Research intern jobs

OUR ORGANISATION:

Womankind Worldwide is a global women’s rights organisation working in partnership with women’s rights movements and organisations to transform the lives of women and girls. We strengthen and support women’s movements in our focus countries in Africa and Asia, and take collective action at regional and global levels, to ensure women’s voices are heard, their rights are realised, and their lives are free from violence. Currently, Womankind has staff based in Kenya and the UK. This position can be located either in Kenya or the UK. You must have the right to work in Kenya or the UK to apply for this role, in line with the laws and regulations of these countries.

ROLE PURPOSE:

The Policy and Advocacy team within Womankind influences a transformative, feminist agenda for change in solidarity with movement partners and allies. This is a full-time, fast-paced subject matter expert role that leads the organisation’s partner centred and evidence-based advocacy in UK and Global Advocacy forums, from a decolonial feminist lens, in line with Womankind’s 2030 strategy. Additionally, the role supports partner advocacy related learning & exchange, and capacity strengthening for partners based in all of Womankind’s focus countries and co-leads work on advocacy related knowledge products.

AREAS OF RESPONSIBILITY:

1. Strategic Leadership & Positioning

Leads Womankind’s evidence based advocacy and strategic engagement in global, regional & UK Policy forums from a decolonial feminist lens. This includes:

• Formulation of Womankind’s UK & Global advocacy plans, and execution of key deliverables based on thorough advocacy mapping processes.

• Planning and engaging in side and parallel events.

• Identifying key advocacy messages and supporting partner engagement/participation.

2. Feminist Research & Knowledge Production

• Drives the conceptualisation, decolonial feminist framing, review, and strategic dissemination of knowledge products in alignment with advocacy priorities per the organisation’s Strategy 2030 and relevant sub-strategies including the feminist partnerships and influencing sub-strategies.

3. Partner Support, Learning and Exchange

• Proactively supports partner influencing and advocacy skills strengthening where necessary and appropriate, in line with available organisational resources.

• Identifies, plans and executes strategic in-country, transnational and cross-continental learning and exchange opportunities.

4. Programme Management

• Contributes to the P&A team’s annual planning and budgeting processes.

• Engages in robust monitoring, evaluation, reporting and learning (MERL). This includes contributing to the development of appropriate advocacy MERL tools, participation in institutional MERL processes.

KEY RELATIONSHIPS AND COLLABORATION:

Internal

1. P&A team.

2. Grantmaking & Partnerships Team.

3. Fundraising Team.

4. Communications team.

External

1. Partners.

2. Women’s Rights Organisations & Feminist Movement Allies.

3. UK Government Entities e.g. FCDO.

4. Regional and International Bodies.

PERSON SPECIFICATION:

Qualification and training:

• A post-graduate qualification in a relevant social sciences field e.g. international development or legal studies, human rights, gender studies, or equivalent experience.

Essential Experience:

• At least 5 years’ experience in the women’s rights and feminist sectors with demonstrable capabilities in strategic, partner-centred, evidence-based, decolonial feminist advocacy leadership in UK and Global Advocacy spaces.

• In-depth knowledge on core women’s rights normative standards and intersectional feminist principles that guide policy and influencing work within the UK and globally. This includes how diverse women’s rights thematic areas intersect and how this is integrated into strategic influencing and advocacy.

• Astute networking skills and ability to successfully build and leverage relationships with diverse partners, allies, government officials and intergovernmental bodies for strategic advocacy and influencing.

• Proven track record in leading/driving knowledge production from a decolonial feminist lens including research reports, and policy briefs.

• Country specific expertise in executing partner advocacy needs and learning and exchange opportunities linked to diverse women and girls in local, transnational, and cross-continental contexts.

• Sound programme management skills including demonstrable experience in advocacy related MERL, annual planning and budgeting.

• Demonstrable experience in direct line-management of officers, interns and volunteers in diverse and cross-cultural teams.

Desirable Experience:

• Proven track record of successfully contributing to fundraising bids.

Knowledge and Skills:

• An organised, strategic, credible, confident self-starter with the ability to respond in a timely way to emergent needs and opportunities in the UK or globally.

• A collegial and collaborative team player who can work effectively as part of a diverse team in ways that contribute to a creative, safe, inclusive and supportive work environment.

• Excellent written, verbal influencing and communication skills. Fluency in English is essential.

• Proficient in use of MS Word, Excel and PowerPoint.

• A flexible, creative, solutions-focused approach to problem-solving.

• Strong feminist politics and analysis lens.

• Understanding of and commitment to working in line with Womankind’s feminist and anti-racist stance.

Travel Requirements:

International travel and regular in-person catch-ups with UK based policy makers and civil society colleagues are essential requirements for this role. The post holder is expected to engage in reasonable international travel to fulfil their duties. This is expected to be no more than four-eight weeks per year.

Line Management:

The role holder is expected to line manage the UK/Global Policy and Advocacy Officer. They will occasionally supervise consultants, interns and volunteers as needed, in line with the work they are leading.

All posts are expected to contribute towards developing a supportive working environment, to demonstrate a commitment to inclusion, professionalism and respect, transparency and accountability and to uphold quality standards as outlined in policies and procedures, and in compliance with Womankind Worldwide’s Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Policy.

The role also undertakes other responsibilities not outlined above which are commensurate with a role of this nature and which have been discussed and agreed with the line manager.

What does it take to lead the national voice for special schools at a time of real change?

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) – National Association of Special Schools (NASS)

National – home-based, with regular travel across England and Wales, particularly London

£90,000–£110,000 per annum

Full-time, permanent.

About NASS 

The National Association of Special Schools (NASS) is the membership association for special schools in England and Wales. We bring together independent special schools, non-maintained special schools, special academies, maintained special schools and multi-academy trusts with specialist provision.

We exist to inform, support and represent our members, helping specialist schools improve outcomes for children and young people with SEND and secure the place of specialist provision within the wider education system. NASS is known for being accessible, responsive and personal, combining national influence with practical support that members value as timely, human and trustworthy.

This is a pivotal moment for the organisation. In February this year, the Department for Education published a major white paper on SEND reform which will require NASS to both influence national policy on behalf of our members and children and young people, as well as support them to navigate the changes. Our new CEO will need to review our strategy while building on our strong platform and momentum to further deepen our influence and strengthen our internal capacity.

As our next Chief Executive, you will:

• Strategy & Impact: Lead NASS through a period of policy and structural change, ensuring the organisation remains clear on purpose, responsive to members and influential in the SEND landscape.
• Governance & Finance: Work closely with the Board of Trustees to provide strong governance, prudent financial stewardship, robust risk management and clear strategic oversight.
• Operational Leadership: Provide confident leadership to a small, remote team, strengthening collaboration, accountability, resilience and a positive, high-trust culture.
• Income Generation: Oversee budgeting, planning and reporting while developing thoughtful opportunities to diversify income through membership, partnerships, events and related activity.
• Community & Partnerships: Build and sustain trusted relationships with government, parliament, regulators, sector bodies and member schools, ensuring NASS remains relevant and well connected.
• Member Services: Protect and enhance the practical offer to members, from briefings and special interest groups to conferences, webinars, training and peer-to-peer learning.
• Brand & Profile: Act as a credible public ambassador for NASS, helping to modernise communications and broaden the organisation’s voice beyond a founder-shaped model.
• Future Growth: Shape a distributed leadership profile and support a more varied, accessible and engaging approach to membership, advocacy and communications.
• A seasoned senior leader with experience in a charity, membership body, education or public sector setting, and a clear track record of leading through change.
• A strong strategic thinker, able to absorb complex information quickly and translate it into clear, practical direction.
• A confident communicator with the gravitas to represent NASS with members, staff, trustees, MPs, peers, media and national partners.
• A politically astute relationship-builder, comfortable navigating a complex and fast-moving external environment.
• Experienced in governance, with a sound understanding of working with boards or trustees and supporting effective decision-making.
• Numerate and commercially minded, with experience of budgets, financial planning, income generation or partnership development.
• Credible, approachable and resilient, with the emotional intelligence to lead well in a high-profile, remote and sometimes uncertain context.
• Direct SEND experience would be a significant advantage, alongside understanding of specialist education or similarly complex stakeholder environments.

Why NASS?

• This is a chance to lead a respected, member-led organisation with a strong national reputation and a clear public purpose.
• You will help shape the future of specialist education at a time when SEND reform is high on the agenda.
• NASS has a loyal, experienced and collegiate remote staff team, supported by an active Board of Trustees.
• The organisation offers a genuinely influential platform, with strong connections across the sector and with government.

Application

For full details of the role including how to apply, please download the full appointment brief. For an informal and confidential conversation about this position, please contact Jenny Hills at Harris Hill via apply button with times to speak and (optional but appreciated) a CV or professional profile which will be treated with the strictest confidence.

Closing date for applications: 9am, Monday 8th June 2026

As leading charity recruitment specialists and a certified B Corp, Harris Hill is committed to high and ever-improving standards of equitable and inclusive recruitment. We actively welcome applications from all sections of the community regardless of age, disability, gender, race, religion, sexuality and other protected characteristics.

Job Title - Senior Billing Officer and Coordinator

Contract - Permanent

Hours - Part time 0.6 FTE (21 hours per week) or 0.8 FTE (28 hours per week) with some flexibility around working hours

Salary Range - £30,000 to 40,000 FTE (Pro rata £18,800 to £24,000 for 0.6FTE and £24,000 to £32,000 for 0.8FTE)

Location - London office - Coram Campus, 41 Brunswick Square, London WC1N 1AZ

About Coram

Coram is the UK’s oldest children’s charity founded by Thomas Coram in London helping vulnerable children and young people since 1739. Today, the Coram group helps more than one million children, young people, families and professionals every year by providing access to the skills and opportunities they need to thrive.

One of the nine members of the Coram group, Coram Children’s Legal Centre (CCLC) is the UK’s specialist centre for children’s rights in education, immigration, community care and family law, and provides significant international legal systems consultancy. The centre is located on the Coram Campus in central London with a base in Colchester. We champion access to justice through information and advice, legal practice and representation, policy and strategic litigation. Our Legal Practice Unit provides advice and representation primarily under legal aid contract. Our Policy and Practice Change team promotes practice change through training and capacity building to professionals and secures systems change through research, policy and advocacy.

About the role

This role will coordinate, oversee and supervise the Legal Practice Unit’s legal aid billing operations. Through systematic and efficient management, the post-holder will play an important role in CCLC’s financial and operational sustainability. Working with the Managing Director of Legal Practice, the Heads of Department and Coram’s central finance team, the key objective of the role is to help maximise the unit’s legal aid billing in controlled work, certificated work and inter partes costs. It will also oversee private fees billing. The post-holder will oversee the smooth running of legal aid billing. In this role, the post-holder will work very closely with legal, operations and administrative staff. The role will act as a key point of contact for a range of internal and external stakeholders including Coram’s central finance team who will support the role with grant fund management and overall accounting functions for CCLC. The post-holder will support the Managing Director of Legal Practice and Children’s Rights and department heads in the successful maintenance of our relationship with the Legal Aid Agency.

The role would suit a legal aid billing professional with significant direct hands on experience of a range of types of civil legal aid billing (including controlled and certificated work) and an understanding of the challenges of legal aid. The ideal candidate will have experience of supervising the work of others but support and training will be provided. We are looking for someone who is interested in developing into management, is a proactive problem solver, is highly organised and able to maintain oversight over different workstreams ensuring progress. In addition to legal aid experience, they will need an aptitude for processing large amounts of data, developing and managing spreadsheets and improving organisational systems. They will be well supported through training, an enthusiastic and competent junior billing team, the central finance team and an outsourced legal cashiering company, as well as a friendly and collaborative management team including the Managing Director and the Heads of practice areas.

This is a largely office-based role in order to fully provide support to the billing team. However, some remote / hybrid working may be possible depending the experience of the candidate after the initial settling in period and there will be flexibility over how the working hours days will be spread across the week (within working hours). The team are mostly based in the London office and with one billing team member in Colchester so the postholder may require some occasional travel.

For further information on CCLC please visit our website.

To apply for this role, please click on the 'apply now' button below to complete the application.

Closing date: Sunday 7th June 2026 at 23:55

Test and Interview date: Week commencing 15th June 2026

Coram is an equal opportunities employer and we believe a diverse workforce enables us to improve the services to the children and families we help. We are genuinely committed to encouraging candidates from all sections of the community we seek to support. This includes those from global majority ethnic backgrounds, those that identify as LGBQT+, those with disabilities, those with lived experience of care, those with neuro-diversity, and those from other groups who are underrepresented at Coram.

If applicants feel comfortable, we would encourage them to draw on lived experience as well as professional experience in their personal statement as part of their application.

We are committed to the safeguarding of children and where appropriate will require the successful applicant to undertake a check from the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Registered Charity No. 312278.