Planning manager jobs in nottingham

Mary’s Meals serves nutritious school meals to children living in some of the world’s poorest countries. The promise of a meal attracts these hungry children into the classroom, giving them the energy to learn and hope for a better future.

We are excited to be recruiting for a Director of Supporter Engagement to join Mary’s Meals UK. Reporting the Executive Director and serving as an integral member of the UK leadership team, the Director of Supporter Engagement will lead, inspire and develop the Supporter Engagement function, balancing strategic leadership with a hands-on approach to fundraising.

MMUK is the largest and longest established National Affiliate in the Mary’s Meals network, currently raising c.£20M to support global school feeding programmes, reaching children living some of the world’s poorest countries. The promise of a meal attracts these hungry children into the classroom, giving them the energy to learn and hope for a better future.

We have a remote-first approach to work and are happy for you to work remotely and flexibly from anywhere in the UK, in a way that best supports your work-life balance. This role will also require regular travel throughout the UK, particularly London and Glasgow.

Key responsibilities include but are not limited to:

Strategy and Leadership

• To support the day-to-day management of the charity and contribute to the organisation’s strategic direction and growth, as part of the senior leadership team.
• To contribute to the preparation of the charity's strategic plan and the monitoring and reporting of progress against organisational goals and objectives.
• Lead on cross-organisational projects in line with organisational strategy.

Fundraising:

• To develop a clear and inspiring vision for fundraising, backed up by ambitious strategies and activities that significantly raise awareness of Mary’s Meals in the UK, and grow and diversify income.
• To ensure our fundraising approach and activities remain aligned with our organisational strategy, values and fundraising model.
• To lead, inspire and develop the Supporter Engagement team (formed of the Grassroots, Philanthropy, Institutional Giving and Supporter Care teams).
• To manage a portfolio of donor, volunteer and prospect relationships, travelling regularly to attend meetings, and network to cultivate new prospects and funding opportunities.
• To support the team to develop professional and engaging fundraising materials including fundraising propositions, applications, proposals, appeals, pitches, presentations and reports.
• To oversee volunteer strategy, management and support to further empower our volunteers with a greater role in our shared vision and maximise their skills and networks.

Budgeting, Reporting and Compliance

• To set, monitor and deliver annual income and expenditure budgets, providing regular reports as required to the Executive Director, Leadership team, wider Mary’s Meals family, and our Board of Trustees.
• To feed into organisational strategic KPIs and team KPIs, and ensure a regular schedule of reporting, and insight gathering is in place to monitor activity and use insight to guide decision-making and drive growth. 

People and culture

• To create a high performing team that is ambitious and passionate about the Mary’s Meals vision.
• To ensure teams receive consistent and motivating direction and feedback to enable them to work to the best of their ability.
• Build strong working relationships with colleagues across the charity at all levels, adopting and encouraging a collaborative working approach across the Mary’s Meals family. This role must work particularly closely with the Director of Communications, and collaboration with this role will be key.
• To work with the Head of People to ensure that MMUK is an employer of choice which attracts, recruits and retains a talented team of values-led, paid employees and volunteers, throughout the UK.
• To actively promote safeguarding practices and model behaviours that support a safe culture across all MMUK activities. 

About you:

• Significant experience operating at senior management level, including leading a fundraising department, ideally with experience in the areas of grassroots and major giving fundraising.
• Experience of developing and executing strategies to secure significant revenue generation, with specific evidence of delivering income growth.
• Experience of representing an organisation at a senior level, with excellent written, presentation and public speaking skills.
• Excellent entrepreneurial networking and relationship building abilities, with experience of proactively identifying and cultivating new and existing donor relationships, and securing strategic funding partnerships and high-value donations.
• Experience in volunteer strategy, management, recruitment and engagement.
• Experience in setting, monitoring and delivering significant annual income and expenditure budgets, providing regular reports as required.
• Experience of testing and launching new fundraising products (e.g., mass engagement grassroots campaigns, corporate partnerships, major donor events etc.).
• Experience of developing first-class supporter journeys, interactions, products and propositions.
• Experience in innovation and product development.
   

Please see the recruitment pack on our website by following the instructions on Charity Job.

Applicants must hold full right to work in the UK.​

We welcome applications from candidates of all different backgrounds and identities to apply. We are committed to building an inclusive and diverse charity providing a supportive place for you to do the best and most rewarding work of your career.

Applications for this role will close on Friday, 16 May at 17:00.

Interviews will be arranged accordingly. We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible. 

Please note: If you have any special requirements or adjustments before an interview, please let us know. 

Introduction to TDS

TDS is a not-for-profit organisation with a clear social purpose: to raise standards in the private rented sector. Established to create a fairer and more professional rental market by protecting deposits and resolving deposit disputes, TDS has since expanded its mission. Today, we invest in a range of additional services and initiatives that further our commitment to improving the sector.

Key initiatives relevant to this role include:
- Developing an influential research programme to ensure that laws and regulations are informed by robust evidence.
- Funding a range of projects and organisations through our two independent charities.
- Leveraging our direct communication channels with millions of tenants, landlords, and letting agents to educate and inform all parties.

JOB DESCRIPTION

Key initiatives relevant to this role include:
- Developing an influential research programme to ensure that laws and regulations are informed by robust evidence.
- Funding a range of projects and organisations through our two independent charities.
- Leveraging our direct communication channels with millions of tenants, landlords, and letting agents to educate and inform all parties.

Introduction to the Role

We are looking for a Research and Policy Officer (Maternity Cover) to join our expanding Policy and Research department, which also oversees the TDS Charitable Foundation. This is a pivotal role supporting our mission to improve standards in the private rented sector through impactful research, thought leadership, and policy engagement.
The successful candidate will play a key part in delivering our research programme, including overseeing flagship projects like the Voice of the Tenant and Voice of the Landlord surveys, and producing high-quality qualitative and quantitative research.

You will also support the smooth running of the Charitable Foundation’s grant-making and governance activities and contribute to our work influencing policy and practice across the UK’s private rented sector.
This is a great opportunity for someone passionate about housing, with a solid grounding in research and an interest in policy, to join a values-driven organisation delivering real-world impact.

PRINCIPAL RESPONSIBILITIES

Research
1. Collaborate with external research contractors to deliver the regular ‘Voice of the Tenant’ and ‘Voice of the Landlord’ Survey.
2. Ensure the research findings are widely disseminated through different channels, including events, publications, briefings and digital content.
3. Help identify research gaps and contribute to the development execution of new research projects or commissioning of external research.
4. Conduct proactive desk-based research to identify emerging trends, new policy developments, and partnership opportunities relevant to the Foundation and the sector.
5. Undertake in-house research activities, such as literature reviews, focus groups, stakeholder interviews, where required.
6. Contribute to the drafting and production of high-quality research reports and briefings, ensuring clarity, accessibility, and relevance for policy and practice audiences.

Policy
7. Monitor and analyse relevant legislative and regulatory developments, consultations, and debates, identifying implications for the sector and TDS’s work.
8. Support the development of TDS’s policy positions by preparing briefings, drafting responses to consultations, and summarising evidence from research.
9. Help communicate TDS’s policy insights and positions clearly and effectively to internal stakeholders, partners, and decision-makers.

Charity co-ordination
10. Act as a key point of contact for grant-funded projects, supporting projects to share progress and impact, and identify any support needs.
11. Help to Coordinate the TDS Charitable Foundation’s quarterly Board of Trustee meetings, including preparing board papers, taking minutes, and following up on actions.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

Essential characteristics

1. Qualifications and experience
Essential:

• Educated to degree level in a relevant subject.
• At least 3 years’ experience in research, social policy or similar role (or equivalent post-graduate study).
• Knowledge of research design
• Proven track record of producing content to communicate to different audiences.
• Experience of building relationships with external stakeholders.

Desirable:

• Knowledge of the housing sector or charitable work.

2.  Job Knowledge
Must be able to:

• Demonstrate excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Show an ability to build relationships with stakeholders.
• Demonstrate organisational skills to help coordinate multiple projects.
• Utilise strong IT skills including sound knowledge of MS Office.
• Prove ability to write content for different audiences.

3. Communication
Must be able to:

• Work as part of a team;
• Have good interpersonal skills, communicating effectively with colleagues, funded projects and other stakeholders.

4. Equal Opportunities

• Must be able to demonstrate a commitment to equal opportunities, diversity and inclusion.

5. Required behaviour and attitude

• Applicants must be able to:
• demonstrate an affinity for customer excellence
• recognise the importance of fairness in all of our work
• demonstrate how they are making a difference in the work that they do
• is able to articulate the importance of teamwork
• are committed to excellence in all that we do;
• help create a great place to work.

TDS offers a plethora of benefits inclusive of:

• 33 days holiday inc bank holidays
• BUPA Private healthcare
• BUPA Wellbeing cash plan
• Pension Scheme
• Additional day off for your birthday
• Plus many more!

Hours of the role
35 hours per week. Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm.

To apply, please submit your CV and a covering letting outlining how your skills and experience match the person specification.

TDS is committed to equality, diversity and inclusion in our workforce and to be truly representative of all sections of society and our customers.