Senior innovation consultant jobs in Birmingham
This is an exciting and pivotal leadership role at the heart of Kinship’s digital transformation. You’ll lead a talented and ambitious team to deliver and develop live digital services, accessible content and user-centred products that kinship carers rely on to access support.
This role does not own all services delivered through digital channels. It owns selected shared digital products while also enabling teams across Kinship to deliver their work effectively through digital platforms, content and journeys, while teams retain ownership of their services and outcomes. You’ll provide leadership on standards, user experience, accessibility and innovation.
Context:
Kinship is expanding its reach and digital capabilities, and our digital platforms are central to how we deliver services at scale. In 2024, we launched a new website bringing together all content and services under one home, and introduced Kinship Compass, a postcode search tool that helps kinship carers find relevant local and national support.
Alongside this, we have been developing a new AI-powered tool to help kinship carers access trusted information quickly and accurately, 24/7. You will lead the evolution of these digital services ensuring they are safe, ethical, resilient and data-informed, and that innovation is always grounded in reliability, safeguarding and user trust.
You’ll play a key role in the Department for Education funded national Training and Support Service, ensuring kinship carers can easily access and book high-quality training through our digital platforms.
You’ll oversee content design in collaboration with internal and external subject experts and kinship carers themselves and lead the digital and content streams for Kinship Minds, including the development and delivery of our e-learning platform and curriculum.
This role sits at the intersection of digital service delivery, product development and content design. At Kinship, content design is distinct from communications or marketing. It focuses on designing clear, accessible and trauma-informed information, learning content and user journeys that enable kinship carers to understand their options, make decisions and access support. Content is treated as part of the service itself and is central to the quality, safety and effectiveness of our digital platforms.
This is a role for a digital leader who is both strategic and operationally grounded. You’ll balance innovation with delivery, experimentation with governance, and ambition with accountability. You’ll champion inclusive, accessible and co-produced design, ensuring digital products support real-world service delivery and improve outcomes for kinship families.
You will work closely with colleagues in the Communications and Policy team (who sit in a separate department and lead external communications, campaigns and social media) and who own the external communications strategy. You will ensure clear alignment while retaining a distinct focus on digital service innovation, product development and content design.
What you'll be doing:
Digital leadership and strategy
- Lead the Digital and Content Design team, setting clear priorities and building a culture of high performance, accountability and continuous improvement.
- Own and deliver Kinship’s digital strategy and product roadmap, covering the website, Kinship Compass, Kinship Minds, the AI tool and other digital services, excluding marketing and social media.
- Provide digital leadership across Kinship, strengthening capability and effective cross-organisational working.
- Lead responsible digital innovation, ensuring AI and emerging technology are used where they clearly improve service delivery, accessibility and user experience.
- Take accountability for digital budgets, agency relationships and delivery against agreed outcomes, timescales and quality standards.
- Horizon scan and translate external digital developments into practical, service-led improvements for Kinship.
- Contribute to organisational planning, reporting and income generation linked to digital innovation.
Website, content and digital product development
- Lead the ongoing development and innovation of Kinship’s digital platforms to ensure they are user-centred, accessible and continuously improved.
- Oversee the content strategy and governance for Kinship’s website, Kinship Compass and new e-learning platform.
- Work with internal colleagues to improve our workshop booking system.
- Ensure a consistent content design approach across all digital platforms, grounded in user need, plain English, trauma-informed practice and continuous testing and improvement.
- Lead the content design team to develop content for strategic projects working collaboratively with subject experts and kinship carers.
- Work closely with Advice and Training teams to ensure digital platforms and content design support service delivery, quality standards and DfE contract requirements.
- Develop an excellent understanding of end-to-end audience experience and how the website, online content and digital products can drive effective online services and enhance the kinship ecosystem. Map the user journeys across our website and digital products leaving no dead ends.
- Ensure integration across all platforms (e.g. website, telephony, Salesforce, Kinship Minds) to create seamless user journeys for kinship carers and internal teams.
- Embed meaningful participation and co-production with kinship carers in digital service and content development.
- Drive accessibility and inclusion, ensuring our digital services reach and work for all kinship carers, including those with lower digital literacy.
- Ensure strong digital governance, accessibility, documentation and use of insight to continuously improve performance and impact.
- Oversee SEO, analytics and data-driven optimisation to improve engagement, performance and impact.
Type of person we’re looking for:
We’re looking for a service-led digital leader who is as comfortable with operational delivery as they are with strategy and innovation. You’ll understand that digital products are part of how services are delivered, not an add-on, and that reliability, accessibility and trust matter as much as creativity.
You’ll be curious, pragmatic and values-driven, with the judgement to know when to push innovation forward and when to prioritise stability, safety and user confidence.
You are likely to:
- Have led live digital services or products that people rely on, not just content.
- Be comfortable balancing innovation with delivery, and experimentation with governance.
- Think in terms of end-to-end service journeys, not just platforms or pages.
- Be motivated by improving outcomes for people, particularly families experiencing complexity or crisis.
- Value co-production, accessibility and inclusive design as core to good digital practice.
- Bring clarity, calm and consistency to teams working in complex environments.
- Be confident working across disciplines such as digital, services and delivery without needing to own everything.
- Care deeply about doing digital work ethically, safely and well.
- Show commitment to personal development and learning.
How to apply:
Please apply for the role of Head of Digital and Content by sending a tailored CV and responding to these 4 questions below in the online application process.
Closing date is midnight on Sun 18 Jan 2026, first interview online on Thurs 22 / Fri 23 Jan 2026 and second interview in person on Thur 29 Jan 2026.
- What attracts you to this role at Kinship, and how does your experience prepare you to lead digital services, content design and innovation in the context of kinship care and families experiencing complexity or crisis? (250 words max)
- Give an example of where you introduced or explored digital innovation (for example AI, automation or new platforms) in a service context. How did you balance innovation with reliability, safeguarding or user trust? (250 words max)
- Describe a time you used content and/or service design to help people understand complex information or access support. How did you identify user needs, test what worked, and ensure the content enabled action rather than just engagement?(250 words max)
- This role leads a small but mighty remote and dispersed team. How have you managed remote teams to maintain clarity, wellbeing, accountability and delivery? Please include a practical example. (250 words max)
What we offer you:
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Flexible working - we understand how important it is to balance family and work life.
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30 days annual leave, plus bank holidays (1 April to 31 March) pro rata (3 to be taken at Christmas shutdown).
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Employee Assistance Programme (24/7 confidential advice line and counselling).
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Charity Worker Discounts.
Registered Charity
21 - 50
We support kinship carers in their homes and communities, giving advice and helping them work through problems to find the best way forward.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Thank you!
About Adolescent Health Study
The Adolescent Health Study (AHS) (Registered Charity Number 1213337) is an ambitious new UKRI-funded initiative to establish a prospective, longitudinal population study that will generate a globally leading open science data platform and research resource. AHS aims to recruit at least 100,000 young people from across the UK and to follow their mental and physical health and wellbeing over at least 10 years. It plans to collect data through questions and measures; to obtain bio-samples for a wide range of genomic and other high-throughput assays; and to capture linked data relevant to health and wellbeing from participants’ health, education and other administrative records. There will be a strong emphasis on engaging with and involving young people, schools, parents and other relevant stakeholders in the design and delivery of the study, as well as on including young people that represent as wide as possible a range of backgrounds, experiences and characteristics. AHS will focus on enabling a wide range of research, including studies of the critical biological and social developments that occur during the transition from childhood to adulthood and the determinants of both mental and physical health and wellbeing in adolescents and young adults.
Location: Remote working. Must be willing and able to travel to London, Edinburgh and elsewhere across the UK to support business need
Reporting to: AHS Chief Information and Technology Officer (to be appointed Spring 2026)
Hours of Work: FTE 37.5 hours per week
Purpose of the post
The Strategic Data Lead will play a critical role in managing the study’s data pipeline, devising and implementing strategies for the collection, management, storage, documentation and curation of complex participant data, and sharing data with research users. In particular, there will be a need for innovative, remote data collection methods that are acceptable to children and young people taking part in the study. The role holder will provide specialist advice, direction and input to the wider scientific team to maximise the potential of the study data and future proof the resource. They will drive forward innovative solutions which enable the long-term strategic vision for data management in the study.
Main responsibilities
Strategy
- Provide expert input into the design and delivery of the study before data collection begins, maximising data quality and efficient management from the start.
- Devise and implement a data management strategy, including appropriate data architecture, meta-data and data pipeline(s), to support the study’s aims and meet the needs of the research community.
- Consider the long-term strategy for data preservation and discoverability, to futureproof the resource and ensure maximal use.
Technology and innovation
- Identify and oversee the delivery of novel solutions for collection and management of complex health data, including transfer of data from specialist equipment and mobile technology, such as wearables or app-based data.
- Lead procurement activities, where required, to support the data management strategy, translating the needs of users into appropriate specifications and working with third parties to oversee delivery of solutions.
Risk management and compliance
- Oversee the development, management and continual improvement of all procedures used to process, manage and store data, ensuring that they are kept up to date and comply with relevant legislation and local guidelines.
Collaboration and Stakeholder Engagement
- Build relationships with other longitudinal population studies (LPS) in order to seek advice where appropriate and ensure sharing of best practise within the LPS community.
- Work closely with researchers, data scientists and national bodies, such as Population Research UK and the UK Longitudinal Linkage Collaboration, to support study objectives.
- Consult and co-operate with colleagues and stakeholders, including children and young people, to support the use of the study’s data for collaborative research purposes, identifying opportunities to maximise the potential of the data.
- Offer creative solutions to issues that arise, consulting with and influencing stakeholders with differing expectations, ensuring the impact of any change is communicated and understood by those involved.
Essential criteria:
- Proven track record of managing large and complex data sets within an academic, research or similar environment, including different types of data from multiple sources, including those with complex ethical and governance requirements.
- Thorough understanding of legislation regarding data management, confidentiality and security.
- Understanding of research governance.
- Demonstrable experience in developing and implementing a data management strategy.
- Experience of implementing current and developing technologies used for collecting, storing and accessing research data.
- Excellent organisational skills with the proven ability to manage multiple competing projects simultaneously to achieve deadlines.
- Educated to degree level in Computer Science or related discipline or equivalent experience.
- Proven innovation and pro-active problem-solving skills.
- Proven ability to influence and negotiate with different levels of staff and external contacts.
- Excellent communication with both internal and external stakeholders including the ability to communicate technically complex ideas at an appropriate level.
Desirable criteria:
- Proven skills in programming using various languages and technologies including understanding of data manipulation and statistical packages used to manage, manipulate and analyse data e.g. SQL, Python, R.
- Proven ability to effectively lead, direct and manage a team of technical staff.
- Experience of working with a longitudinal research study, or equivalent, at a senior level.
- Excellent presentation skills, with experience of presenting to diverse audiences.
Working Environment
- Full time role with flexible working arrangements.
- AHS is a national organisation, and our activities take place across the UK.
- Flexible working will be required across several geographical locations in the UK. Travel may be required to AHS locations, fieldwork sites and partner organisations.
- As a small charity, we offer a range of benefits, including enhanced sickness and family-friendly pay, additional annual leave, the opportunity to purchase up to five extra days’ holiday each leave year, a 10% employer pension contribution, and one paid volunteering day per year.
Application Process
This post is subject to receipt of satisfactory references and the post holder having the right to work in the UK (visa sponsorship is not available). Please apply online with a CV and a covering letter (of no more than two pages) explaining what you can bring to this role, and including your current salary.
The closing date for this position is EoD Sunday 25 January 2026.
Interviews are currently expected to be held during the week commencing 23 February or 02 March 2026.
Equal Opportunities Policy Statement
AHS is an equal opportunities employer, and as such aims to treat all employees, consultants and applicants fairly. AHS is an equal opportunities employer, and as such aims to treat all employees, consultants and applicants fairly. It is our policy to provide employment equality to all, irrespective of age, disability, gender identity or expression, marital or civil partnership status, pregnancy or maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, or sexual orientation.
Beyond these protected characteristics, we acknowledge the importance of socio-economic background, childcare and caring responsibilities, educational background, neurodiversity, and any other factors that shape an individual’s identity and opportunities. We strive to create an environment where all colleagues feel valued, supported, and able to contribute fully.
Values
It is an exciting time for the Adolescent Health Study (AHS) as we establish our senior leadership and delivery teams. As the senior executive team evolves, the AHS values will be grounded in inclusivity, integrity, accountability, and collaboration.
Thank you!
Dancers’ Career Development (DCD), the national charity that enables and empowers dancers to thrive professionally and personally leading up to and beyond their performance careers, seek a Fundraiser.
DCD’s Fundraiser will work closely with the Executive Director and be instrumental in increasing fundraised and revenue income.
Our ideal candidate will be a creative thinker with an open mindset to propose and explore new avenues of fundraising and income streams.
This role is ideally suited to a self-starter with a passion for the performing arts, who is motivated to make a tangible difference to the quality of dancers’ lives.
If you are excited by this opportunity and resonate with DCD’s values, please get in touch; we would love to hear from you.
Contract: Full-time permanent role
Salary: £35,000 per annum, pro-rata
Start date: As early as possible
Location: This is a remote working role, with monthly in-person team meetings which take place in London or Birmingham. Due to additional in-person events and meetings, as appropriate to the role and usually in London, the Fundraiser should be either based in London or within commutable distance.
Benefits: 23 days holiday pro-rata plus Bank Holidays (increasing to 28 days with length of service), 5% Employers contribution to pension scheme, Health & Wellbeing package, Professional Development opportunities.
Deadline: Applications must be submitted by 9am, Thursday 22 January 2026
Info: Download job application pack from our website for full job spec and how to apply.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.