Partnership fundraising manager volunteer roles
The Organisation
The 5% Club is a national dynamic movement of employers committed to “Earn and Learn” as part of building and developing the workforce they need for a socially mobile, prosperous and cohesive nation. We exist to help our Members and all employers increase further the number, quality and range of Earn and Learn opportunities across the UK. By joining The 5% Club, our Members aspire to achieve 5% of their workforce in Earn and Learn positions (including apprentices, sponsored students and graduates on formalised training schemes) within five years of joining.
The 5% Club now represents over 1250 organisations with 2m employees, of which almost 121,000 are in on-the-job training – an average, of more than 6?ross the movement. Our mission is rooted in employers taking a proactive role in addressing the UK’s critical skills challenges. It’s about developing people with the right skills to forge meaningful career paths and its members represent some of the gold standards of training and skills development.
We want roles such as apprenticeships, sponsored student placements, graduate programmes and upskilling to be accessible to all. By “all,” we mean the spectrum of Britain’s social diversity – racial, cultural, gender, age, background and more. The end goal is to drive up shared prosperity in the country by enlisting all manner of organisation sizes (from SMEs, for whom “5%” means one person – to FTSE100 household names employing tens of thousands) as Members, who then sign the Charter committing to building a workforce with at least 5% of their employees in Earn and Learn roles.
The 5% Club has strong connections to the Government, industry bodies and education partners and this plays a huge part in advocacy and change.
To find out more about what we do, visit our website.
The Role
The Chair of the Board provides strategic leadership to the charity, ensuring it is well governed, financially sustainable, and delivering meaningful impact for its beneficiaries. The role requires an experienced and collaborative leader who can support the Chief Executive, guide the Board, and uphold the highest standards of charity governance.
Key responsibilities
Governance Leadership
- Lead the Board in ensuring the charity fulfils its mission, complies with its governing document, and meets all legal and regulatory requirements (including Charity Commission expectations).
- Ensure the Board operates effectively, with the right balance of skills, diversity, and experience. Lead regular Board effectiveness reviews and support ongoing trustee development.
- Uphold the principles of good governance, encouraging constructive challenge, accountability, and high ethical standards.
Strategic Oversight
- Work with trustees and the Chief Executive to set the charity’s long-term vision, strategy, and priorities.
- Ensure appropriate systems are in place to monitor performance, impact, and risk. Oversee the quality of impact reporting, ensuring the charity communicates its outcomes effectively.
- Champion organisational learning, innovation, and responsiveness to change in the external environment.
Supporting and Challenging the Chief Executive
- Provide support, guidance, and constructive challenge to the Chief Executive.
- Maintain a strong, transparent, and trusting working relationship with the Chief Executive.
- Undertake formal annual appraisal of the Chief Executive and ensure the Board supports their performance and development.
- Act as the Chief Executive’s point of escalation for urgent or exceptional decisions requiring Chair involvement.
Board Leadership & Culture
- Chair Board meetings effectively, ensuring inclusive and balanced discussions and clear decisions.
- Ensure committees function effectively and are properly delegated while maintaining appropriate oversight.
- Build a collaborative board culture, encouraging diverse perspectives and maintaining a focus on beneficiaries. Lead succession planning across the Board – and supporting Committees – and ensure recruitment reflects diversity and skill needs.
- Lead trustee recruitment, induction, and succession planning (except for the recruitment of a new Chair).
External Representation
- Act as an ambassador for the charity, representing it with key stakeholders, funders, partners, regulators, and the media (as appropriate).
- Support the Chief Executive and senior team in relationship-building with donors, sponsors, and strategic partners.
- Promote the charity’s reputation and influence within relevant sectors. Represent the Charity in policy, advocacy and employer-facing forums where appropriate.
Risk, Finance & Compliance
- Ensure robust financial oversight, including budgeting, audit, reserves, and investment policies.
- Oversee risk management and ensure the Board receives timely information to make informed decisions.
- Ensure the charity maintains high standards in safeguarding, health & safety, data protection, and other statutory areas. Provide assurance over internal control systems and review the annual report and accounts prior to approval.
The Person
We are seeking an individual with substantial senior leadership experience, ideally a current or former business leader within an employer organisation, and prior experience as Chair of a commercial company, non-profit organisation, or charity. Experience in environments involving policy engagement or multistakeholder representation would be advantageous.
Essential Experience
- Significant senior leadership experience in a business, employer organisation, or large operational environment.
- Prior experience as Chair of a commercial company, charity, or non-profit.
- Experience of organisational governance, strategic planning, and risk oversight.
- Experience supporting or overseeing a Chief Executive or senior leadership team.
- Demonstrable experience building high-performing boards or teams.
- Experience engaging with Government, regulators, or policy-influencing environments.
Desirable Experience
- Experience in the charity sector, voluntary or community work, or public service.
- Experience with fundraising, commissioning, or managing external partnerships.
- Knowledge of relevant regulatory frameworks (e.g., Charity Commission guidance, safeguarding,data protection).
- Experience within a membership organisation or skills/employability-focused sector.
Skills and Competencies
- Strong strategic thinking and the ability to translate insight into practical direction.
- Excellent communication, facilitation, and interpersonal skills.
- Ability to chair meetings effectively and foster inclusive discussion.
- Integrity, independence of mind, and sound judgement.
- Ability to analyse complex information and make evidence-based decisions.
- Commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
- Confidence in ambassadorial and stakeholder-facing roles, including ability to represent the organisation publicly, including handling media or public scrutiny if required.
Personal Attributes
- Genuine alignment with the charity’s mission and values.
- Collaborative, supportive, and low-ego leadership style.
- Ability to challenge constructively and hold others to account.
- Resilient, calm under pressure, and capable of navigating ambiguity.
- High ethical standards and commitment to trusteeship responsibilities.
- Comfortable operating in high-visibility environments and representing the charity in national settings.
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Thank you!
Working Chance is a unique, pioneering, award-winning national charity that supports women with criminal convictions into employment. We support women to create independent purposeful lives through helping them to build careers, we break cycles of reoffending and we inspire employers to embrace inclusive hiring.
This is an exciting time for Working Chance as we start developing our new three-year strategy which will come into effect from 1 September. The new strategy will see us taking an ever bolder stance on speaking up for women with convictions, solidifying our position as a thought leader on how to improve the employment rate of these women, and moving into providing consultancy for employers seeking our guidance and input on their recruitment and employment practices.
We are looking for an inspiring and committed Chair of Trustees to lead our Board at this exciting point in our development. This is a unique opportunity to shape the strategic direction of a highly respected and impactful charity, while championing a mission that addresses inequality, social justice and economic inclusion.
As Chair, you will work closely with the Chief Executive and fellow trustees to ensure strong governance, clear strategic focus, effective oversight and financial sustainability, while acting as an ambassador for Working Chance and its values. Download the Appointment Brief to learn all about the role, the charity and the recruitment process, and if you think you might be the person we’re looking for, we’d love to hear from you.
Closing date: 9am on Monday 16 March
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Thank you!
Actively Interviewing
This organisation is scheduling interviews as applications come in. They're ready to hire as soon as they find the right person. Don't miss your opportunity, apply now!
Volunteer-led East London Waterworks Park won a 2024 NLA award and raised £2m towards buying the 14-acre Thames Water Depot (Lea Bridge Road) to turn into a new biodiverse park with natural swimming, forest schools, and community spaces.
We are looking for user experience researchers to participate in our community-led working group who are growing support of the project. There is opportunity to lead on projects exploring how architects, ecologists, community researchers, political campaigners, fundraisers and communications professions come together to create community infrastructure. Online meetings are every 4 weeks on a Tuesday evening on Google Meet with remote tasks.
What are we looking for?
Strong experience in qualitative/quantitative user research, research plan design/execution, data analysis, and synthesizing actionable insights.
Proven ability to build rapport and engage diverse communities. Excellent collaborative spirit for multidisciplinary teamwork.
Genuine passion for community-led projects, environmental sustainability, and inclusive urban development.
By leading research projects that explore how diverse professionals collaborate to shape community infrastructure, volunteers will directly contribute to the development of a park that reflects the needs and desires of the local community. Your input will help us craft experiences that inspire, educate, and engage, driving support for the park's mission and long-term sustainability.
Registered Charity
East London Waterworks Park is a charity campaigning to create a new biodiverse park with natural swimming ponds, forest schools and community spaces
Thank you!
The Sutton Trust is at a pivotal moment in its development. For nearly three decades, we have been the UK’s leading voice on social mobility, working tirelessly to break the link between socio-economic background and life chances. Today, that mission is as urgent as it has ever been. Despite pockets of progress, social mobility in the UK remains low by international standards, with deep inequalities in education, access to professions, and regional opportunity continuing to limit life chances and economic potential.
We are seeking a Trustee with policy expertise who shares our commitment to fairness, evidence, and long-term change. We value diversity of thought and experience, and we are keen to hear from those who can help us navigate an evolving political landscape and leverage our research to challenge systemic barriers, ensuring our voice remains the most influential in the national drive to transform social mobility.
Duties and Responsibilities of a Trustee
Policy Responsibilities
- Providing oversight for the charity’s research and advocacy, ensuring the Trust’s work is mission-aligned, evidence-based, and intellectually rigorous
- Supporting the Board in discharging their collective duties around planning, risk and compliance, particularly in areas such as horizon scanning for upcoming legislative changes, political shifts and shifts in social trends affecting the Trust as well as specific regulations around political neutrality
- Leveraging their professional networks and expertise, enhancing the charity’s credibility and influence, ensuring our research translates into meaningful systemic change
General Responsibilities
- Inputting into and agreeing the Trust’s vision, mission and values and providing advice on the Trust’s wider purpose, goals and activities
- Inputting into and agreeing the Trust’s aims and long-term strategy in furtherance of its charitable purpose
- Ensuring key risks are identified, monitored and controlled effectively as well as keeping abreast of changes in the Trust’s operating environment
- Monitoring the Trust’s performance against its strategic aims, operational plans and budgets
- Safeguarding and promoting the Trust’s reputation, and acting in the best interest of the Trust at all times
- Ensuring the financial stability and sustainability of the Trust
- Ensuring the effective and efficient administration of the organisation, including having appropriate policies and procedures in place
- Ensuring proper arrangements are in place for the appointment, supervision, support, appraisal and renumeration of the CEO and they are held to account
- Contributing to regular reviews of the Trust’s own governance
- Ensuring the Trust complies with its governing documents, charity law, company law and any other relevant legislation or regulations
In addition to the above statutory duties, each Trustee should use their specific skills, knowledge and experience to contribute to the Board’s decision-making, and dedicate sufficient time to carry out their responsibilities effectively. This may involve sitting on Board Committees, scrutinising board papers, leading discussions, focusing on key issues, providing advice and guidance on new initiatives, or other issues in which the Trustee has special expertise.
Trustees aim to support a specific member of the SLT based on their skills and experience or may participate in appropriate subgroups, e.g., Alumni Leadership Board, Education Advisory Group, (Development) Board meetings, etc.
Person Specification
Mission and Values
- Sympathetic to the aims of the Trust and its mission to address educational disadvantage
- High level of personal and professional ethics, integrity, and accountability
- Willingness to safeguard and promote the Trust’s reputation within the wider sector
Strategy and Interpersonal Skills
- Ability to think strategically in order to provide appropriate oversight and scrutiny for the Trust’s overall activity and direction
- Ability to confidently and fairly make evidence-based decisions and constructively challenge the decisions of others if required
- Ability to collaborate and work as part of a team to provide advice, make decisions, and/or solve problems
- A commitment to personal development and a willingness to participate in regular reviews of the Board’s own performance and governance
Governance, Risk and Finance
- Understanding of the legal duties of a Trustee (or willingness to learn), including compliance with Charity Commission and Companies House regulations and commitment to the roles and responsibilities of a Trustee
- Awareness of (or willingness to learn about) financial health indicators and organisational risk management
Specialist Expertise and Experience
- A background in public affairs, civil service, think tanks, education sector organisations or senior policy or research roles in (education) charities
- Strong understanding of how UK government (at local, regional or national level) and/ or the UK education sector works
- Strong influencing and communications skills with the ability to lead discussions, provide expert advice, and influence stakeholders in a professional manner
- Good understanding of how to translate policy jargon into clear, strategic advice for the wider Trustee Board
Interviews
Applications should reach us by 10am, Monday 30th March. First round interviews will take place on Wednesday 15th and Thursday 16th April, and second round interviews will take place w/c 27th April or w/c 4th May. All interviews will be held at our London offices in Millbank Tower.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.