Lead jobs

Thank you for your interest in working with us at Hopeful Futures CIC! We are a small but growing grass roots not-for-profit community interest company. Motivated by our Christian faith, our mission is to create opportunities for autistic people, those with learning disabilities and their families to thrive in local communities.

We’re looking for an ambitious fundraiser to successfully implement key objectives within our five-year fundraising strategy to enable our community projects to thrive and grow. The successful candidate will be able to work independently with a proactive attitude, as well as working collaboratively within our wider team.

This is an exciting role that would suit a fundraiser who is looking for a new challenge, someone who has a successful track record in securing grants & leading fundraising initiatives and who wants to move to the next stage of their career by leading on a multi-faceted 5-year fundraising strategy for a small but growing grass roots organisation. This involves:

• Trusts and foundations
• Monthly giving campaign
• Community fundraising events
• Major donors and corporate sponsorships

About the Role

This is a part time role, 3 days (22.5 hours) per week

It will be offered as a permanent contract with a full time equivalent annual salary of £37,000 - £40,000 (pro rata £22,200 - £24,000)

This is a hybrid role with one day per week at our office address of School 360, Sugar House Lane, Stratford, E15 2QS. The other two days can be worked from home and/or for community visits as needed across the London Borough of Newham

Closing date: Apply by 12pm on Wednesday 30th July 2025. Please note that we may close the advert early if we receive enough applications

First stage interviews are scheduled for 4th & 6th August 2025

Additional Information

For more information about our community projects that you will be fundraising for, the full job description and person specification please download the ‘Fundraising Lead Job Summary & Description’.

Please note, we are passionate about creating a diverse workforce and particularly encourage applications from candidates of the global majority.

All job offers are subject to a satisfactory DBS check and references.

Prospective candidates must have the right to work in the UK.

Benefits of Working at Hopeful Futures CIC

Hopeful Futures offers a range of employee benefits including:

• Providing high quality training & a robust induction process to settle you into your role
• Enhanced maternity & adoption leave scheme
• 28 days annual leave increasing by 1 day for each year of continuous service (up to 33 days)
• An additional day off for your birthday
• We are a recognised disability confident employer
• We have an Enhanced Employee Assistance Programme with access to free counselling and other wellbeing services
• Ability to join the Blue Light Card Scheme which provides members with thousands of amazing discounts online and on the high street across categories such as holidays, cars, days out, fashion, gifts, insurance, phones and many more

Are you an experienced and creative marketing professional who thrives on collaboration and problem-solving? Girlguiding is looking for a Marketing lead to develop and manage exciting strategies that reach more volunteers and girls through paid marketing channels, and inspire them to join us.

In this role, you'll lead the planning, execution, and optimisation of multi-channel paid campaigns, working closely with our media agency and internal teams to ensure activity is insight-led, inclusive, and aligned with our objectives. You'll use audience research, testing strategies, and analytics to drive continuous improvement and maximise impact.

We're looking for someone who is passionate about marketing, confident in managing projects and stakeholders, and brings a solutions-focused, can-do attitude. If that sounds like you, we’d love to hear from you!

The Opportunity: Super Pollutants and Health Research Lead (initial 6-month contract)

Are you a talented, internationally-focused research leader with experience working on health and climate and with an interest in super pollutants? 
 
Clean Air Fund is looking for a politically savvy, proficient research programme lead and grant manager to join its super pollutants team, initially for six months, to play an integral part in a major funding proposal. Should the funding proposal be successful there will be an opportunity for a contract extension to play a critical role in implementing an ambitious research agenda. This is a fascinating opportunity for a dynamic research leader with a strong scientific background and sophisticated communication skills to join a talented team working at the nexus of climate and health. 
 
We want someone who can bring presence, initiative and relevant research management experience to our proposal development, our grant-making, and our advocacy for action on super pollutants with governments and international bodies. 
 
We are looking for someone who can start almost immediately. 

Essential Technical Competencies include:

PhD or equivalent expertise in environmental epidemiology, health research, biomedical sciences, public health, environmental science, or a related discipline. 

Demonstrated contributions to the research community through peer-reviewed publications, open datasets, policy briefs, clinical or commercial tools, or conference presentations. An Open Researcher and Contributor ID (ORCID) is required. 

Strong understanding of the science-policy interface in air pollution and climate mitigation. 

For more information on this role, as well as the full person specification please see the job description.

• Closing date – 10/07/25
• Salary – £55,500-71,300
• Type of employment – Fixed term full time

As an employer, we are committed to ensuring the representation of people from all backgrounds regardless of their gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, race, religion, ethnicity, age, neurodiversity, disability status, returning parents, carers or any other aspect which makes them unique. We particularly welcome applicants from under-represented groups  to apply and would encourage you to let us know if there are steps we can take to ensure that the recruitment process enables you to present yourself in a way that makes you comfortable. We are committed to ensuring the safety and protection of our employees from all forms of harm. 

We're the UK's specialist blood cancer charity and our vision is clear: we’re here to beat blood cancer. We fund world-class research; provide information and support to patients and their loved ones; and raise awareness of blood cancer.

This role is responsible for leading the Mass Participation team to achieve ambitious fundraising and supporter acquisition targets, through a portfolio of third-party events (such as London Marathon and Great North Run), expanding the growth of our flagship Walk of Light campaign and delivering new mass participation products.  

As our Mass Participation Lead, you will be an accomplished fundraiser with a proven track record of delivering and growing large-scale third-party and Blood Cancer UK owned mass participation events. You will be ambitious in achieving income and supporter acquisition targets, but also a risk-taker who will design innovative products.

Whilst there is no fixed number of days per week required to attend the office, the successful candidate will be required to travel to meet internal and external stakeholders, attend monthly and quarterly team days in the London office and travel nationally to away days and fundraising events.

We are committed to actively promoting equality, diversity, and inclusivity. In line with our strategy we welcome approaches from individuals from underrepresented groups, including minority communities, and applicants with a disability, to better reflect the community we serve and help broaden our perspectives.

• Role: Lead Bid Writer
• Head Office: Thame (Oxfordshire) or Leicester (Leicestershire)
• Working location: Hybrid, 2 days per week on-site
• Salary: £45,000 full time, pro-rata for part-time contracts
• Hours: 37.5 hours per week full time. Part-time working available 

Together, we make it possible.

At Affinity Trust, we believe everyone deserves to live their life their way. We are a values-led charity dedicated to supporting people with learning disabilities and autism, and we’re passionate about creating possibilities that empower our community.

Our Bids and Tendering team are the golden thread between our current support and the future opportunities we pursue, driving growth and making a lasting impact. Join us to be part of a dedicated team shaping the future of our services.

It’s all about the people

The support we provide is not a one-size-fits-all approach. We’re here to enable people to live the life they choose, in their own way, every day.

As one of our Lead Bid Writers, you will work on the end-to-end bidding process, from identifying tender opportunities and submitting engaging and successful bids through to managing post-award activity. You will develop compelling, high-quality tender responses, ensuring that our submissions stand out.

You will have knowledge and experience in tender planning, writing winning bids, and diligently working to continuously improve the quality of submissions. If your experience is in social care, that’s great but not essential.

You will also need excellent writing and comprehension skills, the ability to work to demanding deadlines, and attention to detail while managing conflicting priorities.

This role is full-time and will work flexibly from our office in Thame or Leicester. You will need to be happy working on your own, but as working with others is an important part of the role, we are looking for someone who also enjoys working as part of a team.

What benefits will I have?

We have a range of benefits that you can mix and match to suit you, such as:

• Wagestream – an app that gives you access to a percentage of your pay as you earn it, access to coaching, vouchers, discounts, cashback and more.  
• Blue Light Card – we will reimburse your Blue Light Card membership which provides discounts in your favourite shops and restaurants.
• Simply Health - Fully funded health cash plans giving you access to a 24-hour GP, money back on prescriptions, dental treatment, opticians and access to many more health benefits.
• Vivup – spread the cost of home and electronics items, or a bike to cycle to work through fixed salary reductions throughout the year.
• Buy and sell annual leave – transfer windows open twice a year.
• Pension and Life Assurance - you’ll be enrolled into our Scottish Widows pension scheme and Life Assurance scheme

Location (UK): Office Hybrid* - London / Chesterfield (potential office relocation to central Sheffield in 2026)
Hours: Full-time 35 hours per week or Part-time 28 hours per week
Contract type: Permanent
Travel: Occasional travel to Versus Arthritis offices (London, Chesterfield, Cardiff, Belfast, Glasgow)
 

Join us and use your skills, knowledge, passion and energy to help us achieve a future free from arthritis.

We are seeking a Lead People Business Partner to join our People Services team. You will oversee and manage our people business partnering model, leading the team to build strong working relationships and provide expert advice and guidance across all people related matters. With expertise in employer relations and a passion for continuous improvement you will shape a positive, inclusive and high performing culture.

About the role

Our People Business Partners deliver trusted partnering services and help shape a positive, inclusive and high performing culture. Working in collaboration with leaders and managers across the charity, the team drives and embeds positive change. Through effective coaching, influencing and excellent people advice, the team make a significant contribution to our goal of making Versus Arthritis a great place to work and volunteer. 

About you

If your knowledge, skills and experience include the following then we’d love to hear from you:

• Delivering expert people advice which aligns to organisational objectives and culture 
• Building and leading high performing teams of people professionals 
• Leading, managing and successfully delivering people projects and initiative
• Navigating complexities through effective problem solving to deliver impactful results.
• Experienced in employee relations, managing risk and seeking positive outcomes.
• Driving cultural change and proactively embedding change across an organisation.
• Strong commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion 

*As a hybrid worker the expectation is that you will spend around 40% of your working time in our office spaces or working in community settings. As an inclusive employer we will consider home-based working for anyone where office-based hybrid working would be a barrier to being able to work for us, for example for someone living with a long-term health condition or disability.

Benefits

Your excellent benefits include:

• Flexible hours, environments and working practices to promote a healthy work/life balance.
• Health and wellbeing support – including the Employee Assistance Programme (free confidential 24/7 support with mental health, legal and financial queries).
• Simplyhealth cash plan.
• Supportive and inclusive culture, with a wide range of employee networks and support groups available to join.
• Learning and personal development opportunities.
• Competitive annual leave, with the option to buy/sell up to five days per year.
• Generous pension plan, with employer contribution of up to 10%.
• Life Assurance plan (4 x salary).

You must be based, and hold the right to work, in the UK to apply for this position.

Application deadline and shortlisting 

• We advise candidates to apply early as we reserve the right to close applications ahead of this date.  
• Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. 

We do not wish to receive contact from agencies or media sales. 

Please note that we do not use Artificial Intelligence (AI) during our recruitment and selection processes, and we would respectfully ask that you also refrain from using AI during the selection process. Whilst we do recognise that AI may be a beneficial tool for some when aiding research and preparation for an application or interview, we want to maintain a fair, inclusive and positive recruitment experience at Versus Arthritis where candidates can feel supported to demonstrate their experience, knowledge, and skills without the use of AI generated answers. 

Interview

Interviews expected: Tuesday, 22 July 2025 

As a Disability Confident Employer, we guarantee you will be offered an interview if you disclose a disability and demonstrate sufficient evidence within your application that you meet the essential criteria for this role. We will also make any reasonable adjustments you may require for your interview.

Title: Global Technical Lead - Digital Futures 

Location: Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, Zambia

Contract: 12-month fixed term contract

Salary:  Local Terms and Conditions apply

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic technical leadership for a multi-country programme focused on digital skills development and employment for young people with disabilities, while advancing disability inclusion within workplaces and labour markets across East, West, and Southern Africa.
• Collaborate closely with fellow Global Technical Leads and implementing partners to ensure cohesive, high-impact delivery of programme objectives.
• Drive innovation by shaping and piloting new strategic initiatives that enhance the quality, relevance, and sustainability of Sightsavers’ work.
• Contribute to cross-organisational efforts in research, innovation, policy, advocacy, and communications, working in partnership with internal teams and external stakeholders.
• Represent Sightsavers at senior level as a subject matter expert in digital inclusion and the digital economy, participating in national, regional, and international networks, conferences, and sector platforms.

This is a highly varied and involved role, and the above is not an exhaustive list of duties or required professional skills. Please see the Job Description for full details.

Jobholder Requirements

Essential:

• Substantial experience leading and developing programmes focused on digital skills, training, and transition to employment, particularly in the Global South.
• Experience working within NGO or non-profit contexts, including managing donor-funded programmes.
• Proven ability to engage with a wide range of labour market stakeholders, especially the private sector, to improve employment and decent work outcomes.
• Strong understanding of current developments in AI and digital technologies and their implications for employment and labour markets in African and Global South contexts.
• Excellent spoken and written English, with the ability to produce detailed reports and deliver presentations.
• Strong analytical and strategic thinking skills, with the ability to plan from both programmatic and organisational perspectives.
• Excellent leadership, networking, and stakeholder engagement skills, with diplomacy and tact.
• Proven ability to collaborate across departments and work effectively within diverse teams.
• Experience developing and adapting technical guidance and programming tools.
• A clear commitment to disability inclusion, equality, and justice in digital and employment spaces.
• Willingness and ability to travel internationally for up to 12 weeks per year.

Desirable:

• Experience in advocacy for marginalised groups, particularly in disability inclusion.
• Proficiency in French.

Next Steps

To apply for this exciting new opportunity, please complete an application via our recruitment portal. We are particularly interested in learning of your motivations for applying.

As an equal opportunity employer, we actively encourage applications from all sections of the community. Sightsavers is a Disability Confident Leader and qualified people living with a disability are particularly encouraged to apply.

While we are confident that this role will go ahead, it is subject to final funding confirmation. We will ensure that all candidates are kept informed throughout the recruitment process.

Closing date: 20 July 2025

A little bit about the role 

Please note that applications for this role will close on Monday 07 July 2025 at 9am

The Curriculum Lead will play a leading role in developing and delivering Frontline’s Approach Social Work programme, a fast-track master’s in social work and our internal Consultant Social Worker programme. ​

​This role involves leading the design and implementation of curriculum content, as well as contributing to teaching, learning, and assessment—both academic and practice-based.​

You will support the delivery of high-quality teaching materials across various formats, including online and in-person sessions. A key part of the role is developing and supporting Practice Tutors and Consultant Social Workers. This includes running curriculum briefings, contributing to training resources, and ensuring quality and consistency in the materials and guidance provided.​

This is a dynamic and rewarding role suited to someone with a strong interest in social work education, a passion for teaching and learning, and a commitment to maintaining the innovation and excellence of our programmes.

Some key responsibilities include:

• Influencing and helping shape programme content including ensuring the implementation of evidence-based knowledge, skills and interventions with the aim of reducing risk to children.​
• Promoting and introducing evidence-informed methods of teaching and assessing social work practice with families – drawing on the expertise of others in social work.​
• Designing and delivering innovative teaching content across regions and digital platforms, at postgraduate level in line with good pedagogic practice, HEI standards and statutory guidelines.​
• Ensuring programmes remain compliant with professional standards and regulatory requirements.​

Please see the job pack for full role responsibilities

A little bit about you 

We are looking for a registered social worker with experience in teaching and learning, and an intellectual curiosity to challenge and develop their own ideas by keeping up to date with current research and evidence. The role will suit someone who is passionate about the development of social work practice, innovation and leadership who has a thought-through vision of what excellent social work looks like.

We have a fast-moving culture within the team and organisation, so we’re looking for someone who is who is well organised, details-focused and can use their initiative to do what works. You will have excellent communication skills, be able to build relationships with people and be willing to learn. There are lots of opportunities for growth and development in this role – and for the right candidate to make the role their own. 

If you feel you have the skills to make a real impact and contribute to creating lasting social change for children and families, we would love to hear from you. 

Important information

We have increased the diversity of Frontline’s workforce in the last 12 months, but we need to do more to have greater racialised minority representation in our senior roles. We know the value racialised minority voices bring and therefore, we are strongly encouraging applicants from these backgrounds to apply. We are also a disability confident employer and welcome applicants with disabilities.

Please let us know how we can make the recruitment process more accessible for you by emailing the People team (see job pack for contact information).

We recognise that artificial intelligence (AI) such as ‘ChatGPT’ etc can be useful for applicants e.g. to shorten an initial draft, so we do not attempt to have an absolute ban on AI in applications. However we would caution applicants not to rely too much on AI in drafting answers to application questions. We want to hear your authentic voice arising out of your experience, and we will be looking for answers that use examples and experiences that are specific to you. You are more likely to be able to produce that kind of content yourself than an AI will.

We reserve the right to close this role ahead of the deadline once we reach a suitable number of applications, so please apply as soon as you can!

Visa sponsorship is not guaranteed.

The Youth Endowment Fund 

Research Lead –Local Violence Prevention

Reports to: Head of Guidance and Reporting

Salary: £55,000

Contract: 2 years fixed term 

Location: Central London, Hybrid* 

Closing date: Tuesday 15th July at 12pm

Interviews: Week commencing 28th July 2025

About the Youth Endowment Fund 

We exist to prevent children and young people becoming involved in violence. We do this by finding out what works and building a movement to put this knowledge into practice.

Last year, 244 people in England and Wales tragically died after being assaulted with a knife. Of these, 32 were children. Every child captured in these numbers is an important member of our community and society has a duty to protect them. Even when violence doesn’t strike directly, we know that the fear of violence has a terrible effect on children’s lives.

At the Youth Endowment Fund, we are working to create lasting change. To succeed, we must build a world-leading body of knowledge on the violence that affects young people and how it can be stopped. This means producing rigorous, relevant evidence — through synthesis, data analysis and in-depth research into young people’s lives. But knowledge alone isn’t enough. We must make it accessible and actionable: showing what works, how services need to change, and how the systems around them must adapt. And we must partner with the people who can make change happen — across policy, practice and local systems — to turn evidence into impact.

About the role

The Research Lead will lead the development of YEF’s research, resources and recommendations in our neighbourhood focus sector.

We focus our efforts on seven essential sectors: education, policing, youth justice, youth sector, children’s services, health, and neighbourhood. “Neighbourhood” refers to our work supporting local partnerships – such as Violence Reduction Units (VRUs), community safety partnerships or the new Prevention Partnerships - and hyper-local approaches like our neighbourhood fund. 

Their primary responsibility will be to develop a series of actionable and evidence-informed guidance and resources for use by local violence prevention partnerships. This will include self-assessment tools for partnerships to assess their effectiveness, tools for understanding the nature of local violence problems and how they could be solved, and resources to support partnerships to identify and safeguard vulnerable children. Creating these resources will require the Research Lead to collect insights and evidence from across YEF’s work and develop YEF positions on fundamental questions about violence prevention. If successful, the Research Lead could have an outsized impact on YEF’s strategy and mission.  

These resources will support YEF colleagues to deliver our new ‘Area Leaders Programme’ (ALP). This is a new programme which you will help form. It helps local multi-agency partnerships to find and implement the best ways to prevent violence. YEF is working directly with partnerships, providing high-quality professional development, tailored advice and support, system mapping, and a national community of practice. The ALP focuses on strengthening five key elements of effective violence reduction:

1. Building strong and accountable partnerships
2. Understanding local patterns of violence
3. Identifying and supporting children most at risk
4. Improving safety in high-risk places
5. Sharing best practice across agencies

Following a pilot in four areas in 2024/25, the programme will expand to 20 more areas over the next two years. This will lay the groundwork for wider national initiatives, such as the Young Futures Prevention Partnerships, and support implementation of the Serious Violence Duty. The Research Lead will develop resources and guidance for the ALP. As the programme is delivered iteratively, they will work closely with YEF programme leads and local partnerships to test, refine, and improve materials before wider rollout.

The Research Lead will be part of YEF’s Research team. The Research team is at the heart of our efforts to learn what works and put it into practice. We do this by developing the YEF’s funding strategy and creating free, highly accessible research summaries and actionable recommendations for policy makers, commissioners and practitioners. We’re a high-performing team which values intellectual rigour and getting to the truth, compassion for children, ambition about what we can achieve and humility about what we know. We love to discuss the latest developments in research methods, but we’re not just interested in research for its own sake. We want research to lead to actual changes in outcomes for children.

Key responsibilities

The Research Lead will develop a portfolio of impactful projects.

· You’ll lead the research team’s work in our local neighbourhoods and partnerships priority sector. You’ll become the YEF’s expert in this area. You’ll make sure we understand the key issues, stay on top of the latest research and are connected to the right people.

· You’ll ensure we produce accessible, evidence-based resources and guidance that local partnerships can use to develop more effective strategies. You’ll work with YEF colleagues to test, refine, and improve materials before wider rollout

· You’ll set the YEF’s research agenda for your sector. You’ll make sure we invest in research that fills important gaps in knowledge and leads to important changes. You’ll ensure that our strategy and decision-making are informed by the best available research. This is a great opportunity to influence large amounts of funding and direct it towards the most impactful projects.

· You’ll develop great relationships with experts and represent YEF in external meetings and events. You’ll promote evidence-based policy and practice by speaking at conferences and events.

· You’ll lead the development of evidence-based recommendations in your focus area. You’ll draw on research and expert insight to identify potential changes to policy and practice. You’ll design and develop innovative and impactful resources which support the application of your recommendations.

· You’ll take on other responsibilities appropriate to your role. This could include leading the publication of YEF’s evaluation reports or writing ad hoc briefings and evidence summaries for the Government and other partners.

About You

You are this sort of person:

· You want to play a significant part in reducing the level of violence affecting young people. You care about having an impact. This might mean you’ve worked directly with young people at risk of becoming involved in crime, for organisations that fund or deliver relevant programmes, or have conducted research on this topic.

· You share our belief that an evidence-based approach is our best hope of preventing violence. You’re fascinated by research, but you’re not just interested in research for its own sake. You want to achieve actual changes in outcomes for children.

· You know a lot about violence prevention, especially local partnerships and structures like VRUs or Community Safety Partnerships. You know the key ideas and debates, recent policy developments and key people. You’re comfortable talking about this topic with experts.  There are many ways to acquire this knowledge. You might have worked in a local authority or local violence prevention organisation, conducted research on them or learnt about them during a degree.

· You’re a confident reader of research and have strong critical appraisal skills. You know when research can be trusted and when it can’t and can confidently articulate your views on the strength of research. You might have gained this expertise through your academic studies, research or professional experience.

· You have at least three years’ experience working in a role that required you to think about research. This could include a range of roles in policy, academia, funding or practice.

· You write in a way that people easily understand. You have that rare skill of writing in plain English. You have experience of translating complex research findings into plain writing that everyone can understand.

· You have excellent project and time management skills. You can work independently, quickly and to a high standard. You have experience of managing contractors or budgets.

· You are good with people. You’re comfortable working with a wide range of people, including senior academics and other research experts, children and their families, practitioners and policy makers. You’re able to provide constructive challenges when required.

· You learn fast but remain humble. You like learning. You’re very good at synthesising information. You know how much you don't know and that you can always learn more.

· You work well in a team. You care more that good things happen than who gets the credit. You support your colleagues to produce excellent work.

· You’re committed to equality, diversity and inclusion. You believe and act in a way that celebrates and encourages a range of experiences, views and values.

While it’s not a criterion, we’re especially interested to hear from applicants who have lived experience of youth violence. 

It’s also important to us that the people we hire do not discriminate. We believe in being inclusive and giving everyone an equal chance to succeed. Applications are welcome from all regardless of age, sex, gender identity, disability, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, religion or belief, race, sexual orientation, transgender status or social economic background. 

Hybrid Working Details  

The office is based in Central London. Those living in and around London are expected to be in the office a minimum of 2 days per week. If you live outside of London and work remotely, you’ll be expected to work from the London office 2 days per month.

As part of our commitment to flexible working, we will consider a range of options for the successful applicant. All options can be discussed at interview stage.

To Apply 

To apply, please send a CV and cover letter, and complete the monitoring form click on "Apply for this" button by 12:00pm Tuesday 15th July 2025. 

When applying for this role, please ensure that your cover letter, within a maximum of 1000 words, covers the following questions below:

1. A clear example of a situation where you have translated research into actionable resources or recommendations.

2. A clear example of a situation where you’ve supported an external partner or colleague to apply research evidence to an important decision.

Interview Process 

Interviews will take place in the week commencing the 28th July 2025. 

There will be a task to prepare for in advance. 

PLEASE NOTE: We do not sponsor work permits and you will be required to provide proof of your eligibility to work in the UK. 

Benefits Include 

• £1,000 professional development budget annually 

• 28 days holiday plus Bank Holidays

• Four half days for volunteering activities

• Employee Assistance Programme – 24hr phone line for free confidential support • Volunteering days - 4 half days per year

• Death in service - 4 times annual salary

• Flexible hours. Core office hours 10am – 4pm

• Financial support including travel and hardship loans

• Employer contributed pension of 5% 

Personal Data   

Your personal data will be shared for the purposes of the recruitment exercise. This includes our HR team, interviewers (who may include other partners in the project and independent advisors), relevant team managers and our IT service provider if access to the data is necessary for performance of their roles. We do not share your data with other third parties, unless your application for employment is successful and we make you an offer of employment. We will then share your data with former employers to obtain references for you. We do not transfer your data outside the European Economic Area.   

We're recruiting for an Engagement Lead, to work in our Innovation & Practice team. 

As Engagement Lead you will play a central role in our team – developing, leading and managing significant projects for us, including citizens’ assemblies, citizens’ juries, deliberative workshops, and participatory processes. You will need to have a good understanding of deliberative processes, have excellent project leadership and project management skills, as well the ability to build and maintain good relationships with a wide variety of people, including members of the public, project partners, colleagues and decision-makers.

The role sits in the Innovation and Practice team that designs and delivers high quality practical engagement work leading to better decisions, more engaged citizens and helps address critical challenges of our society. We are constantly balancing high quality standards with innovation to ensure that we stay at the cutting edge and that our engagement processes break down entrenched inequalities of power.

You will be a proven project leader looking to make your next move and develop your leadership skills and profile in this interesting and important area of public participation work. We are particularly interested in candidates who have experience in the design and delivery of large scale deliberative engagement projects. 

About us

Balance is a creative and socially progressive charity in SW London looking for someone whose professional approach aligns with our values of Indepence, Empowerment, Partnership, Recognition and Sustainabilty. We are a growing business running strength based and person centred services across SW and Central London. 

About you

You will an enthusiastic and and independent creative professional with an ability to collaborate across our departmenal disciplines to shape our voice and public profile across a range of audiences. You may be an experienced professional looking for a move to the charity sector, a recent graduate looking for an opening to test your knowledge or someone with a commitment to transformative change and social inclusion for people living with a disability. 

If this is you we would like to hear from you.

About the role

Position: Communications Lead

Based: Flexibly from home and our corporate headquarters in Kingston upon Thames

Your Hours of work: Will be part-time based initially on 22 hours per week

Salary: £34,818 per annum paid pro rata based on a 22 hour working week.

Other Benefits include the following:

• 3% employers pension contribution
• A commitment to training and continual professional development
• Access to annual season ticket loan
• Flexible working
• Access to Blue Light Discount Card and other discount schemes
• Cycle to work scheme
• Free employee assistance programme
• A day off for your birthday in addition to a generous holiday allowance

How to apply: Please apply submitting a CV and Suporting Statement adressing clearly each area set out in the Person Specification.

About the Role

Its purpose and associated values

• Building partnership through training, insight and support across the charity’s functions in respect of its promotion, marketing and communications.
• Work with the charity’s leadership to build professional communications and social media outputs to widen our market position and business sustainability.
• Developing resources, templates and content that will empower our staff to work more independently to shape the public narrative of their work and its impact.
• A commitment to communicating and marketing a public narrative that show cases the charity’s work in empowering the people who use its services to live independent and validated lives.

Main Responsibilities of the Job

• Generate (or work with our managers to generate) engaging and accessible content for the charity across a range of digital and social media platforms.
• Lead on the collection and development of stories, as well as other content showcasing the quality of our work and its impact for those using our services.
• Work with colleagues to plan and coordinate communications around key milestones, launches, campaigns and events.
• Coordinate general communications and engagement planning with corporate and operational managers.
• Support the development and implementation of a communications and influencing plan as part of the charity’ corporate planning and strategic review process.
• Work closely with the charity’s corporate leadership to align messaging and communications activity across the business to help shape our working culture and values-based approach.
• Create compelling stories about what the charity does and the difference it makes in the lives of people who benefit from its services.

Analysis and data interpretation

• Provide overview and reporting on performance analytics related to the charity’s digital and social media outputs. Particularly against any benchmarks set at the commencement of any given financial year.
• Identify opportunities and development priorities for targeted and/or generic media output against any valuation of our performance metrics as reported above.
• Provide access and guidance on analytics and data metrics for departmental managers and leads to help shape future messaging and content generation.

Development Support

• To work closely with the charity’s leadership, its managers and operational leads in shaping our communications messaging and output.
• To design training and support to grow internal capacity across the charity in how to get the best out of our communications and social media tools.
• Monitor departmental social media and communications output and help shape their approaches to messaging what their services do and to whom.
• Develop plans, campaigns and promotional activity based on an understanding of the charity’s values, it target audiences and its strategic priorities for growth and sustainability.

Behaviours and Values

• To provide meaningful support to the organisations outward facing and public activity, promoting both its person-centred and strengths-based approach to its work.
• Maximise their role to facilitate the inclusion of people using our services in shaping a public narrative of their lives and the positive contribution they make to the communities in which they live.
   

Communication

• To model professional and effective communication skills professionally with all internal and external partnerships, representing the charity and its corporate position at meetings and events when necessary.
• To demonstrate flexibility in communication style as appropriate for different audiences, including the people we support, their families, internal colleagues, and colleagues from our Health & social care partners. Showing an awareness of people’s communication needs and adjustments that may need to be made.
• To demonstrate and model a consistent professional approach in communication via the multiple tools related to their post.
• To be a great listener including demonstrating a proactive approach to supporting a range of stakeholder in expressing their wishes and views.

 Additional responsibilities

• To demonstrate continued commitment to own personal development and learning.
• To attend reviews and meetings as required, and chair meetings where necessary.
• To maintain confidentiality and to ensure that access and sharing of and use of the information complies with relevant policies and procedures, including the Data Protection Act.
• To work in accordance and support the implementation of Balance policies, procedures, values and commitment to equality and inclusion.
• Any other duties commensurate with the grade of the post, as may be required from time to time.

We are seeking an experienced individual to reach out to young people from less advantaged socio-economic backgrounds, who want and need help in accessing life-changing opportunities. The successful candidate will engage with providers which will lead to the referral of young people for Making The Leap programmes, and be part of the organisation's team to help transform the futures of young people.

Making The Leap is an innovative societal change charity that aims to make a big difference. From direct delivery, to advocacy and leadership, we refuse to stay in our lane and believe passionately that those we exist to serve have the right to be anything they want to be. To say that this is an exciting time for the organisation would be an understatement, as our incredible funders, donors, partners and supporters have given us the chance to move to the next level, and have further influence and delivery nationally.

The shared soul of the organisation is to be passionate about helping young people from less-advantaged backgrounds; build up other charities and community groups and want to partner with them or support them; want to work with businesses and organisations to get things done; and care deeply about addressing racial inequity.

The organisation has a number of strands: core Making The Leap; the UK Social Mobility Awards; the Social Mobility Podcast; The Social Mobility List and Black Charity Leaders.

Role Summary

Job title: Communications Lead
Contract: Full time, permanent position 
Location: Hybrid working: office base is at Somerset House, London: we are flexible on approach, within a hybrid model of in-person & virtual. This can be discussed at interview (*) 
Salary: £43-£45k p.a. depending on experience
Reporting to: Director of Julie’s Bicycle
Start date:ASAP - depending on candidate’s notice period 
Hours: Working hours are 9.30am - 5.30pm, Monday to Friday
(requests for flexible working hours will be considered, including requests to work 80% FTE) 

Other:

• Annual leave is 25 days per year (pro rata) plus standard bank holidays
• Cultural entitlement of £250 per annum (pro rata) to spend on arts/cultural events & activities
• All employees are able to claim 1 hour a week for personal wellbeing
• Pension scheme enrolment and 6% employer contributions (reviewed annually)

(*) Access to office space in London is always available to staff who can't or don't want to work from home. 

If you would like this application pack in a different format (e.g. large print or audio file), please contact us (information in the link provided).

About Julie’s Bicycle (JB)

JB is a leading non-profit putting climate action at the heart of culture. We believe that creativity is a powerful catalyst for change — and that the arts and cultural sector has a vital role to play in building a just, regenerative future.

For over 15 years, we’ve worked with artists, cultural institutions, funders, and policymakers to mobilise creative climate leadership and action through advocacy, research, policy influence, training, path-finding projects and community building. We champion climate justice, centre equity, and believe that environmental solutions must be driven by cultural shifts as well as systems change. For more information on all our programmes, please visit oue website.

Communications at JB

This is the perfect time to join JB as Communications Lead. By the time this role starts we will be launching a new brand and website; with associated key messages and audience development priorities. All of this is currently in development with our partners at Greenhouse. This role will benefit from all that ground work and lead on all the communications to bring to life our new approach. It’s a moment for the incoming postholder to make a real difference.

The Role

We’re seeking a visionary and collaborative Communications Lead to lead the next phase of our communications strategy. This role is about more than messaging — it’s about shaping a compelling and inspiring public voice for creative climate action.

You will be responsible for our brand, storytelling, content strategy, and creative outputs—ensuring that everything we do reflects our values, amplifies our impact, and deepens our reach across the cultural and climate landscape. You’ll also play a key role in supporting our impact including welcoming new cultural organisations, creative practitioners, environmental partners, and funders into our network.

This is a digital-first communications role, with a strong focus on content development, storytelling, and designing varied communication campaigns. You’ll oversee our editorial voice across blogs, email, social media, and digital content. Alongside our Marketing Lead, you will ensure our insights, tools, and narratives are warm, purpose-focused, clear, accessible, and optimised for reach and engagement. You will be someone who thrives on the combination of ambitious strategic thinking and delivering content and projects on the ground. 

You will collaborate with partner organisations to co-create communications, support joint campaigns, and ensure our voice is visible and aligned in the broader climate and culture movement. And while press/media remains part of the role, your primary focus will be digital content, brand positioning, and reaching new audiences.

You will be part of a small Marketing and Communications team and work closely with the rest of JB’s 22-person, supportive and mission-driven team.

We encourage people from any background to apply for this post. We are committed to creating a workforce which is representative of our society, and to bringing together those with a variety of skills and experiences to help shape what we do and how we work. We are particularly keen to hear from people of colour and those who self-identify as disabled.

Key Responsibilities

Strategy & Leadership

• Develop and deliver an inclusive, digital-first communications strategy that positions Julie’s Bicycle as a cultural leader in climate action.
• Work with senior leadership to drive communications that support organisational growth, impact and fundraising, helping to expand our network and deepen engagement with the arts and cultural sector and the climate and environmental movement. 
• Embed climate justice and equity throughout our communications, ensuring our language, images, and stories reflect a diverse, accessible, and fair transition.
• Champion our core narrative: putting climate action at the heart of culture.

Brand, Creative & Campaigns

• Lead on brand implementation, ensuring coherence of messaging and tone across all channels and materials. 
• Deliver innovative and values-led communications campaigns in collaboration with partners and internal teams. Lead on key messaging, ensuring we are consistent and confident across all our channels.
• Take a data-led approach to maximise impact of our communications.
• Oversee design and creative production for campaigns, reports and digital content, (working alongside our Marketing Lead and with support from external designers/freelancers). 
• Ensure communications projects are managed on time and on budget.
• Develop and implement communications for newer target audiences in particular leaders and change-makers across the environmental sector.
• Collaborate with our Marketing Lead to co-develop mar/comms strategies for individual programmes and projects.

Content & Digital

• Develop engaging, inclusive content across web, blogs, newsletters and social media.
• Shape and oversee editorial calendars that reflect our programmes, partnerships, research, and events.
• Lead on our content management and storytelling strategy. 
• Ensure all content is optimised for audience growth, accessibility, and search (SEO), working closely with our Marketing Lead who leads on our overall web and SEO strategy.
• Support on the production of public reports and external briefing materials, ensuring appropriate tone and key messages.
• Manage internal and freelance team members producing social media content.

Partnerships & Profile

• Collaborate with cultural, environmental, and funding partners to co-create shared messaging, campaigns, and communications assets.
• Ensure JB’s story, voice, and impact are clearly represented in all collaborations and public-facing materials.
• Support JB’s role in coalitions and networks by developing communications that reflect collective aims and shared values.
• Work with the JB team to create and implement a strategy for public-facing thought leadership.

Media & External Relations

• Maintain relationships with relevant journalists and media outlets, responding to media opportunities that align with our strategy.
• Support the Director and other team members with media briefings and public communications as needed.
• When funded opportunities arise, lead liaison with external PR and media consultants. 

Team & Collaboration

• Support the management of the Marketing and Communications Coordinator.
• Work closely with all internal teams — partnership, consultancy, research, advocacy, programmes — to align messaging and amplify impact.
• Contribute to organisational learning, planning, and shared values.
• Support the implementation and day to day running of JB’s new CRM.
• With the Marketing Lead, strengthen internal editorial and brand sign off processes for all key content.
• Support impact measurement and communication of impact.

Person Specification

Essential

• Substantial experience in a senior communications role, ideally within the cultural, environmental, or non-profit sectors.
• Significant experience in designing and delivering successful communications strategies.
• Exceptional writing, editing, and storytelling skills, with a track record of developing clear, creative, and inclusive content.
• Strong experience in campaign development, brand implementation, visual storytelling, and communications project management.
• Knowledge of content strategy, SEO, and audience engagement across digital platforms.
• Demonstrable ability to embed equity, diversity, and commitment to climate justice into communications practice.
• Collaborative and confident communicator with experience working across teams and with external partners.
• Strategic thinker with a commitment to Julie’s Bicycle’s mission and values.
• Strong design aesthetic and use of design skills (e.g. Adobe Creative Cloud suite and Canva).
• Strong project management skills: the ability to meet deadlines and work flexibly across priorities in a fast-changing environment.
• Attention to detail and excellent proof reading.

Desirable

• Familiarity with climate and/or cultural policy environments.
• Experience working with funders, public bodies, or large-scale cultural partnerships.
• PR and media relations experience and contacts across digital and print channels.
• Design, photography, or multimedia experience (or managing those with those skills).
• Experience contributing to organisational growth and development through communications.

Why Join Us?

At Julie’s Bicycle, you’ll join a passionate team working at the intersection of creativity and climate action. We offer a collaborative, inclusive, and flexible working culture — where your voice will shape how the cultural sector responds to one of the greatest challenges of our time. 

How to Apply

If you’d like to apply, please complete the application form and equal opportunities monitoring form on our website and submit these by 11.59pm on Sunday 13th July 2025.

We are committed to being an Equal Opportunities Employer; we welcome applications from all suitably qualified persons regardless of their race, gender, disability, culture, religion/belief, sexual orientation or age.

Please note, this post is open to people who already have the right to live and work in the UK, as Julie’s Bicycle is not currently in a position to sponsor a work visa.

A note on AI

While we understand that some people may use AI tools for accessibility (and recognise and support that many assistive technologies may use elements of AI), we ask candidates to consider what tools are most appropriate during the application process. For example, we recognise the value for many people of machine learning language tools like Grammarly. On the other hand we would discourage the use of generative AI tools in writing your application, as we'd like to understand your personal interest in working for Julie's Bicycle, and be able to understand your non-AI-assisted communication skills just as they are. We also recognise that for many of the people and creative communities we work with, the rise of generative AI poses a threat to their livelihoods, while the environmental impacts of AI are only set to grow: this means we also have a responsibility as Julie's Bicycle to consider where and when (and if) we use AI in our work. 

Thank you for your interest in working at Julie’s Bicycle.

Chalk Streams in the City Development Lead (Maternity Cover)

Hours: Full time (37.5 hours per week) or part time (30 hours per week over 4 days)

Contract: Fixed term contract of 12 months

Area of work: Predominantly in the London area

Are you passionate about connecting people with nature and empowering communities to protect rivers? Do you have experience delivering engaging volunteering and citizen science programmes that inspire real environmental action? Join us and play a pivotal role in restoring London’s rare urban chalk streams.

About the Role

We are looking for an experienced and motivated community engagement professional to take a leading role in the Development Phase of Chalk Streams in the City, an exciting National Lottery Heritage Fund-supported initiative. This project will restore 75 km of rare urban chalk stream habitat and connect over 20,000 people with their local rivers through hands-on conservation, education, and citizen science.

As Development Lead, you will shape the Trust’s first Engagement Strategy, coordinate an extensive community consultation programme, and manage the London Volunteering and Engagement Programme. You will also oversee delivery partners and help develop a major funding application for the next phase of work. This is a unique opportunity to gain experience in strategic project management, collaborative programme design, and large-scale heritage funding.

This is a rare opportunity to take on a strategic leadership role within a nationally significant project, gaining valuable experience in programme design, partnership working, and heritage lottery funding. Though fixed-term, it offers exceptional scope to develop your portfolio, broaden your network, and make a lasting contribution to environmental engagement and river restoration.

Working at the South East Rivers Trust is rewarding, fulfilling and fast-paced. We collaborate with energy and professionalism, guided by our values of delivering high-quality work, using expertise and science, building strong relationships, and bringing positivity and integrity to everything we do. If this sounds like the right environment for you - we’d love to hear from you.

This project is made possible with funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, with thanks to National Lottery players.

Please see the full Chalk Streams in the City Development Lead job description for more information.

How to apply:

Please send us the following documents; instructions are on our website

• Your CV
• a completed application form
• Equality and Diversity Monitoring Form (optional)

The deadline for application is 11:59pm on Sunday 20th July 2025.  We reserve the right to close the recruitment early.

Interviews will be potentially w.c. 28th July 2025.

Please note: All applicants must have the right to work in the UK. If you require sponsorship as you are an overseas applicant, please let us know.