Senior direct marketing manager jobs in Milton keynes

This role offers a unique opportunity to make this role your own and take the charity to the next level, with the full support of a dedicated, experienced team.

The successful candidate will ensure that the charity remains resilient and able to deliver on its commitment to grow and evolve to meet the needs of the people we serve.

The role is a mix of operational activity, day to day management and strategic thinking; with the continuous building and nurturing of external relationships with our NHS, public sector and not-for-profit stakeholders.

Working alongside a committed trustee board, skilled staff and volunteers, you will bring drive, experience and passion to the team. You’ll get terrific support from the outgoing postholder as needed, with the space to act and bring your own ideas to the forefront.

Cerebra is the national charity dedicated to improving the lives of children with neurological conditions and their families. We provide vital research, support, and practical solutions that empower families facing complex challenges.

With an annual income of £3 million and a headcount of 68 employees, we have ambitious plans to double our income between 2025 and 2027, ensuring we can extend our impact, reach more families, and drive real change. To achieve this, we are investing in fundraising innovation, income generating ventures, and strategic partnerships, alongside enhancing our brand to increase our national recognition.

Our work is underpinned by our values ensuring that everything we do aligns with our mission to create a better world for children with neurological conditions.

This is an incredibly exciting time to join Cerebra, as we are preparing to launch our new strategy and brand. The COO is a vital leadership role that will support the drive towards even greater impact for children and families across the UK.

Our Services

Sleep Advice Service

Cerebra understands that if you have a child that doesn’t sleep, the whole family suffers. Many children with neurological conditions suffer from disrupted sleep. Our sleep advice service provides bespoke advice and support so that everyone can get a good night’s sleep.

Legal Rights Service

Our Legal Rights Service provides help and support to families of children with neurological conditions when they are faced with barriers and difficulties in accessing statutory support services they are entitled to. The service provides information on their legal entitlements.

Book and Toy Library Service

Our specialist postal lending library contains a wide range of books for both adults and children, plus a selection of sensory toys specifically chosen for children with a neurological condition.

Innovation and Product Design Service

Our Innovation Service designs and builds bespoke products that cater to the specific needs of children with neurological conditions. The aim of the service is to make products that are desirable and exciting, therefore promoting social inclusion, peer acceptance and enabling children to participate in everyday activities that are so often close to them.

Information Products

Cerebra publishes different information products to help families with a child with a neurological condition. Our information products offer comprehensive, up-to-date support and research-driven strategies to assist families with a wide range of issues.

Buzgi and Toy Adaptation Service

Cerebra designs and builds bespoke assistive equipment for disabled children, this includes creating custom mobility aids, switch‑adapted toys, and other innovative solutions to help children access play, learning, and independence.

The Bugzi - a mini powered wheelchair for children offers many children their first experience of independent mobility. It uses either a joystick or switches and adaptable seating for complex needs, and helps develop spatial awareness, confidence, and early mobility skills. The Bugzi is available through a national loan scheme.

Additionally, we operate commercial services (including a web shop) to supplement our income to support children and their families.

Our services are provided to families free of charge.

Job Title:

Chief Operating Officer

Reports To:

Chief Executive Officer

Direct reports:

3 senior managers (Finance (headcount of 3), HR (headcount of 1), IT (headcount of 5))

Purpose of the Role:

The Chief Operating Officer will play a vital role in supporting the Chief Executive Officer, Board and Leadership Team to deliver Cerebra’s vision and ambitious strategic aims. The Chief Operating Officer will provide strategic leadership and operational management across key areas within Cerebra including:

• Operational Systems
• Governance
• Compliance
• Finance and Growth

This is a pivotal executive leadership role, responsible for driving organisational performance, sustainability and growth. The COO will translate Cerebra’s strategic ambitions into effective operational delivery, ensuring robust governance, financial stewardship and a high-performing, values-led culture.

As a trusted advisor to the CEO and Board, the COO will lead core operational services and commercial activity, enabling the charity to maximise impact and generate sustainable income in support of its charitable objectives.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic & Executive Leadership

• Partner with the CEO and Board to deliver strategic priorities, growth and long-term sustainability
• Collaboration with the Director’s Group to ensure strategic alignment across the charity. The Director’s Group consists of:

            Chief Executive Officer

            Chief Operating Officer

            Director of Fundraising, Marketing and Communications

            Director of Research and Support Services

• Provide expert advice on finance, operations, commercial performance and organisational risk
• Lead organisational planning, business continuity, and operational resilience
• Foster a culture of continuous improvement, accountability and inclusion

Finance, Commercial & Sustainability

• Lead financial strategy, planning and performance, ensuring long-term sustainability
• Oversee budgeting, forecasting, cashflow and financial controls
• Lead and develop Cerebra’s strategy for commercial income , ensuring alignment with charitable objectives
• Support funding growth through strong financial insight and business case development
• Ensure robust financial governance, audit and compliance

Operations & Infrastructure

• Lead and strengthen operational functions including HR, IT, governance and administration
• Ensure effective systems, processes and infrastructure that enable growth, efficiency and impact
• Oversee procurement, contracts, facilities, and organisational compliance
• Drive innovation and value for money across operations

People & Culture

• Champion a positive, inclusive and high-performing organisational culture
• Oversee HR strategy, workforce planning and leadership development
• Ensure compliance with employment law and best practice
• Promote wellbeing, engagement and organisational effectiveness

Digital & Technology

• Provide strategic oversight of IT, data and digital development
• Ensure systems are secure, resilient and aligned to organisational needs
• Leverage data and technology to improve insight, decision-making and organisational impact

Governance, Risk & Compliance

• Ensure effective governance frameworks, risk management and regulatory compliance
• Support the CEO and Board with high-quality reporting and strategic insight
• Lead safeguarding, data protection and organisational risk strategy
• Drive a strong culture of accountability and ethical practice

Leadership & Management

• Lead and develop a small senior team across finance, HR and IT
• Build capability, strengthen performance, and embed a collaborative culture
• Model Cerebra’s values and leadership behaviours

Key Attributes

• Strategic and commercially minded leader with strong operational delivery experience
• Strong financial leadership and business acumen
• Proven track record of driving income growth, sustainability and organisational performance
• Skilled in governance, risk and stakeholder engagement

Please see attached job description for the Person Specification.

Salary: £45,000–£47,000 FTE (depending on experience)
Hours: 30–35 hours per week
Location: Hybrid/home-based. Ideally within easy reach of Chelmsford and London. Regular travel to meet colleagues, funders and visit programmes across England.
Reporting to: CEO

Be part of a mission that's transforming children's futures through food, farming and the countryside

For more than 45 years, The Country Trust has been connecting children from the UK's most disadvantaged communities with the land that sustains us all. Through inspiring farm visits, food education and countryside experiences, we've already reached more than 600,000 children, and we're just getting started.

We're entering an exciting new chapter as we develop our next organisational strategy, and we're looking for an experienced fundraising leader to help shape our future.

This is an outstanding opportunity for an ambitious and strategic fundraiser to join our Senior Leadership Team and lead the next phase of our income growth, enabling even more children to benefit from our life-changing programmes.

About the role

As Head of Fundraising, you'll provide strategic leadership across all fundraising activity while remaining hands-on in securing major income and developing key relationships.

You'll lead a dedicated fundraising team, drive innovation, strengthen fundraising systems and processes, and develop a sustainable fundraising strategy that diversifies income across:

• Trusts and foundations
• Corporate partnerships
• Major donors
• Individual giving
• Legacies
• Gaming and Streaming for Good
• Emerging fundraising opportunities

Working closely with the CEO, Senior Leadership Team, Digital and IT colleagues, you'll help embed new fundraising systems, champion data-driven decision making and ensure fundraising excellence across the organisation.

About you

We're looking for an inspiring fundraising leader who combines strategic thinking with practical delivery.

You'll bring:

• Significant senior-level fundraising leadership experience
• A proven track record of securing substantial income across multiple fundraising streams
• Experience developing and delivering fundraising strategies that drive sustainable growth
• Strong leadership skills with experience developing high-performing teams
• Excellent relationship-building, communication and influencing skills
• Financial and commercial awareness, including budgeting and forecasting
• Knowledge of fundraising regulation, GDPR and fundraising best practice
• A passion for improving opportunities for disadvantaged children

Experience developing new income streams, digital fundraising and CRM systems would be particularly valuable.

Why join us?

At The Country Trust, you'll be joining an ambitious charity where collaboration, learning and innovation are at the heart of everything we do.

We offer:

• Hybrid and flexible working
• 25 days annual leave plus Bank Holidays (FTE)
• Workplace pension
• Homeworking allowance
• Mileage and agreed travel expenses
• A supportive, values-led culture
• The opportunity to shape our future strategy and make a lasting difference to children's lives

We're committed to building a diverse and inclusive team that reflects the communities we serve and welcome applications from candidates of all backgrounds.

Key dates

Closing date: 12pm, 3 August
Shortlisting: 6 August
Interviews: Week commencing 24 August

The Country Trust is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people. The successful candidate will be subject to an Enhanced DBS check.

Supporter Journey Lead

Salary:£36,880 - £41,439
Location: Home based with an expectation to travel as appropriate each month
Hours: Full Time – 35 Hours a week
Contract: Permanent 

We’re looking for a Supporter Journey Lead to join our Supporter Experience team.

This is a key role in shaping how supporters experience Help for Heroes across different journeys, touchpoints and moments that matter.

You’ll work with teams across Commercial to map, develop and improve supporter engagement journeys, turning strategy, insight and campaign learning into practical plans that strengthen relevance, supporter experience and long-term value.

About the Role

As Supporter Journey lead, you’ll lead the mapping, development and ongoing improvement of supporter engagement journeys across Commercial.

You’ll work with product owners, delivery teams and enabling colleagues to understand current journeys, define target journeys, identify pain points and opportunities, and turn strategy, audience insight and campaign learning into clear, practical plans.

In this role, you will:

• Map and maintain current and target supporter journeys across Commercial, defining key stages, touchpoints, triggers, handoffs and moments that matter.
• Run journey mapping, process discovery and improvement workshops to identify pain points, gaps, opportunities and inconsistencies.
• Work with product owners and relevant teams to define journey requirements for campaigns, communications, process changes, data capture and operational improvements.
• Coordinate with Digital/ESP, data, content, supporter care, fundraising and other teams to make sure journey changes are understood, aligned and deliverable.
• Help ensure audience segmentation is applied meaningfully, so content, asks and next steps are relevant to different supporter groups.
• Use campaign learning, supporter feedback and operational insight to identify where journeys should be adjusted, strengthened or simplified over time.

About You

Are you someone who enjoys understanding how people experience an organisation across different touchpoints, channels and moments?

Do you like bringing people together to map journeys, uncover pain points and turn ideas, insight and learning into practical improvements?

You’ll be confident working across supporter, customer or audience journeys, with a good understanding of how touchpoints, handoffs, segmentation and communications shape experience.

You’ll be comfortable working with product owners and delivery teams to define clear requirements, actions and workplans, while keeping activity aligned, realistic and deliverable.

You’ll also be someone who can use campaign learning, supporter feedback and basic performance information to identify where journeys could be strengthened, simplified or made more relevant.

Essentially, we’re looking for someone who is supporter-focused, organised, collaborative and practical — with the facilitation and relationship-building skills to help teams improve journeys and create better experiences over time.

About the Team

Supporter Experience is a newly formed department within Commercial, created to help us better understand, engage, support and motivate our supporters.

We’re a collaborative and developing team, working across Commercial to shape more joined-up, relevant and thoughtful supporter journeys.

This is an opportunity to help shape how the department develops from the beginning, bringing teams together to understand supporter needs, improve key moments and create stronger experiences over time.

In return we can offer you:

• Belonging to a team who make a difference to our community and value equality, diversity and inclusion.
• 29 days’ annual leave plus 8 bank holidays, regardless of service — plus your birthday off to celebrate!
• Opportunity to buy and sell up to 5 days annual leave per year.
• Added to our free health scheme from day one, including discounts on dental, opticians, massages, and more - with the option to upgrade.
• 3 volunteer days per year to support the Help for Heroes community.
• A generous salary sacrifice pension scheme with an 8% employer contribution and a minimum 3% employee contribution, plus life insurance up to 4× salary as an active member.

Closing date: 5th July 2026

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

We are committed to equality, diversity and inclusion and welcome applications from all backgrounds.