Veterans information jobs in maidstone, kent

Be part of a team that changes and saves lives. Design and deliver creative events that support military families caring for injured loved ones.

This is a demanding but deeply rewarding role that combines service delivery, engagement, and emotional resilience. As Events & Engagement Officer, you will work closely with our Operational Support Team to design and deliver a varied programme of online and in-person events. These will support the wellbeing of our Members (adult family members of injured veterans and serving personnel), reduce isolation, and build understanding of the challenges faced by military families.

The Ripple Pond is a UK-wide charity that supports the adult family members of physically or psychologically injured Armed Forces personnel and veterans. We provide peer support, structured guidance, and signposting to improve wellbeing and reduce isolation for families who often carry complex emotional burdens in silence. Our work is rooted in lived experience and built on a foundation of inclusion, compassion, and community.

The Operational Support Team lies at the heart of our frontline service. It delivers one-to-one support, coordinates safeguarding and triage, and ensures Members are connected to the right pathways at the right time. It is a trauma-informed, emotionally intelligent team that works with care and professionalism, ensuring that no one caring for an injured veteran or serviceperson feels alone.

You will start your time with The Ripple Pond by embedding into the Operations Team for approximately two months. This will give you a firm grounding in the lived experiences of our Members and ensure you’re fully trained to act as Duty Officer. As Duty Officer, you’ll receive and respond to referrals and enquiries, complete needs assessments, carry out risk assessments, and navigate Members to appropriate internal or external support. This may involve responding to distressing and traumatic situations, including domestic abuse, suicidal ideation, addiction, and other complex issues. You will also be expected to attend (online) multi-agency meetings.

This role requires emotional resilience, sound judgment, and exceptional communication skills. You will need to work flexibly, including some evenings and occasional weekends, and travel to a limited number of face-to-face events and meetings throughout the year. In return, you will be part of a supportive, values-driven team making a real and lasting difference to people’s lives.

Key Responsibilities

• Working with your colleagues to design and deliver an engaging and inclusive programme of digital and in-person events that support Member wellbeing, build confidence, reduce isolation, and encourage peer connection.

• Co-develop activities such as themed discussion groups, creative and recreational workshops (e.g. book clubs, craft groups, quiz nights, art workshops, journaling, fitness, etc.), and skill-building sessions.

• Plan and lead external engagement sessions for professionals and stakeholders to improve understanding of the Armed Forces family experience.

• Manage the full event cycle, from concept and scheduling to promotion, delivery, and evaluation.

• Work closely with the Operational Support Team to ensure all activities reflect Member needs and organisational aims.

• Act as Duty Officer on a rota basis, including during periods of staff leave or absence. This includes responding to new enquiries, completing needs and risk assessments, and triaging Members into appropriate pathways of support.

• Respond sensitively to Members disclosing trauma or distress and act in line with our safeguarding and escalation procedures.

• Attend virtual joint-agency meetings when required to support Members or represent the charity.

• Use digital tools to promote and deliver content (e.g. Zoom, Canva, Transpond, Eventbrite, CRM systems).

• Collect and evaluate Member feedback to help refine services and contribute to reporting and development work.

• Support cross-organisational projects and team-wide initiatives as needed.

Terms and Conditions

• Hours: Part-time, 21 hours per week

• Schedule: Three days per week, 9 am to 5 pm (1-hour unpaid lunch break)

• Flexibility: Some evenings and occasional weekends will be required to support Member activities or represent the charity. Time Off In Lieu (TOIL) will be provided

• Contract: Fixed-term, 18 months (extension subject to funding)

• Location: Home-based

• Travel:
  ˃ Expectation to attend up to 8 in-person events or meetings per year
  ˃ All travel time and reasonable expenses are reimbursed
  ˃ Depending on your location, some travel may involve overnight stays, which the charity will fully fund
  ˃ The ability and willingness to travel and stay overnight is essential

Person Specification

Essential

• Experience designing and delivering events (in-person or online)

• Strong interpersonal skills with empathy and emotional resilience

• Excellent written and verbal communication

• Ability to manage sensitive conversations and disclosures appropriately

• Familiarity with digital tools (e.g. Zoom, Canva, Eventbrite, CRM systems)

• Excellent organisational and time management skills

• Ability to work flexibly, independently, and as part of a team

• Commitment to safeguarding, confidentiality, and person-centred support

• Demonstrates emotional resilience and works confidently with individuals facing trauma, distress, or complex challenges

• Maintains strong professional boundaries and self-awareness, with a clear understanding of when to seek support

• Manages workload effectively under pressure, staying focused and prioritising in emotionally demanding situations

• Shows a consistent commitment to personal wellbeing and self-care when working in high-pressure or emotionally complex environments

Desirable

• Knowledge of or lived experience within the Armed Forces or veteran families

• Experience working in the charity sector

• Familiarity with trauma-informed approaches or peer-led initiatives

Other

• Full UK driving licence and access to a roadworthy, insured vehicle

• Willingness to travel across the UK and stay overnight where required

• Commitment to professional development and learning

Benefits

• 30 days annual leave (pro rata) plus your birthday off

• 6% employer contribution to your workplace pension scheme

• Access to an Employee Assistance Programme offering:
  ˃ Discounts and rewards on popular brands
  ˃ Free access to fitness and wellbeing apps
  ˃ Free legal, financial, and family advice

The Ancient Tree Forum (ATF) is seeking a motivated and organised Technical and Engagement Officer to join our small, friendly and flexible team. This is an exciting opportunity to contribute to a charity dedicated to safeguarding the UK’s ancient and veteran trees, along with their wildlife, heritage and cultural values. 

This role is vital to achieving our strategic outcomes by providing expert technical advice, supporting and collaborating with the Technical Advisory Panel to develop authoritative guidance and publications. You will act as a key contact for public and stakeholder enquiries and contribute technical expertise to ATF’s communications across our website, newsletter, social media and press activity. 

You will engage with sector networks, collaborate with partners and support strategic messaging. This role will help strengthen the charity’s visibility and impact in ancient and veteran tree conservation and protection. 

We are looking for an experienced and passionate Business Analyst to work as part of our Evidence and Impact Team.

Imagine being part of an organisation whose common purpose is to help those who are severely impacted by mental illness. We believe that everyone should be treated with respect and dignity – and that’s why equity is one of our core values. We draw on the expertise, unique perspectives and lived experience of our people – regardless of who they are or their background – to help us become inclusive and anti-racist employer, campaigning organisation and service provider that reflect the diverse communities we support as a mental health charity.

The Evidence and Impact team at Rethink Mental Illness ensures the organisation maximises its impact through data-driven decision-making, robust evaluation, and strategic analytics. The team conducts comprehensive evaluations and economic analyses, including return on investment (ROI) and social return on investment (SROI), to demonstrate programme effectiveness and inform strategic choices.

The team designs and implements predictive models and analytical frameworks to forecast service demand, identify trends, and support resource allocation decisions. They ensure data quality and ethical practices underpin all analysis, transforming complex data into actionable insights for senior leadership and stakeholders.

Collaborating closely with internal teams, external partners, and academic institutions, the Evidence and Impact team drives continuous improvement, innovation, and organisational learning. They also build data literacy and analytical capabilities across the organisation through training and professional development initiatives, strengthening Rethink’s evidence-based approach to improving mental health outcomes.

How you will make a difference

This role supports the organisation through a strong focus on business intelligence, data collation, and analytics. It plays a critical part in ensuring contract compliance through the development of effective systems and supporting quality improvement. The role involves contract reporting and the preparation of PowerBI dashboards, apps, reports, and presentations to inform strategic decision-making.

Key areas of focus include Criminal Justice, Peer Support Groups, People Analytics, Fundraising, Finance, and Risk and Governance. The postholder will work across these domains to provide clear insights and contribute to organisational learning and development.

Working hours for this role are flexible. It is a home-based position, but we value in-person collaboration, so some travel will be required to main office locations (primarily London) and occasional visits to services across the UK.

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion 

Diversity is important to us and we appreciate difference through difference, inclusiveness and belonging. It gives us a deeper understanding of the world, our society and the diverse communities we’re working with. By including everyone, we are able to draw on the unique experiences and expertise of our people to help shape and enrich our workplace and improve our services. One way we are doing is through our valued staff networks which play a critical and highly valued role in keeping us focused on creating a diverse, inclusive and engaged employer.  We recognise and support staff networks and support groups for our ethnically diverse and LGBTQIA+ colleagues. We are also proud to have been awarded Disability Confident Employer status and are a signatory to the Business in the Community Race at Work Charter. 

We aim for our workforce to reflect the diversity of the communities we serve; for those who work for us to feel heard, valued and feel they belong; and for our work to help tackle wider mental health inequalities. We therefore actively encourage and welcome applications from everyone, including applicants with lived experience of mental illness, those who are Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer or Questioning, Intersex, Asexual and any other gender identity not expressed here (LGBTQIA+); people who are neurodiverse, have a health condition, or a disability or hidden disability and people from an ethnically diverse background - regardless of your age, religious or spiritual belief, sexual orientation, marital status, veteran status, pregnancy, political view or socio-economic status.

Becoming a truly anti-racist organisation 

We have an ambition of become a truly anti-racist employer, campaigning organisation and service provider - and in our efforts to influence policy and wider societal factors impacting on mental health set out in our anti-racist statement . We have designed a multi-year anti-racist programme of work contained in our Race Equality Action Plan which demonstrates our intention to hold ourselves accountable and be judged on our progress on becoming a truly anti-racist organisation. You can read more about our progress here. 

Job Title: Training and Development Officer

Location: Home-based, covering the South

Salary: £26,000 (pro-rata), you’d get £17,820 (gross)

Hours: 29.6 hours to be worked flexibly over 4 days

Contract: fixed-term to end of March 2028, Term Time Only

About us:

Learning through Landscapes is the UK’s leading school grounds charity, dedicated to enhancing outdoor learning and play for all. Our vision is a society where the benefits of regular time outdoors are valued and appreciated, and outdoor learning, play and connection with nature is recognised as a fundamental part of education, at every stage, for every child and young person.

We have unrivalled expertise based on three decades of experience, practical action and research. With offices in England and Scotland and staff based across the UK, our team and our accredited network of outdoor learning experts have the capacity to work nationally and internationally. Click HERE for more information.

What you’ll be doing:

As a Training and Development Officer, you will be working directly with teachers and other education staff supporting their journeys in taking curriculum learning and play outside and to utilise their school grounds. You will deliver LtL’s training and projects within diverse communities across a significant geographical area. This role is part of our exciting new climate change education initiative. It is essential that you are able and willing to travel across the South of England and throughout the UK, including overnight. For more details of the role see the Key Responsibilities document.

What you’ll need:

· To be based in Hampshire/Hampshire borders

· To be able to cover early evening training sessions throughout the area this role covers

· Experience of delivering projects with diverse communities

· Experience of training and advising educational staff in primary or secondary schools.

· Experience of delivering outdoor nature-based and curriculum linked learning activities

· A passion for nature

· Experience of producing written materials; educational resources, reports, and similar project related communications

· Competent IT skills (particularly Microsoft Office, Teams and Outlook)

· Excellent planning and organisational skills with the ability to manage and deliver a varied workload

· Excellent problem-solving skills and ability to find creative solutions

· Good interpersonal skills

· An understanding of the role safeguarding plays in education

· Ability to work from home or suitable office-type venue

If you don’t have all of the above but feel it could be the role for you, talk to us!

What we offer:

· Flexible working

· Holiday, 28 days + bank holidays + a “birthday gift” day

· Laptop, phone and all travel & subsistence expenses

· Family & carer friendly policies

· Annual training package including: LtL Professional Accreditation in Outdoor Learning and Play, LtL Climate School 180 Network Training package

· Sick pay

· Pension scheme – 5% employer contribution

· Subsidised Christmas meal

· A supportive and welcoming team of colleagues, including our 20+ Delivery Team members.

We’re an equal opportunities employer. All suitable applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, colour, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, or veteran status.

We are actively seeking to increase diversity within our workforce and are committed to recruiting the best people on the objective basis of their skills, ability and experience. We offer a guaranteed interview to eligible applicants who choose to opt-in to the scheme and can demonstrate that they have at least 6 out of the 11 from the “what you need” list. To be eligible to apply via the Guaranteed Interview Scheme, you must be from an ethnic minority. Please state clearly in your covering letter if you are applying under the Guaranteed Interview Scheme.

We are happy to support with any reasonable adjustments that are needed within the recruitment process.