Salary: £45,000–£47,000 FTE (depending on experience)
Hours: 30–35 hours per week
Location: Hybrid/home-based. Ideally within easy reach of Chelmsford and London. Regular travel to meet colleagues, funders and visit programmes across England.
Reporting to: CEO
Be part of a mission that's transforming children's futures through food, farming and the countryside
For more than 45 years, The Country Trust has been connecting children from the UK's most disadvantaged communities with the land that sustains us all. Through inspiring farm visits, food education and countryside experiences, we've already reached more than 600,000 children, and we're just getting started.
We're entering an exciting new chapter as we develop our next organisational strategy, and we're looking for an experienced fundraising leader to help shape our future.
This is an outstanding opportunity for an ambitious and strategic fundraiser to join our Senior Leadership Team and lead the next phase of our income growth, enabling even more children to benefit from our life-changing programmes.
About the role
As Head of Fundraising, you'll provide strategic leadership across all fundraising activity while remaining hands-on in securing major income and developing key relationships.
You'll lead a dedicated fundraising team, drive innovation, strengthen fundraising systems and processes, and develop a sustainable fundraising strategy that diversifies income across:
- Trusts and foundations
- Corporate partnerships
- Major donors
- Individual giving
- Legacies
- Gaming and Streaming for Good
- Emerging fundraising opportunities
Working closely with the CEO, Senior Leadership Team, Digital and IT colleagues, you'll help embed new fundraising systems, champion data-driven decision making and ensure fundraising excellence across the organisation.
About you
We're looking for an inspiring fundraising leader who combines strategic thinking with practical delivery.
You'll bring:
- Significant senior-level fundraising leadership experience
- A proven track record of securing substantial income across multiple fundraising streams
- Experience developing and delivering fundraising strategies that drive sustainable growth
- Strong leadership skills with experience developing high-performing teams
- Excellent relationship-building, communication and influencing skills
- Financial and commercial awareness, including budgeting and forecasting
- Knowledge of fundraising regulation, GDPR and fundraising best practice
- A passion for improving opportunities for disadvantaged children
Experience developing new income streams, digital fundraising and CRM systems would be particularly valuable.
Why join us?
At The Country Trust, you'll be joining an ambitious charity where collaboration, learning and innovation are at the heart of everything we do.
We offer:
- Hybrid and flexible working
- 25 days annual leave plus Bank Holidays (FTE)
- Workplace pension
- Homeworking allowance
- Mileage and agreed travel expenses
- A supportive, values-led culture
- The opportunity to shape our future strategy and make a lasting difference to children's lives
We're committed to building a diverse and inclusive team that reflects the communities we serve and welcome applications from candidates of all backgrounds.
Key dates
Closing date: 12pm, 3 August
Shortlisting: 6 August
Interviews: Week commencing 24 August
The Country Trust is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people. The successful candidate will be subject to an Enhanced DBS check.
We are a small, dynamic national education charity dedicated to bringing alive the working countryside for children least able to access it.



The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Job title: Policy Specialist (Audits and Technology)
Area of work: Audit & Assurance Policy / Technology Policy
Contract type: Permanent
Employment type: Full-time
Salary: £69,000
Location: Birmingham(2 days on site per week)
Annual leave: 30 days plus bank holidays
Closing date: Friday 10th July
Overview
This is a uniqueopportunity to help shape the future of audit in the UK within a leadingindependent regulator for audit, reporting and governance at a pivotal momentof technological change.
As a PolicySpecialist, you will play a key role in developing policy and guidance on theuse of emerging technologies, including AI - within audit and assurance.Working at the intersection of audit, regulation and innovation, you will helpensure technology is adopted in a way that enhances audit quality and supportseconomic growth.
You will contribute toa high-profile and evolving policy agenda, translating complex technicaldevelopments into clear, practical guidance for the audit profession. This roleoffers exposure to international standard-setting bodies, senior stakeholders andmultidisciplinary teams across the regulatory landscape.
This position is idealfor candidates with a background in audit, accounting policy, or technology/AIpolicy who are keen to step into a forward-looking role where intellectualcuriosity, writing ability and stakeholder engagement are critical.
Key Responsibilities
- Support the drafting of guidance on the application of technology in audit, including AI and emerging tools
- Translate complex technical and policy concepts into clear, practical and accessible written outputs
- Engage with audit firms, technology providers, regulators and international bodies to gather insight and influence thinking
- Contribute to the development of UK audit and assurance policy in response to technological change
- Support and influence international standard setters across audit, assurance and ethics
- Collaborate across internal teams to ensure a consistent regulatory approach to audit technology
- Monitor developments in AI and other emerging technologies, assessing implications for audit quality and standards
- Build and maintain a strong professional network across the audit, regulatory and technology landscape
Skills &Experience Required
Essential
- Qualified accountant or demonstrable expertise in technology / AI policy
- Strong understanding of auditing and ethical standards in the UK or strong understanding of technology policy frameworks
- Knowledge of emerging technologies relevant to audit, particularly AI (including generative or agentic AI)
- Excellent written communication skills, with the ability to clearly convey complex ideas
- Experience engaging with stakeholders across professional, regulatory or technical environments
- Ability to interpret technical material and distil underlying principles into policy-relevant outputs
- Collaborative approach with the ability to work across multidisciplinary teams
Desirable
- Experience within a regulator, standard setter, Big 4 firm or central policy function
- Understanding of how technology is applied in audit and associated policy challenges
- Experience contributing to policy development or standard-setting processes
- Exposure to international working groups or cross-border regulatory environments
- Interest in AI governance, AI safety or emerging regulatory frameworks
Person Specification
- Outstanding written communicator
- Intellectually curious, with a strong interest in emerging technology
- Proactive and adaptable, able to operate in a developing policy area
- Strong analytical thinker, comfortable working with nuanced and complex topics
- Confident engaging and influencing a wide range of stakeholders
- Collaborative team player, able to work effectively in a flat team structure
- Open to development and stepping into a growing, evolving policy discipline
The Team
You will join ahigh-impact policy function within a UK regulator, working at the forefront ofthinking on technology in audit and assurance.
This is a rareopportunity to help shape a new and rapidly emerging policy area at theintersection of audit and AI, with significant scope for growth andprofessional development.
The organisationoffers:
- A progressive and high-profile regulatory environment
- Opportunities to contribute to international standard setting
- A strong commitment to flexibility and work/life balance
- A collaborative and inclusive culture with clear public interest purpose
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