Operation manager jobs in Newcastle

Help communities recycle better and waste less – and be part of real, lasting environmental change.

Waste and Recycling Engagement Officer
Salary: £26,606 - £28,951 per annum
Hours: Full time, 37 hours per week
Contract: Fixed Term, 2 years - with scope for extension
Location: Waste and Recycling Visitor & Education Centre (WRVEC), Wrekenton, Gateshead NE9 – covering South Tyneside, Sunderland and Gateshead.

About us

Groundwork NE & Cumbria is a long‑established environmental and community charity with over 30 years of experience creating greener, healthier and more resilient places across the region. Our mission centres on Creating Better Places, Improving People’s Prospects, and Promoting Greener Living, helping communities thrive no matter the challenges they face.

We deliver hundreds of locally‑led projects each year, including initiatives that support young people into education, training and employment, helping them overcome barriers, build life skills, and reach their full potential.

About the role

As Waste and Recycling Officer, you’ll inspire communities across South Tyneside, Sunderland and Gateshead to waste less and recycle more. Based at the Waste and Recycling Visitor and Education Centre, you’ll design and deliver engaging education programmes, community outreach and digital learning that drive positive behaviour change. Working closely with local authorities and partners, this is a hands‑on role where your work will make a visible difference to places and people every day.

Working as part of Groundwork’s Local Projects Team, you’ll be based at the unique Waste and Recycling Visitor & Education Centre (WRVEC), run by SUEZ on behalf of local authorities and coordinated by Groundwork. From here, you’ll design and deliver engaging education activities for schools, community groups, residents and businesses, both at the centre and out in the community.

You’ll work closely with Gateshead, Sunderland and South Tyneside Councils and a wide range of partners to raise awareness of waste and recycling issues, encourage positive behaviour change, and expand the reach of the education centre through creative marketing, outreach and digital learning.

This is a varied, hands‑on role combining education delivery, community engagement, partnership working and project development. This role ideal for someone who enjoys working with people and wants to make a real environmental impact.

Key responsibilities

• Delivering waste and recycling education sessions in person and online
• Community outreach and partnership working
• Creating promotional content (social media, newsletters, events)
• Monitoring, evaluating and reporting on impact
• Supporting project delivery, budgets and action plans

What we’re looking for

• Educated to A‑level / NVQ Level 3 (or equivalent)
• Experience delivering presentations or community education
• Strong communication and organisational skills
• Confidence using IT and social media
• Passion for environmental awareness and community engagement
• Full driving licence and access to a vehicle
• Willingness to work flexibly, including occasional evenings/weekends

Closing date: Tuesday 12th May 2026
Please note, should we receive a high volume of applications, we may look to close the role early, therefore we recommend an early application.

Interested?

If you would like to find out more, please click the Apply button. You will be directed to our website to complete your application for this position.

This role is subject to an Enhanced Disclosure endorsed by the Disclosure and Barring Service.

We want you to be yourself at Groundwork and we value everything that makes you unique. We recognise and celebrate your difference and together we make Groundwork a special and great place to work. As a Disability Confident employer we offer a guaranteed interview to applicants with a disability who meet the essential criteria for the role.

At Groundwork we ensure that we provide a safe environment for adults, children and young people to take part in any activity or service that we organise. We are committed to creating a culture that promotes safeguarding and the welfare of all children, young people and adults at risk. Our safer recruitment practices support this by ensuring that there is a consistent and comprehensive process of obtaining, collating, analysing and evaluating information from and about candidates to ensure that all the people we appoint are suitable to work with our children, young people and adults

This role is not eligible for UK Visa Sponsorship - the successful applicant will need to have a pre-existing Right to Work in the UK in order to be offered an employment contract.

No agencies please.

Lloyds Bank Foundation 

Head of Programme Design and Organisational Development 

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

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

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

About Lloyds Bank Foundation 

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

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

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

About the Role 

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

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

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

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

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

About You 

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

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

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

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

How to Apply 

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

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

Our Commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion 

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

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

Key Dates 

Closing Date: Thursday 28th May 2026 

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

First Interview: Tuesday 9th June 2026 

Second Interview: Thursday 18th June 2026