Business development and community engagement officer jobs

Location: North Weald or Earls Colne 
 Contract type: Permanent  
 Salary: £60,000 - £65,000 
 Hours: Full Time - 37.5 hours per week  

Essex & Herts Air Ambulance, unlike NHS emergency services, is a charity. The free life-saving service is provided 24/7 by helicopters and by rapid response vehicles.  

Each critical care team consists of a pilot and co-pilot, a pre-hospital care doctor and a critical care paramedic.  

They can be rushed to the scene with life-saving support equipment to deliver advanced clinical care, usually only available in the hospital emergency department.  

Once stabilised, the patient will be conveyed to the most appropriate hospital by air or land.  

Without access to National Lottery funding and with only limited support from Government, we rely upon the generosity and goodwill of the people and businesses of Essex and Hertfordshire to remain operational and keep saving lives…we can’t fly without you!  

Job purpose:  
The Head of Marketing and Communications plays a pivotal strategic role in shaping, and delivering compelling brand, marketing and communications strategies that deepen audience engagement and support Essex & Herts Air Ambulance's income growth ambitions.

The postholder will head up a high-performing and multi-disciplined team across marketing, PR, digital, brand, content and internal communications within a dynamic, fast-paced charity. They will provide visionary direction, making the most of planned and reactive opportunities to enhance public trust, support ambitions across fundraising and retail, foster meaningful community engagement, and amplify the charity's lifesaving impact. 

Summary of duties and responsibilities:  
Strategic Leadership

• Develop and lead an integrated, organisation-wide marketing and communications strategy aligned with long-term organisational goals, driving brand strength, engagement and supporting income growth ambitions of the fundraising, philanthropy and retail teams.
• Provide inspiring leadership, fostering a culture of innovation, collaboration, continuous improvement, accountability and high performance.
• Deliver effective line management to the team, strengthening career pathways through structured development and robust succession planning.
• Play an active and influential role as a member of the Fundraising & Marketing leadership team, contributing to income and supporter growth strategies, leading projects and strategic initiatives.
• Ensure high-quality delivery through external partners, including suppliers, contractors and freelancers.
• Use insight, data and audience segmentation to inform strategic decisions and shape impact campaigns.
• Act as an advisor to the Executive Team and the Senior Leadership Team on brand strategy, reputation management, marketing performance, risk and crisis communications.

Brand & Reputation Management

• Evolve, and protect the organisation’s brand identity, deepening public trust, visibility and emotional connection with key audiences.
• Ensure consistent and high-quality brand application across all channels, materials, and stakeholder touchpoints.
• Oversee media relations, crisis communications and reputation management, providing confident leadership in high-risk or high-profile situations. 
• Steward the charity’s visual identity, tone of voice and brand architecture across both the charity and retail operations.
• Champion authentic storytelling rooted in lived experience and demonstrable impact, respecting dignity and safeguarding principles. 

Marketing, Digital and Communications Strategy

• Design and deliver a multi-year Marketing, Communications and Digital Strategy aligned with organisational priorities and future growth ambitions. 
• Lead the organisation’s digital strategy, covering website performance, SEO, paid advertising, AI, analytics and digital innovation. 
• Shape county-level marketing and engagement plans that enable regional fundraising, community engagement and partnership development. 
• Ensure high-quality content production across all channels, including social media, film, print and editorial. 
• Lead proactive media relations and news generation that build credibility and articulate the charity’s life-saving impact with accuracy and integrity. 
• Lead values-led external affairs activity, engaging MPs, stakeholders and regional media while stewarding crisis response with calm, transparent, and timely messaging. 
• Drive data-led digital marketing through segmented supporter journeys and integrated campaigns that deliver income and engagement targets, embedding performance reporting to drive continual improvement

Internal Communications

• Develop and deliver an internal communications strategy that strengthens transparency, fosters employee engagement and reinforces the charity’s culture and values. 
• Partner with HR and senior leaders to communicate key initiatives and strategic priorities with clarity and impact. 
• Collaborate across departments to ensure internal messaging aligns with and amplifies organisational priorities.

Budget & Performance Management 

• Lead departmental budget setting, reforecasting, and resource planning, maximising return on investment across all activity. 
• Oversee robust performance tracking, evaluation and benchmarking frameworks to drive continual improvement and inform strategic decision-making. 
• Ensure full compliance with relevant regulations, including GDPR, advertising codes, fundraising and brand licensing requirements.

Other Duties

• Work occasional evenings and weekends as needed, including being on the out-of-hours on-call rota.
• Carry out other duties that may arise in line with the broad remit of the post.
• Maintain professional competencies through continuous professional development.

The Package 
Salary: £60,000 - £65,000 per annum 

As a valued member of the charity team, you will have access to a wider range of benefits including:

• 27 days annual leave plus 8 bank holidays, increasing to 28 days with length of service
• Contributory pension scheme, with minimum 6% employer contribution, plus an annual pension review
• Occupational sick pay from day one employment
• Free access to an Employee Assistance Programme (plus immediate family)
• Access to Cycle to Work through salary sacrifice
• Discounts at a variety of retailers via Blue Light Card

More information and how to apply 
The closing date for applications is 26th April 2026 
First interviews will take place during w/c 4th May in person at North Weald.

Please note that your application form will be used for shortlisting, so please ensure everything you wish to include is covered in the form.  

This position is subject to a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check. The successful candidate will be required to undergo a Basic DBS check as a condition of employment. 

If you would like an informal chat about the role, please contact us directly and we will organise a time to speak to one of the team. 

Disclaimer: Essex & Herts Air Ambulance reserve the right to close a vacancy earlier than the advertised date if a high number of applications are received. Once a vacancy has closed, we are unfortunately unable to consider further applications, so please submit your application as soon as possible to avoid disappointment. 

About the role

Our exciting three year strategy sets out our ambitious goals to drive impact at scale for victim-survivors. We are now looking for an exceptional candidate to lead some of our financial services relationships and consultancy work and support SEA in its mission to raise awareness of economic abuse and transform responses to it within the financial services sector.

Working closely with colleagues across SEA, you will foster and maintain relationships across the financial services sector, seeking opportunities to generate income for the charity and supporting our Head of Financial Services to deliver lasting change and impact.

Together we can transform frontline financial services, in practice, product and process, and save lives.

About you

At SEA we put the lived experience of victim-survivors at the heart of all that we do, including our work with financial services firms. You will be a subject matter expert on customer vulnerability and financial services firms’ regulatory requirements, as well as having a thorough understanding of industry rules and good practice. You will combine this with experience of working with vulnerable customers, including victim-survivors and bring expertise on economic abuse to ensure this is embedded within financial services’ firms’ responses.

About SEA

We are the only UK charity dedicated to raising awareness of economic abuse and  transforming responses to it. We work to save lives and stop economic abuse forever.

Our vision is a world in which all women and girls achieve economic equality and can live their lives free of abuse and exploitation. Not only surviving but thriving.

Our mission is to raise awareness of economic abuse and transform responses to it.

To achieve this, we must ensure that the policies and practices of financial services firms, domestic abuse support services, public services and government reflect the needs of all victim-survivors of economic abuse.

We are  committed to centring victim-survivors in all that we do and broadening our understanding of the needs of survivors, particularly those who are marginalised within society. We work alongside the Experts by Experience - a group of victim-survivors whose voices and experiences shape our work.

Our primary focus is on influencing the women’s, public and financial services sectors, to create a model for improved support for victim-survivors of economic abuse, calling on government to facilitate these changes and work with them to improve their systems and practice.

What we offer

• 25 days annual leave plus Statutory Bank Holidays
• Home working (UK based)
• Flexible working 
• 5% Employer Pension Contribution 
• 5 Wellbeing Days
• Reflective practice
• Employee Assistance Programme 
• Enhanced sick pay, family leave and carer’s leave 
• The chance to be part of our highly professional, supportive team

To apply

Please apply via our website

Applications open from 9 April and close at 11.59pm on 7 May 2026. Interviews will take place virtually, week beginning 1 June.

Direct applications only – no agencies please.

Surviving Economic Abuse (SEA) is committed to developing an inclusive team which reflects the diversity of the communities we support. Our culture celebrates diverse voices, and we particularly encourage applications from Black and minoritised applicants and disabled applicants who are under-represented at SEA.

SEA is a Disability Confident Committed, and Kinship Friendly Employer.

Head of Direct Dialogue
Location: Flexible / Home-based (with regular travel to London and nationwide)
Salary: £65,000
Contract: Permanent

Shelter is leading the movement to defend the right to a safe home, and to win this fight, they are expanding their award-winning income generation team. Shelter is now looking for a strategic and ambitious Head of Direct Dialogue to lead its high-impact face-to-face fundraising programme.

As Head of Direct Dialogue, you will set the vision and strategy for one of Shelter’s most vital acquisition channels. This is a senior leadership role within the Individual Giving team, responsible for managing a £4m investment budget to deliver sustainable, long-term growth across cause-led and lottery products.

Leading a hybrid model of in-house teams and external agencies, you will oversee the end-to-end delivery of campaigns that inspire thousands of new supporters. You will be a highly visible leader, spending time in the field to support non-desk-based teams while ensuring the highest standards of compliance, risk management, and supporter experience. This is an opportunity to innovate, using data-driven insights to optimise supporter journeys and embed direct dialogue expertise within the wider mobilisation plans.

Shelter is looking for a commercial and entrepreneurial leader with extensive experience in large-scale direct dialogue campaigns. You will bring:

• Strategic Expertise: A proven track record of leading complex fundraising programmes across in-house and agency channels.
• Contract Management: Experience managing high-value partnerships (£1.5m+) with the ability to negotiate and drive high performance.
• Analytical Thinking: A data-led approach to budget modelling, forecasting and scenario planning in evolving environments.
• Regulatory Knowledge: In-depth understanding of the Code of Fundraising Practice and Gambling Commission regulations.
• Inclusive Leadership: A commitment to diversity and the ability to foster an equitable, high-performing team culture where people can be their authentic selves.

For further information on the role and how to apply, please download the Candidate Pack.
 

Closing date: Monday 4th May, 9am

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.