Strategic design lead jobs in Manchester

Today, 12 children and young people will be diagnosed with cancer. We’ll stop at nothing to make sure they get the right care and support at the right time.  

• Salary: c. £56,000 
• Full or Part Time – Open to both options 
• Permanent
• Location: We honestly don’t mind. You’ll be expected to travel between our London (Farringdon) and central Bristol offices as well as other locations across the UK. Either of our office locations or remote home working is acceptable. Please clearly state your preferred location in your application. 
• Closing date: 19 July 2026 (11:59pm) 
• First stage interviews: w/c 10 August
• Second stage interviews: w/c 17 August 

Change lives in a life-changing career

When a child or young person is diagnosed with cancer, their whole world can feel like it’s falling apart. Independence is taken and confidence is stolen. Stability no longer exists. The future suddenly feels uncertain.

The impact of cancer on young lives is more than medical. That’s why we exist. Our specialist social workers help children and young people with cancer and their families navigate the emotional and practical impact of cancer. We remove barriers, solve problems and prioritise wellbeing. And we stop at nothing to make sure they get the right care and support at the right time.

We challenge the systems and policies that surround children and young people, we highlight gaps and campaign for change. Because we know what a better future could look like. And we know what we need to do to make that future a reality. We need to push harder, reach further and work smarter. And we need the right people on our team to help us get there. People like you.

About the role

We’re looking for a Head of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB) with experience of designing and embedding organisational DEIB strategies and leading culture change at a senior level to join our CEO Office.

This is a pivotal leadership role at a critical moment in our DEIB journey. You will lead the development of our next DEIB strategy, building on our ‘Brave, Not Perfect’ commitments and driving forward meaningful, measurable change across the organisation. Working closely with the CEO and Executive Team, you will shape the vision, influence decision-making and ensure DEIB is fully embedded across our culture, systems and ways of working.

You’ll act as both a strategic lead and an organisational change expert – engaging colleagues, supporting leaders, and ensuring our work reflects the diverse needs of the children and young people we support. This role does not have direct reports but carries significant influence across the organisation, requiring strong leadership, resilience, and the ability to bring others on the journey.

What will I be doing?

No two days are the same at Young Lives vs Cancer. So, summarising your ‘day to day’ isn’t easy. Here are some of the main things you’ll be doing, but you’ll find more details in the job description.

The next step in Young Lives vs Cancer’s diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging journey 

• Building on the work in ‘Brave, not Perfect’ to develop the next iteration of DEIB strategy at Young Lives
• To engage the organisation in the development and context of this work, and to deliver a programme model for the delivery of the goals within the strategy, including monitoring and evaluation 

Build on strong foundations

• To evaluate and develop our programme of internal DEIB engagement ‘DEIB Confident’ to reflect the goals within the next phase of DEIB strategy
• To support and develop our existing staff led networks, and the creation of new ones
• To lead and develop our approach to Equity Impact Assessment
• To coach, advise and challenge senior leaders and allies within the organisation

Leadership

• To role model the culture we want to see at Young Lives vs Cancer, through your behaviour, ways of working and approach to leadership 
• As a Head of department, you will be a key senior leader and manager, providing visible and confident leadership for all of our workforce at Young Lives vs Cancer, and taking a holistic organisational view in all matters – holding our strategy and vision for young cancer patients at heart.

What do I need? 

Diverse perspectives and unique skillsets are at the heart of Young Lives vs Cancer. If you're passionate about making a positive impact and eager to learn, we encourage you to apply, even if you don't meet the criteria and person specification fully. Your potential is what matters most to us, and we’re committed to fostering an inclusive and supportive work environment to help you develop.

The key skills we’re looking for in this role are:

• Experience of developing and implementing an EDI strategy at a senior level 
• Understanding and knowledge of EDI legislation, policies and best practices 
• Experience of managing change initiatives and a practical approach to culture change including through systems, policy and procedures 
• Experience of leading, inspiring and motivating staff 
• A good leader with ambition and conviction and the ability and desire to inspire staff at all levels. 
• Demonstrable influencing skills and ability to develop networks both internally and externally 
• Experience of facilitating activities across geographically dispersed operations
• A respected project and change expert with personal confidence
• Understanding of oppression and the barriers that marginalised people face, and strong commitment to deliver anti-oppressive practices
• Demonstrate that Young Lives vs Cancer’s values are at the heart of everything you do: Curious, Creative, Collaborative, Changemaking, and Courageous

What will I gain?

For people to reach their full potential, they need the right environment. As a member of Team Young Lives, you’ll be made to feel supported, valued and appreciated. Here’s how we do it:

• Flexible working: we’re open to working hours outside of 9 - 5 and we can talk through your flexibility requirements at interview stage
• Wellbeing days: four days a year to do what works for you – from catching up on training to going for a walk
• Generous annual leave allowance
• Great family/caring leave entitlements
• Enhanced pension
• Access to our employee savings scheme

To find out more about our benefits package, have a look on our website.

Our commitment to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging

At Young Lives vs Cancer, we recognise that opportunities for too many people remain a condition of their sex, ethnicity, class, gender identity, disability, sexual orientation – or a combination. This has never been acceptable to us as an organisation. We don’t just accept difference, we value it, celebrate it, nurture it and we thrive because of it.

We’re on a journey to be reflective of the diverse children, young people and families we support. We know we aren’t there yet, and we’re passionately committed to taking actions and making changes to be a truly diverse, inclusive and equitable organisation. This includes taking anti-oppressive action and removing barriers in our recruitment practices. Our Diversity, Inclusion, Equity and Belonging strategy will tell you more.

To ensure fairness and consistency to select the best candidate for this role, all our applications are anonymised up until an interview has been confirmed. We recognise the benefits of AI, but if you're considering using it to submit your application, we encourage you to reflect on the value AI adds. AI tools often lack the personal touch and authenticity that set candidates apart. We want to hear your unique perspective, experiences, and skills, so we encourage you to tell us about your skills and experiences in your own voice.

Accessibility

We’re committed to providing reasonable adjustments throughout our recruitment process and we’ll always aim to be as accommodating as possible.Please let us know in your application form of any adjustments or access requirements we could make to help you with the application process and interview.

#ShowTheSalary #NonGraduatesWelcome

Location: Fully remote with flexible working arrangements
Salary: £39,742 per year FTE, dependent on experience
Contract: We are open to this role being part time (0.8FTE minimum preferred) or full time. We offer fully flexible working.
Closing date for applications: 12th July

Due to high numbers of applications, prior to interview we plan to carry out initial screening calls with prospective candidates before selection for interview. We will be asking about your reasons for applying and how you think your skills and experiences align to the role.

First interviews: w/c 22nd July
Start Date: ASAP

About the Warm Welcome Campaign

Founded in 2022, the Warm Welcome Campaign wants everyone in the UK to find a place of belonging and reconnection at a Warm Welcome Space near their home. We have a bold purpose to enable a more deeply connected society where we all have free access to welcoming community spaces.

We resource, connect and champion a network of over 6,300 Warm Welcome Spaces and bring together a growing coalition of local, regional and national partners representing the worlds of charity, faith, business, government and philanthropy. By working together, we can unlock the power of community spaces made by and for everyone, creating a thriving network of hope and reconnection fuelled by human warmth.

We’re working hard to reach everyone with the message that a Warm Welcome is waiting for them just around the corner, all through the year.

Throughout all our work and within our team we live out our values of being inclusive, collaborative and courageous and our personality that is friendly, adventurous and uplifting.

It’s an important moment for us - we have launched a five-year strategy, our 100% Pledge Campaign and an established programme of corporate events. We have also successfully delivered Warm Welcome Week for two years in collaboration with a wide range of partners and are looking forward to continuing to build on this success.

The Opportunity

This is an exciting opportunity for an experienced and creative Communications and Brand Manager (Partnerships) to join a small, friendly and ambitious team in a varied role with genuine opportunity for development and impact. The Communications and Brand Manager (Partnerships) is primarily fundraising focused, delivering compelling communications strategies to support individual giving, fundraising events and our growing number of Corporate Partnerships, including Sky, Co-op, National Grid, OVO, Cadent, UKPN, Barratt Redrow and SGN. The role will specialise in maximising brand impact and income-raising potential.

The role sits within the growing Communications Team, which is led by the Director of Communications and includes the Communications Manager and Communications Assistant. 

Reporting to the Director of Communications, the postholder will play a key role in telling the Warm Welcome Story for positive change, raising awareness to grow the brand and creating campaign strategies to support income generation. 

We are looking for someone who is highly organised, agile and collaborative, whilst bringing creativity and initiative to their work. Relationship building will be key, working with a wide variety of high-profile corporate partners, stakeholders and ambassadors. You will be an excellent brand champion with the skills to develop stand out creative ideas for partnership campaigns, awareness campaigns and activations. While the role is primarily fundraising focused, you will support the delivery of the wider Warm Welcome Communications Strategy.

In this role, you will work across all aspects of communications strategy including, PR, events, brand asset development, storytelling, digital marketing, and campaigns.

• Act as the primary communications adviser for the fundraising team, including the Corporate Partnerships Manager and corporate partners, identifying communications opportunities and advising on strategic messaging, content, PR and tactics.
   

• Manage the development and execution of communications strategies for Warm Welcome’s flagship partnerships, specialising in maximising brand impact and income-raising potential.
   

• Deliver communications strategies to inspire audiences and support organisational goals, working closely with colleagues across the Communications and Fundraising, and with external partners.

• Develop stand out creative ideas for campaigns and activations to shape and deliver integrated activities that cut through, including Warm Welcome Week. 

• Act as a brand ambassador, advising and supporting the team to deliver brand-aligned messaging and content. Plus, crafting messaging and designing brand assets, marketing materials, presentations and resources.
   

• Create content to show the impact of Warm Welcome Spaces, including delivering hard-hitting press releases and impact reports.
   

• Create content for social media channels, website and digital newsletters.

• Develop case studies and organise photoshoots to tell the Warm Welcome story for positive change.
   

• Support the delivery of the Patrons and Ambassadors Strategy.

• Help manage the systems and processes needed for effective partnership and stakeholder management, including CRM use, reporting and tracking.

• Work collaboratively with colleagues across the Warm Welcome Campaign to connect partners with Warm Welcome Spaces and activities across the UK.

• Contribute to wider communications activity and team objectives.

Person Specification

Essential Experience

• Proven experience designing and executing high-impact brand or corporate partnership communications plans, ideally for a non-profit organisation.
   

• Strong track record of developing and delivering integrated communications campaigns across multiple channels, targeting a range of audiences.
   

• Highly collaborative and able to build strong relationships with internal and external stakeholders.
   

• Proven experience of crafting messages and stories. 

• Experience creating brand assets using Canva or similar tools.

• Experience of crafting compelling content for press releases and liaising with journalists.

• Strong track record of delivering content for digital media channels.

• Experience managing multiple priorities and deadlines effectively.

• Experience of monitoring and evaluating communications impact, using data and insights.

Desirable Experience

• Experience using CRMs or databases for relationship management and reporting.

• Experience working within the charity, community or social impact sector.

• Experience of delivering patrons and ambassadors programmes.

• Experience of developing new brands.

Abilities and Understanding

• Ability to brief, critique and develop creative work constructively, with a good eye for brand, design, film and photography.

• Strong relationship-building and communication skills.

• Ability to communicate confidently and professionally with a range of audiences.

• Ability to manage competing priorities and work independently.

• Strong organisational skills and attention to detail.

• Understanding the importance of accurate record keeping and effective systems.

• Ability to work collaboratively within a small and fast-moving team.

• Confident using Google Workspace, Microsoft Office and CRM systems.

Competencies and behaviours in our team

The core competence of everyone in our team is the ability to build trusted relationships among people with diverse perspectives and backgrounds. We are looking for people who are:

• Committed to the power of relationships to facilitate social change 

• Collaborative, inclusive, ambitious, aligning with our core values 

• Self-starter with high level of commitment, energy and motivation 

• Curious and show initiative, with problem-solving skills and an ability to learn quickly and adapt to a rapidly changing context 

• Calm under pressure, and can adapt quickly in a fast-paced environment 

• Willing to pitch in to help other team members if needed 

• Organised with effective time management skills. 

Working Arrangements 

• Current members of the team are based across the UK, with some in London, Reading, Bristol, Manchester, York and Northern Ireland. Applicants must be able to travel to Bristol once a month for a Tuesday full team meeting. Given the nature of this role we would also expect the applicant to carry out a reasonable amount of travel to both Warm Welcome Spaces and partners across the UK. 

• This role is fully remote, with flexible working arrangements. 

• All employees, volunteers, partners, suppliers and consultants working with GFP are expected to adhere to our Code of Conduct and safeguarding policies. GFP’s commitment to safeguarding means we seek to ensure that no harm comes to people as a result of contact with the organisation’s programmes, operations or people.

• You will need to have the right to work in the UK.

For full details on how to apply, please view the attached role description.