Venue manager jobs

We are recruiting a General Advice Officer to support with the delivery of advice and welfare support to vulnerable guests who access the Community Wellbeing Service, a local support hub offering relief from the rising cost of living for local families. The General Advice Officer will support our guests on a range of areas including benefits, immigration, housing, money management and access to training and employment services. The postholder will provide high quality welfare advice and guidance through weekly one-to-one advice sessions, undertake case work, work with partners to facilitate referrals, and provide support to advice volunteers. 

The successful candidate must have at least two years’ experience delivering effective advice or in a similar capacity, demonstrate empathy, an understanding of the issues facing vulnerable people, and have in-depth and up-to-date knowledge of welfare benefits and housing policies/legislations, with a strong focus on achieving tangible outcomes for our guests.

Advice Work

• Carry out assessments to identify urgent needs and appropriate support pathways for members at the Community Wellbeing Service.
• Support outreach or community engagement activities as needed.
• Provide holistic and person-centred advice and casework on the main enquiry areas, particularly welfare benefits, housing, employment, health and wellbeing, immigration and money management.
• Maintain Sufra’s Advice Quality Standards and meeting tangible outcomes.
• Produce detailed case records on our case management system for the purpose of continuity, statistical monitoring and report preparation
• Apply for funds from trusts and foundations to support individuals and families with essential costs such as housing deposits or white-goods and/or cancellation of debts;
• Develop and maintain good working relationships with external stakeholders for joined up working, including statutory and voluntary service providers, making referrals for guests where appropriate.
• Enable and support guests to act for themselves, wherever appropriate.
• Monitor the progression of all cases to the point of resolution.
• Conduct follow-up calls with guests where needed and track outcomes
• Support volunteers who are working on delivering Advice Services e.g triage volunteers and pathways volunteers
• Provide advice to the General Advice Service as and when required

Case Management

• Manage own caseload and work independently to support guests
• Use of Case Management System (AdvicePro) as well as Microsoft Office for communication and document production.
• Support with developing case studies and gathering guest feedback
• Collect statistical information as requested for reporting purposes.
• Feed into the development of monitoring reports for funders and other stakeholders

Other Responsibilities

• Maintain and update the charity’s record of referral and signposting agencies;
• Ensure data protection regulations are adhered to, and that sensitive data is handled in accordance with relevant legislation and organisational procedures.
• Keep informed of new and changing legislation relevant to the post, and of local issues and policies
• Be committed to the aims, procedures and policies of Sufra’s advice service in every aspect of service delivery.
• Take part in supervisions, personal development training, team meetings and appraisals
• Undertake any other reasonable duties to support the operations of the charity.

If you are right for this role, you will be a committed, motivated, and outgoing individual who wants to support the sexual and reproductive health (SRH) of young people living in the Royal Borough of Greenwich, working in a partnership capacity as part of a holistic health and wellbeing programme. Your role will be multi-faceted, and you will therefore be flexible and able to offer a variety of SRH interventions in a broad range of settings, to a broad range of young people.

First, you will provide brief interventions in sexual health in an outreach capacity at schools, colleges, universities, leisure centres, youth organisations, and other venues. Here, your primary focus will be to provide basic information about SRH to young people, whilst also encouraging them to complete a Chlamydia screen and register to the free condom scheme. You will also promote online testing for those aged over 18, and connect young people with other local sexual health services through referral and signposting.

Second, you will deliver SRH and relationships training to groups of young people and professionals, in smaller workshop settings as well as to larger groups. You will be able to deliver accurate information on a variety of topics that are often sensitive and complex. You will have an existing knowledge base that you will be willing to expand and solidify through a combination of supported training and independent learning.

Third, you will facilitate offsite drop-in sexual health sessions and offer 1:1 sexual health support to young people who attend any of the four Young Greenwich youth groups. You and your team will each be responsible for attending the four Young Greenwich hubs once each week during evening hours, working closely with the youth group leader as well as the young people themselves to establish trusted relationships and an engaging programme of activity. You will be proactive and creative at integrating sexual health to other, ongoing activities, and ensure effective safeguarding.

Additionally, you will work closely with the wider SHO team, including supporting the sexual health phone lines processing screening results, and where necessary, signposting to relevant services. Across all aspects of your role, you promote local sexual health and contraception services to young people and adults alike, referring to in-person or online services as appropriate and handholding as much or as little as needed, particularly to those most vulnerable. You will keep accurate monitoring records for all interactions, referrals, Chlamydia screens, and C Card registrations / distributions. You will also contribute to quarterly service review reports.

This role requires flexibility, working unsociable hours in the evenings, and occasional weekends. Schedules may vary from week to week depending on programme need.

Shoreditch Trust is recruiting  for a Community Builder, to build relationships with residents, community leaders and organisations in the City of London in order to:

• Facilitate engagement into We Connect and wider programmes
• Build community leadership opportunities
• Reduce social isolation and loneliness
• Improve wellbeing
• Working effectively with clients from Bangladeshi and Spanish-speaking South American communities.

Fluency in Bengali (particularly the Sylheti dialect) and/or Spanish is essential for this role, as you will be required to communicate effectively with clients from Bangladeshi and Spanish-speaking South American communities.

To continue being fully representative of our Neighbourhoods, we are particularly keen to hear from people from diverse communities, from bilingual candidates and from people with strong links to East London generally.

Why Join Us?

• Be part of a team that values equality, connection, compassion and independence
• Contribute to meaningful change in the community
• Enjoy extensive training opportunities and staff support programs

Citizens Advice Rhondda Cynon Taf

Wales (Hybrid)

Salary £58,500 - £70,000 (based on experience)

Full-time

Permanent

Job description

Our cause never changes, Citizens Advice Rhondda Cynon Taf is here to make society fairer. We have a reputation for high quality provision of advice services, helping over 20,000 people last year.

As CEO, you are responsible for providing strategic leadership and direction for Citizens Advice Rhondda Cynon Taf, working collaboratively with the Board to shape the organisation’s strategy, direction, and policies and leading the Senior Management team.

Your role is to ensure the organisation maintains a strong focus on growth and sustainability, maximising opportunities for collaboration, service development, and delivery at both local and regional levels. You will work to build on Citizens Advice Rhondda Cynon Taf’s existing reputation as a truly influential force in the area, and beyond, fostering networks, alliances, and robust relationships with stakeholders and partners.

If you are interested in finding out more about this opportunity, please download the job pack attached for further information.

We deeply value our people and foster a supportive, socially just culture within a charitable environment. This role offers a rewarding remuneration package with excellent terms and conditions:

● Hybrid working offered

● A flexible 37 hour working week

● Pension scheme - employee minimum contribution of 5% and employer contribution of 4%

● Generous holiday entitlement

● Annual pay review

Want to chat about this role?

Closing Date: 19th May 2025

Provisional Interview Date: w/c 26th May 2025

We are looking for an experienced, visionary and strategic Director of Community Services to lead and develop our Advice and Support Services and our Engagement and Development Programmes. You will have a passion for, and a demonstrable track record of, building strong, resilient, and inclusive communities as well as developing and motivating a team of staff and volunteers. You will be a supportive, compassionate, enthusiastic, and experienced leader and manager of Community led and quality-led Community services.

An effective change manager, you will be passionate about making a real difference to the Irish and wider communities across London. This is a great opportunity to join the leadership team of the London Irish Centre (LIC) as it embarks upon a significant turning point in its 70-year history, helping the charity deliver its ambitious organisational strategy to empower and enrich even more lives through Irish Community and Culture.

About You

• You have demonstrable experience of leading and managing community services in the independent or public sector for a minimum of ten years.
• You are a professional, enthusiastic leader who can bring your sector experience to benefit this critical role and the wider organisation.
• You are an inspirational leader, bringing a team and others with you and leading by example.
• You have a proven track record in successfully leading a team, across multiple service delivery areas, and in implementing change.
• You are well-organised, able to manage several competing requirements with the ability to prioritise your work effectively to meet tight deadlines.
• You demonstrate excellent interpersonal and communication skills, both written and verbal and are comfortable working with people across a wide portfolio, with various levels of experience and socio-economic backgrounds.

Key areas of responsibility

 Workforce

• Maintain a positive culture within the Centre in line with the London Irish Centre values and expectations.
• Overall responsibility for management, development, motivation, support and appraisal of the community services teams, and other team members when agreed with the line manager.
• Maintain and implement effective policies and processes for managing staff and volunteers, including recruitment and retention, induction, training and appraisals. 
• Ensure adequate and appropriately skilled staffing of the community services team.
• Monitor performance against budgets, targets and Key Performance Indicators.
• Ensure best practice and quality assured delivery of Community Services and Programmes.

Financial 

• Overall responsibility for management and reporting of community services budget. 
• Overall responsibility for management and monitoring of all community services` grants. 
• Responsibility for ensuring services are managed within delegated budget.
• Operating within financial governance arrangements at London Irish Centre.

Income generation

• Ensure relationships with all supporters and donors are managed and developed effectively, including trusts, individuals, major donors and corporate partners. 
• Identify suitable new grant and trust funds and lead on applications.
• Lead on monitoring, reporting and submissions for current grant and trust funds in accordance with funders` requirements.

Impact and Innovation 

• Overall responsibility for the service`s impact management in line with the London Irish Centre’s theory of change. 
• Lead on identification and adoption of innovative technology to improve the processes and impact on community services.
• Overall responsibility for communicating the outcomes and impact of the community services and programmes.
• Strategic Development.
• Work with the CEO, other management and the Board of Trustees to set and achieve the charity`s strategic objectives. 
• Ensure Community Services resources are effectively targeted. 
• Lead in implementing a strategic plan for Community Services and support team leaders to deliver against performance targets. 
• Develop and foster positive relationships with external stakeholders. 
• Engage with existing and new partners to ensure the charity meets the increasing needs of those who use our community services.

This job description is a guide to the nature of the work required of the Director of Community Services. It is not wholly comprehensive or restrictive and may be reviewed as required.

In our application pack we have included a job description and person specification to support your candidature. The details in the job description and person specification should be addressed in a maximum one-page cover letter. The cover letter should include your current job title, salary and position within banding where relevant. Click apply, upload your CV and cover letter to the portal on our website link.

 Please note that all roles at the London Irish Centre are subject to enhanced DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) checks as part of our commitment to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of vulnerable individuals.

 The deadline for applications is Wednesday 30th April 9:00 a.m.

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, and we will be actively interviewing. We reserve the right to close applications before the stated deadline. Interviews will begin with an initial online screening, followed by in-person interviews at the Centre, likely during the week commencing May 5th.

We are seeking a proactive and experienced Café Supervisor to oversee the daily operations of The Shack Café, a busy student-facing outlet at KCLSU. This role is ideal for someone with a passion for hospitality and team leadership, committed to delivering excellent service and creating a vibrant, welcoming space for students, staff and visitors.

The postholder will lead a team of student shift leaders and staff, ensuring smooth daily operations, high standards of cleanliness, and exceptional customer service. You'll take a hands-on approach, often setting an example on the floor while supervising your team effectively. Key duties include managing financial processes such as accurate till operation, invoice processing, and stock control. You will strive to minimise wastage and losses through regular audits and clear procedures, maintaining accurate records of all transactions and stock movements.

You will also lead on staffing—recruiting, training, and supervising your team of around 12 student staff members. Responsibilities include creating rotas, processing payroll, and managing performance through regular feedback and support, while fostering a positive and productive team culture.

The Café Supervisor will work closely with the Commercial Manager – Strand to develop exciting product offerings and promotions. With support from the marketing team, you'll ensure effective merchandising and campaigns that increase sales and engage the student community. Strong relationships with students, colleagues, and suppliers are vital.

You will also manage catering bookings and ensure services meet high standards, from enquiry to delivery. Compliance with food hygiene, health and safety, and equipment maintenance is essential. Issues must be reported promptly, maintain a safe environment, and ensure all staff follow uniform and cleaning protocols.

The list above is not exhaustive. We recommend you to read through the Job Pack to understand the scope of what the role entails.

Application Process

To apply, please download and complete an application form and an equal opportunities monitoring form below and email your completed application directly to our email address.

Once shortlisting is completed, we will contact you and inform you of the progress of your application.

Please download application form here

Please download EOM Form here

At KCLSU Equality, Diversity and Inclusion are at the heart of everything we do and we endeavour to ensure equal treatment of all candidates. We welcome a diverse range of applicants and are open to discussing flexibility with the right candidate. Reasonable adjustments will be made for candidates with disabilities at all stages of the recruitment and selection process, and to ensure that a successful candidate with a disability can undertake the post.

As you will also see on our Job Pack that we are an equal opportunities employer and live by our 4 main values: Inclusive, Collaborative, Open and Brave. KCLSU is a fun, social and flexible work environment which offers opportunities for development as well as great staff benefits.

Benefits of Working for KCLSU include:

• Hybrid Working Policy 
• Pension Contribution
• Interest Free Season Ticket Loan & Computer Loan
• Cycle to work Scheme
• Enhanced Sick Pay
• Enhanced Maternity and Paternity Pay
• Eye Tests & single focal glasses allowance
• 25 days holiday entitlement & bank holidays & discretionary closure days per annum
• Discounts on KCLSU venues
• Employee Assistance Programme
• "No meeting Friday" ethos
• KEATS Learning Platform & LinkedIn Learning subscription
• Death in Service
• Access to Kings Libraries

Eligibility 

To be eligible to apply for this role you must: 

• Be eligible to work in the UK, and provide proof of this (i.e. a passport/visa) prior to your start date
• Not be a trustee of King’s College London Students’ Union 
• Have a National Insurance number, or be in the process of applying for one

Thank you for applying with us. We look forward to bringing your talent onboard and working with you!

This is an exciting opportunity for an engaging and organised trainer to join our growing charity, supporting our mission to transform children's health through school food and the delivery of an empowering and one-of-a-kind School Chef Educator Training Programme.

Who we are:

Chefs in Schools is a young, ambitious charity that’s rapidly growing. Our mission is to improve kids' health, through improving school food & food education. Working in areas of high deprivation, we support and train schools and their kitchen teams to serve the best, freshest and tastiest food possible, alongside meaningful food education. We share our learning and resources freely, aiming to inspire and enable others to follow our lead.

We’re backed by some of the biggest names in food and have ambitious targets to ensure every child has access to incredible school food and food education, setting them up for life with the skills and knowledge to feed themselves well.

About you and the role:

This role is an integral part of an ambitious programme to empower and train up the country’s school kitchen workforce through our School Chef Educator Programme, a hybrid course set over 10 weeks, including in-person sessions, webinars and self-guided e-learning on our learning platform. The programme has successfully trained over 130 school chefs nationwide, from London to Yorkshire, the West Midlands to Cornwall. 

Our ultimate goal is that every school in the country has a person leading their kitchen who is a recognised food educator, playing a crucial role in shaping kids’ eating habits for life. 

Your role will be to deliver the School Chef Educator Programme both in-person and online to school kitchen workforces across the country, helping to inspire them to achieve higher levels of knowledge and standards of food quality. 

Supported by the Programme Manager, you will maintain and develop the online learning platform, design new and exciting training materials and learner experiences in order to maintain relevance and attract new customer bases across the school food sector. 

The responsibilities, skills and experience listed below are intended to give you an idea of what we need for this role. If you don’t meet every requirement but feel you would be able to work with us to deliver the majority of them, we urge you to apply anyway. We are dedicated to building a diverse and inclusive workplace, and for us the most important ‘experience’ is passion for our mission. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles. We encourage applicants from all backgrounds, especially those from underrepresented communities, to apply.

We want to get to know you at the interview and understand we can do this best if you’re at ease. We’re an inclusive employer and work hard to create a welcoming working environment for everyone, including appointing a neurodiversity champion to help us identify how we can make our work environment work for everyone. If you need adjustments to the interview process, please let us know.

Key responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Lead on the organisation and delivery of in-person and online training sessions to enrolled participants of the School Chef Educator Programme at a variety of locations

• Assist in the maintenance of the online database of participants, schools and funder information

• Manage, monitor and report learner progress to the Programme Manager

• Maintain, update and develop relevant training materials to keep our programme up to date

• Work with our evaluation team to monitor and survey the effectiveness of the training programme

• Design and refine the delivery of the core modules within our training programme as well as additional resources to support organisational objectives

• Lead on planning, scheduling  and delivering programmes, in a time efficient and cost effective manor

• Work with our Fundraising Team to keep them up to date with the latest progress on our training programmes, providing qualitative and quantitative evidence to share with charity funders

• Attend monthly ‘Innovation’ days to develop recipes and other resources, and support the Transformation team with delivery when required

• Support and work with the School Engagement Manager to ensure School Chef Educator Programme cohorts are filled

• Assist in the delivery of events outside of the SCE programme, including membership meetings, fundraising events, networking and wider organisational events

Essential skills & experience include:

• Strong written and verbal communication skills and the ability to create clear, engaging, and accessible online learning resources

• Great people skills to quickly build rapport with learners from a wide variety of backgrounds and skill levels - striking a balance between being supportive and challenging 

• Excellent digital skills in order to manage participants' online progress and records

• Excellent presentation skills to deliver engaging in-person and live online training sessions

• Excellent organisation, scheduling and time management skills

• Some experience working in a catering or kitchen environment, ability to assist or lead the culinary training elements of the training programme

• Food Hygiene level 2 or 3 

Desirable skills and experience include:

• Experience in delivering well-structured and impactful in-person and online training sessions to a kitchen workforce or adult learners

• An understanding of the challenges and opportunities to working in school food and school catering work environments

• An understanding of hospitality, especially on how to deliver quality food and service within a budget

• Experience delivering multiple online training programmes across different geographical areas

• A full UK driving licence

Benefits:

You would be joining a friendly, supportive team that works hard but believes in a healthy work/life balance. We seek a diverse range of perspectives, skills, experience and knowledge. Joining a small, collaborative team means you’ll be able to contribute to and draw on various projects and strategic insights.

We offer 33 days of holiday per year, including bank holidays, with 3 additional office closure days over the Christmas period, a Cycle to Work scheme, hybrid working, enhanced parental leave, and free access to the CODE app for discounted restaurants & hospitality venues. We are committed to developing our team and will support you with relevant training opportunities including £250 towards elective training and development of your choice.

We also offer Bupa Dental Insurance, Income Protection Insurance, as well as access to the Aviva Health Platform, which offers health benefits including free rapid access online GP appointments, free counselling and wellbeing support.

Application process:

In line with our commitment to ensuring a fair and unbiased recruitment process, we will invite candidates to interview based on their answers to a series of questions that are related to their day-to-day job. Please follow the Redirect to Recruiter link to answer the questions and submit your application along with your CV.

We recommend that you develop your answers offline and then copy them in when you’re ready to ensure you don’t lose your work if you’re interrupted.

Your answers will go through our sift process: all answers will be anonymised, randomised and then reviewed by a panel of reviewers. A long list of candidates will then additionally have their CVs reviewed. Successful candidates will be invited to interview. Candidates getting through to a second interview will be asked to complete a task as below.

Expected duration of this application process: 4-6 weeks

Interview Dates:

1st Stage Interviews (30 minutes online): Interviews will take place on 9th May 2025 and will last 30 minutes.

2nd Stage Interview (in-person): Interviews will take place on 30th May 2025 and will include a 45-minute interview and a 15-minute presentation or training exercise on the topic of ‘Good School Food Culture’ or ‘Expanding Tastebuds’.

Location: Chefs in Schools Offices, International House, 3Space, 6 Canterbury Cres, London SW9 7QD

As we work with children & young people, an offer of employment will be subject to satisfactory references and DBS clearance, in line with our safeguarding policy.

We are recruiting for a temporary Special Events officer for a high profile charity . You will need solid end to end event management experience in the special events or philanthropy space.

Hybrid working 2 days in their London Office

The Role
Deliver end to end planning and event day activities for both virtual and face to face events within the high-value (10k-1m) events portfolio. This includes identifying potential venues/virtual platforms, working across the department to build invitation lists, developing content based on strategic priorities, producing high-level invitations and supporting collateral, overseeing event technology, briefing speakers and senior staff, securing auction lots, and undertaking post-event evaluations and reporting .
Source and oversee external suppliers and contractors as required to deliver events e.g. logistics, venue, entertainment, catering, design and creative and negotiate all costs, contracts and in-kind partnerships where appropriate.
Support event project groups, , to agree messaging and timelines and ensure all objectives are met.
Steward senior internal stakeholders for events, producing thorough written and verbal event briefings for the teams

The Candidate
Experience in a special events fundraising role
Experience of working in a team focused on high net worth individuals
Experience of working in a team focused on VIPs/celebrities
Previous experience of leading on medium to large events and logistics with end-to-end management (e.g. dealing with venues/hosts, invitations, guest list, messaging, content production, caterers, printers etc.)
Experience of using Adobe lnDesign and Photoshop to produce event collateral

IMPORTANT NOTE

Our aim is to respond to all successful applications within 5 days. If you havent been contacted within 5 days your application has been unsuccessful and your details will not be held further but we positively encourage you to apply for any other positions that you may see in the future.

We apologise that we cannot contact everybody in person but thank you in advance for your interest.

Third Solutions encourages applications from individuals of all ages & backgrounds. Appointment will be made on merit alone but candidates must be able to demonstrate their ability to work in the UK. Third Solutions acts as an employment agency for permanent recruitment & an employment business for temporary recruitment as defined by the Conduct of Employment Agencies & Employment Business Regulations 2003.

Action in rural Sussex is seeking a customer-focused, friendly Adviser to join our expanding community buildings team.

Community halls form a vital part of thriving communities, especially in rural areas, providing inclusive, accessible local spaces for a wide range of wellbeing, educational, and recreational activities. They contribute to community health and wellbeing, help overcome isolation, reduce car travel and impact on the environment, and strengthen community cohesion.

Our community buildings team works with community spaces across Sussex, particularly charitable village halls, providing managers and trustees with specialist advice and information via our information portal, online discussion forum, newsletters, training and networking events, and bespoke individual support.

We would welcome applications from individuals who have experience and knowledge of running community buildings, as well as the ability to put together lively, readable newsletters, web and social media content to keep halls up to date with current developments.

If you share our vision of active, thriving communities, full of choice and opportunities for everyone, regardless of their circumstances., then we would love to hear from you.

Earth Trust helps nature and people thrive in South Oxfordshire.

We engage people through our Green Spaces. Over the next ten years we will be meaningfuly engaging over 100,000 people a year, being a nationally recognised exemplar of integreated land management.

To realise our ambition, we need you - a creative and data-driven Marketing and Communications Officer to help grow our audience, engage supporters, and drive awareness of our mission to connect people with nature.

As part of our Communications team, you will develop and deliver marketing campaigns, manage social media and email marketing, create compelling content, and optimise digital channels to enhance engagement. You’ll also oversee website updates, SEO, and Google Ads, ensuring our messaging reaches the right audiences.

We’re looking for someone with at least two years’ experience in marketing and communications, excellent copywriting and content creation skills, and proficiency in tools like MailChimp, WordPress, and Canva. Experience in paid media campaigns, digital fundraising, or charity marketing would be a plus.

Why join us? 

This is a fantastic opportunity to be part of a passionate team, working on meaningful campaigns that inspire people to take action for the environment.

The role is permanent and full-time. The hybrid role requires you to be in our offices in Little Wittenham, Oxfordshire OX14 4QZ for at least two days a week. 

Alongside a wonderful working environment, we offer generous annual leave, volunteering opportunities, family friendly, flexible working wherever possible with forums and inclusive facilities to support our staff. Current benefits include:

• Holidays: 26 days holiday per year (pro-rata) increasing with length of service. Plus an additional 3 days of leave over Christmas and bank holidays
• Pension: Up to 7.72% employer contribution (following successful probation)
• Healthcare Plan: Provided by Medicash to help with the cost of 
• Volunteering days Linked to personal development

Application deadline: Sunday 4th May

Virtual Screening & Shortlisting Calls: Throughout

In-person Interviews: Week commencing 12th May 2025

To apply, please submit your CV and a cover letter detailing why you think you'd be right for the role.

We’re looking for a Head of Volunteering Development to lead and inspire new approaches to social action in Somerset.

We are seeking someone who is passionate about volunteering and the huge benefits it can bring for individuals and community organisations. You will explore new and innovative ways of working that help ensure volunteering is accessible to all, well supported, and provides a positive experience for everyone. In addition, you will build strong partnerships across the voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise (VCFSE) sector to help bring this vision to life.

Key responsibilities include:

• Engaging with partners, stakeholders and the wider VCFSE sector and build strong relationships to develop and implement a Somerset Vision for Volunteering
• Working with partners across the health system to deliver the Volunteer for Health programme, an initiative that seeks to develop volunteering infrastructure to support health and wellbeing outcomes
• Identifying and developing training support Volunteer Coordinators and Managers so volunteers feel supported
• Working with grassroots community groups to co-produce ways to enable place-based volunteer engagement
• Developing and implement innovative ways to engage new and returning volunteers and address barriers that exist
• Developing and growing our Volunteer Coordinators Forum; a network that allows shared learning, networking and best practice
• Working with the wider Spark Somerset team to develop our digital volunteering platform, Spark a Change, that matches residents of Somerset to a range of volunteering opportunities
• Collect and use a range of quantitative and qualitative data to demonstrate impact and champion the value of volunteering

You’ll bring experience in developing and delivering volunteer opportunities, a strong understanding of the local and national volunteering landscape, excellent communication and partnership-building skills, and the ability to work creatively and independently in a fast-paced environment.

In return, we offer flexible, hybrid working options, a free Employee Assistance Programme, and up to 7.5 hours of volunteering leave per year.

This is a full time role, although we welcome applicants seeking part time or flexible working. The annual salary is £36-£38k (full time equivalent and dependent upon experience).

For further information about the position and who we’re looking for, or to apply, please visit our website.

Financial Controller (Ark and Ventures)

Reports to: Finance Director for Ark and Ventures

Location: Currently operating hybrid working in our West London Office

Contract: Permanent

Pattern: Full Time (standard hours 9am – 5.30pm)

Closing date: 05/05/2025

1st stage interviews: w/c 05/05/2025 (virtual)

2nd stage interviews: w/c 12/05/2025 (in person)

Salary: £60,000 to £75,000 (depending on experience)

About the role:

This is a vital and high-profile role for us and requires a person with strong technical skills and the power of independent thought; meticulous organisational skills and attention to detail; and drive to constantly develop new and improved ways of working. The successful candidate will be a qualified and committed accountant, ready to lead financial control for Ark’s central Finance team.

The Financial Controller will be mainly responsible for ensuring the highest standards of financial control are met across Ark, its subsidiaries and the various external ventures Ark supports. Within this, the role will be responsible for the processing and reporting of financial accounting data for Ark and its related entities, day-to-day cash flow management and compliant statutory returns (including VAT).

The Financial Controller for Ark and Ventures will report into Finance Director for Ark and Ventures. This role is currently operating hybrid working in our West London Office on a permanent basis working full time.

First-round interviews will take place virtually w/c Monday 5th May and second-round interviews will take place in person w/c Monday 12th May.

Key Responsibilities:

• Staff management including training and regular appraisals. The team currently consists of two Finance Officers. Also supporting two business partners.
• Provide up-to-date financial information and technical advice to Ark management and the Venture teams, including cash management.
• Lead the year-end process, including creation of annual accounts for Ark and its related entities (excluding Ark Schools) and overseeing the audits.
• First review of monthly management accounts.
• Take responsibility for the year-end audit and preparation/supervision of draft statutory accounts for the Group and 5 subsidiary entities in accordance with Charities SORP, Companies Act and UK GAAP. Liaise with auditors and ensure timetable and deadlines are met
• Management and oversight of the month-end process to ensure timely period close, including approval of all manual journals posted to the accounting system.
• Review and approval of balance sheets control account reconciliations, including bank reconciliation, petty cash, purchase ledger, staff loans, credit card, and Payroll accounts.
• Responsible for the day-to-day management of the Group’s cash flow and Treasury and preparation of performance reports for the Ark Management Team and Finance and Risk Committee.
• Set-up and maintenance of PS Financials (accounting system) and Concur (invoice and expense system), including maintaining workflows in accordance with the Scheme of Delegation.
• Relationship owner for Lloyds (banker), including set-up of Commercial Banking Online and credit cards in accordance with the Scheme of Delegation. Responsible for maintaining all bank accounts and mandates.
• Responsibility for writing and maintaining finance policies and processes, including the financial Scheme of Delegation, and ensuring these are freely available to all relevant staff.
• Accounts Payable Lead ensuring all suppliers are paid on time. Responsible for processing weekly BACs runs and authorisations in line with the Scheme of Delegation.
• Manage insurance provision for the Ark Group.

Key Requirements:

• Right to work in the UK.
• Professional Accounting Qualification (at least 3-years post-qualification).
• Educated to degree level or equivalent.
• A record of Continuing Professional Development activities.
• Audit experience.
• Hands on experience of producing statutory accounts.
• Experience of VAT, including international and/or construction industry scheme reverse charge, ideally in a charity context.
• Advanced level IT skills and ability to make effective use of standard software packages, e.g., Microsoft Words, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook.
• Staff management.
• Knowledge of the latest Charities SORP and Companies Act.
• Understanding and/or experience of working across a Group structure with a variety of business activities.
• Exceptional written and oral communication skills, influencing and relationship building skills at multiple levels.
• Self-motivated with excellent time-management skills and the ability to plan, manage and prioritise a varied workload, and to take responsibility for issues through to resolution.
• High attention to detail, proactive, confident, independent thinker and an enthusiastic ‘can do’ attitude.
• Ability to effectively present financial information at the appropriate level.
• Ability to challenge and influence assertively and cooperatively.

Benefits:

• Our hybrid working model aims to offer the best of both worlds, striking the right balance between in-person collaboration and remote working. You will work a minimum of two days per week in our state-of-the-art office in West London allowing you to connect with colleagues, with the flexibility to work remotely, or in the office over the remaining days
• In addition to our current hybrid working arrangements, employees can request to work fully remotely for up to 10 working days a year, whether this be in the UK or abroad
• Our flexitime policy allows you to work your hours around our core hours of 10.00 - 16.00, helping you prioritise your work-life balance and personal commitments
• 27 days annual leave plus bank holidays, rising with each year of service up to 30 days after 3-years’ service. This entitlement is pro rata for part time employees. This entitlement excludes bank holidays
• Full office closure between Christmas and New Year
• As an Ark employee, you will have the opportunity to be part of the TPT (The Pension Trust) scheme, our workplace pension scheme where we make an 11% contribution; you are not required to contribute towards this scheme unless you choose to
• Access to high-quality professional learning throughout your career, offering both face-to-face sessions and a bespoke online learning platform
• Access to Ark Rewards scheme offering savings from over 3,000 major retailers, interest-free loans available for season tickets or a bike, gym discounts offering up to 40% off your local gym and free eye tests.

About Us:

Ark is an education charity that exists to make sure that all children, regardless of their background, have access to a great education and real choices in life. Our network of 39 schools reaches traditionally underserved communities in Birmingham, Hastings, London and Portsmouth. We educate 30,000 pupils and have nearly 3,000 teaching staff across our network. We also incubate and scale innovative ventures, which we roll out beyond our network of schools for the benefit of teachers, pupils and the education system as a whole. Current Ventures include Ark Curriculum Plus, which equips teachers with the subject expertise needed to ensure students succeed, and Ark Start, a growing chain of nurseries offering affordable, high-quality early years education.

Recently, Ark moved to new offices at EdCity – a unique not-for-profit development in West London, in partnership with Hammersmith & Fulham council. EdCity is designed to bring mission-aligned organisations together to focus on improving the lives of children, especially through education. It offers leased offices, a range of venues for training and events, and an innovation hub for the education sector to connect, collaborate and learn together.

Diversity and Inclusion:

We aim to build a diverse and inclusive organisation where everyone – staff and students – can do their best work and achieve their full potential. We want to reflect and represent diverse perspectives across our organisation because we know that doing so will make us stronger and more effective. To know more about Ark’s diversity and inclusion commitments, please click on this link.

Safeguarding statement:

Ark is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people in its academies. In order to meet this responsibility, its academies follow a rigorous selection process to discourage and screen out unsuitable applicants.

Ark requires all employees to undertake an enhanced DBS check. You are required, before appointment, to disclose any unspent conviction, cautions, reprimands or warnings under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975. Non-disclosure may lead to termination of employment. However, disclosure of a criminal background will not necessarily debar you from employment - this will depend upon the nature of the offence(s) and when they occurred. To read more about Ark’s safer recruitment process, please click this link.

Please note we will be reviewing applications on an on-going basis and this role may close earlier than advertised depending on the level of response. We strongly encourage to submit your application at your earliest convenience.

About the role

We are delighted to have received three-year funding from the Aviva Foundation to fund this brand-new Grants Officer role based in London.

You’ll be part of our Programmes team supporting kinship carers in London to access grants which will help reduce financial stress. This could be grants to buy things like white goods and uniforms or accessing Buttle grants to support children growing up in kinship care.

As Grants Officer you’ll talk to kinship carers, discuss their needs, their priorities and then write charitable grant applications on their and their family’s behalf. 

You will oversee and deliver the grants process, including co-ordinating the purchase of items (such as children’s clothes, beds or washing machines), collecting receipts for items as required by the funders and liaising with all teams to ensure timely receipt of funds within the charity and to the kinship carers.

Building relationships with funders is core, sharing the impact of the grants and insight about the lives of kinship families in London. You’ll work closely with Programmes, Peer Support, Training and Advice colleagues who work with kinship families in London.

You will also create and run online and face-to-face workshops and clinics, helping kinship carers to understand how to apply for other grants, thereby encouraging resilience and confidence to apply for grants themselves.

You will be a proactive and persuasive relationship builder, able to create partnerships with a range of organisations and peer support groups that support kinship families.

You’ll build trusting and respectful relationships with kinship carers who you will work one-to-one with in community settings. And you’ll build relationships with a range of grant giving organisations across London.

We’re looking for someone who can really deliver impact and demonstrate how embedding this role into the community helps to unlock funding and support for kinship carers at a local level.

The type of person we’re looking for

Kinship carers are at the heart of all we do. This role could be the difference between a kinship carer being able to dress their child for school properly, being able to buy a fridge, take a first holiday to the seaside… or going without.

We are looking for someone who is really organised and who is able to capture and present information clearly in a persuasive grant application. The successful applicant will be compassionate, empathetic, and organised. We are looking for someone who understands the needs of kinship families.

Key responsibilities include:

• Delivering our new grants service across London.
• Meeting performance targets and KPIs as directed.
• Working with kinship carers and their families across London to gather information to complete and submit grant applications.
• Administering grants we secure for our kinship carers and carry out all the necessary administration related to grants.
• Undertaking research to identify funders and build excellent relationships with local grant making charities in order to increase support for kinship families.
• Delivering grant workshops at peer support groups sharing information about locally available grants and providing advice and support on making a successful application.
• Running face-to-face grant clinics within peer support groups or community venues in London, working directly with kinship carers to write and submit requests for grants.

Essential criteria includes:

• Experience of speaking to vulnerable people on the telephone, face-to-face and online, and gathering information with empathy and understanding.
• Experience of working with socially excluded or marginalised people and their families in face-to-face and community settings.
• Experience of running online and face-to-face workshops. 
• An understanding of budgeting, managing money, income and expenditure.
• Proven understanding of the importance of confidentiality and a non-judgmental approach.
• Evidence of awareness of safeguarding issues and good practice. 
• Experience of organising and prioritising a busy workload without close supervision.
• Proven clear understanding of the need to keep grants records and communication with kinship carers and funders up to date.
• Excellent research and writing skills. 

How to apply

In place of a cover letter, you will be asked to answer the following four questions, alongside providing your CV. Please keep your answers to a maximum of 250 words.

1. Tell us why you’re interested in working for Kinship in this role and what experience you bring that would make you successful? This is an opportunity to tell us about you, your experience and your values.
2. This role requires writing persuasive and accurate grant applications for kinship families. What steps did you take, and how did you ensure the application was compelling and met the funder's criteria?
3. This role requires balancing administrative tasks (like tracking grants and recording data) with direct support work. How do you prioritise your workload and ensure deadlines are met without compromising service quality?
4. Please describe your experience of supporting vulnerable individuals or families in a community or face-to-face setting. What approach did you take to build trust and gather information sensitively?

Key Dates

• Application deadline: Tuesday 6 May, 5pm
• Interview: Online – Monday 12 May

About Kinship

We are Kinship. The leading kinship care charity in England and Wales. We’re here for kinship carers – friends or family who step up to raise a child when their parents aren’t able to.

We are made by and for our community of kinship carers. Like family, relationships run deep. And we hear their experiences; for too long they have been isolated without the help they need.

We support, advise and inform kinship carers. Connecting them so they feel empowered. Because a child needs the love and warmth of a thriving family.

We develop research, campaigns and policy solutions. Creating positive change across society. Because for kinship families, love alone is not enough.

Through our work we harness frustrations to fuel passion for change. And tough experiences to inspire ideas that transform lives.

And as we see momentum building, we keep using evidence to demonstrate the value of kinship care. Helping kinship carers navigate challenging circumstances. Believing in a child’s potential.

Join us. Together, let’s commit to change for kinship families.

About Us

The South East Rivers Trust (SERT), is the river restoration charity for the South East of England. Our vision is that rivers across the south east are clean, healthy and rich in biodiversity. Our mission is to restore and protect rivers and their catchments against multiple threats and a dramatically changing climate. We do this by:

• delivering evidence-based and nature-based solutions on land and in rivers;

• inspiring and empowering more people to protect rivers for the future.

Working at SERT is rewarding, fulfilling and busy. We work collaboratively and with passion, and this is reflected in our core values of: delivering high quality work, using expertise and scientific understanding, building good and effective relationships, and bringing positive energy to all we do. With rivers and catchments needing serious action to survive, our aims are growth and impact – so you’ll be comfortable with challenges and excited by change. If this sounds like an environment that you would thrive in, we would love to hear from you.

Bring your environmental passion for rivers to life!

Are you a competent Administrator, who prides themselves on their attention to detail and excellence?  Would you like to work with the Finance Team for a charity who is invested in improving and making a real difference to our rivers here within the South East of England, which hosts some of the rarest Chalk streams on the planet.

About The Role

We are a small charity which is expanding and looking to provide additional administrative support for our busy teams.  We have an exciting opportunity to join the South East Rivers Trust and become part of the small and dynamic Finance and Operations team, sitting at the heart of the organisation. This role reports directly to the Finance Director and will provide administration for this and other teams in the organisation. 

The General Administrator role has been created to support with a variety of tasks, including calendar management for catchment meetings, which are hosted both in person and virtually, across the region.  In addition to logistical arrangements of these meetings, the successful applicant will support with all aspects of hosting, including minute taking.  The role will also  support the research, writing, collation and management of documents, for internal and external circulation.  Other tasks will include supporting with budgets, expenses and invoices, requiring confidence in dealing with numbers, spreadsheets and suppliers.

The role would suit an individual with a strong administration background, who is approachable and organised, has excellent attention to detail, able to work on their own or as part of a team.  It involves liaising  and following up with all teams, to ensure internal and external stakeholders are communicated to in a timely manner with relevant information.  This is an ideal position for someone with excellent Microsoft office skills, strong communication abilities and a genuine interest in making a positive impact.  It will cover a variety of duties and afford the successful applicant the opportunity to learn more about the work we do in restoring our natural environment.

To be successful, they will need to be able to multitask, be proactive and have a confident manner, an excellent communicator who is inquisitive and able to work independently.  Additionally, they will have a positive attitude, with a willingness to assist the whole team with other administrative tasks as and when required. 

This role is a mix of working from home, with at least one day per week, (on a Thursday), working in the office in Leatherhead and attending regular in person meetings held across the entire SERT area.   

This is a full time role, which may require attendance at some adhoc meetings outside of office hours.

The deadline for application is 11:59pm on Sunday 11th May 2025.  We reserve the right to close the recruitment early.  Please visit our website for full details of the opportunity together with how to apply.

Interviews will be in person at our Leatherhead office, potentially w.c. 19th May.