and/or service users with a complex range of needs, particularly within the criminal justice system, in custody and/or community.

• Experience of developing relationships with funders/commissioners and achieving required outcomes

• Experience of implementing quality assurance frameworks, monitoring, evaluating and measuring impact

• Strong influencing skills, enthusiasm, self-confidence, excellent verbal and written communication and presentation skills , and a can do proactive solution focussed approach

• Strong negotiating skills and the ability to build strong and effective relationships and partnerships, dealing with ambiguity and resolving conflict effectively, achieving the right outcomes for the organisation, collaborating and networking

• Able to think, act and plan strategically to develop practical and creative solutions to the management of existing and new services and complex problems that may arise while maintaining high levels of diplomacy and professionalism

How to apply:

Please submit your up-to-date CV with a supporting statement. Please note that only applications made via the job advert on the Advance careers page, and those that include a cover letter will be considered.

• Closing Date for Applications: Wednesday 4th February 2026

• Interviews are taking place on a rolling basis

*Advance reserves the right to close the advert early, or on the appointment of a candidate.

What we can offer you - Employee Benefits:

• A 35-hour working week

• An exceptional 30 days of paid holiday per year (pro rata for part time), PLUS public holidays on top (that's nearly 40 days paid holiday per year!)

• Additional days off to celebrate International Women’s Day, and for religious observance and moving home

• Perkbox - an employee discount platform where you can receive free rewards as well as take advantage of savings on clothes, groceries, travel, leisure and more

• Pension scheme

• Enhanced maternity/adoption provision

• Access to our Employee Assistance Programme

• Employee eye-care scheme

• Clinical supervision for front line staff and first line management roles

• Refer a Friend Scheme - £250 for each referral who passes probation

• Organisation wide away days

• One-week paid carers’ s leave

• Career development pathways

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Under the Equality Act 2010, we are required to make any reasonable adjustments. If you have a disability as defined under this act and/or have special needs, please email the Talent Acquisition Team via the Advance website and will aim to make the necessary arrangements to accommodate your needs.

Diversity, Inclusion and Equal Opportunities

We are committed to providing equality of opportunity and actively seek to recruit people from groups underrepresented in our current team. We have policies and processes in place to ensure that all employees are offered an equal opportunity in recruitment and selection, promotion, training, pay and benefits.

Safeguarding

Advance is committed to safeguarding and creating a culture of zero-tolerance of harm and expects all staff, including volunteers to share this commitment. We believe all individuals have the right to live their life free from violence and abuse and the right to feel and be safe. We have a suite of safeguarding policies, procedures and practice guidance, accessible to all staff, which promotes safeguarding and safer working practices across all our services and activities. When we recruit staff, we follow rigorous safer recruitment practices, this involves carrying out pre-employment checks including references, Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks, and identity checks. We ensure all staff undertake mandatory safeguarding training relevant to their role and responsibilities, to empower them to be competent and feel confident in recognising and responding appropriately to safeguarding issues and promote wellbeing.

The National Gallery is seeking a dynamic professional to lead the delivery of a responsive Information Systems Service Desk and ITSM platform, ensuring exceptional support for National Gallery employees and contractors across on site and remote environments.

This role is pivotal to maintaining the availability and reliability of user facing IT systems, aligning them with the evolving needs of the business. A strong emphasis is placed on service delivery excellence, driving continuous improvement through analysis of service call history, trends, and response rates. Insights from this data will shape resource allocation and inform enhancements to IT infrastructure, ensuring the National Gallery information systems continue to meet organisational requirements and deliver value.

The successful candidate will coordinate with various departments across the Gallery including the IS team, working closely with both technical and non-technical teams to provide a reliable, responsive, and proactive service experience.

This is a hybrid role, with on-site presence required in line with business needs.

Senior Programme Finance Specialist (Part-time, 6-month FTC)

CARE International UK

Salary:                                 £22,851 per annum (£45,703 FTE)

Contract Type:                     6-month fixed term contract with possibility to extend

                                            up to 12 months, depending on funding.

Closing date: 18 January 2026 at 11pm

Interview date: TBC

About CARE

CARE International is a global humanitarian organisation leading the fight to end poverty in the world’s most challenging situations. Women and girls are at the centre of our work, because we cannot overcome poverty and inequality until all people have equal rights and opportunities. We know that when a crisis erupts, women are often the first to pick up the pieces, so we work alongside women, so they have the power to make change where it’s needed most. Founded in 1945, CARE currently works in over 100 countries and last year alone reached 53.4 million people through nearly 1,500 projects.

Why work for CARE International UK?

This is an excellent opportunity to join CARE International UK’s Programme Management Team in a senior programme finance role at a time when the organisation is continuing to evolve how it funds and delivers programmes. The role sits at the heart of CARE’s engagement with a wide range of institutional, corporate, and philanthropic donors and plays a critical role in ensuring programmes are well designed, financially robust, and compliant from proposal stage through delivery.

As Senior Programme Finance Specialist, you will work across diverse funding mechanisms, including traditional grants and commercial contracts, and collaborate closely with programme managers, country offices, and finance colleagues across the CARE confederation. The role offers meaningful exposure to complex programmes and innovative funding arrangements, as well as the opportunity to shape how CARE strengthens financial quality, risk management, and donor confidence across its portfolio.

About you

You are an experienced programme finance professional with strong budgeting and financial analysis skills and a track record of supporting proposals and managing grants for institutional and corporate donors. You are comfortable working on complex proposal budgets, including for commercial contracts and non-traditional funding mechanisms, and have a solid understanding of donor compliance requirements and cost recovery principles.

You bring excellent attention to detail, strong Excel skills, and the ability to explain financial and contractual issues clearly to non-finance colleagues. You are confident working independently across a mixed portfolio, supporting programmes across the full project lifecycle from proposal development and contracting through to delivery, reporting, and close-out. You share CARE’s commitment to tackling structural inequality and are comfortable working in line with feminist leadership, localisation, and safeguarding principles.

About the role

The Senior Programme Finance Specialist provides senior financial, contractual, and compliance leadership across a mixed portfolio of programmes funded by institutional, corporate, and philanthropic donors. The role has a strong focus on programme funding and proposal development, working closely with Programme Funding colleagues, Programme Managers, and Country Offices to develop compliant, well-structured budgets and financial narratives.

Key objectives include ensuring robust financial design at proposal stage, effective financial oversight during delivery, and strong compliance and audit readiness across the portfolio. The role also contributes to financial risk management, supports contract negotiations and amendments, and provides technical advice and capacity strengthening to colleagues and partners. Strong budgeting capability, experience with institutional and corporate proposals, and the ability to work confidently with commercial contracts are central to success in this role.

Right to Work in the UK

Following recent changes to Skilled Worker Visa eligibility, a number of roles have been removed from the immigration salary list. 

Applicants residing outside of the UK may apply for this role if it is has an eligible occupation code,  identifies as a ‘higher skilled’ job and meets the salary threshold. Before submitting your application, please review the latest Skilled Worker Visa guidance here.

Safeguarding 

CARE International UK has a zero-tolerance approach to any abuse to, sexual harassment of or exploitation of, a vulnerable adult or child by any of our staff, representatives or partners. CARE International UK expects all staff to share this commitment through our Safeguarding Policy (link here) and our Code of Conduct (link here). They are responsible for ensuring they understand and work within the remit of these policies throughout their time at CARE International UK.

Safeguarding our beneficiaries is our top priority in everything we do, including recruitment. All offers of employment at CARE International UK are subject to: 

· Satisfactory references. CARE International UK participates in the Inter Agency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme (link here).  In line with this Scheme, we will request information from successful applicants’ previous employers about any findings of sexual exploitation, sexual abuse and/or sexual harassment during employment, or incidents under investigation when the applicant left employment. 

· Appropriate criminal record checks (including a Bridger check, link here).

By submitting an application, the applicant confirms his/her understanding of these recruitment procedures. 

Equality and Diversity

We are committed to Equality and value Diversity. We are a Disability Confident Employer and particularly welcome applications from disabled people. We guarantee interviews to disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the role (see person specification). If you require the candidate brief or need to submit your application in an alternative format, because of a disability, please do get in touch by sending an email to, our HR team.

We are committed to building a diverse and inclusive workplace where everyone feels valued and respected. We particularly welcome applications from people of underrepresented backgrounds, including those from Black, Asian and other ethnic minority communities, and individuals who identify as LGBTQ+.

Public Affairs Officer
Joseph Rowntree Foundation
Reporting to Head of Policy Campaigns and Impact
Permanent
London/Hybrid with 2 days in office in London (London Bridge/SE1 3GN)
Full time, 35 hours per week with flexible working hours
£35,708.40 + £6000 London Weighting
Benefits include: 25 days AL + Bank Holidays, a Salary Sacrifice Scheme for Pensions where JRF puts in 6% with a 3%+ minimum from the employee, cycle to work, employee assistance programme, gym discounts, eye-care vouchers, a health cash plan, and season ticket loans. You can also buy and sell a week of leave.

Charity People are proud to be partnering with Joseph Rowntree Foundation to recruit a Public Affairs Officer.

Joseph Rowntree Foundation is an independent social change organisation, working to support and speed up the transition to a more equitable and just future, free from poverty, where people and planet can flourish.

The Public Affairs Officer will work closely with the wider Campaigns and Public Affairs Team which is responsible for JRF's policy influencing and cross organisational influencing strategies. The role will also involve close work with JRF colleagues in Policy, Research, and Communications and Public engagement.

You will help to identify new relationships with key MPs, Peers, and Staffers, assisting with regular political monitoring and horizon scanning, and ensuring that planning and content management systems are regularly updated. It will also help to ensure that JRF are connecting the dots across all areas they influence on including social security, work, housing, family and care, housing, and energy.

The first six months would focus on relationship building, getting to grips with JRFs processes, laying the groundwork for regular reporting updates. This would include:

• Work across broader JRF teams to offer support to the different 'Stretch Policy Groups' on mapping potential MPs to influence.
• Taking ownership of the system for tracking impact and measuring progress against our organisational influencing objectives.
• Looking for potential opportunities in parliament to make use of JRF's policy proposals.
• Work closely with the Senior Public Affairs Officer to ensure we are co-ordinating political engagement effectively.

Key responsibilities

• Public affairs support: Assist in the delivery of policy and advocacy activities, including parliamentary events, building our presence at party or sectoral conferences, written briefings and MP engagement.
• Horizon scanning: With a focus on the Westminster parliament, UK government departments and the main city regions (England), keep a running watch for suitable opportunities for JRF to advance its arguments with key audiences and ensure that relevant colleagues are alerted well in advance to be able to respond.
• Stakeholder mapping: Identify parliamentarians who may be interested in working with us, build detailed profiles of the issues that matter to them, and maintain a core list of public affairs stakeholders.
• Stakeholder engagement: Support colleagues (by gathering information through desk top research or other methods) to prepare for their interactions with high value targets and record top level details of any contact between them and JRF.
• Network building: Build an effective network of contacts among the support staff in political offices and/or opposite numbers in other organisations with a view to identifying opportunities for collaboration between JRF and their employers.
• Representation and insight gathering: Observe speeches, conferences, and select committee hearings and report any noteworthy points.

The successful candidate will need to demonstrate the following knowledge and experience:

• Experience of working (either in a paid or voluntary capacity) in a public affairs/policy/political team and demonstrating initiative and flexibility to deal with a range of tasks.
• Experience of networking and using interpersonal skills to develop and promote excellent relationships.
• Experience of analysing information, conducting research and finding positive solutions to challenges.
• Confidence managing multiple projects to tight deadlines.
• Ability to work collaboratively across multi-disciplinary teams.
• Experience of tracking political engagement across a project / campaign (desirable)
• Experience working with people who have lived experience of poverty and hardship campaigning for change (desirable)
• A strong understanding of UK Government and Parliamentary procedure.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including engaging with parliamentary audiences.
• A good understanding of the issues facing low-income households in the UK and how political developments may affect them.
• An understanding of JRF's mission and work, and the context behind our policy aims.
• A commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion, and how this can be best applied to the role.

This role requires experience within policy, public affairs, or politics, as well as a clear understanding of UK parliamentary and government procedure. The successful candidate will need to hit the ground running and therefore this is not seen as an entry-level role and does require experience.

The successful candidate will be based at JRF's London office. Additionally, the Campaigns and Public Affairs Team find being in the office beneficial to their work and team building, therefore hybrid working at JRF means staff are encouraged to attend the office at least twice a week. The role is subject to satisfactory references.

How to apply:

The application process is CV and Supporting Statement. For more information about the role, and for the full job pack, please share your CV via the link below. The closing date is 9am on Monday 19 January. Interviews will take place w/c 26 January. We will be hosting a webinar on Thursday 8 January at 1pm for candidates interested in the role (this will be recorded and shared if you are unable to attend).

As part of our commitments under the Disability Confident Scheme, Joseph Rowntree Foundation/Joseph Rowntree Housing Trust operates a guaranteed interview scheme. Candidates with a disability who meet the essential criteria set out in the job description and person specification will be offered an interview.

Charity People is a forward thinking, inclusive organisation that actively and deliberately promotes equity, diversity and inclusion. We know organisations thrive when inclusion is at the forefront. We evidence our commitment by matching charity needs with the skills and experience of candidates irrespective of background e.g. age, disability (including hidden disabilities), gender, gender identity or gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, or sexual orientation. We do this because we believe that greater diversity leads to greater results for the charities we work with.

About MSI

MSI Reproductive Choices is one of the world’s leading providers of sexual and reproductive healthcare. We believe that everyone should have the right to choose. From contraception to safe abortion and life-saving post-abortion care, we are committed to delivering compassionate, affordable, high-quality services for all.

Today, our organisation has almost 9,000 team members working in 36 countries across the world. Our success lies in the fact that MSI teams are locally led, entrepreneurial and results-driven, and are passionate about delivering high quality, client-centred care in their own communities. As a social business, we focus on sustainable delivery, efficiency, and funding models that are built to last, so that the women and girls we serve today will have a choice in the future too.

We know that access to reproductive choice is life changing. For some, it can mean the ability to complete an education or start a career. For others, it means being able to look after the family they already have. For everyone, it means the freedom to decide their own future, creating a fairer, more equal world.

About the Role

MSI seeks a Global Programmes and Philanthropy (GPP) Manager to support the management of a large-scale five-year multi country programme funded by the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF).  The Manager will be responsible for supporting The Challenge Fund Programme (2024-2028), a $100m programme with global and bilateral investments from CIFF to advance sexual and reproductive health services and increase modern contraceptive prevalence in six countries across West and Central Africa.

Working in the Challenge Fund programme team (composed of a Head of Challenge Fund, another GPP Manager and two GPP Advisers), the GPP Manager will actively support the Niger and DRC Country Programmes and partners’ implementation, ensuring delivery of agreed deliverables (including payment by results KPIs) for the Challenge Fund Programme. In addition and given the strong focus on co-funding of this investment, the Manager will be responsible to support the Niger country programme with their programme funded by the Gates foundation. 

They also work very closely with other relevant donor teams, International Operations and Technical services departments to ensure MSI and donor priorities are reflected in programmes and learning agenda. The Manager will play a critical role in donor relationship management including effective and timely reporting and serve as an important internal resource and ‘donor champion’. This is an exciting and internally high-profile role that requires excellent financial and data analysis skills, strong communication and facilitation skills, analytical and problem-solving skills, excellent ability to work across teams to deliver results, and great attention to detail.

This role and programme team is part of the broader team supporting CIFF investments. The team oversees the technical design and execution of CIFF investments and is responsible for safeguarding and advancing MSI’s relationship with CIFF as a key contributor to achieving MSI’s mission. The team provides organizational leadership to ensure that MSI’s strategy, policy, systems, and capacities are responsive to donor priorities and investments and that CIFF programming advances the MSI2030 strategy.

About You

For us, it’s vital that every MSI team member believes in and is committed to our organisational mission, vision and values.

This means that we will only accept applications from candidates who are unequivocally pro-choice.

Our values act as guiding principles, providing us with a clear direction. They set the tone for how we approach our work, interact with others and align ourselves as ‘One MSI’. It’s important that our team members truly resonate with our values and demonstrate them consistently, in all that they do.

We recruit talented, dynamic individuals with diverse backgrounds who share our mission and are focused on delivering measurable results. As an equal opportunity employer, we are committed to fostering an inclusive workplace where everyone can participate and contribute meaningfully. We value open-mindedness, curiosity, resilience, and a solutions-oriented mindset, alongside a commitment to promoting equality and safeguarding the welfare of both team members and clients.

We seek exceptional communicators who are self-motivated, solutions-driven, and aligned with MSI’s mission and entrepreneurial mindset. You should be dedicated to driving social change in an environment focused on sustainable impact, both locally and globally, and comfortable working with diverse teams in an ambiguous setting.

To perform this role, you’ll need the following skills:

• Proven ability to liaise effectively with and collaborate with diverse stakeholders, including global, regional, national, local, public, and private partners.
• Excellent skills in communicating evidence, excellent facilitation skills with proven ability to synthesize complex technical component into easy-to-understand briefs or presentation.
• Demonstrated ability to establish and maintain effective relationships across cross cultural settings to achieve mutual objectives and maximise opportunities.
• Exceptional problem-solving abilities and demonstrated confidence in handling difficult situations.
• Demonstrated ability to meet deadlines, perform under pressure and reputation for consistently delivering results to a high standard.
• Be data-literate with an attention for details. Able to analyse and interpret datasets and spot trends.
• Fluent English and French oral and written communication skills.
• Good Excel proficiency

To perform this role, you’ll need the following experience:

• Experience of managing CIFF or Gates Foundation donor-funded projects preferable, or large restricted foundations/government/institutional donor (multi-country desirable), including project monitoring and reporting against payment deliverables, proactive risk management and escalation (essential)
• Experience in writing and editing reports, or externally facing project information for donors or other external stakeholders (essential)
• Financial management experience including budgeting, budget tracking and financial performance analysis (essential)
• Demonstrable experience managing complex relationships across organisations and across countries (essential)
• Experience in delivering capacity building support and skills development of others in either a technical area or project management skills, in order to meet project deliverables (essential)
• Understanding of the sexual and reproductive health and family planning fields (desirable)

Formal education/qualification

• Educated to degree-level essential, master’s degree desirable.

Please see the job description on our website. 

Location: London, UK (minimum of 2 days per week in the office) or any country programme where MSI operates in.

Full-time: 35 hours a week, Monday to Friday.

Contract type: 12-month fixed term contract (maternity cover).

Salary: £40,000 - £51,000 per annum for UK based candidates, for all other country programmes the salary will be banded within the national local context.  

Salary band: BG 9

Closing date: 22nd January 2026 (midnight GMT). Interviews may take place before this date for exceptional candidates.

For internal employees applying from an MSI country programme, the role will be positioned within the existing salary structure of the country. Local terms and conditions of the country will apply. 

At TLG, we’re on a bold, pioneering journey towards 2030 - reshaping how we think, plan and operate so we can deliver our ten-year vision with agility and impact. Rooted in our conviction to see “Fulness of life for every child, no matter what struggles they face,” and mission to pioneer unique and relevant approaches for churches everywhere, we see technology as the accelerator that will turn vision into reality.

This is an exciting time to join the team. In response to the growing mental and emotional health needs of children and young people, TLG is exploring two major initiatives: Therapeutic Hubs in churches and schools, and a UK-wide Coaching Network that equips ministry leaders to work therapeutically with children and young people. Together, these initiatives strengthen the local church’s ability to connect with children and families and extend the reach of compassionate, evidence-informed support.

To make this possible, efficiencies and innovation must be at the forefront of how we work - streamlining processes, embedding digital solutions, and leveraging technology to unlock capacity and accelerate change. From utilising AI to build cross-team efficiencies, to rethinking operational models and championing a culture of continuous improvement, we’re committed to working smarter and more creatively to maximise our impact.

As Digital Solutions Manager you’ll shape the digital backbone that powers this mission - designing and delivering user-centred solutions across Dynamics 365, Power BI, and Power Automate, while overseeing data architecture and IT infrastructure. Anchoring a cloud-first, secure, privacy-conscious and data-informed approach, you’ll enable TLG to scale innovation across programmes and give our teams the tools to move fast with confidence.

If you’re a pioneer who loves collaborating across functions and turning complex needs into elegant, scalable tools that help churches connect with children and families, this is your invitation to accelerate TLG’s next chapter!

TLG is a Christian charity and, as a team, we want to bring our faith to the work we do; as such, we are recruiting an individual with a strong and vibrant Christian faith. We would welcome applications from candidates from diverse backgrounds to enable us to better reflect the needs of the communities we serve.

Hours: Part-time (0.8 FTE, 30 hours)

Closing Date: Sunday 1st February

Initial Interviews: Wednesday 4th / Thursday 5th February – Online

Final Interviews: Wednesday 11th February – at our National Support Centre in West Yorkshire

Medical Detection Dogs trains dogs to save lives.

We train specialist dogs to detect the odour of human disease, providing life-saving alert assistance dogs to people with complex health problems across the UK and collaborating with NHS Trusts and other researchers and Universities both in the UK and internationally to advance the early diagnosis of disease.  

We have an exciting new opportunity to join this innovative charity that is a world-leader in its specialist field.

JOB TITLE:Regional Assistance Dog Instructor Scotland

LOCATION:Scotland (Central belt, between Glasgow and Edinburgh)

SALARY:£24K - £29K per annum, depending on experience

JOB TYPE:                         Part time and full time hours considered, with occasional evening and weekend work required

REPORTS TO:                   Instructor Manager

The Job

We are looking for a passionate and driven person who ideally has previous experience and skills working as an Instructor within an Assistance Dog organisation, who has worked with clients and partnerships. The role includes supporting both clients who have had a MDD dog placed with them and also our own dog applicants with their puppies and young dogs to ensure they receive the highest standard of socialisation and early training in terms of obedience, public access and developing an alert to the applicant’s condition, with the aim to reach an accreditable assistance dog partnership status. It is also will include carrying out client specific and odour training for MDD own dogs, placing these dogs with their new clients and looking after a number of established partnerships. This role would suit somebody residing in the central belt of Scotland, between Glasgow and Edinburgh.

Duties that encompass the role of an Instructor include:

• Be the first point of contact for the allocated partnerships in your area, covering all areas of Scotland. To provide guidance and instruction to applicants who have applied to the charity to have their own dogs considered for the training programme guidance and instruction on handling, behaviour and obedience and odour training as well as newly placed partnerships.
• Alongside the Instructing team, to run puppy classes, public access training, recall sessions in small groups for applicant own dogs that are in line with the charity’s quality standards and in accordance with timescales and targets. 
• To also carry out support visits and home interviews for applicants and clients that have been allocated to you.  
• Regularly monitor progress of the puppies and partnerships in training in your area and provide detailed, evidenced feedback to Instructor Manager and Head of Assistance Dog Programme.
• To carry out client specific training with any MDD owned dogs that have been matched, including the required odour scent training.
• Instructing, guiding and supporting new assistance dog clients in managing and handling a Medical Alert Assistance Dog effectively, via pre training, placement training and aftercare visits.
• Supporting partnerships in training in successfully reaching an accreditation standard and in maintaining this
• standard throughout the life of the partnership.
• To support a number of established partnerships in the form of aftercare, refresher training and yearly re-accreditations, assisting further afield on occasions as required.

Responsibilities

• To escalate issues and problems to the Instructor Manager as appropriate.
• To assist the Dog Supply Team with carrying out scent assessments on any MDD dogs in socialising as and when required with the support of the Instructor Manager and rest of the Instructing Team.
• To plan, organise and deliver practical and theoretical training to clients, meeting their individual needs in line with agreed standards to include areas such as dog welfare, appropriate handling, commanding and overall management. This will involve working with the parents as Team Leader and child as Client and working with adult clients.
• Assess the team dynamics of the family & balancing the needs of all family members as well as those of the dog.
• Assess the individuals preferred learning style and amending as relevant to aid a client.
• To accompany the client into all regular environments that they will take the dog to, ensuring the dog behaves in an acceptable manner and that the client and others are aware and clear in terms of where they dog should reside and behave for eg public transport, place of work. To complete a check list of environments for any applicant own dogs in training who are on the programme to be assessed within.
• To support and advise clients in transferring the odour training from pot training and recognising alerting behaviours to establish real life alerting.
• To monitor the correct and false alerting percentages of allocated partnerships via data analysis, advising where necessary until the correct alerting levels are achieved.
• To complete comprehensive reports and paperwork for any time spent with applicants or partnerships in training or established. Maintain accurate records by providing verbal and written information with agreed timescales about clients, dogs, applicants and apprentices as appropriate.
• To work alongside allocated partnerships with the aim of the partnership reaching an accredited standard and feeding back to the Instructor Manager and Assistance Dog Programme Manager if there are any concerns that the accreditation cannot be achieved.
• To provide clients with appropriate aftercare services at regular intervals in their own homes in the form of annual visits, support visits or at refresher workshops run at the Centre to agreed standards.  This will include continual re-assessment of the dynamics of family and dog, formulating and training on appropriate solutions, as well as offering additional dog training advice.
• To deliver handling days as part of an applicant’s pre training to include ‘Introduction to Assistance Dog’ ‘Advanced Handling’ and Family Handling.
• To scent train and seizure proof advanced dogs in preparation to be partnered with an adult or child client and ensure that applicant own dogs have received this at the earliest opportunity.
• To maintain the ongoing public access training with any advanced dog in scent training that has been allocated to them.
• To provide local support to the growing puppy socialisation scheme, based in and around Perth.
• To provide support to the Charity’s public relations and fundraising functions as required, specifically in your area.
• To act as the ‘contact’ person for the assistance dog programme in relation to training policy procedures with clients and their families, other professional service providers and members of the public.  This will include on-going research and development of the project.
• To liaise with and provide support for Volunteers who may operate as part of the aftercare programme provided by the charity.
• To ensure all partnerships are in line with the ADUK regulations with regards to behaviour, obedience and welfare and branding.
• Due to the nature of the role, flexible working hours may be required in some instances to facilitate the effective delivery of the work e.g. working during the school holidays with school age clients.

Other

• Share best practice with colleagues across the charity.
• Any other duties or tasks that are required to ensure the successful running of the Medical Alert Assistance Dog Department and the Charity overall.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

SKILLS AND ABILITIES

• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills
• High level of preparation, organisational and co-ordination skills
• Strong and clear teaching and instructing skills
• Experience of running puppy classes and carrying out public access training and recall sessions
• High level of self – motivation and planning
• Approachable, calm and empathetic to children and adults with debilitating and life threatening conditions
• Happy to travel alone within the UK to visit any clients as necessary.
• Happy to be on call at all times for partnerships as and when required.
• Happy to stay away from home and stay in local hotel when the client’s location is too far from your home to travel back.
• Happy and able to have Medical Alert Assistance Dogs in training to reside in their home.
• Good team worker, but equally able to work alone.
• Positive, empathetic and calm attitude
• Able to embrace a constantly evolving organisation
• Flexible

KNOWLEDGE & EXPERIENCE

Essential

• Previous Assistance Dog Instructing or Dog Training with puppy socialisers experience
• Knowledge of AD(UK) and ADI regulations
• Law in relation to dogs. 
• Knowledge of medical conditions relevant to puppies between 8 weeks and 2 years of age. 
• Dog and human psychology. 
• Proven evidence and experience of dog handling and training skills
• Previous experience of teaching and instructing
• Sound dog training and dog behaviour knowledge
• IT literacy and report writing skills
• Experience of using Microsoft based programs such as Outlook, Word,
• Excel, Internet Explorer and Power Point, teams, zoom and Microsoft
• Share point for data etc
• Full UK driving licence
• Pass a DBS (CRB) check due to regular contact with children

Preferable

•  Knowledge of debilitating medical conditions and understanding of how they can impact people, both physically and psychologically, particularly when they are unstable and fluctuating.
•  Previous knowledge of odour/scent training.

PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES

• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills
• High level of preparation, organisational and co-ordination skills
• Strong and clear teaching and instructing skills
• High level of self – motivation and planning
• Approachable, calm and empathetic to children and adults with debilitating and life threatening conditions
• Happy to travel alone within the UK to visit any clients as necessary.
• Happy to be on call at all times for partnerships as and when required – to include outside standard working hours.
• Able and willing to stay away from home and stay in local hotel when the client’s location is too far from the Centre to travel back.
• If able, possibility of having Medical Alert Assistance Dogs in training to reside in their home through the 6 – 8 week training phase.
• Good team worker, but equally able to work alone.
• Positive, empathetic and calm attitude
• Able to embrace a constantly evolving organisation
• You should be supportive of the charitable aims of Medical Detection Dogs and capable of working as part of a team, as well as able to motivate yourself. 
• You should be adaptable and positively embrace change by not only being flexible towards the ideas of others but also putting forward ideas to colleagues. This will involve creativity in problem solving and making appropriate responses to new ideas and unexpected situations.
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DIVERITY, EQUALITY & INCLUSION

We are a welcoming, diverse and inclusive charity. Medical Detection Dogs thrives when everyone feels comfortable bringing their best self to work. We celebrate difference, whilst striving to create an environment where colleagues feel respected and valued for their unique potential. We are committed to our values on equity, diversity, and inclusion.

Values & Behaviours

Working at Medical Detection Dogs will be a richly rewarding experience.

Our Values & Behaviours encapsulate who we are, what we stand for and what it will feel like to be part of our team:

• We are respectful.
• We stay positive.
• We strive for excellence.
• We communicate and listen.
• We are ambassadors.
• We are one team.

And of course, we advocate for Medical Detection Dogs whenever we get the chance, and we pride ourselves on our role as ambassadors for the charity.

Finally, the successful candidate will also be expected to:

• Hold a full UK Driving Licence
• Provide proof of identity and eligibility to work in the UK.
• Undertake a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check
• Work some evenings and weekends
• Be willing to travel to the Centre based near Milton Keynes

Are you knowledgeable and passionate about community and health? Could you recruit, lead and support a team of community volunteers to run fun and healthy living initiatives? Do you have the ability to take the unexpected in your stride? Then why not join us at SMART?

We are looking for someone that recognises the importance of good wellbeing for all, is capable of dealing with a wide scope of managerial areas, and can work with our local communty as our Public Health-funded Community Champions Manager.

SMART is a unique Chelsea-based charity, serving the local community in a supportive and flexible environment. We offer 28 days annual leave (plus paid bank holidays), a pension program, competitive salary, and additional benefits.
   
Think you'd be a good fit? Just click the Apply button, and send us an up-to-date CV, and a 2-page covering letter telling us why.

The closing date to apply is 23rd January at 23:30, with interviews taking place on the week commencing the 26th January