Supporter relations officer jobs

Are you a fundraising leader who wants to play a key role in shaping the future of young people across Barnsley?

We're working with Base71 in search for a Head of Fundraising and Communications for their upcoming state-of-the-art Youth Zone, supporting young people discover their passion and purpose.

Salary: £50,000 to £55,000 per annum
Contract: Permanent, Full Time, 37.5 hours per week
Location: Barnsley (with 3 days per week on site)
Benefits: 33 days inclusive of bank holidays, plus Birthday Leave, 3% matched contribution pension, an Employee Assistance Programme.
Culture: Flexible, supportive, able to work with autonomy

About the Charity

Opening in early 2026, Base71 - Barnsley Youth Zone will be a game-changer for Barnsley, a place where thousands of local young people will come to discover who they are, what they love, and what's possible. It will be the first Youth Zone in Yorkshire, part of the phenomenal OnSide network of national Youth Zones changing lives across the UK.

This is a rare opportunity to be part of something from the ground up, to shape how the local community, business leaders, and key funders connect to and champion this ambitious project. With highly trained youth workers and over 20 activities to try each session, the Youth Zone's purpose is to help young people grow to be happy, healthy and successful adults.

About the Role

Working closely with the Chief Executive and senior leadership team, you'll lead the development and delivery of a bold, creative and high-performing fundraising and communications strategy to generate £1.4m annually.

You'll grow and nurture a portfolio of committed individuals and local businesses (founder patrons). You'll also build new income streams across trusts and foundations, corporate partnerships, and major donor giving.

At the same time, you'll oversee all things brand, PR and communications, with a talented Communications Manager in place to help you raise awareness and build strong community relationships ahead of launch and beyond.

This is a leadership role with legacy. You'll inspire Barnsley's business community, philanthropists and champions to believe in and back the potential of their town's young people.

About You

This role would suit a relationship-led fundraising leader who brings energy, creativity and ambition to their work. You'll be a strategic thinker, a compelling communicator, and a natural connector of people and ideas.

We're especially keen to hear from candidates with:

• A proven track record of personally securing five-figure+ gifts from corporates or major donors or equivalent from the commercial sector.
• Experience building and managing a high-value donor pipeline and stewarding relationships for long-term support.
• Strong leadership skills - you know how to bring out the best in people, and how to build something special with a small but mighty team.
• A real passion for youth opportunity, community and levelling the playing field.

This is more than a job; it's a chance to be part of something genuinely transformational. You'll join at a pivotal time, with the opportunity to shape how this incredible space is funded, understood and embraced by its community.

Please send a copy of your profile or CV to Ellen Drummond at Charity People as the first step if you'd like to find out more.

Deadline: Only because this role has been advertised previously, we will be reviewing applications on a rolling basis, so please get in touch as soon as you can. If you feel this might disadvantage you in any way at all, please reach out to Ellen and she'll ensure you don't miss out.

Charity People is a forward thinking, inclusive organisation that actively and deliberately promotes equity, diversity and inclusion. We know organisations thrive when inclusion is at the forefront. We evidence our commitment by matching charity needs with the skills and experience of candidates irrespective of background e.g. age, disability (including hidden disabilities), gender, gender identity or gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, or sexual orientation. We do this because we believe that greater

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!

Old Meeting is a fellowship of the United Reformed Church, worshipping God, supporting each other and sharing the Message of the Good News throughout Bedworth's diverse community. As part of our vision for growth we are looking to recruit a Youth and Families Worker to help our work with young people and families. We are looking for someone who will share our enthusiasm to reach out with the Gospel and with God's love, to develop our outreach through Messy Church and other activities and to find new ways to worship which will include all generations.

As our Youth and Families Worker you will be at the heart of our outreach with young people and families. 

This role is for you if:

You have a strong Christian faith which you are able to share with others

You are an active member of a recognised Christian worshipping community

You have a qualification in Youth and Children’s Work or relevant experience of working with families and children in a paid or voluntary capacity.

You have a willingness to engage with the local community and connect with young people and families

You have a willingness to be flexible and work in partnership with others involved in the project and to encourage and recruit new volunteers

You can show the ability to build trust and develop close working relationships both within the church and externally

You can show the ability to manage your own time, work unsupervised, keep records and expenses up to date.

You have an awareness of statutory regulations surrounding safeguarding and children, youth and families’ work generally. 

You have a desire to bring new ideas to enhance the life of the Church

You have a willingness to share in the life of Old Meeting including worship on average two Sundays per month and some mid-week activities.

You are looking to develop leadership of intergenerational and/or Fresh Expression worship

What you'll be doing:

You will assist with development of activities for young people and the establishment of a youth outreach programme

You will assist in the development of Messy Church

You will work with the existing leaders of Messy Church (for families) to increase the opportunities for engagement, for example through holiday projects, after-school club activities or in Fresh Expressions (such as Forest Church)

You will plan and enable intergenerational social activities

You will develop relationships with children and families and provide a pastoral ear for connected families

You will build effective relationships with local schools

You will help develop “Vintage Messy Church” activities for older people which will lead to active participation in the worshipping community

You will participate in, and occasionally lead, Sunday worship and other aspects of Church life

In due course you will seek funding to sustain (and even grow) the outreach

You will share in other tasks as may be agreed between you and the Pastoral Support Group as opportunities arise

Outline Terms and Conditions

1. Appointment will be subject to a satisfactory Enhanced DBS disclosure and the taking up of no more than two satisfactory references.

2. Appointment will be subject to the satisfactory completion of a six-month probationary period.

3. The appointment will be for three years in the first instance (subject to the probationary period noted above),

4. The hours of work will be 20 hours per week, flexible by need and negotiation. It is anticipated that evening and weekend working will be part of the role, along with the main Christian festivals.

5. The Salary will be £15 per hour, paid monthly by arrangement.

6. Paid holidays – 25 days per year pro rata plus public holidays

7. The post is based at the Old Meeting URC. The person appointed will be required to travel in the local area and will also be able to work from home by agreement.

8.      The Minister of Old Meeting URC, or an Elder appointed by the Elders Meeting, will be the line manager