Policy advocacy officer jobs in maldon, essex

Head of Corporate Governance

£50,718 - £53,387 (plus London weighing if applicable)

Location - Home based with some travel needed

Interviews to be held 27th-28th August. 

The WEA is the UK’s largest voluntary sector provider of adult education, a charity dedicated to bringing high quality, professional education into the heart of communities. We believe that all adults, regardless of their situation, should have access to education.

Job Description

WEA are looking for talented individuals to help us deliver our mission – to bring education within reach. If that sounds like you, then please read on.

As the Head of Corporate Governance, you will ensure ongoing monitoring of governance effectiveness and continuous improvement, and the efficient and effective administration of governance process, including trustee and committee member recruitment and onboarding, tracking appointment terms, and annual skills audits. Together with other members of the corporate governance team, you will provide support to WEA’s local advisory panel volunteers, who provide important local insight and input to governance decision-making.

Reporting to the Director of Governance & Purpose the successful candidate will work closely with the Director of Governance & Purpose (Company Secretary) to support the Chair of the Board of Trustees and the Chairs of committees with advice and support on standards of good governance, and compliance. Developing and implementing systems that will enhance the effectiveness of governance regionally and nationally and promote positive corporate behaviour across the Association.

We have attached the full role profile, that lists the key deliverables, performance measures and experience/qualifications needed for this role. Please take your time to read through this, and if you’d like to apply, hit that button!

We are working hard to create a workplace that reflects the communities we seek to serve and in which everyone feels empowered to be themselves and work together to drive positive change. We strongly encourage applicants from a diverse range of candidates and encourage everyone with the appropriate skills, experiences and potential to apply.

Should you need any support with your application, then please get in touch via our website.   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

In our recent OFSTED inspection, we received a GOOD overall grade, with an OUTSTANDING rating for Behaviour and Attitudes and Personal Development.

You can read more about our benefits and what it’s like to work here, on our website

Job title: Professional Communities Manager

Reporting to: Director of Membership

Line Manager Responsibility for: Professional Communities Co-ordinator

Location: This is a remote UK-based role with regular travel to CST’s national and regional events, mainly in Birmingham and London. Candidates within reasonable travel distance to these locations are preferred.

Salary: £41,603 - £45,470 a year.

Pension: We offer a workplace pension and life assurance scheme. CST makes contributions equivalent to 10% of your gross salary.

Annual leave: Initially 25 days annual leave plus bank holidays, with an additional two days leave after three years’ service.

Working hours: Full-time 37.5 hours.

Application Closing Date: Wednesday 27th August 2025, 12 noon.

Interview Date: First stage interviews will be conducted on Tuesday 9th September 2025, second stage interviews will be conducted on Thursday 11th September 2025.

Job overview

The Professional Communities Manager leads the development, content curation, and operational delivery of CST’s 11 Professional Communities. These networks, events, and forums are a core benefit of CST membership and are provided free of charge to members.

This is a proactive, member-focused role that blends operational excellence with strategic content oversight. The postholder will work directly with community chairs, subject experts, community supporters, CST platinum partners and members to ensure that all communities are vibrant, professionally hosted, and deliver high-quality, relevant content.

The role also plays a key part in ensuring a joined-up approach to content across CST’s full range of activities, working closely with the professional learning and conference teams and partnerships to ensure alignment and maximise value for members.

Key responsibilities

 Strategic Development and Continuous Improvement

• Develop and implement strategic plans to strengthen the value, engagement, and content of CST Professional Communities.
• Set clear objectives and KPIs to monitor success and drive continuous improvement of community services.
• Regularly evaluate community activity, identifying ways to increase engagement, relevance, and impact for members.

Community Content Curation and Management

• Oversee the quality, consistency, and relevance of content across all 11 Professional Communities, ensuring alignment with member priorities and organisational objectives.
• Work in partnership with community chairs, subject experts, community supporters and CST’s platinum partnerships to proactively commission, curate, and quality-assure community content (e.g., webinars, blogs, resources, discussions).
• Work closely with the professional learning and conference teams to ensure a joined-up, coherent approach to content across CST activity, avoiding duplication and enhancing overall member value.
• Identify content gaps and work creatively, including drawing upon resources and contacts within the policy and partnership team to address them, ensuring a balanced and evolving programme across the communities.

Community Engagement and Facilitation

• Lead and facilitate virtual and in-person community events, ensuring professional delivery and high-quality member interaction.
• Support and brief speakers, chairs, and contributors to ensure a consistently excellent experience for members.
• Actively promote member engagement through community platforms and other channels, driving participation and interaction.

 Stakeholder Relationships

• Build and maintain strong relationships with CST members, community chairs, speakers, and supporters.
• Collaborate with internal colleagues across membership, communications, professional learning, policy, and conference teams to maximise the impact of community activities.
• Manage relationships with sponsors where appropriate, ensuring alignment with CST values.

Digital Platform and Event Management

• Oversee the effective use of digital and platforms (including CiviCRM and Hivebrite,) to host communities, deliver events, and share content.
• Manage operational aspects of events and online communities, ensuring smooth logistics and excellent user experience.

Data, Insight, and Reporting

• Monitor and report on community engagement, content performance, and member feedback, using data to guide improvements.
• Lead the ongoing development of data processes for the communities, ensuring accurate insights are captured and shared.

Team Leadership and Development

• Manage, develop, and support the Professional Communities Coordinator, fostering a collaborative, high-performing culture.
• Encourage learning and development across the team to ensure consistently excellent member service.

Adaptability and Wider Contribution

• Contribute to broader membership engagement strategies and initiatives.
• Undertake any other duties as required by the Director of Membership to support CST’s mission

Head of New Developments  

£56,254 per annum, with a London Weighting Allowance of £4,530 for those living within a London Borough (32 local authority districts plus the City of London) 

Ref: 09REC 

Full Time 37.5 hours per week – happy to talk flexible working 

The role 

Sustrans is the UK’s leading active travel organisation, working to make it possible for people across society to walk, wheel and cycle.  We have a new strategy for the next five years, a key strand of which is to unlock active travel in new housing developments, and we are recruiting a Head of New Developments to lead this work.

This is a new position in which you will draw on your experience in the housing delivery sector to grow Sustrans’ contribution to the creation of new communities that have active mobility at their heart.  As well as leading our influencing work aimed at organisations in housing delivery, you will develop and promote an offer to partners, drawing on Sustrans’ existing infrastructure, behaviour change and advisory services.  You will connect with, inform and inspire professionals and decision makers involved in delivering new homes to adopt the actions required to increase active travel in their developments.  Through collaboration with our Commercial team and subject experts across Sustrans, you will develop a pipeline of funded work from public, private and third sector organisations, ultimately enabling more households to walk, wheel or cycle for their day-to-day journeys.

The role can be based in any Sustrans office and will involve frequent in-person meetings and site visits, particularly (but not exclusively) in the Midlands and South of England. 

About you 

You’ll have significant experience contributing to the delivery of new developments through work for or with organisations such as developers, housing providers, consultancies, local authorities or government.  We’re looking for applicants with a professional network in housing delivery, and significant experience securing new commissions from and/or influencing organisations involved in delivering new developments.  You’ll have a strong understanding of the development process, including the spatial planning system, and of the roles of the parties involved in delivering new developments, the power dynamics between them, and the opportunities and appetite each has for taking action to increase active travel.  Naturally, you’ll have deep knowledge of the challenges, opportunities and hot topics in housing delivery – for new towns, urban extensions and urban intensification schemes.

You’ll have exceptional external-facing leadership skills, and be a strategic, creative thinker, able to solve problems and convert new ideas into practical actions.  Your outstanding communication skills will enable you to engage with stakeholders at a senior level, including on contentious subjects and on high-profile projects.  You’ll have strong business acumen to secure new commissions and deliver effectively for clients, and the skills to influence decision-makers.

You’ll have experience of engaging meaningfully with communities to ensure that new developments respond to the challenges and aspirations of local residents and stakeholders.  And you’ll have good knowledge of how active travel can be embedded into new developments to maximise the number of routine journeys that are walked, wheeled or cycled.

We’re looking for exceptional collaboration and people management skills and a commitment to fostering an inclusive and high-performing organisational culture. We welcome Chartered membership of a relevant professional body. 

About Sustrans 

We work in urban and rural areas, making it possible, safe and appealing for people to people to walk, wheel and cycle.  We address the barriers that prevent people from travelling actively – barriers that disproportionately affect people who live in deprived areas, those who are disabled, people who are older or younger, and women and girls.

We’re a practical, can-do charity, designing award-winning infrastructure solutions in streets and across neighbourhoods, and working with communities to give people the skills, confidence, motivation and equipment to travel actively.  We’re experts in community and stakeholder engagement, carefully navigating the sometimes heated territory of our work to tackle traffic dominance and car dependency.  And we provide data, insight and advice to decision-makers, helping them invest effectively in transport, place-shaping and their communities.  We work with government, to support wider work to improve mobility, and to advocate for changes to policy and funding.  And over the last 30 years, Sustrans has developed the National Cycle Network from scratch, working with supporters, volunteers, governments and stakeholders to create 16,500 miles of traffic-free and low-traffic routes, loved and enjoyed by communities across the UK. 

We are now embarking on a new chapter for our charity, with a refreshed strategy.  The Head of New Developments will play a key role in growing our impact in this new chapter. 

What we offer 

Sustrans has a long-term commitment to being a charity for everyone - reducing inequality, valuing diversity, enabling inclusion and ensuring all people are treated with dignity and respect. We aim to be a truly inclusive employer and welcome applications from people from all parts of the community, in particular from under-represented groups.

In return we can offer true hybrid working to suit individual circumstances and a flexible, supportive and rewarding working environment.

Wellbeing 

• 28 days’ leave per annum plus bank holidays for full-time working
• Ability to buy an extra week of annual leave (pro-rata for part-time staff)
• Staff volunteer days
• 24/7 free, impartial and confidential support service
• We are members of the Green Commute Initiative and Cycle Scheme who both offer cycle to work schemes 

Financial 

• Group Personal Pension scheme with a 6% or 7% of basic salary contribution being matched by Sustrans
• Bike, computer and season ticket loans
• Discount benefits
• London Weighting Allowance of £4,530 for all those living within a London Borough (32 local authority districts plus the City of London)
• Death in service benefit – 3 x annual salary 

Family Friendly 

• Enhanced maternity and paternity pay
• Flexible working practices (full time hours are 37.5 per week, Monday - Friday) 

Additional information 

• Closing date for the receipt of completed applications is 23:59, 10th August 2025.
• Interviews are expected to take place in person in London week commencing 18th August 2025.
• Applications are invited in the form of a CV and covering letter. 

About the role

Whether you're looking for an interim opportunity or a permanent role, we’re interested in hearing from experienced professionals who can hit the ground running and make an immediate impact.

This is an inspiring role for someone who wants to contribute to our success by providing strategic leadership and direction to the fundraising and communications functions supporting the Dementia Adventure business plan and charitable mission and objectives.

Managing a team of five across fundraising, communications, special projects and data management, the successful applicant will lead the development of partnerships and campaigns to raise funds for Dementia Adventure’s unique work to support people with dementia and their carers to have a more active and fulfilled life by getting outdoors and experiencing the benefits of nature. 

You will provide strategic leadership and direction for income generation through various fundraising disciplines and joint fundraising partnerships, ensuring the charity's diversification of funding and financial sustainability. Funding sources include major grantmakers, trusts and foundations, corporate partnerships, challenge events, and an individual giving campaign.

Hand in hand with leading fundraising, you will oversee the Communications team, supporting, developing and monitoring the communications strategy, associated budget, resources, systems, processes and operations. This will involve overseeing and directing a communications plan that promotes the work of Dementia Adventure to a broad range of audiences through various channels and campaigns, while also increasing online and social media presence.

Ideally, we would like the successful applicant to be able to come to the office in Essex at least once a week.

About you
We are looking for someone to join the charity’s Senior Leadership Team who will bring experience from their past successes and provide inspirational strategic leadership and direction to the fundraising and communications functions in support of the Dementia Adventure business plan, charitable mission and objectives. The successful applicant will have a strong, successful track record of fundraising and/or other forms of income generation in the charity sector, including management, with proven experience in meeting financial and non-financial targets. You should be able to build and maintain relationships with key stakeholders, including trusts and grant givers, corporates, major donors and other individuals. In addition, you should possess a strong understanding of marketing and communication principles and practices, as well as digital marketing and social media. You should also be confident in engaging audiences sensitively with real-life stories to demonstrate impact and create a compelling case for support.

Dementia Adventure is an evidence-led, multi-award-winning national charity that helps people living with dementia and their carers enjoy the outdoors, connect with nature, and retain a sense of adventure. We look at what people can do, not what they can’t. Through supported holidays, learning, and tailored support, we promote well-being, inclusion, and resilience through fostering meaningful connections and renewed possibilities.