Programme and policy manager jobs
Location: Rochdale, linked to Manchester Hub – This can be a hybrid role based on service demands
Salary: Grade 5 - £37,739 or Grade 6 - £43,338 depending on experience
Hours: Full time - 35 per week
Contract: Permanent
Closing date: Thursday 26th March 2026 at 11.30 pm
Join Shelter as a Housing Solicitor, in our mission to drive systemic change and fight for Justice.
If you are a dedicated Solicitor with a strong commitment to addressing the housing crisis we welcome you to apply for this role.
At a time when the housing emergency continues to deepen, your experience could help transform lives and challenge the systems that perpetuate injustice. Come and play a central role in our mission as a Solicitor to defend the right to a safe, and secure home.
Working with Shelter means being part of a passionate team that believes a safe home is a fundamental right. Here, your legal skills don’t just change lives—they shape a fairer housing system.
About the role
Based in with one of our partner organisations in Rochdale, you will ensure you deliver high quality legal services through casework and ensuring Legal Aid contract requirements and performance targets are met.
You will be able to identify test case opportunities to address systemic bad practice and so achieve change for a greater number of people and will work closely with the Managing Solicitor and the Hub.
About You
In this role, you will:
- Be a qualified Solicitor - we are open to newly qualified candidates with a demonstrable interest in social justice, as well as those who have 3+ years PQE and a strong track record in housing law and Legal Aid work
- Deliver high-quality legal advice and representation under our work as part of the Housing Loss Prevention Service, which provides free legal advice and court representation to anyone at risk of losing their home.
- Challenge unfair housing practices and systemic causes of homelessness through strategic casework and litigation
- Work closely with our Greater Manchester team to strengthen housing rights awareness across the
- Support Trainee Solicitors and Legal Advisers, ensuring high professional standards and compliance.
Benefits
We offer a wide range of benefits, including 30 days of annual leave, enhanced family friendly policies, pension and interest free travel loans. Our employees also have access to a tenancy deposit loan, payroll giving, cycle to work scheme and an employee assistance programme.
About The Team
Our legal Teams (Managing Solicitors, Solicitors, Legal Advisors and Trainees) are based throughout the England hubs, we are currently based in London, Plymouth, Bristol, Norwich, Birmingham, Manchester, Merseyside, Lancashire, Sheffield and Newcastle.
Our teams are enthusiastic, driven and champions for fighting the housing injustice. Our teams whilst generating an income also address the housing crisis.
You will be part of an existing multi-disciplinary team that offers housing and homelessness advice and support across Greater Manchester. It consists of a solicitor led legal team providing advice and representation, and an advice service providing advice, support and guided self-help to people with housing, debt or welfare benefit issues. There is also a committed and skilled team of volunteers that offer peer support, mentoring and more general volunteering adding significant value to our core service offer.
About Shelter
Home is a human right. It’s our foundation and where we thrive. Yet everyday millions of people are being devastated by the housing emergency.
We exist to defend the right to a safe home. Because home is everything.
We need ambitious, passionate people to join us. This is your chance to play a part in the fundamental change we are striving to achieve.
Our enemy is the social injustice at the core of the escalating housing emergency. To win this fight, we must be representative of the people we are here to help and those who support our movement. In all our people decisions, we take pride in being inclusive, equitable and transparent. We are committed to combating racism both within and outside Shelter. We welcome you on our journey to becoming truly anti-racist.
How to Apply
Please submit your CV with a supporting statement with responses to the 'About You' points 1-7 outlined in the job description of no more than 1000 words. Please provide specific examples following the STAR format and ensure you demonstrate how you address the behaviour below throughout your responses:
- We prioritise diversity and have an inclusive and open mindset
Safeguarding Statement
Safeguarding is everyone's business. Shelter is committed to protecting the health, wellbeing and human rights of those we support, and enabling them to live free from harm, abuse and neglect. All our staff will be expected to observe professional standards of behaviour and conduct their work in line with our Safeguarding Policies.
Recruitment Agencies
Shelter does not accept unsolicited CVs from external recruitment agencies nor accept the fees associated with them.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
BACKGROUND
Church of England Birmingham (CofEB) is on a journey of growing churches at the heart of every community. Through this we are seeing growth in many exciting ways. Financially we are at a challenging point. We have had an operational deficit for a number of years and this cannot continue. The National Church has agreed to partner with us around this through their Diocesan Investment Programme enabling us to have the time, and resource, to tackle this head on. One key aspect of this is for us to increase our Common Fund returns (the giving from our parishes that supports the costs of our life together). We are taking a radical new approach to our finances which includes intentional reallocation of income to support the costs in our most economically deprived parishes and deeper relationships with each parish around finance through conversation rather than correspondence. Over the next five years we are hoping to be able to move to a financially sustainable platform which will enable us to better serve our communities in the future.
We have recently recruited a new Head of Generosity, who is also Bishops Advisor for Common Fund, to lead on this work and we are now looking to recruit the team to work with them. The focus of the team is to develop long term relationships with all of our parishes leading to:
- Greater support for our parishes.
- Increased generosity by, and within, our parishes.
- Increased Common Fund.
The current plan is to recruit two Giving & Generosity Advisor roles and one Giving & Generosity Support Officer role. Together this team will work with all of our parishes to roll out our financial approach, through in person meetings, and the support that is on offer as part of this.
JOB DESCRIPTION
The primary focus of this role is to work with parishes to:
- Understand their current financial situation and how this links to the wider Church of England Birmingham situation.
- Understand our model and how support is on offer for parishes who are economically deprived.
- Assess with them the support needed to increase generosity and giving at a local level and create an action plan around this that is bespoke and contextual.
- Create a long-term plan for their participation in the common fund.
We have 146 parishes and the Head of Generosity will manage the team so that all parishes can be engaged as quickly as possible. It is the Head of Generosity and two Giving & Generosity Advisors who will be carrying out the in-person meetings with each parish. These roles will work closely with a range of people and teams across Church of England Birmingham so that this work is integrated within our wider strategy and parishes are not confused by multiple disjointed initiatives. This will mean working with Archdeacons and Area Deans, Mission Support Team, Ministry Team, Property Team, Finance Team, Community Regeneration Team and Communications Team as well as others.
Key responsibilities will include:
- Develop strong relationships with parishes that will enable this project to flourish and also help increase the connection between parishes and the DBF. Signposting to other teams and projects will be important.
- Inspiring and encouraging parishes in their Christian approach to giving and generosity
- Creating bespoke multiyear plans for Common Fund with parishes with the support of a Steering Group that includes the Archdeacons and other key stakeholders.
- Provide consultancy, resources, and hands-on support to parishes to grow regular giving, legacies, and other forms of financial support. This work will be able to draw on the resources developed by the national church as well as the data held on their Cornerstone Grants Platform. The post-holder will be expected to engage in the work of the National Giving Team as part of the development of these wider resources.
- Develop and deliver training for clergy, lay leaders and PCCs on the theology and Christian practice of giving and generosity and also practical financial management (in conjunction with the Finance Team).
- Work closely with the Finance Team in matters of technical accounting, governance and financial management identified as needed by parishes.
- Encourage and assist parishes in the implementation of the Parish Giving Scheme, introduction of contactless giving mechanisms and related diocesan resources.
- Source, develop and curate practical resources (digital and print) to support local stewardship campaigns and initiatives.
- Evaluate the impact of stewardship and generosity initiatives and adapt strategies accordingly to achieve the project outcomes.
- Working with our Communications Team, create compelling communication tools that articulate the impact of generosity.
As we are looking to recruit two people into these roles there is flexibility to appoint people with complementary skill sets who may have greater expertise in certain elements of the role.
PERSON SPECIFICATION
Essential Qualifications & Experience:
- Strong understanding of church governance structures and financial operations and requirements.
- Knowledge of generosity principles and Christian financial stewardship.
- A prayerful Christian with a deep commitment to the Church’s mission (Genuine Occupational Requirement).
- Experience of working in a sensitive environment and handling confidential matters with tact and diplomacy.
Essential Skills & Attributes:
- Resilient and adaptable, able to handle challenges and maintain momentum in a demanding role.
- Strong people skills, able to engage effectively with parishes and church communities.
- Good communicator being able to engage a wide range of stakeholders and hold their attention.
- Trustworthy and credible, able to build and maintain confidence with a wide range of stakeholders.
- Empathetic towards parishes and deeply committed to supporting the local church.
- Excellent conflict resolution skills, capable of handling difficult conversations with care and professionalism.
- Highly organised, able to manage multiple priorities and keep track of numerous ongoing responsibilities.
- Capable implementer, ensuring initiatives are successfully delivered, both at a local and diocese wide level.
- Financially literate, with a good understanding of budgets, stewardship, and sustainability within the Church.
- As the role involves visiting parishes across the diocese, including some locations not accessible by public transport, candidates must be able to travel independently. This requires holding a valid driving licence and access to a suitably insured vehicle.
- Be a person of integrity.
Other Considerations:
- The role requires significant evening and weekend work, demanding flexibility and commitment.
- Local presence is essential—the role must be delivered in an incarnational way, engaging directly with communities.
TERMS AND CONDITIONS
The post-holder will be employed by the Diocesan Board of Finance for a fixed term ending on 2nd November 2030, subject to funding.
Salary and Pension: Salary of £35,000 plus membership of the Church Worker’s Pension Scheme with 12% employer contribution. We are open to discussion especially if you are ordained and are moving out of parish ministry.
Hours: Full-time 35 hours (5 days) per week. Weekend and evening work will be required, for which the equivalent time may be taken back from standard working hours. We are happy to consider requests for flexible working and candidates seeking part-time hours. Please do mention in your application if you would be interested in looking at alternative working hours.
Holidays: 5 weeks per year plus Bank Holidays and 3 Discretionary Days between Christmas and New Year
Employer: Birmingham Diocesan Board of Finance
Responsible To: Head of Generosity
CLOSING DATE: 12th April 2026
INTERVIEWS: 23rd April 2026 in central Birmingham
For an informal conversation or further information about the role, contact Dawn Baker, Head of Generosity.
The Church of England Birmingham is committed to promoting a diverse and inclusive community - a place where all can be themselves and bring their unique identity to their ministry and/or work.
We welcome applications from any individuals who feel that they meet the person specification for any post, in particular from those who are currently under-represented in or staff teams such as those from Global Majority Heritage or UK Minority Ethnic backgrounds, those with visible or invisible disabilities and those who identify as LGBTQI+.
We offer a range of inclusive employment policies, flexible working arrangements and other services to our staff teams.
The Church of England Birmingham is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. All post holders are expected to share this commitment.
We have an exciting opportunity coming up within Victim Support. We are looking for a Children & Young Person (CYP) Behaviour Change Caseworker who will work with children displaying harmful behaviours in a Domestic Abuse (DA) setting. This could be with parents or within their own relationship.
Do you want to make a difference every day? Do you want to contribute to change & improvement for those who need it?
Do you have resilience & adaptability? Can you work effectively with a focus on customer service and care?
What we offer:
At Victim Support we believe in attracting & retaining the best people and offer a competitive rewards & benefits package including:
- Flexible working options including hybrid working
- 28 days annual leave plus Bank Holidays, rising to 33 days plus Bank Holidays
- An extra day off for your birthday & options to buy or sell annual leave
- Pension with 5% employer contribution
- Enhanced sick pay allowances, maternity & paternity payments
- High Street, retail, holiday, gym, entertainment & leisure discounts
- Access to our financial wellbeing hub & salary deducted finance
- Employee assistance programme & wellbeing support
- Access to EDI networks and colleague cafes
- Cycle to work scheme & season ticket loans
- Ongoing training & support with opportunities for career development & progression
About the role:
The CYP Behaviour Change Caseworker is a specialist role focused on working with young people (typically aged 4-17) who are displaying abusive or harmful behaviours, often in the context of domestic abuse within the home or in dating relationships. The goal of this role is to disrupt, challenge, and change the behaviour of the young person to protect victims (family members or partners), prevent re-victimisation, and intervene early to stop the escalation of abuse.
This role involves hybrid working, often based in police stations, offices, or community settings. Hours are usually Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm however flexibility may be required in line with service user need and the availability of the young people.
Key Responsibilities
- Case Management: Manage a caseload of young people displaying abusive behaviours, providing a medium term service.
- Assessment and Planning: Conduct risk and needs assessments to create tailored, individual support plans focusing on behaviour change.
- Direct Interventions: Deliver one-to-one interventions to address the root causes of abusive behaviour, encouraging understanding of the impact on victims.
- Safety Planning: Work closely with colleagues, such as Independent Domestic Violence Advisors (IDVAs), to develop safety plans for victims.
- Multi-Agency Collaboration: Liaise with police, social care, housing, and schools to ensure a comprehensive, co-ordinated community response.
- Education and Prevention: Potential to run awareness-raising sessions in schools, youth centres, and communities regarding healthy relationships, consent, and the impact of abuse.
- Case Recording: Maintain accurate, confidential records on secure case management systems in line with GDPR and safeguarding policies.
Essential Skills and Experience:
- Experience: Previous experience working with vulnerable children, young people, and families, particularly in domestic abuse, youth justice, or social work settings.
- Knowledge: Strong understanding of safeguarding procedures, child protection legislation, and the impact of domestic abuse on children.
- Communication: Excellent interpersonal skills to engage with hard-to-reach young people, challenge behaviours, and build trust.
- Resilience: Ability to work under pressure and manage high-risk, sensitive, and emotional cases.
This role involves regular travel and due to the location, a driving license and access to a vehicle is considered an essential requirement. If you are unable to drive because of a disability please indicate this in your application in your personal statement so we can explore the feasibility of alternative arrangements.
About Us:
Victim Support is an independent charity dedicated to supporting people affected by crime and traumatic incidents in England and Wales. We put them at the heart of our organisation and our support and campaigns are informed and shaped by them and their experiences.
Victim Support are committed to recruiting with care and to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. Background checks and Disclosed Barring Service checks may be required.
At Victim Support, we're proud to celebrate diversity and create a workplace where everyone feels they belong. We're committed to being an antiracist organisation, and we actively welcome applications from people of all backgrounds, including those from Black and Asian and other minoritised communities.
As a Disability Confident Employer, we will offer an interview to disabled candidates who meet all essential criteria for a job where it is practicable to do so. We are also happy to make reasonable adjustments during the recruitment and selection process.
How to apply:
To apply for this role please follow the link below to the Jobs page on our website and complete the application form demonstrating how you meet the essential shortlisting criteria.
We reserve the right to close this vacancy early, if we receive enough suitable applications to take forward to interview prior to the published closing date. If you have already registered & started an application, then we will contact you to advise of the amended closing date wherever possible.
About the opportunity
As Accounts Assistant focusing on Treasury and Accounts Receivables, you'll play an important role in delivering a high-performing, efficient financial transactions operation with partnership and improvement at its core. This is both an operational and developmental role, offered with the possibility of pursuing a formal qualification such as a financial accounting apprenticeship or another appropriate finance or administration-related qualification.
You'll be part of our Finance & Assurance directorate, reporting to the Financial Transaction Team Officers and working alongside other assistants and trainees. Focusing specifically on Treasury and AR activities, you'll gain broad experience across cash management, income processing, and receivables. From recording and processing financial transactions to supporting month-end and year-end processes, you'll monitor daily communications and role-model brilliant partnership and customer service, support reconciliations and audits, and work in an agile way across multiple projects and workstreams.
This is a role where your success is built on strong collaboration across multiple teams. You'll have opportunities to undertake specific improvement projects, identify ways to enhance processes, and support colleagues across the organisation to operate within best practice when it comes to financial transactions.
About you:
You're someone with a willingness to learn and develop on the job, sharing your learnings with colleagues to foster whole-team development. You have a working interest in quality improvement and an enthusiasm for a career in finance with ideas to help us constantly improve. You have experience with problem-solving, preferably in a financial environment, and you're willing to proactively reach across to colleagues in different teams.
You'll have:
- Willingness to learn and develop on the job (including undertaking specialist training), sharing those learnings with colleagues.
- Working interest in quality improvement in processes, analysis, communications, or customer service, and experience supporting it.
- Enthusiasm for a career in finance and ideas to help us constantly improve.
- Experience of problem-solving, preferably in a financial environment, and willingness to proactively reach across to colleagues in different teams.
- Good grasp of data and how it can be analysed and presented to improve understanding, engagement, and performance.
- Experience of developing basic financial reports and performing simple bank reconciliations.
What you’ll focus on:
- Supporting the effective running and performance of the Financial Transactions team, with a specific focus on Treasury and Accounts Receivables activities.
- Undertaking specific projects to demonstrate or drive improvements across Treasury and AR processes.
- Monitoring and responding to daily communications from colleagues and role-modelling brilliant partnership and customer service.
- Recording, processing, and filing financial transactions in line with internal procedures, including completing reconciliations.
- Assisting in month-end and year-end closing processes, including preparing for and supporting audits.
- Identifying ways to improve processes and making recommendations to senior colleagues.
- Supporting colleagues across the organisation to operate within best practice for financial transactions.
- Role-modelling working in ways that always adhere to internal policies, procedures, and compliance requirements.
- Liaising with suppliers and other third parties where appropriate.
- Supporting officers and managers with reconciliations, reports, and analysis related to cash management and receivables.
Could your enthusiasm for finance and quality improvement help strengthen our Treasury and Accounts Receivables operations? Are you ready to develop your skills while gaining qualifications in an environment where learning and collaboration are valued? If you're looking for a role where development meets meaningful purpose, we'd love to hear from you.
Important Dates
- The deadline for applications is Sunday 22nd March 2026
- Interviews will take place across 31st March, 1st and 2nd April.
About Alzheimer's Society
Dementia is the UK's biggest killer. One in three people born in the UK today will develop dementia in their lifetime.
At Alzheimer's Society, we're the UK's leading dementia charity and the only one to tackle all aspects of dementia by giving help and hope to people living with dementia today and in the future. We give vital support to people facing the most frightening times of their lives, while also funding groundbreaking research and campaigning to make dementia the priority it should be.
Together with our supporters, we're working towards a world where dementia no longer devastates lives.
Our values make sure that our focus is clear for the challenges and opportunities ahead and remind us of what we all stand for.
Our commitment to Equity, Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging
We need to ensure the voices around our table better reflect and understand the communities we exist to serve. We strongly encourage individuals to apply who have a disability, impairment or health condition or individuals who identify as Black, Asian or from another minority ethnic background, as these groups are currently under-represented at Alzheimer's Society.
We want everyone we work with, as a colleague, volunteer, supporter, or someone we support, to feel included and that they belong at Alzheimer's Society.
Our Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy here along with our internal employee forum and Employee Lived Experience network groups help us promote inclusion and belonging, becoming an engaged and inclusive organisation for all our people.
Our hiring process
During your recruitment process we want to make sure that you bring your whole self and can be at your best. We are working hard to ensure our recruitment process is as inclusive as possible, so please do inform us of your experience and anything you think we could do better by completing our candidate survey when you apply. Please also contact Alzheimer's Society Talent Acquisition Team via [email protected] for application support or any adjustments you might need.
To ensure fairness and consistency to select the best candidate for this role, all our applications are anonymised up until an interview has been confirmed. We recognise the benefits of AI, but if you're considering using it to submit your application, we encourage you to reflect on the value it truly adds. AI tools often lack the personal touch and authenticity that set candidates apart. We want to hear your unique perspective, experiences, and skills, so we encourage you to showcase them in your own voice.
We try to avoid closing roles early where possible, however if we receive a high volume of applications, we may close earlier than the advertised closing date. Should this occur, we will aim to provide you with at least 48 hours' notice.
We are committed to safer recruitment and ensuring the welfare of those we work with, due to the nature of some of our roles, we might need to carry out a Criminal Record Check at the relevant level. You can read more information via our Website.
Giving back to you
Our employees work hard every day to make a true difference in people's lives. We are proud to support them with a range of benefits, recognition and many options for working agilely, all contributing to a strong work life balance. We also have various learning programmes to support you in your development and help you grow to realise your potential and shape a career with Alzheimer's Society.
You can also visit our Working for Us pages, which give you more information about what it's like to be an employee at the Society.


