Jobs for the Human Rights sector

About us

Rainforest Foundation UK (RFUK) is a values-driven organisation working with Indigenous Peoples and local communities to protect the world’s rainforests and uphold their human rights. Since 1989, RFUK has partnered with forest peoples and grassroots organisations to secure land rights, challenge destructive industries, and influence laws and policies that safeguard forests and the people who depend on them.

Our mission is clear: to combine human rights and environmental protection to tackle deforestation. From the Congo Basin to the Amazon, our work has helped communities protect millions of hectares of rainforest. With a growing team of passionate advocates for social and environmental justice, we are committed to scaling up our impact to confront the accelerating climate and biodiversity crises.

About the role

This is an exciting opportunity to build your career at the heart of a busy international NGO working to protect rainforests and uphold the rights of Indigenous Peoples and forest communities. As Operations Officer, you will help keep RFUK running smoothly across HR, office management, IT coordination, contracts, travel and administration, working closely with colleagues in the UK and internationally. We are looking for someone who is organised, proactive and solutions-focused, with the energy to learn quickly, support a committed team, and grow their skills while contributing to our mission.

We encourage candidates of varying experience levels to apply, particularly those with a proactive mindset, a "can-do" attitude, and a knack for problem-solving. This role offers an opportunity for growth and development, making it ideal for someone who is eager to learn and contribute to our organisation's success.

Job description and benefits

Please download the full job description from our website. We offer 30 days annual leave, 4% pension contributions, Employee Assistance Programme, learning and development allowance, and four weeks of work-from-anywhere flexibility.

Location

This role is offered as a hybrid role based in our Bethnal Green, London office. The postholder will be required to work in the office for 3 days per week.

Application Process

To submit your application, kindly complete the online application form by 9AM, Monday 17 August. Please be aware that the form will be anonymised for review by the panel.

Please note that CVs will not be considered.

We strongly encourage all candidates to read the Recruitment FAQs page on our website before submitting their application.

Regrettably, due to the large number of applications we usually receive, it is not possible to write to you should you not be shortlisted for an interview. If you have not heard from us within 10 working days of the closing date, please assume that your application has not been successful on this occasion. 

Interviews with shortlisted candidates will be held in September.

We're looking for a motivated, focussed and attentive operations professional to join our team, managing and maintaining the organisational processes of the charity. This is a one year, fixed contract role, with the aim of moving to permanent, subject to funding constraints.

Details

• Hours: Full-time (32 hours per week - Monday to Thursday) 

  • Working pattern: Four day work week (Fridays off)

• Benefits: 

  • Annual wellbeing budget

  • Professional development budget

  • Private healthcare with Vitality, including dental & optical cover

  • 9 paid sick days

  • Two-week December shutdown for the end-of-year period

  • Annual team retreat

    • All benefits are subject to passing probation

• Statutory inclusions:

  • 5% employer pension contribution

  • 24 days annual leave (16 + 8 bank holidays, annual leave based on 4-day week).

About Glitch

We work to ensure that internet technologies in the information ecosystem do not replicate or further discrimination to Black women and other marginalised people. We’re a Black-led, internationally-focused remote charity. 

We are a charity, which means we do research, policy analysis and policy influencing, as well as campaigning on tech-facilitated gender-based violence, algorithmic discrimination, platform governance and other technology-related harms impacting race and gender injustice.  Our advocacy work also covers what we describe as broader ‘societal and collective harms of technology’ by ensuring there are appropriate safeguards, governance and accountability in our core focus areas above. Our Programmes focus on education, literacy, accountability and resistance to algorithmic discrimination and injustice.

While we are not a frontline organisation, everything we do is on behalf of those excluded and ignored - specifically Black women and Black gender-expansive people.

Read our full strategy document to learn more.

Role Overview

The Operations Manager will be responsible for ensuring the smooth, efficient, and compliant day-to-day operations of Glitch, enabling the effective delivery and adherence to policies and regulation for the charity and team. The role holder will be the charity's data protection officer; they will meticulously ensure we remain fully compliant with all relevant charity regulations, maintaining our integrity and trust with regulatory bodies, funders and donors, and our supporters. This role will also serve as the Board Secretary, attending Board of Trustees meetings 4-6 times a year, taking minutes and managing the process of all documentation for the Board. As the Operations Manager, you will work closely with the Executive Director and our Finance Director in recruitment and hiring, finance and administration, and events support. This role requires some travel.

Our ideal candidate will have experience working with/in small, 100% remote charities; small SMEs; or, nonprofit or nongovernmental organisations. For this role, we are seeking candidates based in the UK, and they will need to provide evidence of their right to work in the UK.

As a charity working to ensure technologies do not replicate or extend discrimination of marginalised communities, we are committed to providing equal opportunities for employment on our team. All applicants will receive equal treatment regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, marital or civil partner status, pregnancy or maternity, race, colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation. We strongly encourage Black women and Black gender-expansive people to apply!

Our values: Accountable, Black feminist, Care-full, Radical, Thoughtful

Key Responsibilities

Operations management

• Oversee the charity’s administrative functions, including triaging the general inbox, scheduling team meetings and other ad-hoc administrative work in supporting the ED in running the day-to-day of the charity 

• Maintain and improve existing operational systems and processes including information systems

• Organising travel suppliers and task related to charity events

• Manage relationships with external suppliers and service providers across recruitment, finance and personnel

• Support the development and implementation of organisational policies and procedures

• Ensure that invoices, payments, and expense claims are received and reconciled on the expensing system.

Governance and compliance

• Ensure the charity complies with relevant UK legislation and regulatory requirements, keeping abreast of any changes or updates

• Support the Finance Director and Executive Director on the preparation of the end-of-year statutory accounts and independent examination process

• Ensure compliance with financial regulations and charity commission requirements

• Support the preparation of Board materials and Trustee meetings and Board activities

• Maintain accurate records and documentation, including sensitive and confidential files

• Ensure documentation is updated across our project management system: ClickUp, our expenses software, HR platform and travel platform

• Assist with risk management and insurance matters.

HR and Recruitment

• Lead on talent recruitment, leaning on our retained, legal team when needed

• Manage the onboarding process for new hires

• Manage HR functions, including maintaining personnel records, supporting recruitment and any other HR processes.

Person Specification

Essential qualifications and experience

• Demonstrable experience in a similar operations role for a small charity, start-up, SME, or philanthropic organisation 

• Excellent attention to detail and accuracy

• Strong project management skills, including the ability to plan ahead and intimate the next stage of tasks in projects

• Proactive problem-solving approach

• Comfortable and confident managing sensitive, high-importance charity governance documents

• Knowledge of operational management and administrative systems

• Outstanding organisational and time management skills.

Essential skills and attributes

• Understanding of UK charity regulations and reporting requirements

• IT skills, including experience using Xero, Google Suite and project management tools like ClickUp and Slack. 

• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to work collaboratively in a small team

• Commitment to our mission and values.

Desirable

• Experience with HR processes and systems

• Experience working with with Boards, including preparing agendas and taking minutes

• GDPR or ICO training or certification.

Join Small Steps Project as our Executive Assistant 

Are you someone who loves bringing order to busy days, keeping people connected and making things happen behind the scenes?

We're looking for an exceptional Executive Assistant to join the Small Steps Project team and become the operational heartbeat of our award-winning international children's charity.

This is far more than a traditional Executive Assistant role.

You'll work closely with our Managing Director, Board of Trustees, project teams and volunteers, helping to keep the charity running smoothly while supporting fundraising, governance, operations, communications and events.

One day you could be preparing Board papers, the next coordinating our annual Celebrity Shoe Auction, supporting international projects or helping share the incredible stories that inspire our supporters.

If you're highly organised, naturally proactive and enjoy creating calm in a fast-moving environment, we'd love to hear from you.

What we're looking for

• An experienced Executive Assistant, Operations Manager, Office Manager or someone with similar experience.

• Someone who enjoys variety and thrives on managing multiple priorities.

• A confident communicator with excellent organisational skills.

• Someone who wants to use their skills to make a genuine difference.

What we're offering

• Full-time or part-time considered.

• Hybrid and flexible working arrangements.

• School-friendly hours where possible.

• Job share applications welcomed.

• A supportive, collaborative team.

• A varied role with real responsibility and opportunities to grow.

• The chance to work for an award-winning international charity changing children's lives around the world.

At Small Steps Project, we know that exceptional people don't all follow the same career path or work the same pattern. Our team includes working parents and professionals from a variety of backgrounds, and we're committed to creating a flexible and supportive working environment where people can thrive.

If you're looking for a role where organisation meets purpose, and where every day contributes to lasting change, we'd love to hear from you.

To apply, please send your CV and answer three short questions:

1. Why would you like to join Small Steps Project?

2. What experience would you bring to this role?

3. What excites you most about the opportunity?

Together, every small step creates lasting change.

The Operations and Administration Manager is essential to Kalayaan’s team and to our ability to transform the lives of our clients. The role offers and opportunity to use and build skills across a range of areas with a high degree of responsibility, working with a talented and committed team. 

We have seven staff, three freelance or contract staff and 12 volunteers; four of our staff work full-time.  We are looking for a capable, positive and motivated problem solver with the experience to manage a broad range of tasks and responsibilities.

This is an exciting time to join Kalayaan in an operational and administrative role, with a range of operational change projects underway, a new database being rolled out, office redecoration about to start, and a new website ready for launch in July.

Location: Hybrid working. Our flexible working policy requires everyone to be in our east London office for 25% of the time as a minimum because building in-person relationships is important to us (for this role we ask that you come to the office every week for the minimum of one day), but you’re welcome to be there more as many staff are.

Salary: £48,524 p.a.

Hours: Permanent, full-time, contract. At NEON, we work a 28 hour week - the equivalent of a 4 day standard work week. This can be done over 4 or 5 days.
Benefits:  a 28-hour week, 7.5% employer matched pension, genuinely flexible working, 20 days holiday per year (25 days pro rated for a 4 day week), plus bank holidays and Christmas break, a progressive Parenting Policy, Sabbatical Policy, and a generous staff development budget

Reporting to: Director of Operations

Application deadline: Sunday 19th July, 11.59pm

Interview dates: First round of interviews (online): Mon 3rd - Weds 5th August 2026, second round of interviews (in person): Thursday 13th August 2026

This role requires that you are resident and have the right to work in the UK

About NEON  

NEON is a capacity and infrastructure building organisation that seeks to accelerate the transition to a new economy by building the power of social movements - because without strong social movements we lack the power we need to win. We deliver trainings, develop resources, facilitate collaboration and work in partnership with key movement allies, especially in the climate, housing and migration movements. Our focus is on strengthening the organising, communications and strategy skills of social movement organisations, as well as deepening movement alignment, as we believe these are key to building collective power. As part of our work, we are looking to change the starting point in social movements from “what do we agree on” to “what can we win together?” 
 

Purpose of this role

This role is the main point of contact for staff for all people & operations support. It is crucial in providing the systems and support that NEON staff rely on to do their best work by:

• owning NEON people and operations  policies and ensuring they are understood and applied consistently and equitably across the organisation;

• guiding staff through people processes;

• overseeing the smooth running of operations  systems across the organisation.

What you’ll be doing: 

1. Lead the full lifecycle of NEON staff, including recruitment, contracts, onboarding, ongoing management, and offboarding, while overseeing and supporting the Ops Assistant to run these processes. Lead on reviewing and improving people processes and ensure anti-oppression is embedded within them.

2. Manage HR systems and records, including contracts, payroll inputs, leave, training, appraisals, probations and policy implementation, ensuring processes are accurate, well maintained and completed on time by line managers.

3. Act as first point of contact for HR queries, taking ownership of NEON’s policies, processes, culture and employee relations. Advise staff and line managers on policies, accommodations, and support needs, conduct relevant HR meetings and escalate to the Director of Ops and People when appropriate.

4. Manage monthly payroll, submitting updates to the outsourced provider, checking accuracy of pension and other deductions, implementing pay increases and paperwork, and addressing staff payroll queries or signposting them to financial guidance.

5. Line manage the Operations Assistant to a high standard using the full spectrum of management tools and approaches e.g. mentoring, coaching, challenge and feedback using the feedback guidelines, more formal performance processes. Empowering them to thrive at NEON and perform their role excellently.

6. Oversee day-to-day operational support functions delivered through the Ops Assistant, including IT and systems, GDPR processes, office and facilities coordination, health and safety, staff event logistics and board logistics, ensuring tasks are completed on time and to a high standard, following NEON’s values.

7. Support the Director of Ops and People in developing and updating people policies, procedures, and practices, staying across emerging trends, and embedding a caring, anti-oppressive culture through organisational development projects such as internal comms, team guides, manuals, and frameworks.

8. Maintain core organisational administration, including Companies House filings, insurance renewals, subscriptions, and shared organisational inboxes.

9. Participate or lead on Operations projects as agreed, (e.g. HR systems, data protection, health and safety), with clear scope and prioritisation.

10.  Actively lead on the enhancement of the Ops Peer Support Network’s community of practice as part of implementing the network strategy.

11. Play an active part in the whole NEON team, contributing to organisation-wide plans

Who you are: 

• HR & people ops experience: You’ve worked in HR or people operations before and are confident managing the full employee lifecycle — recruitment, contracts, onboarding, performance, leave, payroll coordination and offboarding. You can hold these processes end-to-end and keep them accurate, consistent and compliant, whilst ensuring they align with the values and ways of working.

• Operational systems & improvements: You’ve held responsibility for systems like HR platforms, shared drives, IT tools or project management software. You’re confident in improving how things work and embedding changes so they actually stick and work for people.

• Strong organisation & reliability: You’re highly organised, detail-focused and someone who gets things done. You can manage multiple recurring processes (like payroll cycles, HR records and compliance tasks) and keep everything on track without things slipping.

• Line management experience: You’re a skilled and confident line manager, and able to support with feedback, development and performance. You know how to balance care with clarity and accountability.

• First point of contact for HR & ops support: You’re comfortable being a go-to person for staff questions on HR, people and operations. Supporting staff and managers with clear, practical guidance and handling sensitive issues with care, confidence and professionalism.

• Working knowledge of compliance areas: Good understanding of core compliance areas such as UK employment practice, data protection and health and safety. You know how to apply these in a proportionate, practical way that fits a small organisation.

• Self-directed and collaborative: You’re able to manage your own workload and priorities, whilst working naturally across teams, actively building relationships, sharing responsibility, and making sure work is joined up rather than siloed. You’re comfortable holding your own while staying deeply connected to the wider organisation and what others need from you.

• Proven understanding of anti-oppression work and commitment to tackling all institutional forms of oppression, bigotry and exclusion

• An affinity with NEON’s aims, objectives and organisational values of solidarity, generosity and respect.

We know that people from certain backgrounds and identities are often excluded in progressive movements and we’re committed to doing what we can to correct this. 

So:

1. We particularly welcome applications from marginalised groups, especially people of colour and other ethnic minorities, people who identify as LGBTQIA, Disabled people and those who identify as working class or have done so in the past.

2. We know the work goes way beyond "diversity", it's about making the space inclusive too. So we are continuously working on that at NEON. So far this includes tangible things like a flexible work policy so people have genuine flexibility around where and when they work and a 28 hour week as standard; a gender-neutral parenting/leave policy, an anti-oppression strategy which is held at senior level given how important it is to the organisation. It also includes the day-to-day work of creating psychological safety for everyone at NEON and celebrating the wisdom of black, indigenous, queer, Disabled and other cultures in the way we work and behave

There are no formal education requirements for this role. As long as you can show us you have the skills we don’t mind where you got them from! Also important to us is your potential to learn and grow in the role so even if you don’t have 100% of the skills listed we want to hear from you.