Literacy project manager jobs in Milton keynes

About Kinship

We are Kinship. The leading kinship care charity in England and Wales. We’re here for kinship carers – friends or family who step up to raise a child when their parents aren’t able to. 

Together, let’s commit to change for kinship families.

About the role

We are the leading kinship care charity supporting more than 15,000 kinship carers across England and Wales each year. We’re here for kinship carers – friends or family who step up to raise a child when their parents aren’t able to. They care for more than 141,000 children in England and Wales, double the number in foster care, but feel isolated and need help. By supporting, advising and informing kinship carers, and campaigning together for fairer services, we are changing lives and changing the system. 

Kinship’s peer support and community work, supported by Department for Education funding, helps kinship carers feel connected, less isolated and better supported by building local, carer-led peer support groups and strengthening wider community networks. 

Our delivery model prioritises proactive outreach and sustainable growth through a volunteer model. 

The team works in communities to bring kinship carers together, support and train volunteer group leaders, and grow groups to a point where they are sustainable and independent (ideally within 6 months). Sustainable means able to thrive without direct staff involvement or attendance. A central ‘Hub’ team then provides ongoing remote support, training and connection. 

This role provides the operational grip to plan, deliver and continuously improve this work, while evidencing impact through robust data monitoring, reporting and clear storytelling.

Key responsibilities include:

• Accountable for the set-up, growth and transition of peer support groups to independence supported by the Hub, using clear milestones and support plans. 

• Responsible for ensuring volunteer group leaders have high-quality training, guidance and ongoing coaching to deliver safe, supportive peer spaces. 

• Responsible for embedding strengths-based, trauma-informed approaches and clear boundaries across all peer support activity. 
• Responsible for managing external delivery partners or commissioned provision to support growth in specific communities, ensuring quality and delivery to agreed standards. 
• Accountable for the identification and nurture of new group leaders and volunteers, ensuring groups are welcoming, accessible and inclusive. 
• Accountable for ensuring a proactive outreach approach that builds relationships with kinship carers and local partners, prioritising under-served areas and communities, ensuring that learning is captured and shared across the team to build further confidence and competence in supporting under-served communities (minoritised ethnic kinship carers).

What we offer you:

• Flexible working - we understand how important it is to balance family and work life.
• ​30 days annual leave, plus bank holidays (1 April to 31 March) pro rata (3 to be taken at Christmas shutdown)
• Employee Assistance Programme (24/7 confidential advice line and counselling)
• Charity Worker Discounts.

Essential requirements include:

• Experience leading peer support, community development, volunteering or relational support services at scale. 
• Experience of project management.
• Experience of evaluating the impact of services and projects. 
• Proven track record of growing and sustaining community-based groups or networks, including supporting leaders and volunteers to independence. 
• Experience embedding strengths-based, trauma-informed approaches, with clear boundaries, risk management and inclusive practice. 

Key dates:

• Application deadline: Monday 20 April 2026, 9am
• First interview: Wednesday 29 or Thursday 30 April 2026 (online)

How to apply:

Please apply for the role of Planning and Delivery Manager by sending a CV and cover letter (max 2 pages). The deadline is 9am on Monday 20 April 2026. Any applications arriving after the closing date will not be considered for shortlisting unless there are exceptional reasons.

Kinship is committed to championing equality, diversity and inclusion.  We believe our work is greatly enhanced by the varied backgrounds, experiences and views represented within our teams.  We aim to create inclusive teams, celebrate differences and encourage everyone to join us and be their true self at work.   We therefore encourage applications from anyone who fits our values, whatever their religion or belief, sex, gender identity, race, age, sexuality or disability and are actively seeking candidates that can bring real innovation and commitment to us. 

We are looking for an inspiring Support Services Manager to lead our supported housing schemes, ensuring high‑quality, person‑centred support for women and children across our services.

If you are passionate about transforming lives, improving service quality and leading dedicated teams — we’d love to hear from you.

About the Role

As Support Services Manager, you will:

Lead and develop high‑quality support services

• Provide operational leadership across supported housing schemes
• Ensure trauma‑informed, person‑centred support plans and risk assessments
• Monitor KPIs, contractual compliance and service performance
• Drive service improvement and co‑production with clients

Manage, motivate and develop staff

• Line manage Support Workers and Volunteers
• Ensure supervision, training and performance management
• Support recruitment and staff development across the region
• Build a strong, motivated and skilled team

Champion safeguarding & risk management

• Act as a safeguarding champion across supported housing
• Ensure robust risk assessments, incident reporting and GDPR‑compliant records
• Support staff to maintain the highest safeguarding standards

Ensure housing & compliance excellence

• Work closely with Estates teams to maintain safe, compliant accommodation
• Support quality improvements across physical properties and service delivery

Build impactful partnerships

• Liaise with local authorities, commissioners, health partners and referral agencies
• Represent Life at case conferences, multi‑agency meetings and contract reviews
• Identify and respond to new referral opportunities

Drive quality, governance & reporting

• Produce performance reports and maintain audit readiness
• Support strategic growth and contribute to the department’s business plan
• Promote Life Charity within local communities and public forums

Manage budgets & resources

• Monitor expenditure and support resource planning
• Support with funding bids and service redesign
• Work with finance teams to ensure clients receive appropriate financial support

We’d love to hear from you if you have:

Essential experience & skills

• Experience managing or delivering support and/or care services
• Understanding of supported housing and estates management
• Strong knowledge of support planning, risk assessment and safeguarding
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to engage at all levels
• Strong organisational, leadership and problem‑solving abilities
• Ability to work independently, handle pressure and prioritise workloads
• Commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion
• Full UK driving licence

Desirable

• Relevant housing qualification (e.g., CIH Level 4)
• Experience working in a charity environment
• Experience in troubleshooting or service improvement roles
• Good strategic awareness

About Life: 

Life is a national pregnancy support charity that helps over 60,000 people a year. Through our services, we help people – whoever they are – to meet pregnancy or pregnancy loss with courage and dignity so they can flourish. 

Our services include:  

• Supported housing and community support   
• Counselling and skilled listening   
• Free pregnancy tests and baby supplies  

Our values :

All our work is underpinned by the following universal human values: 

• Humanity – All people are special and equal 
• Solidarity – We’re with you and for you 
• Community – We’re better together 
• Charity – Doing good for one another 
• Common good – Building a better world 

Information about the role: 

For further information, please see the attached job description. 

Salary: £34,000 per annum

Hours: 35 hours per week over 5 days

Location: Home Based with Extensive Travel across the Midlands and South East England

Benefits:  

At Life we are passionate about providing our employees with a supportive and engaging environment. As well as ongoing development and training, we offer our:  

• Generous holiday allowance, starting at 25 days per year, plus 8 Bank Holidays (pro rata for part time hours) 
• Birthday Leave  (applicable after 1 years service)
• Additional annual leave for long term service  
• Company Pension Scheme  
• Signed member of the Menopause Workplace Pledge 

Safeguarding and Equality: 

Life is committed to protecting all staff, volunteers and service users from harm of any kind. Life expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment through our code of conduct.   

We are committed to ensuring diversity and equality within our organisation by encouraging applications from all backgrounds.  

All offers of employment will be subject to satisfactory references and appropriate screening checks. Life takes its obligation to protect the rights of children and vulnerable people very seriously; therefore, the successful candidate for this post will be also subject to extensive background checking, including an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service check (DBS) which is paid for by the Charity.  

We are seeking a proactive, strategic and donor-centred fundraiser to lead and implement our

Individual Giving and emerging Legacy Giving programmes. This role is ideal for a fundraiser with experience in donor stewardship, campaign development and relationship-based fundraising who is ready to play a key role in growing sustainable voluntary income.

You will lead on the end-to-end delivery of supporter acquisition, retention, and stewardship plans, ensuring that every donor feels valued and understands the impact of their support. Alongside managing an established portfolio, you will proactively build a strong pipeline of new prospects, driving year‑on‑year income growth.

In addition, you will lead the development of our first Legacy Giving programme. With no formal legacy activity in place and a large, engaged volunteer network, this is a unique opportunity to establish a long-term income stream from the ground-up – raising awareness, creating accessible materials and nurturing warm supporters who may consider leaving a gift in their Will.

This role blends strategic planning with “hands-on” campaign delivery. You will use insights from supporter data to refine supporter journeys across both digital and traditional channels, managing budgets and key relationships to achieve our growth targets. We are a growing charity, and this role offers the opportunity to innovate and shape the future of our Individual Giving and Legacy Giving programmes with strong support from Head of Fundraising and the CEO.

Main Duties and Responsibilities:

• Develop and implement a year‑round Individual Giving strategy to acquire new supporters and increase donor loyalty.
• Plan and deliver multi‑channel fundraising campaigns including two established annual Big Give campaigns.
• Plan and deliver legacy awareness moments throughout the year (e.g., Remember A Charity Week).
• Monitor and strengthen donor retention, reactivation and upgrade strategies through consistent, high‑quality stewardship.
• Build strong relationships through meetings, events, tailored communications and impact reporting.
• Work with Head of Fundraising, SMT and Trustees to support high-value donor engagement.
• Lead the creation and delivery of Schoolreaders first Legacy Giving strategy.
• Develop clear and accessible legacy information for supporters, volunteers and the wider public.
• Collaborate closely with the Comms Manager to develop impactful campaign assets and compelling stewardship content and legacy messages across multiple channels.
• Ensure all donations and supporter interactions are promptly and accurately recorded in the fundraising CRM (Salesforce) and ensure donors receive timely and well‑managed acknowledgements.
• Create personalised cultivation plans, stewardship strategies and donor engagement touchpoints, particularly for the charity’s 100 Club members and HNWI’s.
• Represent Schoolreaders at face-to-face meetings and events to raise the charity’s profile and secure individual support.
• Work alongside colleagues and volunteer County Teams to maximise local and national fundraising opportunities.
• Identify PR opportunities generated by fundraising activities and coordinate with the Comms Manager to optimise visibility and income.

Benefits:

As part of our commitment to making Schoolreaders a great place to work, we offer access to the following employee benefits:

• 25 days annual leave (3 of which must be taken over Christmas), 1 day paid leave for your birthday, plus public/bank holidays (pro-rated for part-time staff)
• Contributory pension scheme
• Access to a free 24/7 support service providing legal, financial, emotional, and medical advice
• A positive, supportive working environment which actively supports a healthy work-life balance
• Charity away days and social events
• Free parking and on-site facilities such as a canteen

UnLtd passionately believes in the ability of social entrepreneurs to change the world for the better. We are living through a time of unique social and economic change. Enormous pressures on the health and social care system, austerity, increasing income inequality, the shifting nature of work all alongside the impact of Covid-19 means tackling these complex challenges requires a radical shift in thinking and practice. Social entrepreneurs have these solutions, and UnLtd exists to support them to achieve their potential. We are the leading supporter of social entrepreneurs in the UK. Our vision is of a society where social entrepreneurs are providing solutions that change the world for the better.

To move social entrepreneurs from the margins to the mainstream will require us to amplify the voices, stories and impact of our social entrepreneurs, working with them in an equitable and inclusive way. It will require us to deepen our work around impact, be open to the learning opportunities failure creates and seek out opportunities to share insights in new and powerful ways to influence stakeholders to make the changes needed for social entrepreneurs to flourish. 

As Impact Analyst at UnLtd, you will gain a clear understanding of the data user journey for our social entrepreneurs and drive the implementation of improvements to our data collection tools and processes, enhancing data quality and data literacy across teams. You will also provide support and leadership on compiling analysis for organisational monitoring and learning, pulling together insight for board and governance reporting, programme reporting, fundraising bids, continuous improvement research and other adhoc requests.

Working closely with others in our Research Impact and Learning team, you will contribute to developing a culture of learning, ensuring that insights and evidence generated by our research and evaluation activity feed back into the organisation, allowing UnLtd to iterate our work and be an impact-driven, agile, learning organisation.

UnLtd passionately believes in the ability of social entrepreneurs to change the world for the better. We are living through a time of unique social and economic change. Enormous pressures on the health and social care system, austerity, increasing income inequality, the shifting nature of work all alongside the impact of Covid-19 means tackling these complex challenges requires a radical shift in thinking and practice. Social entrepreneurs have these solutions, and UnLtd exists to support them to achieve their potential. We are the leading supporter of social entrepreneurs in the UK. Our vision is of a society where social entrepreneurs are providing solutions that change the world for the better.

To move social entrepreneurs from the margins to the mainstream will require us to amplify the voices, stories and impact of our social entrepreneurs, working with them in an equitable and inclusive way. It will require us to deepen our work around impact, be open to the learning opportunities failure creates and seek out opportunities to share insights in new and powerful ways to influence stakeholders to make the changes needed for social entrepreneurs to flourish. 

As Senior Impact Analyst, you will lead UnLtd’s quantitative data work, overseeing outputs, tools and processes for impact measurement, board reporting, governance and compliance, programme reporting and continuous improvement. You will strengthen our data architecture framework, and work alongside other teams to ensure we improve data literacy and use data and evidence to drive decision‑making, and organisational improvement. You will bring a more impact-oriented, external facing lens to our measurement, tools, and data systems, so we can effectively understand and communicate the impact of the social entrepreneurs we support. You may also have some line management responsibilities, and you will contribute as a senior member of a collaborative, high‑performing Research, Impact & Learning team.

Do you want to join an organisation committed to addressing low literacy and numeracy levels amongst people in the criminal justice system?

We’ve made substantial progress in recent years, with improvements and expansions to our delivery model and significant growth in our staff team. In Spring 2026, we will launch our refreshed organisational strategy, which will shape our work over the next three years and beyond. To support this growth, we are recruiting for a full time National Director of Operations to lead our delivery across England, Wales, Northern Ireland, and emerging community settings, with an ambition to reach Scotland. This is an exciting opportunity to play a central role in scaling our impact and strengthening our presence across the criminal justice system and beyond.

As National Director of Operations, you will provide strategic and operational leadership for our learning programmes in prisons and community settings. You will ensure high‑quality, consistent and accessible delivery, overseeing a team of six Regional Managers and a wider workforce of around 65 staff, volunteers and over 2,000 peer mentors trained each year.

Working closely with senior colleagues, partner organisations and national bodies such as HMPPS, you will drive programme excellence, innovation and partnership working. You will also play a key role in new business development, operational strategy, contractual delivery and ensuring we can reliably demonstrate the impact of our work.

The role requires an experienced operational leader with a deep commitment to improving outcomes for people facing disadvantage. You will bring:

• Senior leadership experience in a complex, multi‑site environment.
• A track record of delivering large-scale programmes and leading distributed teams.
• Strong strategic thinking, problem‑solving and relationship‑building skills.
• Experience working with statutory bodies or large public-sector partners (e.g. HMPPS).
• Excellent judgement, communication skills and the ability to influence at all levels.
• Understanding of the criminal justice system, safeguarding, or alternative education environments (desirable).
• A collaborative, inclusive leadership style aligned with Shannon Trust’s values.

We want to hear from applicants who are as committed to the cause as we are.

This is a home-based role but will require travel around the UK including overnight stays. This role is 5 days per week (35 hours) with working days/hours to be mutually agreed in line with business needs.

Employee benefits include a company contribution to pension scheme of up to 5%, 30 days holiday plus bank holidays, life insurance, paid volunteering days, discounts via Reward Gateway and an Employee Assistance Programme. The biggest benefit though is our culture – our people really want to work for the organisation.

We welcome job applications from people with lived experience of the criminal justice system and do not routinely ask for details of any criminal convictions. This role does require prison security clearance, so we will need to ask for details of any relevant criminal convictions before an offer of employment is finalised.

Interviews, which will be held online, are planned for the w/c 18th May.

Event & Engagement Coordinator 

Remote based in North West England. Please note, the role requires working one day a week in Manchester. 

Fixed term contract: initially 12 months with potential to extend.

Job Purpose: 

To plan, coordinate, and deliver a range of local events across North West England, ensuring each event is well-organised, inclusive, and engaging for local communities. The Local Event Coordinator will collaborate closely with partners, local authorities, suppliers, volunteers, and members to deliver high-quality, unique and memorable experiences.

Key Responsibilities: 

• Plan and manage logistics for a variety of local member events, making sure all events are accessible and attractive to both existing and potential members. 

• Liaise with relevant external and internal contacts such as venues, suppliers, CSSC’s ticketing platform, Head Office departments, and volunteers. 

• Complete all relevant compliance work such as risk assessments and public liability checks. 

• Develop and manage event budgets, ensuring value for money and accurate financial tracking. 

• Promote events via social media, email campaigns, posters, and local press in collaboration with marketing teams. 

• Manage and grow the North West’s CSSC TikTok presence, including content planning, filming, editing, posting, and community engagement. 

• Demonstrate strong working knowledge of TikTok trends, algorithms, analytics, and best practices. 

• Create engaging, on-brand short-form video content tailored to target audiences. 

• Monitor performance metrics and use insights to optimise content strategy and increase reach and engagement. 

• Stay up to date with emerging social media trends, tools, and platform updates. 

• Show a genuine interest in communications, digital marketing, and social media strategy. 

• Oversee event setup and breakdown where applicable, managing on-site logistics and resolving any issues on the day. 

• Recruit and coordinate volunteers to assist with events. 

• Evaluate event success through feedback, data collection, and post-event reporting. 

Key Skills & Experience: 

Essential: 

• Proven experience in planning and delivering events. 

• Strong organisational and time-management skills. 

• Ability to manage budgets and handle multiple projects simultaneously. 

• Excellent communication and stakeholder engagement skills. 

• Flexibility to work evenings and weekends when required. 

• Full UK driving licence and willingness to travel across the region. 

• Ability to analyse member insights to inform event planning for CSSC members and to attract potential new members. 

• Work collaboratively with the Regional Team to develop and implement strategies aimed at supporting membership growth and ensure positive member experiences. 

• Build a rapport with CSSC volunteers and understand skillsets in order to correctly identify support necessary for events. 

• Confident in using IT systems and ticketing platforms to effectively promote events across appropriate channels. 

• Supporting Regional Hub Manager with member and volunteer engagement events 

• Experience with processes 

Desirable: 

• Experience working with community groups, charities, membership organisations or not for profits. 

• Knowledge of health and safety and safeguarding procedures. 

• Familiarity with marketing or PR for events. 

• First Aid or event safety training. 

• Previous experience with ticketing platforms or willingness to learn. 

• Understanding of how comms and events align with one another.

• Data literacy or willingness to understand some basic data analytics 

Acorn Early Years Foundation is a charitable social enterprise providing high quality, inclusive, early years care and education. The organisation has grown organically over 36 years and now operates 18 day nurseries as well as out-of-school and holiday clubs, forest schools and nature kindergartens. It also offers an early years catering service, and training and consultancy. It aspires to be a thought leader within the early years sector, in modelling sustainable, ethical practices, and is steadily increasing its social impact.

Role

The role holder will work in the Central Support Team and provide essential analytical, research, and operational support across all sustainability workstreams. Reporting to the Sustainability Lead, the role holder will work closely with them to help develop and accelerate our organisation’s sustainability progress by developing methods to enable regular sustainability reporting, providing evidence-based insights, and proactively supporting continuous improvement in sustainability initiatives.

Responsibility

Key responsibilities include:

Data, Reporting & Measurement

• Develop and maintain monthly and quarterly sustainability dashboards covering energy, waste, water, travel, procurement, and other key metrics.
• Work with the Sustainability Lead to design and refine reporting templates, KPIs, and data collection processes.
• Input and validate data in the carbon accounting system on a monthly/quarterly basis.
• Support the preparation of carbon footprint reports, ESG disclosures, and compliance‑related submissions.
• Support with consistent, accurate tracking of sustainability performance across all sites.
• Improve the organisation’s scope of social impact data and its collection, to support annual reporting.
• Provide cross departmental assistance with data insights and data collection across the Central Support Team.

Research, Benchmarking & Evidence Gathering

• Conduct cost-benefit analyses to evaluate sustainable practices.
• Research suppliers, materials, technologies, and best practices to inform decision‑making.
• Prepare concise insights packs that help the Sustainability Lead make informed decisions.

Innovation & Continuous Improvement

• Identify emerging sustainability opportunities and approaches.
• Support pilot projects and help evaluate their outcomes.
• Contribute ideas that strengthen our long‑term sustainability strategy and operational performance.

Expectations

Essential:

• A passionate and driven approach toward driving sustainability within the organisation
• Ability to interpret data and communicate insights clearly in written and visual formats
• Advanced IT literacy
• Curiosity and initiative to learn new tools and systems
• Highly organised with good time-management skills and ability to work to multiple deadlines
• Strong attention to detail

Desirable

• Degree in Sustainability, Environmental Science, Sustainable Development, Environmental Management, or a related discipline
• Proven work experience within a similar role
• Understanding of core sustainability concepts such as climate change mitigation, carbon footprint, resource efficiency, circular economy, ESG principles and Sustainable Development Goals
• Awareness of current sustainability trends, technologies, and best practices
• An interest or experience in education or working with children would be beneficial, as it may support with the context of the work

Closing date for applications is Friday 17th April. 

JOB TITLE:                         Centre Based Assistance Dog Instructor (Maternity Cover) 

LOCATION:                        Based at our Centre in Milton Keynes, with travel up to 3 hours 

SALARY BAND:                 £26K - £32K per annum, depending on experience. Line management experience desirable.

JOB TYPE:                          Full time and Part time applicants considered. Fixed Term of 12-18 months 

REPORTS TO:                    Interim Head of Assistance Dog Programme 

Medical Detection Dogs trains dogs to save lives. 

We train specialist dogs to detect the odour of human disease, providing life-saving alert assistance dogs to people with complex health problems across the UK and collaborating with NHS Trusts and other researchers and Universities both in the UK and internationally to advance the early diagnosis of disease.

We have an exciting new opportunity to join this small but fast-growing charity that is a world leader in its specialist innovative field. 

The Role 

We are looking for a passionate and driven person who has previous proven experience and skills working as an Instructor within an Assistance Dog organisation, who has worked with clients and partnerships. The role includes supporting both clients who have had a MDD dog placed with them and also our own dog applicants with their puppies and young dogs to ensure they receive the highest standard of socialisation and early training in terms of obedience, public access and developing an alert to the applicant’s condition, with the aim to reach an accreditable assistance dog partnership status. The role will also include carrying out client specific and odour training for MDD own dogs, placing these dogs with their new clients and looking after a number of established partnerships. This role would suit somebody residing up to an hour from our centre in Milton Keynes.  

Duties that encompass the role of an Instructor include:  

• Be the first point of contact for the allocated partnerships in your area. To provide guidance and instruction to applicants who have applied to the charity to have their own dogs considered for the training programme guidance and instruction on handling, behaviour and obedience and odour training as well as newly placed partnerships.

• Alongside the Instructing team, to run puppy classes, public access training, recall sessions in small groups for applicant own dogs that are in line with the charity’s quality standards and in accordance with timescales and targets. 

• To also carry out support visits and home interviews for applicants and clients that have been allocated to you.  

• Regularly monitor progress of any young dogs and partnerships in training in your area and provide detailed, evidenced feedback to Interim Head of Assistance Dog Programme.

• To carry out client specific training with any MDD owned dogs that have been matched, including the required odour scent training.

• Instructing, guiding and supporting new assistance dog clients in managing and handling a Medical Alert Assistance Dog effectively, via pretraining, placement training and aftercare visits.

• Supporting partnerships in training in successfully reaching an accreditation standard and in maintaining this standard throughout the life of the partnership.

• To support a number of established partnerships in the form of aftercare, refresher training and yearly re-accreditations, assisting further afield on occasions as required.

Responsibilities  

• To escalate issues and problems to the Interim Head of Assistance Dog Programme as appropriate.

• To carry out scent assessments on any MDD dogs in socialising as and when required with the support of the rest of the Instructing Team.

• To plan, organise and deliver practical and theoretical training to clients, meeting their individual needs in line with agreed standards to include areas such as dog welfare, appropriate handling, commanding and overall management. This will involve working with the parents as Team Leader and child as Client and working with adult clients.
• Assess the team dynamics of the family & balancing the needs of all family members as well as those of the dog.
• Assess the individuals preferred learning style and amending as relevant to aid a client.
• To accompany the client into all regular environments that they will take the dog to, ensuring the dog behaves in an acceptable manner and that the client and others are aware and clear in terms of where they dog should reside and behave for e.g. public transport, place of work. To complete a check list of environments for any applicant own dogs in training who are on the programme to be assessed within.
• To support and advise clients in transferring the odour training from pot training and recognising alerting behaviours to establish real life alerting.
• To ensure all partnerships are in line with the ADUK regulations with regards to behaviour, obedience and welfare and branding.
• Due to the nature of the role, flexible working hours may be required in some instances to facilitate the effective delivery of the work e.g. working during the school holidays with school age clients.
• To monitor the correct and false alerting percentages of allocated partnerships via data analysis, advising where necessary until the correct alerting levels are achieved.
• To complete comprehensive reports and paperwork for any time spent with applicants or partnerships in training or established. Maintain accurate records by providing verbal and written information with agreed timescales about clients, dogs, applicants and apprentices as appropriate.
• To work alongside allocated partnerships with the aim of the partnership reaching an accredited standard and feeding back to the Interim Head of Assistance Dog Programme if there are any concerns that the accreditation cannot be achieved.
• To provide clients with appropriate aftercare services at regular intervals in their own homes in the form of annual visits, support visits or at refresher workshops run at the Centre to agreed standards.  This will include continual re-assessment of the dynamics of family and dog, formulating and training on appropriate solutions, as well as offering additional dog training advice.
• To deliver handling days as part of an applicant’s pretraining to include ‘Introduction to Assistance Dog’ ‘Advanced Handling’ and Family Handling.
• To scent train and seizure proof advanced dogs in preparation to be partnered with an adult or child client and ensure that applicant own dogs have received this at the earliest opportunity.
• To maintain the ongoing public access training with any advanced dog in scent training that has been allocated to them.
• To liaise with Independent Contractors as relevant.
• To provide support to the Charity’s public relations and fundraising functions as required, specifically in your area.
• To act as the ‘contact’ person for the assistance dog programme in relation to training policy procedures with clients and their families, other professional service providers and members of the public.  This will include on-going research and development of the project.
• As required, to liaise and provide support for Volunteers of the Charity.

Other 

• Share best practice with colleagues across the charity.

• Any other duties or tasks that are required to ensure the successful running of the Medical Alert Assistance Dog Department and the Charity overall.

PERSON SPECIFICATION 

SKILLS AND ABILITIES 

• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills
• High level of preparation, organisational and co-ordination skills
• Strong and clear teaching and instructing skills
• Experience of running puppy classes, carrying out public access training and recall sessions
• Able to develop training plans for any dogs in training under your care
• High level of self-motivation and planning
• Approachable, calm and empathetic to children and adults with debilitating and life-threatening conditions
• Happy to travel alone within the UK to visit any clients as necessary
• Willing to be on call for partnerships as and when required
• Willing to stay away from home in local accommodation when client locations are too far to travel back home
• Happy and able to have Medical Alert Assistance Dogs in training reside in your home
• Good team player, but equally able to work independently
• Positive, empathetic and calm attitude
• Able to embrace a constantly evolving organisation
• Flexible

KNOWLEDGE & EXPERIENCE 

Essential 

• Previous Assistance Dog Instructing and Dog Training experience
• Knowledge of AD(UK) and ADI regulations
• Law in relation to dogs 
• Knowledge of medical conditions relevant to puppies between 8 weeks and 2 years of age
• Knowledge of dog and human psychology
• Proven evidence and experience of dog handling and training skills
• Previous experience of teaching and instructing
• Sound dog training and dog behaviour knowledge
• IT literacy and report writing skills
• Proficient in Microsoft Office, Teams, Zoom and SharePoint
• Full UK driving licence
• Pass a DBS (CRB) check due to regular contact with children

Preferable  

• Knowledge of debilitating medical conditions and understanding of how they can impact people, both physically and psychologically, particularly when they are unstable and fluctuating
• Previous knowledge of odour/scent training
• Previous line management experience 

PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES ​

• Strong and clear teaching and instructing skills 

• Approachable, calm and empathetic to children and adults with debilitating and life threatening conditions 

• Able to embrace a constantly evolving organisation

• You should be supportive of the charitable aims of Medical Detection Dogs and capable of working as part of a team, as well as able to motivate yourself

• You should be adaptable and positively embrace change by not only being flexible towards the ideas of others but also putting forward ideas to colleagues. This will involve creativity in problem solving and making appropriate responses to new ideas and unexpected situations

PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES

• You should be supportive of the charitable aims of Medical Detection Dogs and capable of working as part of a team, as well as being able to motivate yourself.
• You should be adaptable and positively embrace change by not only being flexible towards the ideas of others but also putting forward ideas to colleagues. This will involve creativity in problem-solving and making appropriate responses to new ideas and unexpected situations.

DIVERITY, EQUALITY & INCLUSION

We are a welcoming, diverse, and inclusive Charity. Medical Detection Dogs thrives when everyone feels comfortable bringing their best self to work. We celebrate difference, whilst striving to create an environment where colleagues feel respected and valued for their unique potential. We are committed to our values on equity, diversity, and inclusion.

Charity Values

All employees are expected to uphold the charity’s core values in their daily work. This includes demonstrating respect through open and considerate communication, fostering cooperation by working collaboratively, maintaining honesty in all interactions and ensuring fairness through just and transparent decision-making.

Finally, the successful candidate will also be expected to: 

• Hold a full UK Driving Licence 

• Provide proof of identity and eligibility to work in the UK. 

• Undertake a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check 

• Work some evenings and weekends 

• Be willing to travel to the Centre based near Milton Keynes