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At Bluesci, we believe that everyone deserves good mental health and wellbeing. Our staff and volunteers, many of whom have experienced our services, collaborate with individuals and their communities to help them achieve their aspirations and wellness.  

Bluesci operates across the borough of Trafford from four Wellbeing Centres, offering arts, cultural and volunteering opportunities, social prescribing, talking therapies, and group support. We partner with Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Trust (GMMH) to deliver Trafford Living Well Neighbourhood mental health Service and with Trafford Libraries to co-deliver library services from two of our centres. Bluesci at Night offers a safe, welcoming space for people 365 nights a year, and we also provide Smoking Cessation Support.  

We’re currently recruiting for Wellbeing Practitioners, across our centres, including full and part time positions

Bluesci is an inclusive employer, and we welcome applications from people from diverse backgrounds. Our approach is grounded in evidence-based practice, including the Five Ways to Wellbeing, recovery-focused models, and social prescribing. We are looking for people who can work alongside individuals using these approaches in a practical, compassionate way, supporting them to build on their strengths, improve their wellbeing, and connect with their communities.

What We Offer:

· 33 days holiday a year, including public holidays

· A supportive, values-driven team

· Flexible working arrangements

· Ongoing training and development

· Opportunities to shape innovative mental wellbeing support

ABOUT THE ROLE
We are looking for an experienced Communications and Marketing Manager with excellent organisational
skills to develop, implement and manage effective communication strategies for a charity based in the
healthcare sector, with a national and local reach across the UK and Ireland.

You’ll have demonstrable experience in planning and implementing different communications strategies
across a range of marketing channels to help us grow our organisational profile, uphold our vision
and values, while extending our reach across the sector to support growth and awareness among the
community we support.

As part of the daily management of the charity’s communications and marketing needs, you’ll work with colleagues and volunteers to raise awareness maximise awareness of our support model, support the organisation through attendance of national and local events and be part of a team representing the charity at key exhibitions during the year requiring you to be away overnight for up to 3 or 4 nights at a time (depending upon location) – approximately 3-4 times per year. Further information will be available to candidates taken forward for interview.

You will be integral to our communications and marketing approach, collaborating with colleagues who manage our social media and published communications (e.g. member magazine). Above all you are someone who fosters an organisation wide approach working with, mentoring and supporting colleagues to ensure a planned, structured and collaborative approach to our communications and marketing planning.
The ideal candidate must have a proven track record in managing communications, producing effective content and campaigns across a range of channels (print, digital, online) for at least TWO years, ideally bringing additional experience from within the charity sector.

The role is primarily remote and the successful applicant can work from a location of their choice (subject to representing the charity at key meetings, internal meetings and exhibitions throughout the year). The role holder will make optimum use of video conferencing and online collaboration tools to work as part of a wider communications team so the team feels connected and engaged in its approach.

Interviews will be two-stage for successful candidates. Initial interviews will be held via video conferencing (such as Zoom) with successful candidates going through to a second round. Second round interviews will be face-to-face interview (with advance notice). Successful candidates will, in advance of the second round, be given a short working brief and asked to present their campaign ideas at interview together with past examples of their work.

UK travel within the role is expected with the charity reimbursing reasonable travel costs where agreed up front and on behalf of the charity.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Plan, execute and monitor a value-driven, measurable communications and marketing strategy across our print, digital and internal channels in accordance with the direction of the Board
• Demonstrable experience developing, collaborating and managing multi-channel campaigns as part of the overall strategy measuring their effectiveness, adapting to change, where necessary, as part  of the wider communications approach (digital, print)
• Develop engaging, accessible and audience-focused content to build trust and a relationship with  our target audience
• Excellent organisational skills to manage small projects, ensuring timely delivery and execution  supporting risk identification and mitigation
• Upholding brand and culture in everything you do
• Collaborate with colleagues to support organisation and management of charity events
• Oversee the communications and marketing direction of the charity to ensure consistency in approach across all channels
• Build and maintain relationship with journalists and oversee other PR opportunities
• Develop and nurture strategic partnerships with key individuals, stakeholders, and community voices, building strong working relationships that support authentic storytelling and enhance the charity’s impact
• Ensure all content in accessible, inclusive and aligns to our brand and identity
• Budget management with strong planning to meet upcoming deliverables and identifying areas where  financial savings can be made to maximise charity resources
• Produce meaningful management information at key times
  • Monthly senior management reporting
  • Quarterly Board reporting
  • Annual reports (authoring and collaborating from external sources)

PERSON SPECIFICATION

Essential Experience

• At least two years experience in a Communications/Marketing Management role
• Experience in developing and implementing communications and marketing strategies, ideally within the not-for-profit sector, across a wide range of marketing channels
• PR experience and media liaison
• Communications planning and forward thinking
• Brand management
• Team player/Mentor
• Campaign management to raise the organisational profile and advocate for people 
• Working with third party stakeholders to manage exhibition attendance, organise events and more generally any services provided to/purchased by the charity
• Working with and maintaining effective stakeholder relationships including our trustees, staff, volunteers and external medical professionals
• Demonstrable experience of online and digital marketing platforms to promote the charity, raise awareness and support our target audience
• A strong working knowledge of social media platforms, although we have a dedicated social media manager undertaking the role that you will collaborate with
• Familiarity with UK data protection regulation

Desirable Experience

• Knowledge and experience of SEO
• Budgetary management
• Experience in social media moderation
• Experience in creative tools (Canva, Adobe products) and digital marketing platforms
• Podcasts or similar digital content
• Experience of working on sensitive content
• Experience across the not-for-profit sector
• Ambassador management

SKILLS AND QUALITIES

• Creative, proactive and confident in your approach achieving outcomes in a timely manner and within budget
• Excellent interpersonal skills with ability to build strong working relationships
• Adaptable, flexible and committed to our charitable aims and values
• Strong time management skills

APPLICATION SUBMISSION

To apply, please submit:

1. Your CV (up to 3 pages)
2. A covering letter outlining your suitability to the role (max 500 words)

Interviews will be two-stage for successful candidates. Initial interviews will be held via video  conferencing (such as Zoom) discussing previous experience and role fit with successful candidates  going through to a second round. This includes alignment to IA’s values. Please allow up to 1 hour  for this stage.

Second round interviews are expected to be in in-person in a central location - advance notice will  be given and the charity will reimburse reasonable travel expenses, approved in advance. Successful  candidates will, in advance of the second round, be given a short brief and asked to present their campaign ideas from a charity working example at the interview. This should be available to us at least 48 hours prior to interview to allow us time to review.

Additionally second stage applicants will be asked to provide examples of their own work, at least  48hrs prior to the interview. You should be comfortable sharing past content that you have created  previously which will be treated with the strictest confidence. Please allow up to 1.5 hours for this second stage.

Applications should be submitted via the advertising platform including your CV and covering letter. See attached role profile for recruitment timetable and further details about us/the role, including contact details for an informal chat, if required, before applying. Applicants are encouraged to ensure availability in line with the recruitment timetable in the attached job specification.

While IA recognises the value of AI technology in the current climate, IA reserves the right to  ignore applications where we have reason to believe that they have been wholly produced using generative AI tools.

Please let us know if you require any additional support to attend or undertake an interview or if there is anything we should consider as part of the interview process.

ABOUT MUSTARD TREE

At Mustard Tree, we believe everyone deserves dignity, opportunity, and hope.

We work alongside people experiencing poverty, homelessness, and financial hardship, providing practical support, life-changing opportunities, and pathways towards greater stability and independence.

Our work addresses both the causes and consequences of poverty. We support people not only in crisis, but as they rebuild confidence, develop skills, improve wellbeing, and take meaningful steps towards a more secure future.

ROLE PURPOSE

This role provides person-centred employment and progression support to individuals facing barriers to financial wellbeing, including homelessness or risk of homelessness. Working with a managed caseload, this role will support participants to build confidence and employability skills, and progress towards meaningful, sustained employment, further education, or accredited training.

The role includes a blend of structured employability support, responsive frontline 121 work combined with corporate partnership skills.  This role will work directly with Freedom Trainees and Mustard Tree clients, supporting walk-ins, referrals, and longer-term participants. This role will represent our values through high-quality, compassionate, and professional service delivery.

This role combines direct participant support, employability delivery, employer engagement working with the Salford Area Manager. You will work across our Eccles and Little Hulton sites, helping create meaningful opportunities that enable participants’ progression.

Key Competencies

1. World Class Welcome and Customer Service

· Deliver Work Placement and Employment service across Salford appropriate to participants’ needs, through a welcoming, inclusive, and professional service that reflects a world-class customer experience.

· Networking and building relationships in Salford with new and existing corporate partners to deliver work placement opportunities to Freedom Project trainees, attendees to structured courses/clubs, and referrals from partner organisations (JCP and Elevate partners)

· Provide tailored, 1:1 employment and skills support, including caseload management, action planning, CV development, job search, and interview preparation.

· Adapt support to meet the diverse and complex needs of participants, demonstrating empathy and resilience.

· Manage referrals and signposting effectively, ensuring participants access appropriate internal and external services.

2. Proactive in Living and Sharing our Culture, Values and Behaviours

· Consistently model Mustard Tree’s values, culture and expected behaviours in all interactions with participants, colleagues and partners.

· Promote equality, diversity and inclusion by creating safe, welcoming and respectful environments for everyone by building positive relationships, challenge inappropriate behaviour appropriately, and reflect on feedback to continuously improve practice.

· Communicate in an inclusive, accessible and person-centred way, adapting approaches to meet participants needs.

· Demonstrate professionalism, integrity and accountability while maintaining boundaries and delivering on commitments.

3. Courage in Problem Solving and Embracing Change to Meet Needs

· Identify barriers affecting participant progression and respond to reduce/remove the barriers

· Adapt quickly and positively to changing priorities, service demands and participant needs while maintaining high-quality support.

· Demonstrate resilience when managing complex situations, setbacks or competing pressures, whilst taking ownership of actions and outcomes

· Embrace learning, feedback and change to continuously improve ways of working and support positive participant outcomes

4. Confident in Safeguarding and Incident Management

· Manage situations calmly and professionally, maintaining dignity and safety for all.

· Follow safeguarding, health and safety, and incident management procedures, escalating concerns appropriately.

· Work collaboratively with colleagues, contributing to case discussions and team meetings

• Complete and maintain accurate documentation, incident forms, and risk records.
• Attend required training, supervision, and reflective practice sessions and keep up to date with relevant legislation and local statutory and voluntary-sector provision.

5. Skilled in Reporting

· Monitor progress, record outcomes, and adapt support in response to individual needs, using TreeSalt, case notes, and case studies to evidence impact.

• Signpost and refer trainees and participants to appropriate internal services and external agencies, including housing, mental health, benefits, and specialist support.
• Track participant outcomes including engagement, training completion, volunteering, work placements, and employment progression to support internal reporting requirements and funder monitoring.

6. Positive Management of Stakeholders, Partners and Supporters

• Build and maintain strong working relationships with local employers, job centres, statutory services, charities, and third-sector organisations.

• Coordinate referrals and progression pathways into and out of the programme. Establish and maintain pathways into employment, education, training, and volunteering.

• Identify, develop, and maintain work placement and progression opportunities with employers and partner organisations.
• Match participants to placements aligned with their interests, goals, and support needs.

• Ensure placements are structured, safe, and provide meaningful learning and development. Escalate any placement-related issues promptly and collaboratively.

General Duties

• Work in line with organisational policies, procedures, and values.
• Support colleagues and provide cover across services and sites when required.
• Take responsibility for professional development and ongoing learning.
• Act as a positive ambassador for the organisation internally and externally.
• Contribute to environmental responsibility through day-to-day working practices.
• Undertake any other duties appropriate to the role as required.

What we are looking for.

Person Specification 

Minimum of two years’ frontline experience supporting adults, including vulnerable individuals. - Essential

Experience supporting people facing multiple barriers such as poverty, homelessness, unemployment, or housing instability. - Essential

Experience of managing varied caseloads and achieving measurable outcomes with participants. - Essential

Experience of and/or ability to build and maintain partnerships with external organisations, local businesses or employers. - Essential

Understanding of employability pathways, training provision, and labour market opportunities. - Essential

Resilient, adaptable, with flexible enthusiastic approach. Able to work on their own initiative as well as contributing effectively as part of a team. - Essential

Knowledge and understanding of safeguarding, health and safety, and risk management. - Essential

Good interpersonal skills, including verbal and written communication skills. - Essential

Degree-level qualification and/or equivalent experience in responsible roles. - Desirable

Strong time management and administration skills, with the ability to multitask - Essential

Experienced in using IT systems including Microsoft Office, including Outlook, Excel, and Word - Desirable 

Full UK driving licence and access to a vehicle and willingness and ability to travel regularly across our Salford hubs - Desirable

Why Work for Mustard Tree

Working at Mustard Tree is more than a job - it’s an opportunity to be part of a community that is changing lives every day.

Our Culture

• A values-led organisation where compassion, dignity, and respect guide everything we do
• A supportive and collaborative team environment where your voice matters
• A place where lived experience is valued and people are encouraged to bring their whole selves to work
• A strong sense of purpose, with the opportunity to see the real impact of your work

What We Offer

• A meaningful role where you can make a tangible difference in people’s lives
• Opportunities for learning, development, and progression, including access to training and mentoring
• A flexible and supportive approach to working, with consideration for work-life balance
• 25 days annual leave plus bank holidays (increasing with length of service), with additional bank holidays and a day off for your birthday
• Employer pension contribution
• Access to wellbeing support, including Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) Perkbox

We are committed to investing in our people and creating an environment where you can grow, feel supported, and do your best work.

How to Apply

Please submit your CV and a supporting statement - telling us about your experience and why this role matters to you.

This job description is intended as a guide and may evolve as our work continues to grow and respond to the needs of our community.

Are you our next Trusts Fundraising Officer?

If you have a talent for story telling, are looking for a role where your words can make a lasting impact and are passionate about giving vulnerable young people life changing opportunities, then this is the job for you. We’re seeking a talented individual who can tell our story and help secure vital funding from trusts and grant-makers.

Trusts and other grant-makers are an important source of funding for our charity. As we look ahead, we’re expanding our Trusts fundraising portfolio to meet the growing needs of our programmes. This is where you come in.

As our Trusts Fundraising Officer, you’ll be an inspiring storyteller whose enthusiasm for our work shines through in your writing. You’ll play a key role in researching new funders, crafting compelling funding applications and keeping our supporters engaged with our work. Your work will involve developing case studies and gathering evidence to show the need for our services. This will help secure sustainable funding. You’ll be supported by our experienced Trusts Fundraising Manager to build lasting relationships with funders. Together, you’ll keep them engaged and informed about the positive impact they’re making on the young people we support.

The Trusts Fundraising Officer must be self-motivated, well organised, able to multi-task, have good administration skills and understand the “power of the outdoors”.  Paid or voluntary experience in a fundraising environment is essential.  This is a great opportunity for somebody looking to take the next step in their career, with plenty of scope to develop your skills and experience within a supportive team. Whilst the role is home-based you must live in the South West to ensure easy access for in-person meetings.

The Charity

At the Youth Adventure Trust, we use outdoor adventure to empower vulnerable young people from Swindon, Wiltshire and Somerset to fulfil their potential and lead positive lives in the future. We work with them to build resilience, develop confidence and learn skills that will last a lifetime, helping them to face the challenges in their lives. Dedicated support, guidance and mentoring from our staff and volunteers ensures young people receive the maximum benefit from our long-term intervention. Our aim is to make a lasting improvement to the lives of vulnerable young people. All our services are provided completely free of charge to the young people who are nominated by schools and other youth organisations to take part.

We’re proud to offer our programmes completely free of charge to participants which means the fundraising team is crucial. With ambitious plans to help more young people over the coming years, our Events Fundraising Officer role is an exciting opportunity to make a real difference. You’ll be well-supported as part of a small fundraising team with a big heart, with plenty of opportunities to visit our programmes and see the tangible impact of your work. 

What We’re Looking For:

• Outstanding communication skills – You can write clearly, persuasively and passionately. You’re confident speaking to others about the charity’s work.

• Writing experience – You have experience writing successful funding applications, proposals, or compelling articles, ideally but not necessarily with a  fundraising focus

• Fundraising experience - You may not have written a grant application before but you should have some paid or voluntary experience in a fundraising capacity.

• Attention to detail – You take pride in your work, have a good eye for detail and a thorough approach.

• Creativity - able to put together eye-catching proposals, impact graphics and social media posts.

• Self-motivation and organisation – You’re able to manage your own time and prioritise effectively.

• Passion for the outdoors and youth development – You understand the importance of giving vulnerable young people outdoor experiences and are willing to put on your waterproofs and join in on our activities and camps to witness first-hand the difference the Youth Adventure Trust makes.

• Willingness to learn - if you think you have what it takes but don’t have lots of experience as a Trusts Fundraiser, this role comes with plenty of scope to develop your writing skills and gain experience within a supportive team environment.

Safer Recruitment

The Youth Adventure Trust is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of young people and requires all employees to share this commitment. The suitability of all prospective employees will be assessed during the recruitment process in line with this commitment and in compliance with current employment legislation, and relevant safeguarding legislation and statutory guidance. 

Context and Background

Our award-winning Creative Team sits within the NSPCC's Communications directorate. We're made up of creatives with design, writing and film production expertise. We create campaign and marketing identities, concepts, and materials, across all channels and for all audiences. We mainly work across three brands -- NSPCC, Childline and NSPCC Learning.

Our team has a broad skillset, covering creative strategy, ideation and delivery. We provide consultancy, art direction, planning, tone of voice guidance and copywriting across print and digital. So whether our colleagues are promoting a fabulous new fundraising event, introducing one of our frontline services, or kickstarting a new national campaign, our team is on hand to offer expertise.

As our new Senior Writer, you'll play a fundamental role in making sure the work we put out is as engaging and impactful as possible to a wide range of audiences.

Job purpose

The Senior Writer will be a highly talented communicator with substantial expertise in creative copywriting, branding and communications, preferably with experience in the charity sector.

You'll work on a wide range of creative briefs that might see you writing copy for print, digital, film, social media or web, based on briefs that come in from teams across the NSPCC. You'll also share your knowledge and expertise through workshops and consultation with internal teams and external agencies.

You’ll work closely with the Head of Creative to drive the quality, consistency, and effectiveness of our marketing and communications, making sure we’re talking to our supporters and the people we help in the most effective way possible. A large part of this is continuing to increase the use of plain English across the organisation.Finally, you will develop and lead strategy relating to copywriting, core messaging and tone of voice for the organisation. And as a senior member of the team, you'll help guide and mentor more junior colleagues.

Key relationships - Internal

• Reports to the Head of Creative.

• Is a key part of the senior Creative team and the wider Brand and Marketing department.

• Works collaboratively with all teams across the organisation to ensure creative excellence and brand integrity.

• Proactively engages with NSPCC colleagues.

Key relationships - External

• Liaises with external professionals e.g. freelance writers, agencies, filmmakers.

• Develops links and shares best practice with peers within the UK charity sector.

• Establishes networks with industry opinion formers, media and other stakeholders.

Main duties and responsibilities

• Develop verbal brand identity – through copywriting, core messaging and tone of voice guidance – across the NSPCC and Childline.

• Work with the senior Creative team to agree and deliver client projects from initial concepts through to the finished product, in line with our department’s annual business plan.

• Explore and develop creative concepts and help push the boundaries of the creative direction and output of the NSPCC, working closely with the Head of Creative and senior team.

• Pitch concepts and finished copy to commissioning teams, in line with brief objectives and the NSPCC brand.

• Make sure creative collateral across NSPCC and Childline marketing and communications is consistent and of a high standard.

• Partner with teams across the charity that create content, offering expert advice and creative solutions relating to brand and tone of voice.• Work effectively with other Communications colleagues to make sure we complete projects on time and in budget.

• Support junior team members, and contribute to the growth and personal development of communications team staff through supervisory, coaching and mentoring activities.

• Identify and provide long-term strategic solutions to the NSPCC’s editorial and copywriting needs, and fulfil them by working with the Head of Creative and senior team.

• Develop high-quality writing standards for the NSPCC, including style guides and training, with a focus on increasing the use of plain English and inclusive language across our work.

Responsibilities for all staff within the Communications directorate

• Actively participate in regular department and team meetings, contributing to strategy discussions and decisions which will benefit the NSPCC’s communications activities.

• Maintain an awareness Health and Safety and comply with the NSPCC’s Health and Safety policy and procedures.

• Take personal responsibility for keeping up to date with the NSPCC’s work to keep children safe.

• A commitment to safeguard and promote the welfare of babies, children, young people and adults at risk.

Person specification

1. Substantial experience in a copywriter role in either an agency or in-house team, with demonstrable ability of working across a broad range of briefs.

2. Proven ability to communicate and present confidently and clearly to senior stakeholders and clients.

3. Enthusiastic about embedding EDI principles across all areas of copywriting and in our wider communications work.

4. Experience working with and creating brand guidelines.

5. Experience guiding and mentoring junior team members.

6. In-depth and up-to-date knowledge of current trends and best practise in marketing, advertising and communications.

7. Highly collaborative and focused on creating a collaborative team spirit.8. Solid understanding of copywriting and editorial across environments including social, web, film and online advertising.

9. Ability to manage numerous complex projects for senior stakeholders, working to agreed deadlines often with conflicting priorities.

Safer Recruitment

As an organisation, we are committed to creating and fostering a culture that promotes safeguarding and the welfare of all children and adults at risk.

Our safer recruitment practices support this by ensuring that there is a consistent and thorough process of obtaining, collating, analysing and evaluating information from and about candidates to ensure that all persons appointed are suitable to work with our children and adults.

The recruitment and selection of our people will be conducted in a professional, timely and responsive manner and in compliance with current employment legislation, and relevant safeguarding legislation and statutory guidance.

Our principles:

• Always seek to recruit the best candidate for the role based on merit including their skills, experience, motivation and competencies. Our robust recruitment and selection process should ensure the identification of the person best suited to the role and the organisation.

• Committed to diversity and equality of opportunity and will interview all applicants (internal and external) who self-declare at application as having a disability and who meet the minimum requirements in the person specification of the vacancy they are applying for.

• We will make reasonable adjustments at all stages of the recruitment process in order to enable successful candidates who declare disabilities to start working or volunteering their time with us.

• Any current member of staff or volunteer who wishes to apply for vacancies and is suitably qualified will be considered and addressed fairly and objectively based on their merit.

• As an organisation committed to safeguarding, we will ensure all under 18’s joining the organisation will have ongoing risk assessments to ensure their role and activities are safe and appropriate.

• All documentation relating to candidates will be treated confidentially in accordance with the GDPR legislation.