Appropriate adult volunteer jobs in Thatcham, west berkshire

Retail Regional Business Manager – Region 1 (Midlands, Kent, South Coast)

Service: Retail

Salary: £32,365 plus £480 home working allowance, per annum

Location: Home-based with regular travel throughout Region 1 (covering shops in Evesham, Hythe, Meads, Seaford, Warwick, and Whitstable); overnight stays as appropriate

Hours: 37 hours per week (full-time)

Contract: Permanent

Family Action & the Role’s Impact:

At Family Action we support people through change, challenge or crisis. It’s what we’ve done for over 150 years. We protect children, support young people and adults and offer direct, practical help to families and communities.

We see first-hand the power of family to shape lives, for better or worse, so we speak up for the

importance of family in national and local policymaking, amplify family voices and represent the changing needs of families in the UK today.

This is an exciting opportunity for a dynamic and driven Retail Regional Business Manager to play a pivotal role in leading the success and growth of our Community Shop network. You will champion high-quality retail operations across your region, inspire and develop Community Shop Managers, and cultivate strong, positive relationships within local communities. With a focus on commercial performance, brilliant customer experience, and exceptional people leadership, you will help shape the future of our shops and strengthen their impact. This role offers the chance to influence strategic direction, support new store developments, and contribute meaningfully to Family Action’s mission and values while growing your own leadership and retail management expertise.

Main Responsibilities:

• Provide direct line management to Community Shop Managers, ensuring clarity of objectives and accountability and assist them in the day-to-day running of their stores.
• Maximise income from the Community Shops in the region by tightly managing expenditure and being innovative in income generation.
• Conduct regular shop visits to monitor performance, provide feedback, and document findings in visit reports.
• Develop and execute an annual business plan for the region and the individual Community Shops.
• Assist with the preparation of budget forecasts and monthly reporting.
• Monitor retail budgets, track expenditures and flag variances.
• Ensure compliance with health and safety, financial control, and all operational policies and procedures.
• Process Shop Teams’ petty cash claims and expenses and sign-off timesheets.
• Work with Recruitment and HR teams to fill vacancies and support Community Shop teams.
• Maintain staff and volunteer records – particularly around absence tracking and training logs.
• Work with and support Shop Teams to achieve financial targets.
• Keep up to date with developments in the charity retail sector at the local and national level and use this information to help grow the business.
• Support the Shop Teams in embedding the shops in their local communities.
• Allocate resources within the region and share best practices across the shops to maximise opportunities to achieve budgets.
• Serve as a liaison between Shop Teams and the wider charity.
• Deliver inductions, coaching, and training to Community Shop Managers and Shop Teams.
• Promote a positive image for Family Action among your team.
• Lead on creating high-performing cultures with a focus on customer service, operational excellence, financial control, and delivering budgets and targets (both financial and Gift Aid).
• Maintain P&L accountability for the region, controlling costs and monitoring budgets.
• Contribute to the development of the national Retail Strategy.
• Support on new site acquisitions, refits, and disposals in the region as required.
• Act as a key member of the Retail Senior Leadership Team, supporting strategic decision making.
• Uphold Family Action’s Health & Safety and Data Protection policies, reporting issues promptly.
• Promote and embed Family Action’s Equality & Diversity principles in all work.
• Adherence to Family Action’s Safeguarding policies and processes. 
• Work flexibly to meet the needs of the service, visiting shops a minimum of once per month and overnight stays as required.

Main Requirements (for details check the job description and person specification):

• Experience in managing multiple retail locations and teams
• Experience in charity retail or community-based initiatives
• Experience in P&L management
• Proven ability to deliver against financial targets and control costs
• Strong leadership and people development skills
• Excellent communication and stakeholder engagement skills
• Ability to work cross-functionally with other charity functions
• Proficient in Microsoft Office and retail management systems
• Full UK driving license and willing to travel
• Excellent commercial awareness and financial acumen
• High levels of organisational skills and attention to detail
• Competence in using EPOS systems
• Ability to work under pressure
• Strong problem-solving and decision-making abilities

Benefits:

- an annual paid leave entitlement that commences at 25 working days, rising each April by one day, subject to a maximum of 30 working days plus bank holidays (pro rata)

- up to 6% matched-pension contributions

- enhanced paid sick leave and paid family leave provisions

- eye care and winter flu jabs vouchers

- cycle to work scheme

- investing in your professional development with ongoing quality training and career development opportunities

We are forward looking, ambitious and committed to continuous improvement. We are a people focused, can-do organisation, which strives for excellence in all we do and operates with mutual respect.

To Apply:

· Click the ‘Apply’ link below and fill out our digital application form

· Closing Date: 13th April 2026 at 23:59pm

Interviews are scheduled to take place virtually, with slots throughout the working day and early/late slots available.

All appointments with Family Action are subject to satisfactory Safer Recruitment checks.

Our commitment to Equality, Diversity & Inclusion:

We are happy to consider any reasonable adjustments that candidates may need during the recruitment process and you will be asked whether you require any adjustments if shortlisted for interview. We also make reasonable adjustments on the job, where required.

We are committed to Equality, Diversity & Inclusion in all that we do and welcome applications from all sections of the community. Intersectionality is important to us and we welcome applications from ethnically diverse communities, LGBTQIA+ candidates and disabled candidates. We are committed to increasing the representation of these groups at Family Action because we know that greater diversity will lead to even greater results for families and children and we strive for our workforce to be truly representative of the diverse communities we support.

All candidates with a disability are welcome to apply under the Disability Confident Scheme and request priority consideration for an interview, provided they meet the essential criteria for the role.

To help remove financial barriers to working with us, we will reimburse reasonable travel costs if you are invited to attend an interview in person.

*Ordinarily Family Action appoints new starters at the starting point of the salary scale (with subsequent annual pay progression), unless you have experience that would justify appointment further up the salary scale or there are any other exceptional reasons.

We are looking for a dynamic, values-led, strategic leader to drive our mission for migration justice and social work solidarity. The role entails oversight of the operations and strategy of the organisation, responsibility for financial management and fundraising, maintaining the health of the organisation and embedding anti-racist and anti-opressive values into every aspect of the organisation. 

Communications Assistant

• 15 hours per week at £15.00 an hour (Actual salary £11,700 - FTE £27,300)
• Hours may be worked flexibly over a minimum of 3 days a week
• Home based with occasional prearranged in person meetings

The Communications Assistant will provide hands-on support to the Communications Manager in the ideation, creation and delivery of our regular external communications. This includes helping to grow our social media following, creating and scheduling content, sourcing and designing images, providing copywriting support, and responding to comments across our channels. The role will also involve drafting and scheduling newsletters and providing administrative support with our databases.

This is a 15‑hour‑per‑week role, with the potential to grow in the future. Ideally, we are looking for someone who can spread their hours across the week to support consistent content delivery, but we are open to discussing alternative working patterns for the right candidate.

The successful candidate will have experience in a communications, marketing or social media role. They will be proficient in Adobe Illustrator and have basic video editing and/or animation skills. Strong copywriting skills and the ability to adapt tone of voice for different channels are essential, as is confidence using Mailchimp or similar email marketing platforms.

We are a busy remote team, and this role offers plenty of scope to work autonomously and flexibly. You’ll gain experience across a wide range of areas and develop your skills in a supportive, hands‑on environment, with opportunities to contribute to the creative direction of our communications.

Closing date: 19th April 2026

Interviews: 29th April 2026