Senior event manager jobs in Edinburgh

About Us 

The Good Ancestor Movement is a UK-based advisory and consultancy firm supporting individuals and organisations to redistribute wealth in ways that are reparative, regenerative and aligned with their deepest values. We work with wealth holders to challenge traditional models of accumulation and tax avoidance, and instead imagine futures where wealth actively contributes to social equity, economic justice, and ecological resilience.

We support clients to shift from extractive to regenerative practices, helping them translate their values into meaningful action through redistribution, reparations, and investment aligned with justice. 

Our programmes, like Reimagining Wealth, invite individuals to understand the wider impacts of their capital and take intentional steps toward responsible stewardship.

Good Ancestor Movement’s consultancy work includes strategy design, values-aligned redistribution planning, and building tools and systems that support collective accountability and transformative impact. We are committed to building a regenerative economy where wealth is mobilised in service of repair and liberation. 

About Your Role

This role is central to how the organisation functions day-to-day.

The Operations & Executive Support Lead will provide trusted executive support to the CEO and diary management support for directors while also holding the operational backbone of the organisation. This includes managing administrative flow, designing and strengthening systems, and ensuring that work lands reliably and on time.

This is a highly varied, hands-on role suited to someone who enjoys building order, spotting risks early, and creating processes that allow others to do their best work.

You will work closely with the CEO, our Directors, and our finance team to identify and develop operational processes as required. You will work alongside our entire team and be able to contribute to the organisation’s bold aims and ambitions within your role.

Key Responsibilities

Executive Support

• Provide full diary and schedule management for the CEO, including proactive planning, prioritisation and coordination.

• Support our Director level with diary management and bookings as required.

• Manage CEO inbox triage and correspondence, acting as a trusted first point of contact and gatekeeper.

• Prepare agendas, briefing notes and supporting materials for meetings.

• Coordinate travel, logistics and key engagements.

• Track actions and follow-ups to ensure timely completion across priorities.

Operations & Administration

• Act as a central intake point for operational and administrative requests.

• Prepare invoices and expenses for approval and support payment workflows.

• Coordinate room bookings, event logistics and forward planning.

• Support finance processes in collaboration with the outsourced finance team.

• Manage projects, create and maintain operational project trackers, records and documentation.

• Provide administrative and logistical support to programme delivery as required.

• Support fundraising administration and reporting requirements.

• Provide light communications and coordination support as needed.

Systems & Process Development

• Identify opportunities to improve operational efficiency, reduce risk and strengthen consistency.

• Design and implement proportionate, fit-for-purpose processes aligned with organisational needs.

• Create and maintain clear operational processes and documentation.

• Support the selection and introduction of appropriate tools and systems where required.

• Contribute to the development of more structured, predictable ways of working.

About You

• You come from an operations, executive assistant, office management, or organisational support background and are confident working across administration, coordination and operations.

• You are highly organised and reliable, with a strong ability to manage multiple priorities, deadlines and moving parts, and anticipate executive needs.

• You have experience providing executive support, including diary management, inbox triage, meeting coordination and preparation of briefing materials.

• You are excited by the opportunity to grow beyond day-to-day execution and take on a more strategic role over time.

• You are comfortable owning operational processes end-to-end and ensuring consistent follow-through.

• You can spot gaps, inefficiencies or recurring issues in ways of working and take initiative to improve them.

• You are confident in handling approvals preparation, tracking actions, and supporting financial and administrative workflows.

• You work well with senior stakeholders and external partners, communicating clearly and professionally.

• You are trusted to handle confidential and sensitive information with discretion.

• You are calm under pressure and able to respond effectively to changing needs and priorities.

• You are open to learning new systems and tools and adapting as the organisation evolves.

We understand that the issues we work on disproportionately impact on low-income, marginalised and minoritised communities. We are an organisation led by a Black female founder and CEO and as an inclusive employer that values both lived experience and professional experience, we hope to be able to attract applicants from a range of backgrounds for this important role. You do not need to have a university degree for this role, nor is it essential for you to have experience in the new economy ecosystem: we care about your character, your experience and your ability to demonstrate leadership and practice personal growth.

Sands is looking to recruit an outstanding and people-focused candidate to lead our Bereavement Support Services Team. This is a high-profile role which is responsible for ensuring that all those approaching Sands for support receive an excellent service that meets their individual needs, that the quality of support provided remains consistently high and all team members are appropriately managed and supported. The role provides an opportunity to make real change by driving the organisational and team strategies to make the support that Sands provides accessible to bereaved families from all backgrounds within the community, as well as groups at higher risk of experiencing stillbirth and neonatal death.

With demonstrable experience of delivering and managing trauma informed bereavement support services and counselling at a strategic level, you will possess an excellent understanding of grief theory and bereavement support and be qualified accordingly. Additionally, you will have experience of working with and providing services for diverse communities and have a good understanding of their specific needs.

As this role will require you to lead a highly motivated and diverse team who are all home-based, you will have excellent people management skills and be able to support your team accordingly. You will have outstanding verbal and written communication skills and be able to develop high quality services which remain responsive to the changing needs of external stakeholders. With excellent relationship building skills, you will demonstrate a high level of empathy in all aspects of your work.

A high level of project leadership skills is essential, as is the ability to produce complex statistical reports and analyse data and trends. A thorough understanding of safeguarding in the context of baby loss and a commitment to ensuring excellent practice is also required.

This is a key role at Sands heading up the UK’s leading bereavement support services team for baby loss. It is an opportunity to make real change by driving the organisational and team strategies to reach more people and higher risk groups, through traditional and digital/innovative channels. Leading a dedicated team of around 16 staff you can shape the future of service delivery, and ensure Sands provides support whenever and wherever people need us.

You will work with colleagues and teams across the organisation to ensure best practice is embedded at all key touch points and play a role ensuring that significant events and moments in the year are providing the right support, information and activities.

You will work with the team, Director and CEO to help drive change and best practice in the sector through thought leadership and implementation of best practice.