Services support officer jobs

About Demos

Demos is a highly respected cross-party think tank with a unique approach to making policy to solve our long term problems. Building on nearly 30 years of creativity, ideas and impact, Demos’s mission is to upgrade democracy: rebuilding the relationship between citizen and state. Our work explores the elements of a ‘New Deal’, in which power is devolved, citizens participate in policy making, and together as a nation we find answers to the challenges of our century.

About Waves

Demos is leading the largest trial of digital democracy in Britain. 

Trust in politics and politicians is in crisis. Only 24% of people trust politicians to make decisions in the best interests of the country. Polarisation is increasing. At the same time, people want to be involved in the public policy decisions that affect them. 

Waves is a €1 million project trialling new technology in local democracy, launched to bring people together to tackle contentious local issues and strengthen trust in local government. Thousands of local people will have the opportunity to shape local government policy on an issue affecting their area.

New AI-powered technology is intended to make it easier, cheaper and quicker for participants to have their say, identify areas of consensus, discuss difficult issues and work through trade-offs together. 

We are working in partnership with two trailblazing councils who are both embracing the opportunity to put the public at the heart of their policy making. The trial will begin in the London Borough of Camden to co-develop an approach to adult social care. The trial will then move on to South Staffordshire District Council as they develop an inclusive engagement process to prepare for their next local plan. The partners will also support a further 25 councils to observe and learn from the process so that they too can use the tools in the future.

About the role 

We are looking for an experienced programme manager who can steer Waves from now until it completes in December 2026. 

You would be joining the programme at a pivotal time as we move from the ‘set-up’ and ‘co-design’ phases of the first 6-months, to the start of the first of our two trials running sequentially over the next 11 months, before moving to a final ‘impact phase’ of dissemination of our toolkits, technology and learning in the final 6 months.

Programme management of Waves means ensuring that the whole project stays on track – on time and on budget – throughout its delivery. There are 5 partners, a number of suppliers and many moving parts, so it is critical that we find someone who can work across the whole programme, anticipating who needs to do what and by when, and ensuring that the programme is delivered successfully so we can draw learnings from it to share widely across the local government, democracy, and tech sectors. 

It is worth bearing in mind that Waves is a ‘test and learn’ trial of a new deliberative democratic process using existing and new technology. Therefore, the team is committed to learning from the project and being comfortable with the uncertainty of not knowing exactly what the outcomes are going to be. 

What you'll need to be sucessful

The types of knowledge, skills and experience we are looking for are below. We welcome a range of applications which include at least some of these attributes.

• Demonstrable experience managing an equivalent programme in terms of complexity, scale and partners with a solid understanding of project management methods.
• Understanding and commitment to the mission of the programme – motivated to tackle issues of low trust in democracy among UK citizens with digital democratic platforms and deliberative processes a crucial part of the solution.
• Team management, interpersonal and communication skills – ability to lead and motivate a team with diverse skills and priorities to deliver a programme of great complexity and uncertainty, including fostering collaboration and trust, managing conflicts, maintaining transparency and empowering different partners to perform effectively.
• Strong strategic thinking and decision-making skills – the ability to align activities with overall programme objectives, making informed decisions based on programme lead and partner inputs and, where possible, data and analysis, and drive the programme towards successful outcomes. 
• Ability to identify potential risks, develop mitigation strategies and manage issues that may arise during the programme lifecycle – ideally in an innovation context, one working with diverse partners with different ways of working or when using technology/ conducting trials with the public.
• An interest in, and comfort working with, innovative technologies that utilise AI and collect data, as well as an understanding of the risks and sensitivities surrounding the use of AI, among the public and within the public sector.
• Experience of owning and managing a large-scale budget, conducting calculations when there are changes from the plan, and maintaining clear and robust tracking of expenditure to ensure financial accountability.
• Demonstrable ability to adapt to changing circumstances, solve problems creatively and maintain momentum and energy during challenging situations.
• Highly collaborative, with a commitment to teamwork and inclusivity.

Application and selection process

To apply, please provide the following through our application form:

• an anonymised CV (with any references to your name and personal details removed)
• answers to four screening questions (up to 250 words each) 
• a completed copy of our diversity monitoring form (optional)

All applications will be evaluated and graded anonymously to minimise bias in our screening process.

Questions?

If you have any further questions or aren’t sure if the role is right for you, please feel free to reach out to us and we would be happy to answer any queries. 

We look forward to hearing from you!

Location: Remote UK

Closing Date: November 13th, 2025 (12PM GMT)

Work summary

• Full time - 5 days per week

• The candidate must understand and have familiarity with US 501(c)3 finances and reporting requirements.

About The Role

Climate Catalyst  is dedicated to galvanising the collective power of business, investors and civil society to influence and accelerate policy change in Asia and Europe. Our vision is a just, prosperous world in which global warming is limited to 1.5C. We are looking for a Finance & Operations Manager, to join our People + Operations team. This role is a full time position and reports to the Director of People + Operations. 

This is a mission critical role that helps us build seamless, smart, and compliant operations for our organisation. The overall remit of this role is to:

1. Support on key aspects of financial management across budget development and forecasting, monthly reporting, and managing our external finance partners.

2. Managing domestic and international payroll via our employment partners, and managing vendors and contracting. 

3. Support on general operations across systems and software administration, and compliance practices.

Financial Management + Forecasting

• Support work on annual and multi-year budget forecasts, based on programming needs and organizational trajectory 

• Develop and maintain budget forecasting tools for departments to manage their annual budgets, to help inform strategic decision-making

• Manage organization’s cash flow to ensure financial stability across restricted and unrestricted funding

• Allocate staff, program, and operational costs to appropriate grants and work with finance partners to create budget systems to assign and track that spend

• Oversee work of our external bookkeeping and accounting partner–Jitasa–and serve as their main point person

• Develop cost types and appropriate coding for all expenses, and manage correct use of them

• Ensure all expense policies and internal controls are in line with best practices, up to date, clear and accessible to staff, and consistently referenced

Payroll + Vendor Payment

• Oversee and execute payroll cycles for all employees and contractors, through our domestic and international PEO, and vendor management platform

• Oversee  relevant local and state taxes and reporting, in line with US PEO requirements

• Responsible for payroll administration such as new hire documentation and processing standard payroll on a monthly basis and any payroll changes

• Manage contracting process, liaising with outside legal counsel when required

• Get vendors, contractors and new contracts set up in our contract management system

• Run due diligence processes in accordance with our due diligence policy

• Ensure and execute reimbursements for all employees in line with expense policies

• Prepare and issue any relevant tax documents for vendors and contractors

Funder Engagement + Reporting

• Work with the fundraising team to develop programme budgets for proposals 

• Manage financial reporting requirements during and at the end of each grant cycle

• Review draft donor agreements prior to legal, and set up grants in Climate Catalyst systems to allocate staff time and expenses accordingly

Annual Reporting + Compliance

• Support the Board Treasurer, CEO, and Jitasa in coordination of annual reporting to relevant authorities 

• Support annual audit preparation by serving as the internal coordinator for all requirements and documents as requested by auditors

Business Operations + Additional Support

• Manage all software and team systems, including access, permissions, and renewals

• Ensure all systems and data are managed in compliance with GDPR and other data protection legislation

• Ensure team data protection policies are up to date, relevant and adhered to

• Serve as the main point of contact to Climate Catalyst’s insurance broker and manage insurance policies – ensuring all policies are clearly accessible and paid in a timely fashion.

• Fill out and maintain all relevant lobbying documentation for the US, Europe, and any other relevant jurisdictions

• Ensure that all policies, trademarking, and terms of service are up to date on our website

• Support in material development for Board budget presentations

• Manage existing technology and equipment inventory and procure new equipment for all new hires and support in onboarding and offboarding as required

• Identify and implement systems and process improvements to enhance operational efficiency

What You Would Bring

• Strong budgeting, expense management, forecasting and financial planning & reporting skills 

• Experience in vendor and contract management as well as efficiency improvements 

• An understanding of compliance and regulatory requirements including but not limited to tax regulations and contract and legal risk management 

• Proficiency in managing financial and operational software

How You Work

• Ability to manage work streams independently

• Cross-functional collaboration across various departments 

• Clear and precise communication 

• Ability to navigate organizational change 

• Eager to collaborate and solve challenges

• Team player and true champion of your colleagues

Applications

To apply, please upload a brief cover letter outlining interest in the role and your CV to this application page. The deadline for applications is November 13th, 2025. We are keen to fill this position soon and will start reviewing applications on a rolling basis and may begin interviewing before the application deadline. If this role excites you, we encourage you to apply as soon as possible.

We value authenticity! Please prepare your application and interview responses yourself, without using AI tools.

Compensation + Benefits

The starting salary for this role is £53,900.

Benefits include: health insurance, stipends for wellness and phone/Wi-Fi, professional development fund, co-working space coverage, generous pension contribution and more. For more information about working with us at Climate Catalyst, visit our website.

Diversity at Climate Catalyst

Climate Catalyst aims to design inclusive strategies to meet our objectives. We recognise that the only way to deliver on that is to build a diverse team made up of people with varying backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives. We encourage people from historically marginalised and currently under-represented groups in the climate movement, to apply to work with us.

Equal Employment Opportunities

Climate Catalyst is an equal opportunity employer and complies with all applicable employment opportunity laws prohibiting discrimination against all qualified applicants and employees based on race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, national origin, citizenship status, disability, genetic information, veterans' status, or any other basis protected by applicable law.