Citizens Advice offers confidential advice online, over the phone, and in person, for free. Through our national network of charities, we give people the knowledge and the confidence they need to find their way forward – whoever they are, and whatever their problem.

Our organisation is unique. Each year we directly help 2.8 million people to solve their problems. We see first hand - and in real time - the problems faced by people across England and Wales. We can spot emerging issues quickly, often even before the government. We use our unique data and insights to work with government, regulators and industry to improve people's lives.

We are looking for two outstanding people to recruit for the position of Senior Policy Researcher in the Energy Retail Markets team and Senior Policy Researcher in the Consumer & Public Services team at Citizens Advice.

We particularly welcome applications from disabled and Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) candidates as BAME and disabled people are currently under-represented throughout Citizens Advice. We are a member of the race equality campaign at Business in the Community, the Prince’s responsible business network and are committed to improving employment opportunities for ethnic minorities across the UK. We also welcome applications from, LGB and Trans and non binary candidates.

We have made a positive commitment to employing disabled people and guarantee to interview all disabled candidates who meet the minimum essential criteria for the role as set out in role profiles.

The roles 

For both roles, as a senior member of the team you will work across different policy areas, designing and delivering major research and influencing projects from start to finish, while supporting junior members of the team to reach their potential. Our strong, respected brand means that you will have unique opportunities to engage directly with the people and organisations who have the power to make the changes we want to see - from parliamentarians and the civil service to regulators and industry. 

Energy retail markets team 

In energy, our vision is for an energy market that treats everyone fairly, now and in the future. For the energy retail markets team this means tackling the root cause of the issues causing energy consumers harm today, whether it be insufficient support for people in energy debt, poor customer service, reducing the harm of supplier failures, or more help for people in vulnerable circumstances. 

In the longer term, it also means shaping the reforms that will be needed to help meet the UK’s net zero energy goals, by enabling more innovation and rewarding low carbon choices, while ensuring the market is inclusive and people get the right support and consumer protections to confidently participate. 

In recent years we have achieved significant protections for people on low incomes or in debt and stricter rules for suppliers to ensure they’re able to provide good levels of service. We’ve also helped secure changes which help small businesses engage in the market more readily, and better regulate intermediaries like auto-switchers. 

Consumer and Public Services team

Working in the Consumer and Public Services team provides an exciting opportunity to work on the big issues facing people across the UK today.  In recent years, we’ve helped challenge the “loyalty penalty” paid by loyal and vulnerable customers in essential markets, reducing bills by £260m, lobbied for the introduction of a ban on letting fees, which has saved renters £13million a month, and used our unique data to secure additional support for people during the pandemic. ​​​​​​​

Current work includes influencing policy affecting non-UK nationals with No Recourse to Public Funds; looking at accelerating digitisation in markets to ensure new technologies and sophisticated product design are working for people, not against them; and understanding the impact of the pandemic on debt and household finances. 

The National Citizens Advice Operates from offices in England and Wales, with 4 regional offices based in Cardiff, London, Birmingham and Leeds, therefore all successful applicants must be based within England or Wales.

Please note, in the event of a high number of applications, we reserve the right to close the application early. 

Closing date: 27th September 2021

Owned by our employees and a foundation, Ecorys is a world-class research-based consultancy that helps our clients make a positive impact on society. From research and evaluation, through to project management and communications, we are leaders in providing the evidence and advice that our clients need to tackle the issues that affect communities around the world. Our 500 strong staff are justifiably proud of our innovative and thought-provoking contributions to policy and programme delivery

We aim to achieve our business objectives in an environmentally sustainable and socially responsible way, giving 1% of our profits to charity each year. Our working culture promotes personal and career development. Ecorys operates a hybrid working policy; flexible and part-time working is fully supported. We are an equal opportunities employer. We are welcoming and inclusive, and we want the diversity of our backgrounds and experiences to benefit our work and our team. We value our collaborative and entrepreneurial team culture. We have a great benefits package with 25 days holiday, company bonus scheme, wellbeing support and opportunities to get involved in team events and company away days.

About the role:

The Programme Management Unit (PMU) is a team of 70 based in our London and Birmingham offices.  Staff hold a breadth of skills in programme management, grant administration, assurance services and capacity building.  We have expertise managing grants to large national charities and public institutions through to small grassroots community groups and individuals, including activities and organisations representing high financial risk.  Together with colleagues in Policy and Research division, we maintain policy knowledge encompassing careers and employment, education and training, children and young, sports and health, and civil society.

Senior Programme Managers support the management, co-ordination and delivery of Ecorys’ grants and funding projects. Senior Programme Managers may be responsible for managing a whole project, or elements of larger projects.

Senior Programme Managers are responsible for ensuring that a high-quality service is provided to clients and customers, and that outputs are delivered to time, budget and agreed quality standards. They support and manage teams of people to ensure high quality delivery and compliance with client requirements. They often work alongside external partners/ specialists and associates, as well as managing internal Programme Management Unit staff and experts from other parts of the business such as systems developers and researchers.

Senior Programme Managers also play an important role in delivering Ecorys’ business development strategy, which may include contributing to proposals for new work. 

Occasional working outside normal office hours, travel within the UK, and occasional nights away from home may be required.

This is a 12 month fixed term contract role to be based in our Birmingham office.

This exciting new role is a unique opportunity to make your mark in research contributing to the prevention of child sexual abuse and exploitation.

The Lucy Faithfull Foundation is the only UK-wide child protection charity dedicated solely to preventing child sexual abuse.  It also runs the Stop It Now! UK and Ireland Helpline, the largest child sexual abuse prevention helpline in the world.  This post reflects our commitment to growing the evidence base about the protection of children from harm both in the UK and internationally.  The post will focus on research, publication, knowledge exchange and linkage of emerging evidence to ongoing service improvement and redesign.

You will have a high level of expertise in analysing data for impact evaluation within the human services or child protection field.  You will have a post graduate qualification relevant to our field of work and already published research that has influenced policy and / or practice.  You will be an energetic professional, proactive and outcome focused with exceptional communication and relationship skills and with a finger on the pulse of latest research relevant to our area of practice.  A great team player, you will strive for excellence in everything that you do.

You will undertake as well as co-ordinate all aspects of research and evaluation within the Foundation, including that undertaken in collaboration with other organisations and academics.  You will support colleagues in research activities; conduct and oversee literature reviews; lead on the design and development of data collection tools; engage with a range of beneficiaries including perpetrators of child sexual abuse as well as survivors of sexual harm; undertake qualitative and quantitative data collection, analysis and write up for publication in high quality journals; develop external networks to foster research collaborations; inform the development of research objectives/proposals and identify potential sources of funding.

The post is likely to be based at either our Bromsgrove, Epsom or Edinburgh office and is full time.  However we would welcome conversations from candidates who are looking for flexibility in working in relation to any aspects of the post.  We will also consider a secondment.

Owned by our employees and a foundation, Ecorys is a world-class research-based consultancy that helps our clients make a positive impact on society. From research and evaluation, through to project management and communications, we are leaders in providing the evidence and advice that our clients need to tackle the issues that affect communities around the world. Our 500 strong staff are justifiably proud of our innovative and thought-provoking contributions to policy and programme delivery.

We aim to achieve our business objectives in an environmentally sustainable and socially responsible way, giving 1% of our profits to charity each year. Our working culture promotes personal and career development. Ecorys operates a hybrid working policy; flexible and part-time working is fully supported. We are an equal opportunities employer. We are welcoming and inclusive, and we want the diversity of our backgrounds and experiences to benefit our work and our team. We value our collaborative and entrepreneurial team culture. We have a great benefits package with 25 days holiday, company bonus scheme, wellbeing support and opportunities to get involved in team events and company away days.

About the role:

The Programme Management Unit(PMU) is a team of 70 based in our London and Birmingham offices.  Staff hold a breadth of skills in programme management, grant administration, assurance services and capacity building.  We have expertise managing grants to large national charities and public institutions through to small grassroots community groups and individuals, including activities and organisations representing high financial risk.  Together with colleagues in Policy and Research division, we maintain policy knowledge encompassing careers and employment, education and training, children and young, sports and health, and civil society.

As a Senior Programme Manager (Business Development) within our Programme Management Unit (PMU), you will play an important role in securing , developing and delivering new grant management contracts for Ecorys on behalf of UK funders.  Senior Programme Managers take day-to-day responsibility for grant programmes or elements of programmes, including design and development of systems, processes and procedures during start-up, planning and co-ordination of inputs, and reporting on progress and risks.  They support and manage teams of people to ensure high quality delivery and compliance with client requirements. They often work alongside external partners/ specialists and associates, as well as staff and experts from other parts of the business.

This role will focus on development of our UK grant management services, bringing commercial and market awareness, contacts, and knowledge of trends in UK funding practices to help PMU to expand our portfolio of contracts. 

Occasional working outside normal office hours, travel within the UK, and occasional nights away from home may be required.

Our Programme Development team are looking for a dynamic leader with strategic focus and a great collaborative approach to become our new Senior Head of Change Delivery. (10 months maternity cover)

You will build and drive forward a transformation roadmap which aligns all of our programme design work and technology development, ensuring that it meets the organisation’s strategic aims for the support we give to young people within the fields of Education, Enterprise and Employability.

This role is perfect for you if you are experienced at driving change within complex organisations, adept at balancing multiple priorities and used to influencing stakeholders at all levels.

• 36 days holiday (inclusive of bank holidays)
• Option to buy an extra 5 days annual leave
• Up to 6% contributory pension
• Flexible working policy
• Genuine investment in your development
  
  

Associate Director

Alzheimer’s Society is here for anyone affected by dementia to help them navigate some of the hardest and most frightening times of their lives – to provide help and hope for those who need us.

We provide support, practical advice and ‘navigation’ to others that can help. Together with people affected by dementia, we are a force for change - using research and influencing to push for breakthroughs that will help people keep control of their lives.

Associate Director Responsibilities:

We are looking for an experienced Associate Director of People Services to take overall accountability for delivering excellent people partnering and operational services for all employees and volunteers.

You will direct your teams to deliver outstanding results, collaboratively and at pace, in: business partnering, advice and guidance, impact and insight, and projects and polices. You will be an inspirational leader that drives innovation through their team to enable growth and development in the business.

Above all, as a senior leader you will have corporate accountability for the operational, day-to-day success of the organisation and its continued growth, through innovation and collaboration at every level. You will be part of a senior leadership team role modelling our values and positive behaviours to embed inclusivity, learning and high-performance across the entire organisation.

Associate Director Requirements:

Reporting to the Director of People and Organisational Development, you’ll be responsible for leading the delivery of all people partnering services, ensuring excellent standards of service and advice. You’ll lead policy and project delivery, ensuring both functions deliver future-focused solutions and tangible business benefits. Plus, influence the design and delivery of people plans across the organisation: fundamental to the effective running of the business and how our people experience our organisation.

You’ll lead the teams to integrate equality, diversity and inclusion and good practice in wellbeing into everything we do, ensuring our people can feel part of the team and can operate at their best.

You'll be a first-class people manager able to inspire, coach and unite people towards a common goal. You’ll demonstrate compassion – operating with kindness and empathy and not shying away from tough conversations. You’ll be comfortable with working and leading through ambiguity. And demonstrate sound judgement in the evidence-led decisions you make for us.

If you're interested in being part of this exciting future, we want to hear from you. We are committed to equal opportunities and welcome applications for all people. If you are considering applying, and something is holding you back – just give us a call, we love to talk!

About Alzheimer’s Society:

Alzheimer’s Society is the UK’s leading dementia charity. We campaign for change, fund research to find a cure and support people living with dementia today.

Position: Associate Director of People: People Partnering and Operational Services
Location: Home Worker (England, Wales and NI)
Contract Type: Permanent
Hours: Full Time, 35 hours per week
Salary: £80,000 actual per annum

Closing Date: 24 September 2021
Interview Date: 7 October 2021

You may have experience of the following: Operations Director, Business Manager, Department Manager, Operations Manager, Regional Director, Sales Director, Static Manager, Unit Manager, Director of Operations, Ops Manager etc.

Ref: 102 757

Tutor
Full Time (37.5 hours/week) or part-time
1x permanent vacancy, 1x 12-month FTC
London, Birmingham, Manchester
£36,000 per annum (plus £3,000 London Weighting if applicable)

Who we are looking for

We are looking for motivated and talented professionals to join our Teaching Programmes team as Tutors.
We currently have a permanent vacancy and one for a 12-month fixed term contract. We anticipate that additional roles may become available as part of this process as our team continues to grow. The roles can be full-time or part-time (the advertised salary will be pro-rated accordingly).

The role is responsible for the delivery of high-quality training sessions to groups of teachers.

Tutors are also responsible for developing excellent coaching practice with a portfolio of schools through effective face-to-face training, the modelling of expert coaching with teacher educators and effective feedback to teacher educators employing the model. This is a fantastic opportunity to work with educators at different points in their careers, supporting them to be as effective as possible in providing a high-quality education for their pupils.

This exciting role is varied and requires individuals who hold Qualified Teaching Status (QTS). It is essential that you have a track record of excellent teaching and delivering exceptional outcomes for pupils living in social deprivation and those with low prior attainment. You must have experience of curriculum/assessment design and be able to analyse teaching skills/lesson moments.

Applications will be considered for all office locations. 

For more details, please refer to the detailed Job Description and Person Specification in the Job Pack, available in the Downloads section on our company vacancy page for this role. 

Who are Ambition Institute? 

At Ambition Institute we help schools tackling educational disadvantage to keep getting better, and help their teachers and school leaders to become more expert over time. That’s how we’ll make sure every child gets a great education and the best possible start in life.

• We train teachers and leaders at all levels to get better at the things that make the biggest difference: what you teach, how you teach it, and how you create the conditions for schools to thrive.
• We share what works. Everyone can benefit from evidence of how great teaching and leadership can improve schools and change lives, so we connect people to the latest research and best practice.
• We champion every teacher and school leader’s potential to develop, as the driving force for sustainable school improvement. 

Our offer 

We are happy to announce that we will be able to offer you: 

• Agile working culture, so you can control how you work.
• Staff affinity networks that help keep equality, diversity and inclusion at the heart of our work.
• Enhanced maternity pay after a year’s service.
• Shared parental leave package.
• Access to free, confidential 24/7 wellbeing and support line. 
• Professional development offer for all staff.
• 25 days’ annual leave + bank holidays. 
• Employer pension contribution of 11% (10% pension plus 1% national insurance rebate).
• Interest free season ticket / bike loans. 

How to apply 

All applications must be received by the closing date, 9am on 30th September.First stage interviews are expected to take place on 6th and 7th October 2021 and second stage interviews on 13th and 14th October 2021.

To apply for this role, or any of our other vacancies or for any questions or queries please visit our website. 

Equality and diversity matter to us. If you think you’d be suited to one of our roles we’d love to hear from you regardless of age, disability status, ethnicity, gender, religion or sexuality. 

Bid Director
Full Time, 37.5 hours per week
London, Birmingham, Manchester
£70,000 per annum (plus £3,000 London Weighting if applicable)
 

Who we are looking for

This is an exciting time to join Ambition Institute. We are looking for a motivated and talented Bid Director who can make this newly created role their own, building a specialised unit and building on our organisational approach to bid development. 

The role is responsible for the senior leadership of our work to secure contracts that fund our programmes and other mission critical activities. To be successful in this role you will need to lead the organisational effort to create exceptional submissions, drawing on relevant expertise in departments and utilising the bid process to build knowledge and secure buy-in for the new work

The successful candidate will play a key part in identifying opportunities nationally and internationally that help us deliver our organisational medium and long-term strategy. The Bid Director will secure and sustain strong partnerships as part of our bid work, to make sure partners are committed to the success of the new opportunity and have the opportunity to shape our proposals.

In this role you will draw on technical input from across the organisation, ensuring high quality tender submissions, senior copy-editing bid responses, and implementing the bid process. The successful candidate will also oversee the transition from bidding to mobilising contracts, securing knowledge and buy-in during the bid process and building robust handover plans.

The Bid Director will report our Executive Director, Strategy and Impact, and will be responsible for building up a small dedicated bid team.  The role will need to develop a talented and committed team with knowledge and skills to develop exceptional submissions that further our charitable objectives in a sustainable manner.

Applications will be considered for all office locations. 

For more details, please refer to the detailed Job Description and Person Specification in the Job Pack, available in the Downloads section on our company vacancy page for this role.
 

Who are Ambition Institute? 

At Ambition Institute we help schools tackling educational disadvantage to keep getting better, and help their teachers and school leaders to become more expert over time. That’s how we’ll make sure every child gets a great education and the best possible start in life.

• We train teachers and leaders at all levels to get better at the things that make the biggest difference: what you teach, how you teach it, and how you create the conditions for schools to thrive.
• We share what works. Everyone can benefit from evidence of how great teaching and leadership can improve schools and change lives, so we connect people to the latest research and best practice.
• We champion every teacher and school leader’s potential to develop, as the driving force for sustainable school improvement. 
   

Our offer 

We are happy to announce that we will be able to offer you: 

• Agile working culture, so you can control how you work.
• Staff affinity networks that help keep equality, diversity and inclusion at the heart of our work.
• Enhanced maternity pay after a year’s service.
• Shared parental leave package.
• Access to free, confidential 24/7 wellbeing and support line. 
• Professional development offer for all staff.
• 25 days’ annual leave + bank holidays. 
• Employer pension contribution of 11% (10% pension plus 1% national insurance rebate).
• Interest free season ticket / bike loans. 
   

How to apply 

All applications must be received by the closing date, 11am on 1st October 2021.
Interviews are expected to take place between 6th-9th October 2021.

To apply for this role, or any of our other vacancies or for any questions or queries please visit our website. 

Equality and diversity matter to us. If you think you’d be suited to one of our roles we’d love to hear from you regardless of age, disability status, ethnicity, gender, religion or sexuality. 

Programme Office and Governance Manager

Full Time 37.5 hours per week 

Birmingham, London or Manchester

£28,000 per annum (plus £3,000 London Weighting if applicable) 

Who we are looking for 

We are looking for a motivated and talented professional to join our Programmes Division as Programme Office and Governance Manager. The role is key in facilitating the mobilization and delivery of all our programmes across our varied programme suite.

This role is also responsible for providing programme office support to the Programme Executive Director, and organising, shaping and leading all departmental governance to enable the Programme Division to meet its strategic and operational objectives. This is a fantastic opportunity to lead all aspects of departmental governance and to work closely with senior stakeholders.

Based in either our Birmingham, London or Manchester office, and reporting to the Programmes Project Lead, you’ll work with the wider project management team. You’ll also work closely with senior leaders to set agendas, prepare papers, and ensure actions are followed up and decisions are recorded. You’ll provide high-quality and consistent programme office support to the Programmes Executive Director, including diary management, meeting coordination, and project management.

This exciting role is varied and complex, and will require someone with experience of managing complex projects with multiple stakeholders and workstreams. It is essential that you have excellent organisational skills and attention to detail and be able to work autonomously to manage a complex workload. You must be proactive about improving processes and solutions-focused when encountering challenges.

Who are Ambition Institute? 

At Ambition Institute we help schools tackling educational disadvantage to keep getting better, and help their teachers and school leaders to become more expert over time. That’s how we’ll make sure every child gets a great education and the best possible start in life.

• We train teachers and leaders at all levels to get better at the things that make the biggest difference: what you teach, how you teach it, and how you create the conditions for schools to thrive.
• We share what works. Everyone can benefit from evidence of how great teaching and leadership can improve schools and change lives, so we connect people to the latest research and best practice.
• We champion every teacher and school leader’s potential to develop, as the driving force for sustainable school improvement. 

Our offer 

We are happy to announce that we will be able to offer you:

• Agile working culture, so you can control how you work.
• Staff affinity networks that help keep equality, diversity and inclusion at the heart of our work.
• Enhanced maternity pay after a year’s service.
• Shared parental leave package.
• Access to free, confidential 24/7 wellbeing and support line.
• Professional development offer for all staff.
• 25 days’ annual leave + bank holidays.
• Employer pension contribution of 11% (10% pension plus 1% national insurance rebate).
• Interest free season ticket / bike loans

How to apply 

All applications must be received by the closing date, 9am on 27th September 2021. First stage interviews are expected to take place 1st October 2021 and second stage interviews week commencing 4th October 2021.

To apply for this role, or any of our other vacancies or for any questions or queries please visit our website. 

Equality and diversity matter to us. If you think you’d be suited to one of our roles we’d love to hear from you regardless of age, disability status, ethnicity, gender, religion or sexuality. 

Salary - £49,700 - £56,524 + up to £5,000 accountancy allowance

The Government Property Agency’s mission is to provide great places to work for civil servants. We are using our scale and commercial expertise to do this effectively, efficiently and sustainably, helping to support growth in all parts of the UK. We are growing rapidly through acquisition of Government properties from Departments. Turnover has risen from £0.4bn in 20/21 to £1.1bn in 21/22 and it will continue to grow as more properties are transferred and run by GPA. The postholder can be based at any of the GPA locations with Finance presence outside London. GPA has offices in Birmingham, Platform 21, Leeds, The Lateral; Manchester, Piccadilly Gate; Nottingham, Apex Court. Some business travel may be needed in due course when travel restrictions allow. 

The Finance Business Partner for Property is responsible for providing expert strategic advice and guidance to the Property Team and supporting the Head of Finance (Property)

The role will require the individual to be the interface between the business and the finance team. The post holder will contribute to GPA developing a culture of strong financial management.

The responsibilities of the Finance Business Partner will include

• Play an active role as a member of the Business Partnering and wider Finance team, contributing expertise in the development of strategies, proposals and work implementations
• Leadership and line management of Property Management Accountant(s)
• Good knowledge and experience of finance business partnering in a complex environment
• Play a pivotal role in developing financial forecasts and refining processes
• Ability and gravitas to support and challenge the senior property management team
• Support the management of the Directorates in year budget, ensuring expenditure is with approved delegated limits, following GPA control processes, and in line with HMT’s Managing Public Money and Consolidated Budgeting Guidance
• Identifying and reporting on financial risks and opportunities
• Management of future year financial planning for the Property Directorate, working with central finance
• Drive continuous process efficiencies and improvements across the function, delivering maximum value for the GPA and ensuring robust controls are in place
• Seek out opportunities to lead/contribute to cross-government and cross-finance initiatives outside of own role
• Build relationships with key staff across Finance and the business in order to maintain effectiveness and relevance during change

The post holder may be required to undertake additional responsibilities as expected in relation to the role and grade.

Key Skills & Experience

• Recognised professional accounting qualification e.g., CCAB/CIMA accountancy qualification.
• Previous experience in Property/Facilities Finance would be an advantage
  • Excellent financial modelling skills
  • Knowledge of public sector accounting (desirable)

• A commercially astute finance professional - capable of supporting supplier negotiations
• A strategic mindset - able to envisage future possibilities
• Leadership skills to lead a team of mixed experience and varying locations to deliver essential support
• Excellent communication, networking and negotiation skills
• Experience of working in a fast paced environment, planning, collaborating and delivering through others

To apply for this opportunity, you will be required to produce a supporting statement against the four GPA core values, answering specific role focussed questions. For more information, please apply using the link, or contact Michael Swinburn or Jack White at our retained search agent, Robertson Bell.

We are excited to be recruiting a Product Manager to join our technology team.  This new role will help us to achieve a best-in-class digital experience for our students, colleagues, and partners, as we begin delivering our new five-year strategy that includes ambitious plans for digital transformation. It’s an exciting time to be joining us!

The successful applicant will oversee the development of our new platform for pupils, tutors, and teachers. The role will require excellent relationship management skills working to balance the prioritisation of both internal and external needs. You will support the Tech & Product Director to ensure the vision of a fully inclusive user experience for pupils is achieved, working in an agile way to gather regular user feedback.

This role may appeal to someone who has experience delivering products as part of an IT team, or has demonstrable experience delivering projects in the education sector with significant technology components. We’re looking for a self-motivated, empathetic, focused individual that is happy working with cross-functional teams and knows how to get things done! We think this is a great opportunity to join The Brilliant Club at an exciting time when technology is a key part of charity’s strategy.

The Brilliant Club exists to increase the number of pupils from underrepresented backgrounds progressing to highly selective universities. We think it is important that our charity reflects the lived experience of our beneficiaries, and we want to be an organisation where employees from any background can thrive. We particularly welcome applications from disabled, Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME), Lesbian, Gay, Bi, Trans including non-binary (LGBTQ+) candidates, and candidates from low income families. These groups are currently underrepresented at The Brilliant Club and we are committed to increasing representation and diversity at the charity.

Person Specification

Time and Resource Management

• Develops and delivers on plans, using appropriate product/project management tools
• Can manage organisational projects, with appropriate levels of time and resource input

External Stakeholder Knowledge and Management

• Triages relationships so that those that need it get most attention
• Manage external supplier relationships to ensure the charity receives value for money

Communication

• Listens to others and ask clarifying questions to understand the needs of users
• Confidently adapts content, tone and delivery of written and oral communications to the needs of the audience and is aware of their impact

Initiative and Problem Solving

• Identifies problems, suggests possible solutions and effectively implements agreed solutions.  

Role Specific Knowledge and Skills

• Essential – Comfortable liaising with senior stakeholders and managing competing priorities.
• Essential – Can confidently oversee multiple projects simultaneously.
• Essential – Confident gathering and challenging requirements.
• Essential – Able to work with new technologies and adapt to new approaches.
• Essential – Strong collaboration and communication skills.
• Desirable – Familiarity with Agile delivery methods e.g. Kanban/Scrum.
• Desirable – Working with users of digital products and gathering feedback.

Role specific Experience and Qualifications

• Essential – IT product/project management experience – directly, or indirectly where technology component is significant part of a wider project or programme.
• Desirable – Knowledge of Salesforce CRM.
• Desirable – Agile project management experience/qualification.

Do you want to make a difference to young adults with experience of care currently serving prison sentences? Innovation Unit is recruiting a Project Coordinator to join our team at the very start of an exciting project to pilot new ways of working with this group.

As Project Coordinator, you will be responsible for the day to day administration of the project and will therefore need to be extremely organised and able to use a range of project management tools to juggle several strands of the work at the same time. You will also be experienced in data collection, collation and analysis to help understand the impact of the project. The role will suit you if you are comfortable with the ambiguity of piloting new and innovative approaches to existing challenges. 

The job will be varied and interesting, and you will be receptive to working from a desk in a West Midlands prison, spending time at our London office, working from home or hot-desking at one of our partner’s offices in Birmingham, Wolverhampton or Coventry. You will be equally comfortable going in and out of prisons as you will be collecting and inputting data or liaising with senior decision-makers. 

About the project:
Since 2019, Innovation Unit has been working with a wide range of partners in the West Midlands to develop approaches to improving outcomes for young adults who have experience of care and are now serving prison sentences. This group of young adults are vastly overrepresented in the criminal justice system and the support that is available to them is often fragmented. 

In Phase One of the project, IU led a scoping exercise to generate insights into the challenges these young adults face in prison and on release. In Phase Two, we facilitated a series of workshops with partners, resulting in the development of new solutions to prepare and support the young adults on release from prison and reduce their risk of reoffending. 

We are now in a position to pilot these solutions in the West Midlands, having secured funding from Esmee Fairbairn Foundation, Barrow Cadbury Trust and the Ministry of Justice.

What will I be doing? 

Among other things, this role will include:

• Project Coordination, including supporting project delivery and reporting

• Leading on collecting, collating and analysis of outcome measurement data

• Developing a wide range of communication materials

• Undertaking research relating to project themes

• Supporting the project team to engage future adopters of the model

What skills are you looking for? 

• Experience working in a criminal justice setting or in a setting, which is primarily focussed on children and young people; e.g. children’s social care, youth work.

• Experience in coordinating projects, including risk management, reporting and use of project management tools to plan and track project delivery.

• Experience collecting monitoring and impact data, including developing systems for collating and analysis of this information to create insights.

• Understanding of the key issues impacting on young adults with experience of care that are serving prison sentences

• Strong IT skills, including knowledge of Google Suite and Zoom. 

• Strong organisational skills, including notetaking and diary coordination. 

• Ability to produce attractive and professional looking outputs. 

• Concern for contemporary social issues and an understanding of Innovation Unit’s mission. 

More about Innovation Unit

Innovation Unit is a not for profit, social enterprise - this means that above all else, we are an organisation that is deeply committed to making a positive, social impact in the world.

Our mission is to grow and scale the boldest and best innovations that deliver long term impact for people, address persistent inequalities and transform the systems around them. 

We have fifteen years experience of doing this work with ambitious partners in local and central government, schools and hospitals, voluntary and community sector organisations, trusts and foundations.

We are proud of the impact of our projects; in recent years Living Well UK, funded by the National Lottery Community Fund, has supported four areas of the UK to pioneer new solutions for community-based mental health and wellbeing that are now spreading nationally; in children’s social care, we have been the innovation partner for the Department for Education, since 2014, in their children’s social care innovation programme that has engaged every local authority in England in developing new solutions for children in or on the edge of care.

Our team come from a wide variety of professional backgrounds and life experiences - researchers, service designers and programme managers work alongside ex-nurses, occupational therapists, social workers, and public service leaders to design new solutions and take them to scale.

People who work at Innovation Unit share a core set of beliefs about enabling change that is owned and driven by the people it affects. We all work with the tools and methods from our tried and tested formula for innovation and impact. If what you see speaks to your values and experiences, we want to hear from you.

This post will play a key role in assisting the Director of Fundraising in developing and delivering the strategy in this area. The goal and ambition is to increase income from: Grant Giving Bodies (GGB - i.e. Statutory, Lottery, European, trusts and foundations); and individual giving (i.e. regular donations, legacies, one off donations, In Memoriam), on a regional and national basis.

With a passion and creativity for writing successful applications, you will be responsible for: research to ensure a regular and reliable pipeline of new prospects; developing grant proposals; and also leveraging existing relationships. You will also be responsible for reporting on all grants, including the management of data required for monitoring and evaluation.

You will work with the Director of Fundraising and support the development of individual giving income streams including legacies, regular donations, raffle, In Memoriam, one off donations and a related stewardship programme.