Senior development jobs in Bristol

The Senior Partnerships Manager is responsible for developing, securing and stewarding our partnerships, with a particular focus on the corporate and higher education spaces. Reporting to and working closely with the CEO, the postholder will lead on relationship‑driven partnership development and account management, ensuring partners experience a professional, values‑aligned and impactful relationship with Brightside.

The postholder will steward these partnerships from initial engagement through to renewal, working closely with the Partnerships Lead to support renewals and identify opportunities for deeper partner engagement. The role will involve researching potential partnerships, securing meetings through outreach and networking, generating proposals, and delivering high‑quality ongoing stewardship to partners. In addition to corporate and higher education partners, the postholder will also steward relationships across government and the third sector.

Please note - this role will require extensive travel to London for partnership meetings, events and networking. Our ideal candidate would therefore be based in London or within commuting distance.

Please review the job description attachment at the end of the advert for full roles and responsibilities, application instructions, the essential criteria and further information on salary and benefits.

Responsible for

 Pipeline development

• Researching potential prospects across the corporate and higher education sectors, including analysis of corporate ESG strategies and university access and participation plans
• Maintaining and enhancing our prospects database on our CRM
• Building and nurturing relationships with prospective partners
• Delivering pitch presentations to prospective partners
• Regular attendance at in-person prospect meetings or networking events to build strong relationships that develop into new partnerships
• Generating proposals that align partner priorities to Brightside’s aims
• Maintaining regular contact with prospects to stay on their radar and keep them up to date with Brightside activity
• Attending regular networking events and relevant contacts to build contacts across sectors

 Partnership management and stewardship

• Acting as the consistent relationship manager across the partnership lifecycle
• Stewarding partnerships beyond programme activity, maintaining relationships that reflect partners’ wider goals, values and organisational priorities
• Holding regular partnership check-ins focused on relationship health, strategic alignment and future opportunities
• Ensuring partners feel informed, valued and connected to Brightside’s broader mission and impact
• Working closely with the partnerships delivery team to stay up to date on delivery progress and partner milestones
• Identifying opportunities to deepen or broaden relationships, including multi-year partnerships or expanded engagement
• Delivering a consistent, high-quality partnership experience that strengthens long-term retention
• Attending partner events and conferences where relevant, becoming embedded within their communities
• Working with the Partnerships Lead to prepare for and initiate renewals conversations, including renewals proposals and monitoring

Application instructions

• Submit your CV and one-page cover letter via CharityJob
• Your cover letter should be no more than 1-2 pages and must explain how you meet the essential criteria (listed in the job description) for the role with clear examples, specifically the items tested at application
• You must answer the screening questions
• Applications without a cover letter or screening questions answered will not be considered
• Applications due: 23:30, Wednesday 27 May 2026
• First interviews (online): 4/5 June 2026
• Second interviews (in person, London): 11/12 June 2026

The Senior Fundraising Manager is responsible for delivering Brightside’s fundraising activity with a core focus on grants from trusts and foundations, and major donors. Reporting to and working closely with the CEO, the postholder will forge new relationships with major donors and manage our grant applications to support Brightside to achieve its fundraising targets. The postholder will deliver high quality stewardship across our major donor relationships and act as the key point of contact for all grant activity, working closely with the delivery teams to support funder relationship management and reporting.

The postholder will work closely with colleagues across the organisation to develop clear cases for support for potential funding projects, as well as managing our approach to individual giving and increasing regular donations. The role will involve working closely with the CEO and the trustees, who will provide warm introductions to their networks of potential major donors and support in their stewardship.

Please review the job description attachment at the end of the advert for full roles and responsibilities, application instructions, the essential criteria and further information on salary and benefits.

Responsible for:

Trusts and foundations:

• Identify and research trusts and foundations that would support our organisational priorities and funding needs
• Develop high quality, compelling grant applications and cases for support
• Build and maintain a healthy pipeline of funding opportunities
• Lead funder relationship management and deliver high-quality stewardship
• Lead on grant reporting, including monitoring, accountability and opportunities for reapplication
• Working closely with technology and delivery teams to build evidence-based cases for support for key projects
• Ensure clear and effective handover of successful grants to delivery teams, including reporting requirements and timelines
• Attending external events and meetings to support our fundraising strategy and learning

Major donors:

• Identify and research potential major donors whose interests and capacity align with our mission
• Cultivate new donor relationships through targeted outreach, contact mapping, networking and events
• Build and maintain a healthy pipeline of potential major donors
• Develop tailored engagement and stewardship plans approaches for each donor
• Create meaningful opportunities for donors to share insight, experience or sector knowledge and ensure this expertise is valued and acknowledged
• Lead major gift conversations and negotiations, including face-to-face meetings
• Provide high quality, personalised stewardship to major donors
• Identify opportunities to grow or repeat giving through deeper donor engagement
• Deliver exceptional stewardship to major donors

Individual giving

• Maintaining regular contact with donors and potential donors (including our volunteers and alumni) to generate donations
• Maintaining and monitoring our individual giving platforms
• Ensure all donations and supporter interactions are accurately recorded and that donors receive timely acknowledgements

Application instructions

• Submit your CV and one-page cover letter via CharityJob
• Your cover letter should be no more than 1-2 pages and must explain how you meet the essential criteria for the role, with a focus on the items tested in application and clear examples (see job description for the essential criteria)
• You must answer the screening question on the application page
• Applications without a cover letter or screening question will not be considered
• Applications due: 23:30 Wednesday 27 May
• First round interviews (online): 4/5 June 2026
• Final interviews (online or in person) 10/11 June 2026

WFD’s exciting plans for growth include diversifying our donor funding and delivering our new business development strategy.

As our new Business Development Manager, you will play a central role in expanding our funding portfolio, unlocking new strategic partnerships, and scaling high-impact programmes across more than 50 countries.

Working closely with the Head of Business Development and Funding Partnerships, this role will

Strategy - Actively engage in donor analysis; identifying emerging donor trends and contribute to the diversification of donor funding and the execution of our new business development strategy.

​Systems -​ Review and design effective business development systems and operating procedures.

​Proposals - Lead funding opportunities with institutional donors (FCDO, ISF, EC and other bilateral European donors) including trusts and foundations when renewing or expanding WFD’s non-regional portfolio.

We are looking for the following

• Track record of engaging with, developing and delivering business development strategies.
• At least 4 years’ experience managing end-to-end bid processes.
• Experience writing convincing bids for both grants and commercial contracts.
• Evidence of winning institutional funding.
• Strong understanding of donor landscapes.
• Experience working with global cross-functional teams.
• Strong proposal writing and budgeting skills.
• Proficient in business development systems and operations procedures including designing and implementing.
• Experience in consortium development and strong negotiation skills.
• Strategic and commercially aware.
• Highly organised and able to manage competing priorities.
• A confident communicator and collaborator
• Self-motivated and proactive.

​Apply by 25th May 2026. Upload your CV and Cover Letter directly to our website.

​

Overview of the Role:  We are recruiting a London Senior Programme Officer for the National Education Nature Park to:

· Lead the National Education Nature Park programme across London, increasing participation in schools and education settings

· Manage and support a regional Programme Officer, including performance, development and wellbeing

· Build strong partnerships with schools, colleges, local authorities, NGOs and environmental networks

· Deliver a regional engagement strategy aligned with national KPIs on biodiversity, climate education and wellbeing

· Be a passionate advocate for nature-based learning, sustainability, biodiversity gain and green skills for children and young people

· Manage a regional budget, travel planning and reporting, ensuring compliance and audit requirements

· Facilitate workshops, training and events for educators, children and young people

· Provide expert guidance on outdoor learning, horticulture, biodiversity and environmental education resources

To work for the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) is to join a thriving charity, whose mission is to be there for everyone on their lifelong adventure with gardening. Everything we do is built on the transformational power of gardening – and the benefits it brings to people, places and our planet.

And we couldn’t do this without our people. We’re proud of the knowledge, enthusiasm and ideas that each one of our team members brings. From working across our social media channels, to volunteering in the RHS Gardens, from serving customers in our garden centres to running national marketing campaigns, we believe that every member of the RHS team should have the opportunity to make a difference.  Our careers portal here provides a comprehensive overview of what we offer, the teams that work at the RHS and our great benefits.

Location: Home-based within the London region, with regular travel across the region, or opportuntiy to be based at RHS Vincent Square.

Safeguarding and Inclusion

The RHS is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and adults at risk and expects all personnel to share in this commitment. We are an inclusive employer and welcome applicants from all backgrounds.

Hybrid - within commuting distance of one of our campuses in London, Birmingham, Blackburn, Doncaster, Bradford, Redcar or Bristol

We are seeking a motivated and enthusiastic Senior Data Engineer to join our TED team and play an important role in building and maintaining the technical infrastructure that supports the NIoT and TED.

The National Institute of Teaching (NIoT) has an unswerving commitment to high-quality, evidence-informed teacher education, and is on a mission to improve teacher and leader development across the education system.

A key part of that mission is our Teacher Education Dataset (TED), an ambitious data and research initiative focused on building better evidence about teacher development and what makes teaching impactful. By bringing together education, research and digital infrastructure, TED will support new insight into how teachers develop, improve and thrive across their careers.

About the role

We are seeking a motivated and enthusiastic Senior Data Engineer to join our TED team and play an important role in building and maintaining the technical infrastructure that supports the NIoT and TED. Working at the intersection of data engineering, data and research, the postholder will help develop secure, reliable and scalable systems that enable robust analysis and contribute to high-quality, evidence-informed improvement across the sector.

Corporate responsibilities

• To ensure that the responsibilities of the role are carried out in a way which reflects the mission and the values of the NIoT.

• To be aware of and observe all policies, procedures, working practices and regulations, and in particular to comply with policies relating to Equal Opportunities, Health and Safety, Confidentiality, Data Protection and Financial Regulations, reporting any concerns to an appropriate person.

• To comply with all reasonable management requests.

Key Responsibilities

• Design, build and maintain Azure-based data pipelines to support the ingestion, transformation and curation of TED datasets.

• Develop and maintain Azure SQL databases and research-facing schemas across raw, transformed and curated data layers.

• Write efficient, secure and well-structured T-SQL to support ingestion, validation, transformation and optimisation.

• Contribute to the development and ongoing refinement of a Common Data Model across multiple education data providers.

• Integrate and harmonise data from school MIS and EdTech platforms, including Bromcom, Arbor and Wonde.

• Build and maintain robust validation, logging, auditing and reconciliation processes to improve data quality and trust.

• Support secure data handling, including pseudonymisation, access control and compliance with data-sharing agreements and security requirements.

• Work closely with analysts, researchers, architects and partners to deliver scalable, analytics-ready data solutions.

• Contribute to agile planning, technical design, documentation and operational handover.

Essential criteria

• Proven experience in data engineering, including building and maintaining production-grade data pipelines.

• Strong experience with Azure Data Factory and Azure SQL Server.

• Strong T-SQL skills, including schema design, stored procedures and query optimisation.

• Experience implementing validation, monitoring, logging and reconciliation controls within data pipelines.

• Strong understanding of secure data architecture and the handling of sensitive personal data.

• Experience with Azure DevOps, version control and CI/CD practices.

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with excellent attention to detail.

• Ability to communicate effectively and work successfully in a multidisciplinary team.

Desirable criteria

• Experience with education datasets, school MIS systems or EdTech platforms.

• Experience with common data models, longitudinal datasets or research-oriented data infrastructure.

• Experience with Power BI, Fabric or related analytics technologies.

• Experience in a public sector, education or high-governance data environment.

• Interest in applying data engineering to improve education and teacher development.

Key benefits

• Generous Annual Leave – 27 days’ holiday a year (plus 8 bank holidays).

• Flexible Working – we offer flexible start and end working times, with hybrid working in place for all roles.

• Pension - Entry to the Local Government Pension Scheme.

• Salary Sacrifice Schemes – we offer salary sacrifice schemes for bikes, cars and tech!

• Lifestyle Benefits – We offer discounts on gyms, cinema, retail and much more!

• Parenthood Leave – We offer above the statutory minimum for maternity, adoption and paternity leave.

• Working Environment – We have a stimulating, supportive and rewarding working environment with a dedicated team of likeminded professionals.

• Support: Our Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) provides confidential support for employees on personal or work-related matters.

• Development: We fully support the development of our staff and ensure that you have high level of continuous professional development.

We think a wide range of different work and educational experiences could support you to be successful in this role. We encourage applications from all backgrounds, communities and industries, and are committed to employing a team that has diverse skills, experiences and abilities.

If you have any queries about this role, please contact our recruitment team.

For more information and to apply, please visit our vacancies page.

Closing date: 10.00am on Monday, 1 June 2026.

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive a high volume of applications.

This post requires a satisfactory enhanced disclosure from the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) with a Children’s Barred List Check and Occupational Health Check is required as a condition of employment.

National sight loss charity, Retina UK is currently recruiting for a personable, motivated Senior Research Coordinator with experience in communicating science to a lay audience, who is educated to degree level in a biomedical or clinical science, and has excellent presentation and planning skills.

Key responsibilities will include ensuring effective communication of research into inherited sight loss, including the projects we fund, to our community, fundraisers, supporters and staff and measuring the impact of our research programme.

About Us

People’s Economy aims to build the agency and power of people facing injustice and working for social change so that they have the expertise, capabilities and resources to develop their own analysis of how the economic system is a root cause of the injustice they face, develop strategies to change it and then take action with others. Our vision is for a world with economies that meet the needs and priorities of people currently experiencing economic injustice.

About the Role

This role leads our work across Birmingham at an exciting moment. We are developing a participatory, community-centred approach to analysing the city's economy, identifying opportunities for change and coordinating alliances to act on them. This means bringing together mixed groups, including grassroots changemakers, researchers, funders and other partners, and facilitating processes that help people make sense of complex information together, find common ground and make decisions about collective priorities. The role requires someone who can hold these processes well: strong facilitation skills, communicating complex ideas accessibly, building trust across groups, sustaining momentum over time and helping diverse coalitions move from analysis to strategy to action.

The Senior Programme and Network Lead will develop and deliver initiatives that support a growing movement for economic justice across the city, with a particular focus on building support and engagement amongst grassroots changemakers and communities experiencing economic injustice. It will manage projects and resources, conduct programme development and delivery, oversee outreach and partnerships, changemaker recruitment and contribute to fundraising, ultimately playing a key role in shaping our regional impact. This position is crucial in coordinating our work across Birmingham and driving meaningful collaboration with local and national stakeholders, in particular working collaboratively with Economic Justice Brum, a long-standing initiative working on local economic systems change.

Online Open House

Come and meet us! Candidates are invited to attend an information webinar and to meet some of the team on Wednesday 13th May at 12pm or Wednesday 21st May at 5pm. Both webinars will cover the same content, so there is no need to attend both.

For the full role description, Open House registration information and details on how to apply please visit our website by clicking 'How to Apply' below.

Overview of the Role:  We are recruiting a South East Senior Programme Officer for the National Education Nature Park to:

· Lead the National Education Nature Park programme across South East England, increasing participation in schools and education settings

· Manage and support a regional Programme Officer, including performance, development and wellbeing

· Build strong partnerships with schools, colleges, local authorities, NGOs and environmental networks

· Deliver a regional engagement strategy aligned with national KPIs on biodiversity, climate education and wellbeing

· Be a passionate advocate for nature-based learning, sustainability, biodiversity gain and green skills for children and young people

· Manage a regional budget, travel planning and reporting, ensuring compliance and audit requirements

· Facilitate workshops, training and events for educators, children and young people

· Provide expert guidance on outdoor learning, horticulture, biodiversity and environmental education resources

To work for the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) is to join a thriving charity, whose mission is to be there for everyone on their lifelong adventure with gardening. Everything we do is built on the transformational power of gardening – and the benefits it brings to people, places and our planet.

And we couldn’t do this without our people. We’re proud of the knowledge, enthusiasm and ideas that each one of our team members brings. From working across our social media channels, to volunteering in the RHS Gardens, from serving customers in our garden centres to running national marketing campaigns, we believe that every member of the RHS team should have the opportunity to make a difference.  Our careers portal here provides a comprehensive overview of what we offer, the teams that work at the RHS and our great benefits.

Location: Home-based within the South East region, with regular travel across the region, or opportuntiy to be based at RHS Wisley.

Contract: 12 month Fixed Term Contract (maternity cover) to 31st July 2027

Safeguarding and Inclusion

The RHS is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and adults at risk and expects all personnel to share in this commitment. We are an inclusive employer and welcome applicants from all backgrounds.

Salary: £30,139.86 per annum. We are an accredited member of the Living Wage Foundation.

Location: Unseen’s head office in Bristol (Hybrid approach with some working from home days. This role will require you to attend the office on an ad hoc basis and a degree of flexibility will be required.)

Contract type: Permanent, full-time – 37.5 hours per week (Monday-Friday).

Unseen is working towards a world without slavery. We provide safehouses and support in the community for survivors of trafficking and modern slavery. We also run the Modern Slavery & Exploitation Helpline and work with individuals, communities, businesses, governments, other charities, and statutory agencies to stamp out slavery for good.

Purpose of the role:

The Senior Policy & Partnerships Officer will deliver policy and research projects and facilitate lived experience voice into Unseen’s policy, research and practice. You will work closely with the Head of Policy & Research, the Survivor Involvement Coordinator and Unseen’s Survivor Consultants and be responsible for the Survivor Consultant groups.

You will also support the Head of Policy & Research in the coordination of the Southwest Anti-Slavery Partnership. Unseen facilitates the Avon & Somerset Anti-Slavery Partnership board, the Regional Anti-Slavery Partnership board and Bristol Modern Slavery Operational Partnership. We support the chairs of other force area partnerships in the region and act as a point of contact in the Southwest, driving forward responses to modern slavery in the region and providing advice and guidance to partners to improve their practice.

You will work closely with Unseen’s Policy & Research team and have regular interactions with staff across Unseen’s wider teams including Business Services, Helpline Services, Support Services, Fundraising, Communications, and Operations.

To apply:

• Please complete the application form on our website. This includes a personal statement of 500 words outlining your suitability for the role, and;
• Please send a copy of your CV to jobs @ unseenuk. org with reference to the job title.

The deadline for applications is midnight on 31st May.

Interviews will likely be held around the week of 8th June.

We reserve the right to close the vacancy early if we receive the requisite number of applications. For this reason, we encourage interested candidates to apply early.

As an organisation focused on equality and diversity, we welcome applications from all sections of the community and all backgrounds, including those with a lived experience of modern slavery, those from ethnic minority groups, those with disabilities and those from the LGBTQ+ community.

Any questions, please contact jobs @ unseenuk. org​

Combine your financial expertise with real-world impact by joining Parkinson’s Europe (PE) as our Senior Finance Manager. We’re seeking a proactive professional with heart and passion to safeguard our financial health and empower the Parkinson’s community across Europe, offering a role with significant autonomy and clear room for professional growth within our evolving organisation.

Job specification

Location: Remote working (but note that occasional travel – to attend quarterly team meetings in the UK and other ad hoc meetings/conferences – is required)

Salary: £17,200 – £20,000 per annum, dependent on experience (£43,000 – £50,000 FTE).

Annual leave: 13.5 days per annum (inclusive of pro-rata statutory bank holidays, based on a full-time equivalent of 25 days). 

Contract: This is a permanent, employed role

Responsible to: Director General

Collaboration with: Operations Director and Partnerships Director, plus the wider team

Job description

Main purpose of role

To oversee the charity’s financial management, ensuring accurate reporting, effective budgeting and robust controls. The Senior Finance Manager provides insight to support strategic decision-making, maintains compliance with statutory and regulatory requirements, and manages day-to-day finance operations to safeguard the organisation’s financial health.

In addition, as part of a small team, the Senior Finance Manager provides light-touch HR support to assist with processes – such as appraisals, payroll and staff records — helping to ensure smooth operations in the absence of a dedicated HR function.

Key tasks – finance

• Ensure accurate recording of information of various funding (industry, donations, memberships etc), spending, banking 

• Manual bookkeeping and liaising with Accountants in the UK and in Belgium to ensure data is uploaded correctly to Sage (or similar software) 

• Monthly month end checks on Sage and accurate nominal coding, working with PE’s appointed accountants 

• Raise invoices and credit control

• Accounts payable & expenses process including employee and freelance pay

• Managing all aspects regarding employee pay – working with PE’s appointed payroll agent, pension provider and insurance broker

• Year-end work – including checks and liaising with PE’s appointed accountants

• Charity Commission – completion of annual return

• Donations – check and manage paypal and other donation platforms accordingly

• Management of all PE bank accounts and all aspects regarding bank matters – i.e unknown payments, bank applications for new card holders, transaction queries etc

• Financial reviews with Director General and Operations Director, and to provide accurate information in regards to forecasting, funding, spending, general P&L and other financial matters

• Perform monthly cash-flow forecasting to ensure the 4-month reserve policy is maintained at all times

• Annual budgeting

• Liaising with Treasurer, dealing with any queries he/she may have; assist with AGM reporting 

• Join Board/AGM meetings as required, and deal with any finance-related queries the Board members may have

• Keeping abreast of UK national regulatory and budgetary developments

Key tasks – HR and other

• Support and liaise with the Operations Director and Partnerships Director with all treatment industry/funding agreements 

• Maintain the organisation’s Contract Register, ensuring all agreements (i.e., treatment iindustry partnerships) are tracked for payment milestones

• Keeping and maintaining employee/freelance agreements up to date 

• Holiday and sickness tracking

• Liaise and support the Operations Director with regards to various policies (i.e expenses, bereavement)

• Supporting the Director General and Operations Director with the appraisal process

Person specification

Essential skills and experience

• Minimum five years’ professional experience in an accounting or finance role, supported by a relevant accounting qualification or significant demonstrable experience. Prior experience within the charity or not-for-profit sector is highly desirable. Experience or comfort managing cross-border EU-UK financial complexities is a plus.

• Experience of preparing management accounts, budgets, forecasts and year-end reporting

• An understanding of charity finance requirements (e.g. charity accounting, Charity Commission obligations)

• Proficiency in accounting software (Sage or similar) and MS Office (especially Excel) 

• Experience of basic HR processes (e.g. recruitment, contracts, record-keeping, employee/er taxes and pension obligations)

• Understanding of payroll administration 

• Ability to interpret and explain financial information to non-finance colleagues and Board directors

• Strong organisational skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities

• High level of accuracy, attention to detail and integrity

• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with a collaborative approach

Personal qualities

• Commitment to the values and mission of the charity

• A proactive, hands-on approach suited to a small organisation

• Ability to work independently and take initiative

• Flexibility and willingness to adapt to changing needs

• Discretion and respect for confidentiality

Application process 

To apply for this role, please submit your CV and a cover letter outlining your suitability via the CharityJob portal. The deadline is officially 27 May; however, please note that applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, and we reserve the right to begin the interview process or close the vacancy early if a suitable candidate is found. Therefore, early applications are strongly encouraged.

Parkinson's Europe is an inclusive employer committed to diversity, equity and inclusion. We use an anonymous recruitment process to prevent unconscious bias, and welcome applications from all qualified candidates, regardless of age, disability, gender identity or expression, race, religion, sexual orientation, or any other characteristic. We believe that a diverse team enriches our work and strengthens our ability to serve the entire Parkinson's community across Europe. Please let us know if you have any accessibility requirements we can provide to support you during the application process. 

Senior Service Designer  

 
Location: remote. This role can be based at any of Barnardo's national offices. Regular local and national travel will be required. 
 

Help us design services that transform childhoods  

At Barnardo's, we believe every child deserves a safe, happy and hopeful future. For over 150 years, we've been innovating to improve the lives of children, young people and families across the UK. Today, we run more than 800 services and are committed to making them excellent, inclusive and designed with the children, young people and families who use them. 

As a senior member of the Service Design team, you will play a vital role in applying service design methods to deliver measurable improvements in service quality, efficiency, value and outcomes for children, young people and families. 

We are continuing to strengthen how we design and improve services across Barnardo's, working across a complex and evolving portfolio that spans children's services, digital delivery and business development. 

This role offers the opportunity to shape not only individual services, but how service design is used to support decision-making, prioritisation and innovation across the organisation. 

This is a hands-on role as well as a strategic one – you'll be actively designing, prototyping and iterating services as well as shaping direction and decision-making. 

As a Senior Service Designer, you will: 

• Work across a portfolio of projects, balancing priorities and adapting to changing organisational needs 

• Contribute to service development and proposals, working with business development colleagues to shape service models 

• Influence decision-making and prioritisation, using evidence and insight to guide direction 

• Identify opportunities to improve services in ways that deliver better outcomes, greater efficiency and value for money 

• Lead the end-to-end design of services in complex environments, shaping user-centred, evidence-based solutions that respond to organisational priorities, and creating service maps, blueprints, prototypes and other design artefacts to bring ideas to life 

• Test and iterate service concepts in response to feedback and learning, refining solutions to improve outcomes 

• Ensure services are coherent and integrated across online and offline channels 

• Work across functions including business development, digital, finance, operations, research and policy to engage stakeholders and support organisational change 

• Mentor and support colleagues – developing confidence and skills, with the potential to provide line management support to junior designers where appropriate 

• Develop practice and contribute to standards, frameworks and reusable design patterns 

• Share learning internally and externally, contributing to professional communities of practice and helping raise the profile of service design at Barnardo's 

This is a varied, hands-on and project-focused role that allows for autonomy, creativity and real impact. You'll be part of a warm, committed team that shares learning, supports wellbeing, and is united in a clear mission: designing for better outcomes for children and families. 

You'll work with a high degree of autonomy, navigating complexity and ambiguity, delivering tangible improvements to services and contributing to a growing and evolving design practice. 

What We're Looking For 

We're looking for a Senior Service Designer who can: 

• Work autonomously to lead the design of complex services 

• Manage competing priorities effectively across projects, balancing time, focus and trade-offs 

• Influence stakeholders and support organisational change beyond immediate project teams, communicating design decisions and complex ideas clearly to a range of audiences 

• Understand how services operate within wider organisational systems, and use this to inform decision-making and support effective change 

• Confidently use a range of evidence, including user research, service data and performance insights, to inform decisions and guide direction 

• Conduct in-depth user research to generate actionable insights and guide decision-making 

• Create and iterate prototypes and other design artefacts 

• Integrate offline and online service delivery into coherent end-to-end services 

• Design and facilitate collaborative workshops with a range of stakeholders and partners 

• Evaluate and evidence the impact of service design work

Previous experience in children's services, health, education or related public/third sector contexts is desirable – but if you bring transferable skills, we want to hear from you. 

What You'll Get in Return 

• 26 days annual leave (rising with service) plus bank holidays 

• Access to the Barnardo's pension scheme 

• Flexible working and hybrid/remote options 

• Wellbeing initiatives and Employee Assistance Programme 

• Regular supervision and career development opportunities 

• The opportunity to shape how service design is used across a national organisation 

• The chance to work on services that support children, young people and families across the UK.

Inclusion and Belonging 

We are committed to building a diverse workforce. We particularly welcome applications from disabled candidates, LGBTQ+ people, people from racially minoritised communities, and those with care experience. If there's anything we can do to support you through the application process, please let us know. 

 Ready to Apply?

Together, we can change childhoods and change lives.

When completing your application please refer to your skills knowledge and experience in relation to the Person Specification and Job Description.

Please note due to the high volume of applications for some posts, this advert might close before the displayed closing date.  We recommend that you apply for this role as soon as possible.

Do you have experience in research communications and the ability to translate complex scientific or research information, in an engaging and accessible way, for non-specialist audiences? Would you like to shape and steward a compelling research narrative that clearly communicates scientific discovery and the real-world benefit for people affected by dementia?

About the role
We are recruiting for a Senior Research Communications Manager to join on a full-time, permanent contract working 35 hours per week. This is a home-based role, with occasional travel required for conferences, events and in-person stakeholder or team meetings.

As Senior Research Communications Manager you will champion our research. By making complex science accessible, engaging and meaningful you will ensure breakthroughs are widely understood and effectively communicated. You will translate evidence into inspiring stories, positioning Alzheimer’s Society as a trusted leader in dementia research and motivating more people to join us in driving change.

In this new role, you will lead our organisational approach to research communications, working strategically and collaboratively across the charity to embed research narratives across major organisational priorities and campaigns. You will manage and develop the research communications team, creating an environment where people feel supported, empowered and able to contribute their best work.

Your leadership and in-house expertise will ensure that research communications activity is insight-led and effectively integrated with wider communications channels and audiences. You will oversee the translation of complex research portfolios into clear, audience-led messaging. By representing Alzheimer’s Society at conferences, events and in the media, you will help to raise the profile of our research and ensure it resonates across internal and external audiences.

Interviews for this role have been provisionally scheduled for Tuesday 16th and Wednesday 17th June.

About you
Joining us, you’ll have extensive experience in research communications in a research, academic of charity environment. You’ll have the ability to translate complex scientific or research information, in an engaging and accessible way, for non-specialist audiences. You’ll be able to oversee the development and delivery of insight-led communications strategies and plans, designed to support wider organisational priorities.

Crucially, you’ll be a credible and persuasive communicator with the ability to influence others, manage and develop high-performing teams and build positive, collaborative relationships with a wide range of stakeholders. You’ll also have experience of evaluating communications activity and using insight to improve reach, quality and impact.

This position will play a vital role in ensuring that research resonates across internal and external audiences, ultimately helping us to end the devastation caused by dementia.

What you’ll focus on:

- Leading, and evolving the organisation-wide strategy for research communications, ensuring research is positioned as a core organisational asset that advances the charity’s strategy and mission.
- Ensuring that research communications support our research strategy by engaging and inspiring a wider range of researchers across disciplines and career pathways.
- Acting as a senior expert on research communications internally, providing strategic leadership, influencing and advising across the organisation, including at a senior level.
- Working collaboratively and autonomously across the charity to ensure research communications are embedded strategically into major organisational campaigns, moments and corporate storytelling, including across fundraising, brand, media, policy and influencing.
- Setting the direction and tone for how complex research is communicated to our external audiences, ensuring clarity, accuracy and relevance.
- Using insight and performance data and feedback to evaluate the impact of research communications activity, to continuously refine messaging, formats and channels.
- Managing, inspiring and developing a high performing research communications team, building depth of expertise and strategic confidence and embedding a culture of test, learn and continuous improvement.

About Alzheimer's Society - who are we and what’s our mission?
Dementia is the UK’s biggest killer. One in three people born in the UK today will develop dementia in their lifetime.  

At Alzheimer’s Society, we’re the UK’s leading dementia charity and the only one to tackle all aspects of dementia by giving help and hope to people living with dementia today and in the future. We give vital support to people facing the most frightening times of their lives, while also funding ground-breaking research and campaigning to make dementia the priority it should be.  

Together with our supporters, we’re working towards a world where dementia no longer devastates lives. Our values make sure that our focus is clear for the challenges and opportunities ahead and remind us of what we all stand for. 

Our commitment to Equity, Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging
We need to ensure the voices around our table better reflect and understand the communities we exist to serve. We strongly encourage individuals to apply who have a disability, impairment or health condition or individuals who identify as part of a minority ethnic background, as these groups are currently under-represented at Alzheimer's Society.     

Our hiring process
We want you to bring your whole self to the process. Applications are anonymised until interview stage, and we’re happy to support any adjustments. Share your feedback via our candidate survey when applying to help us improve. We may close early if we receive high interest (with 48 hours’ notice). Some roles may require a DBS check as part of our safer recruitment commitment. Thinking about using AI during the recruitment process? We know this can be helpful in many ways but remember to include your personal and authentic self too. Your voice and experience are what really set you apart. 

Giving back to you
At Alzheimer’s Society, we value our people and take a total reward approach to pay and benefits. You’ll enjoy a generous double-matched pension scheme, 27 days’ annual leave (plus bank holidays and wellbeing days), and access to a free Health Shield Cash Plan, 24/7 EAP, Thrive mental wellbeing support, and virtual GP services. Our Society Plus platform offers exclusive discounts, wellbeing resources, and recognition schemes, while our flexible working, family-friendly policies, and life assurance provide peace of mind and work/life balance. We also offer a free Will-writing service and long service awards to recognise your ongoing commitment.

Behind every moment of support we give someone living with dementia, there's infrastructure that has to work.

What does it take to keep a charity like ours running? What sits behind every support call answered, every research database accessed, every fundraising campaign delivered? Infrastructure. And the people who build, protect and evolve it.

As a Senior Infrastructure Engineer, you'll play a central role in shaping, operating and maintaining our predominantly Microsoft cloud environment — keeping it strong, secure and ready for what comes next. Reporting to the Infrastructure Services Manager, you'll support, maintain and enhance our enterprise infrastructure across Azure cloud, Microsoft 365, identity, endpoint, network and core platform services.

You'll lead on complex incidents, drive root-cause analysis, and bring the kind of calm, expert thinking that keeps services running and colleagues confident. This is a hands-on, cloud-first role with real scope to influence how we design, govern and optimise cloud services and our infrastructure for the long term.

This role would particularly suit someone who has moved beyond traditional, on-prem infrastructure into operational Azure and Microsoft 365 engineering and is confident owning cloud platforms end to end.

This is a 12 month fixed term contract.

About you:

You're an experienced infrastructure professional who brings both depth of technical knowledge and the mindset of a trusted colleague. You understand that the work you do has real consequences for real people, and that motivates you to get things right. You're equally comfortable diving into a complex incident at pace and stepping back to think about how we build more resilient, secure and cost-effective cloud services over time.

You take security seriously, communicate with clarity across technical and non-technical audiences, and you thrive in environments where collaboration and accountability go hand in hand. You're someone who keeps learning, shares what you know, and makes the team around you better.

You'll have:

- Proven, demonstrable experience in Microsoft cloud technologies, including in-depth hands-on Azure experience (cloud platforms, virtual compute, storage, networking and the governance principles that keep it all accountable).
- Experience administering and optimising Microsoft 365 services, including identity, security and collaboration tooling.
- A grounding in enterprise infrastructure — servers, directory services, hybrid identity — and the hands-on experience to back it up.
- Experience managing and supporting Disaster Recovery services to address continuity of vital business functions.
- A security-first mindset, with practical knowledge of MFA, conditional access, privileged access management and vulnerability remediation.
- Proven networking foundations across WAN, VPN, firewalling and secure remote access.
- The discipline to work within ITSM frameworks and the rigour to maintain accurate configuration and asset data.
- Experience working alongside a Managed Service Provider as part of an augmented team, including managing service quality and accountability.
- A track record of producing documentation that works for diverse audiences — runbooks, procedures, service improvement write-ups.
- Genuine curiosity about the infrastructure landscape and a commitment to staying sharp as it evolves.

What you'll focus on:

- Owning, evolving and maintaining our hybrid (predominantly Microsoft cloud platform) infrastructure — secure, stable and performing, day in, day out, and under pressure when it counts.
- Owning complex incidents from first response through to root-cause analysis and lasting fixes.
- Working shoulder-to-shoulder with our Security team to embed good practice across everything we build and run.
- Helping us get more from what we have — through cost optimisation, service rationalisation and smarter configuration.
- Being a dependable partner to suppliers and managed service providers, holding them to the standard our users deserve.
- Championing modern identity protection across the organisation.
- Bringing energy and expertise to a team that genuinely wants to do good work together.

The infrastructure you build here will help us reach more people living with dementia, more quickly, more reliably. If you're ready to bring your infrastructure skills and wider technology expertise to a role with real purpose, we'd love to hear from you.

Important Dates

- Application deadline is 23:59 on Sunday 31st May 2026
- Interviews begin week commencing: 8th June 2026

About Alzheimer's Society

Dementia is the UK's biggest killer. One in three people born in the UK today will develop dementia in their lifetime.

At Alzheimer's Society, we're the UK's leading dementia charity and the only one to tackle all aspects of dementia by giving help and hope to people living with dementia today and in the future. We give vital support to people facing the most frightening times of their lives, while also funding groundbreaking research and campaigning to make dementia the priority it should be.

Together with our supporters, we're working towards a world where dementia no longer devastates lives.

Our values make sure that our focus is clear for the challenges and opportunities ahead and remind us of what we all stand for.

Our commitment to Equity, Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging

We need to ensure the voices around our table better reflect and understand the communities we exist to serve. We strongly encourage individuals to apply who have a disability, impairment or health condition or individuals who identify as Black, Asian or from another minority ethnic background, as these groups are currently under-represented at Alzheimer's Society.  

We want everyone we work with, as a colleague, volunteer, supporter, or someone we support, to feel included and that they belong at Alzheimer's Society. 

Our Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy here along with our internal employee forum and Employee Lived Experience network groups help us promote inclusion and belonging, becoming an engaged and inclusive organisation for all our people. 

Our hiring process

During your recruitment process we want to make sure that you bring your whole self and can be at your best. We are working hard to ensure our recruitment process is as inclusive as possible, so please do inform us of your experience and anything you think we could do better by completing our candidate survey when you apply.  Please also contact Alzheimer's Society Talent Acquisition Team via [email protected] for application support or any adjustments you might need.

To ensure fairness and consistency to select the best candidate for this role, all our applications are anonymised up until an interview has been confirmed. We recognise the benefits of AI, but if you're considering using it to submit your application, we encourage you to reflect on the value it truly adds. AI tools often lack the personal touch and authenticity that set candidates apart. We want to hear your unique perspective, experiences, and skills, so we encourage you to showcase them in your own voice.

We try to avoid closing roles early where possible, however if we receive a high volume of applications, we may close earlier than the advertised closing date. Should this occur, we will aim to provide you with at least 48 hours' notice.

We are committed to safer recruitment and ensuring the welfare of those we work with, due to the nature of some of our roles, we might need to carry out a Criminal Record Check at the relevant level. You can read more information via our Website.

Giving back to you

Our employees work hard every day to make a true difference in people's lives. We are proud to support them with a range of benefits, recognition and many options for working agilely, all contributing to a strong work life balance. We also have various learning programmes to support you in your development and help you grow to realise your potential and shape a career with Alzheimer's Society. 

You can also visit our Working for Us pages, which give you more information about what it's like to be an employee at the Society.

The role offers the chance to work across multiple sectors including arts, heritage, education, health, sport and community organisations, helping clients to develop fundraising strategies, secure funding and build sustainable income streams.

Alongside client work, you will play an active role within the wider Cause4 Development Team, contributing to research, organisational planning, training delivery and business development activity.

Unlike many in-house fundraising roles, this position offers broad exposure across a wide range of organisations, fundraising disciplines and consultancy projects, making it an excellent opportunity for someone looking to broaden their experience and develop their career within the charity or consultancy sectors.

This role could particularly suit:
An ambitious individual looking to build consultancy, fundraising and strategic development experience across a broad range of organisations.
Someone looking to step into their first consultancy or Development Manager role.
A fundraiser wanting broader experience across multiple organisations and income streams.
Someone currently working in the charity, arts, education or cultural sectors looking to transition into consultancy.
An existing manager looking to build their consultancy skills to fast track into more senior positions in the sector.

Team & Organisational Development
Contributing to Cause4's business development and growth activity.
Sharing knowledge, expertise and fundraising insight across the team.
Supporting the wider strategic and operational needs of the organisation.

Fundraising & Client Support
Supporting a portfolio of clients with fundraising strategy development and delivery.
Writing compelling funding applications, Cases for Support and donor-facing materials.
Supporting funding approaches to Trusts & Foundations, statutory funders, corporates and individual donors.
Conducting research into prospective funders, partners and opportunities.
Supporting the development and delivery of fundraising events and engagement activities.
Building positive relationships with clients, funders and wider stakeholders.
Supporting the delivery of fundraising training and wider Cause4 programmes.

Research & Consultancy
Producing high-quality research, reports and briefing papers.
Supporting the development of programme ideas, evaluation frameworks and measurable outcomes.
Contributing strategic thinking to fundraising campaigns and organisational development projects.
Supporting wider consultancy and innovation work across the organisation.

We are particularly interested in candidates who are ambitious, adaptable and keen to grow within a consultancy environment.

We are looking for:
Experience within a charity, fundraising, arts, education or consultancy environment.
Strong written communication skills and the ability to produce high-quality written material.
An interest in fundraising, philanthropy and organisational development.
Strong research and analytical skills with excellent attention to detail.
The ability to manage multiple priorities and deadlines effectively.
Confidence working with a range of stakeholders and building professional relationships.
Strategic thinking and problem-solving skills.
Strong organisational and coordination skills.
Experience using Zoom or Teams.
Experience across fundraising or income generation is desirable, but we are equally interested in candidates with strong transferable skills and the ambition to develop into a client-facing consultancy role.