Special events officer jobs in Cardiff

This role is remote however we require someone to be based in or a short commutable distance to cover the region.

Mary’s Meals is a global movement supported by people from all walks of life and we are focused on one goal – that every child receives a nutritious daily meal in a place of education. We offer more than just a career, we offer the opportunity to support our global movement in a dynamic and inclusive environment with a real focus on personal development.

We are looking for an enthusiastic Regional Development Officer for North East Scotland. A recent reshaping of our Regional teams means this role will sit under our newly appointed Head of Scotland and be part of an exciting new chapter in Mary's Meal UK's fundraising vision.

You will be a warm, visible ambassador for Mary’s Meals – igniting enthusiasm, inspiring action, and helping people across your region join our mission and help feed more children. By building genuine, values‑driven relationships and using insight to guide your priorities, you’ll nurture local networks, identify high‑potential opportunities, and confidently grow income, participation, and supporter engagement. Through strategic, outward‑facing work, you’ll turn first conversations into committed, long‑term support that strengthens our movement and fuels our mission.​

Working closely with the Head of Scotland, you will co-create and deliver a tailored local growth plan that reflects your region's communities and opportunities. You will represent Mary’s Meals across schools, churches, corporates and community partners and play a pivotal role in activating supporters, mobilising volunteers, and sharing compelling local stories.​

Operating with high autonomy, you will use insights and data to focus on high potential and growth areas, and collaborate closely with our Philanthropy & Partnerships, Supporter Experience and Communications teams to deliver seamless supporter journeys and strong storytelling. Everything you do will reflect Mary’s Meals’ warmth and dignity, helping us reach more children through relationship-led growth.

Key responsibilities include

• Work with the Head of Scotland to design and deliver a clear, insight‑driven local growth plan with defined priorities, income drivers, volunteer mobilisation efforts, and visibility activities.​

• Use data, local insight, and (Region-specific) understanding to focus your time where growth potential is strongest.​

• Balance relationship‑building with a proactive, opportunity-led approach, identifying new supporters, networks, and partnerships and developing them from prospective supporters into committed donors.

• To create the conditions for a volunteer Deputy and a motivated volunteer network to confidently lead talks, events, introductions and other activities that broaden our reach​

• Empower volunteers through clear delegation, coaching, and recognition, ensuring they feel confident and aligned with Mary’s Meals’ mission and values.​​

• Inspire and back volunteers to own the mission. Spot people with energy and networks, invite their ideas, give light-touch support and tools, and celebrate their impact so they bring others into our movement.

• Represent Mary’s Meals throughout your region with confidence and authenticity, engaging schools, parishes, community groups, businesses, and local networks.​

• Deliver talks, small events, parish visits, school assemblies, partner meetings, local networking engagements, and other targeted activities that grow income, participation, and visibility.​​

• Make confident, values-led asks that move supporters from interest to action across giving, volunteering, and awareness raising.​

• Actively network across your region to identify new prospects, initiate first meetings, and follow up quickly and purposefully.​​

• Collaborate closely with the Philanthropy & Partnerships team on key opportunities and ensuring the donor is at the heart of each stewardship decision.​​

• Build a diverse pipeline of leads, opportunities, and partnerships reflective of your regions communities and faith landscape.

• Work closely across the organisation to ensure your regional activity feels seamless and aligned, collaborating with Supporter Experience so that journeys, thanking and stewardship feel warm and timely; with Creative Communications to deliver compelling local storytelling; with Philanthropy & Partnerships to coordinate opportunities for major donors and corporates; and with the Volunteer Manager to strengthen mobilisation and development across your region.

To apply for the role of Regional Development Officer (0.6 FTE) based at Mary’s Meals UK, please follow instructions on the Charity Job website.

Applicants must hold full right to work in the UK and be based in the North East of Scotland.​

We welcome applications from candidates of all different backgrounds and identities to apply. We are committed to building an inclusive and diverse charity providing a supportive place for you to do the best and most rewarding work of your career.

Closing date for applications is Wednesday, 25 March 2026.

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible. 

Interviews will commence week of 30 March. If you have any special requirements or adjustments before an interview, please let us know. 

Location:  Flexible: remote, hybrid or office-based (Horsforth, Leeds) 

At the Bone Cancer Research Trust, we exist because families refused to accept a world where primary bone cancer had no hope, no answers and almost no research. Today, we’re the UK’s leading bone cancer charity and every supporter you engage helps push vital research forward and provides comfort to families who need us. 

About the role 

As Relationship Manager, you’ll build genuine, lasting connections with our Special Funds - our named funds created in honour or memory of someone affected by primary bone cancer, community supporters and local businesses. Your relationship-led approach will help create the family feel connections we’re known for, inspiring long-term support and raising vital income for people affected by primary bone cancer 

You will: 

• Grow and manage Special Funds, our named funds created in honour or memory of someone affected by primary bone cancer. 

• Build strong, meaningful relationships with all our supporters, ensuring every person feels valued and connected. 

• Secure and steward regional corporate partnerships 

• Meet a regional income target of approx. £300,000 

• Represent BCRT in your region, strengthening awareness and community connections at meetings and events. 

About you: 

• A natural relationship builder with 3+ years’ fundraising experience and a genuine passion for supporter care. 

• Compassionate and professional, especially when working with families personally affected by primary bone cancer. 

• Organised, proactive and confident working independently, able to balance a varied workload. 

• A clear and engaging communicator, bringing warmth and positivity to every interaction. 

• Able to travel across the region (car required). 

Why you’ll love working with us 

You’ll join a small team that works collaboratively and keeps our community at the centre of everything we do. We’re supportive, friendly and you’ll have the flexibility to manage your work while seeing the direct impact of the relationships you build. 

What we offer 

• Flexible approach to working hours

• 30 days annual leave per calendar year (Pro-rata for part time staff) plus bank holidays 

• Private Health Insurance (following successful probation) 

• 6% employer pension contributions

• Life Assurance of 4x annual salary

Mary’s Meals is a global movement supported by people from all walks of life and we are focused on one goal – that every child receives a nutritious daily meal in a place of education. We offer more than just a career, we offer the opportunity to support our global movement in a dynamic and inclusive environment with a real focus on personal development.

We are delighted to be recruiting for Head of Northern Ireland to be the senior ambassador and strategic leader for Mary’s Meals across Northern Ireland. This role is remote however we require candidates to be based in Northern Ireland.

While playing a key role within the wider Development Directorate, you will guide how Mary’s Meals is seen, understood, and felt in Northern Ireland – shaping our public profile, driving sustained income growth, and building the partnerships and grassroots energy needed to grow our movement.

Key responsibilities include:

• Working cross-directorate to create and deliver a fundraising growth strategy for Northern Ireland, rooted in regional insight, cultural understanding, and community needs, and aligned with the global and national strategy.​

• Working with the Communications team, shape a clear and compelling narrative, respecting the nation’s strong identity.​

• Identify emerging opportunities across Northern Ireland, including diocesan networks, local relationships, and regional giving patterns, adjusting plans quickly to drive maximum impact.​

• Serve as the senior MMUK representative in Northern Ireland, ensuring activity aligns with the national organisational strategy.​

• Act as the leading spokesperson for Mary’s Meals in Northern Ireland, representing the charity to churches, schools, local authorities, individuals, universities, and community or business networks.​

• Spend focused time externally; networking, nurturing partnerships and driving growth through representing the charity at events, meetings, faith gatherings, conferences, and civic forums.

• Proactively cultivate, pursue, and develop fundraising opportunities via networking and outreach with the aim of securing support for our school feeding programme.​

• Develop and maintain a robust national growth pipeline, ensuring proactive identification, cultivation, conversion, and stewardship of opportunities.​

• Significant focus on the growth and development of new Volunteer Fundraising Groups in counties across Northern Ireland.

• Line manage and coach a Regional Development Officer, enabling them to become a confident, high‑performing fundraiser.

• Serve as a trusted media spokesperson for press, broadcast, and faith media when required.​

• Work closely with the Communications team to provide compelling local supporter stories, impactful moments, and local activity to showcase.​

• Shape national to local messaging so that campaigns resonate with audiences across Northern Ireland.

To apply for the role of Head of Northern Ireland based at Mary’s Meals UK, please follow instructions on Charity Job.

Applicants must hold full right to work in the UK.​

We welcome applications from candidates of all different backgrounds and identities to apply. We are committed to building an inclusive and diverse charity providing a supportive place for you to do the best and most rewarding work of your career.

Closing date for applications is Tuesday, 24 March 2026.

Interviews will commence week commencing 30th March 2026. We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible.

Citizens UK 

Citizens UK is the UK’s biggest, most diverse and most effective people-powered alliance. We bring communities and local organisations together to work on issues that matter; from campaigning for zebra crossings on dangerous roads, to reforming the immigration system, to the Living Wage campaign. We have a track record of winning change through hundreds of local and national campaigns. We know everyday people have the ability to shape the world around them. We believe that through developing local leaders, we can drive nationwide change and create community-led solutions to big and small problems.

Project Information 

Butetown and Grangetown Neighbourhood Fund project, funded by the Youth Endowment Fund. More details here: Neighbourhood Fund | Youth Endowment Fund 

Citizens Cymru Wales has developed an innovative approach to reducing youth violence with community organising at its heart, working across four unique assumptions:  

• ‘It takes a village to raise a child’  

• ‘Anger without power leads to rage’  

• ‘Recognising the need to address Adverse Community Experiences’  

• ‘If you are not at the table, you’re on the menu’  

In 2021 it developed a community led action plan to address youth violence in the neighbourhoods of Butetown and Grangetown. This work then secured £1m funding from the Youth Endowment Fund (YEF) to demonstrate how community organising can improve the lives of children and young people. Across Grangetown and Butetown, almost 2500 people were listened to, and issues workshops took place from which seven interventions were identified including Mental health, Additional Learning Needs and Literacy, an Employment partnership, Sports and diversionary activities and local microgrants. Each intervention is led by a local community-based organisation. At the heart of the work is building a hyperlocal community organising alliance.  Underpinning the work is the development of a Youth Action Zone, a youth-led multi-agency partnership to support young people in the neighbourhood for the long term. The project is in its final year of delivery and needs a locally based project manager to support the current organisations to fulfil the action plan and build a long-term legacy.

Main Responsibilities 

This is a unique role, focused on project management but embedding community organising. As project organiser for Butetown and Grangetown Neighbourhood Fund you will support the project aims, enabling core partners and intervention leads to fulfil the action plan and build a legacy for the long term. Alongside this, you will develop a craft of community organising, working closely with civic organisations based in the neighbourhoods, understanding local power and building partnerships with wider stakeholders, and developing local institutions and youth leaders. All of this should ladder up to building the power of the broader Cardiff Citizens alliance. 

You will embed the ethos of community organising across the project and its legacy by: 

• developing the leadership of people within local organisations - our 'leaders' who lead the campaigns we work on 

• helping them to collectively identify the changes they want to see and create strategies to win those changes 

• strengthen institutions’ own abilities to achieve their missions. 

• Support leaders in connecting the hyperlocal work to the Cardiff Citizens alliance – developing their capacity to work with other leaders and civic institutions across the city to develop collective ambitions and actions (leading up to the 2027 Local Authority elections). 

We envisage the role to be roughly 2 days project management and 1 day Community Organising, but given the nature of the project, these will naturally bleed into one another. 

Working as the Project Organiser for Citizens UK, your main responsibilities will include: 

Career Pathways Headings 

Build and manage projects and achieve work targets effectively 

• Project manage the YEF/Citizens UK Neighbourhood Fund project in the neighbourhoods of Butetown and Grangetown

• Support the delivery of four interventions (Mental health, ALN & Literacy/Sports and Police action team) including due diligence, accountability, measurement and impact monitoring. 

• Ensure good governance; setting up stakeholder meetings and working with community leaders to develop the agenda and actions 

• Develop an understanding of place-based systems change and support system behaviours across the project, including feedback, collaborative leadership and shared power 

Develop and manage external relationships 

• Maintain and extend local relationships and partnerships with community and civic organisations and wider statutory power 

• Map and develop an ecosystem of strategic relationships at the local level

• Ensure the YEF work is embedded within the local ecosystem of support for young people.

Communications 

• Support the interventions with communicating the impact of their work individually and collectively 

• Create comms outputs that communicate the work of the YEF project for internal and external stakeholders 

• Represent the organisation effectively to external audiences in meetings and at events

Generate income and resources 

• Support the interventions to seek additional funding to continue their work beyond 2027 

• Support local organisations to increase their capacity  

Identify and develop relational leaders prepared to act with others for the common good and support them through a cycle of action and training in our curriculum 

• Conduct 5 relational one-to-ones per week 

• Identify and discern actual and potential leaders with the passion and ability to drive change

• Achieve significant development of primary and secondary leaders; nominate new leaders for training on the Citizens UK core taster curriculum and for National Training

• Attend Citizens UK 6-day training to further understanding the method of Community Organising used by CUK 

• Teach sessions of the core taster Community Organising curriculum at a local level (supported by a senior Organiser) 

Strengthen institutions and develop a broad-based neighbourhood alliance 

• Ensure good understanding of the basic interests and traditions of typical member institutions

• Support the development of the Cardiff Citizens alliance 

• Support with running institutional development campaigns in a range of organisations in the local area 

Personal Specification 

(D) Desirable, (E) Essential 

Qualifications 

Bachelor’s degree in any subject (D) 

Qualification in a subject of relevance to community work or community organising (D) 

Experience 

• Evidence of having acted in a leadership role with peers or in local community activities (e.g., organising clubs or societies) (E) 

• Experience of project management; evidence of having set up and/or delivered projects on time and to standard (E) 

• Able to demonstrate previous experience of ‘learning by doing’ in a work or project environment; evidence of being open to feedback and comfortably coachable (E) 

• Experience of building consensus between diverse stakeholders to drive progressive change (D) 

• Previous campaign experience (D) 

Key skills and knowledge 

• Excellent interpersonal awareness – ability to listen well and appreciate a viewpoint or opinion that is different from one’s own (E) 

• Excellent concern for impact – ability to adapt own behaviour to address the needs or concerns of someone else (E) 

• Good communication skills – able to speak with conviction and passion; and to make a logical argument (E) 

• Excellent time management skills with the ability to juggle a wide range of competing demands (E) 

• Strong IT skills to include MS Office (E) 

• Understanding of policy and campaign landscape in the UK, particularly around young people, community empowerment and neighbourhoods (D) 

Personal qualities & values 

• A self-starter with ability to take initiative and work independently (E) 

• A passion for justice (E) 

• A positive enthusiasm for working with faith congregations, trade unions, schools, and other community organisations (E) 

• An interest in and experience of politics and public life (E) 

• Able to work in a team (E) 

• Willingness to work within accountable relationships (E) 

• Self-motivated and adaptable (E) 

Our Organisers and some project teams work closely with our member institutions and will be expected to attend member events that take place in the evenings and occasional weekends. We operate a Time Off in Lieu approach and have very flexible working arrangements to ensure a good work-life balance. 

The successful applicant will be required to undertake a satisfactory Enhanced DBS check. DBS checks are renewed on a 3-year cycle. 

About the application process 

We work within diverse communities bringing people together. In line with our Inclusion value, we would love to see applications from LGBTQIA+ people, people from racialised communities, people living with disabilities and people of faith, all to better represent the communities we work in. We want our employees to have the working conditions that allows them to fully participate, be able to be their best authentic selves and thrive doing so, and we have employee networks to support staff. Even if you don’t quite meet all the required criteria still consider applying, as we invest in our employees and support them to develop the skills and knowledge required to deliver their role.

For questions and reasonable adjustments regarding your application including information in a different format, or our recruitment process, please email us.

Are you passionate about making a real impact through safer, high‑quality environments? Do you want to use your estates, health & safety and compliance expertise to help drive meaningful change across a national charity? If so, Life Charity would love to hear from you.

We are looking for an experienced, proactive, and values‑driven Estates Manager to lead our Estates function and ensure our services, properties, and environments consistently meet the highest standards.

The Role:

As Estates Manager, you will be the driving force behind the quality, compliance and safety of Life’s estate. This role combines strategic oversight with hands‑on management of our property portfolio, ensuring all sites are safe, secure and operating to required standards.

You will:

• Lead Health & Safety and Premises/Facilities Management across the charity
• Ensure compliance with relevant legislation, regulatory requirements and internal standards
• Oversee risk management, audits, inspections and safety monitoring
• Manage the Estates Coordinator and foster a culture of continuous improvement
• Work with external partners to ensure checks are carried out (Gas, Fire Safety, Legionella, Asbestos, etc.)
• Manage property acquisition, disposal, leases, maintenance and contracts
• Develop and maintain estates policies and reporting systems
• Drive a positive, proactive health & safety culture across Life

This is a fantastic opportunity for someone wanting to lead meaningful change within an organisation that truly makes a difference.

What You’ll Bring:

We’re looking for someone who is:

• Highly organised, proactive, and able to take initiative
• A strong communicator with excellent written and verbal skills
• Confident managing estates compliance, risk, safety and property-related functions
• Experienced in managing a portfolio of properties (minimum 3 years)
• Able to lead others and support their development
• Skilled in identifying improvements and driving change

Qualifications/Experience:
✔ NEBOSH (or equivalent) in Occupational Health & Safety
✔ Evidence of continuous professional development
✔ Experience in data analysis or financial management (desirable)
✔ HND or equivalent in business/charity administration (desirable)

Information about the role: 

For further information, please see the attached job description. 

Please note, there is a requirement to drive for this role.

Salary: £38,000 per annum

Hours: 35 hours per week

Location: Home Based with travel to Leamington Spa and sites around the UK

Benefits:  

At Life we are passionate about providing our employees with a supportive and engaging environment. As well as ongoing development and training, we offer our:  

• Generous holiday allowance, starting at 25 days per year, plus 8 Bank Holidays (pro rata for part time hours) 
• Birthday Leave  (applicable after 1 years service)
• Additional annual leave for long term service  
• Company Pension Scheme  
• Signed member of the Menopause Workplace Pledge 

Safeguarding and Equality: 

Life is committed to protecting all staff, volunteers and service users from harm of any kind. Life expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment through our code of conduct.   

We are committed to ensuring diversity and equality within our organisation by encouraging applications from all backgrounds.  

All offers of employment will be subject to satisfactory references and appropriate screening checks. Life takes its obligation to protect the rights of children and vulnerable people very seriously; therefore, the successful candidate for this post will be also subject to extensive background checking, including an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service check (DBS) which is paid for by the Charity.