Research support jobs

The Student Volunteering & Social Impact Coordinator leads the coordination of London Play Design’s Student Volunteering Programme, working closely with delivery/ Technical teams, partnerships staff and senior management.

This role focuses on connecting people, projects and learning, rather than carrying sole responsibility for delivery. The post-holder coordinates systems, supports students and ensures quality, while working as part of a wider team.

The role is designed to be manageable, collaborative and sustainable, with clear shared ownership of outputs.

The role operates across two interconnected strands:

Student learning, insight and impact
Supporting students to understand the social impact of London Play Design’s work, contribute to evaluation and learning, and help strengthen partnerships through the development of case studies and programme insights.

Practical delivery and capacity-building
Connecting students with hands-on opportunities that build their practical experience while supporting the delivery of corporate volunteer days, construction activity and community projects.

What You Will Do

1. Coordinate the Student Volunteering Programme

You will oversee the day-to-day coordination of the programme, ensuring students have a clear, supportive and meaningful experience.

This includes:

• Coordinating student recruitment, onboarding and induction
• Developing clear volunteering pathways, role descriptions and learning outcomes
• Acting as the main point of contact for student volunteers
• Monitoring engagement, attendance and well-being in collaboration with on-site teams
• Supporting continuous programme improvement as part of a team, not in isolation

On-site supervision and safeguarding are led by delivery staff. You will not be expected to supervise students independently on live sites.

2. Support Research, Learning & Social Impact (with students)

You will coordinate and quality-check student-led research and impact work, rather than producing it yourself.

Your role will be to:

• Support students to collect qualitative and quantitative data
• Guide students in drafting case studies, learning notes and impact stories
• Review work, give feedback and ensure clarity and consistency
• Coordinate publication processes alongside the Partnerships team or delegated student roles
• Share learning internally to support organisational development
• Supporting funding applications and reporting with structured evidence and insights

You will not be responsible for writing funding applications or producing full reports independently.

3. Connect Students to Live Projects

You will work with internal teams to place students on appropriate projects for learning and case-study purposes, and support volunteer days and construction delivery

This includes:

• Matching students to projects and departments
• Liaising with technical and Partnership teams to support access and information
• Connecting students with partner charities where appropriate
• Keeping student case-study activity on track
• Working with the technical team to align student support with project needs
• Balancing learning needs with delivery realities

4. Maintain University Partnerships

London Play Design already has established relationships with a small number of universities (typically 2–3).

You will:

• Maintain communication with university contacts
• Represent the organisation at a small number of events or talks each year (approx. 3–4)
• Support the ongoing development of placement and volunteering opportunities.

5. Support Communications & Storytelling (Shared Responsibility)

Working with student volunteers and the Partnerships team, you will support:

• Clear and accessible communication of London Play Design’s work
• Impact storytelling for websites, publications and social media
• Sharing community learning and project outcomes

You will not be the sole content producer or final editor for all communications.

How You’ll Work

• As part of a collaborative, supportive team
• By coordinating and enabling others, not doing everything yourself
• With delegated student roles supporting research, writing, construction support and communications
• With senior and partnership staff sharing strategic and reporting responsibilities

Skills & Experience

Essential

• Strong commitment to social impact and community-based work
• Experience coordinating programmes in education, volunteering or community contexts
• Strong organisational and communication skills
• Experience supporting research, evaluation or structured learning (e.g. case studies, reports)
• Confidence working with students or early-career individuals
• Ability to collaborate across teams and disciplines

Desirable

• Experience in the charity or social enterprise sector
• Background or interest in design, architecture, playwork, journalism, social design or community development
• Experience working with universities or student placement programmes
• Understanding of community engagement and ethical research
• Experience supporting on-site or practical projects.
• Knowledge of adventure play or playwork, including child-led play and risk-benefit approaches.

A Plus / Advantageous

• Knowledge of play safety regulations or play space design.
• Full, clean UK driving licence and willingness to drive a van in London.
• Experience using power tools, safely and under supervision.
• Relevant training or qualifications related to community engagement, education, safeguarding, design or project delivery.
• Experience using social media or digital tools to share stories, impact or community work.

We welcome applications from people with transferable skills and lived experience. You do not need to meet every criterion.

Progression & development:
This role offers scope to grow alongside the Student Volunteering Programme, with opportunities to develop skills in programme coordination, social impact, research, partnerships and community engagement.

Equality, Diversity & Inclusion:
London Play Design is committed to equality, diversity and inclusion. We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds and particularly encourage applications from underrepresented groups in the play, design and built environment sectors.

What We Offer

• A meaningful coordination role within a values-led organisation
• A clearly scoped role with shared responsibility and realistic expectations
• Flexible working arrangements
• A creative, collaborative working culture
• The opportunity to support both children’s right to play and student development

Why Join Us?

• Impact: Help translate student learning into real community benefit
• Collaboration: Work within a multidisciplinary, supportive team
• Development: Build experience in programme coordination, social impact and learning
• Balance: A role designed to be challenging but sustainable

About you

Are you a confident digital leader with a passion for driving impact through digital channels? Do you have a knack for asking good questions that help people get to the heart of what they’re trying to achieve? Do you want to use your skills to make a real difference to the myeloma community?

We’re looking for a Digital Reach and Marketing manager to help us achieve our ambitious reach, acquisition and income growth targets.

About the role

This is a new role and exciting opportunity to help shape our digital channels and communities.

You’ll work closely with the Head of Digital, digital marketing team and key stakeholders across the organisation to bring our strategic brand to life and help us achieve our aim of getting Myeloma UK in front of anyone impacted by myeloma.

You’ll lead our digital team to increase our reach and engagement and build trust and loyalty with our online communities.

You’ll also act as a trusted planning partner to teams across the organisation to help them develop marketing plans that best help them achieve their goals and translate their work into effective digital content.

While the digital team works hybrid in Edinburgh, we will consider remote working (with some visits to Edinburgh) for the right person.

About us

Myeloma UK is the only UK charity focused on the incurable blood cancer, myeloma and its related conditions.  We provide support and influence access to treatments, while researching a cure.  Thanks to life-extending treatments and support, today many people affected by myeloma are able to live longer and to live well.  Together, we support, so no one faces myeloma alone. 

We are committed to bringing together the best and brightest people to help us ensure that every person affected by myeloma has an empowered present and a hopeful future.

Our ultimate goal is to find a cure and make myeloma history. Until then, our mission is to help every person living with myeloma, live well, for as long as possible. We are committed to diagnosing myeloma earlier, discovering and sharing knowledge, transforming the patient experience and influencing positive change.

Our culture

Wellbeing and staff engagement are at the heart of our culture.  We offer employees a range of benefits including a pension salary exchange scheme, flexitime, flexible working which includes both home and hub-based office working, health plan, employee assistance plan and holiday purchase scheme. We are committed to providing learning and development opportunities for all our employees.

How to apply

If you think you would be a great fit for this role, get in touch and tell us more about yourself by sending the following:

1. A cover letter telling us more about you and what you think makes you a good fit for this role

2. A CV that sets out your career history, with key responsibilities and achievements

Applications close at midnight on 22 February 2026.  Interviews will be held 26 and 27 February.

Myeloma UK is an equal opportunities employer and always welcomes applications from suitably qualified and eligible candidates regardless of:

· sex

· race

· disability

· age

· sexual orientation

· gender reassignment

· religion or belief

· marital status

· or pregnancy and maternity

Please note, you will be asked to provide evidence of your eligibility to work in the UK prior to interview selection.

Can you help us keep changing lives and breaking the cycle of reoffending for good? As Project Support Worker you will be working closely with our Proejct Manager to engage and support mentors and mentees in HMP Brinsford, Birmingham and the West Midlands. You will have previous Criminal Justice experience, will be a driver with access to a car and will use your experience to develope and encourage a positive and meaningful mentoring relationship for both the mentee and mentor. Your ultimate aim is to understand the key challenges facing each mentee and how these impact on each individuals ability in desisting from crime. 

You will be a proven self starter who is used to working in a challenging environment with hard to engage and disaffected people. You will be able to work independently and have the ability to communicate with a range of stakeholders.

A full job description and person specification is attached to this post.

Liberty is looking for an exceptional Policy & Campaigns Officer with a strong understanding of civil liberties and human rights to join the team as we begin work on our exciting new three-year strategy.

This position, which sits in the Policy & Campaigns team, plays a key role in developing and implementing Liberty’s policy and campaigning priorities: undertaking high-quality research, influencing decision-makers, building coalitions, producing policy and campaign materials, providing policy input to strategic litigation, and building public and political support for Liberty’s work.

We are seeking someone who holds Liberty’s values and ambitions close to their heart, as we work to ensure everyone in the United Kingdom is treated fairly, with dignity and respect. This is a key role in securing the long-term policy change needed to protect the human rights and civil liberties of everyone who lives in the UK.

Policy & Campaigns Officers monitor and respond to policy threats to our human rights frameworks, to our rights to protest, and to live free from discrimination. They work with political players and civil servants to steer policy and legislation. They produce high-quality, persuasive content and translate complex legal and policy arguments in a clear and compelling way for mass audiences. They lead and support other human rights and civil society organisations, lending expertise and building solidarity. We have worked with civil society to fight back against the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 and the Public Order Act 2023, and to see off threats to our Human Rights Act.

We are looking for a strategic thinker with strong political instincts who brings a collaborative approach to their work. You will have policy and research experience in human rights, or a related field. You will have a strong understanding of how to secure policy change in challenging political environments.

You will have a strong commitment to Liberty’s anti-oppression values and strategy.

Liberty fully embraces flexible working and is committed to employee development. We aim to encourage people from all backgrounds to work with us and are particularly interested in hearing from people from minority backgrounds and all socio-economic sections of society. Liberty supports hybrid working, with a minimum of two days per week in the Westminster office.

The deadline for applications is 12pm Monday 23 February 2026

Applications received after this deadline will not be considered.

Please be aware that we do not accept CVs for this role. All applicants must complete the application form to apply.

First round interviews will be held on 11th and 12th March

Second round interview will be held on 18th March

Apply via the Job Board on our website. 

We are currently looking for a Campaigner to join our growing team and support a new energy campaign that challenges the Scottish Government to help create an energy system for Scotland that works for workers, communities, the Scottish public and the planet.

You’ll be working with a team including external partners to convey a simple, powerful, united vision for the future of Scotland’s energy system that cuts through the noise and presents a more democratic energy system that brings tangible benefit to people’s lives.

You will be helping to support a network of unions, impacted communities and workers, climate groups and community groups powerful enough to hold the Scottish government to account, and creating public pressure on Scotland's politicians to take positive action on the future of Scotland’s energy system.

About us

The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity raises money to save the lives of people with cancer, everywhere. We ensure our nurses, doctors and research teams can provide the very best care and develop life-saving treatments, which are used across the UK and around the world. Join our successful Philanthropy team and help us deliver our most ambitious appeal yet. 

Your role 

This role sits in the Philanthropy & Partnerships Directorate, a high performing team that is responsible for all areas of high value fundraising including major donors, trusts and foundations, corporate partners and special events/high value committees. We play a vital role in delivering a stewardship and communications programme to support the wider Directorate with the knowledge, tools and expertise to recognise, thank and update our highest value supporters.

We will need you to: 

• Maintain and manage data lists and mailing processes for key communications, including biannual newsletters, season’s greetings cards and the Charity’s Impact Report.
• Support fundraisers to coordinate and deliver correspondence to donors and partners, including sharing news from the hospital or preparing routine updates, ensuring all communications are accurate, timely, and properly recorded.
• Upkeep all donor recognition information, including tracking members of the Charity’s stewardship circles and auditing donor recognition across the hospital.
• Coordinate donor recognition pages for the Charity’s annual Impact Report, working closely with the PR and Communications team.
• Coordinate with hospital staff to ensure donor recognition is accurately recorded, appropriately displayed, and installed on schedule.
• Support the delivery of donor stewardship projects by managing administrative tasks such as researching and sourcing suppliers or products, managing orders, and coordinating logistics across teams to ensure projects run smoothly and efficiently.
• Oversee stock levels of materials and assets – order, receive, store and distribute materials to the team as required.

You’ll be an enthusiastic team player with:

• Strong organisational skills
• Excellent attention to detail
• Self-motivated, reliable and responsible
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Experience in maintaining and delivering administrative processes
• Experience in maintaining and delivering administrative processes

Why join us?

We’re a values-driven charity committed to saving lives by funding world-leading research, treatment, and care at The Royal Marsden. You’ll be part of a collaborative, ambitious, and kind team, with plenty of opportunities for learning and development.

What we offer:

• 27 days annual leave (rising with length of service), plus UK bank holidays
• Up to 6% employer pension contributions (increasing with service)
• Enhanced maternity and adoption pay
• Life insurance and employee assistance programme
• Flexible and hybrid working options (work from home one day a week)
• Access to subsidised staff restaurants, wellbeing initiatives, and more
• Bright, modern offices in Chelsea and Sutton, with excellent transport links

Inclusion matters

We are committed to building a diverse and inclusive workforce that reflects the communities we serve. We welcome applications from all backgrounds and walks of life.

If this sounds like the opportunity for you, we’d love to hear from you.

Winning Leishman is one of Scotland’s leading fundraising consultancies. We have successfully raised millions of pounds for charities over 25 years in business. We offer a full range of services and we tailor the services we offer for each of our clients.

Winning Leishman are seeking an experienced Fundraiser to join our team. This post will involve research into grant makers, developing funding proposals and following up with reports and communications to maximise long-term income generation on behalf of Winning Leishman’s clients.

Position in Organisation

Report to the Winning Leishman Directors.

Responsibilities
• Support the identification of trust and foundation funding opportunities through research
• Create tailored applications to a wide range of funders
• Create reports and other communications to funders
• Maintain a schedule of applications and reports

Person Specification
Skills & Experience
• Minimum 2 years’ experience in preparing funding applications to trusts and foundations (essential)
• Experience of working in the charity sector (essential)
• Reliable and well organised with good time management skills and ability to meet deadlines
• Excellent IT skills, Excel and MS Office, with a working knowledge of database systems
• Strong written skills
• A creative and lateral thinker
• Professional, courteous, respectful and confident
• Proactive and self -motivated with a positive and enthusiastic approach to teamwork
Qualifications
• Degree (in any subject), studying towards a degree or equivalent (desirable)

Key Dates
Closing date: Monday 16th February at 12 noon
Interviews (by Teams): Wednesday 25th & Thursday 26th February
Start date: By arrangement

Job Title: Marketing Manage

About BookTrust

BookTrust is the UK’s largest children’s reading charity. Each year we reach over 1.3 million children and families across England, Wales and Northern Ireland, delivering evidence-informed programmes that make a measurable difference to children’s reading behaviours.  

Our work is rooted in the belief that every child deserves the chance to enjoy reading and all the lifelong benefits it brings. Children who read regularly are happier and healthier, they form stronger bonds, they are more creative and enjoy more success in life.

BookTrust’s most recent strategy, "Reading for a brighter future", sets out our mission - to get children from low-income households and vulnerable family backgrounds reading regularly and by choice. What we do has never mattered more; or been more needed.  

We deliver our mission through evidence-based interventions, with a strong focus on children in the early years and their families. Our carefully selected books and well-researched programmes are delivered by a network of over 30,000 local partners, bringing the magic of reading to children in every community in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. We work with every local authority across England and Wales, as well as health visitors, schools, libraries, social workers and early years workers. We also have an excellent and increasingly diverse community of children’s authors and illustrators and committed and expert support from publishers.  

Everyone at BookTrust is committed to our mission, and are passionate about the real difference that shared reading from the earliest days can make. We are a genuinely family/life-friendly organisation, offering a caring workplace with supportive and expert colleagues.

Job summary

We’re looking for a Marketing Manager to join our team to create, deliver and analyse integrated marketing plans that utilise the full marketing mix to extend the reach and maximize the sales of BookTrust’s traded reading programmes to schools.

In this role, you’ll be responsible for using data and insight to develop and deliver marketing activity to support a wide range of BookTrust campaigns, events and initiatives to meet our ambitious targets. You’ll establish an ongoing evaluation process and utilise sector and customer insight to continually improve our marketing. 

Experience of working across multiple campaigns in an agile way and prioritising your workload effectively is essential. 

The ideal candidate will have a breadth of marketing skills and experience and a proactive and collaborative approach to working with colleagues across the charity to deliver marketing campaigns and activity to a consistently high standard. 

The successful candidate must have at least three years of marketing experience, have previously worked in a B2B, traded and/or commercial marketing role at a similar level including people management experience.

Full details about the role and candidate requirements can be found in the attached Job Description. 

Application deadline: 23:59 on Friday 20 February 2026.

We may choose to close applications early if we have received sufficient numbers of quality applications, so please don’t wait until the closing date to apply.

How to apply: Please apply via our vacancies website along with your CV and covering letter explaining why you think you are the right candidate for this role and highlighting any experience that may support your application. Your covering letter should not be longer than 700 words.

Shortlisting and interview schedule: 

• Shortlisting will take place w/c 24 February.

• First interviews will take place on Wednesday 4 March and Monday 9 March.

Please note: As part of the selection process, shortlisted candidates may be invited to attend a second interview to further assess suitability for the role.

We're the UK's specialist blood cancer charity and our vision is clear: we’re here to beat blood cancer. We fund world-class research; provide information and support to patients and their loved ones; and raise awareness of blood cancer. 

Blood Cancer UK is looking for a Direct Marketing Manager to deliver innovative, insight-led direct marketing campaigns that grow supporter engagement and maximize income. This is an exciting opportunity to join a collaborative, high-performing team and help shape digital fundraising products and campaigns that make a real difference to people affected by blood cancer.

Based in London with hybrid working options (2–4 days per month in the office may increase dependent on business needs) this role offers hands-on campaign delivery, opportunities to develop new fundraising products, and the chance to contribute to strategic digital acquisition. If you enjoy using data to drive decisions, experimenting with new approaches, and delivering campaigns that really engage supporters, we’d love to hear from you.

We are committed to actively promoting equality, diversity, and inclusivity. In line with our strategy we welcome approaches from individuals from underrepresented groups, including minority communities, and applicants with a disability, to better reflect the community we serve and help broaden our perspectives.

Call for Expressions of Interest

School Eye Health Rapid Assessment (SEHRA) Scoping Consultancy 

Anticipated timeframe: An initial 7‑day engagement, with the potential to extend up to 6 months.

Location: Nairobi, Kenya

Budget: To be discussed at interview

Start date: The consultant is expected to be available to start on or around 2 March.

Background

Sightsavers, in partnership with the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Education, is implementing a two‑year intervention – the Boresha Macho Project – which aims to strengthen and integrate refractive error services across all levels of care in Kenya. The goal is to build sustainable systems, support long‑term government investment, and contribute to the WHO’s global eye‑care target of achieving a 40-percentage point increase in effective refractive error coverage (eREC).

As part of this intervention, the project will deliver evidence‑generation and learning activities to support accountability, transparency, and continuous improvement. This includes assessing the eye‑health needs of school‑aged children and evaluating compliance with the use of corrective glasses, with the findings informing the planning and monitoring of integrated school eye‑health programmes in Kenya. In line with this objective, Sightsavers intends to conduct a School Eye Health Rapid Assessment exercise in Makueni County, one of the six designated project implementation areas.

What the project will focus on: School Eye Health Rapid Assessment (SEHRA)

The Scoping Module of SEHRA identifies any policy, system or service‑delivery barriers that may affect the implementation of a school eye‑health programme and determines whether conditions are suitable for conducting a full SEHRA. It can be applied at national, sub‑national or district level, and is particularly relevant for public‑sector planning where school eye‑health is integrated into wider health and education systems.

Responsibilities
 

The consultant will support the initial Scoping Module of the School Eye Health Rapid Assessment (SEHRA), which examines the policy, institutional and service‑delivery environment for school eye‑health programmes in the intervention area. This includes reviewing existing school eye‑health activities, sectoral legislation and strategies, institutional structures, human resources, supply chains for glasses and equipment, and cross‑cutting barriers that may affect service delivery. In line with this, the consultant will:

• Conduct an exploratory desk review using key search terms relevant to each SEHRA module component, bookmarking relevant sources and collating documents into organised sub‑folders.
• Review identified sources to build an overall understanding of the policy, strategy, institutional and service‑delivery context for school eye health in the intervention area.
• Produce clear notes highlighting areas requiring deeper exploration through key informant interviews (KIIs) and focus group discussions (FGDs).

This assignment is expected to take no more than seven days, culminating in a desk‑review report summarising findings and recommending areas for further investigation.

Timeline

The consultancy is expected to begin on 2 March, and the consultant must be available to start on or around this date. The initial assignment will span seven days, during which the desk review should be completed and the corresponding report submitted. Depending on project needs and satisfactory delivery, the consultancy may be extended for up to six months.

Skills and Experience

The consultant should bring strong experience in school eye health, public health, or education‑sector systems, with the following expertise:

• A solid understanding of Ministry of Health and Ministry of Education policies, strategies, institutional arrangements, and service‑delivery structures.
• Proven experience conducting desk reviews, key informant interviews (KIIs), and focus group discussions (FGDs).
• Working knowledge of programme development at national or sub‑national level, particularly in eye health, school health, education systems, and related organisational structures.
• Demonstrated experience in qualitative and quantitative research, including the ability to produce clear, analytical programme reports—ideally within the eye‑health sector.
• Credibility and familiarity with national eye‑health bodies, leading eye‑health organisations, and/or national education institutions.
• Sufficient clinical understanding to interpret school eye‑health issues and engage effectively with technical informants.
• Ability to work independently or as part of a local health or social‑policy research organisation.

Payment Terms

The agreed budget will be discussed at interview.

Next Steps

To express your interest to undertake this assignment, please read the complete ToR, and complete our Expression of Interest (EoI) which can be found via the application link by Thursday, 12 February 2026.

The EoI response should include a proposed workplan and indicative budget, including daily rates for the assignment and any other anticipated expenses.

Interested bidders are also requested to include an example of previous similar consultancy work.

The deadline to submit your EoI is Thursday, 12 February 2026 at 23:30pm GMT UK.

Please note: We intend to conduct on site interviews at the Kenya country office week commencing 16th of February 2026 onwards. The interview will last up to one hour and will be the only stage in the recruitment process.

Please note due to the high volume of applications it is possible, only successful applicants will be contacted. We reserve the right to close this ad early.

Selection Criteria:

Sightsavers is committed to running a fair and transparent tender process, and ensuring that all bidders are treated and assessed equally during this process. Bidder quotation responses will be evaluated against Essential Criteria, Capability Criteria, Sustainability Criteria and Commercial Criteria.  These criteria have been especially created to help SCI determine which bidder is able to offer the best quality and most commercially competitive solution to meet our needs and deliver the most effective programming to our beneficiaries.

Overview

We’re looking for a strong bid writer to join our successful national Business Development Team as a Business Development Officer. This is an excellent opportunity to grow your career in business development within a successful team that prioritises social impact, development and progression. We’d particularly like to hear from people that have experience of writing high-scoring drug and alcohol service bids.

Location: London, Brighton, Manchester or Leeds.

Salary: £37,184.91 – £39,891.91 per year. If you’re based in London, you’ll receive an additional £4,133.14 per year - Inner London Weighting.

Contract: Permanent.

Responsibilities

About the role

Change Grow Live is a health and social care charity. Across the country, we support people to make positive changes in their lives, including around drug and alcohol use, smoking, homelessness and criminal justice.

As a Business Development Officer, you’ll play a key part in helping us secure new contracts and deliver high‑quality services for adults, children and young people. You’ll work with colleagues across the organisation to develop excellent written material for bids and proposals. This role offers a great opportunity to learn and develop while using your established skills, and you’ll be encouraged to take on more responsibility as you progress.

Your day-to-day will include:

• Writing and editing multiple complex bid responses within live tenders
• Working with colleagues across the organisation to gather information and evidence
• Project managing smaller bids and proposals with support from a Senior Business Development Officer or Business Development Manager
• Completing online research, analysing data and collating evidence
• Creating presentations, diagrams and reports
• Helping improve how we do things.

About you

We’re looking for candidates with proven experience of writing tenders, proposals or grant applications, or writing in other professional or academic environments, for instance journalism, research or marketing.

You are:

• A highly competent communicator with excellent writing skills
• Able to analyse data and interpret evidence, with good IT and research skills
• Solution-focused, creative and proactive
• Happy to give and receive challenging feedback
• Collaborative and contribute to a positive culture team
• Ready to work hard to deliver on CGL’s values and mission.

What we offer

You’ll be able to access structured training, development and mentoring as part of a supportive team. There’s a clear progression pathway within the team, from Officer to Senior Officer, Manager, Senior Manager, Deputy Director, and Director. Several of our current Seniors and Managers were previously in the Business Development Officer role.

We also offer:

• The option to work from home for some of the week
• Wellbeing support, including an employee assistance programme and an hour each week for wellbeing activities of your choice (find out more here).

We want our workforce to represent the diversity of the people and communities we work with. We pride ourselves on an inclusive and supportive workplace, evidenced through our Investors in People silver status.

We’re happy to consider any reasonable adjustments that you need to be successful. Please let us know in your application or at any stage of the process if you would like to discuss this.

Before you apply

In the application portal, there’s a section called ‘how you meet the criteria for the role’. This is your chance to tell us about why you’re a good fit for this job – we won’t be able to consider your application unless it’s filled in. Please explain how you meet each of the person specification criteria (listed at the end of the job description). Use clear examples of your experience (this link contains some useful guidance). As guidance, written statements should not exceed 1,000 words. You can address multiple criteria together where you think it makes sense.

Interviews will be held 16th – 23rd February 2026 via MS Teams. We’ll also ask shortlisted candidates to complete a written task online during this timeframe, at a time of your choice. We may hold a pre-qualification stage task (e.g. presentation) depending on the number of applicants.

We encourage applications from individuals who may not meet every requirement but are excited about the role. We value lived experience of substance use, homelessness, and/or multiple disadvantages.

We’re a Disability Confident Committed employer. Under our Disability Confident interview scheme, we will offer an interview to disabled candidates where they meet our selection criteria in their application. Some of our roles attract a high volume of applications and in some circumstances where it is not practicable or appropriate, we may limit the number of interviews offered to disabled and non-disabled candidates. Please confirm in the ‘how you meet the criteria for the role’ part of the application if you are applying under this scheme. We will provide reasonable adjustments as needed.

Check the job description and team explainer for more information. You can contact Yasmin Gilders to discuss this role further.

What our people say

Kitty, Business Development Officer:

“What was your route into your current job? I graduated with an English Literature degree in 2019 and started out as an Editorial Assistant in publishing. Furloughed during the pandemic, I took the opportunity to complete a master’s in English Literature before moving into medical communications, where I also worked as an Editorial Assistant. While I enjoyed the work, I wanted a role that allowed me to get more involved in the research and writing, which led me to join CGL as an Assistant Business Development Officer in 2023. After gaining bid writing experience, I started as Business Development Officer in 2024.

What are your favourite parts of the job? I love how varied the job is. One day I might be deep in research, whether that’s desk-based or visiting a service in person, while the next I’m writing and editing responses for a live bid or even creating visuals. No two days are the same, and variety keeps the job exciting.

How would you describe the team? The team is incredibly lovely and supportive. There’s always someone ready to offer help, share advice, or even just have a quick chat, which makes it a really positive and collaborative environment to work in.

What were your highlights from last year? Being part of the team that won the Blackpool contract. We all invested a lot of time and effort into it, and the whole organisation was excited by the outcome.

Is there anything you would say to someone considering applying? Go for it! It’s a fantastic role within a supportive, friendly team, and there’s so much variety and opportunity to learn. If you’re considering applying, you won’t regret it.”

Holly, who progressed from Business Development Officer to Senior Business Development Officer last year:

“What are your favourite parts of this work? The amount we learn from bid to bid. No two services are the same and I’m constantly coming across amazing individuals, teams and interventions. Being part of a team that helps share and celebrate great work, and support other services to implement new and exciting initiatives is really rewarding.

How would you describe the team? Helpful, real and full of knowledge. Everyone comes from different backgrounds and is happy to share their skills, knowledge and learning. I’ve never felt like I’ve asked a silly question, and I don’t feel like I must put a on ‘work mask’.

What were your highlights from last year? Becoming a Senior and working across 7 different bids or direct awards last year. It was busy but I learnt so much, made some great connections with people across the organisation and feel excited for 2026.”

Salary Range (pro rata if part time)

CGL points 33 to 36 (£37,184.90 - £39,891.91)

Interview Date

16/2/2026

Closing Date

8/2/2026

About the role

We are seeking an experienced and qualified immigration advisor to oversee the strategic direction of our casework and systemic work for the coming year.

The Unity Project (TUP) supports people who are facing poverty and homelessness because their immigration status allows them ‘no recourse to public funds’ (NRPF).  We believe NRPF should not exist and we are working to end it. Until then, we seek to minimise its impact by supporting people to make the ‘change of conditions’ (CoC) application to access public funds. As part of this work, we continually develop new casework approaches to make CoCs more accessible to more people. By taking a strategic approach to our casework, we have opened up new routes for people to move through the process, and achieved greater recognition of groups with particular needs. We have also supported numerous strategic legal challenges which have prompted significant changes to the immigration rules and guidance related to CoCs. 

In this cover role, you will lead The Unity Project’s strategic work to improve the accessibility of the CoC process. You will be responsive to changes in the external context and identify strategic priorities to focus on in our casework. You will hold our strategic external relationships, in particular with law firms, advice agencies and Home Office representatives, and you will oversee our strategic litigation support.  You will share our expertise with the sector through second-tier advice, training workshops and peer support forums.  Our strategic work is rooted in direct casework, and so this will also be part of your role. You will be responsible for TUP’s casework provision for applicants who submit their own CoC applications independently, and you will support with other strategically significant cases as required.

About The Unity Project

Who we are

The Unity Project is a small charity that supports people with ‘Change of Conditions’ (CoC) applications required for access to public funds.

Why we exist

We want everyone living in the UK to have equal access to the welfare system. We exist to challenge the 'no recourse to public funds' (NRPF) policy in order to end it and, until then, minimise its impact.

Our values

We aim to be:

• Representative of and accountable to people who are navigating or have navigated the systems we want to change.
• Sustainable, so we can continue our work as long as it is needed.
• Trauma informed, recognising the impact of prior traumatic experiences and promoting an organisational culture which is safe, transparent, collaborative and responds empathically to each individual’s needs.
• Rooted in community, as we believe that strength comes from relationships of solidarity and mutual support.
• Equitable to all who give their time to the project.
• Tenacious, innovative, reflective and adaptable in our casework.

Benefits

• Salary - £46,849 pro rata
• Flexibility - We work together in person on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Beyond that we can be flexible about how you meet your hours.
• Annual leave - 35 days inclusive of bank holidays, plus a regular Christmas closure period (subject to board approval)
• Pension - 5% employee contribution, 8% employer contribution
• Clinical supervision - All staff have access to monthly clinical supervision
• Wellbeing - All staff have a personal wellbeing budget to spend as they need 
• Professional development - We organise regular all-staff training sessions to address needs identified by the team, and every staff member has an individual training budget for their own professional development. We aim to support all staff to grow and shape their roles in line with their career aspirations.
• Immigration support - On a case by case basis, we may be able to offer legal assistance with the immigration applications necessary to sustain this employment in compliance with UK immigration law.
• Working environment - We are a small and friendly team of staff and volunteers. We believe that effective opposition to the hostile environment is rooted in our relationships with each other and our community.

Help us make art matter.

Firstsite is seeking an experienced and motivated Trusts & Grants Manager to lead our trusts and grants fundraising and secure vital income for our programmes, including Holiday Fun, YAK, exhibitions, learning, and community projects.

This is an exciting opportunity to join a creative and purpose-driven team and play a key role in shaping work that has real impact in our communities.

About the role

As our Trusts & Grants Manager, you will:

• Develop and deliver a proactive trusts and grants fundraising strategy.
• Secure funding from trusts, foundations, and statutory bodies, with a target of £120,000 for 2026/27, contributing to an overall organisational target of £300,000.
• Identify and research new prospects, write high-quality funding applications, and produce compelling cases for support.
• Manage the grants pipeline, deadlines, and reporting requirements.
• Work collaboratively across the organisation to gather budgets, impact data, and programme information.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with funders.
• Uphold best practice in safeguarding when working with young people through programmes such as YAK.

You will be the organisation’s specialist in trusts and grants, supported by the Head of Philanthropy and working closely with colleagues across Firstsite.

About Firstsite

Our mission is to ensure art and creativity are valued for their integral role in shaping a happy and healthy society for everyone. We do this by championing creativity as a catalyst for positive change in society, celebrating everyone's imaginations as places to shape a better future and demonstrating the impact of art and galleries at the centre of everyday life.

We collaborate with people where, together, we can have the most impact and we share the results of our work with diverse audiences to influence change.  We do this in three places: in our award-winning gallery, reflecting our radical region and digitally with audiences around the world.  To do this well we have four values that help us do what we do, to the best of our abilities:

Creative – Inclusive – Agile – Responsible

Who we’re looking for

Essential

• Proven experience securing income from trusts, foundations, or statutory funders.
• Strong research skills and ability to identify new funding opportunities.
• Excellent written communication and proposal-writing ability.
• Highly organised, able to manage multiple deadlines and coordinate information.
• Collaborative, confident working with teams, partners, and stakeholders.

Desirable

• Experience in arts, culture, or charity sectors.
• Understanding of impact measurement and evaluation.
• Experience coordinating or supporting volunteers.

Key Responsibilities

• Research new funding opportunities and develop a proactive grants strategy.
• Draft and submit funding applications and proposals.
• Maintain an accurate pipeline and deliver timely reports.
• Work with programme teams to gather budgets, outcomes, and evidence.
• Ensure funder reporting and compliance requirements are met.
• Support stewardship of funders and shape Firstsite’s case for support.
• Coordinate fundraising activity with the wider team.

Benefits

• 25 days annual leave plus bank holidays (pro-rata)
• Contributory pension scheme (conditions apply)
• Employee Assistance Programme
• Tailored training and development
• Staff discount in our café and shop

Legacy Giving Manager

Job description and person specification

Imagine being told that you, or someone you love, is losing their sight. In that moment, two profound questions demand urgent answers:

· Can this be stopped?

· How will I live my life?

Currently, research into preventing and treating sight loss is chronically underfunded, receiving a mere 1.2% of publicly funded health research grants: people who are blind or vision impaired are three times more likely to experience loneliness and isolation than the general population.

We find and fund the brilliant minds and bright ideas that put change in sight. Our researchers are at the forefront, making breakthroughs and discoveries that will prevent, treat and cure eye disease. The partnerships we build and initiatives we support are changing life for blind and vision impaired people.

We are Fight for Sight: we won’t stop until we: Save Sight. Change Lives.

We have a clear ambition and have the support of well-respected and highly engaged ambassadors. We are now looking for experienced, committed, and creative individuals to join our dynamic team to help realise a new five-year growth strategy. If you want to be part of something impactful, we’d love to hear from you.

Legacy giving plays a vital role in ensuring lasting change for people living with sight loss. The Legacy Giving Manager will help deepen supporters’ connection to our mission to Save Sight. Change Lives.

Reporting to the Head of Supporter Development, you will lead the development and delivery of the legacy and in-memory giving strategy, delivering thoughtful, inspiring campaigns that celebrate the impact of legacy and in-memory giving. You’ll combine creative storytelling with data-driven insight to nurture meaningful supporter journeys, ensuring everyone who chooses to remember the charity in their will or in tribute to a loved one feels valued, respected, and part of something truly transformative.

Responsible to

Head of Supporter Development

Direct reports

None

Working hours and contract

This is a permanent full-time role (35 hours per week).  We will consider part-time and flexible working arrangements. 

Salary

£35,000-£40,000 (depending on experience)

Location

Hybrid working with two days per week in our Central London office.

How to Apply

Please submit your CV and a covering letter to our recruitment inbox with subject header – Legacy Giving Manager Application.

Your covering letter should include a supporting statement (max two pages) comprising:

• Why do you think you are an ideal candidate for the role?
• What applicable experience you’ll bring to the role?
• Why do you want to work for Fight for Sight? 
• Where did you come across this role?

Closing date for applications: 9am, Wednesday 18 February 2026

Early applications are encouraged as we may need to close applications early if we reach a certain threshold.

Interview dates:

· Round 1: (via Teams) interviews on 26-27 February

· Round 2: (in-person) the following week (dates TBC)

Important note: All applicants must have the Right to Work in the UK. Unfortunately, we do not have a sponsoring license for non-UK employees which means that if you do not have a current, valid UK working permit, please do not apply, as we will not be able to consider your application.

Role Responsibilities

Strategy Development

• Develop and deliver an ambitious legacy and in-memory giving strategy and operational plan, driving sustainable income growth and achieving KPIs.
• Develop and implement associated objectives, workplans and KPIs to track progress.
• Work closely with stakeholders, to curate and implement compelling legacy marketing plans to promote awareness of gifts in wills and recruit new pledgers.

Management of Legacy Programme

• Responsible for ensuring legacy programme meets annual targets, with appropriate stretch targets in place.
• Work collaboratively across all Income streams, Communications and Impact to drive growth in the identification and cultivation of new legacy pledgers.
• Organise legacy events to support cultivation and stewardship of legacy givers.
• Work with Retail to embed legacy messaging in our charity shops and use in‑store activity to grow awareness and legacy leads.
• Provide exceptional stewardship of legacy pledgers individually and collectively, through the development and implementation of a legacy stewardship programme.
• Sensitively and expertly co-ordinate with the legacy administration function (which is outsourced), including regular communication with our professional legacy advisor, exploring and initiating stewardship and impact reporting activities.
• Collaborate on and personally take steps to maximise existing initiatives such as Gifts in Will month and identify new opportunities to market legacies and grow pledgers.
• Lead on developing and leading initiatives to improve awareness of legacies amongst charity staff, volunteers, charity shop customers and the Board.
• Collaborate with the Individual Giving Managers to identify and maximise legacy marketing opportunities through existing and new activities. 
• Take personal and collective responsibility for ensuring legacy fundraising is conducted in a legal and ethical manner in line with Charity Commission guidance, and other regulators as appropriate.
•  Advise and effectively manage legacy income targets and expenditure budgets, including reforecasting and target setting.
• Identify and develop strategic opportunities across fundraising, championing new initiatives and ways of working as necessary.

Person specification

ESSENTIAL

• Proven experience and knowledge of legacy giving, including channels for direct marketing to drive legacy giving.
• Experience of developing and producing legacy marketing and stewardship materials.
• Knowledge of key trends affecting legacy fundraising and able to apply insights to own work.
• Experience of using a fundraising database/CRM for effective analysis of legacy marketing campaigns and trend giving patterns.
• Strong understanding of donor stewardship and the motivations behind legacy giving.
• Strong organisational planning and project management skills.
• Proven skills and aptitudes to complete complicated procedures.
• Demonstrable analytical skills and highly numerate with experience of keeping and monitoring financial & budgeting reports.
• Ability to work on own initiative.
• Excellent communication, interpersonal, and negotiation skills.
• Attention to detail and excellent written skills including experience of writing and commenting on legacy marketing copy.
• Excellent understanding of delivering excellent supporter care.

DESIRABLE

• Experience of working with external suppliers to deliver successful direct marketing campaigns.
• Experience of linking legacies marketing with charity shop audiences.
• Understanding data protection, GDPR, and ethical fundraising standards.

Personal qualities

• An understanding of and commitment to blind and partially sighted people. 
• A passion for fundraising and wanting to make a difference. Someone who is keen to succeed and keen to demonstrate their abilities.

• Highly organised with the ability to juggle several deadlines at the same time. 

• Positive, confident and enthusiastic. 

• The ability to use initiative, common sense and solve problems.

• Self-motivated, team worker with ability to work autonomously as required. 

• Willingness to work flexibly where required. 

• Approachable, creative, ‘can-do’ attitude. 

Flexibility

The role description is a general outline of duties and responsibilities and may be amended as we grow. The post holder may be required to undertake other duties as may be reasonably required from time to time.

Application & Interview process

See above (page 2) for How to Apply. Please note that we value the authenticity and individuality of our applicants and believe that your CV and cover letter should reflect your unique skills, experiences, and personality.

Interview process

· Round 1: Successfully shortlisted applicants will be invited for a 1st round interview online via MS Teams – comprising a standard competency-based interview question format.

· Round 2: Those shortlisted for the 2nd round stage, will be invited for an in-person interview the following week – which will include a presentation, with further instructions provided prior to the interview. Candidates will be asked to present to the panel at the start of the 2nd round interview.

Employee benefits

We value our staff and volunteers and want to make sure that they are supported in their work. Other benefits we also offer are:

· A great team and a supportive culture

· Employer pension contributions matching up to 10%, and death in service cover

· Generous parental leave

· Flexible/hybrid working options

· Apprenticeships scheme, study leave and financial support for training & development

· Cycle to work scheme, eye test vouchers, and a staff loan scheme, access to an Employee Assistance Program

· An active Social Committee and staff events

Accessibility

We believe in fostering an inclusive environment where all individuals, regardless of their abilities or circumstances, feel supported and valued. If you have any accessibility requirements or specific needs that you would like us to accommodate during the application process, please let us know. If you are unfamiliar with MS Teams and would like to familiarise yourself with the platform before the interview, we are more than happy to arrange a tech run-through to ensure your comfort and confidence.

Equal opportunities, diversity & inclusion 

Don’t meet every single requirement? At Fight for Sight we are dedicated to building a diverse and inclusive workforce, so if you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every item in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles that we have.

We have an inclusive and accessible recruitment process, including any adjustments required to support people from diverse community groups.