Youth action alliance jobs

Thank you for your interest in the role of Management Accountant at the Fair Education Alliance. 

The Fair Education Alliance (FEA) is a cross-sector coalition of 300 member organisations tackling educational inequity. We unite behind a shared vision: no child’s success is limited by their socioeconomic background. 

In September 2025 we launched an ambitious five-year strategy ‘From Neighborhood to National’ to confront the deep-rooted inequities facing children and young people. This is an exciting moment of organisational growth at The Fair Education Alliance. As we scale our work and our team, we are investing in our operational foundations to ensure we remain well-governed, financially resilient and able to deliver our strategy with confidence. 

This role represents a significant investment in that infrastructure. You will be joining a small but highly capable operations team and playing a central role in how FEA manages and understands its finances as it grows. You will work closely with relevant members of the senior leadership team and colleagues across the organisation. 

The Management Accountant plays a central role in ensuring that the Fair Education Alliance’s finances are accurate, well managed and clearly understood across the organisation. Working as part of the operations team, the postholder maintains the financial systems and processes that underpin FEA’s work. This includes overseeing day-to-day finance operations, producing reliable management accounts, supporting budgeting and forecasting, and ensuring that financial records meet charity accounting and regulatory requirements.

The Management Accountant also acts as a trusted financial partner to colleagues across the organisation. By providing clear, accessible financial information and helping budget holders understand their resources, the role enables confident decision-making by the senior leadership team and trustees. Through careful financial stewardship, strong attention to detail and a commitment to continuous improvement, the Management Accountant helps ensure that FEA remains financially resilient and able to deliver its mission to create a fairer education system. 

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis from Tuesday 10 March

• Applications close: 30 March (9am)

• First round interviews: Rolling during application window 

• Second round interviews: Rolling during application window 

• Start date: As soon as possible (to be agreed with the successful candidate) 

Youth Focus West Midlands (YFWM) is looking for a Regional Development Lead to work as part of the Network of Regional Youth Work Units to build an inclusive and equitable approach to youth voice and youth engagement, ensuring the most marginalised and under-represented young people have their voices heard and acted upon across the UK.

The Development Lead will manage the Amplify funded programme of work across the region. This will include the facilitation of learning networks, peer support groups and peer research approaches, overseeing of project communications and delivering training and support programmes. Along with the collation of best practice around youth voice and contributing to evaluation and impact reporting requirements.

This is a part-time (17.5 hours per week) role on a Fixed Term Contract of 4 years, offering £29,000–£30,000 per annum pro-rata depending on experience (£14,500 – £15,000 before deductions). The role is remote (equipment provided) but with frequent travel required across the West Midlands. Occasional evening and weekend working will also be required. 

To find out more please read the role description and person specification provided. To apply, please complete our official application form (CVs and cover letters will not be considered). The deadline for applications is 5pm on Wednesday 18th March. Interviews are expected to take place on 22nd April. 

Starting Salary: £31,312 - £33,815 (including London weighting) 

Location: Romero House, London 

Hybrid working with a minimum of 40% of your time in the London head Office 

Job Profile

We are looking for an Advocacy Assistant who is keen to contribute to the work of CAFOD’s advocacy work, especially our work in Parliament. You will work closely with the policy and campaigns teams in contributing to bringing about long-term change for the poorest and most marginalised. The post will be responsible for monitoring key issues in Parliament and supporting work with the CAFOD All-Party Parliamentary Group. It provides direct support to the Director of Advocacy and Communications and ensures our advocacy and development education grants programme is well administered. You will be interested in advocacy work and have had some experience in campaigns, policy or parliamentary work, maybe gained in a voluntary capacity. You’ll be very well organised, with an eye for detail and completing tasks on time.

Key Responsibilities

Providing focused and valuable administrative support

• Developing and amending online and offline systems for teams or the Group 

• Support the teams on events, activities and projects 

• Supporting and Coordinating Supporter mailings 

• Collate relevant annual reporting information including the ECOSOC reporting.

Parliamentary Monitoring 

• To track Parliamentary activity, statements, questions and circulate these to relevant stakeholders within CAFOD 

• To support organising Parliamentary events and APPG meetings 

• To work with other NGO’s and coalitions on Parliamentary activity

Grant Processing 

• To administer the advocacy and development education grants liaising with prospective and successful grantees as appropriate. 

Communications Support

• Act as a first point of contact for any external enquiries, passing on requests to others as appropriate, and ensuring that the Supporter Relations Team have up to date information 

• Supporting the campaigns and policy team’s communications, mainly internal, and where appropriate, through CAFOD’s external website, social media tools

Financial Support 

• Monitoring expenditures and budgets

Person Specification  

• Understanding CAFOD: I understand, demonstrate and actively support CAFOD’s vision, mission and values and what we aim to achieve 

• Managing ourselves: I recognise what needs to be done and take action to deal with it

• Working with others: I help others in the team and across CAFOD to achieve their goals

• Communicating: I actively listen to others; I keep colleagues informed of developments that may affect them

• Managing resources: I am clear about available resources and how they can be best used. I am careful in the use of resources, including other people’s time

• Achieving results: I have a clear sense of priorities. I keep focused on the work to be done. 

Job-specific Competencies  

• Experience in administration and budgets in an office environment with good knowledge of IT systems

• Good communication skills, written and verbal.

• Understanding of the UK Parliament is helpful but not essential.

CAFOD is a welcoming and supportive place to work and is committed to a safe and inclusive working culture where all are respected. CAFOD will make reasonable adjustments at every stage of the recruitment process to ensure candidates with disabilities or individual needs are fully supported.  

Safeguarding for Children and Vulnerable Adults  

CAFOD recognises the personal dignity and rights of children and vulnerable adults, towards whom it has a special responsibility and a duty of care and respect.  CAFOD, and all its staff and volunteers, undertake to do all in our power to create a safe environment for children, young people and vulnerable adults and to prevent their physical, sexual or emotional abuse.  CAFOD is committed to acting at all times in the best interests of children and vulnerable adults, seeing these interests as paramount.  Any candidate offered a job with CAFOD will be expected to adhere to CAFOD’s Safeguarding policy and sign CAFOD’s Code of Behaviour as an appendix to their contract of employment and agree to conduct themselves in accordance with the provisions of these documents.   

All offers of employment will be subject to satisfactory references, and appropriate screening checks can include criminal records and terrorism finance checks. CAFOD also participates in the Inter Agency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme. In line with this Scheme, we will request information from job applicants’ previous employers about any findings of sexual exploitation, sexual abuse and/or sexual harassment during employment, or incidents under investigation when the applicant left employment. By submitting an application, the job applicant confirms their understanding of, and consent to, these recruitment procedures.  

Come and join us and help make a real difference in the lives of the world’s poorest communities. 

CAFOD is an equal opportunities employer. Recruitment and selection procedures reflect our commitment to safeguarding children and vulnerable adults

Citizens UK 

Citizens UK is the UK’s biggest, most diverse and most effective people-powered alliance. We bring communities and local organisations together to work on issues that matter; from campaigning for zebra crossings on dangerous roads, to reforming the immigration system, to the Living Wage campaign. We have a track record of winning change through hundreds of local and national campaigns. We know everyday people have the ability to shape the world around them. We believe that through developing local leaders, we can drive nationwide change and create community-led solutions to big and small problems.

Project Information 

Butetown and Grangetown Neighbourhood Fund project, funded by the Youth Endowment Fund. More details here: Neighbourhood Fund | Youth Endowment Fund 

Citizens Cymru Wales has developed an innovative approach to reducing youth violence with community organising at its heart, working across four unique assumptions:  

• ‘It takes a village to raise a child’  

• ‘Anger without power leads to rage’  

• ‘Recognising the need to address Adverse Community Experiences’  

• ‘If you are not at the table, you’re on the menu’  

In 2021 it developed a community led action plan to address youth violence in the neighbourhoods of Butetown and Grangetown. This work then secured £1m funding from the Youth Endowment Fund (YEF) to demonstrate how community organising can improve the lives of children and young people. Across Grangetown and Butetown, almost 2500 people were listened to, and issues workshops took place from which seven interventions were identified including Mental health, Additional Learning Needs and Literacy, an Employment partnership, Sports and diversionary activities and local microgrants. Each intervention is led by a local community-based organisation. At the heart of the work is building a hyperlocal community organising alliance.  Underpinning the work is the development of a Youth Action Zone, a youth-led multi-agency partnership to support young people in the neighbourhood for the long term. The project is in its final year of delivery and needs a locally based project manager to support the current organisations to fulfil the action plan and build a long-term legacy.

Main Responsibilities 

This is a unique role, focused on project management but embedding community organising. As project organiser for Butetown and Grangetown Neighbourhood Fund you will support the project aims, enabling core partners and intervention leads to fulfil the action plan and build a legacy for the long term. Alongside this, you will develop a craft of community organising, working closely with civic organisations based in the neighbourhoods, understanding local power and building partnerships with wider stakeholders, and developing local institutions and youth leaders. All of this should ladder up to building the power of the broader Cardiff Citizens alliance. 

You will embed the ethos of community organising across the project and its legacy by: 

• developing the leadership of people within local organisations - our 'leaders' who lead the campaigns we work on 

• helping them to collectively identify the changes they want to see and create strategies to win those changes 

• strengthen institutions’ own abilities to achieve their missions. 

• Support leaders in connecting the hyperlocal work to the Cardiff Citizens alliance – developing their capacity to work with other leaders and civic institutions across the city to develop collective ambitions and actions (leading up to the 2027 Local Authority elections). 

We envisage the role to be roughly 2 days project management and 1 day Community Organising, but given the nature of the project, these will naturally bleed into one another. 

Working as the Project Organiser for Citizens UK, your main responsibilities will include: 

Career Pathways Headings 

Build and manage projects and achieve work targets effectively 

• Project manage the YEF/Citizens UK Neighbourhood Fund project in the neighbourhoods of Butetown and Grangetown

• Support the delivery of four interventions (Mental health, ALN & Literacy/Sports and Police action team) including due diligence, accountability, measurement and impact monitoring. 

• Ensure good governance; setting up stakeholder meetings and working with community leaders to develop the agenda and actions 

• Develop an understanding of place-based systems change and support system behaviours across the project, including feedback, collaborative leadership and shared power 

Develop and manage external relationships 

• Maintain and extend local relationships and partnerships with community and civic organisations and wider statutory power 

• Map and develop an ecosystem of strategic relationships at the local level

• Ensure the YEF work is embedded within the local ecosystem of support for young people.

Communications 

• Support the interventions with communicating the impact of their work individually and collectively 

• Create comms outputs that communicate the work of the YEF project for internal and external stakeholders 

• Represent the organisation effectively to external audiences in meetings and at events

Generate income and resources 

• Support the interventions to seek additional funding to continue their work beyond 2027 

• Support local organisations to increase their capacity  

Identify and develop relational leaders prepared to act with others for the common good and support them through a cycle of action and training in our curriculum 

• Conduct 5 relational one-to-ones per week 

• Identify and discern actual and potential leaders with the passion and ability to drive change

• Achieve significant development of primary and secondary leaders; nominate new leaders for training on the Citizens UK core taster curriculum and for National Training

• Attend Citizens UK 6-day training to further understanding the method of Community Organising used by CUK 

• Teach sessions of the core taster Community Organising curriculum at a local level (supported by a senior Organiser) 

Strengthen institutions and develop a broad-based neighbourhood alliance 

• Ensure good understanding of the basic interests and traditions of typical member institutions

• Support the development of the Cardiff Citizens alliance 

• Support with running institutional development campaigns in a range of organisations in the local area 

Personal Specification 

(D) Desirable, (E) Essential 

Qualifications 

Bachelor’s degree in any subject (D) 

Qualification in a subject of relevance to community work or community organising (D) 

Experience 

• Evidence of having acted in a leadership role with peers or in local community activities (e.g., organising clubs or societies) (E) 

• Experience of project management; evidence of having set up and/or delivered projects on time and to standard (E) 

• Able to demonstrate previous experience of ‘learning by doing’ in a work or project environment; evidence of being open to feedback and comfortably coachable (E) 

• Experience of building consensus between diverse stakeholders to drive progressive change (D) 

• Previous campaign experience (D) 

Key skills and knowledge 

• Excellent interpersonal awareness – ability to listen well and appreciate a viewpoint or opinion that is different from one’s own (E) 

• Excellent concern for impact – ability to adapt own behaviour to address the needs or concerns of someone else (E) 

• Good communication skills – able to speak with conviction and passion; and to make a logical argument (E) 

• Excellent time management skills with the ability to juggle a wide range of competing demands (E) 

• Strong IT skills to include MS Office (E) 

• Understanding of policy and campaign landscape in the UK, particularly around young people, community empowerment and neighbourhoods (D) 

Personal qualities & values 

• A self-starter with ability to take initiative and work independently (E) 

• A passion for justice (E) 

• A positive enthusiasm for working with faith congregations, trade unions, schools, and other community organisations (E) 

• An interest in and experience of politics and public life (E) 

• Able to work in a team (E) 

• Willingness to work within accountable relationships (E) 

• Self-motivated and adaptable (E) 

Our Organisers and some project teams work closely with our member institutions and will be expected to attend member events that take place in the evenings and occasional weekends. We operate a Time Off in Lieu approach and have very flexible working arrangements to ensure a good work-life balance. 

The successful applicant will be required to undertake a satisfactory Enhanced DBS check. DBS checks are renewed on a 3-year cycle. 

About the application process 

We work within diverse communities bringing people together. In line with our Inclusion value, we would love to see applications from LGBTQIA+ people, people from racialised communities, people living with disabilities and people of faith, all to better represent the communities we work in. We want our employees to have the working conditions that allows them to fully participate, be able to be their best authentic selves and thrive doing so, and we have employee networks to support staff. Even if you don’t quite meet all the required criteria still consider applying, as we invest in our employees and support them to develop the skills and knowledge required to deliver their role.

For questions and reasonable adjustments regarding your application including information in a different format, or our recruitment process, please email us.

Join Homeless Oxfordshire as a Project 41 Support Worker, supporting people with experiences of homelessness, trauma, substance use, and mental health needs to live more independently in dispersed accommodation. You’ll build compassionate, trauma-informed relationships, deliver high-quality support, coordinate with partners, manage risks and safeguarding, and help clients move on to suitable long-term housing. Join a supportive team where your commitment, resilience, and positive approach truly change lives.

Main Purpose Of Job:
Project 41 accommodates individuals within the homeless pathway and as part of Oxfordshire’s Homelessness Alliance. These individuals have support needs including substance use, mental health and offending histories, but are able to live in dispersed accommodation in Oxford with a higher level of independence than in our hostels. The successful candidate will understand the trauma people using our services have experienced, and have a compassionate and assertive approach to building relationships. At Project 41 you will provide high quality support service provision, work with clients to ensure suitable and timely move on, ensure the health and safety and safeguarding of service users and colleagues, work in a psychologically informed way, and develop and maintain effective partnerships with relevant agencies.

Main Areas Of Responsibility:

• To ensure the effective delivery of high quality support, housing management and resettlement opportunities.
• To develop effective professional relationships with service users that is trauma informed and compassionate, and which empowers and motivates our service users to make positive changes in their lives.
• To work in partnership with support agencies to coordinate a holistic response to an individuals needs; this may include substance use services, probation, health professionals and adult social care.
• To lead on identifying and applying for suitable move on accommodation, and providing support throughout the move and whilst settling in to new accommodation.
• To assess risk and suitability of referrals for the service.
• To be responsible for creating and actioning person centred, strengths based support plans, and identifying and working towards suitable move on.
• To assess and manage risk for individuals and in the service, creating and maintaining risk assessments for all clients. Reporting any safeguarding concerns without delay in line with procedures.
• Work with the Team Manager and colleagues to achieve agreed contractual performance targets and organisational targets and objectives.
• Maintain a safe, clean and welcoming environment across accommodation services; this may including room cleaning and clearance.
• Manage challenging situations in line with procedures and to ensure the safety of yourself and others.
• Ensure that IT systems are updated as required and concise record keeping is completed promptly.
• To participate in the induction of and support new team members.
• To contribute to a positive team culture which is inspiring and motivational.
• Comply with Homeless Oxfordshire’s policies and procedures.
• Contribute to a positive working environment in which equality and diversity are valued and staff are enabled to do their best.
• Contribute to the work of the broader team.

About Us:

We are an open door for people experiencing homelessness whose lives have been shaped by trauma and disadvantage; providing safety, stability and support when it is needed most. We deliver this support across Oxfordshire by providing a range of accommodation with access to high quality support, offering a safe and welcoming space for people to take control of their own lives. We are an accredited Oxford Living Wage employer, and benefits to the role include: annual leave starting at 26 days (excluding bank holidays), flexible working, enhanced benefits with qualifying service, retail discounts with our Homeless Oxfordshire Benefits Hub, and life assurance up to four times your salary and a £250 bonus if you successfully refer a someone as a new colleague through our Employee Referral Scheme as a thanks from us!

What’s Next: Have a look at the job description to find out more about the role and apply on our website. Please be aware that this role is subject to an enhanced DBS disclosure check and will be undertaken for the successful candidate .

We reserve the right to close this advert early if we identify a suitable candidate before the advertised closing date.

Citizens UK 

Citizens UK is the UK’s biggest, most diverse and most effective people-powered alliance. We bring communities and local organisations together to work on issues that matter; from campaigning for zebra crossings on dangerous roads, to reforming the immigration system, to the Living Wage campaign. We have a track record of winning change through hundreds of local and national campaigns. We know everyday people have the ability to shape the world around them. We believe that through developing local leaders, we can drive nationwide change and create community-led solutions to big and small problems.

Living Wage Foundation 

The Living Wage movement began in 2001, after Citizens UK brought together communities in East London to discuss poverty and low pay. The campaign grew in momentum and soon required a mechanism to recognise employers who wanted to join the movement, which saw the establishment of the Living Wage Foundation in 2011.

Still part of Citizens UK today, the Living Wage Foundation continues to work with community organisations to make sure the voices of both workers and businesses are part of the Living Wage movement. We now work with over 16,000 employers, benefitting half a million people and winning over £3bn of better wages for people who need it most.

Citizens UK works with a broad base of institutions across the political spectrum. At the Living Wage Foundation, we take the same deliberately broad-based approach and accredit all organisations who pay the real Living Wage to their directly and indirectly employed staff and are committed to tackling in work poverty.  As a team we work across a range of industries and sectors to achieve this mission. We seek pragmatic coalitions to progress specific campaigns, and partnership around a particular issue such as Living Wage, does not imply an endorsement of broader purpose and policies.

Purpose 

The Living Wage Foundation has an exciting opportunity to join our dynamic team as a Communications Officer. We are looking for an exceptionally motivated and organised individual who enjoys working in a fast-paced, high-profile communications environment.

The role will support the objectives of the Living Wage Foundation and Citizens UK by communicating our work to a wide range of audiences, including senior business leaders and politicians, through a mix of communications methods: social media, newsletters, media outlets, website and internal communications channels. The role will be predominantly focused on work and wages activity through the Living Wage Foundation, but there will be opportunities to support cross-Citizens UK communications activity including for example: campaigns on housing, refugees and more. 

This post will be joining a Communications team that spans media, digital communications, research and events, with colleagues based across the UK with monthly in-person team meetings. 

The post holder will support the delivery of our media and press office activity, including monitoring media coverage, supporting with journalist enquiries, and helping to develop proactive press campaigns to build awareness of the Living Wage Foundation’s work. They will also support the creation of written and visual content across our channels and help monitor and manage our social media presence on a day-to-day basis. The role will work closely to support the Communications team’s work and help communicate the work of the wider-team and our employer network. 

The role is also responsible for key communications with our network of over 16,000 accredited Living Wage Employers, including our monthly newsletters, blogs, videos and case studies to celebrate our network of accredited employers   

The position would suit an applicant with strong written and communication skills, with some experience of working within a communications team and a passion for press work, social media and content creation.  

We don’t expect you to have experience of all areas of this job. Training will be provided to help you develop into this role. 

Main Responsibilities 

Working as a Communications Officer for the Living Wage Foundation, reporting to the Media Manager, your main responsibilities will include: 

Media 

• Contribute to media strategies and plans that help to win public, business and political support for the Living Wage Foundation and its work 

• Write compelling press releases, blogs and opinion editorials to promote the Living Wage Foundation’s work 

• Support story gathering and storytelling development with workers, employers and others affected by low pay and insecure work, ensuring lived experience and employer voices are reflected effectively across media work and wider communications platforms 

• Build effective relationships with the media, colleagues and other stakeholders to find new ways to raise our profile 

• Monitor and evaluate media campaigns and reports

• Maintain and regularly update communications resources, including press contact lists, internal databases and other media materials 

• Participate in the out of hours duty press (being on hand to very occasionally answer emails and phone calls in the evenings or weekends) 

Social and digital media 

• Oversee our digital communications channels to raise awareness of the Living Wage and our wider accreditation schemes, champion responsible employers and grow our movement. 

• Help the team keep up to date with social media trends and opportunities.

• Create, manage and schedule posts for our social media channels including, LinkedIn, Instagram, Bluesky, Facebook and YouTube, tailoring the content to different channels and audiences. 

• Monitor our social media channels, replying to enquiries from the public and our networks of supporters and employers and flagging any potential issues to the wider team 

Content creation 

• Working with the communication team, design and implement engaging digital engagement campaigns for Living Wage Employers and supporters, and to support Living Wage Foundation campaigns.

• Design communications collateral to increase engagement on social media, including creation and editing of short-form videos for our online channels and creation of social media graphics. 

• Improve our digital offering for our network of accredited Living Wage, Living Hours and Living Pension Employers, by creating resources and improving our communications support. 

• Liaise with the Living Wage and Citizens UK team to keep up-to-date with news to share with key stakeholders 

• Collate and summarise content to schedule newsletters and updates for our varied audiences. 

• Support in adoption of updated brand across our communications content and materials, supporting others to use brand and tone of voice guidelines. 

• Sourcing and creating original content for both the Living Wage Foundation and external websites, including creating blog posts, news, guidance and general pages. 

• Auditing and reviewing existing website content to ensure it is effective and up-to-date. Support on improvements and developments where necessary. 

Network communications 

• Drafting email communications to support the experience of our network of accredited employers, including regular newsletters as well as automated email content for new accreditations.

• Work closely with the Operations and Insight team to put in place the communications infrastructure to help our network of employers engage with us online, e.g. utilising our online dashboard for accredited members and creating new resources.

General 

• Administrate and facilitate communications team meetings. 

• Communications support for key events and campaign moments including the annual Champion Awards and Living Wage Week 

• Monitor communications outputs, analyse performance data and evaluate impact to support learning and improvement across our communications work 

Person Specification

(D) Desirable, (E) Essential 

Experience 

• Experience working within a Communications team or function (E)

• Experience using graphic design software (e.g., Canva, Adobe Creative Suite).  (D)

• Experience filming and editing video content (D) 

• Experience using website content management systems (CMS) such as Drupal, WordPress or similar (D)

• Experience of using social media scheduling tools (D)

• Experience of supporting press office or media relations work (D)

 Key skills and knowledge 

• Excellent knowledge of a wide range of social media channels and good awareness of current social media trends and developments (E)

• Strong written and verbal communication skills including the ability to produce clear original content for different audiences and use digital tools (including AI) appropriately and responsibly (E)

• Excellent attention to detail (E)

• Ability to create high-quality and engaging content for social media (whether for a personal or business account) and a good understanding of what makes compelling content (E)

• Strong analytical skills and ability to evaluate the success of a campaign(E)

• Ability to build strong relationships with colleagues and external stakeholders(E)

• Ability to communicate clearly and effectively with a wide variety of stakeholders (E)

• Ability to plan and prioritise workload effectively, manage competing demands, and flag capacity issues early to support effective team planning(E)

• Good IT skills, including experience using Microsoft Office(E)

• Creative thinker and problem solver (E)

• Excellent planning, organisation, and prioritisation skills (E)

• Creative with an eye for design and ability to come up with new ideas for content(E)

 Personal qualities & values 

• Interest in media and the news landscape (E)

• An interest and enthusiasm for communications and marketing, and the mission of the Living Wage Foundation (E)

• Highly self-motivated with ability to work well independently as well as part of a team (E)

About the application process 

We work within diverse communities bringing people together. In line with our Inclusion value, we would love to see applications from LGBTQIA+ people, people from racialised communities, people living with disabilities and people of faith, all to better represent the communities we work in. We want our employees to have the working conditions that allows them to fully participate, be able to be their best authentic selves and thrive doing so, and we have employee networks to support staff. Even if you don’t quite meet all the required criteria still consider applying, as we invest in our employees and support them to develop the skills and knowledge required to deliver their role.

For questions and reasonable adjustments regarding your application including information in a different format, or our recruitment process, please email us

Got any more questions?     If you would like further information on the role, the organisation, or our commitment to addressing under-representation and the development and progression of all colleagues, we would be happy to answer any questions.   

We will be holding a webinar on Tuesday 10 March 2026 at 12pm which anyone can attend to find out more about the role. In the past, candidates have found this a helpful space for understanding whether the role is right for them. Attendance at this session is optional and will not be taken into account at any stage of the recruitment process. To sign up, please use this link.

If you’d like to know more but cannot attend the webinar, please email us.

We’re recruiting an experienced, creative and hands-on communications specialist to work with Platform Places and Footwork over the next 10 months – to develop our bold narratives and inspiring content that help drive locally-led neighbourhood transformation.

• Target start date: 11th May 2026 
• Time input: 3 days per week (0.6 full-time equivalent), with flexibility for up to 4 days per week in certain busy periods, by mutual agreement
• Remuneration: £55,000-£61,500 per year (pro rata) depending on experience
• Flexible working: Work hours can be flexible as long as role objectives are met
• Location: Hybrid, remote or in-person (option to work from our London office). Monthly in-person team days in London, plus occasional trips to partners in Newcastle, Sheffield, Liverpool, Bristol and London and learning gatherings (expenses covered). 
• Contract type: PAYE employment contract. 10 months fixed term.
• Eligibility: Applicants must have the legal right to work in the UK.

About us

In 2025, Platform Places integrated with Footwork Trust, becoming what we call ‘civic partners’. Together we facilitate locally-led neighbourhood transformation – so people have the power to live affordably, sustainably and together. 

About Platform Places

Platform Places is a national cross-sector collaboration and not-for-profit social enterprise with a mission to unlock town centre buildings for amazing ideas that help us live affordably, sustainably and together. We convene councils, community leaders and asset owners around the country to build powerful partnerships, to unlock buildings for local benefit. We support these Partnerships with access to funding, technical expertise and networks.

Our deeper intention is to localise and democratise who owns, controls and transforms town centre and neighbourhood buildings, so that communities can:

• design spaces to meet local needs – whether affordable space for arts, music, healthcare, local food, housing, nature connection, reuse & repair, childcare etc
• retain and reinvest the wealth generated by these buildings.

We’re inspired by pioneers like Hastings Commons, Stour Trust, SAFE Regen, Civic Square, Nudge Community Builders, Makespace Oxford and other members of the Mycelial Network.

About Footwork Trust 

Footwork (UK charity Footwork Trust) supports local people to transform their neighbourhoods for the better and builds alliances to make this possible.

Since 2022, Footwork’s ‘People and Place’ programme has supported over 50 community innovators to turn their bold ideas into lasting positive change, in response to a local social or environmental challenge. Often reviving land and buildings for community use, they are part of a growing force for fairer, locally-led regeneration, making the places they call home more resilient and equitable. 

Through national and local events, Footwork creates spaces for peer support and shared learning, showcases inspiring examples, and convenes built environment practitioners to enable true collaboration with community partners. 

Together, Footwork and Platform Places co-facilitate the Mycelial Network for Community Asset Developers.

About the Local Property Partnerships pilot, 2024-2027

Thanks to National Lottery players, Platform Places and partners have received almost £2.5 million over three years from The National Lottery Community Fund, the largest community funder in the UK. The funding is being used to enable communities to come together and secure long-term spaces for the activities and services that they need the most.

This fund and programme resources local leaders in neighbourhoods in Newcastle, Sheffield, Liverpool City Region, Bristol and London – working towards shifting multiple buildings into long-term local ownership. We’re also supported by our national partner organisations Architectural Heritage Fund, Power to Change and Social Investment Business. Our intention is that this work will lay the groundwork for a larger follow-on funding programme, which catalyses England-wide adoption of this approach.

The role

We’re looking for an experienced, creative and hands-on communications specialist to join our small team and network of local and national partners.

The Communications Lead will focus on our key programmes, with the below time distribution. The challenge and opportunity is to hit the ground running and drive communications across our key channels – to help attract allies, funding and support, and inspire replication of these approaches in neighbourhoods around England.

2 days per week, ‘Local Property Partnerships’: 

• You’ll lead on promoting, and sharing learnings from, Platform Places’ exciting pilot programme (funded by National Lottery Community Fund) – which is localising and democratising who owns, controls and transforms town centre buildings in five neighbourhoods across England. 

0.75 days per week, ‘People and Place’: 

• You’ll promote, and share learnings from, Footwork Trust’s ‘People and Place’ programme – which supports community innovators to turn their bold ideas into lasting positive change for their place. 

0.25 days per week, Wider movement building: 

• You’ll work on ad hoc broader communications opportunities that support our mission and the programmes – for example, creating a content piece with local or national partners from our wider network, or pitching a media story that cuts across all our programmes.

This involves the following areas of responsibility: 

1. Build on our working communications strategy
2. Work with co-directors to develop our bold, inspiring core messaging, and update our boilerplate narratives
3. Manage digital channels for Platform Places and Footwork: a) plan and create regular social media content; b) write newsletters (approx. quarterly); c) upload and edit website content, on Squarespace (drag-and-drop editor) and occasionally Wix (guidance available).
4. Strategic media relations: build journalist relationships and pitch stories (local or national), op-eds and comments
5. Work with local and national partners to share inspiring and compelling stories
6. Develop practical how-tos and templates, together with partners (you'll have support initiating partner relationships)
7. Provide comms guidance to local programme partners
8. Support co-directors and partners with speaking engagements and event opportunities

You’ll start from a strong foundation of communications activities, along with our established tone, visual identity and branded templates – with lots of freedom for new ideas. 

About you

• You’re as comfortable with creative storytelling as you are with practical resources
• You’re a campaigner for systems change – experienced in attracting allies and creating communications for diverse audiences
• You make it sing – you turn dense or complicated materials into clear and effective narratives to shift opinion and action
• You’re a collaborator – you can effectively hold relationships with local and national partners to plan and deliver coordinated communications 
• You can ‘wear all the hats’: you get stuck in on strategy and roll up your sleeves on delivery; you know when to pitch to media and when the tactic is digital; you can knock up great copy or quick Canva graphics without aiming for perfection
• You’re efficient and resourceful, comfortable leading on comms in a small (and collaborative) team, and know how to make things happen on a small budget (and when to seek external specialists)
• You’re passionate about community-led places and social and environmental justice – and you’re knowledgeable about at least one of: high streets, property, retrofit, community business, heritage buildings, cultural venues, town planning, neighbourhood governance

We know you likely have a particular comms specialism, with more strengths and experience in some areas than others. We’d love to hear about this, and about your approach to getting stuck into the rest. 

Our team & culture 

You’ll be joining our small, agile team of six people across Platform Places and Footwork. We meet in-person on a monthly basis to have lunch together and plan ahead, and have weekly online huddles to check-in and discuss priorities.

We work flexibly around our needs, whether a caring responsibility or otherwise.

Our culture is driven by our values: generous sharing, diverse perspectives, active listening and curiosity, staying networked and joy.

Mary’s Meals is a global movement supported by people from all walks of life and we are focused on one goal – that every child receives a nutritious daily meal in a place of education. We offer more than just a career, we offer the opportunity to support our global movement in a dynamic and inclusive environment with a real focus on personal development.

We are delighted to be recruiting for Head of Northern Ireland to be the senior ambassador and strategic leader for Mary’s Meals across Northern Ireland. This role is remote however we require candidates to be based in Northern Ireland.

While playing a key role within the wider Development Directorate, you will guide how Mary’s Meals is seen, understood, and felt in Northern Ireland – shaping our public profile, driving sustained income growth, and building the partnerships and grassroots energy needed to grow our movement.

Key responsibilities include:

• Working cross-directorate to create and deliver a fundraising growth strategy for Northern Ireland, rooted in regional insight, cultural understanding, and community needs, and aligned with the global and national strategy.​

• Working with the Communications team, shape a clear and compelling narrative, respecting the nation’s strong identity.​

• Identify emerging opportunities across Northern Ireland, including diocesan networks, local relationships, and regional giving patterns, adjusting plans quickly to drive maximum impact.​

• Serve as the senior MMUK representative in Northern Ireland, ensuring activity aligns with the national organisational strategy.​

• Act as the leading spokesperson for Mary’s Meals in Northern Ireland, representing the charity to churches, schools, local authorities, individuals, universities, and community or business networks.​

• Spend focused time externally; networking, nurturing partnerships and driving growth through representing the charity at events, meetings, faith gatherings, conferences, and civic forums.

• Proactively cultivate, pursue, and develop fundraising opportunities via networking and outreach with the aim of securing support for our school feeding programme.​

• Develop and maintain a robust national growth pipeline, ensuring proactive identification, cultivation, conversion, and stewardship of opportunities.​

• Significant focus on the growth and development of new Volunteer Fundraising Groups in counties across Northern Ireland.

• Line manage and coach a Regional Development Officer, enabling them to become a confident, high‑performing fundraiser.

• Serve as a trusted media spokesperson for press, broadcast, and faith media when required.​

• Work closely with the Communications team to provide compelling local supporter stories, impactful moments, and local activity to showcase.​

• Shape national to local messaging so that campaigns resonate with audiences across Northern Ireland.

To apply for the role of Head of Northern Ireland based at Mary’s Meals UK, please follow instructions on Charity Job.

Applicants must hold full right to work in the UK.​

We welcome applications from candidates of all different backgrounds and identities to apply. We are committed to building an inclusive and diverse charity providing a supportive place for you to do the best and most rewarding work of your career.

Closing date for applications is Tuesday, 24 March 2026.

Interviews will commence week commencing 30th March 2026. We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible.