Time to change jobs in Aboyne, aberdeenshire

Policy and Public Affairs Manager (England)

Reporting to: Head of Policy and Public Affairs

Line Management: 1 Policy and Public Affairs Officer England

Location of work: Remote but role holder will ideally be London-based to be able to frequently commute for meetings/ events at Westminster. The role may involve also some infrequent travel across the UK.

Contract type: Full-time, 35 hours per week, although flexible/ compressed hours will be considered. The role will require occasional evening and weekend work.

Contract Length: Permanent

Salary: £42,000

BACKGROUND

Magic Breakfast is the UK’s leading school breakfast charity and makes a difference to over 350,000 children and young people every day by offering breakfasts and expert advice to tackle child morning hunger in schools across England and Scotland.

This is an exciting time for Magic Breakfast as the benefits of school breakfast provision are increasingly recognised by policymakers, educators and the public. The Policy and Public Affairs (PPA) Team is central to this work. And through our new organisational strategy, Nourishing Futures, the work of the PPA Team is growing to meet our advocacy ambition to expand school breakfast provision and deliver our vision which would see every child in the UK nourished, empowered and thriving.

JOB PURPOSE

The role of the Policy and Public Affairs Manager is a high-impact role, central to designing and delivering Magic Breakfast’s national policy and public affairs strategy in England. The role holder will lead the development of evidence-based policy positions and work collaboratively to drive forward strategic, integrated and impactful advocacy campaigns to successfully influence decision-makers, policy change, and funding frameworks aligned with our key objectives. Specifically, you will also lead the design and implementation of our new workstream to expand school breakfast provision to secondary schools and early years settings, alongside our work to ensure the effective implementation of the Free Breakfast Club Programme.

More broadly, you will keep abreast of political developments relevant to Magic Breakfast - proactively identifying opportunities to respond, influence and shape the debate across the school food system and provide strategic, analytical and timely advice to the Senior Leadership Team.

Using your excellent communication skills, you will be able to translate complex policy into tailored and effective communications, policy briefings, positions and submissions, and will play a lead role in confidently engaging external stakeholders including UK Government Ministers, Parliamentarians, special advisers, officials and sector partners.

We are looking for someone who enjoys collaboration, who shares our passion for driving systematic change, and who can use their experience to navigate, respond to, and influence the fast-moving political environment to deliver lasting and meaningful change. You’ll be part of a collaborative and ambitious organisation, working at the intersection of policy, practice and impact – putting children and young people at the heart of everything we do and helping to ensure every child starts their day nourished, empowered and ready to thrive.

KEY RESPONSOBILITIES

• Lead the policy development process in consultation with cross-organisational teams and external organisations to develop clear, evidence-based policy recommendations and positions.

• Build and maintain strong relationships with UK Government Ministers, Parliamentarians, Special Advisers, officials and sector organisations, including conducting stakeholder mapping and power analysis to identify key routes to influence.

• Design, lead and implement integrated advocacy campaigns to deliver maximum impact in collaboration with cross-organisational teams.

• Work closely with colleagues to share expertise and intelligence, inform and shape research areas, support campaign activities aligned with advocacy objectives, and respond proactively to live developments across the organisation.

• Line manage and support the development of the Public Affairs Officer.

• Strong ability to translate complex policy into clear, persuasive communications tailored to specific audiences to deliver maximum impact.

Please read the full job description attached below. 

WHAT WE OFFER

At Magic Breakfast we value our employees and work hard to develop offer a supportive, respectful culture which enables everyone to thrive.

Please see our job pack below

Please see our website

APPLICATION PROCCESS

Should you wish to discuss the role before applying please email our People and Culture Team, HR @ magicbreakfast .com

Shortlisting: w/c 25th and 26th May

Interview 1: w/c 1st and 2nd June

Interview 2: w/c 8th and 11th June

We reserve the right to close the vacancy early if a high volume of applications are received. This is to ensure that we can manage application levels whilst maintaining a positive candidate experience. Unfortunately, once a vacancy has closed, we are unable to consider further applications.

ID: 1782 Operational Manager, Northeast

Service: Stockton on Tees Family Time, Stockton Family Outreach & Volunteer service and South Tees Perinatal service

Salary: Grade 4 Point 34-38: £42,562 – £46,703 FTE (£34,049.60 - £37,362.40 per annum, pro rata for 29.6 hours per week)

- Additionally, £480 home-based allowance FTE per annum

Location: Home based

Hours: Part-time (up to 29.6 hours per week)

We offer flexible working arrangements - please see below for more details.

Contract: Permanent

Family Action & the Role’s Impact:

At Family Action we support people through change, challenge or crisis. It’s what we’ve done for over 150 years. We protect children, support young people and adults and offer direct, practical help to families and communities.

We see first-hand the power of family to shape lives, for better or worse, so we speak up for the

importance of family in national and local policymaking, amplify family voices and represent the changing needs of families in the UK today.

This is an exciting opportunity to lead the operational delivery of services across Stockton on Tees and South Tees (Recar & Middlesbrough) area.  The Operational Manager will provide strategic and operational management to our services in the Northeast and line management of 2 - 3 service managers.

Stockton services are delivered under our successful strategic partnership with Stockton Borough Council. This unique partnership was formed nearly 5 years ago with the aim of transforming service provision using a collaborative approach to service development and innovation. Our South Tees Perinatal service operates over Redcar and Middlesborough and are just entering a 3 year extension to our current contract.

Main Responsibilities:

· Provide leadership, management and supervision to operational services that provide Family Time sessions, Family Outreach support and Volunteering support, plus perinatal support to families.

· Ensure that services are delivered to a good quality standard in relation to practice and performance and that services can demonstrate their impact using evidence based outcomes tools.

Main Requirements (for details check the job description and person specification):

· Experience of providing effective management, leadership and safeguarding oversight of case work and group work based support services, which overall improve the lives of  service users.

· Experience of setting up and/or managing innovative projects.

· Strong interpersonal skills, with the confidence and ability to present and communicate information effectively both in person and using a range of mediums to internal and external stakeholders, including children and young people, parents and carers, and funders.

· Appointments are subject to Family Action receiving a satisfactory disclosure from the Disclosure and Barring Service –Enhanced

Benefits:

- an annual paid leave entitlement that commences at 25 working days, rising each April by one day, subject to a maximum of 30 working days plus bank holiday pro rata

- up to 6% matched-pension contributions

- flexible working arrangements and new starters have the right to make flexible working requests from day one of employment

- enhanced paid sick leave and paid family leave provisions

- eye care and winter flu jabs vouchers

- cycle to work scheme

- investing in your professional development with ongoing quality training and career development opportunities

We are forward looking, ambitious and committed to continuous improvement. We are a people focused, can-do organisation, which strives for excellence in all we do and operates with mutual respect.

To Apply:

· Click the “Apply Now” link below and fill out our digital application form

· Closing Date: Sunday 10th May 2026 at 23:59

Interviews are scheduled to take place on: 20th May 2026

For direct queries or if you would like to discuss any aspect of the selection process or flexible working requests, please email: Claire Meek (email address available on advert document).

Our commitment to Equality, Diversity & Inclusion:

We are happy to consider any reasonable adjustments that candidates may need during the recruitment process and you will be asked whether you require any adjustments if shortlisted for interview. We also make reasonable adjustments on the job, where required.

We are committed to Equality, Diversity & Inclusion in all that we do and welcome applications from all sections of the community. Intersectionality is important to us and we particularly welcome applications from ethnically diverse communities, LGBTQIA+ candidates and disabled candidates because we are committed to increasing the representation of these groups at Family Action. We know that greater diversity will lead to even greater results for families and children and strive for our workforce to be truly representative of the diverse communities we support.

All candidates with a disability are welcome to apply under the Disability Confident Scheme and request priority consideration for an interview, provided they meet the essential criteria for the role.

To help remove financial barriers to working with us, we will reimburse reasonable travel costs if you are invited to attend an interview in person.

*Ordinarily Family Action appoints new starters at the starting point of the salary scale (with subsequent annual pay progression), unless you have experience that would justify appointment further up the salary scale or there are any other exceptional reasons.

About Scotland's Charity Air Ambulance
Scotland’s Charity Air Ambulance (SCAA) exists so nobody in Scotland suffers or dies because medical help cannot get there in time. People can get sick or have accidents anywhere and anytime. But in Scotland there are places where urgent medical help cannot reach people. Or help gets there too late. And when lives are at risk every minute matters. As a charity we rely on donations from the Scottish public, companies and communities to ensure that urgent medical help gets to the patient when it is needed, wherever they are and at whatever time of day.

The Role
We are seeking an experienced fundraising professional to join us as Head of Fundraising. The successful candidate will play a pivotal role in shaping and delivering our fundraising strategy across community, events and volunteering, trusts and grants, corporate and philanthropy by crafting ambitious regional plans, nurturing high-performing teams, and driving excellence in supporter engagement and recognition. The Head of Fundraising will work collaboratively with the Individual Giving and Engagement team to drive new business pipelining and amplify fundraising campaigns, develop new fundraising products, and represent SCAA at external events and sector initiatives.

The ideal candidate will be an experienced team leader with significant experience working across a variety of fundraising disciplines and of developing and implementing fundraising strategies.

The successful candidate can be based from home, but this role will require regular travel to our bases at Perth and Aberdeen Airports and throughout Scotland. The usual hours and days of work will be Monday to Friday, 9am—5pm.

About You

Essential

• Strong background in a variety of fundraising disciplines and a track record in growing fundraising income over multiple years within a charity, non-profit or values-led organisation.

• Experience of developing and implementing fundraising strategies aligned to organisational objectives.

• Experienced team leader who can motivate, inspire and guide others to deliver results.

• Strong understanding of data protection (GDPR), confidentiality and safeguarding requirements. 

• Strong knowledge of Scottish charity regulations, governance and compliance requirements.

• Demonstrated ability to manage budgets, financial processes, and procurement. 

• Experience delivering community fundraising products and scaling ideas that support donor acquisition and retention.

• Ability to use insight and ambition to shape pipeline and stewardship planning.

• Understanding of CRM systems.

Desirable

• Ability to deliver training to staff or volunteers on processes or systems. 

• Experience of community, events, volunteering and partnerships and philanthropy fundraising.

• Experience of working with Boards or Trustees in a fundraising context.

Our Benefits

• Pension: 12% employer’s & 5% employee’s contribution (after 3 months’ service)  
• Annual Leave: 36 days (incl. public holidays) + an extra day for your birthday (and additional days with long service)
• Death in Service benefit: 3 times annual salary
• Optional Private Medical Insurance plan and Cashplan
• Employee Assistance Programme
• Enhanced Maternity/Adoption/Paternity Pay
• Access to Blue Light Card
• Learning and Development Opportunities

Selection Process

First interviews will take place at our base at Perth Airport in Scone during the week commencing 25th May. Second stage interviews will be held at our Perth base the week commencing 1st June.

How to apply
Please refer to the full job pack on our website.

Application deadline is 5pm on Sunday 10th May 2026. 

Lloyds Bank Foundation 

Head of Programme Design and Organisational Development 

Starting Salary: £66,438 (if London-based); £61,872 (if not London-based) 

Contract: Full-time, permanent contract (we are open to conversations about flexibility - so please ask) 

Location: Remote role - can be based anywhere in England or Wales with an expectation of frequent travel across England and Wales 

About Lloyds Bank Foundation 

Lloyds Bank Foundation for England and Wales is an independent charitable foundation, backed by Lloyds Banking Group and the people within it. We want everyone to be in a good place - personally, in a home that’s a good place to live, and in a community that’s a good place to belong. 

We play our role by connecting and catalysing community-led change, providing the money, time, tools and connections that build organisations’ capacity and capability, to make people’s lives better and their communities stronger. 

We back people and communities across England and Wales, to make that happen, because when you back brilliant people, brilliant things happen. Our communities are full of ambitious, energetic and determined people stepping up to make their neighbours’ lives better and their communities grow stronger. Day in, day out. 

About the Role 

This is a leadership opportunity to shape how the Foundation designs, delivers and strengthens its programmes across England and Wales. 

As Head of Programme Design and Organisational Development, you will lead the Foundation’s approach to programme design, organisational development and volunteering, ensuring everything we do is high quality, evidence-informed and grounded in lived experience. 

You will set the standards, frameworks and tools that underpin programme design across the organisation, working closely with Programme Leads to design new programmes and strengthen existing ones. You will also lead our organisational development offer, ensuring charities and partners are supported to become stronger, more resilient and better connected. 

Alongside this, you will shape how volunteering contributes to our work, embedding it across programmes and ensuring it supports both community capacity and connection. 

You will work across teams and directorates to ensure programme design, organisational development and volunteering are fully aligned and working together to deliver meaningful community-led change. 

About You 

We’re looking for an experienced and credible leader with a strong background in programme or service design, ideally in complex or multi-partner environments. 

You will bring a deep understanding of how organisational development builds capacity and resilience, alongside experience of using evidence and insight to improve programmes and outcomes. 

You will be confident developing frameworks, standards and approaches that ensure quality and consistency, while also enabling innovation and learning. 

You will be a collaborative and relational leader, with strong partnership skills and the ability to work across internal teams and external organisations. A commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging is essential. 

How to Apply 

Please click ‘Apply’ to be redirected to our website, where you can download the Candidate Information Pack and find details of how to apply. 

For an informal conversation about the role and application process, please contact our recruitment partner, Atkinson HR via the information in the candidate pack.

Our Commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion 

We hold Disability Confident Employer status (Level 2) and are working towards full status by 2027. This means that if you're a disabled applicant and your CV and application answers clearly demonstrate that you meet the essential criteria for the role, we will invite you to interview. 

More broadly, we are committed to building a diverse team that reflects the communities and people we work with. We believe that diversity of background, experience and perspective makes us stronger and helps us make better decisions. We actively welcome applications from people who are under-represented in the charity sector, including people from Black, Asian and minoritised ethnic communities, disabled people, and those with experience of the issues our funded charities work to address. 

Key Dates 

Closing Date: Thursday 28th May 2026 

Optional Q&A Session: Wednesday 6th May 2026 at 09:00-10:00 

First Interview: Tuesday 9th June 2026 

Second Interview: Thursday 18th June 2026 

Harris Hill is delighted to be supporting Consumers International in their search for a Strategic Growth and Engagement Lead, Sustainability. This is a brilliant opportunity for someone who wants real ownership in their role—where you can take an idea, build it, and run with it on a global stage.

Working at the heart of Consumers International’s sustainability programme, you will drive partnerships, funding and influence across areas such as energy, materials and food systems. This is not a role focused on maintaining the status quo; instead, you’ll have the freedom and trust to shape new opportunities, test ideas and deliver growth that creates genuine global impact, with scope to truly make the role your own.

Key responsibilities

· Build and manage a strong pipeline of global funding and partnership opportunities

· Develop compelling proposals and innovative partnership models

· Lead on relationship management and supporting partners in their Change Network ( you can view here.)

· Shape and deliver a growth strategy for the sustainability programme

· Represent the organisation at international events and forums

· Create opportunities for global members to engage, collaborate and influence

About you

· Proven experience in partnerships, fundraising or business development

· Track record of securing income from foundations, corporates or multilateral organisations

· Experience working across international and cross-sector environments

· A strategic and proactive mindset, with the ability to spot opportunities and run with them

· Strong communication, influencing and relationship-building skills

· A genuine interest in sustainability and systems change

Key details

Salary: Up to £50,000

Location: Fully remote – open to candidates globally

Contract: Full-time

Applications: Rolling basis – please apply ASAP as applications are reviewed weekly

Apply to Hannah at Harris Hill to learn more and get the full job pack

As leading charity recruitment specialists and a certified B Corp™, Harris Hill is committed to high and ever-improving standards of equitable and inclusive recruitment. We actively welcome applications from all sections of the community regardless of age, disability, gender, race, religion, sexuality and other protected characteristics

Are you looking to take your career in merchandising to the next level? Do you have experience in business analysis and stock management across multiple categories? If so, this could be the role for you! We're looking for a Merchandiser to join our New Goods team and help drive income for Retail & Trading at Barnardo's.

What you'll be doing:

You'll be joining a small, busy and highly collaborative team, working closely with the relevant buyer on a day-to-day basis and playing a key role in generating income through our stores. You will have responsibility for the management and distribution of new goods across a range of categories, and will undertake key tasks including range analysis, stock allocations, promotion planning and forecasting.

What we're looking for:

• Knowledge and understanding of merchandising across multiple categories.
• Experience of using office based systems and following merchandising procedures.
• Excellent skills and knowledge of using MS Excel formulas and functions to complete merchandising tasks effectively.
• Experience in financial analysis and knowledge of data intelligence.
• Organised, able to prioritise effectively, meet deadlines and manage own workload.
• Ability to communicate clearly and effectively with a range of people, face to face, by telephone and in writing.

What we offer:

• Working hours are Monday-Friday with flexibility in location.
• A supportive, inclusive work culture with purpose at its core.
• Competitive salary and access to Barnardo's employee benefits.
• Development and training opportunities.
• The chance to make a real impact in the lives of children and young people.
• Generous holiday entitlement and pension scheme.

The funds raised through our Retail & Trading operations help provide vital support for our charitable mission – so join us now to play your part in changing childhoods and changing lives. 

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 require colleagues to be UK residents, based in the UK and to complete their roles from within the UK (with the exception of colleagues providing Barnardo's services in Jersey and colleagues who live in the Republic of Ireland providing services in Northern Ireland)

• 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

We are seeking an enthusiastic and efficient Partnerships Coordinator to join our dynamic team. The main purpose of this role is to support the delivery of high-quality partner engagement and stewardship, ensuring positive and responsive partner experiences. You will be involved in the development of compelling partner communications, and proactively identifying new funding opportunities. Additionally, there will be opportunity to support the implementation of organisational system and process improvements. Essential attributes for this role include a willingness to learn, enthusiasm, drive and a proactive mindset.

If you are passionate about making a difference in the global health or non-profit sector, keen to work with a collaborative & dedicated team, thrive on building and maintaining strong relationships with corporate partners, and eager to get involved in improving internal systems and processes, we would love to hear from you.

Experience & Skills:

Essential:

• Proven experience in corporate partnerships / fundraising, or transferable skills.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Ability to confidently and competently interact with a wide range of stakeholders.
• Excellent attention to detail, planning, and organisational skills.
• Ability to work independently as well as collaboratively in a small team
• A genuine interest in the global health or non-profit sector
• Enthusiasm and willingness to learn
• Flexibility and ability to prioritise workload

Desirable:

• Familiarity with Salesforce or other CRM system
• Experience in streamlining operational systems and processes

Why join us?

• Be part of a global organisation driving real-world impact
• Support a mission focused on equity, systems change and better health outcomes
• Join a supportive and collaborative team environment

Other essential:

• Must have right to work in UK
• Must be able to travel to London to attend quarterly team meetings

Lloyds Bank Foundation 

Regional Public Affairs Manager 

Starting Salary: £50,582 (if based outside London); £53,777 (if based in London) 

Contract: Full-time, permanent contract (we are open to conversations about different ways of working - so please ask) 

Location: Remote role - can be based anywhere in England or Wales with an expectation of frequent travel across England and Wales 

About Lloyds Bank Foundation 

Lloyds Bank Foundation for England and Wales is an independent charitable foundation, backed by Lloyds Banking Group and the people within it. We want everyone to be in a good place - personally, in a home that’s a good place to live, and in a community that’s a good place to belong. 

We play our role by connecting and catalysing community-led change, providing the money, time, tools and connections that build organisations’ capacity and capability, to make people’s lives better and their communities stronger. 

We back people and communities across England and Wales, to make that happen, because when you back brilliant people, brilliant things happen. Our communities are full of ambitious, energetic and determined people stepping up to make their neighbours’ lives better and their communities grow stronger. Day in, day out. 

About the Role 

This is an exciting opportunity to support the delivery of impactful public affairs and influencing activity, strengthening regional voice and national impact. 

As Regional Public Affairs Manager, you will work closely with colleagues to support influencing activity across England and Wales, helping to build confidence, capability, and effectiveness. You will support engagement with decision-makers, campaigns, and partnerships, ensuring activity is aligned and impactful. 

You will play a key role in connecting local insight to national influencing, identifying emerging themes and helping to shape wider organisational priorities. You will also build relationships with external stakeholders, supporting activity that raises the Foundation’s profile and impact. 

About You

We’re looking for someone with experience in public affairs, policy, or influencing, particularly at local or regional level. You will have experience of supporting or delivering influencing activity and working with a range of stakeholders. 

You will be a strong relationship builder who combines practical delivery with the ability to use insight and evidence to inform work. A good understanding of the UK political landscape and a commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging is essential. 

How to Apply 

Please click ‘Apply’ to be redirected to our website, where you can download the Candidate Information Pack and find details of how to apply. 

For an informal conversation about the role and application process, please contact our recruitment partner, Atkinson HR via the information in the candidate pack.

Our Commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion 

We hold Disability Confident Employer status (Level 2) and are working towards full status by 2027. This means that if you're a disabled applicant and your CV and application answers clearly demonstrate that you meet the essential criteria for the role, we will invite you to interview. 

More broadly, we are committed to building a diverse team that reflects the communities and people we work with. We believe that diversity of background, experience and perspective makes us stronger and helps us make better decisions. We actively welcome applications from people who are under-represented in the charity sector, including people from Black, Asian and minoritised ethnic communities, disabled people, and those with experience of the issues our funded charities work to address. 

Key Dates 

Closing Date: Wednesday 13th May 2026 

Optional Q&A Session: Wednesday 6th May 2026 at 09:00-10:00 

First Interview: Friday 22nd May 2026 

Second Interview: Wednesday 3rd June 2026 

An exciting opportunity to help turn a new national initiative into reality as it moves from planning into delivery. Over the next year, we will launch a new national Foundation Degree while building the foundations of a wider programme of work. In the initial phase, this role will focus on working locally with partners and participants in one or more locations to support recruitment, onboarding and preparation for launch, while also contributing to the wider programme build-out alongside a national team. As delivery begins, the role will transition into ongoing programme management across a cluster of delivery centres, leading high-quality delivery, participant experience and programme quality, and helping to build strong, sustainable centres over time.

We are seeking an exceptional leader to be our next chief executive, leading a respected and influential membership organisation at the heart of a thriving grassroots movement.

You’ll be working to build on the success we’ve seen and strong position and voice we have established for ourselves and our members, as a leading force for inclusive and sustainable transport and communities.

You’ll bring an impressive track record in values-based leadership, a proven ability to engage and inspire grassroots change-makers, strategic partners and policy-makers, and a deep belief in the importance of community-led change towards a sustainable, equitable future.

About us

Community Rail Network is a national not-for-profit organisation, which is in the process of applying for charitable status, supporting a growing ‘community rail’ movement, which helps communities get the most from their railways, promotes sustainable and inclusive travel, coordinates volunteering and place-making, and brings people together.

Community rail is made up of 77 community-based organisations, and around 1,300 station volunteer groups and other community-led initiatives around Britain. Their activities range from creative projects for young people, to advising train operators on service improvements, to building travel confidence among marginalised groups, to biodiversity projects at stations, to promoting greener tourism by rail.

Our enthusiastic team of 24 works from home in dispersed locations, but we come together regularly in person and online. We work collaboratively to support members, provide training, events and resources, run campaigns, and champion community rail and its insights. We believe in helping everyone reach their potential while having a good work-life balance.

About this role, and your main responsibilities

Our current CEO is moving on after nine years in role, leaving the organisation, team and wider movement in a strong and empowered position to deliver on the next phase of our development.

Your opportunity is to lead the organisation, and to deliver on our new five-year strategy setting an ambitious course for the future during a period of major transformation for our railways and the wider transport system. You will ensure that we are:

• clear in our identity and our independence, and seen as thought leaders in our field;
• are supporting our members and stakeholders to meet their changing and diverse needs; and
• ensuring the financial and operational resilience of the organisation in an environment that is undergoing a period of rapid change.

As CEO, you will lead a passionate and experienced senior leadership team with three direct reports, while working closely with and reporting into our Board, key partners and funders, and ensuing an engaging, empowering, tenacious approach across all we do.

Advocacy of community rail and its benefits will be high on your agenda, and you will be working closely across multiple stakeholders including UK and devolved national governments, regional and local authorities as well as forging collaborative partnerships with like-minded organisations.

Maintaining our community-centric ethos, you will need to ensure we're effective in enabling members to unlock greater value from the railways at a grassroots level, while drawing on their insights to affect wider change. With hundreds of member groups and organisations across Britain delivering life-changing, place-enhancing work, you will have a solid foundation to build on, to take community rail forward and expand our impact in the years ahead.

Last, but not least, you will be responsible for ensuring the strong and effective governance of the organisation, modelling our governing principles, values and behaviours, and ensuring that we have robust financial and resource management in place.

Skills, competencies and qualities

1. Exceptional leadership skills, including a proven ability to lead, develop and grow third sector organisations or multi-faceted teams delivering complex activities, projects and campaigns;
2. Excellent communication and external leadership skills: articulate, assertive, with the ability to work diplomatically and persuasively with stakeholders at all levels;
3. Experienced in acting as the public face of an organisation, such as through the media, public speaking and high-level meetings, and using evidence and storytelling to articulate and champion a cause;
4. Politically astute, with knowledge of and commitment to social inclusion, social justice and sustainability, and a sound grasp of the importance of public transport, sustainable travel, and community-led action;
5. A proven ability to influence policy and decision-makers, and to identify influencing opportunities, ideally in relation to community development, sustainability and/or transport, including sharing community insights;
6. A strong track record in income generation and development, building strong funder relationships and delivery partnerships, managing programme or organisational budgets and controlling expenditure;
7. Experience of working with and/or reporting to a board, ideally in a not-for-profit and/or membership context;
8. An empowering, engaging approach to leadership, management and change-making;
9. Resilient, pragmatic and determined, with the ability to work under pressure, seize emergent opportunities, manage risk, and support others dealing with competing priorities.

Other information

The role will involve extensive travel within Britain as part of building your profile and that of the organisation with central and devolved government in Scotland and Wales, and increasingly with the devolved regions of England.

There is flexibility on location given the requirement to travel and that your office will be home-based. You will need to travel to in-person quarterly team meetings (usually in London or West Yorkshire) and to Board meetings which alternate between online and London. It is expected that travel will be by public transport and easy access to the rail network is therefore required to ensure journeys can be made sustainably. 

This is a full-time position, 37 hours per week. We use a flexi-time system with core hours 10am-3pm, and are committed to being a flexible, supportive and understanding employer. This is a permanent position with a probationary period of six months. 

Benefits: 25 days annual leave plus bank holidays (rising up to 30 days, plus Bank Holidays, in line with long service); pension with employer contribution of 7%; and access to Employee Assistance Programme.

Successful applicants will need to provide proof that they have the right to work in the UK and provide two references.

Community Rail Network is an equal opportunities employer. We welcome applications from disabled people and Black, Asian and other minoritised groups, who meet with the skills and competencies for this role. We will provide reasonable adjustments for interviews as required.

Role Name:Management Accountant

Salary: £41,000 - £49,000 per annum FTE (depending on experience)

Location: Remote (with occasional travel to Downton, Salisbury, SP5 3RB and other UK locations as needed).

Hours: Full time, 35 hours per week

Contract: Fixed Term Contract (9 Months, with potential to be extended to 12 months if business need)

About the Role

We have an exciting opportunity for a Management Accountant to join our Finance team on a 9-month fixed term contract and play a key role in supporting the organisation during an important period of systems change.

Reporting to the Head of Finance, you will provide high‑quality accounting support across the Group, while also supporting colleagues who are working on the development and implementation of a new finance system. You will also act as a trusted finance business partner to members of the Leadership Team, supporting informed decision‑making across the organisation.

Please see the job description for full details of the role and a comprehensive overview of the role and requirements.

About You

Are you a CCAB or CIMA qualified accountant with experience in charity finance, looking for an opportunity to make a difference while working in a collaborative and supportive environment?

You will bring experience of working in a business‑partnering finance role, with the confidence to build strong relationships across an organisation. You’ll be comfortable supporting audits and statutory reporting, with a proactive and solution‑focused approach.

You will also demonstrate:

• Experience of charity accounting and statutory reporting
• Evidence of working in a partnering approach to finance
• Evidence of providing year‑end information and support to auditors
• Strong communication skills and the ability to explain financial information clearly
• Excellent organisation, prioritisation and attention to detail
• A flexible, calm and professional approach, even under pressure
• A positive, collaborative mindset and willingness to support colleagues

Experience of finance systems development, charity tax (VAT, corporation tax, Gift Aid) and advanced Excel skills would be beneficial, but not essential.

You also hold a full UK driving licence and have access to a reliable vehicle with business insurance for work purposes. You are willing and able to travel as required for in-person meetings and events to Downton (SP5 3RB) or London, with occasionally travel to other UK locations. Central London travel will be by train.

You are also comfortable staying away from home overnight on occasion, when required to support events or team activities.

About the Team

You will join Help for Heroes’ Finance team, a collaborative and supportive team providing robust financial oversight and insight across the charity.

The team works closely with colleagues across the organisation, acting as trusted advisers and ensuring financial integrity while enabling our services to deliver life‑changing support to veterans and their families.

In return we can offer you:

• Belonging to a team who make a difference to our community and value equality, diversity and inclusion.
• 29 days’ annual leave plus 8 bank holidays, regardless of service — plus your birthday off to celebrate!
• Opportunity to buy and sell up to 5 days annual leave per year.
• Added to our free health scheme from day one, including discounts on dental, opticians, massages, and more - with the option to upgrade.
• 3 volunteer days per year to support the Help for Heroes community.
• A generous salary sacrifice pension scheme with an 8% employer contribution and a minimum 3% employee contribution, plus life insurance up to 4× salary as an active member.

Closing date: 10th May 2026 

Please note: We may close this vacancy early should we receive a high volume of strong applications.

Please see attached Recruitment Pack for full job description and person spec for the Senior Programme and Network Lead.

This role leads our work across Birmingham at an exciting moment. We are developing a participatory, community-centred approach to analysing the city's economy, identifying opportunities for change and coordinating alliances to act on them. This means bringing together mixed groups, including grassroots changemakers, researchers, funders and other partners, and facilitating processes that help people make sense of complex information together, find common ground and make decisions about collective priorities. The role requires someone who can hold these processes well: strong facilitation skills, communicating complex ideas accessibly, building trust across groups, sustaining momentum over time and helping diverse coalitions move from analysis to strategy to action.

The Senior Programme and Network Lead will develop and deliver initiatives that support a growing movement for economic justice across the city, with a particular focus on building support and engagement amongst grassroots changemakers and communities experiencing economic injustice. It will manage projects and resources, conduct programme development and delivery, oversee outreach and partnerships, changemaker recruitment and contribute to fundraising, ultimately playing a key role in shaping our regional impact. This position is crucial in coordinating our work across Birmingham and driving meaningful collaboration with local and national stakeholders, in particular working collaboratively with Economic Justice Brum, a long-standing initiative working on local economic systems change.

This is an exciting opportunity to join a thriving national charity, as part of a high-performing, ambitious Business Development team. You will use a wide range of commercial and interpersonal skills to develop the way our services support children, young people and families. The core area of your work will be working with teams of Barnardo's colleagues to produce compelling proposals to commissioners and partners. As such, you'll be able to demonstrate:

∙ Strong organisational skills

∙ Attention to detail

∙ The ability to elicit and articulate great ideas

∙ Strong written and spoken communication.

You will need to be a good writer, communicating ideas effectively on paper with an ability to analyse large volumes of information to develop clear and compelling responses to tenders. It is critical that you can build strong relationships with internal and external stakeholders to support the development of proposals and service design. You will manage all aspects of proposals and tenders, leading the development and delivery of bids, working to deadlines, ensuring that we present strong business cases and bids that underpin successful outcomes. In addition, there will be the opportunity to help us develop new services and innovations in priority growth areas, monitor market intelligence, assess commercial and contract risks and work alongside operational colleagues in Children's Services.

Your project management skills may have been developed in any sector, and may need further development, but your commitment to the work we do will be demonstrated by your enthusiasm and ability to learn. In Business Development we are a supportive team, with stimulating and challenging work and extensive opportunities to learn and to help Barnardo's transform the lives of the UK's most vulnerable children.

This is a full-time role (36.25 hours per week) within Business Development. The role will operate on a 'Work from Anywhere' basis, meaning that you can work both from home and/or from an office 'hub that's nearest to where you live. Some travel may be required.

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.

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.

Please note previous applicants need not apply. 

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.

About Spear

We launched the award-winning Spear Programme over 20 years ago, and there are now 18 Spear Centres across the country, equipping unemployed 16–24-year-olds facing barriers to employment with the skills and mindset they need to secure work and thrive in the workplace.

Spear operates a joint venture model with churches across the UK to run our Spear Centres. Some Centres operate in collaboration with independent charitable trusts, while others are run directly with the local church (both referred to below as ‘Spear Church Partners’ or ‘Church Partners’).

About the role

We’re looking for a new Church Partnerships Manager to join us for this northern based role, with travel across the region.

This is an exciting opportunity to play a key role in driving national growth by developing and nurturing partnerships with churches across the North of England. You will be at the forefront of developing new relationships with potential early-stage partners, inspiring churches to engage with our mission, and supporting them through the pipeline, and helping to establish a diverse and thriving network of church partnerships.

We are looking for a confident relationship-builder who can engage and influence a wide range of stakeholders, particularly church leaders, and who is comfortable working in a dynamic and evolving environment.

Key information:

• Salary: £37,000
• Location: Remote with once a month travel to London for team meetings and regular travel in the North of England
• Full-time, 12-14month Fixed Term Contract, with the possibility of extension
• Closing date: We interview on a rolling basis and will close the role early if we find the right candidate

For more information please read through our Job Specification and Work with Us Pack.

If you require any reasonable adjustments as part of the recruitment process, please let us know.

Person Specification

• A practising Christian, passionate about personally representing the values and beliefs of Spear, and our mission to equip and support young people facing barriers to employment
• Strong leadership ability with the confidence to make effective decisions
• Outstanding people skills and emotional intelligence, capable of quickly winning trust and confidence, as well as network, influence and negotiate with church leaders and a range of audiences, internally and externally
• An understanding of the needs and workings of churches and their leaders, and the ability to innovate, build our growth strategy and generate new partnerships
• An excellent communicator (both written and verbal)
• Excellent initiative and a self-starter, with the ability to operate flexibly in a changing and dynamic environment and in response to the support needs of each partner
• Strong organisational skills including the ability to establish appropriate processes and structures and to manage multiple priorities to meet targets and deadlines
• Strong quantitative skills including ability to work with and interpret impact data, fundraising pipelines and basic financial information
• Microsoft Word, Outlook, Excel and PowerPoint competent and experience of/ability to use databases