Research manager jobs in kingstanding, west midlands

Acorns Children’s Hospice provides specialist care and support for babies, children, and young people who are life-limited or life-threatened. When time is short, every moment is precious. Acorns helps children and families fill the time they have together with love, fun, and laughter to create lasting memories.

Palliative care for children aged 0-18 is delivered at Acorns’ hospices in Birmingham, Worcester, and Walsall, as well as in family homes or elsewhere in the community. Their holistic, tailored approach meets each child’s clinical, emotional, cultural, religious, and spiritual needs. Supporting over 750 children and nearly 1,000 families annually, Acorns is a vital lifeline for families across the West Midlands and Gloucestershire during unimaginably difficult times.

This is a brilliant opportunity to take on a high-performing team at a time when Acorns is really moving forward. Supported by strong internal resources, the Head of Public Fundraising will drive growth across Individual Giving, Legacy, In-Memoriam, Digital and Prize-led Giving in the context of a highly collaborative, whole-organisation approach to fundraising.

The immediate focus will be on making the most of existing programmes, strengthening audience insight, and getting the team ready to play a major part in the organisation-wide appeal launching in 2025.

Growing Individual Giving income from £1.6 million to £2 million over the next two years will be a central priority, alongside expanding digital and prize-led fundraising and sharpening supporter journeys across the board.

As Head of Public Fundraising, you will: 

• Develop and implement a data-driven strategy for all areas of public fundraising to meet growth targets.

• Lead the Individual Giving portfolio, ensuring growth across direct mail, face-to-face acquisition, mid-value development, and telemarketing.

• Oversee the successful delivery of cash appeals, ensuring they meet both income and ROI targets.

• Drive the expansion of digital fundraising and prize-led giving, including managing the growing digital fundraising portfolio and prize-led initiatives.

• Work closely with cross-functional teams, including Marketing & Communications, to ensure campaigns are well integrated and aligned with the overall fundraising strategy.

• Manage and develop a high-performing team, providing leadership, coaching, and clear performance metrics.

• Collaborate with senior leadership and internal stakeholders to drive the strategic direction of public fundraising.

About you

The role needs someone who’s as comfortable setting long-term plans as they are getting hands-on when needed, whether that’s developing appeals, working with agencies or supporting new product ideas. Collaboration across fundraising, care and supporter engagement teams will be essential to making this happen and building an even stronger supporter-first culture at Acorns.

If you’re a senior Individual Giving expert who’s ambitious for supporters and income, this is a chance to take ownership of a strong portfolio, drive innovation, and make a real impact on Acorns’ future.

You will have:

• Extensive experience in Individual Giving (substantial direct marketing experience is essential)

• A history of successfully leading fundraising teams and delivering significant income growth.

• Strong strategic vision, with the ability to adapt and innovate based on data insights and audience understanding.

• Experience in working collaboratively across teams to achieve shared objectives.

• Excellent communication and networking skills, with the ability to build strong relationships internally and externally.

Hybrid working

This is a mostly home-based role, with c.2 days per week in the (Birmingham) office. If you require flexibility around this, please don't hesitate to apply - we can discuss options during the briefing call. 

Employee benefits

Benefits include:

• 31 days annual leave including bank holidays, rising to 35 days after 3 years’ service
• 7.5% employer pension contribution
• Life assurance scheme (2 x annual salary)
• Retail discounts (including the Blue Light card)
• Cycle to work scheme
• Discounted gym membership
• Access to expert financial health and wellbeing support

About The Role
Closing Date: 20th May

Location: Though this is a predominantly home-based role, you will get lots of opportunities to get out and about to produce content with our incredible storytellers, supporters, volunteers, and staff. This will involve frequent trips to London, to our offices and events. Due to the reactive nature of social, this may occasionally be required at short notice. Therefore, our preferred candidate will be based in London or nearby.
Are you passionate about creating engaging content and building vibrant online communities? We are looking for a Social Media Officer to help shape and deliver our day-to-day social media activity, reaching and inspiring audiences through powerful storytelling and meaningful engagement.
Working as part of a dynamic team, you will develop compelling content across our key social channels, provide excellent community management, and collaborate across the organisation to ensure social media is used effectively and strategically.
In this role, you will play a key part in helping us meet our campaign, team and organisation-wide goals, always guided by data, insight and impact.
You will seek out and share stories from people affected by dementia, creating social content that connects emotionally and informs powerfully. You will stay on top of trends and spot opportunities to boost engagement, finding creative ways to highlight the impact of dementia and the hope we provide through support, research, and campaigning.
If you are a creative thinker with a passion for people, purpose and social media, we would love to welcome you to our team and continue our exciting journey together to make the greatest possible difference for those affected by dementia.
About you
Can you stop people from scrolling on social media?

- We’re looking for a self-motivated, proactive individual with a passion for social media and experience working across accounts with high volumes of user engagement. You’ll know how to create channel and audience-specific content that maximises user engagement and have a talent for spotting trends and opportunities to ensure we stand out from the crowd.
- The ideal candidate will have proven experience in managing active social media communities and understand the value of nurturing online audiences through considered community management approaches.
- You will be confident creating a range of impactful visual assets (graphics, video, photo), and really understand how to get the best results in each placement. You’ll be a great communicator with the ability to tell a great story via social content, adept at writing engaging copy, but also able to manage sensitive conversations on social.
- Brilliant interpersonal skills are also key to allow you to develop great relationships with internal teams and to work closely with people affected by dementia. Whether it’s a person with the condition themselves, a carer or someone who’s lost a loved one, you’ll be able to bring their experiences and stories to life through our channels.
- Lastly, a particular interest in using analytics tools to drive performance through data and insight is essential. You’ll be confident creating reports that align with strategic objectives and demonstrate business impact.

We’re looking for a self-directed and talented designer who is passionate about tech for good and how AI can support civil society organisations to achieve their missions.

• 4 days per week
• £52,000 salary FTE
• Remote location
• 1 year fixed term with possibility to extend

We are also recruiting for a Head of Technical AI Experiments, and we expect these roles to work closely together alongside our wider CAST team and partners.

Application deadline - Tuesday 6th May 12pm

About CAST

CAST helps people use digital for social good. We're on a mission to create a more responsive, resilient and digitally-enabled social sector by supporting nonprofits to embed digital and design across their services, strategy and governance and working with sector leaders, funders and government to make this happen.

CAST is a ten-year old charity made up of incredibly dedicated designers, technologists, activists and entrepreneurs. Collectively we have deep experience and a great reputation across charity and civil society, design, digital and innovation. 

The past decade has proven how vital digital is to charities, and with it, how important CAST’s work and mission is.

About the role

One of the core areas of CAST’s work is building the capacity of the social sector to respond to the rapid scale advances in AI. The evidence from the Charity Digital Skills Report; Joseph Rowntree's Grassroots and Nonprofits research and our own AI survey shows that charities are unlikely to benefit from - or respond to the challenges of - AI without intentional support and capacity building. To support charities’ (critical) adoption of AI we need to invest in supporting sector-experiments that create demonstrable impact (acting as showcases), working alongside the peer groups, charities and working groups to help move conversations into practical action.

To achieve that, we are looking to recruit a Head of Design for AI to focus on driving forward this work in a number of different ways:

• Blending expertise in AI technologies with human-centered design principles to foster innovation and inclusivity across the social sector;
• Providing direct support to organisations and specific product design advice;
• Designing a range of experiments and tools alongside the sector and CAST team;
• Supporting the design and development of specific programmes, training and interventions that will help shift the sector on AI

Whilst there is a lot of work underway and in the pipeline on AI this role will be expected to shape this work based on their deep experience and knowledge of AI and product design, and support the wider team at CAST to upskill in this area. 

You can find more information about CAST on our website.

What you'll achieve

• Develop and execute a vision for the integration of AI into CAST’s design methodologies, ensuring alignment with the organisation’s mission and values.
• Alongside the Head of Technical AI Experiments, lead the design, development, and deployment of AI experiments, tools and resources tailored to the needs of the social sector;
• Working with the wider CAST team, contribute to the ongoing development of ethical design principles in AI applications, ensuring transparency, accessibility, and fairness in all outputs;
• Work closely with charities, community groups, funders, and tech partners to co-design AI solutions that address real-world challenges and drive meaningful outcomes;
• Support social sector organisations to develop the skills and resources needed to design and implement AI systems effectively, fostering confidence and innovation through both direct coaching and via networks;
• Stay ahead of developments in AI and design thinking, identifying opportunities to incorporate emerging trends and technologies into CAST’s initiatives;
• Support the wider CAST team in developing their knowledge and skills on AI and human-centred design, and how we can use AI to best effect within our own work;

Skills and capabilities required

• Demonstrated expertise in human-centered design, particularly in projects involving AI technologies or data-driven solutions; 
• Proven leadership experience in design and innovation, preferably within the social sector;
• Deep understanding of AI principles, including machine learning, natural language processing, and their design implications;
• Strong commitment to ethical design, accessibility, and inclusivity;
• Excellent collaboration and facilitation skills, with the ability to bring together diverse stakeholders to achieve shared goals;
• High levels of autonomy with extraordinary organisation and communication skills.
• Able to thrive in a distributed team that changes and responds to the needs of the network and charity sector
• A strong commitment to the aims and objectives of CAST.

Benefits

• Working in a dynamic and creative team with an open and supportive culture
• Opportunity to make a positive social impact
• 30 days holiday a year (pro rata), plus bank holidays
• Flexible and remote working
• Family Friendly Benefits: we are committed to supporting staff in achieving a sensible work-life balance
• Group personal pension scheme

Are you passionate about empowering young people up to the age of 25 to make positive life choices?

Do you have the experience and dedication to engage with those at risk of offending or already involved in the youth justice system, and inspire them to build a better future?

If so, we have an exciting opportunity for you!

The James Brindley Foundation is seeking a committed and compassionate individual to deliver our accredited Full Circle Programme (FCP). This powerful initiative provides one-to-one interventions, educational workshops, and school assemblies to help young people reduce their risk of involvement in youth violence and crime. Full training and extensive support will be offered to the successful candidate.

At The James Brindley Foundation, we want to live in a country where no one walks in fear of youth violence. We believe that, when everyone accepts personal responsibility for those around them, inevitably violence will be reduced and ultimately, lives saved.

If you're up for the challenge, share our vision and want to make a lasting impact, apply to join us today!

Assistant Finance Business Partner

(SEO)

£41,055 - £44,415 (National)

+ £5,000 Accountancy Allowance or £2,500 Part Qualification Allowance

The Government Property Agency is the largest property holder in government, with more than £2.1 billion in property assets and over 50% of the government’s office estate. We are transforming the way the Civil Service works by creating great places to work, leading the largest commercial office programme in the UK, working towards halving carbon emissions from government offices, and achieving greater value for taxpayers.  We are looking for innovative, solutions-focused people to join our team.

Representing the best covenant in the UK – His Majesty’s Government – we are leading ground-breaking programmes such as the Government Hubs Programme, Whitehall Campus Programme and Net Zero Programme, as well as delivering modern and cost-effective real estate service solutions. 

Innovation and progress are at the heart of our behaviours.  We foster a culture of lifelong learning, where curiosity and self-improvement are encouraged, and we’re dedicated to becoming a leading, inclusive employer both in the external market and throughout the Civil Service.  Our strong emphasis on Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) is not just about driving inclusion across our organisation, it is also about ensuring our services meet the needs of government departments and the civil servants who use our spaces. 

Join our dynamic and diverse team that leads with purpose, improving sustainability, nurturing social value, driving inclusivity and flexibility, and kickstarting economic growth.  We are driven by purpose, and you can be part of it too: where you make a meaningful impact; where you influence; where your voice really matters; where you help to shape our future direction.

The responsibilities of the Assistant Finance Business Partner will include:

• Producing management accounts for relevant budget holders and contributing to GPA’s client budget process
• Provide advice on financial treatment of project costs to ensure that all items are correctly assessed for capitalisation, and that the treatment of abortive costs and feasibility works are appropriately treated as RDEL, while being allocated to the correct projects
• Contributing to property reconciliations to ensure all expenditure has been fully recovered from tenants
• Attendance at monthly stakeholder meetings to support the management of projects, supply chain and client relationships
• Supporting any client discussions as required to ensure recovery of billed amounts, keeping accrued income minimal and controlled
• Building a network internally with other finance teams to ensure smooth transition of data and knowledge between interlinked processes, and contributing as part of the wider finance team
• Promote continuous improvement by developing and improving accounting processes and procedures relating to projects and other expenditure
• Preparing balance sheet reconciliations including accruals and prepayments
• Analysing financial performance to identify variances and ensuring transactions are accounted for correctly
• Take ownership of key financial processes, including the preparation and processing of journals, while supporting both internal and external audits.
• Play a proactive role in facilitating forecasting and reporting activities, and use your analytical skills to identify trends, risks, and opportunities within the financial data to inform strategic decision-making

Key Skills & Experience 

• CCAB or equivalent part-qualified or finalist-level candidates required, full qualification desirable.
• Experience in facilities management or estates-related roles (e.g. property management, construction projects) is preferable, however candidates from other backgrounds will be considered.
• Strong month-end management accounting experience required; finance business partnering experience is advantageous.
• Confident communicator with proven stakeholder engagement skills.
• Ambitious and driven, ideally from a fast-paced or client-focused environment.

The GPA is committed to representing the communities we serve by making Diversity, Equality and Inclusion part of everything we do. To ensure that we are always recruiting and retaining a diverse mix of talent, we are particularly inviting applications from candidates who are disabled, ethnically or gender diverse, and people who identify as being part of the LGBTQ+ community. 

Financial Accountant

(HEO)

£35,175 - £39,480 (National)

plus an Accountancy Allowance of £5,000 pa (Fully Qualified) or £2,500 (Part Qualified)

The Government Property Agency is the largest property holder in government, with more than £2.1 billion in property assets and over 50% of the government’s office estate. We are transforming the way the Civil Service works by creating great places to work, leading the largest commercial office programme in the UK, working towards halving carbon emissions from government offices, and achieving greater value for taxpayers.  We are looking for innovative, solutions-focused people to join our team.

Representing the best covenant in the UK – His Majesty’s Government – we are leading ground-breaking programmes such as the Government Hubs Programme, Whitehall Campus Programme and Net Zero Programme, as well as delivering modern and cost-effective real estate service solutions. 

Innovation and progress are at the heart of our behaviours.  We foster a culture of lifelong learning, where curiosity and self-improvement are encouraged, and we’re dedicated to becoming a leading, inclusive employer both in the external market and throughout the Civil Service.  Our strong emphasis on Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) is not just about driving inclusion across our organisation, it is also about ensuring our services meet the needs of government departments and the civil servants who use our spaces. 

Join our dynamic and diverse team that leads with purpose, improving sustainability, nurturing social value, driving inclusivity and flexibility, and kickstarting economic growth.  We are driven by purpose, and you can be part of it too: where you make a meaningful impact; where you influence; where your voice really matters; where you help to shape our future direction.

The responsibilities of the Financial Accountant will include:

• Support the production of the GPA Annual Report and Accounts including provision of consolidation returns for Cabinet Office departmental accounts and Whole of Government Accounts
• Maintain and analyse accurate accounting records including preparation and monitoring of Statement of Financial Position reconciliations and accrual and other journals
• Monitor the effectiveness of key controls including those operated by outsourced service providers
• Prepare tax returns to deadlines including monthly VAT return and Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) returns
• Support the delivery of internal and external audits including provision of fully supporting and signposted evidence, monitoring of requests and responding to auditors in a timely way
• Support continuous process efficiencies and improvements across the function
• Build relationships with key staff across Finance and the business in order to maintain effectiveness and relevance during change

Key Skills & Experience 

• Good experience of financial accounting, ideally within a public sector context
• Good knowledge and experience of VAT
• Strong attention to detail and ability to analyse and interpret significant amounts of financial data
• Ability to seek out new information and self-develop
• Experience of using Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems
• Proficient using Microsoft Excel

For more information, please apply using the link, or contact Emma Fuller at our retained search agent, Robertson Bell.

The GPA is committed to representing the communities we serve by making Diversity, Equality and Inclusion part of everything we do. To ensure that we are always recruiting and retaining a diverse mix of talent, we are particularly inviting applications from candidates who are disabled, ethnically or gender diverse, and people who identify as being part of the LGBTQ+ community.