Outdoor learning leader jobs in Charing cross, greater london

Purpose of the job

UK Youth exists to widen the reach and deepen the impact of youth work and outdoor learning. ​

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To do this, we work with a network of youth organisations delivering youth work and outdoor learning youth work across the UK, as well as national, regional and specialist infrastructure bodies that collectively strengthen the impact and sustainability of the sector.​

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Together, this network forms a connected system focused on one shared aim: widening the reach and deepening the impact of youth work and outdoor learning.​

As our Network Manager, you will live and breathe our network, developing a deep understanding of the makeup, needs and priorities of network members to lead effective engagement and establish a high quality experience. You’ll drive a number of projects and steward relationships as part of our evolving offer, focusing on listening, moving from a transactional to a relational approach to supporting and learning from our network, equipping leaders with the skills, networks, and confidence to deliver exceptional support to young people.

You’ll support the Head of Network Development and the Senior Leadership Team to evolve UKY’s network offer as part of our new strategy. You will be a key advocate for the sector, ensuring our network remains responsive, resilient, and well equipped to meet emerging opportunities and challenges.

The role requires deep understanding and experience  of the youth sector, the ability to confidently build relationships with leaders of practice and organisations, as well as a highly organised, and proactive individual with strong project management and excellent stakeholder management skills.

Why work at UK Youth?

UK Youth exists to widen the reach and deepen the impact of youth work and outdoor learning. We support a network of thousands of youth organisations across the UK to improve young lives every day. At the same time, we are transforming the policies, investment, and ideas needed to future-proof youth work and outdoor learning for generations to com e:

• We back youth work leaders with the evidence, connections, and investment they need to thrive.

• We keep youth work effective with research, large-scale pilot programmes, and professional development initiatives.

• And we work with young changemakers to inspire lasting change in the attitudes of the public and funders.

Key responsibilities

• Relationship Building, Network Onboarding and Partnerships

• Network Engagement, Experience and Capacity Building

• Planning, Budget and Resource Management

• Leadership and Management

Experience we're after

• Experience delivering youth work practice with young people.

• Understanding of youth policy, workforce challenges, and sector-wide trends including the changing aspirations and needs of young people and the impact of youth work in supporting these.

• Knowledge of youth sector infrastructure organisations and their roles at national, regional, and local levels.

• Strong programme and project management expertise, including a demonstrable track record of successfully leading and managing large-scale or complex programmes and projects in a previous role.

• Excellent relational and stakeholder engagement skills, with proven experience building and maintaining relationships across diverse organisations.

• Proven experience in network development, membership engagement, or partnership management within the charity, youth, or community sector.

• Experience in workforce development, training, or skills enhancement within a sector-focused setting.

• Excellent line management skills, with experience developing staff and effectively managing performance.

• Exceptional communication skills, both written and verbal, with the ability to engage diverse audiences in a variety of settings.

• Experience in budget management and financial planning.

What we can offer you

We offer a competitive range of benefits, good work/life balance, excellent learning and development opportunities and vibrant organisational culture:

• Flexible/Agile Working

• 27 days annual leave plus bank holidays (pro rata for part time employees)

• Funded training provided in; Safeguarding, GDPR, Information and Cyber Security & Equality & Diversity

• Other training available in support of your personal and professional development

• Pension scheme (currently UK Youth match employee contributions up to 5%)

• Membership of our life insurance scheme which would pay-out up to 4 times your salary

• Employee Assistance Programme to support employees both professionally and personally

• 20% discount off bookings at Avon Tyrrell, our New Forest Outdoor Centre, including camping, lodges and outdoor activities.

• IT equipment provided for the duration of contract

• CycleScheme and TechScheme

How to apply

If you would like to be considered for this fantastic opportunity, please complete an application via our completely anonymised recruitment system provided by Applied which looks to create a fair and unbiased application process for all. Scroll to the top of the page and start your application.

Closing date: 7th April 2026 at 09:00am

Provisional Interview Dates: 13th and 14th April

As this role involves working in a regulated environment with young people, any offer will be conditional to satisfactory background checks, which include criminal record check and employment reference.

This position is offered on a full-time basis, though we welcome applications from candidates interested in working 3–4 days per week

This is a really exciting time to lead on Service Design at UK Youth. The Government’s recently-launched National Youth Strategy represents a shift in youth work’s recognition. UK Youth is about to launch its own new Strategy and we have big ambitions for the coming year – in this crucial leadership role, you’ll drive forward our ambition to design, test and scale the very best solutions to the challenges faced by young people and the professionals supporting them. 

UK Youth’s Impact Function has grown over the last year – we’re investing in the power of evidence, human-centred design and influential storytelling to improve the equity and effectiveness of youth work. Join us and help build a society that backs every young person – through each spark, struggle, and success.​

Purpose of the job

This role is responsible for the design of UK Youth’s support to young people, youth organisations and youth workers. This could include structured youth work programmes, funding and grants+ programmes, professional development initiatives, and campaigns.

You will lead and oversee end-to-end design processes, ensuring that UK Youth develops fully packaged offers that respond to the evidence base and people’s needs, drive forward our strategy and achieve incredible impact. You will work across UK Youth teams, with external design partners, and meaningfully involving young people and the professionals who support them in the design process.

You will be experienced in developing high quality funding propositions (proactively and in response to new business opportunities). You will be confident in taking a human-centred design approach to tackle some of the youth sector’s knottiest problems.  You will design solutions to important problems, ensuring that they are feasible, equitable, impactful and scalable.

In 2026, our priority topics for youth work programmes and network development are: mental health and wellbeing, employability, social cohesion and community safety.

 As a leader, you will work closely with research, evaluation, policy, service delivery, network development, and fundraising teams. You will help to improve the skills and confidence of colleagues across UK Youth to apply design methods in their own work and collaborate effectively with the Design team.

Why work at UK Youth?

UK Youth wants all young people to be equipped to thrive and empowered to contribute at every stage of their lives. Youth work can be life changing (and even life saving.) In 2026, we will be launching our new strategy, positioning UK Youth to unlock youth work so that every young person in the UK can benefit. We work with others to ensure that the youth sector is strengthened and that provision is youth-led, evidence-informed, and delivers high-quality outcomes.

 UK Youth plays a unique role in addressing the lack of investment in the youth sector, the lack of cross-sector understanding in how youth work makes a difference, and the limited opportunities to embed effective solutions. These factors lead to mass inequality of access to youth services for young people. Come and be part of this change in a driven and supportive team that puts evidence at the heart of our work.

Role Responsibilities

• Designing Solutions

• Developing new business and funding propositions

• Embedding Human Centred Design

• Building a strong external network to support the Design team’s work

• Operations

Experience we're after

• Significant experience of leading and overseeing the development of new business propositions and proposals to time-limited funding opportunities

• Significant experience of designing interventions (digital and/or physical) for young people and/or those who support them 

• Experience using human-centred-design methods and mindsets; managing projects across the end-to-end design process

• Proven track record of inspiring and motivating diverse teams and improving collaborative ways of working across teams and departments

• Experience of developing high quality programme content and curricula for young people, youth workers and/or outdoor learning instructors (desirable)

• Experience of commissioning and managing external design freelancers and consultants (desirable)

• Experience of designing and/or delivering professional development programmes (desirable)

What we can offer you

We offer a competitive range of benefits, good work/life balance, excellent learning and development opportunities and vibrant organisational culture:

• Flexible/Agile Working

• 27 days annual leave plus bank holidays (pro rata for part time employees)

• Funded training provided in; Safeguarding, GDPR, Information and Cyber Security & Equality & Diversity

• Other training available in support of your personal and professional development

• Pension scheme (currently UK Youth match employee contributions up to 5%)

• Membership of our life insurance scheme which would pay-out up to 4 times your salary

• Employee Assistance Programme to support employees both professionally and personally

• 20% discount off bookings at Avon Tyrrell, our New Forest Outdoor Centre, including camping, lodges and outdoor activities.

• IT equipment provided for the duration of contract

• CycleScheme and TechScheme

How to apply

If you would like to be considered for this fantastic opportunity, please complete an application via our completely anonymised recruitment system provided by Applied which looks to create a fair and unbiased application process for all. Scroll to the top of the page and start your application.

Closing date: 25th March 2026 at 23:59pm (midnight)

Provisional Interview Dates: 1st and 2nd April (In person at our London Office)

As this role involves working in a regulated environment with young people, any offer will be conditional to satisfactory background checks, which include criminal record check and employment reference.

Purpose of the job

Reporting to the Grants Manager, you will create a positive impact on young people across the UK by supporting the distribution of unrestricted multi-year grant funding delivered as part of our evolving offer to unlock youth work for all young people. Working with the Grants Manager, you will ensure we deliver at a high quality consistently.

Key responsibilities

• Support the Grants Manager to deliver our evolving grants and capacity building provision to the youth sector; bringing together our work to ensure a streamlined offer

• Support the grant making process including communications and outreach; application, selection, awarding, distribution, monitoring and evaluation working with the relevant departments.

• Maintain and develop grant management processes through our grant management system, Microsoft Dynamics, and working in partnership with colleagues in Charity Services.

• Develop and maintain processes for creating application forms on our Grant Management System, informing applicants of decisions and tracking grant disbursements.

• Manage applications for funding through our grant management system and provide direct technical support to applicants.

Experience We're After

• Grant management and distribution experience

• Experience in management and development of grant management systems and CRMs

• Experience of quality assurance and due diligence

• Understanding of grant-making principles in participatory and equitable grant-making

• Monitoring and evaluation experience and an understanding of the importance of data in decision making

Why work at UK Youth?

UK Youth is a leading charity that exists to widen the reach and deepen the impact of youth work.

We support a network of thousands of youth organisations across the UK to improve young lives every day.

At the same time, we are transforming the policies, investment, and ideas needed to future-proof youth work and outdoor learning for generations to come.

• We back youth work leaders with the evidence, connections, and investment they need to thrive.

• We keep youth work effective with research, large-scale pilot programmes, and professional development initiatives.

• And we work with young changemakers to inspire lasting change in the attitudes of the public and funders.

What we can offer you

We offer a competitive range of benefits, good work/life balance, excellent learning and development opportunities and vibrant organisational culture:

• Flexible/Agile Working

• 27 days annual leave plus bank holidays (pro rata for part time employees)

• Funded training provided in; Safeguarding, GDPR, Information and Cyber Security & Equality & Diversity

• Other training available in support of your personal and professional development

• Pension scheme (currently UK Youth match employee contributions up to 5%)

• Membership of our life insurance scheme which would pay-out up to 4 times your salary

• Employee Assistance Programme to support employees both professionally and personally

• 20% discount off bookings at Avon Tyrrell, our New Forest Outdoor Centre, including camping, lodges and outdoor activities.

• IT equipment provided for the duration of contract

• CycleScheme and TechScheme

How to apply

If you would like to be considered for this fantastic opportunity, please complete an application via our completely anonymised recruitment system provided by Applied which looks to create a fair and unbiased application process for all. Scroll to the top of the page and start your application.

Closing date: Friday 27th March 2026 at 23:59 (Midnight)

Provisional Interview Dates: 9th & 10th April 2026

As this role involves working in a regulated environment with young people, any offer will be conditional to satisfactory background checks, which include criminal record check and employment reference.

Vauxhall City Farm is looking for a dynamic Education Officer to support the delivery of our unique range of educational opportunities - from creative, curriculum-linked programmes rooted in animal care, gardening, wellbeing, and sustainability - to drop in community events throughout the year. You will play a vital role in supporting children, young people, and community groups, particularly those facing barriers to acheiving their potential, and be a vital part of the wider Vauxhall City Farm team. This is a rare opportunity to combine meaningful work with professional growth in one of London’s leading city farms. 

We're looking for someone with:

• Experience delivering educational activities/workshops for diverse audiences
• Commitment to education, conservation and the environment
• A practical and enthusiastic approach to learning outside of the classroom
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Excellent organisational and time management skills
• Excellent literacy, numeracy and IT skills
• Knowledge of safeguarding and health safety practices
• Comfortable working with and handling animals
• Willing to undergo an enhanced DBS check

Are you a skilled relationship-builder with corporate fundraising experience? Do you love spending time in the outdoors and want to help young people from Somerset? Join the Youth Adventure Trust's small but mighty team and use your skills to help transform the lives of vulnerable young people.

The Role

Having launched our Youth Adventure Programmes in Somerset in 2024, we are now looking for somebody who wants to take the next step in their fundraising career to build on the foundations of the last two years and significantly increase our presence in the county. 

As our Regional Corporate Fundraiser,  you'll be the driving force behind our local business partnerships, working with both large companies operating in the region and smaller local businesses looking to support their communities. 

Your role will encompass:

• Relationship building: Identifying and securing new corporate partnerships while providing high-quality stewardship to our existing Somerset-based supporters.

• Community Engagement: Championing our work in Somerset by giving engaging talks to community groups and networking with local businesses.

• Event delivery: Playing a key role in delivering local fundraising challenge events, the bi-annual Somerset Adventure Dinner and developing new opportunities to unite the Somerset business community behind our mission.

You'll work closely with the Corporate Partnership Manager and the Director of Fundraising and Communications to ensure each proposal is bespoke and every corporate partner understands the impact of their support on local young people.  You must live in Somerset, have a good local awareness and be willing to travel around the county and beyond to nurture long-lasting, strategic relationships.

About You

We are looking for a people-person, who is self-motivated and highly organised. You are as comfortable in the board room engaging business leaders as  you are standing on a mountain side in your waterproofs! You will be:

• Experienced: A proven track record in building successful corporate partnerships and achieving income targets;

• A relationship fundraiser: building long-lasting meaningful relationships should be at the heart of every single corporate partnership;

• An inspiring communicator:  You will be telling our story in a variety of different ways to inspire support and grow our networks;

• Self-motivated:  You are comfortable working from home but eager to be ‘out and about’ in the business community;

• Pro-active and creative: No corporate partnership is the same, so you will be proactive in understanding a corporate partner’s motivation and coming up with creative ideas to build successful relationships;

• Local: You must live in or near Somerset to maximise local networking opportunities, attend regular in-person meetings and events  and confidently talk about local issues facing both businesses and the young people we support through our programmes;

• Outdoorsy: A genuine love for the outdoors, comfortable in wellies and waterproofs with an understanding of 'the power of the outdoors'.

The Charity

At the Youth Adventure Trust, we use outdoor adventure to empower vulnerable young people from Swindon, Wiltshire and Somerset to fulfil their potential and lead positive lives in the future. We work with them to build resilience, develop confidence and learn skills that will last a lifetime, helping them to face the challenges in their lives. Dedicated support, guidance and mentoring from our staff and volunteers ensures young people receive the maximum benefit from our long-term intervention. Our aim is to make a lasting improvement to the lives of vulnerable young people. All our services are provided completely free of charge to the young people who are nominated by schools and other youth organisations to take part.

We’re proud to offer our programmes completely free of charge to participants which means the fundraising team is crucial. With ambitious plans to help more young people from Somerset over the coming years, our Regional Corporate Fundraiser role is an exciting opportunity to make a real difference for local young people.  Whilst you will have the flexibility of a 21-hours-per-week role, this could increase as more corporate partnerships are secured. You’ll be part of a small fundraising team with a big heart, with plenty of opportunities to visit our programmes and see the tangible impact of your work. 

Safer Recruitment

The Youth Adventure Trust is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of young people and requires all employees to share this commitment. The suitability of all prospective employees will be assessed during the recruitment process in line with this commitment and in compliance with current employment legislation, and relevant safeguarding legislation and statutory guidance.