Operations and business development lead jobs in bewdley, shropshire
A unique opportunity has arisen to join SSAFA, the Armed Forces charity, as the Community Engagement Manager for the South East and London region.
About the role
In this new and pivotal role, you will lead efforts to grow awareness, engagement, and income generation through a vibrant network of volunteer-led branches across London and the South East region. As the primary point of contact and support for these branches, you'll play a vital role in empowering volunteers and fostering a sense of community and belonging throughout the region.
Working closely with the wider regional team, you will help deliver SSAFA’s new community engagement strategy — a central part of an exciting period of transformation and strategic growth for the charity.
Whilst the post is homebased, to be eligible for this role you are required to live in the South East and London region.
The role involves extensive travel within the region and may require occasional evening or weekend work at short notice. A company car can be provided to support this.
About the team
With the support of the Regional Manager – Casework and Community Engagement, this role plays a key part in establishing, coordinating, and leading a team of Community Engagement Volunteers across the South East and London Region of England.
The primary focus is to drive awareness, increase fundraising, and strengthen engagement in alignment with the strategic direction set by the Director of Welfare Operations.
You will work collaboratively with other regionally based Community Engagement Managers and strategic partners across the Fundraising, Marketing, and Communications directorate to help shape policies and guidance for branch activities,
The role involves regular meetings, both in-person and via Microsoft Teams, and you will benefit from a comprehensive support package including training, mentoring, and ongoing professional development.
About you
You will be an exceptional individual to lead this exciting initiative during a critical period of change. The ideal candidate will be a driven and highly motivated professional with a strong track record in fundraising, a solid understanding of fundraising regulations, and proven experience in leading and supporting volunteers in their efforts.
You will have excellent relationship management skills and a deep understanding of volunteer engagement and development. You will be a natural communicator with demonstrated success working with volunteers; experience in volunteer recruitment, induction, and best practice would be a strong advantage.
You will be a confident and credible networker, capable of representing SSAFA to a wide range of external stakeholders, building strong partnerships and enhancing the charity’s profile across London and South East England — all while operating remotely as part of a collaborative and regionally dispersed team.
About SSAFA
SSAFA, the Armed Forces charity is a trusted source of support for the Armed Forces community in their time of need. In 2023 our trained teams of volunteers and employees helped more than 53,000 people, including veterans, serving personnel (regulars and reserves) and their families.
SSAFA understands that behind every uniform is a person. And we are here for that person and their family, any time they need us and in any way they need us.
Diversity and Inclusion at SSAFA
SSAFA exists to support a diverse range of beneficiaries within the armed forces community, and we believe diversity within our teams is key to ensuring we can deliver our services effectively. We thrive on differences and believe it is critical to our success as a worldwide charity. SSAFA is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace that seeks to recruit, develop and retain the most talented people from a variety of backgrounds, perspectives, and skills. We therefore encourage applications from all genders, races, religions, ages and sexual orientations, as well as parents, veterans, people living with disabilities, and any other groups that could bring diverse perspectives to our business.
SSAFA is committed to using the Disclosure & Barring Service to ensure we, as an employer, safeguard those we serve.
Registered Charity
101 - 500
Our vision A society in which the Armed Forces, veterans and their families can thrive.
Thank you!
Acorns Children’s Hospice provides specialist care and support for babies, children, and young people who are life-limited or life-threatened. When time is short, every moment is precious. Acorns helps children and families fill the time they have together with love, fun, and laughter to create lasting memories.
Palliative care for children aged 0-18 is delivered at Acorns’ hospices in Birmingham, Worcester, and Walsall, as well as in family homes or elsewhere in the community. Their holistic, tailored approach meets each child’s clinical, emotional, cultural, religious, and spiritual needs. Supporting over 750 children and nearly 1,000 families annually, Acorns is a vital lifeline for families across the West Midlands and Gloucestershire during unimaginably difficult times.
This is a brilliant opportunity to take on a high-performing team at a time when Acorns is really moving forward. Supported by strong internal resources, the Head of Public Fundraising will drive growth across Individual Giving, Legacy, In-Memoriam, Digital and Prize-led Giving in the context of a highly collaborative, whole-organisation approach to fundraising.
The immediate focus will be on making the most of existing programmes, strengthening audience insight, and getting the team ready to play a major part in the organisation-wide appeal launching in 2025.
Growing Individual Giving income from £1.6 million to £2 million over the next two years will be a central priority, alongside expanding digital and prize-led fundraising and sharpening supporter journeys across the board.
As Head of Public Fundraising, you will:
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Develop and implement a data-driven strategy for all areas of public fundraising to meet growth targets.
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Lead the Individual Giving portfolio, ensuring growth across direct mail, face-to-face acquisition, mid-value development, and telemarketing.
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Oversee the successful delivery of cash appeals, ensuring they meet both income and ROI targets.
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Drive the expansion of digital fundraising and prize-led giving, including managing the growing digital fundraising portfolio and prize-led initiatives.
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Work closely with cross-functional teams, including Marketing & Communications, to ensure campaigns are well integrated and aligned with the overall fundraising strategy.
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Manage and develop a high-performing team, providing leadership, coaching, and clear performance metrics.
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Collaborate with senior leadership and internal stakeholders to drive the strategic direction of public fundraising.
About you
The role needs someone who’s as comfortable setting long-term plans as they are getting hands-on when needed, whether that’s developing appeals, working with agencies or supporting new product ideas. Collaboration across fundraising, care and supporter engagement teams will be essential to making this happen and building an even stronger supporter-first culture at Acorns.
If you’re a senior Individual Giving expert who’s ambitious for supporters and income, this is a chance to take ownership of a strong portfolio, drive innovation, and make a real impact on Acorns’ future.
You will have:
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Extensive experience in Individual Giving (substantial direct marketing experience is essential)
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A history of successfully leading fundraising teams and delivering significant income growth.
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Strong strategic vision, with the ability to adapt and innovate based on data insights and audience understanding.
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Experience in working collaboratively across teams to achieve shared objectives.
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Excellent communication and networking skills, with the ability to build strong relationships internally and externally.
Hybrid working
This is a mostly home-based role, with c.2 days per week in the (Birmingham) office. If you require flexibility around this, please don't hesitate to apply - we can discuss options during the briefing call.
Employee benefits
Benefits include:
- 31 days annual leave including bank holidays, rising to 35 days after 3 years’ service
- 7.5% employer pension contribution
- Life assurance scheme (2 x annual salary)
- Retail discounts (including the Blue Light card)
- Cycle to work scheme
- Discounted gym membership
- Access to expert financial health and wellbeing support
Acorns Children’s Hospice is working in partnership with Laura Macnamara at QuarterFive Fundraising Recruitment to appoint to this role.
Initial assessments will be made based on CVs, so please ensure yours clearly demonstrates how your experience aligns with the person specification outlined above. A cover note is optional at this stage, but Laura would welcome any additional context—particularly around key fundraising achievements not fully captured in your CV.
A detailed brief will be shared with suitable candidates. Full support will also be provided throughout the application process, including guidance on writing your cover letter for formal application.
Thank you!
The Public Affairs Manager will be a key member of our busy External Affairs Team within the wider Policy and External Affairs directorate.
Reporting to the joint Heads of Public Affairs & Stakeholder Relations, and working closely with communications and public policy colleagues, you will play an essential role in enabling and driving engagement with parliamentary, government, political and sector stakeholders.
You will be politically astute, with experience engaging across Westminster and Whitehall with competent written and communication skills, able to both brief and prepare senior leaders within the organisation for key engagement activities as well as meeting stakeholders independently as appropriate.
Strong organisational, people and project management skills are essential; you will be responsible for managing dedicated key influencing ‘moments’ with stakeholders and partners, such as organising and managing panel events, roundtables, webinars and showcase programme visits. You will also lead the co-ordination and secretariat activity for the Youth Employment Group (YEG), working closely with the Director of Policy and External Affairs as one of the five co-chairs.
This role can be based at any of our hubs located in Birmingham, Leeds or London. We currently operate a hybrid model of two-days per week in the office and three-days from home.
For more information and a full job description, please download the Recruitment Pack.
Due to receiving high volumes of interest in our opportunities, this vacancy may close earlier than the advertised deadline. To ensure your application is considered, please submit it as soon as possible.
Registered Charity
51 - 100
We are the national What Works Centre for youth employment, with a specific focus on marginalised young people.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.