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Communications Manager
This is a hands-on communications role at an important time for GBSS. You will help us plan, write and deliver clear, compassionate communications that make a real difference for babies and families.
Later this year, the results of the GBS3 trial are expected, with a likely UK NSC review to follow. This represents a significant opportunity to influence policy, improve care, and help prevent group B Strep infection in babies.
We are looking for an excellent communicator who can bring people and plans together, write well, keep work moving, and turn complex information into communications people can understand and use.
You do not need to arrive as a group B Strep expert. You will work with colleagues who bring expertise in policy, clinical evidence, fundraising, support services and digital content.
Key Information
Job title: Communications Manager
Reports to: CEO
Direct reports: Digital Content Specialist
Location: Hybrid (Haywards Heath) or remote within the UK
Hours: Full-time (35 hours per week)
Salary: £40,000–£45,000 depending on experience
Role Overview
The purpose of this role:
To help GBSS communicate clearly and confidently, through communications that are well planned, well written and delivered effectively.
· write and edit key communications
· hold communications plans for major campaigns and projects, working closely with the CEO and colleagues
· bring together communications across advocacy, fundraising, support services and digital
· line manage the Digital Content Specialist
· keep communications projects moving and delivered to a high standard
This role sits at the centre of a small team. It will suit someone who enjoys being hands-on and is happy to move between planning, writing, editing, coordinating and problem-solving as priorities change. The postholder will be expected to draft a significant proportion of GBSS's core communications content themselves.
Key Responsibilities
1. Communications planning and coordination
· Hold communications plans for major campaigns and projects, working closely with the CEO and colleagues to agree priorities, timings and outputs.
· Translate organisational priorities into clear communications actions and timelines, working with subject leads where needed.
· Manage communications workflows, deadlines and approvals.
· Use trustee and external advisers’ expertise as a helpful sounding board where appropriate.
2. Writing and content development
· Act as the lead writer and editor for key communications, including blogs, newsletters, supporter communications, campaign materials, website content, organisational updates, briefings and stakeholder communications.
· Edit and improve content produced by colleagues.
· Make sure communications are clear, plain English, compassionate, inclusive, accessible and accurate.
· Help translate complex clinical, policy and research information into communications that non-specialists can understand.
· Work from agreed policy positions and specialist input when drafting briefings, consultation-related materials or stakeholder communications.
3. Campaign delivery
· Coordinate communications for major campaigns and projects, including GBS Awareness Week.
· Work with colleagues to agree objectives, audiences, messages, outputs and timelines.
· Work with the Fundraising Manager on supporter communications, helping with copy, timing and consistency.
· Help paid activity fit well with wider campaign messaging.
· Keep campaign delivery on track and support evaluation and learning.
4. Messaging and consistency
· Help develop and maintain clear organisational messages.
· Help communications across channels fit together.
· Support colleagues to communicate sensitive or complex issues clearly.
5. Digital content leadership and line management
· Work closely with the Digital Content Specialist to agree priorities, plan content and support high-quality delivery across digital channels.
· Line manage the role, including regular feedback, support and development.
· Look at what is working across digital channels and use that insight to improve future content.
6. Media support
This role will support media activity through practical communications planning, drafting and follow-up.
This includes:
· drafting briefing materials, background notes, key messages and approved lines
· coordinating communications around media activity
· helping make sure follow-up content is delivered across relevant channels
7. Insight and continuous improvement
· Work with information and support colleagues to understand what families and professionals are asking and where communications could be clearer.
· Use audience insight, communications data and campaign results to improve future activity.
· Identify practical ways to improve communications processes.
Person Specification
Essential
· Excellent writing, editing and proofreading skills, with strong attention to detail.
· Experience creating content across multiple communications channels.
· Experience planning and delivering communications projects or campaigns.
· Ability to explain complex, technical or evidence-based information clearly and accurately.
· Excellent organisational skills and ability to manage multiple competing priorities.
· Good judgement and sensitivity when communicating about emotionally complex, potentially distressing or sensitive issues.
· Experience supporting, guiding or managing others, whether colleagues, freelancers or suppliers.
· Ability to work collaboratively in a small organisation, including with senior colleagues and subject matter experts.
Desirable
· Experience in charity, health, policy, public affairs or another setting where complex or evidence-based information needs to be communicated clearly.
· Experience communicating about maternity, newborn care, patient safety, bereavement or similarly sensitive issues.
· Experience working with websites, email marketing systems and social media platforms.
· Understanding of accessibility, plain English and inclusive communications.
What you’ll help us achieve
You’ll help GBSS communicate more clearly, plan further ahead and deliver key campaigns well.
Interviews
interviews will be held between 17 and 20 August 2026.
- First-stage interview – conducted via Microsoft Teams.
- Second-stage interview – held in person.
Our mission is to stop group B Strep infection in babies.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Teenage Cancer Trust is the only UK charity dedicated to providing specialised nursing care and support for young people aged 13–24 with cancer. Every day, seven young people in the UK hear the words “you have cancer”, and Teenage Cancer Trust ensures they do not face it alone.
The charity funds specialist nurses and youth support teams in hospitals across the UK and provides vital emotional, practical and psychological support for young people and their families during and after treatment.
Regional fundraising is a core income stream for Teenage Cancer Trust, generating income through a combination of community and corporate fundraising. Supporters are often personally connected to the cause, including young people, families and communities directly impacted by cancer, making this a highly rewarding fundraising environment.
Teenage Cancer Trust is now seeking a Senior Relationship Manager (West Scotland) to grow and develop income across the West of Scotland. With an individual income target of c.£130k and a combined Scotland regional target of c.£260k across East and West Scotland, this role will play a key part in strengthening existing relationships while identifying and developing new fundraising opportunities across a region with significant growth potential.
Reporting to the Regional Fundraising Area Manager, you will be responsible for building long-term supporter relationships and developing strategic area plans to maximise fundraising opportunities. You will also work closely with frontline nursing teams, volunteers and colleagues across the organisation, ensuring supporters experience the impact of their fundraising while helping identify new opportunities across both community and corporate audiences.
As Senior Relationship Manager, you will:
- Manage and grow a portfolio of community and corporate supporters across West Scotland
- Deliver an individual income target of c.£130k across community and corporate fundraising
- Develop strategic area plans to drive sustainable income growth
- Build, steward and retain high-value supporter relationships
- Coach and mentor Relationship Managers, supporting their development
- Identify and develop new fundraising opportunities across community and corporate audiences
- Work closely with frontline teams to share powerful supporter stories and demonstrate impact
- Monitor income performance, manage pipelines and proactively mitigate risk
- Build strong relationships with volunteers, corporate partners and local communities
- Represent Teenage Cancer Trust across the region, building networks and raising awareness
Essential skills and experience:
- Experience of community, corporate or regional fundraising
- Proven ability to build and grow long-term supporter relationships
- Track record of delivering income against fundraising targets
- Excellent relationship-building, networking and stakeholder management skills
- Ability to coach, mentor or support the development of colleagues
- Confident developing fundraising plans and identifying new income opportunities
- Good financial planning, pipeline management and reporting skills
- Excellent communication, influencing and storytelling skills
You’ll need access to a vehicle as there is a requirement to be able to travel across the region to attend meetings, events and training.
Desirable, but not essential:
- Knowledge of managing high-value or complex supporter relationships
- Exposure to both community and corporate fundraising
- Experience working with volunteers and close-to-cause supporters
- Knowledge of the West Scotland fundraising landscape, ideally Glasgow
Employee benefits include:
- Leave: 25 days of annual leave, which increases with service, in addition to bank holidays and a 3 or 4 day closure over the Christmas period. We also have finish early Fridays in August and quarterly rest days to step away from day to day work and refocus.
- Flexible bank holidays: the option to swap five UK public holidays (except 25th, 26th December, and 1st January or any substitute bank holidays for these dates) for other dates off.
- Paid Carer and Compassionate Leave: paid time off to care for family members or dependants.
- Paid Parental Leave: enhanced pay for parental leave such as maternity leave, paternity leave or adoption leave.
- Paid Volunteering Leave: support your community by taking paid leave for volunteering activities.
- Health Cashback Plan: access a health cashback plan to cover medical expenses.
- Life assurance and Income Protection: financial support if you’re unable to work due to illness or injury.
- Discount scheme: access exclusive savings at various high street retailers and gyms.
- Flexible Working: we care about your wellbeing and encourage flexible work arrangements to promote work-life balance.
We’re here to give every young person facing cancer the best care and support.



Using Anonymous Recruitment
This organisation is using Anonymous Recruitment to reduce bias in the first stages of the hiring process. Submit your application as normal and our system will anonymise it for you. Your personal information will be hidden until the recruiter contacts you.
This role will join an ambitious programme developing the capacity of the Libraries Connected public library networks. We want to help them evolve as strategic partnerships able to deliver social impacts at scale and to secure resources and investment from national, regional and sub-regional government. Be key to the development of libraries as essential social infrastructure, and help them secure the resources they need to make an impact.
The role is part of a small team of two Regional Managers, supported by an Administrator.
By developing our existing regional networks into formal, resourced structures we can enable the regions to:
- Secure investment for the service and for the libraries from regional and devolved / combined authority funds.
- Create unique regional offers to meet specific needs across and within the regional areas.
- Deliver at scale. For example, the Yorkshire & Humber regional network has 15 library services, and 348 library buildings.
- Create opportunities for cost saving – through joint procurement and shared / collaborative services.
- Share good practice and experience on a formal and integrated basis.
We have 9 regional networks in England, covering all library services and ranging in size from 9 to 33 services. Within each region they provide hundreds of library branches, thousands of staff, and serve millions of service users. They have a long tradition of working together as peer support networks and to deliver activities such as festivals, marketing, and staff training.
Please see the attached job description for a full description of the role, including person specification.
Frequent travel within the UK may be required for the role.
About Libraries Connected
We are an independent charity that supports, promotes and represents public libraries. Our work is driven and led by our membership, which includes almost every library service in England, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Crown Dependencies (Guernsey, Jersey and the Isle of Man).
Across the areas we serve there are 176 individual library services with around 3,000 library branches serving over 61 million people.
Our unique approach is to bring these services together to share experience, expertise and evidence – driving innovation and impact across the public library sector.
While senior library leaders sit on our board and committees, we work with library staff at all levels.
As well as providing practical support, training and advice to libraries, we represent them to government and raise their profile in the media. We also develop and lead national library projects with cultural, academic and corporate partners.
We work to a strategic plan that runs until 2027, organised around four themes: drive, grow, connect and engage.
We generate income from membership subscriptions, commissioned services, events and grants. As an Arts Council Investment Principle Support Organisation, part of our core funding in England comes from the Arts Council to help embed their Investment Principles across the library network.
Our values
- We are supportive. We respond to the varied, emerging needs of our members and their communities to enable libraries to learn from each other, and other sector leaders, so that they can safeguard and improve their services.
- We are inclusive. We work with our members and partners to design and deliver our work and to determine our strategic priorities because we are committed to representing the diverse communities and libraries which we serve.
- We are open. We are in constant communication with our members and partners on all levels to learn from their experiences, reflect on our practice and develop our services. We welcome challenge and new directions for our work.
- We are ambitious. We believe that libraries are an essential part of the solution to a range of society’s needs. We promote innovation and collaboration to ensure that libraries are recognised locally and nationally.
Working at Libraries Connected
We are a friendly, collaborative team of around 20 staff based all around England and Wales.
We value diversity and are committed to promoting an inclusive working environment. We strongly believe that inclusive and diverse organisations are not only better places to work, they are more innovative, make better decisions and are more successful. We value people who bring unique perspectives and knowledge to our team.
We want to make our recruitment process as fair as possible. To reduce bias, we shortlist candidates based on their responses to up to six application questions. These are designed to tell us about your values, experience, attitudes to work, and transferable skills. We do not ask for a separate cover letter or supporting statement.
We offer flexible working as standard, helping work fit around family and caring responsibilities. Many of our staff work their hours in different ways, including flexi time and compressed hours. We are open to discussing what would work for you and be possible for the role.
All roles are remote and are open to applicants who live anywhere in the UK. We provide staff with a home office set-up including laptop, monitor and phone. There is the option to work from our central London office or use a co-working space if it is not possible to work from home.
We welcome requests for adjustments to our standard recruitment processes for anyone who needs them.
Our vision is an inclusive, modern, sustainable and high-quality public library service at the heart of every community in the UK.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Purpose of the Role
The Director of External Affairs and Growth is an SLT role responsible for leveraging the voice and power of the eoa's network to influence and accelerate the growth of the employee owned sector.
The role leads the eoa’s external affairs, policy and insights, marcomms and events, shaping the external environment for employee ownership and securing the funding and commercial income needed to support sustainable sector growth.
Key Responsibilities
- Lead external affairs strategy, building the relationships and influence needed to shape policy, remove barriers and expand EO.
- Build strategic relationships and secure grant funding and commercial partnerships, generating income to support advocacy, events and sector growth initiatives, including the UK EO Growth Strategy.
- Oversee our policy and insights work, engaging key stakeholders to co-produce content that influences EO practice and policy and strengthens the eoa’s voice in public affairs.
- Oversee the delivery of a mar-comms strategy that delivers commercial objectives and positions the eoa as the leading authority on EO.
- Oversee our events programmes, ensuring they drive knowledge-sharing, sector development
- and commercial sustainability.
- Represent the eoa at industry forums, policy roundtables and public affairs events,
- championing the employee ownership model.
- Collaborate with the Director of Membership and Operations to align advocacy and external
- engagement with member needs and priorities.
- Lead and develop high-performing teams, fostering innovation and delivering measurable impact across income generation, advocacy, policy, events and mar-comms activities
Knowledge, Experience, and Attributes
- Proven expertise in external affairs, advocacy, or policy leadership, ideally within a business, trade body, or membership association.
- Strong stakeholder engagement skills, with experience influencing government, media, and corporate partners.
- Demonstrated ability to drive sectoral or policy change, leading successful advocacy initiatives.
- Strong commercial acumen, with experience in sponsorship acquisition, revenue generation, grant funding and developing financially sustainable initiatives.
- Exceptional strategic communication and storytelling skills, able to engage and mobilise diverse audiences.
- Experience in event programming, ensuring high engagement and sector impact.
- Passion for employee ownership and economic models that promote shared prosperity.
- Innovative, creative, and proactive in problem-solving and strategy execution.
- A confident and transparent leader who fosters collaboration and inclusivity.
- Self-aware with emotional intelligence, resilience, and integrity.
What Constitutes Success in This Role?
Success in this role means having a positive impact on the growth of the employee-owned sector, strengthening the eoa’s influence and increasing the adoption of “great EO”. Stronger stakeholder relationships, greater advocacy impact and improved commercial sustainability through a diverse mix of grant funding, sponsorships and strategic partnerships will also be key indicators of success.
Key outcomes for the role
- Outcome - Growth of the employee ownership sector
- Measure - Increased number of EO businesses, heightened sector awareness
- Outcome - Strengthened corporate engagement
- Measure - Growth in strategic partnerships, corporate and government engagement
- Outcome - Strong Commercial Sustainability
- Measure - Increased sponsorship revenue, secured long-term commercial partnerships
- Outcome -Increased policy influence
- Measure - Policy recommendations adopted, increased government engagement
- Outcome - Enhanced sector insight and intelligence
- Measure - Utilisation of high quality data and insights for regular sector related content outputs
- Outcome - Development and adoption of best practice
- Measure - Creation, adoption and promotion of best practice across the EO network.
- Outcome - Successful events programmes
- Measure - Increased participation, sponsorship growth, positive feedback.
How to Apply
To apply, please submit:
- A two-page CV
- And one of either:
- Cover letter setting out your motivation, approach, and what you will bring to the role
- Video (maximum 10 minutes) setting out your motivation, approach, and what you will bring to the role
Applications should be submitted before 9:00am 17 August 2026. We will close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the role. If you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible.
Interviews will be in two stages. The first stage will be a virtual interview via teams on
26 August. For those who successfully move to stage 2 there will be an in-person
discussion w.c. 31 August.
The eoa welcomes applications from people of all backgrounds, particularly those
who are under-represented. We recruit based on values, skills, and contribution to our
purpose.
We exist to grow and strengthen employee ownership as a force for powering fairer livelihoods, stronger businesses, and a more resilient economy.



Are you an experienced public affairs professional who wants to help shape policy that improves the lives of seriously ill children and their families?
Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity is building a new policy and advocacy function, and we're looking for a Senior Public Affairs Manager to play a central role in its development.
Working alongside our recently appointed Head of Policy, you'll help establish how we influence government, Parliament and the wider health system building relationships, shaping campaigns and ensuring the voices of children, young people and families are heard where it matters most.
This is a unique opportunity to help define a new role within an evolving team. You'll have the freedom to shape our approach, influence organisational priorities and build strong partnerships across Westminster, government, the health sector and the charity community. If you're looking for a role where you can genuinely make your mark, we'd love to hear from you.
Salary
The salary for this role is £50,534 per annum and we operate a hybrid working policy of a minimum of 2 days per week in the office.
In line with our EDI strategy and Total Reward policy, we calculate our salaries based on benchmarking data across the charity sector. To ensure fairness for existing staff and new joiners, we do not offer salaries above the advertised rate.
Key Responsibilities
- Lead GOSH Charity's parliamentary affairs activity, building trusted relationships with MPs, Peers, APPGs and parliamentary committees to progress our policy priorities.
- Develop and deliver public affairs strategies that influence policy and improve outcomes for seriously ill children and their families.
- Build productive relationships with senior stakeholders across government, arm's-length bodies, charities and the health sector.
- Lead the development of high-quality parliamentary briefings, consultation responses and policy engagement materials.
- Work across fundraising, communications and marketing teams to deliver campaigns that engage supporters and strengthen our policy influence.
- Represent GOSH Charity externally, building our profile and ensuring our voice is heard in key policy discussions.
- Help shape and develop our new policy function, identifying opportunities to strengthen our influencing approach as the team grows.
Skills, Knowledge and Expertise
- Significant experience delivering successful public affairs or parliamentary engagement programmes.
- Strong understanding of how Parliament, government and policy-making processes work, with experience influencing at different stages of policy development.
- Experience developing policy campaigns and engaging supporters or external stakeholders to influence change.
- Excellent relationship-building skills, with the confidence to work with senior political, governmental and sector stakeholders.
- Outstanding written and verbal communication skills, including producing high-quality briefings for senior audiences.
- Strong strategic thinking and political judgement, with the ability to identify opportunities and navigate complex stakeholder environments.
- A collaborative approach, with the ability to influence across teams and bring people together around shared objectives.
We are Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity. We stop at nothing to help give seriously ill children childhoods that are fuller, funner and longer.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Are you an experienced event manager ready to take strategic ownership of a flagship fundraising event with an established reputation and a seven-figure impact?
Womankind Worldwide is looking for an ambitious and experienced Event Manager to lead our International Women's Day Gala - a prestigious event that brings together more than 400 leaders from the worlds of finance, law and business and raises over £1.2 million each year to support women's rights organisations and movements.
This is far more than an event delivery role. You'll take strategic ownership of the Gala, leading its planning, delivery and future development. Working closely with our volunteer Gala Committee, sponsors, donors, suppliers and senior colleagues, you'll identify opportunities to grow income, strengthen partnerships, enhance the guest experience and ensure the Gala continues to evolve and thrive.
We're looking for someone who:
-
Has significant experience leading high-profile fundraising, corporate or major events.
-
Can balance strategic thinking with meticulous attention to detail.
-
Builds strong relationships with senior stakeholders, sponsors and volunteers.
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Is confident managing complex projects, budgets and multiple priorities.
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Is passionate about using events to inspire supporters and maximise fundraising impact.
At Womankind, you'll join a feminist organisation working alongside women's rights organisations and movements to advance gender equality. We offer flexible and hybrid working, a supportive team culture and the opportunity to make a tangible contribution to a more equal world.
If you're looking for a role where you'll have genuine ownership, the opportunity to shape the future of a highly successful event and the chance to use your skills to support feminist movements globally, we'd love to hear from you.
Department: Fundraising, Marketing & Communications
Reports to: Director of Fundraising & Communications
Work Pattern: Full Time (35 hours per week)
Location: Hybrid working (3 days in office Aylesbury, Bucks)
Salary: £35,000-£39,000
The Marketing and Communications Manager will lead the development and delivery of integrated marketing and communications activity to support Calibre Audio’s growth, brand awareness and member engagement. The postholder will play a pivotal role in increasing audience reach, driving acquisition, enhancing supporter journeys and positioning Calibre Audio as the leading UK charity for audiobooks.
The role combines strategic planning, hands-on campaign delivery, performance analysis and stakeholder collaboration to support the achievement of ambitious income and membership targets.
Key Responsibilities
Marketing Strategy & Delivery
- Develop and deliver an integrated marketing strategy aligned with organisational objectives.
- Lead multi-channel campaigns (digital, social, email, paid media and partnerships) to drive acquisition, engagement and retention.
- Deliver an “always-on” acquisition programme across key channels.
- Ensure all activity contributes to reducing cost per acquisition.
- Manage marketing budgets, ensuring effective allocation and optimisation of spend.
Audience Growth & Brand Development
- Grow Calibre Audio’s social media audience and increase engagement through targeted campaigns.
- Lead initiatives to increase brand awareness and position Calibre Audio as the UK’s leading audiobook charity.
- Develop and maintain consistent brand messaging and identity across all platforms.
- Plan and manage a forward social media content calendar to ensure timely, effective delivery.
Digital Marketing & Performance
- Oversee the effective use of Google Ad Grants ($10,000/month), ensuring quality lead generation and measurable results.
- Monitor, analyse and report on campaign performance using data-driven insights to improve outcomes.
- Implement testing frameworks (A/B testing, optimisation cycles) to improve conversion rates and engagement.
Membership Growth & Supporter Journeys
- Support the growth of active memberships.
- Contribute to the development and delivery of supporter journeys across marketing and fundraising channels.
- Improve member satisfaction through targeted communications and continuous feedback loops.
Communications & Engagement
- Develop and implement an integrated communications plan for internal and external audiences.
- Increase engagement with communications across staff, volunteers and members.
- Oversee production of regular newsletters and stakeholder communications in accessible formats.
- Deliver social engagement campaigns to drive interaction and community building.
- Manage and optimise email marketing platforms (e.g. MailChimp) for effective stakeholder communication.
Ambassador & Advocacy Programmes
- Support the rollout of patron, VP and ambassador programmes.
- Develop a user ambassador initiative showcasing member stories to drive advocacy and awareness.
Internal Communications & Collaboration
- Improve internal communications processes, ensuring effective feedback loops between teams and leadership.
- Increase staff satisfaction and engagement with communications.
- Work closely with fundraising colleagues to align campaigns with income generation objectives.
Leadership & Management
- Manage and develop external suppliers where applicable.
- Foster a culture of collaboration, creativity and accountability within the team.
- Provide regular reporting and insight to senior leadership on marketing performance.
Person Specification
Experience
- Proven experience in a marketing or communications management role (charity or not-for-profit desirable).
- Track record of delivering successful multi-channel marketing campaigns.
- Experience in digital marketing, including social media, email marketing and paid advertising.
- Experience of using data and analytics to drive decision-making and performance.
Skills & Knowledge
- Strong strategic thinking combined with hands-on delivery capability.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
- Strong project management and organisational skills.
- Budget management and ROI analysis experience.
- Knowledge of CRM systems and marketing platforms (e.g. MailChimp, HootSuite, Google Ads).
Personal Attributes
- Creative, proactive and results-driven.
- Passionate about accessibility and inclusion.
- Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to influence and collaborate.
- Comfortable working in a fast-paced environment with competing priorities.
Additional Information
The role may require occasional out-of-hours work for events or campaign launches. The postholder will be expected to champion Calibre Audio’s values and commitment to accessibility in all communications.
STAFF BENEFITS PACKAGE
- 30 days annual leave, plus an additional Calibre Christmas closure day
- Matched pension contributions up to 5% of salary
- Medical Cash Plan (Hive Insurance Bronze Package)
- Life Assurance cover of 2 x salary through the Canada Life Death in Service scheme
- Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) providing confidential support and advice
- Access to Calibre Rewards through Reward Gateway, offering discounts and savings across hundreds of retailers
- Commitment to learning, development and career progression
- A supportive, inclusive and values-led culture
- Free on-site parking
At Calibre Audio, our mission is to ensure that everyone can enjoy the pleasure of reading, regardless of a print disability or health condition.
Join the Commonwealth Foundation at an exciting moment as we launch our new 2026–2031 Strategy with a renewed focus on the value of both our Advocacy and Creative approaches.
We are seeking an experienced, strategic and collaborative leader to provide direction and oversight for our Advocacy and Creative Programme, including the Commonwealth People’s Forum, our flagship event at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, the Commonwealth Short Story Prize, and other high-profile initiatives that bring together civil society, policymakers, creative practitioners and other stakeholders from across the Commonwealth.
This is an opportunity to shape one of the Foundation’s flagship programmes, working at the intersection of advocacy and creativity to influence Commonwealth decision-making processes and amplify civil society voices.
As Senior Manager, Advocacy and Creative Programme, you will provide strategic direction, manage a high-performing team, cultivate influential partnerships, and deliver impactful advocacy, engagement and creative initiatives. Working with civil society partners, storytellers, artists and policymakers, you will design and oversee programmes that foster dialogue and strengthen civic participation.
This is an exciting opportunity for a leader who thrives in an international environment, enjoys navigating complexity, and is passionate about amplifying diverse voices and perspectives.
We are looking for someone who:
- Has substantial experience leading complex programmes and partnerships in an international, intergovernmental, civil society or not-for-profit context
- Combines strategic leadership with a hands-on approach to delivery, translating vision into tangible outcomes
- Has proven experience building relationships and influencing senior stakeholders across diverse cultural and political environments
- Brings strong people leadership skills and thrives in complex, fast-moving settings where adaptability, sound judgement and collaboration are essential
Working with us
We aim to create an environment where everyone can contribute at their best. Our hybrid working model combines the benefits of both office-based and remote working inclusively and flexibly.
Staff are expected to work from the office for at least five days per fortnight, including Wednesdays as an all-staff day. This role is offered on a permanent full-time basis; however, flexible working arrangements can be discussed as part of the recruitment process.
Our offer to you
We offer a competitive benefits package designed to support staff wellbeing, work–life balance and longer-term financial security. This includes:
- 30 days of annual leave, alongside public holidays and privilege days
- Hybrid and flexible working arrangements
- Private medical and dental insurance
- Life Assurance
- Enhanced sick pay
- Enhanced family leave and pay
- Learning and development opportunities
- A supportive and inclusive working environment
How to apply
To apply, please submit your CV and a supporting statement demonstrating, with relevant examples, how your skills, knowledge and experience meet the requirements set out in the person specification.
Please note that we are unable to consider incomplete applications.
Shortlisted candidates will be contacted within two weeks of the closing date and invited to a first-stage online interview.
Full details of the Job Description, Applicant Information Pack, and Behavioural Competencies Framework can be downloaded using the links below.
To apply, please visit our website and follow the application link provided.
Eligibility
To be considered for this role, candidates must have the right to work in the UK. You will be asked to confirm your right to work as part of the application process.
Selection Process
First Interview dates: w/c: 10 August
Applicants who are successful at this stage will be invited for a second interview.
Second interview dates: TBC
Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
The Commonwealth Foundation values diversity of thought, background, identity and experience, recognising that inclusive teams strengthen organisational effectiveness and impact.
We are committed to creating an inclusive working environment where differences are respected, contributions are valued, and everyone is supported to thrive. We particularly encourage applications from individuals from historically marginalised and underrepresented groups.
If you require reasonable adjustments at any stage of the recruitment process, please contact our Recruitment team. Contact details are available on our website. We will work with you to provide appropriate support.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
This is an exciting opportunity for an experienced international advocacy professional to lead our global engagement strategy as our inaugural Head of Advocacy. You will be joining us at a pivotal moment on our mission as we continue to develop and implement our international engagement strategy and launch a new Global Institute for the 1001 Critical Days. As our Head of Advocacy you will elevate our influence on the global stage. You will work with our senior team to drive international advocacy and engagement with policymakers, parliamentarians, international organisations, and strategic partners. Your work will help us to position babies – and the 1,001 critical days – at the heart of global policy agendas.
To apply please click on the redirect to recruiter button. Please note that interviews will take place on Thursday 13 August.
We are determined that every baby should experience the best start in life.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Actively Interviewing
This organisation is scheduling interviews as applications come in. They're ready to hire as soon as they find the right person. Don't miss your opportunity, apply now!
QCCA has served Camden’s communities for more than 40 years.
Today we support more than 3,000 local residents every year through:
- Youth Services
- Older People’s Services
- Advice & Advocacy
- Family Support
- Two successful children’s nurseries
- Community facilities
- Health and wellbeing programmes
- Employment and skills initiatives
With an annual income approaching £2 million, multiple community sites and exciting plans for further growth, we’re investing in a modern finance function that supports excellent decision-making and long-term sustainability.
Why This Role Is Different
This isn’t a traditional Finance Manager role.
Yes, you’ll oversee management accounts, budgets and audit preparation.
But you’ll also have the opportunity to:
- Transform our finance systems.
- Lead our migration from QuickBooks to Xero.
- Introduce smarter digital processes.
- Improve financial reporting.
- Build dashboards that help managers make better decisions.
- Work directly with the Chief Executive and Board of Trustees.
- Influence organisational strategy.
- Help shape the future of one of Camden’s leading community charities.
You’ll have the freedom to improve how we work—not simply maintain existing processes.
What You’ll Be Doing
You’ll provide strategic financial leadership while leading the modernisation of QCCA’s finance systems.
Working closely with our Chief Executive and Senior Management Team, you’ll:
- Lead the migration from QuickBooks to Xero (or an agreed cloud accounting platform).
- Produce insightful monthly management accounts and financial reports.
- Develop budgets, forecasts and financial models.
- Present financial information to Trustees and senior managers.
- Improve financial systems, controls and reporting.
- Introduce automation and digital workflows.
- Support commercial income generation and grant-funded projects.
- Lead the annual audit process.
- Line manage and develop our Finance Assistants.
- Help build a finance function fit for the future.
Who We’re Looking For
We’re looking for someone who enjoys making organisations better.
You’ll probably have experience of:
- Charity finance.
- Management accounting.
- Budgeting and forecasting.
- Audit preparation.
- Financial controls.
- Cloud accounting systems (Xero experience is highly desirable).
- Leading change and improving systems.
- Supporting non-finance managers.
- Working collaboratively with senior leaders and Trustees.
Most importantly, you’ll be someone who enjoys solving problems, embracing technology and helping organisations grow.
We ask you to apply by sending us your CV and cover letter (2 pages) demonstrating your experience.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Charity People is delighted to be partnering once again with Maudsley Charity to recruit an External Affairs and Influencing Manager.
A hugely exciting new role within the Communications team at the charity, the postholder will work across media, external affairs and influencing to engage with key stakeholders, boost the charity's profile, and promote learning and adoption of the solutions the organisation funds. You will be responsible for sharing evidence and learning in order to influence the people who fund, adopt and commission mental health care and services, and will work closely with the CEO to increase engagement with policy work which the Maudsley Charity undertakes through it's work in coalitions.
External Affairs and Influencing Manager
Contract: Full time, permanent role
Salary: £48,000 per annum
Location: Hybrid role between home and London office, with two days per week in the Denmark Hill office
Closing date for applications: 9am on Tuesday 28th July
First round interviews will be held remotely on: Thursday 13th August
Second round interviews will be held in person on: Thursday 20th and Friday 21st August
About Maudsley Charity
Maudsley Charity funds and supports clinical, academic, and community partners to ensure that everyone experiencing mental illness can access the right care, while using insights from their work to drive wider improvements across the UK.
Recognising the profound impact of mental illness and the inequalities in access, experience, and outcomes - particularly those linked to social deprivation and racism - the organisation focusses on addressing gaps in care.
With an approach that combines evidence, lived experience, and a commitment to equity, the organisation backs impactful, evidence-based solutions, ensuring services are shaped by real-world insight, and prioritising support for those most underserved to drive improvements that benefit all.
About the role
This is a core role within the organisation's influencing strategy, and your primary responsibilities will include:
External Affairs & Influencing:
- Develop and deliver influencing plans to promote adoption of effective mental health care initiatives being funded by the charity
- Develop productive relationships with key stakeholders (journalists, NHS trust leaders, ICBs, ICSs, VCSE orgs) to gather intelligence and shape strategy to inform the charity's positioning
- Lead the charity's thought leadership development providing strategic advice to senior leadership on political, NHS and mental health policy developments
- Strengthen the charity's role in mental health policy and advocacy coalitions, by contributing to collaborative advocacy, media and communications outputs
- Lead the charity's response to government mental health care consultations and calls for evidence
- Monitor funder sector trends and conversations, and actively seek out opportunities for the charity to strategically engage and influence by sharing learning from its grant making practice
Media management
- Develop and implement integrated external affairs campaigns that support the charity's influencing work
- Create persuasive materials, including press releases, op-eds, spokespeople briefings, comment pieces, and digital content and pitch to relevant outlets
- Maintain and grow relationships with journalists, broadcasters and sector media to secure relevant high-quality coverage of the charity's activities, grant holders and their projects
- Act as first point of contact for media enquiries, managing proactive and reactive press activity
- This role is expected to grow and develop and the postholder will be fully supported from across the organisation as the position evolves, within an organisation that offers a friendly, values led culture.
We would love to hear from individuals with the following skills and experience:
- Demonstrable track record of developing and implementing successful influencing strategies in the mental health sector
- Experience of stakeholder management within mental health care, including NHS Trust leaders, Integrated Care Boards, commissioners and senior clinicians, and with academics and researchers
- Strong experience in media relations, including briefing senior spokespeople, drafting press releases, media handling, and securing media coverage with a good understanding of the needs and expectations of different outlets and publications
- Keen understanding of the NHS, mental health policy landscape, and the related environment, key stakeholders and sector drivers
- Understanding of the key components and considerations of successful external affairs media and influencing
- Understanding of the sensitivities around mental illness, including working in an empathetic manner with people with lived experience
- Understanding of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion principles and a commitment to apply them in your work and as an organisation
- Influencing skills including confidence and credibility in working with stakeholders,
- Communication skills and the ability to produce clear and effective communications and the ability to confidently and accurately represent the organisation externally
- Written and editorial skills including the ability to craft narratives for different external audiences and communicate the charity's work in press releases, articles, policy briefs
How to apply
Maudsley Charity is committed to building a diverse and inclusive team and strongly encourages applications from underrepresented backgrounds. We welcome applications from non-graduates.
Applications are managed via Charity People and involve a structured, anonymised process focusing on your experience and potential. Please send your CV to Alice at Charity People in the first instance.
Please see full job pack and job description attached.
We held an 'Ask Us Anything' Webinar via Zoom on Thursday 16th July where the Maudsley staff answered some questions. Please contact us to receive the recording link if you think you might find this helpful.
Equal Opportunities monitoring
We ask that applicants complete our DEI monitoring form when submitting their CV for this role.
Maudsley Charity is an equal opportunities employer, and makes no discrimination on the grounds of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief and sex. Specifically, we will also oppose unfair discrimination of those with mental health issues.
Charity People is a forward thinking, inclusive organisation that actively and deliberately promotes equity, diversity and inclusion. We know organisations thrive when inclusion is at the forefront. We evidence our commitment by matching charity needs with the skills and experience of candidates irrespective of background e.g. age, disability (including hidden disabilities), gender, gender identity or gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, or sexual orientation. We do this because we believe that greater diversity leads to greater results for the charities we work with.
Actively Interviewing
This organisation is scheduling interviews as applications come in. They're ready to hire as soon as they find the right person. Don't miss your opportunity, apply now!
Ready to power life‑changing work across the UK? The Talent Set are partnering with a fantastic Health Charity to find a Senior Trusts & Statutory Manager, working with a high-performing and successful team to secure high‑value income that fuels research, support services, and national campaigning to change lives across the UK.
This role will shape major funding partnerships, secure 5–6 figure grants and play a pivotal role in the continued growth of an ambitious and growing Trusts portfolio.
What you’ll lead:
- A portfolio of high‑value Trusts and Statutory funders (£50k–£100k+), blending warm relationships with ambitious new business.
- Creative, compelling proposals that bring vital projects to life across research, services and advocacy.
- Strategic stewardship, including impact reporting, financial updates, and bespoke donor care.
- Line management of a Senior Trusts Officer, championing growth, development and high performance.
- Cross‑organisational collaboration to build strong cases for support and shape new project propositions.
What you’ll bring:
- A proven track record securing 5–6 figure Trusts/Statutory grants.
- Confident new‑business skills with a relationship‑led approach.
- Excellent written communication, with the ability to turn complex ideas into powerful, funder‑friendly narratives.
- Strong stakeholder management and the ability to influence at all levels.
- Tenacity, creativity, and a solutions‑focused mindset.
- Proven experience of coaching & upskilling junior team members - formal line management is a big plus, a proactive and positive leadership mindset is a must!
Commitment to Diversity
The Talent Set are committed to diverse and inclusive recruitment practices, ensuring equal opportunities for all applicants regardless of race, sexual orientation, disability, age, or gender. We actively encourage applications from a wide range of backgrounds and are always happy to make reasonable adjustments to ensure a fair recruitment process.
Using Anonymous Recruitment
This organisation is using Anonymous Recruitment to reduce bias in the first stages of the hiring process. Submit your application as normal and our system will anonymise it for you. Your personal information will be hidden until the recruiter contacts you.
Participation Manager
Job Description and Person Specification
Job title Participation Manager
Hours 35 hours per week. We are opening to discussing flexible arrangements – please highlight any requests when applying.
Length of contract Permanent
Location Hybrid work between home and our Vauxhall office. Please read more about our approach to hybrid working in the relevant section below.
Reports to Director of Evidence and Improvement
National Voices
Making what matters to people matter in health and care
National Voices is the leading coalition of health and social care charities in England. We have more than 200 members covering a diverse range of health conditions and communities, connecting us with the experiences of millions of people. We work together to strengthen the voice of people: patients, service users, carers, their families, and the voluntary organisations that work for them.
Our Vision: People shaping their health and care.
Our Mission: We advocate for more inclusive and person centred health and care, shaped by the people who use and need it the most.
We do this by:
· Understanding and advocating for what matters to people especially those living with health conditions and groups who experience inequalities.
· Finding common cause across communities and conditions by working with member charities and those they support.
· Connecting and convening charities, decision makers and citizens to work together to change health and care for good.
The Role
At National Voices, our aim is to make what matters to people matter in health and care. Too often, we see decisions made about the design of health and care services which don’t consider the people who use and need those services – especially those with long term conditions and from groups experiencing inequality. While the intentions of decision makers are usually good, they can unwittingly develop services which are difficult to access, stressful to experience and which don’t enable people to live life to its full potential.
We believe that if health and care leaders were better supported to meaningfully involve people living with health conditions, disability, inequality and their carers in decisions about how services are delivered then our NHS and social care services would be more equitable, and person centred.
At National Voices, we believe that this can best be achieved by connecting health and care leaders in health and care to key groups including:
· Leaders within the patient participation movement, who can support and advise health and care leaders on how to share power with people and communities using coaching and quality improvement techniques, and by acting as a critical friend.
· Leaders from voluntary sector organisations and community groups, who can bring insight into the needs, experiences and priorities of the communities they serve. They can identify opportunities to improve how services are designed and delivered, and help connect decision-makers with communities whose voices are often underrepresented.
· People with lived experience of inequality, particular conditions or services, who bring unique expertise based on their direct experience of care. They can provide timely insight into the impact of policies and services, helping decision-makers stay tuned to current needs, experiences and priorities, rather than relying on historical evidence or assumptions.
We are looking for a Participation Manager who can manage our lived experience programme, our membership scheme and our partnership scheme. This role will ensure that where there are opportunities for people and communities to shape health and care, National Voices has the right relationships, processes and support systems in place to connect decision makers with our Lived Experience Partners, members and people with lived experience.
The Participation Manager will:
· Lead National Voices’ Lived Experience Partner programme by strengthening engagement and participation, investing in members’ knowledge, skills and confidence, and ensuring lived experience insights shape our work.
· Lead National Voices’ membership scheme by driving engagement, retention and inclusion, strengthening member relationships, embedding member insights across the organisation, and overseeing satisfaction, records and knowledge management.
· Lead National Voices’ scheme by managing partner engagement, retention and recruitment, overseeing delivery of the partnership offer, and ensuring partners receive high-quality advice, insight, connections and access to relevant people and communities.
· Develop and deliver funded projects, supporting income generation and securing resources to advance National Voices’ strategic priorities.
The Participation Manager will work in collaboration with:
· Policy and communications colleagues who have worked hard to ensure when we capture insights from people and communities, we have established relationships and ways of communicating with key players in health and care so that insights collected lead to impact.
· Research and insight colleagues who have expertise around qualitative research methods and inclusive engagement, who regularly deliver high quality qualitative research on a range of topics and on a range of topics – often focussed on surfacing the experiences of those least well served by health and care services.
· Colleagues across the organisation who lead and contribute to member and partner benefits, including policy forums, networking opportunities, events and other engagement activities.
The Participation Manager will play a central role in ensuring National Voices’ lives its values around meaningful participation so that in both our internal and external work people and communities are engaged in a timely and inclusive way, using methods that ensure their input is heard and acted upon, and their knowledge, priorities, and contributions are recognised and fairly valued.
Responsibilities
Lead our Lived Experience Partner programme
National Voices’ Lived Experience Partners are a group of 15 people who have significant experience of navigating the health and care system, expertise in meaningful participation and who have received training and support to enable constructive and strategic input into improving health and care. The majority of Lived Experience Partners have also accessed learning around coaching and are regularly matched into coaching relationships with senior leaders in health and care. Your role will be to:
· Deliver meetings where our Lived Experience Partners have opportunities for peer learning and opportunities to influence live pieces of work.
· Gather insights from our Lived Experience Partners on how they are experiencing working with National Voices and how they want to grow.
· Ensure our Lived Experience Partners are supported to grow in their knowledge, skills and confidence to influence decision making – through 1:1 catch ups, training and more.
· Lead our work matching Lived Experience Partners in high quality coaching relationships with senior leaders in health and care, ensuring that coaching duos have the support they need to gain value from the relationship.
· Diversify and grow our network of Lived Experience Partners as needed.
Lead our membership programme
National Voices’ members are a group of over 200 not-for-profit organisations who serve a diverse range of communities, including: condition-specific charities - such as Diabetes UK, Allergy UK and Lupus UK; equality charities - such as the Caribbean and African Health Network, Groundswell and National Ugly Mugs; other health, care and community based organisations – such as Compassion in Dying, Pain UK and Patient Information Forum. Our members include some of the biggest and smallest charities in England. They connect us with the experience of millions of people. Your role will be to:
· Direct the activities of our membership working group, taking lead responsibility for member engagement, stewardship, renewals, support and retention.
· Deepen the relationship with our membership, ensuring that we have the structures in place to understand their ambitions, insights, practice and ideas.
· Collaborate with colleagues across the team to ensure our members’ insights become more central to everything that we do.
· Diversify and grow our membership.
· Oversee our annual survey on member satisfaction.
· Oversee improvements in records and knowledge management.
Lead our partnership programme
National Voices’ Partners are a small group of impactful organisations who want to join National Voices in achieving our mission of making what matters to people matter in health and care, including the Nuffield Trust, the Kings Fund, the Nursing and Midwifery Council and others. Your role will be to:
· Take lead responsibility for engagement, stewardship, renewals, support and retention of organisations in our partnership scheme.
· Oversee the delivery of the partnership offer – co-ordinating requests which come from partners and collaborating with colleagues, members and Lived Experience Partners to ensure partners receive high-quality advice, insight, connections and access to relevant people and communities.
Develop and deliver funded projects
· Identify opportunities for collaboration, partnership and income generation that support our strategic priorities – leading on selected funding bids and supporting others as required.
· Develop ideas into clear, fundable proposals and secured projects. This may include designing and delivering activity such as workshops, coordinating advisory or lived experience groups, undertaking qualitative research, facilitation and engagement work.
· Plan confidently and realistically across lived experience workstreams, taking accountability for delivery, spend, and completion of agreed outcomes.
· Manage projects, programmes and budgets in partnership with colleagues and stakeholders, putting in place effective systems to ensure timely, high-quality delivery and reporting.
General
- Provide line management one Project Officer within the team, quality assuring outputs, holding regular 1-2-1s as well as setting annual objectives and completing appraisals.
- Provide matrix management for other National Voices colleagues as and when required.
- Work in sync with other managers across National Voices, contributing to a joined-up, supportive team culture.
- Deputise for the Director of Evidence and Improvement, or other senior colleagues, when required.
· Follow organisational processes to measure, monitor and communicate the impact of our work
· Support good project, financial and data management
Person Specification
Values, attitudes and behaviours
· Passionate about National Voices’ mission and the meaningful involvement of people with lived experience
· Strong commitment to equity, inclusion, and reducing health inequalities
· Proactive, flexible, and responsive, with a willingness to work in complexity
· Comfortable working both collaboratively and independently, taking ownership of delivery
· Calm under pressure and able to manage multiple priorities and tight deadlines without compromising quality
· Confident engaging with a wide range of stakeholders, including constructively challenging where appropriate
· Entrepreneurial - able to spot opportunities for growth, collaboration, and impact
· Energised by variety, able to work across diverse themes while identifying connections and opportunities
Skills and abilities
· Strong project and/or programme management skills, with demonstrable experience delivering complex, multi-stakeholder work
· Excellent organisational skills, including the ability to prioritise, plan, manage risk, and maintain high-quality delivery
· Strong communication skills, including the ability to translate complex insight and evidence into clear, accessible outputs
· Confident relationship and stakeholder management skills, including working with partners, subcontractors, and commissioned work
· Excellent facilitation and presentation skills, including delivering workshops and events to diverse audiences
Experience, knowledge and understanding
· Demonstrable experience of leading or delivering participation work with people with lived experience, ideally addressing inequality
· Strong experience of designing and delivering insight generation projects (qualitative and/or quantitative) that have led to real-world impact and improvement
· Experience of working meaningfully with people experiencing inequalities in safe and inclusive ways
· Experience of managing projects, budgets, and multiple stakeholders, working with a high degree of autonomy
· Experience of managing partnerships, funders, or commissioned work, including contributing to income generation
· Experience of facilitating workshops, events, or participatory sessions
· Understanding of the health and care landscape
· Good understanding of the participation landscape, with the ability to act as a credible contributor in the field (desirable)
· Experience of managing or contributing to coalitions or networks of VCSE or membership organisations (desirable)
· Understanding of mixed methods (qualitative and quantitative) approaches to evidence generation and analysis (desirable)
· Coaching and/or quality improvement qualifications (desirable)
· Lived experience of disability, caring responsibilities and/or inequality (desirable)
Our approach to hybrid working
We recognise the importance of coming together regularly, in-person, as a team, so we can share learnings and spend social time with each other. We also recognise that people need flexibility, and that homeworking enables focused work and can fit well in people’s lives.
We ask all staff to take part in pre-arranged team meetings which take place every six weeks in our office space. We also might ask you to meet in-person with members of your team from time to time, or to be available for face-to- face meetings with clients and partners where this enhances the work.
We assume that this would usually not amount to more than one day per fortnight for people who work full time. We are happy to discuss how this sits in your life. This can be agreed by your line manager.
Please note that our offices are fully wheelchair accessible and that we are committed to making our workplace fully inclusive.
Application guidance
Please submit a CV and cover letter to apply. We are also recruiting a 12 month fixed term Participation Manager role at the same time. If you would like your application to be for both roles, please make this clear when applying.
Applications should be addressed to our Director Evidence and Improvement, Sarah Sweeney, and submitted through CharityJob.
You're welcome to use AI tools to help you prepare your application. However, we encourage you to make sure your application reflects your own voice and experiences. We often see similar AI-generated writing styles, which can make applications less distinctive. As a charity, we're particularly interested in hearing why our mission matters to you and how your values align with ours.
Please specify any access or other requirements of which we need to be aware for the online interview.
The deadline for applications is 5pm on Thursday 30th July.
The interviews will take place in early August on Microsoft Teams. Details of an interview task and interview questions will be emailed to you in advance.
We are committed to diversifying our team in order to broaden the insight and experiences we can draw on, and to do our work more credibly. In particular, we would welcome applications from older people, disabled people and people who have experienced socioeconomic inequality. Our offices are fully accessible and we are a Disability Confident and an LGBT+ friendly employer.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Using Anonymous Recruitment
This organisation is using Anonymous Recruitment to reduce bias in the first stages of the hiring process. Submit your application as normal and our system will anonymise it for you. Your personal information will be hidden until the recruiter contacts you.
Job Description and Person Specification
Job title Participation Manager
Hours 35 hours per week. We are opening to discussing flexible arrangements – please highlight any requests when applying.
Length of contract 12 months
Location Hybrid work between home and our Vauxhall office. Please read more about our approach to hybrid working in the relevant section below.
Reports to Director of Evidence and Improvement
National Voices
Making what matters to people matter in health and care
National Voices is the leading coalition of health and social care charities in England. We have more than 200 members covering a diverse range of health conditions and communities, connecting us with the experiences of millions of people. We work together to strengthen the voice of people: patients, service users, carers, their families, and the voluntary organisations that work for them.
Our Vision: People shaping their health and care.
Our Mission: We advocate for more inclusive and person centred health and care, shaped by the people who use and need it the most.
We do this by:
· Understanding and advocating for what matters to people especially those living with health conditions and groups who experience inequalities.
· Finding common cause across communities and conditions by working with member charities and those they support.
· Connecting and convening charities, decision makers and citizens to work together to change health and care for good.
The Role
At National Voices, our aim is to make what matters to people matter in health and care. Too often, we see decisions made about the design of health and care services which don’t consider the people who use and need those services – especially those with long term conditions and from groups experiencing inequality. While the intentions of decision makers are usually good, they can unwittingly develop services which are difficult to access, stressful to experience and which don’t enable people to live life to its full potential.
We believe that if health and care leaders were better supported to meaningfully involve people living with health conditions, disability, inequality and their carers in decisions about how services are delivered then our NHS and social care services would be more equitable, and person centred.
At National Voices, we believe that this can best be achieved by connecting health and care leaders in health and care to key groups including:
· Leaders within the patient participation movement, who can support and advise health and care leaders on how to share power with people and communities using coaching and quality improvement techniques, and by acting as a critical friend.
· Leaders from voluntary sector organisations and community groups, who can bring insight into the needs, experiences and priorities of the communities they serve. They can identify opportunities to improve how services are designed and delivered, and help connect decision-makers with communities whose voices are often underrepresented.
· People with lived experience of inequality, particular conditions or services, who bring unique expertise based on their direct experience of care. They can provide timely insight into the impact of policies and services, helping decision-makers stay tuned to current needs, experiences and priorities, rather than relying on historical evidence or assumptions.
We are looking for a Participation Manager who can lead on the design, development and delivery of funded projects that generate insight, support improvement, and enable meaningful participation in health and care decision making. This will include end-to-end responsibility for project design, delivery, reporting and impact.
Projects may include designing and delivering activity such as workshops, coordinating lived experience advisory groups, coordinating coalitions of VCSE organisations, undertaking qualitative research, facilitation and engagement work. The postholder will need sufficient breadth of experience across these areas to confidently design and steer programmes, while drawing on colleagues, partners and associates for specialist input where needed.
You will be responsible for overall programme management - ensuring projects are well planned, appropriately resourced, and delivered on time, within budget and to a high standard. This includes managing risks, reporting requirements and funder relationships.
Projects may also include co-ordinating the delivery of Voices for Improvement coaching relationships and workshops on meaningful participation. We are open to a Participation Manager who has skills and experience around coaching theory and practice, however, we can also bring in external Associates with this subject matter expertise where needed to guide and supervise the coaching elements of the process.
You will also play an active role in identifying and developing new funding and partnership opportunities, contributing to the growth of National Voices’ portfolio of externally funded work.
Finally, where needed, you will also work collaboratively with another Participation Manager who leads National Voices’ Lived Experience Partner programme, membership scheme and partnership programme. You will contribute to these areas where required, particularly where they intersect with funded projects, but they will not be the primary focus of this role.
Responsibilities
Lead the development and delivery of funded participation projects
Lead the end-to-end design, delivery and management of funded programmes and projects that generate insight, support improvement and drive meaningful participation in health and care, including:
· Lead on shaping, securing and delivering funded projects from proposal stage through to completion, ensuring clear outcomes and impact
· Design and oversee programmes that may include research, engagement and participatory activity, such as qualitative and quantitative research, stakeholder engagement and participation work
· Convene and coordinate a range of delivery approaches including advisory groups, workshops, events, VCSE engagement and system partner collaboration
· Ensure delivery is well planned, resourced and managed, including oversight of budgets, timelines, risks and funder reporting
· Draw on colleagues, partners and associates for specialist expertise where needed, while holding overall responsibility for programme design and coherence
· Translate insights and findings into clear, accessible outputs in collaboration with policy and communications colleagues to support influence and impact
· Develop and shape new funding opportunities and proposals to grow the organisation’s portfolio of externally funded work
Deliver coaching and engagement programmes
Manage the delivery of structured coaching and engagement programmes, including National Voices’ Voices for Improvement model, where included within funded projects:
- Oversee delivery of coaching and engagement activity including matching, coordination and participant support
- Ensure coaching relationships between people with lived experience and system leaders are well supported and of high quality
- Contribute to the design and facilitation of associated engagement or learning sessions where required
- Work with associates or external specialists to bring in coaching or quality improvement expertise where needed
- Capture learning, feedback and impact from coaching programmes and contribute to funder reporting, case studies and evaluation outputs
Contribute to wider participation programmes
Work collaboratively with another Participation Manager to support integration with National Voices’ wider participation infrastructure:
· Contribute where relevant to the Lived Experience Partner programme, membership scheme and partnership programme
· Support the involvement of lived experience partners, members and partners in funded projects and engagement activity
· Ensure alignment across programmes and share learning between project delivery and participation infrastructure
General
- Provide line management to one Project Officer within the team, if needed - quality assuring outputs, holding regular 1-2-1s as well as setting annual objectives and completing appraisals.
- Provide matrix management for other National Voices colleagues as and when required.
- Work in sync with other managers across National Voices, contributing to a joined-up, supportive team culture.
- Deputise for the Director of Evidence and Improvement, or other senior colleagues, when required.
· Follow organisational processes to measure, monitor and communicate the impact of our work
· Support good project, financial and data management
Person Specification
Values, attitudes and behaviours
· Passionate about National Voices’ mission and the meaningful involvement of people with lived experience
· Strong commitment to equity, inclusion, and reducing health inequalities
· Proactive, flexible, and responsive, with a willingness to work in complexity
· Comfortable working both collaboratively and independently, taking ownership of delivery
· Calm under pressure and able to manage multiple priorities and tight deadlines without compromising quality
· Confident engaging with a wide range of stakeholders, including constructively challenging where appropriate
· Entrepreneurial - able to spot opportunities for growth, collaboration, and impact
· Energised by variety, able to work across diverse themes while identifying connections and opportunities
Skills and abilities
· Strong programme and/or project management skills, with demonstrable experience of leading complex, multi-stakeholder funded programmes from design through to delivery and completion
· Ability to shape ideas into deliverable programmes, including contributing to funding bids, designing delivery approaches, and translating proposals into practical delivery plans
· Strong analytical and synthesis skills, with the ability to translate complex qualitative and quantitative insight into clear, structured outputs that inform decision making and drive action
· Excellent organisational skills, including planning, prioritisation, risk management and delivery of high-quality work to deadlines
· Confident stakeholder and relationship management skills, with experience working across partners, funders, subcontractors, commissioned work and multi-organisation collaborations
· Strong facilitation and engagement skills, including designing and delivering workshops, events and participatory sessions for diverse audiences
· Strong communication skills, including the ability to produce clear, accessible written outputs and presentations
· Strong interpersonal skills, with the ability to work collaboratively, support others in delivery, and contribute to shared outcomes
Experience, knowledge and understanding
· Demonstrable experience of leading or delivering participation work with people with lived experience, ideally addressing inequality
· Strong experience of designing and delivering insight generation projects (qualitative and/or quantitative) that have led to real-world impact and improvement
· Experience of working meaningfully with people experiencing inequalities in safe and inclusive ways
· Experience of managing projects, budgets, and multiple stakeholders, working with a high degree of autonomy
· Experience of managing partnerships, funders, or commissioned work, including contributing to income generation
· Experience of facilitating workshops, events, or participatory sessions
· Understanding of the health and care landscape
· Good understanding of the participation landscape, with the ability to act as a credible contributor in the field (desirable)
· Experience of managing or contributing to coalitions or networks of VCSE or membership organisations (desirable)
· Understanding of mixed methods (qualitative and quantitative) approaches to evidence generation and analysis (desirable)
· Coaching and/or quality improvement qualifications (desirable)
· Lived experience of disability, caring responsibilities and/or inequality (desirable)
Our approach to hybrid working
We recognise the importance of coming together regularly, in-person, as a team, so we can share learnings and spend social time with each other. We also recognise that people need flexibility, and that homeworking enables focused work and can fit well in people’s lives.
We ask all staff to take part in pre-arranged team meetings which take place every six weeks in our office space. We also might ask you to meet in-person with members of your team from time to time, or to be available for face-to- face meetings with clients and partners where this enhances the work.
We assume that this would usually not amount to more than one day per fortnight for people who work full time. We are happy to discuss how this sits in your life. This can be agreed by your line manager.
Please note that our offices are fully wheelchair accessible and that we are committed to making our workplace fully inclusive.
Application guidance
Please submit a CV and cover letter to apply. We are also recruiting a permanent Participation Manager role at the same time. If you would like your application to be for both roles, please make this clear in your cover letter.
You're welcome to use AI tools to help you prepare your application. However, we encourage you to make sure your application reflects your own voice and experiences. We often see similar AI-generated writing styles, which can make applications less distinctive. As a charity, we're particularly interested in hearing why our mission matters to you and how your values align with ours.
Please specify any access or other requirements of which we need to be aware for the online interview.
The deadline for applications is 5pm on Thursday 30th July.
The interviews will take place in early August on Microsoft Teams. Details of an interview task and interview questions will be emailed to you in advance.
We are committed to diversifying our team in order to broaden the insight and experiences we can draw on, and to do our work more credibly. In particular, we would welcome applications from older people, disabled people and people who have experienced socioeconomic inequality. Our offices are fully accessible and we are a Disability Confident and an LGBT+ friendly employer.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Do you want to make a real difference to the lives of people affected by kidney disease?
We’re looking for an experienced manager who wants to be part of work that genuinely transforms lives.
About Kidney Care UK
There are 7.2 million people with some form of chronic kidney disease (CKD) in the UK, equivalent to 1 in 10 people. There are one million people in the UK who have CKD but are not aware of it.
Since 1975, Kidney Care UK has been at the forefront of supporting people with kidney disease. From our early days when we campaigned to introduce donor cards in the UK, we have worked hard to support and represent the interests of everyone affected by kidney disease.
About the Patient Support Service
The Patient Support Service provides practical, emotional and financial support for anyone affected by chronic kidney disease. Whatever the need presented, we empower people living with CKD and their families and carers to understand their options and make informed choices to positively navigate their experience of CKD. We’ll walk alongside them for as long as they need us to.
About the role
We are looking for a passionate and inspirational individual to lead our Patient Support service across Scotland & Northern Ireland. You and your team will reach kidney patients at their point of need and ensure they are supported or signposted to the services that will improve their wellbeing and maximise outcomes in line with the objectives of the service as directed by the Programme Manager/Head of Service.
Alongside our other Regional Managers, you will be the national face of Kidney Care UK patient support services, raising awareness of the service and the Charity and building strong relationships with the kidney patients, renal units, Kidney Patient Associations (KPAs), health professionals and other kidney stakeholder groups in your regions.
Key Responsibilities
- Lead a team of five Patient Support Officer’s to deliver an accessible, valued and effective service across your designated region. Responsibility for the training, development and wellbeing of the regional team.
- Lead the delivery of Kidney Care UK service and funder required outcomes into service delivery aligned with the Kidney Care Patient Support service strategy.
- Through in-person attendance at stakeholder events and meetings, build strong relationships with key decision makers and influencers in health and care commissioning and delivery in your region.
- Develop and maintain effective monitoring and measurement to demonstrate the outputs and effectiveness of the service and its impact on patient experience and outcomes.
- Using data and insight, report internally and externally with updates on regional issues, needs and challenges to inform service development.
- Manage the budget designated for your region, keeping accurate records of expenditure and reporting.
- Act as an organisational Designated Safeguarding Person in accordance with policy and procedures.
About you
We’d love to hear from you if you have:
- Understanding of the workings of NHS patient care pathways.
- Experience of delivering patient support services in a kidney or related health condition environment.
- Understanding of kidney disease and the needs of people with kidney disease, their families and their carers.
- The ability to influence, inspire and effectively manage a team.
- Excellent interpersonal skills including the ability to listen, with experience in building credibility with senior external stakeholders and managing relationships with diplomacy.
Experience of working within an NHS charity or large health related fundraising environment is highly desirable,as is understanding of relevant UK benefits legislation and entitlements.
Please note: You must live within one of the regions (Scotland or Northern Ireland) and have the ability to travel within those regions independently and on a regular basis. There may also be some travel across the UK.
What we offer
Working at Kidney Care UK is incredibly rewarding and you will see the life-changing impact that the charity has on kidney patients and their families:
- Flexi-time – we are flexible about start and finish times, and flexible about your location.
- Annual and Christmas leave – we offer 25 days annual leave for full time employees plus bank holidays. We also close for three days between Christmas and New Year, and you don’t need to take this from your annual leave allowance.
- Pension – you’ll be eligible for and auto-enrolled into a pension scheme where your employer will contribute 8% of your salary.
- Health cashback plan – ability to claim back a wide variety of routine medical treatments.
- Employee Assistance Programme – access to a wide variety of support including counselling, health resources and advice.
- Cycle2Work scheme
- Learning and development – you’ll be able to access the full benefits of our membership of Fundraising Everywhere, Charity Comms and NVCO.
Apply today
If you feel the role is for you we’d love to hear from you.
Press Apply, where you will be asked to upload a recent CV which includes a cover letter. In your cover letter please demonstrate in no more than 2 sides of A4 how you meet the person specification within the job description.
CVs submitted without a cover letter will automatically be rejected.
Closing Date: 3rd August (9am)
Provisional Interview Dates:
Ist stage interviews: 7th or 10th August
2nd stage interviews 18th August
Please note we will be reviewing applications as they come in and may choose to close the advert early.
We look forward to hearing from you.
We are the UK's leading kidney patient support charity



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