For over 60 years the National Children’s Bureau (NCB) has been building a better childhood for all.
Research and Policy Manager
Contract: Fixed-term, 24-months
Work Pattern: Full Time, 35 hours per week (1.0 FTE) (We are open to flexible hours and working patterns, including accommodating part-time and compressed hours (0.8 FTE) where possible).
Salary: £40,855 per annum
Location: Northern Ireland. (NCB promotes a hybrid, flexible way of working with 2 days working in the Belfast BT15 office).
The Vacancy
We are seeking an experienced and highly motivated Research and Policy Manager to make a significant contribution to the design, delivery and management of research and evidence projects at NCB, and to ensure that this evidence is used to influence national policy development and decision making.
The postholder will work across a range of projects, bring research and policy development and influencing together on topics including social care and the transition to adulthood; education; mental health & wellbeing; child poverty; youth violence and early years.
About NCB
For more than 60 years, the National Children’s Bureau has championed the rights and amplified the voice of children and young people in the UK. We interrogate policy and uncover evidence, blending in lived and learnt experience to shape future legislation and develop more effective ways of supporting children and families.
Bringing people and organisations together is fundamental to how we improve the systems that babies, children, young people and their families rely on to thrive. We push boundaries, even looking beyond childhood itself to consider transitions into adulthood and the impact of childhood issues on an entire lifespan. We are united for better childhoods and brighter futures.
The Benefits
- 30 Days Annual Leave
- Generous Pension Scheme
- Cycle to work scheme
- Flexible Working
- Winter Holiday Closure & Break
- Employee Assistance Programme
Closing date: 08:00am, Wednesday 10th June 2026.
Assessment and interviews to be conducted on 23rd and 24th June 2026.
Please note that we reserve the right to close this vacancy early should we receive a high volume of applications. We encourage interested candidates to submit their applications as soon as possible
Interested?
If you would like to find out more, please click the apply button. You will be directed to our website to complete your application for this position.
We are actively seeking to broaden the diversity of our staff group and warmly welcome applications from candidates underrepresented in the charity sector, including those from Black and Global Majority communities, disabled people, LGBTQ+ individuals, and people with lived experience of the issues NCB works on.
No agencies please.
Thank you!
Senior Service Designer
Location: remote. This role can be based at any of Barnardo's national offices. Regular local and national travel will be required.
Help us design services that transform childhoods
At Barnardo's, we believe every child deserves a safe, happy and hopeful future. For over 150 years, we've been innovating to improve the lives of children, young people and families across the UK. Today, we run more than 800 services and are committed to making them excellent, inclusive and designed with the children, young people and families who use them.
As a senior member of the Service Design team, you will play a vital role in applying service design methods to deliver measurable improvements in service quality, efficiency, value and outcomes for children, young people and families.
We are continuing to strengthen how we design and improve services across Barnardo's, working across a complex and evolving portfolio that spans children's services, digital delivery and business development.
This role offers the opportunity to shape not only individual services, but how service design is used to support decision-making, prioritisation and innovation across the organisation.
This is a hands-on role as well as a strategic one – you'll be actively designing, prototyping and iterating services as well as shaping direction and decision-making.
As a Senior Service Designer, you will:
- Work across a portfolio of projects, balancing priorities and adapting to changing organisational needs
- Contribute to service development and proposals, working with business development colleagues to shape service models
- Influence decision-making and prioritisation, using evidence and insight to guide direction
- Identify opportunities to improve services in ways that deliver better outcomes, greater efficiency and value for money
- Lead the end-to-end design of services in complex environments, shaping user-centred, evidence-based solutions that respond to organisational priorities, and creating service maps, blueprints, prototypes and other design artefacts to bring ideas to life
- Test and iterate service concepts in response to feedback and learning, refining solutions to improve outcomes
- Ensure services are coherent and integrated across online and offline channels
- Work across functions including business development, digital, finance, operations, research and policy to engage stakeholders and support organisational change
- Mentor and support colleagues – developing confidence and skills, with the potential to provide line management support to junior designers where appropriate
- Develop practice and contribute to standards, frameworks and reusable design patterns
- Share learning internally and externally, contributing to professional communities of practice and helping raise the profile of service design at Barnardo's
This is a varied, hands-on and project-focused role that allows for autonomy, creativity and real impact. You'll be part of a warm, committed team that shares learning, supports wellbeing, and is united in a clear mission: designing for better outcomes for children and families.
You'll work with a high degree of autonomy, navigating complexity and ambiguity, delivering tangible improvements to services and contributing to a growing and evolving design practice.
What We're Looking For
We're looking for a Senior Service Designer who can:
- Work autonomously to lead the design of complex services
- Manage competing priorities effectively across projects, balancing time, focus and trade-offs
- Influence stakeholders and support organisational change beyond immediate project teams, communicating design decisions and complex ideas clearly to a range of audiences
- Understand how services operate within wider organisational systems, and use this to inform decision-making and support effective change
- Confidently use a range of evidence, including user research, service data and performance insights, to inform decisions and guide direction
- Conduct in-depth user research to generate actionable insights and guide decision-making
- Create and iterate prototypes and other design artefacts
- Integrate offline and online service delivery into coherent end-to-end services
- Design and facilitate collaborative workshops with a range of stakeholders and partners
- Evaluate and evidence the impact of service design work
Previous experience in children's services, health, education or related public/third sector contexts is desirable – but if you bring transferable skills, we want to hear from you.
What You'll Get in Return
- 26 days annual leave (rising with service) plus bank holidays
- Access to the Barnardo's pension scheme
- Flexible working and hybrid/remote options
- Wellbeing initiatives and Employee Assistance Programme
- Regular supervision and career development opportunities
- The opportunity to shape how service design is used across a national organisation
- The chance to work on services that support children, young people and families across the UK.
Inclusion and Belonging
We are committed to building a diverse workforce. We particularly welcome applications from disabled candidates, LGBTQ+ people, people from racially minoritised communities, and those with care experience. If there's anything we can do to support you through the application process, please let us know.
Ready to Apply?
Together, we can change childhoods and change lives.
When completing your application please refer to your skills knowledge and experience in relation to the Person Specification and Job Description.
Please note due to the high volume of applications for some posts, this advert might close before the displayed closing date. We recommend that you apply for this role as soon as possible.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Thank you!
About NCT
NCT is a charity with a clear mission: to support people as they become parents, through pregnancy, birth, and early parenthood.
With a 65-year history of transformative change, we are a vibrant community of volunteers, practitioners, peer supporters, members and advocates. We are the largest parenting charity in the country and over the decades we’ve supported millions of people on their unique journey into parenthood.
While many know us for our antenatal classes, we also do much more. We campaign on issues that matter to parents, provide infant feeding support, and run thousands of free community events and activities led by our amazing volunteers. We also support families facing challenges like social isolation, feeding difficulties, and poor mental health. We offer support in communities, in hospitals and online.
About the role
Join our passionate team and contribute to the meaningful work that transforms the lives of parents and families. Your role will include:
- Provide line management and support to direct line reports and leadership for the project.
- Develop and maintain a strong understanding of Hackney’s parent demographics and local support services, enabling effective signposting for marginalised communities.
- Build strong partnerships with local VCOs and stakeholders to engage underrepresented communities, working collaboratively to support meaningful co-production.
- Create and lead welcoming parent focus groups that amplify local voices and help shape the project to be inclusive, accessible, and responsive to families’ needs.
- Data collection and reporting appropriate to the project for monthly/quarterly review with commissioners.
About you
You will be a compassionate, collaborative leader, committed to supporting parents and strengthening communities. You will provide effective line management and project leadership, creating inclusive, supportive environments where teams can thrive.
Build a strong understanding of the diverse families in Hackney, taking an empathetic and proactive approach to engaging parents—particularly those whose voices are less often heard. Developing trusted relationships with local organisations and services, helping families access the support they need. Champion listening and co-creation, shaping accessible programmes through meaningful parent engagement, including focus groups. You will confidently use data to track progress, share learning, and demonstrate impact.
Above all, you will be driven to ensure every parent feels supported, connected, and heard.
Our Benefits – What we offer you
We value our team and offer fantastic benefits to support your well-being and professional growth:
- 30 days annual leave (excluding Bank Holidays)
- Pension matched up to 5%
- Flexible working options to suit your lifestyle
- Employee Assistance Programme, including 24/7 GP access, personalised counselling, legal advice and more
- Cycle to work scheme to support sustainable commuting
- Life Assurance for peace of mind
- Free eye test for all staff, with further discounts
- Blue Light discount card
Registered Charity
101 - 500
We are the charity supporting people as they become parents. Here through pregnancy, birth, and early parenthood.
