Senior officer (strategic communications jobs in Stratford

At Community Connections Lewisham we are passionate about helping Lewisham residents (aged 18+) improve their health and wellbeing through discovering what exists in their own community, and becoming more able to access it. We aim to tackle the problems of social isolation and loneliness by using a person-centred approach. This means we recognise that each person we support has their own unique story, with their own particular challenges, needs, and personal goals.

Partnership Coordinators are the face of the Community Connections Lewisham team. They provide valuable support to both clients and professionals by running the phoneline, giving guidance and advice on a wide range of topics by referring or signposting to relevant services that are available in the community. They play a crucial role in the triaging, coordination and effective administration of the entire Community Connections project and acting as a front door service to the rest of the voluntary sector.

The Human Resources Business Partner will lead all aspects of HR across ParalympicsGB and oversee the design, coordination, and delivery of learning and development (L&D) for a workforce of approximately 50 employees.

REPORTS TO: Head of Governance, Planning, and Risk

TYPE OF CONTRACT: 12-Month Fixed Term

SALARY BAND: £54,000 - £60,000 (Pro Rata) dependent on professional qualifications and experience

HOURS OF WORK: Part-Time, 22.5 hours per week (0.6 FTE). Fixed Working Days – Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday.

LOCATION: London (Hybrid arrangements available in line with organisational policy).

This role is central to ensuring that ParalympicsGB maintains a positive, high performing culture, underpinned by effective people management, robust HR processes, and meaningful development opportunities for all staff.

Working three days per week (0.6 FTE), the postholder will act as the organisation’s primary HR contact, providing expert guidance to Directors, Heads of Department and Managers, and ensuring compliance with current UK employment legislation and best practice, supported by continuous professional development.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

Human Resources Management

· Serve as the first point of contact for all HR matters across the organisation, providing expert advice and support to managers on: employee relations, performance, conduct, absence, wellbeing, family-friendly accommodations (e.g. flexible working requests).

· Manage HR casework as it arises, ensuring timely, fair and legally compliant resolution.

· Ensure compliance with employment law, safeguarding requirements and internal governance standards; appropriately maintaining and updating HR policies, procedures, and employee records.

· Oversee recruitment and onboarding processes, ensuring a positive and inclusive candidate experience.

· Support organisational initiatives related to inclusion, diversity, equality and accessibility.

· Support organisational change as required, ensuring effective communication and engagement throughout.

· Proactively maintain awareness of legislative changes and HR best practice through continuous professional development, sharing implications and recommendations with leadership.

· Line Management of the Recruitment and Corporate Services Officer.

Reward and Job Evaluation

· Understand, evaluate and advise on benefits and reward packages, ensuring they remain competitive, equitable and aligned to organisational values.

· Contribute to job evaluation processes and develop/update job descriptions in line with market expectations and internal consistency.

Performance Framework Administration

· Lead the administration and continuous improvement of ParalympicsGB’s performance management framework.

· Ensure Directors, Heads of Department and Managers conduct regular performance conversations with their teams.

· Provide guidance and training to managers on effective performance management, including standards and tools for high-quality objective setting, mid-year check-ins and year-end reviews.

· Monitor and assure the quality of objectives and performance review conversations, ensuring fairness, consistency and alignment to organisational goals.

· Collect and analyse performance data to identify trends and improvement opportunities.

· Report performance insights and recommendations to senior leadership and inform succession and L&D priorities.

Learning and Development

· Oversee delivery of an annual learning and development programme for all staff in partnership with senior leadership and the Corporate Services team.

· Ensure every employee has an up-to-date individual learning and development plan.

· Identify organisational training needs and coordinate workshops, training sessions, and development opportunities; sourcing appropriate internal or external solutions as needed, supported by the Corporate Services team.

· Evaluate the impact of L&D initiatives and recommend improvements.

People, Culture and Organisational Development

· Contribute to initiatives that strengthen organisational culture, staff engagement and wellbeing.

· Support workforce planning and organisational development projects.

· Promote ParalympicsGB’s values and commitment to a positive, inclusive working environment.

PERSON SPECIFICATION:

Knowledge, Skills, and Experience

Essential

· A recognised HR qualification (e.g., CIPD Level 5 or above).

· Significant experience in a similar HR Business Partner or HR Business Partner/L&D combined role.

· Strong knowledge of UK employment law and HR best practice.

· Experience managing employee relations cases with confidence and professionalism.

· Demonstrated ability to design and deliver learning and development programmes.

· Experience administering a performance framework and supporting managers to set high-quality objectives and conduct effective reviews.

Desirable

· Experience working in a charity, sport, or high performance environment.

· Knowledge of safeguarding and wellbeing frameworks.

· Experience supporting organisational culture or change initiatives.

· Expertise in inclusion, diversity, equality and accessibility strategies (policy, training and measurement).

· Experience designing and implementing quality assurance processes for performance management.

· Experience with reward and benefits evaluation, market benchmarking and job evaluation methodologies.

Behavioural Competencies and Qualities

· Excellent interpersonal, communication and influencing skills.

· Strong organisational skills and attention to detail.

· Ability to work independently and manage competing priorities.

· Ability to operate with absolute discretion on confidential matters, with an understanding of when to escalate issues as appropriate

· Committed, enthusiastic and motivated

· Willingness and desire to entertain new ideas and seize opportunities

· Willingness to accept and encourage constructive challenges

· A willingness to do what is needed to get the job done

This job description is not to be regarded as exclusive or exhaustive. It is intended as an outline indication of the areas of activity and may be amended from time to time in the light of the changing needs of the organisation through appropriate processes of consultation and the mutual agreement of both parties.

VALUES

ParalympicsGB is an organisation with a unique role and key responsibilities within the UK high performance system. Delivery of our ambitions very much relies on both working in partnership with others, and by focusing on our two strategic priorities: taking the best prepared team to each summer and winter Games and inspiring social change.

As an organisation we are committed to three values: excellence, respect, and integrity. Every ParalympicsGB member is expected to adhere to: 

Excellence

Everything we do reflects our ambition to be world leading. We care deeply about what we do and bring a flexible, positive, and progressive approach to our interactions with others. Like the athletes that we support, we will always challenge ourselves and others to do better. 

Respect

Our relationships with each other, our partners and the wider community are based on respect, trust, and a deep-seated belief in diversity, inclusion, and the value of our differences.

Integrity 

We demand the highest standards from ourselves and others, seeking always to do the right thing and to engage with openness and transparency in all that we do. 

HEAD OF TRAINING AND IMPACT
Salary: £50,000–£55,000 (subject to experience)
Contract: Permanent
Working pattern: Full time, 9am–5pm, hybrid with minimum 3 days in the office, or on site at projects in prison, or in the community.
Location: Our Head Office is in Herne Hill, SE24 London
Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, so early applications are encouraged. The closing date is Friday 3 April at 09:00am.

ABOUT THE CLINK CHARITY

The Clink Charity, founded in 2009, aims to prevent and reduce reoffending through training, rehabilitation, and support. We deliver hospitality and horticulture training behind the prison walls and in the community by creating an environment where our students are supported to gain the skills, confidence and qualifications they need to rebuild their lives.

Since that time, we have trained approximately 5,000 people in prison and delivered 2,600 City & Guilds qualifications in a variety of hospitality and food courses.
What makes The Clink unique is our post-release support and mentoring programmes that rehabilitates an offender back into society through assistance with health mental health issues, housing, employment, family connections and friendships.
The charity operates an award-winning fine-dining restaurant open to the public inside HMP Brixton, training kitchens in the prison estate, horticulture projects at HMP Send and HMP Erlestoke, a commercial bakery in Brixton, and a bespoke delivery service, Catered by Clink.

Additionally, Clink Events is our social enterprise catering business with food produced by the women at HMP Downview and also in additional kitchen at Herne Hill and then served by alumni in front of house at some of the best venues in London including: the Guildhall, the Science Museum, Cutty Sark, Kew Gardens and the Camden Roundhouse. In 2024, across 218 events, The Clink fed 36,000 people.
More information can be found on our website and social media channels

ABOUT THE ROLE

Our Head of Training and Impact is a vital and high-profile role within the organisation, responsible for overseeing the implementation of all training projects at The Clink Charity across our portfolio, both in prisons and out in the community, evaluating the outcomes and impact of our work for our beneficiaries.

This is a broad and varied role allowing the incumbent to work across catering, hospitality and horticulture training projects, delivering nationally accredited and high calibre City & Guilds qualifications to vulnerable learners.
Having oversight of the projects, and working closely with our team of expert project leads in our restaurant, bakery, gardens and in our youth café of South London, this role offers the opportunity to develop exceptional training programs, rigorous quality assurance processes, and reflective practice in evaluation work.

As we scale our youth projects to a second site in Guildford, this role also comes with the wonderful opportunity of mobilising a brand new project to meet the needs of a NEET community of 16–25 year olds in a café based at Guildford County Court.

The Head of Training and Skills will onboard referral partners, design the delivery program and impact framework, and work alongside a skilled support team to ensure the success of the site, with a view to opening more of these projects in 2027.
If you are committed to the mission of The Clink Charity to reduce reoffending by changing attitudes, transforming lives and creating second chances, and you have great experience and passion for using education, skills and training to be the tool to generate this rehabilitation, we want to hear from you.

A LITTLE ABOUT YOU

You could be a great fit for our Head of Training and Impact role if you bring a strong background in hospitality and a passion for developing others. Perhaps you’ve led hospitality training in a college or cookery school, delivered City & Guilds qualifications within an FE setting, or built your career as a Chef or hospitality professional in a busy restaurant, hotel or catering environment.

You may have combined industry experience with teaching, or progressed from the kitchen into education and leadership. We welcome applications from a wide range of professionals across the hospitality and training spectrum who are ready to use their expertise to drive quality training, inspire our learners and shape meaningful outcomes.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Leadership and line management

• Work with the CEO, ELT and Board to achieve The Clink’s mission, vision and strategic objectives.
• Lead the design and implementation of a skills and training strategy which delivers the agreed vision and goals, and to communicate its effectiveness to project leads via KPIs, targets, and regular briefings.
• Lead the design and implementation of effective and robust systems and processes for the operational delivery of training programmes in achieving required delivery outputs.
• Lead on the embedding and implementation of an effective Quality Assurance programme for all project delivery across the Charity.
• Provide line management support for the programme leads in the Restaurant, Bakery, Gardens and Café, providing wider leadership to the staff team on all matters connected to delivering training and measuring the outcomes and impact of our work.
• Line manage the Data and Compliance Manager and support him with preparation of data driven insights informing strategic decisions.
• Conduct 1:1s with your direct reports, manage appraisals and oversee performance management processes.
• Ensure the learning and development needs of all delivery staff are met.

Project delivery

• Oversee all project delivery work at The Clink Charity, ensuring consistent, quality delivery and effective monitoring, evaluation and reporting of all projects.
• Manage the recruitment, training and development of our training staff continuously reflecting on improvements to the roles that can more effectively achieve project outcomes.
• Own the design and implementation of our work based on insight and learnings, lead on reviewing existing services and assessing new services or approaches.
• Make operational delivery decisions to ensure quality projects and provision – oversight of logistics, staffing, and resource management.
• Provide cover and support for staff delivering projects across our portfolio as/when needed.
• Ensure the CPD needs of staff delivering projects are met – including tracking completion of IHASCO courses for mandatory training.

Qualifications, assessing and verification

• Act as the lead link to City & Guilds for the delivery of the charity’s training courses across all projects ensuring that the content of the training programmes enables learners to achieve their qualifications and meet the high standards of City & Guilds NVQs.
• Work with the project leads on preparing portfolios for hospitality, catering and horticulture projects ready for assessment and verification.
• Oversee all verification of these courses. Act as one of a team of IQA’s for The Clink Charity and facilitate the EQA (External Qualification Assessor) visits, and HMPPS/HMI inspections across all sites.
• Host standardisation meetings with colleagues to build a collaborative training culture.
• Regularly monitor qualification outcomes against targets.

Monitoring, evaluation and insight

• Work with the project team in prisons and in the community to develop measurement and evaluation processes to assess the impact and outcomes of The Clink’s training programme, inform future decisions about programme development, and enable robust reporting to stakeholders.
• Attend quarterly reporting meetings with the MoJ to share the outcomes of our projects, preparing reports for those meetings and working with colleagues at New Futures Network who monitor our work for the MoJ.
• Regularly review impact methodology and implementation to ensure The Clink’s impact is measured and demonstrated in the most effective way, showing the full impact of our programmes.
• Develop efficiencies in collecting and analysing data.
• Be impact-driven and use data and results to ensure the planning and delivery of high-quality programme to drive continuous improvement.

Safeguarding

• Champion safeguarding in all the work that you deliver in and out of prisons, ensuring processes are adhered to and a culture of safeguarding is sustained throughout the organisation.
• Act as a DDSL – Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead.
• Approve updates to related policies and procedures annually.
• Ensure all staff working in our projects are appropriately trained in safeguarding practice at The Clink Charity.

New business, income generation and programme development

• Lead on strategic planning for delivery and programme development across all sites, seeking opportunities to grow/scale our impact by exploring new opportunities with our partners.
• Build and develop relationships with all relevant stakeholders, including MoJ and HMPPS colleagues, referral agencies for our community work, and strategic funding partners to increase our reach and deepen our impact on beneficiaries.
• Build and develop The Clink’s network of potential delivery partners including HMPPS, DWP, DfE, local authority, social care, schools, and other third sector organisations who work with us in supporting our beneficiaries.
• Provide expert content surrounding programme delivery and development for funding bids and proposals.
• Support the work of the CEO and Grants Manager in raising funds for the charity, including through attending pitches and meetings with current and prospective funders.

Finance

• With the support of the Director of Finance and Resources, prepare and oversee budgets for project delivery and track spending against forecasts ensuring good fiscal management of projects.

General Duties

• Report on delivery to the Board of Trustees, prepare papers for and attend subcommittee and full board meetings every quarter as requested.
• Carry out other duties as required by The Clink Charity.
• Act in a manner that is in keeping with The Clink’s values and promote inclusive practices.

PERSON SPECIFICATION – DESIRABLE EXPERIENCE

• Experience of leading projects and training and developing a team made up of staff members of differing levels of seniority.
• Experience of working in: social justice, education, youth work, or criminal justice projects, or having worked in hospitality or horticulture before, or having lived experience that reflects the lives of the beneficiaries that we serve.
• Have an IQA qualification or be willing to complete the course to become accredited.
• A track record of excellent project management skills (accuracy, attention to detail, scheduling, problem solving and monitoring) at a national level and have a strong working knowledge of GDPR.
• Excellent interpersonal skills and experience of building relationships with various stakeholders at a senior level.
• Experience of contributing to the development of overall strategy as part of a senior management team, and ability to translate this into operational strategy and plans that help deliver the organisation’s vision and mission.
• Knowledge of implementing quality assurance systems and the ability to objectively assess the performance of partners and colleagues against an agreed competency matrix.
• Knowledge of report writing and extrapolating data to inform decisions.
• An understanding of the catering, hospitality or horticulture courses (NVQs) provided by City & Guilds.
• Proven experience and working knowledge of safeguarding principles and practices and investigation / reporting protocols.
• Proficient IT skills, including use of Microsoft Office programmes.
• Can work flexible hours when necessary and is willing to travel between our South East projects.

PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES

• Demonstrable belief in The Clink’s mission and passion for our work.
• High levels of self-awareness, humility and flexibility, as well as an open and collaborative leadership style.
• Personal integrity, kindness, warmth and sound judgement.
• Good communicator: orally and in writing.
• Proactive, adaptable and can use initiative and find solutions to problems.
• Positive, entrepreneurial, energising and adopts a “can do” mentality.
• Values driven and promotes inclusion, diversity, equity and accessibility (IDEA).

REPORTING LINES AND MANAGEMENT EXPECTATIONS

You will report to our CEO and to the MD of Clink Events. You will line manage and support members of the delivery team across projects.

GENERAL CLINK CHARITY INFORMATION

All staff are expected to comply with all current legislation, comply with prison operational policies, comply with The Clink Staff Handbook and undertake such other duties within the scope of the post as may be requested by your manager.

Special requirements include passing the prison security vetting process to be able to draw keys and holding a valid driving licence.
Benefits include 28 days holiday plus bank holidays, a company pension scheme, and free meals on duty when based in a restaurant or visiting for business.

HOW TO APPLY

If you would like to apply for this post, please send your CV and a supporting statement (maximum 2 sides of A4).

In your supporting statement you should ensure that you try to address the desirable criteria set out in the person specification for the role. Make sure you give evidence which shows how you meet the criteria, not just telling us that you did it.

Interviews will be arranged on a rolling basis for this role, so early applications are encouraged. The deadline for applications is Friday 3rd April .

We do not send individual acknowledgment of applications due to the high volume we receive, and we will only contact candidates who are shortlisted for an interview. If you do not hear from us within two weeks of the closing date, your application has not been successful on this occasion.

If you would like an informal chat about this role, we can offer a call with a member of The Clink Team. Even if you feel you do not meet some of the criteria listed above, we would still welcome applications from passionate candidates who are keen to make a difference.

Appointment process

Applicants who have demonstrated that they meet the desirable criteria set out in the person specification will be contacted and interviews arranged on a rolling basis.

Interview
If you are shortlisted for interview, you will be invited to a selection process. A panel of two or more, including the recruiting manager conducts all interviews. If there are any special arrangements associated with the selection process e.g. tests or presentations, you will be informed accordingly.

Interview outcome
If you are invited to attend an interview, you will be informed either verbally or in writing of the outcome. The successful candidate will have the decision confirmed in writing as an offer of employment. Unsuccessful candidates will be offered the opportunity for feedback.

References
If you are successful in your application, you are asked to provide us with the details of two referees. We only contact referees with your permission after an offer of employment has been made.
All offers of employment are conditional upon the receipt of references that are satisfactory to The Clink Charity, verification of right to work in the UK and where applicable, verification of qualifications and Disclosure and Barring Service (where required).

Personal information
The personal information that you have supplied will only be used for recruitment and selection purposes. You should refer to the Privacy Notice on our website, which sets out how The Clink Charity will deal with the personal and sensitive data you have provided in your application form and supporting information.

EDIA
We welcome all applicants and are keen to enhance our team to reflect the diversity of the UK and the communities we serve. We would like to encourage applications from disabled people, those from LGBTQIA+ and Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic backgrounds and those experiencing other forms of marginalisation, as they are underrepresented at this level. In addition, as this role works directly with people in prison and those at risk of offending, those with lived experience are encouraged to apply.

Accessible recruitment
The Clink Charity is committed to making our recruitment process and workplace accessible to all. If you are an applicant with a disability and/or have any specific needs or adjustments that you would like us to consider, at application, interview, or appointment stage, please make us aware in your application.

Team Leader - Carer Peer Support (Adult Mental Health)

£34,101 FTE, pro rata 28 hours per week, great benefits!

We are looking for someone to join our local, independent Carer-led charity, someone who has their own personal story of caring, able to use that lived experience as well as their professional skills and knowledge to help others. The postholder will collaborate extensively with our funding partner, South West London and St George’s Mental Health NHS Trust, as well as other charity delivery partners to improve the identification of, and support for, unpaid family and friend Carers of adults with mental health needs. The work may also involve identifying children and young people in caring roles and brokering access to our Young Carers Support team.

As well as leading a small, part-time team of Carer Peer Support Workers, you will work alongside them, providing front-line, individual and group dedicated support (practical, social and clinical interventions). As well as coordinating services to assist Carers with their own wellbeing needs, you will enable Carers to provide well-informed care for their friends and family. You also will be our representative for the MH Trusts’ Triangle of Care Steering Group.