Programme director one digital jobs

Job Purpose

This role sits at the heart of Operation Smile UK’s five-year strategy to deliver transformational growth across all income streams. As Retention Fundraising Lead, you will be instrumental in delivering on three of the four core strategic priorities:

1. Build Regular Giving – retain and maximise value from the regular giving base

2. Drive All Donors to Legacy – ensure donors experience best-in-class stewardship, increasing their loyalty to the charity with an objective of feeding into legacy and long-term giving goals.

3. Maximise Growth Through Digital Fundraising Integration – leading the expansion and optimisation of digital growth for all existing supporters.

The Retention Lead is responsible for delivering Operation Smile UK’s strategic individual giving retention and legacy marketing programme. This role is key to driving income growth from our existing donors from the point of recruitment, maximising value and minimising attrition from the regular giving pool and generating and retaining legacy actions and prospects.

You will lead on the strategy, planning, delivery and evaluation of retention campaigns, with full accountability for managing significant budgets, agency partnerships and performance metrics.

You will support the development of the Legacy strategy, be instrumental in planning legacy activity and delivering legacy marketing for the existing supporter base across all income streams and methods of support, from Partnerships, Volunteers and public fundraisers.

This is a senior, hands-on role suited to an experienced Individual giving fundraiser with strong commercial acumen and a data-driven mindset.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Campaign Leadership

• Develop and implement the retention strategy, aligned with income targets and supporter growth objectives.
• Lead on the planning and delivery of campaigns across cash, donor stewardship, legacy prospecting and stewardship, welcome, conversion, reactivation and upgrade appeals.
• Lead on strategic development of the cultivation journey to ensure Operation Smile maximise growth through digital channels.
• Monitor and report on campaign performance, providing insight-driven recommendations to optimise results.
• Drive testing and innovation to expand existing approaches and introduce new ones within acceptable risk and return parameters.

Budget Ownership & Performance Monitoring

• Take full responsibility for retention and legacy budget management, income forecasting and cost control.
• Set, monitor, and evaluate key performance indicators (KPIs), reporting against ROI, value and response, retention and conversion metrics and long-term value across all supporter groups channels.
• Collaborate with the Senior Database Manager and the Director of Data and Technology to develop and maintain performance dashboards (e.g., Power BI) and support strategic data analysis, including both short term and long-term channel performance evaluation.

Line Management

• Provide day-to-day leadership and support to the Retention team, ensuring clarity of objectives, effective workload management, and professional development opportunities.
• Conduct regular 1:1s, annual appraisals, and performance reviews for direct reports, supporting their growth and accountability.
• Foster a collaborative and inclusive team culture, encouraging innovation, learning, and high standards of delivery.
• Provide strategic and operational direction to external agencies or freelancers working on retention projects.

Agency & Partner Management

• Manage day-to-day relationships with external fundraising and creative partners.
• Lead on the relationship with the external fulfilment agency working with multiple internal stakeholders to ensure an effective partnership is in place.
• Lead briefings, content sourcing, agent training, stakeholder approvals, and quality assurance processes.
• Negotiate contracts and hold suppliers accountable for delivery and performance.

Cross-Team and Market Integration

• Represent the retention and legacy programme in cross-functional planning meetings and contribute to a unified team culture focused on strategic delivery.
• Work closely with the Acquisition and Digital lead to deliver a seamless supporter journey from point of recruitment to donor communications.
• Work closely with the Philanthropy Manager to develop and manage the pipeline of HV/Major donors.
• Work closely with the Legacy administrator, Philanthropy Manager and Volunteer Manager to develop the legacy pipeline.
• Work closely to ensure all digital communications are aligned and support the retention strategy
• Act as a key liaison with colleagues across Operation Smile global markets, sharing insights and exploring opportunities to align strategy, co-develop creative, or pilot cross-market initiatives.

Compliance, Risk & Best Practice

• Ensure all campaigns meet legal, ethical and data protection requirements (e.g., GDPR, Fundraising Regulator).
• Act as a key contributor to organisational risk assessments relating to income performance and supplier performance.
• Keep up to date with sector trends, innovations and benchmarks to maintain best practice.

Person specification

Essential Experience

• Extensive experience (ideally 5+ years) in Individual Giving, Legacy or fundraising acquisition roles.
• Proven success delivering multi-channel (including digital) retention campaigns for both cash, legacy and regular giving donors with strong ROI.
• Experience managing external agencies and suppliers to high performance standards.
• Strong background in regular giving retention.
• Demonstrable experience managing and reporting on retention budgets.

Skills & Attributes

• Strategic thinker with excellent campaign planning and execution skills.
• Highly numerate and confident using data for decision-making and optimisation.
• Strong project and stakeholder management abilities.
• Proactive, self-starting approach with high levels of ownership and accountability.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, able to represent the organisation externally.

Desirable

• Understanding of retention and supporter journey optimisation.
• Familiarity with CRM, Dot digital and data system Donorfy.
• Experience with Power BI or other reporting tools.

First-round interviews are set for the week of 9th March 2026. We strongly encourage early applications.

Disability Confident Committed Employer

We're a Disability Confident Committed employer, so we guarantee an interview to any disabled applicant who meets the minimum requirements for the job.

At Operation Smile UK, we value individuals based on their performance and potential. We're dedicated to creating a diverse and inclusive workplace that supports everyone's needs. We're happy to make reasonable adjustments throughout the application and employment process, and we particularly welcome applications from diverse backgrounds.

If you need this document in a different format, require any adjustments, or need help with your application, please contact us (further details contained within the job description).

Equality, Diversity & Inclusion

Operation Smile UK knows fundraising could better reflect the diverse backgrounds and experiences of the people the charity sector supports. If you don’t meet every requirement but believe your transferable skills align with the role, we encourage you to contact us for a conversation. 

We want our team to reflect the diversity of the communities we serve, offering equal opportunities to everyone, regardless of, age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, or sexual orientation.

We celebrate diversity and encourage you to bring your authentic self to Operation Smile UK. We are committed to supporting all applicants and ensuring a fair hiring process. All appointments will be made solely on merit, and we are happy to make reasonable adjustments throughout the recruitment process. 

We are looking for a Legacy & In Memory Fundraising Assistant to provide care and cultivation of In Memory donors, Legacy pledgers and enquirers by acting as first point of contact for these supporters and delivering ongoing one-to-one stewardship across various touchpoints including face to face, over the phone and via written correspondence.

You will support the Legacy & In Memory Fundraising Team to achieve its aims and objectives through undertaking key administrative tasks and assisting with the delivery of the team’s projects including marketing campaigns, supporter events and internal promotion of Legacy and In Memory messages to a range of audiences and stakeholders.

What we can offer you:

In return for your commitment to our cause and to recognise the value of our employees, Battersea offers a range of benefits to support the wellbeing of our employees. These include:

• 28 days of annual leave (plus 8 days paid public holidays) per year
• Discounted gym membership and cycle to work schemes
• Employee Assistance Programme and access to Wellbeing Resources
• Generous pension contributions - up to 10% employer contribution
• Free healthcare cash plan, where you can claim for a range of treatment including dental, optical, physiotherapy, chiropody and acupuncture every year
• Annual interest-free season ticket loans

We are also committed to providing learning and development to our employees. During your time with us, we provide support for your professional and career development, including access to digital and in-person training programmes, leadership and management training, mentoring and much more.

Our hybrid working model:

We operate a 50% onsite hybrid working model, with our office-based staff splitting their time between site based and home working. This enables our office-based staff to balance the benefits of home working with onsite collaboration and maintaining a connection to our cause.

Diversity and inclusion:

We are committed to providing a welcoming and inclusive experience for all staff, volunteers and trustees and those hoping to join us. We operate an anonymised shortlisting process and actively seek to ensure our process is fair and equitable for all.

We understand the value of diverse voices, perspectives, and experiences to help us deliver even more for our dogs and cats, and we welcome applicants from all sections of the community.

As a Disability Confident Committed Employer we will ask about any adjustments you may need at application and/or interview stage, and if you are offered a role with us, we’ll talk to you about any workplace adjustments you may need to help you perform at your best. If you would like to talk more about this, please contact us. Greyscale copies of the recruitment pack are also available on request.

More about us:

At Battersea, we aim to never turn away a dog or cat in need of help. We give each one lots of love, expert care and get to know their characters and quirks so we can find them a new home that’s just right for them. Join us and help us be here for every dog and cat, wherever they are, for as long as they need us.

Acceptable use of AI:

At Battersea, we value expertise. We recognise each candidate that applies to us will have a range of expertise they can offer us, so we want to hear about this in your own words. We understand the support that generative artificial intelligence (AI) software can offer but it can also lead to numerous applications presenting as generic and impersonal. This makes it difficult to gain understanding of your unique experience.

To best showcase yourself, we encourage you to write your responses without the assistance of AI. If you require the use of AI software to aid in completing your application, we ask you use the generative responses as a prompt for writing your answers and avoid copying and pasting. You must also ensure the information presented in your application accurately reflects your experience.

Closing date: 22nd February 2026

All applications must be submitted before the closing date advertised. We reserve the right to close the vacancy early if a high volume of applications is received.

Interview Date(s): One round interview (in person) w/c 2nd March 2026

For full details on the role, please download the recruitment pack.

Role description, February 2026

Reports to:         Executive Director of Marketing and Communications    

Direct reports:  One (Digital Marketing Manager)

Location:             Unit 7, Finsbury Business Centre Clerkenwell, London, EC1R 0NE, hybrid (at least one office day a week to qualify for London Weighting) 

Status, hours:   Permanent, full-time   

Salary:                 Starting at £50,622 plus benefits (includes 11% London Weighting), more could be considered for an exceptional candidate. 

Role Summary    

This is a crucial role in our digital and marketing team, ensuring that we engage significant new and existing audiences through campaigns, marketing activity and digital content year-round. You will coordinate delivery of Alcohol Change UK’s flagship Dry January® challenge and ensure that other campaigns (Sober Spring, Alcohol Awareness Week and wider marketing initiatives) connect with audiences across the UK and internationally. Working closely with external agencies and the Executive Director of Communications and Marketing, you will increase the profile of our work and help drive growth in our audiences, and those taking part in our behaviour change programme.

Key Tasks and Responsibilities  

Please refer to the candidate pack for role and responsibilities of this post.

Important note: We monitor for use of AI in responses and will reject applications containing fully AI generated answers.

We encourage applications from people who meet most, but not all, of our essential criteria. And we encourage applications from people who have been disabled by society, are from minoritised groups, have personal experience of alcohol harm or have experienced any other forms of societal discrimination.

Deadline for us to receive your application: Strictly 9am, 3 March 2026. The online application form gives a date and time stamp to all applications.  

We will aim to get back to you by: 5 March 2026. All applicants will receive a response.  

Interviews: 10/11 March 2026 (please save this date!) 

We have an exciting opportunity for a Content Manager to join our team in this newly created role.

Location – This is a hybrid role with one day a week in our London office (usually a Monday) and the rest from home. There will also be occasional travel to other programme sites (currently Stoke-On-Trent, Redcar, Middlesbrough and Scotland).

Salary – Between £40,000 and £45,000 DOE

Employment Type – Permanent

Team – Communications team

About you

We are looking for someone who can demonstrate the following:

• Qualification in a relevant subject such as journalism, communications, English or a related discipline or demonstratable experience in a communications role, including copywriting and content creation.
• Experience developing content in partnership with people with lived experience, ideally within a third sector or community context.
• Significant experience producing high-quality, clear, compelling, and audience appropriate content for a range of platforms.
• Strong eye for a compelling story to help demonstrate our impact and inspire collaboration from our partners.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills and the ability to communicate effectively and confidently with different groups of people.

About the role

The responsibilities of this role include:

• Developing and delivering high-quality content that aligns with organisational strategy, brand guidelines, and communications objectives.
• Supporting the delivery of a national content strategy in collaboration with the Head of Communications, local Communications Coordinators and the Fundraising team.
• Identifying, creating, and delivering compelling content across multiple channels, from case studies, blogs and newsletters to infographics, video, film, and promotional materials.
• Maintaining and strengthening relationships with key national and local stakeholders in line with our communications strategy and goals.
• Supporting Thrive at Five’s positioning with funders, policymakers, partners and the wider early years sector, including government, policy, media and influencing activities.

About us

Thrive at Five is a national charity focused on giving every child the best possible start in life. We know the foundations for life and learning are built in the earliest years, from pregnancy to five. By working alongside families, communities and local partners, we help build stronger, more connected support for parents, so more children get what they need to thrive and reach a good level of development by age five.

Thrive at Five is a relatively young organisation but with an already strong national and political profile, having been called out in Parliament for our ways of working in Stoke-on-Trent and invited to be interviewed at the 2025 Civil Society Summit by the Secretary of State for Education. We have grown rapidly in our first four years, with a growing team of nearly 40 across the country. 2026 will be a year of further growth and milestones for the charity as we celebrate our fifth-year anniversary and expand into our third and fourth regions. This will involve recruiting for a new teams, establishing our programmes and beginning to co-design and implement our work in partnership with communities.

About our benefits

• Pension contributions – We will contribute 3% and you can contribute 5% towards your pension through NEST.
• Hybrid working with one anchor day a week in our central London office near to Victoria train station, coach station and underground.
• 25 annual leave days per year plus bank holidays
• In addition to your laptop and phone provided by us, you can also receive a £100 contribution towards your home-working set up.
• £100 contribution towards your professional body membership

Please note that as this role is subject to a successful Basic Level Disclosure check through the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). If you have any unspent convictions, but wish to apply for this role, please advise us in your application. The successful candidate will also need to provide satisfactory references and current right to work in the UK.

To apply for this role, please submit your cover letter and CV by following the Apply Now button. Applications will be reviewed and shortlisted as they are received. While the closing date is midnight on Thursday, 26 February 2026, we may close the vacancy earlier if a suitable candidate is identified.

c. £68k per annum

Fixed term (until November 2026)

Part home/Part office (London) based

UNICEF ensures more of the world’s children are vaccinated, educated and protected than any other organisation. We have done more to influence laws and policies to help protect children than anyone else. We get things done. And we’re not going to stop until the world is a safe place for all our children.

This is a great opportunity to join the UK Committee for UNICEF (UNICEF UK) as our Head of Supporter Growth.

As the Head of Supporter Growth at UNICEF UK, you will lead a best-in-class programme to recruit new supporters across multiple channels and products, including one-off and regular donations, eCommerce customers, campaigning actions or supporters leaving gifts to UNICEF in their will.  You will develop strategies to grow our income through delivery of multi-channel campaigns that engage supporters and inspire them to act. 

You will be a values-based leader, with extensive experience of inspiring teams to achieve strategic objectives.  You will have extensive experience of developing and implementing successful marketing strategies, including financial management, strategic planning, monitoring and reporting of KPIs.

Act now and visit the website via the apply button to apply online.

Closing date: 9am, Monday 23 February 2026.

Interview date: week commencing Monday 2 March 2026 via video conferencing (MS Teams).

In return, we offer:

· excellent pay and benefits (including flexible working, generous annual leave and pension, big brand discounts and wellbeing tools)

· outstanding training and learning opportunities and the support to flourish in your role

· impressive open plan office space and facilities on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park

· an open culture and workplace with colleagues who share our values, enjoy their work and are motivated to do their utmost for children

· the opportunity to work in a leading children’s organisation making a difference to children around the world

Our application process: We use a system called "Applied" that anonymises your responses and focuses on your actual skills that are relevant to this role. This benefits you by giving you a greater chance of expressing your skills in this objective selection process.

We anticipate most colleagues will work an average of two days a week in the office on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford, East London (change to Scotland address if appropriate) and the rest of the time from home.  We will happily discuss other flexible options to suit your circumstances.

We particularly welcome applications from black, Asian and minority ethnic candidates, LGBTQ+ candidates, disabled candidates, and from men, because we would like to increase the representation of these groups at this level at UNICEF UK. We want to do this because we know greater diversity will lead to even greater results for children.

UNICEF UK promotes equality, diversity and inclusion in our workplace. We make employment decisions by matching business needs with skills and experience of candidates, irrespective of age, disability (including hidden disabilities), gender, gender identity or gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, or sexual orientation.

We welcome a conversation about your flexible working requirements, personal growth, and promoting a workplace where you can be yourself and achieve success based only on your merit.

The successful candidate will be required to apply for a criminal records check. A criminal record will not necessarily bar you from working with us. This will depend on the nature of the role and the circumstances of your offences.

We only accept online applications as this saves us money, making more funds available for us to help ensure children’s rights.

If you require support in completing the online form or an application form in an alternative format, please contact the Supporter Care line during office hours.

If you do not hear from us within 14 days of the closing date, please assume your application has been unsuccessful on this occasion. Please note that we only provide feedback to shortlisted candidates.

Registered Charity Nos. 1072612 (England and Wales) SC043677 (Scotland)

Context

Our vision is to bring hope to every one of our patients across London, when they need us most, where they need us most. Our mission is to use everything we know, our specialist skills and unmatched experience to save lives and ensure the best outcomes for every one of our patients and their families. We’re a charity that works alongside the NHS and our life-saving service is made possible by our supporters.

This is an exciting time to join London’s Air Ambulance Charity. In early 2025, we launched our new 15-year strategy, setting the direction for the service to our 50th anniversary in 2039. This strategy gives us the opportunity to tell the unique story of the service – we see more incidents requiring life-saving care at the scene than any other air ambulance service. London brings unique challenges and our new strategy requires us to tell a broader story of what we do and the impact we have.

Alongside this, we’ve developed an ambitious Engagement Strategy to put the people of London at the heart of our fundraising and marketing. Legacy giving is a critical part of our long-term sustainability, and this role is central to embedding a culture of legacies across the organisation. We’re at the early stages of our legacy programme, so this role presents a real opportunity for someone to grow and develop a successful income stream, as well as ensuring our supporters have meaningful opportunities to make a lasting impact.

About the role

The Senior Legacy Manager will lead the development and delivery of London’s Air Ambulance Charity’s legacy programme, ensuring legacy giving is embedded across fundraising and marketing activity and is front of mind across the organisation.

This role is responsible for managing our legacy marketing programme, working closely with the marketing team to deliver compelling, sensitive and effective activity. The postholder will also oversee our outsourced legacy administration partner, ensuring legacy gifts are processed efficiently, compliantly and in line with best practice, through regular performance monitoring and review.

Working across the Fundraising and Marketing Directorate, the Senior Legacy Manager will champion legacies as a vital form of support, collaborating closely with all teams in the directorate. This will include working with the major donor team to identify and develop high-value legacy opportunities and supporting the community engagement team to integrate in-memory and legacy messaging into the community talks programme and engagement activity within the community.

The role also plays a key part in connecting our legacy and in-memory programmes, working with the community engagement team and the Deputy Director to develop a joined up in-memory strategy that ensures a coherent and compassionate supporter experience.

About the person

You’ll be an experienced and confident legacy fundraising professional with a passion for building long-term impact. You’ll be a strong collaborator who can influence across teams and seniority levels, and a persuasive advocate for the importance of legacy giving. You’ll combine strategic thinking with hands on delivery, ensuring legacy activity is well planned, insight led and supporter centred. Comfortable working across disciplines and a self-starter, you’ll play a key role in embedding a culture of legacies across London’s Air Ambulance Charity.

The BRIT School is seeking an experienced and visionary Director of Communications to lead an evolving communications strategy that ensures the School remains the first choice for young, diverse artists.

This senior role has strategic responsibility for marketing, digital and social media, PR, alumni engagement, and brand management. You will be working directly with Principal Stuart Worden and be his voice in press releases, communications with industry, fundraising and lobbying environments. Working closely with the Senior Leadership Team (SLT), Development Team, Trustees, and industry partners, the postholder will play a pivotal role in driving student recruitment, strengthening industry relationships, supporting fundraising ambitions, and enhancing the School’s national and international profile.

You are an experienced strategic marketing and communications leader with a passion for arts and education at senior level, you know how to build powerful brands, lead talented teams, and deliver campaigns that inspire, engage and drive real impact. Collaborative, adaptable and values-led, you bring strong digital, PR and storytelling skills, commercial awareness, and a genuine commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion—thriving in a creative, fast-moving environment.

Do you share our vision to end youth unemployment?

The King’s Trust is seeking an exceptional individual to become Director of Delivery for Wales.You should share our passion for supporting young people to realise their potential and increasing our reach and impact. 

You will lead a team of colleagues, delivery partners and volunteers to turn our strategy into action, ensuring that our programmes reach those who need our help the most, by building partnerships, upholding our commitment to inclusion and safeguarding and growing our income. You will also develop and implement plans to achieve our four strategy goals of Tackling Inequality, Building the Nation’s Workforce, Being a Bold Voice for Change and Making Every Pound Count.To do this, you’ll need to able to engage and motivate a dispersed team and collaborate effectively across the whole organisation. You’ll also need to have an understanding of the challenges facing young people.

You will be a member of the Trust’s Senior Leadership Team, working with colleagues across the UK and will lead on a number of cross organisational projects.You’ll need to be visible across Wales and the wider organisation, working in our centre in Cardiff at least three days a week, as well as travelling to other centres and partner meetings in Wales and the UK as required. 

Make a real difference to life after brain injury. Join us as Headway’s Events Fundraising Manager and lead a dynamic, impactful events programme that raises vital funds and increases national visibility, 

Headway – the brain injury association, supports thousands of people every year. Our events are a crucial part of how we raise awareness, generate income, and build a passionate community of supporters. We’re now looking for an experienced, creative and highly organised Events Fundraising Manager to take our programme to the next level.

About the role

As Events Fundraising Manager, you will lead, shape and deliver an exciting portfolio of fundraising events, including virtual challenges, our annual Golf Day, and Headway’s prestigious Annual Awards. You will also steward supporters through major third‑party events such as the London Marathon, Great North Run and London Landmarks Half Marathon.

Working closely with the wider Fundraising Team and our Communications Team, you’ll ensure every event is safe, engaging and memorable, and that every supporter receives an exceptional journey with Headway.

With an established events calendar and opportunities for innovation, this role offers the chance to make a tangible impact while helping to grow an events income stream currently worth approximately £360,000.

What you’ll do

• Plan, manage and deliver Headway’s events programme from start to finish.
• Develop a forward‑thinking events strategy that increases participation and income.
• Deliver and champion outstanding supporter stewardship.
• Manage budgets, health & safety, logistics and evaluation.
• Build strong relationships with participants, volunteers, suppliers and corporate partners.
• Line manage and develop the Fundraising Coordinator (Events).
• Identify and test new fundraising opportunities to grow our reach and income.
• Work closely with the Communications Team to deliver effective, engaging marketing.

About you

We’d love to hear from you if you have:

• Proven experience in planning and delivering a diverse range of Fundraising events.
• Strong organisational skills and the ability to manage multiple projects
• Excellent communication and relationship‑building skills
• Understanding of fundraising principles and supporter engagement
• Experience of budgets, evaluation and health & safety
• Creativity, problem‑solving skills and a passion for delivering high‑quality experiences
• Ability to lead, support and develop others
• A commitment to safeguarding, equality, and Headway’s values

You’ll be joining a supportive, passionate and collaborative charity committed to improving life after brain injury.

Benefits

As a valued member of the Headway team, you’ll have access to the following range of benefits:

Financial Security

• Competitive salaries

• Pension: You will be automatically enrolled into the People’s Pension, with Headway contributing between 3–6% depending on your contributions

• Occupational Sick Pay Scheme, increasing with length of service

• Death in Service Benefit, providing peace of mind for your loved ones

Flexible Working

• Hybrid working, with a minimum of one day in the office. 

• Flexible working arrangements promoting wellbeing and work-life balance

Wellbeing

• 24/7 Employee Assistance Programme including access to counselling services

• Eye test vouchers

• Mental Health First Aiders

Holidays and Leave

• 25 days annual leave, increasing incrementally to 30 days with service (pro rata for part-time roles), plus Bank Holidays, one day birthday leave and additional three days for Christmas closure. 

Additional Benefits

• Access to shopping and lifestyle benefits and discounts through IMHR Plus Privilege membership

If you’re excited by the opportunity to lead inspiring events that change lives, we’d love to hear from you. If you have any further questions about this role please contact Ruth Owens, Interim Fundraising Director. No recruitment agencies please. 

• Closing date: 25th February 2026 
• Interviews: 3rd 4th March (online)

Are you passionate about tackling the issues faced by young people such as school absence, loneliness and career opportunities, and determined in supporting their development of life and employability skills? Then there is a place for you at WeMindTheGap. 

We are seeking a special person to fill a new role, Director of Operations. You will bridge the gap between our Board of Trustees, CEO and Operational Delivery. You will be responsible for turning our 5-year plan into high-quality sustainable action while ensuring that our culture remains the golden thread running through everything we do. To do this you will need to be able to effectively manage our growing team of circa 31 staff, line manage our Senior Leadership Team, maximise our yearly budget of roughly £1.7 million, and monitor and report on our Key Performance Indicators directly to our CEO.

Over the last decade, WeMindTheGap has walked alongside the most amazing young people aged 11–25yrs who have fallen through the gaps to find their place in the world. However, sadly, factors such as the Covid-19 pandemic mean that the need for our programmes is greater than ever.  

That is why we have launched an ambitious 5-year plan to deepen our impact and expand our ‘Villages’. Through our place-based approach and continuum of five programmes, we provide our 'Gappies' with work and life skills opportunities, a sense of belonging in their communities, and a chance to build independent, fulfilling lives. 

If you are an individual who thrives in social system changes, complex systems work, if you are driven by purpose and want to be part of an organisation that changes the lives of young people today and for our future generations, we want to hear from you. 

Location: In-person at our WeConnect Hubs (Wrexham, Flintshire, Cheshire) 
Salary: £50,000 
Hours: Full-time, 5 days a week (37.5 hours) 
Start Date: ASAP, ideally by 01/05/2026 (negotiable) 
Contract: Permanent 
Deadline: 12:00pm, 11th of March 2026

To find out more and how to apply, please download and read our full ‘Director of Operations - Recruitment Pack’. 

Please note, the deadline for applying is 11th March 2026 and if chosen for stage 2 you must be available for interview in-person on 31st March or 1st of April 2026.

This is an exciting opportunity for someone with excellent strategic, analytical and leadership skills to join Impetus as an Investment Director and support us in our mission to transform the lives of young people.

The Investment Director (ID) is a key member of the Investment Team, playing a leading role in identifying, assessing, and supporting portfolio partner charities and other non-profit organisations to deepen their impact and scale their outcomes. This role works closely with other Investment Directors and Investment Managers to deliver external facing support to portfolio partners as well as internal projects to support the development of the investment model and portfolio strategy.

Investment Directors use strategic thinking, analytical rigour, and senior relationship skills to support a portfolio of amazing organisations that, together, will help shift the life chances and outcomes of young people from disadvantaged backgrounds in the UK.

About the Investment Team

The Investment Team is responsible for selecting portfolio partners, managing our charity investments and supporting our portfolio partners to improve and scale their impact.

The Investment Team also leads the Impetus Leadership Academy, a leadership development programme to support talent from ethnic minority backgrounds in the UK youth sector to progress into senior leadership roles.

The team is made up of 18 people, including former teachers, charity chief executives, charity impact leads, management consultants, social investment portfolio managers and impact consultants.  

The team is led by a Portfolio Director who sits on the Senior Management Team. The Portfolio Director has 5 direct reports: a Deputy Portfolio Director, three Sector Leads (who lead our work in School engagement, School attainment and Employment Sectors) and an Impact Lead. Sector Leads line manage 6 Investment Directors. Investment Directors line manage Investment Managers (currently 5). Investment Directors and Investment Managers tend to primarily focus on a sector but might have mixed portfolios, depending on need, experience and interest.

The Investment Team has a good track record of role progression. All four Leads and a number of our Investment Directors were promoted from within the team.

The team is passionate, rigorous, determined, creative and warm. We come from a range of backgrounds and bring a broad mix of perspectives.  We care deeply for our colleagues, our portfolio partners and the young people we serve.

About this role

We believe that all young people deserve to succeed in school and in work, whatever their background. As we enter a challenging time with rising inflation and a likely recession, our work feels more vital than ever before. We are pleased to be able to expand our team to support our growing portfolio of charity and non-profit partners, in order to reach and impact more lives. The role of Investment Director presents an exciting opportunity to contribute meaningfully to the charities we serve, the team itself and the whole of Impetus.  

Key responsibilities

Finding high potential charities and non-profit partners for our portfolio

• Identifying potential charitable organisations for investment 
• Leading in-depth due diligence process within the scope of a grant round, to assess and build partnership foundations with potential partners – covering leadership and governance, and their impact, scale, and partnership potential; 
• Modelling from first contact of origination, our approach to engaged and trust-based investment management support;
• Developing and presenting high quality investment propositions to our Investment Committee.

Managing partnerships with portfolio partners

• Managing relationships with partner Chairs and CEOs 
• Agreeing Service Funding Agreements, including appropriate annual investment milestones to allow for a clear assessment of re-investment potential at end of phase 
• Regularly monitoring and assessing partner progress / risks against milestones and making evidence-based recommendations on progression or exit to Leads, Portfolio Director and the Investment Committee
• Escalating key risks on performance, leadership and safeguarding 
• Conducting annual partnership review with Sector Leads and partner CEOs
• Working with Impetus Finance colleagues to ensure timely distribution of grant payments, in line with Service Funding Agreements. 

Supporting portfolio partners 

• Providing direct support to CEOs and senior colleagues on key strategic topics, using a mix of at least monthly one-to-one meetings and group facilitation to:
  • clarify theory of change,
  • define long term ambition,
  • develop growth strategy
  • achieve a step change in the delivery and performance management of outcomes,
  • strengthen leadership (individual and collective) and governance capabilities,
  • develop path to scale,
  • build financial resilience;
• Scoping and project managing pro bono capacity-building projects (in addition to providing direct management support). Ensure projects are delivered to a high standard and contribute to charity progression;
• Identifying engagement opportunities for our donors and supporters with portfolio partners that are aligned with the partner’s activities and do not distract or undermine their core work;
• Collaborating with the Impetus Philanthropy team to support the development of additional funding opportunities for portfolio partners, enhancing their ability to deliver impact at scale;
• Effectively leveraging the support of investment managers to advance the objectives developed for each portfolio partner that is managed by an Investment Director.

Support to Impetus

• Developing expertise about “what works” in the sector through cultivation and use of expert input and engagement as well as investigation into key research and evaluative literature;
• Contributing insights and learning from portfolio work to inform Impetus’ strategy, model and delivery;
• Contributing to internal priorities and working groups (e.g. team strategy discussions, digital improvement initiatives, or equity, diversity, and inclusion)
• Contribute towards Impetus’ public affairs and philanthropy objectives through input into case studies, research and policy campaigns, donor reports and fundraising events
• Sharing the learning from our work across the team, across the organisation and externally working within Impetus strategy and agreed forums
• Engaging in Impetus pro bono, communications, and advocacy events, and engage portfolio partners appropriately in these events.
• Where appropriate, line-managing and supporting Investment Managers on the team to grow and develop, and achieve their project, role and team objectives.

Person specification

Essential

• A commitment to Impetus’ mission.
• Senior level responsibility and a strong track record of building trust-based relationships with senior stakeholders, advising them on key strategic decisions, and challenging them in a respectful and collaborative manner.
• A talent for strategic thinking around complex issues.
• Strong financial acumen and analytical skills.
• Understanding of impact measurement and evaluation fundamentals.
• Tenacity and initiative.
• Ability to flex personal style to needs of charity and leadership.
• Growth mind-set to seek out and act on feedback.
• Proven ability to work independently, and to exercise good judgment.
• Strong planning and time management skills.
• Interest in partnering closely with charities that are doing what it takes to get better.
• A commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion.

If you don't tick all these boxes, but still feel that you fit the profile, please apply anyway.

Desirable

• Experience in the non-profit (charity or social enterprise) sector, through work, as a pro-bono volunteer or Trustee capacity.
• Experience in consulting, investment management, senior charity management, or other in-depth grant making and advisory work.
• Knowledge and expertise in UK education or youth employability sectors.
• Board experience in private, public or third sector.
• Understanding of or experience with commissioning impact evaluations.

Key Responsibilities

As our Website Lead, you will: 

• Oversee daily management, development and optimisation of the ICR’s main website — including content, SEO/AEO and technical improvements
• Work closely with internal partners to develop new pages, sections and features
• Lead a programme of ongoing content review and user training across the organisation
• Produce regular website analytics reports and deliver insight-driven recommendations
• Ensure consistent branding, accessibility and outstanding user experience
• Manage a Digital Communications Officer (job share, 1.2 FTE) and help recruit and line-manage a new Website Developer
• Plan and prioritise technical projects with our Digital Services (IT) team

About You

This is a fantastic opportunity for someone who combines technical understanding with creativity, editorial judgement and a passion for delivering exceptional digital experiences.

You’ll bring:

• Strong experience managing and publishing content within a CMS (Sitefinity experience is a bonus)
• A solid understanding of HTML and confidence working with developers and IT colleagues
• Experience overseeing the day-to-day running of a large website
• Skills in analysing website performance using tools like GA4, Google Tag Manager or Matomo
• Excellent organisational ability and the skills to manage multiple concurrent projects
• Strong written and verbal communication skills
• Experience managing or mentoring others (highly desirable)
• A proactive, collaborative approach to working across teams
• Optional but advantageous: experience with Adobe Creative Cloud tools, editorial content review, and training non-technical users

Purpose of the role

The Legal Director provides strategic leadership on immigration, economic migration, asylum and nationality for ILPA, with a primary focus on legal policy, legislative analysis, member engagement and public influence.

The role is responsible for shaping ILPA’s legal positions, overseeing the quality and coherence of legal analysis across the organisation, and maintaining ILPA’s standing as the leading professional membership body in immigration and asylum law.

Key responsibilities

1. Legal strategy and leadership

In collaboration with the Trustees and Chief Executive, the Legal Director will:

a. Develop and maintain ILPA’s short-, medium- and long-term legal strategy in line with ILPA’s charitable objectives.

b. Identify emerging legal, policy and practice issues affecting immigration, asylum and nationality law.

c. Engage with ILPA members to understand frontline impacts and systemic concerns.

d. Advise the Trustees and Chief Executive on legal policy priorities, organisational positioning and risk.

e. Translate member insight into clear legal and policy positions.

f. Lead ILPA’s legal responses to legislative proposals, consultations and policy initiatives.

g. Ensure ILPA’s legal work remains focused, authoritative and aligned with ILPA’s strategic plan.

2.       Policy, parliamentary and public influence

a. Lead ILPA’s engagement on legal and policy matters with government departments, Parliament and public bodies.

b. Draft and oversee consultation responses, parliamentary briefings and policy submissions.

c. Represent ILPA at meetings with Ministers, officials, parliamentarians and sector partners.

d. Provide expert evidence to parliamentary inquiries and committees.

e. Support the Chief Executive in high-level advocacy and external relations where appropriate.

f. Maintain ILPA’s reputation as a trusted expert voice on immigration and asylum law.

3.       Member support and legal expertise

a. Maintain expert-level knowledge of UK and international immigration, asylum and nationality law.

b. Monitor and analyse developments in legislation, case law and policy.

c. Oversee the accuracy and quality of legal information provided to members.

d. Support ILPA’s thematic and regional working groups, including attendance and follow-up actions where appropriate.

e. Build and maintain relationships with NGOs, migrant organisations and advice-sector partners.

f. Strengthen member engagement through high-quality legal leadership and insight.

4.       Relationship with litigation and advice functions

a. Work collaboratively with the Director of Strategic Litigation and Advice to ensure consistency between ILPA’s policy positions and litigation strategy.

b. Provide legal policy insight to inform litigation priorities where appropriate.

5. Management and organisational leadership

a. Line manage the Senior Legal Officer and support the Chief Executive’s HR management function for the Senior Legal Officer

b. Provide strategic direction and professional support to the legal function without direct responsibility for operational casework or project delivery.

c. Contribute as a senior member of ILPA’s management team.

d. Support organisational planning, risk management and reporting.

e. Act as a senior ambassador for ILPA internally and externally.

6. Cross-organisational working

a. Work with the Training Manager to identify emerging legal training needs and priority topics for members.

b. Contribute to the development of training programmes, events and conferences by advising on content and legal accuracy.

c. Support identification of suitable speakers and trainers from within ILPA’s membership.

d.  Work with the Content and Digital Services Manager to ensure legal content is accurate, accessible and up to date across ILPA’s digital platforms.

e. Contribute legal expertise to funding bids and project reporting where required.

f. Support organisational strategy development and review.

g. Undertake other reasonable duties consistent with the seniority of the role.

Accountability and relationships

Reports to: Chief Executive

Direct reports: Senior Legal Officer

Key internal relationships:

· Director of Strategic Litigation and Advice

· Training Manager

· Content and Digital Services Manager

· Trustees and Chief Executive

Person specification

Essential

· Substantial expertise in immigration, asylum and nationality law

· Strong understanding of public law and human rights frameworks

· Proven experience of legal policy development and advocacy

· Excellent analytical and drafting skills

· Experience managing senior legal staff

· Authority and credibility with Parliament, government and the profession

Desirable

· Experience within a membership organisation or charity

· Understanding of litigation governance structures

· Experience contributing to digital legal resources

· Familiarity with training design or professional education

Why work at ILPA

• National profile and respected reputation

• High-impact policy and legal work

• Flexible and supportive working culture

• Collaborative, expert-led organisation

Sadler's Wells is a world-leading creative organisation dedicated to dance in all its forms. Our mission is to make and share dance that inspires us all.

Sadler’s Wells commissions, presents and produces more dance than any other organisation in the world, with programmes and productions in the UK, global tours with performances in venues in 53 countries to date and our pioneering Digital Stage. Operating across three distinct venues and four theatres in London, Sadler’s Wells Theatre, the Lilian Baylis Studio, the Peacock and the newly opened Sadler’s Wells East, our aim is to reflect and respond to the world through dance. We enable artists of all backgrounds to create dance that moves us and opens our minds; sharing those experiences with the widest possible audiences to enrich their lives and deepen their understanding of what it means to be human.

About the Role

The Director of Finance, Data and Systems leads the delivery of high‑quality financial stewardship and strategy, providing expert oversight of finance, data and systems across all Sadler’s Wells venues to support organisational performance and decision‑making.

Working as part of Sadler’s Wells’ senior leadership team, you will act as a trusted advisor to the Co-Chief Executives and the Board, ensuring robust organisational financial planning, risk management, and ensuring resources are effectively aligned to deliver impact for audiences and wider stakeholders.

Key duties will include:

• Act as a strategic advisor to the Co-Chief Executives, trustees and other key stakeholders on all financial matters.
• Prepare and present financial updates to SLT, the Boards of trustees and relevant sub-committees.
• Lead the Finance and Data & Systems teams (3 direct reports and a wider team of 18)
• Advise the Board with clear, insightful financial reporting and recommendations.
• Lead the finance and accounting strategy to optimise the organisation’s financial performance
• Strategic oversight of Data and Systems department, ensuring the operational infrastructure is fit for purpose, and seeking to optimise the use of data to support improvements across the organisation.
• Lead the financial management plan, including setting and management of budgets, and provision of robust and relevant financial and management information to senior management, trustees and committees, and all budget holders within the organisation.
• Provide financial vision and forward financial planning and identify risk and maintain oversight of relevant mitigation measures.
• Ensure accurate and timely year-end accounts and audit processes, in line with Charity Commission requirements and applicable accounting standards (e.g. SORP).
• Responsible for the governance of the three corporate charities, subsidiary company and board subcommittees through maintenance and development of a risk management framework, financial systems and internal controls.

About You

You will be a CCAB qualified (or equivalent) accountant, with experience operating at Director of Finance, Chief Financial Officer level or within an equivalent senior finance leadership role. Applicants seeking a step up are encouraged to apply but must strongly demonstrate relevant prior experience of leading finance teams operationally and strategically.

You will have experience of reporting into Boards and sub-committees with the ability to translate and present complex financial data to non-finance audiences.

Candidates from all sectors are encouraged to apply but must demonstrate an interest in the work Sadler’s Wells undertakes as a world-leading performing arts venue.

Candidates must have the right to work in the UK. 

What We Offer

• Salary of £120,000 per annum
• Hybrid working – 3 days per week in-office. As this position requires close collaboration across teams a strong in-person presence is encouraged across all four venue sites.
• Annual Leave of 25 days annual leave per year
• Life assurance policy of twice annual salary
• Discretionary access to tickets for performances and staff discounts at the Garden Court Café and Park Kitchen and Bar

More Information

           Application Deadline: Sunday 22nd February
           First Stage Interviews: Monday 9th and Tuesday 10th March 2026
           Second Stage Interviews: Monday 16th March 2026

Sadler’s Wells is partnering with Ivy Rock Partners in the recruitment of this role. For further information please contact Holly Arrowsmith at Ivy Rock Partners for further details.

All direct or third-party applications will be forwarded to Ivy Rock Partners.

Recruitment Statement from Sadler’s Wells

We welcome applications from people from all backgrounds who feel they align with our mission, vision and values. We are international and multicultural on our stages, and we want to reflect that in our organisation. By celebrating difference and incorporating diverse points of view and experiences, we can become closer to our artists, audiences and the communities we serve. 

We are proud to be a Disability Confident employer meaning we have been certified by the government as actively taking steps to attract, recruit and retain disabled workers.

Sadler’s Wells is a PiPA (Parents and Carers in Performing Arts) Charter Partner, striving towards creating a more family friendly working environment.