Rural Officer Jobs

Senior Church Buildings Officer

Hours: Full time – 35 hours/week

Salary: £45,000 pa pro rata

Location: Based in our Office in North Bristol

We are seeking an extraordinary person to lead our talented Church Buildings Team here at the Diocese of Bristol! This is a new and exciting role that is key to delivering on our Transforming Church. Together Strategy.

You will be leading a small team that work with our Parishes and the Diocesan Advisory Committee to support with project, faculty consents and property management guidance.

The role is diverse covering rural, urban, modern, and historic Church buildings, halls and grounds for parishes who often face significant repair liabilities or building layouts and facilities that are no longer suited to their needs.

We’d love to hear from you if you have great interpersonal skills, a built environment or development project background and a clear understanding of Church buildings and their purpose within the future facing Church and the wider community.

Staff benefits include:

Flexible working

28 days annual leave (plus eight days statutory Bank holidays) (pro rata for part time staff)

Free onsite parking

A contributory pension scheme and life assurance

Company sick pay

Please download the Job pack via the link to our website.

For an informal conversation, please contact Lindsey McCullam via our website.

If what we’ve described above excites you and you could see yourself thriving in this role, please apply using the application form via our website.

Closing date: 11:59pm 2 October 2024

 The Diocese of Bristol is committed to being a fair, respectful, and inclusive organisation. We believe that diversity enriches us and are dedicated to the promotion of equality where all are able flourish. Disabled people, and those from global majority heritage are currently under-represented in our Diocese and we welcome applications from within these groups.

About Us

Founded in 2007, KHULA Education is an award-winning South African NGO working in partnership with rural schools and underserved communities in deep rural South Africa to ensure children and youth can access a quality education and economic opportunity.

Over the past 17 years, KHULA has transformed schools that were previously failing into schools that compete at the national level; supported hundreds of young people to access tertiary education opportunities; and helped hundreds more on the path to employment. Each year, we support over 6,500 children, youth and more than 300 teachers. 

About the Role

We are seeking to recruit a creative and ambitious Fundraising and Communications Officer.

As our reach and impact has increased significantly in recent years, so has our income, and this new role has been created in response to that demand.  This is an exciting opportunity for a fundraiser who wants to widen, or consolidate, their knowledge and experience of fundraising, in an international context, as well as gain communications experience.

We are a very small team so the role will cover a breadth of funding streams, with a particular focus on Trusts and Foundations, High Value Donors, and Events, both special and community.  It is therefore important that you have excellent writing and interpersonal skills, and solid experience of crafting successful funding applications.  You will also need excellent planning and organisational skills.

The role can, to some extent, be shaped by the skills and experience of the successful candidate, but it is likely to include the following responsibilities.

 Key Responsibilities

• Steward, retain and grow the support of our existing donor portfolio: KHULA has an existing portfolio of donors including trusts, foundations, corporates, major donors, individual and regular givers, the majority of whom are based in the UK or South Africa. Alongside the Director of Fundraising and Communications, the post holder will be responsible for managing these relationships, including bespoke reporting for trusts and major donors and taking responsibility for their own portfolio of donors.
• Donor prospecting and new business: researching and generating new donor leads as well as acting on opportunities provided by our Board and others, converting prospects into supporters of our programmes.
• ​​External communications: working alongside the Director of Fundraising and Communications, assisting in the creation of our quarterly e-newsletter and the Annual Report, managing our social media channels, in addition to other ad hoc external communications.
• Events: supporting our community and events fundraisers and assisting with the organisation of occasional special events, alongside Board members.
• Fundraising innovation: assisting in the development of creative campaigns to increase donations/recruit lapsed donors, developing products and offerings.
• Financial management and admin: maintaining our donor database and contributing to fundraising budgets and forecasts. 

Person Specification

Experience of working in a smaller charity and team is beneficial as this is a very hands-on role, covering a wide range of responsibilities.

We are particularly interested to hear from candidates who demonstrate most/all of the following attributes:

• A proven, demonstrable track record of submitting successful funding applications.
• Experience in successfully fundraising from one or more of trusts, foundations, high value donors and corporates.
• Experience of community and events fundraising, including promoting events and supporting participants.
• Excellent communication writing skills.
• Personal or professional experience of a range of social media channels.
• Good IT Skills (Microsoft Office, Mailchimp, CRM systems (we use Donorfy))
• Self-motivated and able to work autonomously with a largely virtual team 

Title: Group Finance Officer

Location: Office (Bristol, UK) at least 1 day each week, option to work remotely for remaining days.

Contract type: Permanent contract

Hours: Full time, 35 hours a week

Salary: £31,228+ competitive holiday +pension

Closing date: 30th of September 2024

About Tree Aid: 

Tree Aid works with people in the drylands of Africa to tackle poverty and the effects of the climate crisis by growing trees and restoring and protecting land. As part of the Great Green Wall movement, we work where trees are needed most, where temperatures are soaring, and fertile land is vanishing at a terrifying rate. Our pioneering approach has been developed over 36 years of operating. We believe in empowering local communities with the tools and training they need to restore and maintain their environment. 

About the role: 

This is a fantastic opportunity for a Group Finance Officer to join a dynamic Finance team at a growing international development charity based in Bristol, delivering transformational change for some of the world’s most vulnerable people, living on the frontlines of the climate crisis.

Main duties: 

Working within the Finance team, the Group Finance Officer’s role will include:

· Providing ongoing financial support to all overseas teams.

· Ensuring continuing integrity of Tree Aid’s financial records and internal controls.

· Contribute to the ongoing development of financial systems, reports and procedures.

· Supporting in conducting internal audits of overseas offices.

About you:

The ideal candidate will be pursuing a professional accounting qualification and a minimum of 3 years’ experience in finance management, preferably with an overseas development organisation.

They will have excellent interpersonal skills, an ability to work calmly under pressure to deliver outputs on-time and to a high quality.

Above all they will be inspired by TREE AID’s mission to alleviate poverty sustainably whilst improving the environment, you will be committed to empowering families in some of the world's poorest countries to thrive, rather than just survive.

Benefits: 

Optional benefits of working at Tree Aid include: 

• A contributory pension scheme (you contribute at least 2% and we will contribute 6%) 
• 33 days holiday (inc bank holidays) +1 more day per year up to 38 holiday days 
• Flexible, hybrid working 
• Quarterly social events 
• Opportunity to take free weekly French lessons to support communication with our colleagues in West Africa 

Key documents: 

- Group Finance Officer Job Description and person specification

- Equal opportunities monitoring form 

Our approach to recruitment:

We recruit with openness and transparency. We employ people on the basis of their ability to carry out the role being recruited for. We ensure that no applicant receives less favourable treatment than any other on the grounds of disability, gender, race, religion or belief, age, sexual orientation, marital status, parental status, caring responsibilities or hours of work.

Our Values 

• We stand together and respect the people we work for and with 
• We are bold, ambitious and determined 
• We are professional. We work effectively and efficiently to a high standard and are experts in our field 
• We have integrity. We are honest, transparent and accountable 
• We are always learning. We review and adapt to maximise our impact for the people we are helping 

With the successful completion of our first communtiy-led housing project, which is unique in terms of scale, its mix of tenures, and its self-build housing component, RUSS has cemented its reputation within the sector. This role is a fantastic opportunity to shape our future.

The role of the Company Secretary involves the following key components, supported by all Trustees, staff, active volunteers and wider RUSS team:

• Overseeing the roles and activities of Board members and volunteers to ensure that RUSS is keeping in line with its responsibilities as a charitable trust
• Organising the agenda and papers for each board meeting and ensuring that those providing reports and updates do so on time
• Attending finance and audit committee meetings to ensure that financial processes including yearly audits are running on time
• Intervening when RUSS activities are not taking place in line with the RUSS Rules & Principles and making recommendations to the Board regarding how to resolve such issues
• Organising the Annual General Meeting, alongside other Trustees
• Submitting the accounts to the Financial Conduct Authority
• Organising Board away days and training, alongside other Trustees and the Chair
• Overseeing Human Resources, alongside our interim Managing Director, Trustees and the Chair
• Line management of bookkeeper and other part-time admin roles Liaising with our lenders regarding our long-term loan
• Leading the process of applying for Registered Provider of Social Housing status: research and scoping, setting up and engaging with a working group and appointing consultants, to work towards making an application in 2025.
• Liaising with our estate management company (CDS) to ensure that service charge and hot water accounts are supplied promptly and accurately

Schools Project Officer (Estates)
Canterbury, Kent
£29,767 pa plus excellent benefits
35 hours per week
3 year fixed-term contract with possibility of extension

The Schools Project Officer is a crucial business administrative role at the Diocese, as you will act as the first point of contact for projects concerning the development and maintenance of school sites and buildings, from senior leaders, governors, parish officers or our professional advisers.

Reporting to the Schools Officer and working within the Children, Young People and Education team, you will support the oversight of related grant funding and manage other bespoke projects such as promoting decarbonisation initiatives for church schools and organising land registrations. You will also advise school leaders and governors in relation to school organisation and the use or development of land and buildings.

As Schools Project Officer, you will act as facilitator between various internal and external teams, providing support through monitoring projects relating to school estates (building developments, maintenance and repairs), whilst making proactive enquiries and interventions to sustain progress against recorded timescales.

You will also take responsibility for managing grants held by the Diocese and liaising with schools regarding suitable projects and available funding, helping schools to prioritise projects for effective estate management.

A crucial part of our strategy is to assess the environmental impact of the Diocese’s church schools, planning for and supporting schools to advance decarbonisation and energy efficiency projects. As Schools Project Officer you will regularly update and signpost church schools to banks of practical materials and resources for decarbonisation campaigns, toolkits and projects, building case studies of best practice.

With an understanding of or experience in business administration, estate management or project support, you should be capable of supporting projects and have the ability to apply understanding to tasks. Capable of summarising complex information clearly, you should be able to explain the progress of projects to those with no specialist understanding.

Forward thinking, adaptable and responsive to a varied work programme, you should have excellent interpersonal and communication skills and have evidence of recent study, training or development and a willingness to learn new knowledge and technical skills.

It is essential for you to be supportive of the vision of the CYPE team and to be sympathetic to the contribution of Church of England schools to Christian mission.

The ability to travel and a willingness to attend occasional evening and weekend meetings and events is essential.

An understanding and awareness of Church of England structures and knowledge of the current educational landscape within the context of church schools, along with experience of budget management or creating financial reports would be desirable.

This post is subject to an enhanced DBS Check.

Canterbury Diocese is the oldest diocese in England, stretching from Maidstone to Thanet, the Isle of Sheppey to the Romney Marsh. We have 350 miles of coastline with historic ports and seaside resorts, alongside rural communities, market towns and commuter-belt urban developments. Affluent areas often sit alongside pockets of major deprivation, offering an exciting and challenging mission context. 

At the heart of all we do is a vision of transformation for ourselves and our communities: no one can encounter God and remain unchanged. In the Diocese of Canterbury, we want to increasingly become a Christian community transformed through encounter with Christ, growing and overflowing to transform and bless the families, homes and communities we serve: Changed Lives, Changing Lives.

Closing date: 30 September 2024.

This is an important strategic role within our organisation. You will lead and manage the delivery of our Village Agent Programme which helps vulnerable people within Somerset, improving health and wellbeing, and supporting communities to thrive together.

You will work with the Head of Programmes and other members of the Senior Leadership Team to ensure that the programme delivers our strategic goals and that we are collaborating effectively within the Health & Wellbeing system of Somerset, and the VCFSE sector as a whole.

You will be a key member of the Programmes Team, and will work with colleagues to ensure that all of our community development work is well integrated; and we are making the most of opportunities, internal and external that will help to improve quality of life for individuals and communities in Somerset.

What you'll be doing

Thrive together

• Be accountable for the delivery of high-quality Village Agent Services in Somerset, promoting a learning culture, and driving growth through role modelling.
• Lead all managers and operational employees within the Village Agent Programme to deliver our strategic goals.
• To coach and lead the Agent Locality Managers to enhance overall performance and continuous professional and personal development.
• Demonstrate active leadership skills and support your team to resolve challenges and respond to opportunities.
• Utilise high levels of emotional intelligence and strong communication skills internally and externally to ensure the delivery of a high-quality service.

Enable Change

• Ensure that the impact of the Village Agent services is demonstrated and articulated to internal and external audiences, including contributions to fundraising and advocacy campaigns and materials and representing the service to external audiences.
• Look for opportunities to innovate and work with internal and external colleagues to develop new programmes of work to meet community need; implementing and evaluating pilot projects and, if successful, embedding them within the central service.
• Analyse performance data to evaluate service design, developing new or improved processes and procedures to ensure we are effective, efficient and focused on client outcomes.
• Be responsible for leading service development annually, responding to evidence of need and seeking to implement community solutions; whilst identifying and mitigating risk.
• Drive community development through the Village Agent service, supporting the team to identify gaps and implement sustainable community solutions.
• Take responsibility for collating quarterly, annual and ad hoc reports internally for the Senior Leadership Team and Trustees and externally for funders as required.
• Act as the Safeguarding Lead Officer for Client Services, and work closely with the CCS Safeguarding Lead.
• Contribute to the development of quality assurance systems.
• Assist in managing the organisation’s day-to-day operations and its resources in accordance with CCS policies and procedures, ensuring compliance with legal requirements and good practice in all aspects of the charity’s work.
• Keep abreast of national, regional, and local policy that impacts on our work to bring a wider perspective, and ensure our work is well informed.

Build Connections

• Build and maintain positive working relationships with our collaborators, including commissioners, public sector officers and senior operational managers across a range of sectors and organisations.
• Show generous leadership and actively promote CCS values at all times.
• Attend relevant partnership and operational meetings for Village Agent services.
• When appropriate, represent CCS externally at events and meetings locally, regionally and nationally.

The Development Trusts Association Wales (DTA Wales) is an independent practitioner-based membership organisation promoting the work of, and supporting the growing network of, community enterprises in Wales. Our members are all independent not-for profit organisations who are serving their communities through a wide variety of services and initiatives.

We are recruiting for two roles:

• Communications & Events Officer, 0.8 FTE, £28 - 32k pro rata
• Administrator, 0.6 FTE, £23 - £24.5k pro rata

Communications & Events Officer

We are seeking a skilled and adaptable comms professional to deliver engaging communications and event support in both English and Cymraeg for DTA Wales and our Egin programme. We need someone who loves telling stories to convey the power of community action, and who excels at curating online and in-person events which support it.

DEADLINE - Midday October 3rd 2024

Administrator

We are seeking someone to provide administrative support for our Egin programme, and our DTA Wales Membership Services, with your time split 50/50 between the two areas of the organisation. The role will involve being a first point of contact for groups and individuals contacting us, and you will work closely with partners, mentors, facilitators, consultants and our members, as well as the wider DTA Wales staff team.

DEADLINE - Midday October 10th 2024

We are seeking an outstanding individual to lead the development and delivery of business, commercial and enterprise activities within the South West Heritage Trust.

You will be a person with an excellent record of achievement at senior level within a charity or cultural organisation, and with an ability to build funding and other partnerships, motivate teams and manage complex projects. Working closely with the CEO and the Leadership Team, you will have a key role in fostering a fundraising culture that can ensure the Trust’s long-term ambitions and sustainability.

The Trust was created in 2014 as an independent charity to preserve and promote the heritage of Somerset and Devon. We work with many partners, including the principal local authorities of the two counties, to deliver wide-ranging heritage services. We reach thousands of people every year and in 2023 became a National Portfolio Organisation of Arts Council England.

The Trust runs the widely-praised Museum of Somerset in Taunton and Somerset Rural Life Museum in Glastonbury. Our Archive and Local Studies Services have centres in Taunton, Exeter and Barnstaple where we care for more than 10 million archives dating from the 8th century to the present day. Our Historic Environment Service supports local authorities, partners and the public by offering planning-related advice and information on Somerset’s archaeology and built heritage. It also looks after 450 acres of heritage landscapes. We provide learning opportunities for people of all ages. This newly-created role provides an outstanding opportunity to help the Trust realise its full potential as a charity that makes a difference − improving life chances, building prosperity and creating a better future for individuals and communities.

Closing date: 5.00 pm Tuesday 1 October

Interview date: Thursday 10 October

Location: Home working with travel to attend meetings in London, York and Manchester and visit Communities run by the Trust in Hertfordshire, Gloucestershire, Yorkshire, and Worcestershire.

Salary: c.£80,000 per annum

Contract: Permanent, full-time hours

Camphill Village Trust, the charity that supports adults with learning disabilities, autism and mental ill health support, is seeking a Director of Fundraising to drive significant income generation through a sustainable funding model to enable the Trust to deliver its long-term objectives.

Established in 1954, Camphill Village Trust’s vision is to be a national leader in Social and Green Care Integration, enabling more adults with learning disabilities, autism and mental health challenges to live healthy, active and independent lives. Their historical focus on enabling potential for people with support needs through farming, organic horticulture and enterprise centred on nature and traditional skills, continues today - valuing everyone’s contribution, enabling personal pathways to development, celebrating the changing seasons and respecting the rhythm of natural life.

The Fundraising Director will work to the Chief Executive and in collaboration with the Executive Management Team, Senior Leadership Teams and wider Board and stakeholder groups. The role will be responsible for developing and leading the Trust’s Fundraising and Communication Strategies to enable and deliver significant growth in the Supporter base, Income Generation and Brand positioning of a national charity providing Learning Disability and Mental Health Services in a Green Care Context.
The successful candidate will be joining a charity with a strong history and reputation for donor-centric (friends) fundraising, currently raising over £5m per year and a huge potential to unlock stewardship, potential and growth.

The Trust is seeking an inspiring and ambitious professional with a proven track record in senior-level fundraising and the skills, passion and experience to lead the Trust into a position which results in voluntary income moving from £5M to £10M through delivery of step change strategies for Voluntary Income Generation and Communication. Candidates must be collaborative leaders with proven experience of leading and managing multi-disciplinary fundraising teams and in transformation and change. They will also have experience in influencing policy and decision making (governance) at a range of levels, as will be a strong networker and public speaker used to driving networking opportunities that evidence outcomes and impact.

This is an exciting time to be joining the charity in its 70th anniversary year as they embark on a bold plan to shape a new long-term future for adult social care within vibrant and thriving community settings.

CLOSING DATE: Monday 30th September, 9am.

Church of England Birmingham (CofEB) is on a journey of growing churches at the heart of every community.

• Building on the work to date, develop a financial sustainability strategy around giving which will form part of a major long-term strategic bid to the national CofE for funding to support the delivery of our vision and strategy.
• Create the project plan and resource requirements (including people resources) for delivery.
• Develop an approach to engage parishes and oversight areas.
• Working with the Project Management Office (PMO) ensure plans for financial sustainability are integrated into our overall strategic plan.

• Deliver the project in line with the project plan and budget.
• Working with HR, recruit the team to deliver the project and provide line management as appropriate based on the new structure.
• Be involved in hands on delivery with parishes to see giving and generosity flow.
• Track progress of the project and all key indicators. Supplying reports to funders, feeding into our governance structures and creating any needed change requests.
• Create a stakeholder management plan and ensure good relationships and engagement with all stakeholders.

• Highly numerate and logical with an understanding of financial principles and how these apply to a medium-sized complex charity.
• Project Management experience with good knowledge and experience in using project tools. The ability to apply those PM skills across complex and sometimes ill-defined structures.
• Good degree of IT literacy.
• Experience in successfully line-managing a team.
• The ability to communicate well in written media and presenting in person, particularly with a view to influencing stakeholders.
• An understanding of, or ideally experience of working with volunteers, or those outside of a line management hierarchy.
• An understanding of generosity and giving as a key part of Christian discipleship, and how these are informed by theology across different traditions and scripture.

• An understanding of the structure, organisation and culture of the Church of England would be helpful.
• Understanding of how parish finances work and the Common Fund system would be helpful.
• An appreciation of theology and discipleship as they apply to generosity and giving.

• Strong influencing skills are vital.
• Good written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to present credibly to clergy and laity in parishes.
• Ability to deal with difficult situations with tact and diplomacy to achieve desired outcome.
• Innovative and creative approach to problem solving
• Adaptability and willingness to consider a range of options and possibilities when working with others.
• The ability to plan, self-organise and prioritise effectively within complex structures in order to achieve objectives.
• Able to work flexibly including evenings and weekends.
• The role holder will need to travel to parishes across the breadth of the diocese which includes city, suburban, market-town and rural contexts, and therefore the ability to drive and access to a car would be beneficial

About you

We are looking for a confident, established professional with extensive knowledge and networks across housing in Scotland, who is comfortable navigating faith spaces. You will be a project manager who is happy working independently and remotely, while achieving high quality deliverables.

About the role

We have recently received funding to explore expansion into Scotland for the Faith in Affordable Housing project. This will be a 15-month project with potential to expand, subject to funding.

The proposed project is to undertake a scoping exercise across Scotland, to ascertain the need for social and affordable housing, and the key stakeholders providing housing, as well as the potential presented by faith organisation-owned assets to meet housing need. The resulting feasibility study and business plan will then inform the potential next steps for Faith in Affordable Housing Scotland.

About us

Housing Justice is a charity that acts on homelessness and housing need across England and Wales. We work to prevent people from experiencing homelessness, help people out of homelessness or destitution, and enable the building of affordable homes. We also take a leading role as the voice of the faith and voluntary sector, supported by the Welsh and UK Governments. At Housing Justice, we value differences: we are a diverse organisation, and we work with people of all faiths and none. We seek to influence and bring about change for the benefit of those we serve through partnership, lobbying and networking. Our initiatives include Faith in Affordable Housing, Hosting people seeking sanctuary, Support for people from Ukraine, The Winter Night Shelter Network and Citadel.

Benefits

• Cycle to Work Scheme
• 29 days annual leave each year plus an additional day of holiday for each year of service over 3 years, up to a maximum of 5 additional days.
• We are open to flexible approaches to working and will consider flexible working requests openly
• Employee Assistance Programme
• Home office set-up