Participation development officer jobs in Leeds

Groundwork South is seeking a motivated and experienced Senior Project Officer to lead on the delivery of our Climate Action Fund project over the next five years.

Senior Project Officer (Climate Action Fund Training and Development Lead)
Reference: CAF0626
Contract: Fixed term until June 2031
Hours: Full-Time, 37.5 hours each week
Salary: £28,000 - £32,000 per annum
Location: Home-based (with travel across England) – There is a focus on South West England during the pilot phase

About Us

Groundwork South works with communities across the south of England to transform their lives and the places where they live. We have been at the forefront of social and environmental regeneration for over 25 years, and today we have a simple mission: to create better places, improve people’s prospects, and promote greener living and working.

We are passionate about creating a future where every neighbourhood is vibrant and green, every community is strong and able to shape its own destiny, and no-one is held back by their background or circumstances. This vision drives the work that we do. Each year we deliver over 100 innovative projects, tackling the biggest issues facing our communities and creating real and lasting, positive change.

About the Project

Communities Prepared works with volunteers and communities across England to help them build the skills, confidence and knowledge needed to prepare for, respond to and recover from emergencies. This includes supporting communities to plan for climate-related risks such as flooding, storms, heatwaves, and severe weather.

Despite the successes we have had through our programme to date, we are not currently reaching diverse enough audiences and too often there are people missing from the resilience sector. This needs to change. To address this we are now embarking on an exciting new UK-wide partnership programme funded through the National Lottery Community Fund’s Climate Action Fund over the next five years.

The programme responds to growing evidence that climate-related emergencies, including extreme heat, flooding, fire, cold and severe weather, disproportionately impact marginalised communities, while those same communities are often excluded from resilience planning and decision-making.

The programme brings together Equally Ours, Communities Prepared (part of Groundwork South), and the VCS Emergencies Partnership (VCSEP, part of the British Red Cross) to strengthen climate resilience by ensuring that communities experiencing discrimination and disadvantage are at the heart of climate preparedness, response, recovery and policy-making.

Through a rights-based and co-produced approach, the programme seeks to shift climate resilience policy and practice away from models that frame communities as “vulnerable”, and towards approaches grounded in agency, participation, equality and shared responsibility.

Key Responsibilities

As Senior Project Officer, you will:

• Work with the project team to map stakeholders and co-develop a structured engagement plan to recruit and work with marginalised communities.
• Build a collaborative and trusting relationship with the partner organisations and other stakeholders for this project, ensuring this work meets their expectations and complements areas of the work programme led by others.
• Work with project participants and partners to co-design Communities Prepared material and delivery methods that are more accessible and relevant to diverse audiences.
• Lead on the delivery of resilience training and workshop sessions with diverse audiences, both in-person and online.
• Work with project participants and partners to co-design a train the trainer model that will enable diverse audiences to deliver resilience training within their own communities, amplifying reach and impact.
• Work with the core Communities Prepared team to adapt our offer with the long-term goal of the Programme reaching more diverse audiences, especially those seldom heard in this sector.

The role involves regular travel across the UK, with a focus on South West England during the project’s pilot phase.

We are looking for someone with:

• Experience in community engagement or community development.
• Experience delivering training or workshops.
• Strong organisational and project management skills.
• Excellent communication and relationship-building skills, confident to engage people from a range of different backgrounds.
• Experience working with multiple stakeholders or partners.
• Confidence working independently in a remote role.
• An interest in climate change, community resilience and wider community development.
• A willingness to travel across the country.

Closing date for applications: 11.59pm, 30th June 2026
Interview date: 15th July over MS Teams
Interview panel: Representatives from Groundwork South, Equally Ours and VCSEP (tbc)

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.

Groundwork South is an equal opportunities employer and welcomes applications from all members of the community.

No agencies please.

Salary: £94,851 plus benefits (Our pay philosophy ensures consistency across locations and salaries. The starting salary for this opportunity plus benefits depends on location of the candidate).

The role:

We are delighted to be recruiting for a visionary, mission-driven leader to join Mary’s Meals International (MMI) as Executive Director. In this new role, you will be reporting to our Board of Trustees, through our Board Chair, and working in collaboration with our President & Founder of Mary’s Meals. As Executive Director, you will provide inspirational strategic and operational leadership of MMI, ensuring delivery of its key responsibilities within the global strategic plan. 

Leading with humility, clarity and courage, you will champion faithful adherence to the vision, mission and values of Mary’s Meals, as we strive to grow our global movement and reach the next child waiting for Mary’s Meals.

As Executive Director, you will:

• Lead MMI in delivering its objectives across the three strategic pillars: Feed, Grow and Strengthen. 
• Oversee the coordination and implementation of global strategy. 
• Provide inspirational leadership to MMI and the MMI Executive Leadership Team.
• Strengthen organisational systems, governance and development. 
• Foster strong collaboration across the global network. 
• Work closely with the Board, President and Founder and MMI teams to support sustainable growth across Affiliate organisations. 

About you:

You are an inspiring, effective and authentic leader with significant experience at executive or CEO level, in a complex organisation, ideally with an international footprint. Experience in an international non-profit, charity or social impact organisation would be advantageous, though not essential. Strong preference will be given to candidates with a deep understanding of our work gained through prior engagement with our mission. 

You will also bring: 

• Proven ability to inspire and lead senior teams, while cultivating a strong organisational culture. 
• Demonstrated success in developing and delivering strategy to drive growth, innovation and organisational strengthening. 
• Highly developed communication skills, with the ability to engage and influence diverse audiences.
• Proven experience of leading transformational change, while maintaining stability and mission focus. 
• A deep personal commitment to the vision, mission and values of Mary’s Meals. 

About us:

We are a global movement supported by people from all walks of life, united by one goal – that every child receives a nutritious daily meal in a place of education. As an organisation, named after Mary the mother of Jesus and shaped by Christian values, we feel that the way we do things is as important as the result and we welcome all who wish to play their part in our important work. We continue to change the lives of over 3 million children who today will receive Mary’s Meals.

We are a values-driven organisation - we believe in the innate goodness of people, respect the dignity of every human being and family life and believe in good stewardship of the resources entrusted to us. In line with our values, we are fully committed to a culture of safeguarding, we are committed to preventing any type of unwanted behaviour at work and we expect all the Mary's Meals family to share this commitment and work in the best interest of the communities we serve. Our safe recruitment practices ensure that only those that are committed to our high standards join our movement.

We believe in the innate goodness and dignity of every person. In line with this, Mary’s Meals is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to creating an inclusive and welcoming environment. All applicants will be considered fairly and on merit, without discrimination of any kind.  

We are happy for you to work remotely and flexibly, in a way that best supports your work-life balance. We have an office in Glasgow for those who would like to work from here occasionally or on a regular basis. Some travel to Glasgow, other locations across the UK and to countries where Mary’s Meals operates will be required.

Our Benefits:

• 34 days annual leave (pro-rated for part time working patterns) including bank holidays, increasing by 1 day each completed calendar year, to a maximum of 39 days (+ option to buy another week)
• Flexible working
• Employee Assistance Programme
• Life assurance
• Pension

Additional Information:

Salary advertised is for UK based candidates, our salary philosophy ensures consistency across locations where Mary’s Meals operates, please visit our website for more information about salaries in other locations.

To apply:

If you are inspired to join our movement and our vision, mission and values resonate with you, we would love to hear from you. Please click Apply and include your CV and a succinct covering letter, of no more than one A4 page, highlighting your motivations, suitability and outlining your participation in our mission.

Closing date for applications is Monday 22nd June 2026

We believe that change for people affected by ME won't just happen; it must be made. That's why action and impact are at the heart of everything we do. Whether that's helping people today with support, information, or care. Or working towards securing future change through our research and campaigning work. The intent of everything we do is to pursue positive impact for the lives, rights, and futures of people affected by ME.

As Communications Manager you will play a pivotal role in delivering strategic, impactful communications that advance Action for ME’s work, improve understanding and recognition of ME and support fundraising efforts

The Communications Manager will be responsible for the day-to-day delivery of the communications strategy, leading a team of two other communications staff. You will work closely with colleagues across the fundraising, policy, research and services departments, delivering clear and compelling storytelling, and maximising visibility across media, digital platforms and key stakeholder networks.

Key duties

Leadership and Management

• Work to ensure that people with ME are at the heart of everything we do through meaningful engagement and participation to influence all aspects of communications and marketing.

• Contribute to the development of, and then lead implementation of, the Communications Strategy, ensuring the appropriate involvement of key stakeholders, scoping, evaluating, and improving our practice.

• Maintain a data-insight led approach to the communications work providing regular management information and key performance indicator reports.

• Work as a member of the Extended Leadership Team.

• Line manage Communications Team members, supporting them to set and achieve performance objectives through regular one-to-ones and 12-monthly appraisals.

• Be responsible for Communications budget and the relationship with services providers required for the production of the charity’s digital and printed information and support resources.

Communications and Marketing

• Raise the profile of the impact of ME, and of Action for ME and its work, to enable the organisation to reach more people and better support need, by establishing a regular cadence of appropriate but innovative product across all main social media channels.

• Ensure fundraising is supported by embedding clear calls to action around donations and membership growth as a matter of course.

• Under the direction of the Director of Fundraising, develop all website, press and social media content for charity appeals.

• Market the charity’s Support and Healthcare services, including key digital and printed information and support resources, to the ME community and the professionals working with them, working closely with respective service leads.

• Contribute to income generation by working closely with the Director of Fundraising to develop the communication and marketing materials needed to implement the organisation’s Fundraising Strategy.

• Coordinate the charity’s response to any crisis communications, including developing appropriate crisis management plans and working outside of office hours as required.

• Establish effective systems/processes for gathering, supporting, maintaining, and managing case studies for a range of purposes (including press and media opportunities, public affairs and policy work, and fundraising).

• Draft and issue press releases and media statements and ensure appropriate follow-up by telephoning journalists, contacting picture desks etc. as appropriate.

• Alongside the CEO and any commissioned agency, develop relationships with key press, media and communications stakeholders to enhance the charity’s work.

• Oversee the production of the annual report, on budget, to schedule, taking overall editorial responsibility for content.

• Oversee the ongoing development of our digital engagement including our website and social media and being the point of contact on website issues.

• Fulfil the role of brand gateway keeper, ensuring all digital and printed communications, including information and support resources, adhere to brand guidelines, house style and organisational tone.

• Maintain an up-to-date knowledge and oversight of how ME and related key issues (e.g. Long Covid) are discussed in the media and wider ME community.

• Build networks to enhance the charity’s strategic communications and marketing work.

• Build and maintain an effective social media monitoring regime, ensuring fit for purpose rules of engagement are in place and applied consistently.

Other Key Accountabilities 

• Ensure that all relevant service standards are met including compliance with best practice, legal and regulatory frameworks and internal standards.

• Ensure best value in all our work.

• Undertake any other duty within your ability and within reason, as may be required, from time-to-time, at the discretion of your line manager.

• On occasions, provide management support and cover within the organisation, as needed.

• Act as an advocate for the charity and its work.

Person specification

Experience, Knowledge and Understanding 

• A minimum of 2 years’ experience working in a communications management role

• Experience of developing integrated, insight and audience-led communications plans including social media

• Experience of website and brand management

• Experience of delivering successful campaigns

• Experience of engaging with press and/or media including writing press releases and media briefings

• Experience of working collaboratively with different teams/departments

• Experience of working in charity communications (desirable)

• An understanding of ME and the impact on people affected by it (desirable)

• Experience of integrating fundraising with communications (desirable)

Skills, Behaviours and Values

• Adaptable and highly organised with an ability to work methodically, managing and prioritising a varied workload, use your own initiative, work independently, and work well in a team.

• Strong MS Office skills including the ability to use Word, Excel, databases and web-related programmes and software.