Policy and research assistant jobs in Belfast

For over 60 years the National Children’s Bureau (NCB) has been building a better childhood for all.

Events Assistant
Contract: Permanent
Work Pattern: Full Time, 35 hours per week
Salary: £24,479 per annum
Location: London E8/ Belfast BT15, NI/ Newton Abbot TQ12/ Sheffield S1/ Remote within the UK
NCB promotes a hybrid, flexible way of working with 2 days working in the office if based in London.

The Vacancy

This is an exciting opportunity in NCB’s newly formed Centralised support functions, supporting the Business Support and Events teams and linking with the Project Support team.

Post holders will support the operational delivery of activities across their team, working closely with colleagues in their own and aligned teams to provide consistent support.

Events colleagues support the planning, logistics and delivery of online and in-person events, while Business Support colleagues provide business administration, facilities and organisational support. Post holders will also provide flexible support across the wider organisation to help deliver business objectives as necessary.

The roles require close working with a range of internal and external stakeholders.

A key requirement is the ability to deliver consistent, high-quality work and maintain accurate, timely records.

About NCB

For more than 60 years, the National Children’s Bureau has championed the rights and amplified the voice of children and young people in the UK. We interrogate policy and uncover evidence, blending in lived and learnt experience to shape future legislation and develop more effective ways of supporting children and families.

Bringing people and organisations together is fundamental to how we improve the systems that babies, children, young people and their families rely on to thrive. We push boundaries, even looking beyond childhood itself to consider transitions into adulthood and the impact of childhood issues on an entire lifespan. We are united for better childhoods and brighter futures.

The Benefits

• 30 Days Annual Leave
• Generous Pension Scheme
• Cycle to work scheme
• Flexible Working
• Winter Holiday Closure & Break
• Employee Assistance Programme

Closing date: 8am, Wednesday 15th July 2026
Please note that we reserve the right to close this vacancy early should we receive a high volume of applications. We encourage interested candidates to submit their applications as soon as possible.

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.

We are actively seeking to broaden the diversity of our staff group and warmly welcome applications from candidates underrepresented in the charity sector, including those from Black and Global Majority communities, disabled people, LGBTQ+ individuals, and people with lived experience of the issues NCB works on.

No agencies please.

Lead the operations, governance and compliance that enable Solving Kids' Cancer UK to deliver its mission and impact for children and families affected by neuroblastoma. Reporting to the Chief Executive, you will play a critical role in ensuring the charity operates effectively, compliantly and sustainably.

This broad and varied leadership role spans governance, risk, HR, IT, data protection and organisational operations, supporting delivery of the charity's strategy through robust systems, policies and processes. Acting as Company Secretary, you will work closely with the CEO and Board of Trustees, providing advice on governance, regulatory requirements and best practice. As a member of the Leadership Team, you will oversee key operational functions, lead cross-organisational projects and deputise for the CEO where required.

Who are we looking for?

We are looking for a strategic, highly organised and values-driven leader with strong experience in charity operations, governance and compliance. You will have a track record of ensuring organisations are well run, compliant and effectively managed, with the ability to oversee multiple operational areas and support strong governance and decision-making at Board level.

You will be comfortable working across a broad remit, including governance, risk, HR, IT and data protection, and confident providing clear, practical advice to senior leaders and trustees.

Person specification

Key requirements include:

• Significant senior-level experience in operations, governance or compliance within a charity or similar environment. 
• Strong understanding of charity governance and regulation, with experience supporting boards and senior leadership. 
• Experience overseeing organisational functions such as HR, IT, data protection or risk. 
• Proven ability to manage multiple priorities and lead cross-organisational work effectively. 
• Strong judgement, integrity and the ability to handle sensitive matters with discretion. 

See our Recruitment Pack for the full role description and specification and for information about Solving Kids' Cancer UK. 

This is an opportunity to make a significant contribution at the heart of a small, ambitious charity where strong operations are a vital enabler of impact for children and families.

Location: Home-based, within easy reach of London, with regular travel to the London office and occasional UK-wide travel.

First-stage interview: Thursday 6 August 

Second-stage interview: Thursday 13 August

We're looking for an organised, collaborative and effective individual to join our Development Team. You'll be an excellent communicator, confident building strong internal relationships, committed to providing exceptional supporter care, able to write compelling copy, and motivated by delivering high-quality administrative support that helps maximise our impact for animals.

You will join our existing Development Team, providing valuable support to make sure we maximise returns in already successful income streams, such as major gifts and individual giving. You will also be responsible for supporting the expansion of additional income streams, such as legacies, community and corporate. You’ll help us grow our supporter base and raise essential income to support our work with animals.

This is an exciting time to join a growing team and you’ll have the opportunity to develop and test new fundraising activities and shape our income now, and for the future.

The Humane League UK (THL UK) is a charity ending the abuse of animals raised for food by influencing the policies of the world's biggest companies, demanding legislation, and empowering others to take action. 

Thanks to our effectiveness, The Humane League has been named Top Charity by the independent evaluator Animal Charity Evaluators for every rating period since 2012.

THL UK is an equal-opportunity employer. We are committed to furthering equity and inclusion, and we value diversity. We seek people from a wide range of backgrounds who will bring a fresh perspective to the team, not just because it is the right thing to do, but because it makes us stronger. 

We make employment decisions by matching our organisational needs with the skills and experience of candidates, irrespective of race, colour, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, neurodiversity, age, or veteran status.

​We are proud to be a Disability Confident Committed Employer, demonstrating our commitment to recruiting, retaining, and supporting disabled people and people with health conditions, based on their skills and talent.

You can read more about how The Humane League UK is working on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion on our website.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding accessibility, please contact us via our website and we will be happy to discuss, via email or telephone, reasonable adjustments that you may require throughout the process.

Who you are:

As a fundraising generalist, you will be well organised, provide strong administrative support, give excellent supporter care, write strong copy and be able to coordinate content creation.

Ideally you will have fundraising experience across a variety of relevant income streams, although we are interested to hear from candidates who have relevant transferable skills.

You will be able to ensure good collaboration between the Development Department and other teams, such as Communications and Operations, to make sure we maximise our fundraising activity.

The role:

You’ll be working alongside a Digital Fundraising Lead, Philanthropy Lead, Head of Development and wider team of friendly communicators, campaigners and change-makers. Home-based, you will enjoy collaborating, as well as being able to work independently. As a self-starter, you enjoy seeing projects through from start to end and get a buzz from the fast-paced and varied charity fundraising environment.

You’ll join us in maximising the value of Engaging Networks, a digital communications and campaigning platform, alongside our new fundraising CRM, Beacon. Experience with these specific platforms, or experience of utilising other CRMs for fundraising success, is desirable.

Primary duties:

• You will be responsible for continuing to grow our legacy programme, implementing the strategy developed by the Head of Development. This will include drafting copy and working with a designer to create evergreen legacy content, creating and maintaining content for our website, coordinating and drafting legacy communications and campaigns, managing legacy enquiries, thanking and stewarding legacy pledgers, and managing the legacy pipeline in Beacon.

• You will support our community fundraising strategy. This will mean making sure we have the tools and information for supporters to fundraise for us, whether that be in memory of a loved one, delivering their own fundraising initiatives in aid of The Humane League UK, or through peer-to-peer fundraising. This will include responding to enquiries, thanking and stewarding community fundraisers, coordinating a small amount of external-facing content, creating evergreen content, such as a toolkit that fundraisers can use, creating and updating content for the website, and responding to opportunities that arise, which could include community speaking opportunities, or stalls at events.

• You will support our corporate fundraising offering, ensuring we have the tools and information for businesses to support THL UK in a variety of ways. This will include responding to enquiries, thanking and responding to corporate donors and fundraisers, taking advantage of opportunities, promoting initiatives such as payroll giving, coordinating the creation of evergreen corporate fundraising content, such as a fundraising toolkit for businesses, and creating and updating content for the website.

• You will support our Operations Team, who respond to fundraising email enquiries, and the Development Team, as well as the wider organisation, by coordinating and maintaining FAQs of the most common fundraising queries we receive. This will help consolidate this information in one place, making sure we are consistent, streamlined and efficient in our responses. You will also work with our digital team to find a way to make sure information is accessible to supporters to minimise incoming queries wherever possible.

• You will be responsible for reviewing, investigating, reporting and responding to any fundraising complaints we receive, including escalating these where necessary.

• You will complete due diligence on donors and donations where required. This will include desktop research, completing relevant forms and information in Beacon, and making sure relevant approvals are obtained before accepting donations or approaching new donors or funders.

• You will coordinate essential thanking activities for key donors and supporters. This will include coordinating the design and printing of thanking cards, and other relevant stewardship materials or merchandise, to be utilised by those across the organisation, including to support our volunteers. You will also coordinate thanking campaigns (e.g. thanking monthly donors and major donors), which will involve collating recipient lists, getting cards designed and printed, and coordinating staff and trustees to sign and send.

• You will provide vital administrative support for events, including our annual presence at conferences such as EA Global in London, as well as our own annual supporter event. This could include collating guest lists, staff registration, coordinating invitations and RSVP’s, managing room bookings, hotels and catering, coordinating staff and trustees, and completing risk assessments.

• You will produce clear, accurate and engaging written communications, and coordinate the creation of content. This could mean drafting content for the website, drafting emails, building emails in Engaging Networks, or supporting our Digital Fundraising Lead with developing evergreen content to support our digital fundraising initiatives.

• You will support our Digital Fundraising Lead to make sure our growing pool of monthly donors are thanked and stewarded appropriately, including utilising Beacon, automations and supporter journeys to make the most efficient use of our time.

• You will support our Digital Fundraising Lead to deliver our digital fundraising strategy, by executing relevant aspects, which could include supporting specific campaigns, or building and maintaining fundraising related automations.

• You will help us deliver effective fundraising training and induction materials, such as for new staff and trustee orientations. This could also include coordinating additional training materials, how-to-guides and supporting materials, that are essential in maintaining relevant fundraising knowledge at THL UK.

In addition:

• Utilise our CRM: adding and updating supporter data, generating relevant reports, and analysing and evaluating data to inform campaigns and activities as required.

• Working with Communications and the Digital Fundraising Lead to deliver activities for our donor recruitment and retention.

• Work with the wider Development Team to input into our Development Strategy, as directed by the Head of Development, offering ideas and suggestions to help deliver the strategy and grow income across various income streams.

• Liaise with and coordinate support from third-parties / external consultants where necessary, such as providing support for specific campaigns or projects, and / or providing fundraising materials.

• Help us galvanise further support by lending your organisational skills to fundraising events.

• Attending conferences and events.

• Updating the wider team on fundraising progress.

• Participating in team meetings including note-taking and facilitation.

• Attending in-person workshops several times a year.

• Help us make THL UK an inclusive workplace where employees and supporters are proud to be members of the movement.

• Demonstrate commitment to creating a stronger and more effective animal protection movement through inclusion and belonging, recognising the need for all of us to do better for social justice on a personal and organisational level.

• Perform any other duties assigned by the Head of Development.

We will be holding a webinar on Tuesday 21st July at 7pm BST for you to find out more about the role and ask any questions you may have. The webinar will be hosted by our Development Team; Gavin Chappell-Bates, Head of Development, Emma Grant, Digital Fundraising Lead and Molly Archer-Zeff, Philanthropy Lead. If you’re interested, please register via our website by following the 'Redirect to recruiter' button.

For full details of the role, including the key competencies we see as the the most important requirements for being successful in this position, please visit our website by following the 'Redirect to recruiter' button.

Hours:

As an organisation we work a four day work week. This is a full time position of 30 hours per week over Monday to Thursday.

Good to know:

You will have access to:

• ​A fully remote work environment and team (all equipment is provided)
• A 4 day working week 
• 20 days leave plus 8 days for bank holidays that can be used at a time of your choice
• ​Flexible working hours
• ​A workplace pension
• An annual learning and development budget
• Support for mental and physical wellbeing 
• £25 per month reimbursement towards home working costs

At The Humane League UK, animal welfare is at the forefront of our everyday work and as such, many of our employees are vegan by personal choice. All of our events and workshops offer only plant-based meals. We welcome all mission-aligned candidates to apply, no matter where you are in your journey to end the abuse of animals raised for food.

We are looking to speak to a wide range of candidates with diverse backgrounds - #NonGraduatesWelcome

Our employees all work remotely but still enjoy a supportive, collaborative environment.

For our salaries to be fair, transparent and equitable we want to provide a system that delivers a competitive salary in the market and could eliminate potential biases in compensation (such as the gender pay gap). For more information about the Social Media Coordinator salary please the attached document.

All applicants need to be:

1. ​Fluent in written and spoken English.
2. ​Live and have the right to work in the UK (we are unable to consider applications from those without the right to work in the UK).
3. ​Committed to our mission to end the abuse of animals raised for food.

The Process:

All applicants will be contacted within one week of the closing date to let you know if you have been successful in reaching the next stage.

Our full interview process comprises of the following stages:

• A skills test to give us an opportunity to see your skills in action (completed remotely).
• Join an online interview (via video call) so we can learn more about each other.
• Final Interview (via video call as above)

For full details of our recruitment process please see the attached document.