Organisation development manager jobs

The MCF has an exciting opportunity for a Grants Officer to join our fantastic Charity Grants team on a 12-month contract to cover for one of our Grants Officers going on maternity leave. 

This is an opportunity for the right candidate to gain strong experience working with charities, develop knowledge of the key themes and challenges facing the sector, develop their assessment skills including reading charity accounts, expand their network in the grant making sector, and contribute strategically to the Charity Grants team’s programmes looking into the future.

The role is responsible for delivering all aspects of MCF’s core and Provincial charity grant programmes.  You will deal with enquiries, conduct initial meetings with charities online, assess written applications, and prepare and present recommendations to decision‑making panels. The role will also include reviewing monitoring reports and may also involve undertaking charity visits across England and Wales, and to undertake additional duties as required.

Post: Charity Grants Officer

Location: Covent Garden, London. Work from home two days per week.

Hours: 34 hours per week (early finish on Fridays)

Contract: Full-time, 12-month maternity cover

Salary: Circa £31,525 - £34,306 (dependent upon experience)

Holiday: 25 days, plus additional 3 days to be taken between Christmas and New Year and bank holidays

Benefits: Excellent package including contributory pension, medical and dental plans (upon completion of probationary period), access to various health, wellness and retail benefits and continual professional development.

Reports to: Charity Grants Team Leader

Team: 2x Charity Grants Team Leader, 2x Charity Grants Officer

Closing Date: Applications will be considered on a rolling basis and the MCF may close applications early if a suitable candidate is found.

Main responsibilities

· Assess expressions of interest and applications received under the MCF’s core and Provincial programmes against charity grants criteria, MCF strategy and funding priorities and the societal need.

· Conduct financial assessments to identify any potential risk of financial or reputational damage to MCF.

· Present assessments and peer review other applications at grant panels.

· Prepare application summaries for committee meetings.

· Review grant monitoring reports, ensuring their progression is on track and in line with the applications.

· Deal with telephone, email and face-to face general enquiries from charities and freemasons.

· Build relationships between MCF and grant holders.

· Ensure all key information, correspondence and documentation are appropriately recorded in the Salesforce database.

The role

The MCF’s current funding priorities includes Early Years, children and young people with SEND, and children affected by domestic abuse. Ideally the successful candidate will have knowledge and experience of at least one of these areas.

The ideal applicant will already have experience within the third sector and have some knowledge and experience of grant-making either through a grant-making organisation or as a fundraiser applying for grants. They will have the ability to build and maintain positive relationships with a diverse range of stakeholders.

To be successful in this role it is essential to have strong report writing skills, excellent verbal and written communication skills, and the ability to complete analytical assessment. It is also desirable to have research skills, presentation skills and an understanding of charity finances and accounts.

Person specification

Essential

• A Levels (or equivalent) or qualified by experience

• Relevant experience within the third sector.

• Good knowledge of grant making

• Experience of one or more of the Charity Grants funding priorities

• Working knowledge of databases

• IT literate – Microsoft Office

• Analytical Skills

• Organisational Skills

• Report writing

• Accuracy and attention to detail

• Good communications skills

• Numerate

Desirable

• Degree level - or equivalent qualifications.

• Experience of grant-making within the third sector.

• Understanding of Freemasonry

• Experience of using Salesforce

• Presentation Skills

• Research Skills

• Familiarity with charity accounts

About the Masonic Charitable Foundation 

The Masonic Charitable Foundation (MCF) is one of the UK’s leading charities, providing a range of benevolent support to individuals and awarding grants to local and national charities. The MCF was founded in 2016 following the merger of four charities that had operated separately since the eighteenth century.

Our work helps to encourage opportunity, promote independence and improve wellbeing for thousands of people each year.  Last year, the MCF awarded support totalling around £20 million.  Our support is funded from the donations of freemasons, their families and friends

How to apply

Please provide a copy of your CV together with a covering letter explaining how you meet the person specification.

We’re recruiting an experienced, creative and hands-on communications specialist to work with Platform Places and Footwork over the next 10 months – to develop our bold narratives and inspiring content that help drive locally-led neighbourhood transformation.

• Target start date: 11th May 2026 
• Time input: 3 days per week (0.6 full-time equivalent), with flexibility for up to 4 days per week in certain busy periods, by mutual agreement
• Remuneration: £55,000-£61,500 per year (pro rata) depending on experience
• Flexible working: Work hours can be flexible as long as role objectives are met
• Location: Hybrid, remote or in-person (option to work from our London office). Monthly in-person team days in London, plus occasional trips to partners in Newcastle, Sheffield, Liverpool, Bristol and London and learning gatherings (expenses covered). 
• Contract type: PAYE employment contract. 10 months fixed term.
• Eligibility: Applicants must have the legal right to work in the UK.

About us

In 2025, Platform Places integrated with Footwork Trust, becoming what we call ‘civic partners’. Together we facilitate locally-led neighbourhood transformation – so people have the power to live affordably, sustainably and together. 

About Platform Places

Platform Places is a national cross-sector collaboration and not-for-profit social enterprise with a mission to unlock town centre buildings for amazing ideas that help us live affordably, sustainably and together. We convene councils, community leaders and asset owners around the country to build powerful partnerships, to unlock buildings for local benefit. We support these Partnerships with access to funding, technical expertise and networks.

Our deeper intention is to localise and democratise who owns, controls and transforms town centre and neighbourhood buildings, so that communities can:

• design spaces to meet local needs – whether affordable space for arts, music, healthcare, local food, housing, nature connection, reuse & repair, childcare etc
• retain and reinvest the wealth generated by these buildings.

We’re inspired by pioneers like Hastings Commons, Stour Trust, SAFE Regen, Civic Square, Nudge Community Builders, Makespace Oxford and other members of the Mycelial Network.

About Footwork Trust 

Footwork (UK charity Footwork Trust) supports local people to transform their neighbourhoods for the better and builds alliances to make this possible.

Since 2022, Footwork’s ‘People and Place’ programme has supported over 50 community innovators to turn their bold ideas into lasting positive change, in response to a local social or environmental challenge. Often reviving land and buildings for community use, they are part of a growing force for fairer, locally-led regeneration, making the places they call home more resilient and equitable. 

Through national and local events, Footwork creates spaces for peer support and shared learning, showcases inspiring examples, and convenes built environment practitioners to enable true collaboration with community partners. 

Together, Footwork and Platform Places co-facilitate the Mycelial Network for Community Asset Developers.

About the Local Property Partnerships pilot, 2024-2027

Thanks to National Lottery players, Platform Places and partners have received almost £2.5 million over three years from The National Lottery Community Fund, the largest community funder in the UK. The funding is being used to enable communities to come together and secure long-term spaces for the activities and services that they need the most.

This fund and programme resources local leaders in neighbourhoods in Newcastle, Sheffield, Liverpool City Region, Bristol and London – working towards shifting multiple buildings into long-term local ownership. We’re also supported by our national partner organisations Architectural Heritage Fund, Power to Change and Social Investment Business. Our intention is that this work will lay the groundwork for a larger follow-on funding programme, which catalyses England-wide adoption of this approach.

The role

We’re looking for an experienced, creative and hands-on communications specialist to join our small team and network of local and national partners.

The Communications Lead will focus on our key programmes, with the below time distribution. The challenge and opportunity is to hit the ground running and drive communications across our key channels – to help attract allies, funding and support, and inspire replication of these approaches in neighbourhoods around England.

2 days per week, ‘Local Property Partnerships’: 

• You’ll lead on promoting, and sharing learnings from, Platform Places’ exciting pilot programme (funded by National Lottery Community Fund) – which is localising and democratising who owns, controls and transforms town centre buildings in five neighbourhoods across England. 

0.75 days per week, ‘People and Place’: 

• You’ll promote, and share learnings from, Footwork Trust’s ‘People and Place’ programme – which supports community innovators to turn their bold ideas into lasting positive change for their place. 

0.25 days per week, Wider movement building: 

• You’ll work on ad hoc broader communications opportunities that support our mission and the programmes – for example, creating a content piece with local or national partners from our wider network, or pitching a media story that cuts across all our programmes.

This involves the following areas of responsibility: 

1. Build on our working communications strategy
2. Work with co-directors to develop our bold, inspiring core messaging, and update our boilerplate narratives
3. Manage digital channels for Platform Places and Footwork: a) plan and create regular social media content; b) write newsletters (approx. quarterly); c) upload and edit website content, on Squarespace (drag-and-drop editor) and occasionally Wix (guidance available).
4. Strategic media relations: build journalist relationships and pitch stories (local or national), op-eds and comments
5. Work with local and national partners to share inspiring and compelling stories
6. Develop practical how-tos and templates, together with partners (you'll have support initiating partner relationships)
7. Provide comms guidance to local programme partners
8. Support co-directors and partners with speaking engagements and event opportunities

You’ll start from a strong foundation of communications activities, along with our established tone, visual identity and branded templates – with lots of freedom for new ideas. 

About you

• You’re as comfortable with creative storytelling as you are with practical resources
• You’re a campaigner for systems change – experienced in attracting allies and creating communications for diverse audiences
• You make it sing – you turn dense or complicated materials into clear and effective narratives to shift opinion and action
• You’re a collaborator – you can effectively hold relationships with local and national partners to plan and deliver coordinated communications 
• You can ‘wear all the hats’: you get stuck in on strategy and roll up your sleeves on delivery; you know when to pitch to media and when the tactic is digital; you can knock up great copy or quick Canva graphics without aiming for perfection
• You’re efficient and resourceful, comfortable leading on comms in a small (and collaborative) team, and know how to make things happen on a small budget (and when to seek external specialists)
• You’re passionate about community-led places and social and environmental justice – and you’re knowledgeable about at least one of: high streets, property, retrofit, community business, heritage buildings, cultural venues, town planning, neighbourhood governance

We know you likely have a particular comms specialism, with more strengths and experience in some areas than others. We’d love to hear about this, and about your approach to getting stuck into the rest. 

Our team & culture 

You’ll be joining our small, agile team of six people across Platform Places and Footwork. We meet in-person on a monthly basis to have lunch together and plan ahead, and have weekly online huddles to check-in and discuss priorities.

We work flexibly around our needs, whether a caring responsibility or otherwise.

Our culture is driven by our values: generous sharing, diverse perspectives, active listening and curiosity, staying networked and joy.

Can you help us develop an outstanding service for parent/carers in Surrey?

Do you have a passion to support young people's emotional health and wellbeing?

Barnardo's Parenting Wellbeing Service (PWS) are seeking to recruit two reliable and motivated individuals to join our team who share our commitment and vision to develop an outstanding service and embed Barnardo's basis and values in all we do. Barnardo's PWS offers advice, guidance and support to parents and carers across the county of Surrey.

The contracted hours for these two positions are 26.75 hours per week. Flexibility can be discussed about how these hours are completed within the working week. It is essential that Tuesdays are a working day and there will other occasions where early evening working (up to 6pm) will be required however this would be planned in advance to cater for our parent/carer schedules.

As a Parenting Wellbeing Practitioner, you will hold a rolling caseload and provide support to parents/carers whose children/young people are experiencing difficulties with their emotional health and wellbeing. PWS aims to upskill parents/carers and empower them to explore new strategies to make effective change. PWS encourages parents/carers to use a solution focussed, goal-based strength approach, building on their existing knowledge to support their child(ren) to thrive.

Parents/Carers are offered a hybrid model of support over a number of sessions which are continuously assessed to measure progress. This is usually provided through one 60-minute session per week which can be received either online, over the phone, at home or out in the community.

The Parenting Wellbeing Service operates within a Thrive Framework where choice and shared decision making is fundamental. It is a relational model, and we hold a non-judgmental and trusting relationship between the staff member and parents. You will receive training on the Thrive model at the start of your employment. 

To be successful in this role you will:

• Have experience working with and supporting parents/carers whose children and young people are experiencing difficulties with their emotional health and wellbeing.
• Have the ability to plan, deliver and evaluate 1:1 and groupwork wellbeing interventions with a solution focussed, goal-based strength approach.
• Be able to engage and communicate online and in person with parent/carers, schools, and other professionals or stakeholders representing Barnardo's.
• Have an understanding of how to work within a trauma-informed framework.
• Have knowledge of safeguarding issues, working within multi-agency frameworks and conducting risk assessments.  
• Have good time-management, organisational, numeracy and literacy skills including competency on IT software.
• Have a full UK driving licence and access to a roadworthy and taxed car.

Although the role is hybrid with the ability to work from home, it is essential to meet the needs of the service to travel around Surrey when necessary. Due to this, access to a vehicle and a valid driving licence will be essential. Car insurance must include business use and be in place before starting with the service. The office base (Surrey Wellbeing Hub) for this role is currently in Leatherhead, Surrey and there is a requirement to regularly attend meetings and collect resources from this location. This base determines your normal deductible commute.

Barnardo's offer their staff regular supervision, external clinical supervision and give all colleagues access to at least three learning days a year (pro-rata). Barnardo's University (BU) facilitate a range of opportunities which will be available through B-learning online and the BU prospectus. However, staff can use this time in a way that works for them – for instance to spend a day shadowing another team.

When completing your application please refer to your skills, knowledge and experience in relation to the Person Specification and Job Description. This should be done with an understanding of the context of the service described.

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.

Pay & Reward Framework

We know that our colleagues go above and beyond in delivering our vital work, driven by their passion and commitment to Barnardo's values.  We also know that we can only realise our ambitions and achieve better outcomes for more children, thanks to the talent, hard work and creativity of our people. 

For all these reasons, we are committed to a new approach to pay and reward, to ensure it is fair, attractive and progressive, which was rolled out in April 2023. This is a positive change for the charity, and a part of our People & Culture Strategy. It will assist us in supporting colleagues to belong, thrive and grow in their colleague journey at Barnardo's and in time will offer clear routes of progression for colleagues in both their career and their pay. 

Whilst the full pay band and salary range is advertised, our approach to starting salaries is to appoint between the minimum to mid-point of the pay band – this ensures that pay steps are available to reward our colleagues annually based on their contribution to excellence and alignment to our values and behaviours.  More details on Barnardo's pay framework can be found upon application. 

Benefits

Workplace Offer: What it means for you

Our hybrid working initiative is based on trust, flexibility and empowerment. We understand our workplace offer means different things to different people, and we encourage those conversations. This may mean working at one of our stores, services, working at home, in the community, at one of our Collaboration Hubs or depending on the role any combination of these. Please read through the advert carefully to understand the remits of hybrid working that will be specific to the role.

• Barnardo's believe in creating equality of opportunity in the workplace and supporting people to manage their work-life balance; we are therefore open to offering flexible working arrangements.
• Annual Leave entitlement for full-time colleagues is 26 days per annum, increasing to 27 days per annum, after 3 years Barnardo's service, 29 days per annum, after 5 years Barnardo's service and 30 days per annum, after 7 years Barnardo's service. Those working less than full time are entitled to the same level of holiday pro rata
• The ability to buy up to another 5 days annual leave via our Buy Your Leave scheme
• A host of family friendly leave options including company Maternity Paternity and Adoption pay; together with all family additional leave options
• Service related sick pay from day 1
• Access to a Group Personal Pension with a matched 4% or 6% contribution from Barnardo's. Ability to pay via salary sacrifice to garner both tax and NI savings on your own contribution
• Death in service cover of 4x annual earnings for all staff contributing to our Group Personal Pension
• Cycle2work scheme
• Interest free season ticket loans
• Discounts and cashback from at high street shops including major supermarkets, cinemas, gyms, leisure/theme parks, holidays and much more via our Benefit Portal
• 20% discount at Barnardo's stores
• Opportunity to purchase a health cash plan to claim towards dental, glasses, therapy etc
• Free access to round the clock employee assistance program for advice and support
• Access to Barnardo's Learning and Development offer

*T&C's apply based on contract

About Barnardo's

We are committed to being an inclusive employer and cultivating a culture where everyone can belong and thrive through inclusion and connectivity. We want our workforce to be reflective of the communities we work with, and for equality, diversity and inclusion to be embedded in everything we do. We are a Disability Confident Leader, are progressing our ambition to be an anti-racist organisation with Anti-Racism Commitments and actions in place and have networks for colleagues who are disabled, LGBT+, Black and Minoritised Ethnic and Women. We particularly encourage applications from Black and Minoritised Ethnic and/or disabled candidates who are currently underrepresented in our workforce. For disabled applicants, we offer reasonable adjustments throughout the recruitment process.

Our basis and values