Human Resources Assistant Jobs

Battersea is undergoing a significant transformation programme (known as Launchpad) to deliver real change in the way we work with, utilise, and learn from data. Our new approach will enable smoother animal, customer and supporter journeys and will help us embed a truly data and insight-driven approach to decision-making at Battersea. The first phase of the programme is to implement Salesforce Lightning as the organisations single CRM application.

With the programme underway, in the preparation for the first go live, this exciting role has been created within the new Data Applications team to ensure that all the system users are expertly supported.

This role, working within the Data Applications Team will initially contribute to the Launchpad programme by supporting training and UAT activity. Once the programme has been completed, this role will then be responsible for the ongoing support and maintenance needs for the new Salesforce Lightning CRM and other related applications as they are launched.

Although the role will initially be managed by the Data Applications Delivery Lead, there is the potential that this role will transition into a dedicated Data Applications support function as the programme progresses and the support need grows.

This is an exciting opportunity for someone looking to help contribute to the future of data at Battersea, open to working in a dynamic and fast-paced environment, with a desire to contribute to first class CRM support.

Overall objectives

• Provide efficient and effective support to Battersea’s CRM system users.
• Support the work of the wider Data Applications team and contribute to the design and delivery of effective system processes.
• Undertake various system housekeeping activities to ensure that the systems and data remain robust and accurate.
• Continuously look for areas of potential improvement to systems and processes and make recommendations where appropriate.

What we can offer you:

In return for your commitment to our cause and to recognise the value of our employees, Battersea offers a range of benefits to support the wellbeing of our employees. These include:

• 28 days of annual leave (plus 8 days paid public holidays) per year
• Discounted gym memberships and cycle to work schemes
• Employee Assistance Programme and access to Wellbeing Resources.
• Generous pension contributions – up to 10% employer contribution
• Free healthcare cash plan, where you can claim for a range of treatment including dental, optical, physiotherapy, chiropody and acupuncture every year.
• Annual interest-free season ticket loans

We are also committed to providing learning and development to our employees. During your time with us, we provide support for your professional and career development, including access to digital and in-person training programmes, leadership and management training, mentoring and much more.

Our hybrid working model:

We operate a 50% onsite hybrid working model, with our office-based staff splitting their time between site based and home working. This enables our office-based staff to balance the benefits of home working with onsite collaboration and maintaining a connection to our cause.

Diversity and inclusion:

We are committed to providing a welcoming and inclusive experience for all staff, volunteers and trustees and those hoping to join us. We operate an anonymised shortlisting process and actively seek to ensure our process is fair and equitable for all.

We understand the value of diverse voices, perspectives, and experiences to help us deliver even more for our dogs and cats, and we welcome applicants from all sections of the community.

As a Disability Confident Committed Employer we will ask about any adjustments you may need at application and/or interview stage, and if you are offered a role with us, we’ll talk to you about any workplace adjustments you may need to help you perform at your best.

More about us:

At Battersea, we aim to never turn away a dog or cat in need of help. We give each one lots of love, expert care and get to know their characters and quirks so we can find them a new home that’s just right for them. Join us and help us be here for every dog and cat, wherever they are, for as long as they need us.

Closing date: 15th April 2025
Interview date(s): TBC. Early applications are encouraged, as interviews may take place on a rolling basis ahead of the closing date.

To apply for the role, please click the button below. All applications must be submitted before the closing date advertised. We reserve the right to close the vacancy early if a high volume of applications is received.

The Impact and Evaluation Manager designs and leads the organisation's impact, evaluation and research programme, ensuring accountability, learning, and continuous improvement.

Description of role:

This post is responsible for delivering the Impact and Evaluation portfolio at Buttle UK. The role has a key strategic role to play in understanding the impact of our grants and leading a broad portfolio of evaluation work. The I&E Manager is responsible for monitoring and delivering evaluation reports, creating and analysing internal and research data, and building and maintaining relationships with key stakeholders and data partners. The role works closely with the internal fundraising and grants teams at Buttle UK to strengthen their work by providing data, insight, and support. Our Impact and Evaluation portfolio also includes commissioning and undertaking new research, supporting our aim to publish studies on issues that affect children and young people living in poverty. The role is supported by, and is line manager to, an Impact and Evaluation Officer.

To get a copy of the Job Pack please click through to apply. You will then be able to download the pack.

Salary: 

£ 13.72 per hour

£ 25,862.5 full time equivalent

Hours:

36.25

Location:

Cheshire based (WFH) + travel across Cheshire/Castle Community Centre

Accountable to:

HR Manager

Role summary

Age UK Cheshire works with older people to support them in living their best life…

· relieving loneliness, so that older people feel connected,

· combatting poverty, so that older people have enough to live on, and

· increasing independence, so that older people can live the lives they want to lead.

The Volunteer Coordinator’s primary focus will be to grow our volunteer programme and act as the first point of contact for all stakeholders for volunteering enquiries. You will be adept and motivated about working with and onboarding volunteers and at building relationships with other organisations, community groups, and networks to enhance the volunteer programme’s reach and impact.

This role will work collaboratively with colleagues in ensuring volunteers feel valued, supported and equipped to contribute meaningfully at every stage of their engagement with us. The role requires successful coordination of volunteer onboarding, training, databases, and supporting the leadership team by providing accurate and timely reports.

The post holder will be responsible for taking ownership of our volunteer programme, build on our existing strategies, ensure helpful resources, plan engaging training sessions and bring a people-focussed mindset to everything you do.

The role will also include administrative support to client facing services teams and finance (2 days a week, 1 day based at Castle Community Centre, Northwich). This includes managing receipt of postal donations, issuing thank you letters, issue of key information documents to service users, managing finance audit trail.

JOB DESCRIPTION

First point of contact

1. Serve as the first point of contact for volunteering enquiries across the organisation and build strong relationships with volunteers and other stakeholders.

2. Proactive ownership of recruitment, onboarding, training and support of volunteers.

3. Matching volunteers to opportunities that suit their skills.

4. Be the identified lead for the organisations volunteer programme, developing strong links with partner organisations, and keeping up to date on national volunteering best practice and legislation.

Service Delivery

5. Leading, planning and delivering recruitment drives alongside line managers across multiple platforms, including attendance at identified community events across Cheshire.

6. To build strong relationships and use a variety of communication methods to engage and retain volunteers, including updates to our Volunteer Central SharePoint site so that volunteers feel well supported, included and informed.

7. Ensuring best practice in volunteer management by upskilling and supporting line managers in volunteering priorities.

8. To strengthen the volunteer recognition process across the organisation.

9. Carry out pre-volunteering checks, including references and Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks where appropriate

10. Ensure there is appropriate support and training for volunteers through regular informal contact and more structured reviews.

11. Site visits across locations to support volunteers

Services support

12. Review volunteering processes and procedures and implement systems, providing appropriate support to other coordinators to ensure a consistent approach to volunteering across the organisation.

13. Updating and maintaining volunteer support and inclusion systems to ensure accuracy, accessibility, and regular updates.

Performance

14. Maintain accurate records of enquiries, referrals, and outcomes, ensuring data is comprehensive and can be used for monitoring, evaluation, and future service development.

15. To collaborate with line managers on developing our volunteer database to ensure all key information is recorded to provide accurate and timely reports.

16. Identify emerging issues and trends based on enquiries and report these to senior staff for further action or policy development.

17. To monitor and evaluate activities including volunteer surveys, conversion and leaver data and contribute to reports for evaluation and monitoring as required.

Administrative Duties

18. Support front line services, printing and posting information packs to clients and potential clients

19. Organise and scan donations and other client communications received in the post and to admin' email. 

20. Issue thank you letters to donors and respond to general enquires received by email to central email addresses.

21. Support the Governance Support Manager and Exec Assistant in ensuring head office based compliance for Fire and H&S. 

General responsibilities

22. Collaborate with colleagues across the organisation to ensure enquiries are handled efficiently, and volunteers are directed to the appropriate services.

23. Adhere to Age UK Cheshire’s policies on confidentiality, data protection, and safeguarding.

24. Undertake any other relevant duties as required by the Chief Financial Officer or senior staff.

General

25. Uphold the organisation’s core values and act as an ambassador for Age UK Cheshire, demonstrating respect, empathy, and professionalism in all interactions.

26. Take personal responsibility for health, safety, and wellbeing, ensuring compliance with organisational policies and health and safety regulations.

27. Promote diversity and inclusion, fostering an environment where individual differences are valued and equality of opportunity is upheld.

28. Foster collaboration, communicate openly with colleagues, and contribute to continuous improvement initiatives to enhance service delivery and organisational effectiveness.

29. Take responsibility for personal development, adhere to organisational policies and legal requirements, ensure safeguarding, confidentiality, and data protection standards are met, and undertake any other duties as required to support the organisation’s goals.

PERSON SPECIFICATION 

Essential

 a. Experience in project management and successfully recruiting, engaging, and supporting volunteers.

 b. Ability to motivate, inspire and retain volunteers.

 c. Strong organisational skills and leadership skills.

 d. Excellent verbal, written and ITC communication skills, including telephone and email communication.

 e. Good understanding of issues facing older people, carers, and disadvantaged groups.

 f. Ability to work independently and prioritise tasks in a fast-paced environment.

 g. IT skills, including experience with databases and Microsoft Office applications.

 h. Knowledge of data protection, confidentiality, and safeguarding policies.

 i. Ability to work effectively as part of a team and with external partners.

Desirable

 a. Experience of using a CRM or case management system (e.g. Charity Log).

 b. Knowledge of the voluntary sector and inter-agency working.

GENERAL:

 a. Have use of a car, full driving licence, and ability to travel across Cheshire in the course of the role.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

HOURS:

The contracted hours for this role are 36.25 hours per week, typically worked Monday to Friday. However, both the specific working days and the daily hours within this timeframe can be discussed and agreed upon, based on operational needs

Out-of-office hours activities may be an aspect of this role.

CONTRACT:

All new staff are subject to a six-month probationary period. 4 weeks’ notice is required to terminate employment by either side i.e. the employee or Age UK Cheshire. During the probationary period, one week’s notice is required by either side.

HOLIDAY ENTITLEMENT:

From the 1st January to 31st December the basic annual entitlement for full time employees is 25 days, plus an entitlement to Public Bank Holidays and a discretionary entitlement to 1 extra day awarded by the Trustees. Part time staff will have their entitlement pro-rated according to the number of hours they are contracted to work.

CRIMINAL DISCLOSURE:

The post holder will be subject to police checking by the Disclosure and Barring Service (was CRB) Enhanced Disclosure.

PENSION:

Age UK Cheshire has an automatic enrolment workplace pension scheme pension scheme in place for eligible employees.

HEALTH CARE:

Age UK Cheshire offers a Health Care Cash Plan and staff are entitled to receive healthcare benefits.

Age UK Cheshire is a Mindful Employer and positive actions will be taken to ensure that people will not be excluded from working for the organisation because of their age, race, ethnicity, faith, marital status, sexual orientation, gender, physical or mental health.

 Charity No 1091608.

JOB DESCRIPTION

Department/Service:

The finance department is responsible for the overall financial management and administration of the 4million turnover at GSU. The department plays a crucial role in ensuring compliance with statutory regulations, including HMRC, Charities Commission, Companies House, and pensions. This includes supporting our annual external financial audit.

The finance team act as Business Partners to the rest of the organisation ensuring they understand financial processes to aid effective working. The team also work alongside our external payroll provider and our external digital system provider to ensure smooth and effective working.

Job Purpose:

Provide a professional, accurate, and timely accounting service in respect to all management and statutory reporting. Collaborate with internal stakeholders and external support services to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of the Finance department, ensuring excellence in service delivery.

Reports to:

• Currently reporting to the CEO whilst the senior management role in the Finance Department is under review. The senior management post is currently vacant.

Responsible for:

• Supporting, managing, supervising, and developing one Finance Coordinator and one Finance Assistant.
• Temporary Interns and/or student staff supporting the Finance team as required

Duties and Key Responsibilities

1. Management and Statutory Reporting:

• Prepare accurate management accounts on a timely basis each month.
• Reconcile all balance sheet accounts monthly, including accruals and prepayments.
• Prepare and submit statutory reports, including VAT Returns, Companies House, and Charities Commission Annual Returns.
• Support the preparation of the annual accounts for the external financial audit and play an instrumental role during the audit process.
• Reconcile GSU bank accounts including PayPal online accounts weekly and monthly.
• Reconcile Commercial Income to Bank Accounts producing weekly sales and analysis reports.

2. Budgeting, Forecasting, and Cashflow Statements:

• Support in the preparation of the annual budget and reforecasts.
• Create forecast reports and statements as and when required.
• Produce monthly and annual cashflow and liquidity statements.

3. Business Partnering and Collaboration:

• Act as a business partner to all GSU staff members, providing financial insights and support to meet organisational goals.
• Work alongside external support services (e.g., payroll providers and digital finance systems) to ensure smooth operations and excellence in the Finance department.
• Collaborate with external auditors and other stakeholders to ensure compliance and effective financial management.

4. Managing and Supervisory Duties:

• Supervise and support the professional development of two GSU finance staff members.
• Foster a team culture that promotes accountability, continuous improvement, and collaboration.
• Oversee the responsibilities of Finance Coordinator and Finance Administrator and ensure their tasks align with departmental goals.
• Supervise and support interns and student staff as appropriate.

5. Digital Systems and Processes:

• Maintain efficient digital finance systems and processes to streamline financial operations (Twinfield, Ezora & Basecone for example).
• Ensure the accuracy and timeliness of digital records and reporting systems.
• Evaluate and improve digital tools and workflows to enhance departmental efficiency.

6. General Finance Department Duties:

• Oversee and assist with sales ledger, purchase ledger, and payroll functions as needed.
• Support the Finance Coordinator and Finance Assistant to issue and maintain records of purchase orders and associated invoices.
• Support the Finance Coordinator and Finance Assistant to maintain and post all petty cash transactions.
• Prepare ad hoc financial reports and information for the Senior Leadership Team (SLT), Trustee Board, and other stakeholders as required.
• Respond proactively to financial queries from GSU staff.
• Support the ongoing review and development of Finance department systems and procedures.
• Maintain customer-facing systems and ensure smooth operations for Finance department stakeholders.

7. External Audit and Compliance:

• Prepare schedules and reconciliations for the annual audit.
• Ensure compliance with regulatory requirements, including HMRC and Charities Commission guidelines.

General Responsibilities:

• Represent and be an ambassador for GSU.
• Be flexible and carry out other associated duties as may arise, develop, or be assigned in line with the broad remit of the position.
• Maintain and improve competencies through continuous professional development.
• Abide by organisational policies, codes of conduct, and practices.
• Support and promote liberation, diversity, and equality of opportunity in the workplace.
• Treat with confidentiality any personal, private, or sensitive information about individuals, organisations, clients, or staff and project data.
• Adhere to the Sustainability Policy and strive to reduce the organisation’s carbon footprint.
• Actively seek better ways to assist GSU in becoming a more sustainable workplace.

PERSON SPECIFICATION:

Experience:

• Experience in preparing management accounts budgets, forecasts, and cashflows.
• Experience in preparing and reconciling VAT returns.
• Experience in reconciling balance sheet control accounts including salaries
• Proficiency in using accounting software and digital finance systems.
• Previous experience working in a Finance department.
• Experience in customer service and promoting financial literacy.
• Experience in payroll processes.
• Familiarity with supporting and developing team members.

Skills and Abilities:

• Strong customer service focus and ability to build effective working relationships.
• Ability to engage, motivate, and support team members.
• Excellent communication skills (face-to-face, MS Teams, phone, and email).
• Strong analytical and troubleshooting abilities.
• Proficiency in IT tools for report writing, email, and database management.
• Excellent time management and organisational skills.
• High level of accuracy, attention to detail, and methodical working.

Knowledge:

• Regulatory requirements and best practices in accounting and finance.
• Knowledge of HMRC, Charities Act, SORP, VAT, PAYE, and pension compliance.

Education/Training:

• Part-qualified ACCA or a training towards a relevant professional accounting qualification.
• Relevant practical experience in accounting and finance.

Personal Attributes and Other Requirements:

• Hybrid or office-based work with the ability to travel to other campuses when needed.
• Flexibility to work evenings, weekends, or stay overnight as necessary.
• Strong team player with a flexible approach to work.
• Commitment to anti-discriminatory practice and equal opportunities.
• Awareness and application of diversity issues in all areas of work.
• Commitment to the values and ethos of the organisation

The Youth Endowment Fund  

Programme and Impact Lead 

Reports to: Assistant Director of Impact, Programmes and Partnerships 

Salary: £54,000 

Contract: 1 - year fixed term 

Location: Central London, Hybrid* 

Application Deadline: 12pm on Tuesday 15th April 2025

Interviews: commencing the week of 28th April 2025 

About the Youth Endowment Fund 

We’re here to prevent children from becoming involved in violence. We do this by finding out what works and building a movement to change things.  

In recent years, violent crime involving children has increased. This is a tragedy. Every child is an important member of our community and society has a duty to protect them.

The Youth Endowment Fund (YEF) is a charity with a £200m endowment that exists to prevent children from becoming involved in violence. We will achieve this by finding out what works and building a movement to put this knowledge into practice. To make this happen we fund, evaluate and then spread the very best work on reducing violence affected young people across England and Wales. 

Central to all of this to is two key tasks: firstly, deciding which initiatives we should fund and evaluate and secondly, ensuring we do this excellently. Our Programmes Team is central to getting this done. This team is responsible for planning specific rounds of funding that will fill evidence gaps and identifying, assessing, funding and supporting initiatives designed to prevent violence affecting young people. This way we build evidence on what works so that we can change national practice and policies.

Key responsibilities 

You are a key member of the Programmes team. As a Programme and Impact Lead, you will line manage Programme Managers and be responsible for managing some of our larger grant awards, that include more complex evaluation designs. You’ll be responsible for making sure our delivery organisations can effectively engage with robust, independent evaluations, so we have the best chance of generating valuable learning from a round. And you may also be responsible for directly managing our independent evaluators as well. 

You must have a strong understanding of evaluation methodologies and challenges organisations face in delivery. You must also be a brilliant project manager, great at managing and developing people and external stakeholders, energised by tackling complex problems and really care about the YEF’s mission to build evidence of what works.

Your main responsibilities boil down to these. You’ll:

• Manage large-scale complex projects
• You’ll be responsible for managing programmes of a significant size and complexity. You’ll draw on your experience of managing large scale projects and knowledge of evaluations to overcome unexpected challenges. You’ll balance logic and intuition to guide partners and colleagues through the inevitable undulations of complex projects and feel comfortable making decisions when there’s too much or too little information. You’ll ensure projects maintain a strong alignment to the original aims and objectives of the funding round.

• Provide leadership to the Programmes Team and strategic advice to the Assistant Director of Impact, Programmes and Partnerships. Along with other Programme and Impact leads, you’ll deputise for the Assistant Director of Impact, Programmes and Partnerships. This means you’ll:

• Take responsibility for making key decisions in funding rounds and with specific programmes; 
• Oversee a broad portfolio of projects and serve as a senior point of escalation when issues arise;
• Manage budgets, including approving payments and making judgements about the appropriateness of timeline and budget variation requests;
• Be responsible for knowing when to pull others into the decision. 

• Lead strategic areas of work. You’ll develop and embed a clear strategy for distinctive areas of work that will enable us to achieve our mission. This includes:
• Finding new ways to improve our internal knowledge sharing and learning, contributing new ideas around how the Programmes team can play into emerging areas of work in the wider organisation. 
• Supporting organisations to become evaluation ready, ensuring young people are the heart of our funding decisions and driving efficiencies so we can be the best we can be.
• Developing and leading the implementation of these strategies and ensure we are on track to achieve our aspirations. 
• Developing and rolling out new processes designed to help us monitor progress in commissioning and high-quality grant management.

• Win people over externally
• You’ll meet people externally and share what we’re doing, why we care about it, being open and transparent about what we know and what we don’t know.
• You’ll share progress updates with key stakeholders, and you’ll represent YEF at external meetings, steering groups and committees.
• You’ll manage strategic relationships with co-funders, which may include partnerships with government departments.
• You’re likely to have frequent contact with civil servants, charity leaders and staff, academics and practitioners.

• Line management 
• Your role may involve the line management of Programme Managers. This will include supporting and enhancing their overall professional growth, providing mentoring and coaching opportunities as appropriate and serving as a source of consultation and a point of escalation for your team members as they manage projects in their portfolio. 

• Support delivery organisations to take part in robust evaluation
• You’ll make sure the team are excellent at supporting delivery organisations to engage with robust evaluation. You’ll help organisations identify the challenges and mitigations associated with embedding an evaluation approach in their project and delivery. This includes helping them understand the importance of having excellent monitoring and quality assurance systems and process and ensuring they are comfortable engaging in open and honest conversations with evaluators to ensure the project and evaluation are the very best they can be. 

About you 

You are this sort of person: 

• You get things done.You have a track record of getting things done. You’re very reliable and consistent. You take pride in making things happen. 
• You manage projects really well. In previous jobs, you have held responsibility for ensuring challenging projects are delivered on time and to a high standard. You’re very well organised, know how to assess and mitigate risks and use project management systems that work for you. You’re good at spotting when things aren’t going to plan and can tell when you need to raise or escalate your concerns. 
• You make wise judgements.
•  You can take in a lot of written and numerical information and make informed assessments about what good opportunities look like. You have experience in commissioning research or evaluations. You draw on your expertise to appraise the quality of proposals. You can summarise and share your views concisely. 
• You have an understanding of evaluation methodologies and common challenges delivery organisations face in implementation​.
• You have knowledge and experience working with independent evaluations and the various evaluation designs that may be utilised to understand if something works and how.
• You may even have experience in using quantitative approaches, interpreting statistical findings and assessing the suitability of different impact evaluation designs for different types of programmes.
• You win people over. People tend to warm to you and respect you. You’ve built good relationships with very senior people and with very junior people. You’re particularly good at working with people in other organisations. You work very well in a team. You’re not motivated by being the individual winner. You want the team as a whole to succeed. You don’t care who gets the credit, so long as things get done.
• You learn fast but remain humble. You’re quick at getting your head around things. It wouldn't faze you to have responsibility for organising things that are new to you, so long as you have an expert to ask advice from. You like learning and developing. You know how much you don't know as well as what you do.
• You don't want your days to pass without making a difference.You want to play a significant part in a charity that is making a difference. You like the idea of doing a job that makes young people safer.

While it’s not a criterion, we are especially interested to hear from applicants who have lived experience of violence affecting young people. 

It’s also important to us that the people we hire do not discriminate. We believe in being inclusive and giving everyone an equal chance to succeed. Applications are welcome from all regardless of age, sex, gender identity, disability, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, religion or belief, race, sexual orientation, transgender status or social economic background.  

 All appointments will be made on merit, following a fair and transparent process. In line with the Equality Act 2010, however, the organisation may employ positive action where candidates from underrepresented groups can demonstrate their ability to perform the role equally well. 

Hybrid Working 

The office is based in Central London. Those living in and around London are expected to be in the office a minimum of 2 days per week. If you live outside of London and work remotely, you’ll be expected to work from the London office 2 days per month. As part of our commitment to flexible working we will consider a range of options for the successful applicant. All options can be discussed at the interview stage.

To apply 

Please click on the "Apply for this" button and submit your CV, your completed monitoring form and cover letter, which must answer the following two questions below. Please submit your application by 12pm on Tuesday 15th April. 

Application Questions  

1. Can you share an example of when you've worked with a delivery organisation to support them in taking part in a rigorous evaluation - for example, explaining the importance of randomisation, or facilitating data collection of validated outcome measures? What was the context, the issue you helped them to overcome, and the outcome? 

2. Can you give an example of when you have had to manage multiple partners in a project and resolve conflicting positions? Can you explain how you went about this and what the outcome was? 

Interview process 

There will be a task to complete in advance of the interview. This will be a one-stage interview process. Interviews will take place the week commencing the 28th April 2025. This will be a panel interview. 

PLEASE NOTE: We do not sponsor work permits and you will be required to provide proof of your eligibility to work in the UK. 

Benefits include 

• £1,000 professional development budget annually 
• 28 days holiday plus Bank Holidays Employee Assistance Programme – 24hr phone line for free confidential support 
• Volunteering days - 4 half days per year 
• Death in service - 4 times annual salary 
• Flexible hours. Core office hours 10am – 4pm 
• Financial support including travel and hardship loans 
• Employer contributed pension of 5%. 

​Your data 

Your personal data will be shared for the purposes of the recruitment exercise. This includes our HR team, interviewers (who may include other partners in the project and independent advisors), relevant team managers and our IT service provider if access to the data is necessary for performance of their roles. We do not share your data with other third parties, unless your application for employment is successful, and we make you an offer of employment. We will then share your data with former employers to obtain references for you. We do not transfer your data outside the European Economic Area. 
The people we are looking for do not discriminate and we believe in being inclusive and giving everyone an equal chance to succeed. Applications are welcome from all regardless of age, sex, gender identity, disability, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, religion or belief, race, sexual orientation, transgender status or social economic background. 

The British Heart Foundation (BHF) is looking for a dynamic and proactive Junior Buyer to join our new goods Furniture and Electrical team for BHF Home Stores. This is a fantastic opportunity to support our mission and contribute to the development of new goods within our retail portfolio.

Our award-winning retail division is the largest and most successful charity retailer in the UK with rewarding careers in buying.

As a Junior Buyer, you will play a crucial role in supporting the Buyer and wider team in managing the range life cycle, strategic planning, and product development. You will work closely with suppliers, ensuring product quality and optimising stock availability. 

As a Junior Buyer, your key responsibilities include:

• Strategically planning new goods furniture and electrical ranges for BHF Home stores in conjunction with Buyer, taking responsibility for a key area and presenting to senior retail management.
• Negotiating pricing, production, display, packaging and product detail 
• Maintaining relationships with existing suppliers and sourcing new suppliers 
• Communicating with suppliers to drive the critical path and optimise stock 
• Working closely with the merchandising team to interpret sales history and analysis to support the buying strategy
• Reducing costs and improving quality of supply
• Achieving budgeted sales and margin for specific product category 
• Maintaining the range plan and relevant documentation and systems
• Analysing consumer buying patterns and successfully predicting future trends
• Comparative shop reports, market research and identifying product trends
• Field liaison to gauge sales feedback and range balance alongside donated goods
• Communicating display guidelines and product information to the field teams
• Supporting the Buyer and wider team with administrative tasks 
• Training and mentoring junior staff
• Maintaining a high level of QA awareness specific to product category

In this position you'll collaborate closely with multiple internal and external stakeholders including UK suppliers, Marketing, Merchandising and store field teams.

About you 

We are looking for someone with previous experience as junior buyer or assistant buyer in a Retail Head Office environment. 

You should have excellent negotiation and communication skills, a proven track record of success in buying goods, and a passion for retail, especially within the charity sector. 

To succeed in this role you will:

• Proven track record of success in buying, product development, range planning and margin enhancement in a retail environment.
• Excellent negotiation and communication skills
• Strong commercial acumen and a keen eye for product
• Ability to build strong relationships with internal and external stakeholders
• Great organisational skills, attention to detail and ability to prioritise a busy workload
• A proactive attitude with an ability to think on your feet and problem solve whilst meeting tight deadlines and achieving targets
• A passion for Retail, especially within the Charity sector
• Ability to manage, motivate and develop direct reports
• IT proficiency in MS Office (Word, Excel and PowerPoint & SharePoint

Line management experience and working in retail shops would be beneficial. In return you get the chance to join a talented team that works on exciting projects that really make a difference.

Working arrangements

This is a blended role, where your work will be dual located between your home and our Northampton office (NN1 2BN).

At the BHF we believe in the power of being together, so our colleagues on blended contracts can expect to spend some time in their office, at least one day each week, on average.

How to apply

It’s quick and easy to apply for a role at the BHF. Just click on the apply button below to be redirected ro our career site. 

We are recruiting for a Director of Finance who will also act as Company Secretary; based at our office in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire.

The successful candidate will be responsible for managing the financial operations of the charity, whilst leading the development of our financial strategy and aligning it to our objectives. It’s a really exciting time to join us as we begin to embed our new five-year strategy and the successful candidate will be part of this transformational change. You will also liaise closely with the Board of Trustees being responsible for financial planning, oversight and reporting regulatory compliance.

Our ideal candidate will have excellent communication skills and a strong finance business partnering approach. You will have a continuous improvement mindset with the drive to make a difference and a proven track record of bringing people on a finance transformation journey. You will be sufficiently self-motivated to learn and improve processes to enhance efficiency.

This is a highly rewarding role working within a charity committed to keeping children safe from sexual harm. It is anticipated that this role will commence 1st October 2025; however, there is scope for an earlier induction period to work alongside the current postholder.

If you want to work with people who care about making a difference and have a can-do attitude, we would love to hear from you - please contact us for an application pack.

We offer hybrid working, a NEST pension, 33 days annual leave inclusive of bank holidays (rising to 38 days after 5 years’ successful service), charity discounts, Employee Assistance Programme and Benenden medical cover.