Job opportunities | Schoolreaders

Regional Recruitment Coordinator

Place of work: Office based in Bedford, with occasional travel to volunteer and community events and schools. Option for flexible working.

Hours of work: 37.5 hours per week, Monday to Friday, 9am - 5pm with 30-minute lunch break

Reporting to: Senior Operations Coordinator

Salary Range: 23,500 per annum

Contract: Permanent

Role Description:

An exciting opportunity to become part of the operations team at Schoolreaders, a small, young, and fast-growing charity that is expanding to help more children learn to read across the country. The Schoolreaders operations team recruits volunteers from local communities and matches them to a primary school where they listen to children read on a one-to-one basis. We support over 27,000 children in over 1,300 schools every week with a Schoolreaders volunteer.

We are looking for a committed individual to join Schoolreaders to be part of the team delivering this vital support to children, with the aim of supporting 35,000 children by the end of 2024/25. This role is to recruit primary schools and corresponding targeted volunteers in specific counties.

This is an exciting role and includes a wide range of opportunities. Your skills and experience will reflect volunteer and customer service ability, presenting skills, excellent organisational skills, a strong familiarity with telephone and on-line communication with the public and excellent spoken and written English. You need to be competent with Excel and IT generally and it would be an advantage to have experience with the Salesforce CRM system. A background in the education sector would also be beneficial.

Main purpose and scope of the job:

To be one of three roles that co-ordinate the volunteer and school targeted recruitment for Schoolreaders in England. This role will be focused on recruitment in counties across the Midlands, South and East of England.

This includes working with the county ambassador volunteers who recruit volunteers locally and the operations team to support volunteers through the process. Schoolreaders currently has 2,700 volunteers in school.

Key Duties and Responsibilities:

Recruit schools within specific counties with particular focus on areas with the biggest need as per KPI’s.
Recruit volunteers in specific areas within counties for schools as per annual targets and work to retain existing volunteers.
Proactively look for innovative ways to increase volunteer and school applications.
Support the county volunteer teams to recruit volunteers in targeted areas.
Build strong relationships with partner schools to develop on-going partnerships ensuring more volunteers are placed and retained by the school and more children reached.
Research, engage and manage relationships with a range of stakeholders, including education organisations, multi-academy trusts, local authorities, and other organisations such as community groups to recruit both schools and volunteers in targeted areas.
Arrange and chair occasional meetings for community groups and volunteers.
Actively promote the volunteering opportunity through events both online and in-person. Attend in-person events where you will present and recruit volunteers and attend school recruitment opportunities as required. Occasionally these may be in the evenings.
Plan and run campaigns and use social media to recruit volunteers.
Produce regular county reports and project updates against targets.
Identify relevant local media and liaise with the communications manager re placing articles as directed.
Collaborate with the fundraising team to support at events and ensure opportunities for corporate, community and individual relationships are maximised.
Follow the operations systems and procedures. Support the operations team during peak times with volunteer interviews and engagement.
Any other operational duties as requested by the Schoolreaders team.

Essential skills:

• Excellent oral and written communication skills

• Confident presenting to a variety of audiences

• Friendly and professional telephone manner

• Strong administrative skills

• Excellent knowledge of MS Office Suite, in particular Excel and reporting

• Initiative and the ability to be tenacious when required

• Reliable and able to work on your own initiative

• Strong research and analytical skills

• Good time management and ability to prioritise tasks

• Understanding of the important role of volunteers

• Willing to undertake a full DBS check

Desirable skills:

• Experience of co-ordinating volunteers

• CRM Experience, i.e., Salesforce

• Previous experience working in an educational environment

• Social media experience

What we offer:

Employee assistance programme. Training and development opportunities. The opportunity to change children’s life chances through your work. Travel allowance, Staff away days, flexible working.

Applications will be reviewed, and interviews offered, on an ongoing basis. We reserve the right to close the role prior to the closing date should a suitable applicant be found, so please submit your application as soon as possible.

Further details including the job description and an application form can be found here. To apply to this role please contact apply@schoolreaders.org.

Schoolreaders is committed to safeguarding the welfare of children and young people and requires staff to share this commitment. This post is subject to a range of vetting checks including a basic disclosure check of unspent criminal convictions.

For the purposes of recruitment, we will store your data for up to 30 days before destroying it unless we invite you to interview.

Schoolreaders is committed to safeguarding the welfare of children and young people and requires staff to share this commitment. This post is subject to a range of vetting checks including a basic disclosure check of unspent criminal convictions.

If you are appointed to a role within Schoolreaders you will be subject to the organisation's Code of Conduct, a copy of which you can find by clicking here.

Should you need any adjustments to the recruitment process, either at application or interview please contact us via apply@schoolreaders.org

Literacy Charity Operations Coordinator

Place of work: Office based in Bedford

Hours of work: 37.5 hours per week, Monday to Friday, 9am - 5pm with 30-minute lunch break

Reporting to: Senior Operations Coordinator

Salary Range: £23,500 per annum

Contract: Permanent

Role Description:

An exciting opportunity to become part of the operations team at Schoolreaders, a small, young, and fast-growing charity that is expanding to help more children learn to read across the country. The Schoolreaders operations team recruits volunteers from local communities and matches them to a primary school where they listen to children read on a one-to-one basis. We support over 27,000 children in over 1,300 schools every week with a Schoolreaders volunteer.

The core of the operation is recruiting volunteers in target areas for specific schools. The operations team then process the volunteer and school applicants, match the volunteer to the best-fit school, and then there is ongoing management of, and communication with the volunteers and schools. Our aim is to make a real difference to the state of literacy in the UK. One in four children are leaving primary school not able to read to the expected standard.

Your skills and experience will reflect customer service ability, excellent organisational skills, a strong familiarity with telephone and on-line communication with the public, and excellent spoken and written English. You need to be competent with Excel and IT generally and it would be an advantage to have experience with the Salesforce CRM system.

Main purpose and scope of the job:

To work within a small team to deliver the operations side of Schoolreaders on a daily basis. This includes interviewing the volunteers, matching them to partner schools using an on-line CRM system, dealing with enquiries and school follow-ups to ensure a seamless experience for both the volunteer and the school.

The operations coordinators are responsible for all operational duties associated with the Schoolreaders charity including general enquiries, application processing and partner management. This is an office-based role.

Key Duties and Responsibilities:

• Follow the operations systems and procedures

• General Enquiries

• Application Processing

• Telephone Interviews

• E-mail inbox management and prioritisation

• Resolve school / volunteer enquiries and complaints

• Partner management, reporting and communications

• Schools research and contact

• Mail merges and partner surveys

• Any other operational duties as requested by the Schoolreaders team

What we offer:

Employee assistance programme. Training and development opportunities. The opportunity to change children’s life chances through your work. Travel allowance, Staff away days, flexible working.

Applications will be reviewed, and interviews offered, on an ongoing basis. We reserve the right to close the role prior to the closing date should a suitable applicant be found, so please submit your application as soon as possible.

Further details including the job description and an application form can be found here. To apply to this role please contact apply@schoolreaders.org.

Schoolreaders is committed to safeguarding the welfare of children and young people and requires staff to share this commitment. This post is subject to a range of vetting checks including a basic disclosure check of unspent criminal convictions.

For the purposes of recruitment, we will store your data for up to 30 days before destroying it unless we invite you to interview.

Schoolreaders is committed to safeguarding the welfare of children and young people and requires staff to share this commitment. This post is subject to a range of vetting checks including a basic disclosure check of unspent criminal convictions.

If you are appointed to a role within Schoolreaders you will be subject to the organisation's Code of Conduct, a copy of which you can find by clicking here.

Should you need any adjustments to the recruitment process, either at application or interview please contact us via apply@schoolreaders.org

Head of Finance

Place of work: Bedford office, with some flexibility to work from home (hybrid)

Hours of work: 21-24 per week – flexible depending on candidate

Reporting to: CEO

Salary Range: £45,000-£50,000 FTE depending on experience

Closing date: 06/04/25

Contract: Permanent

Please note, we are actively seeking candidates for this vacancy and will be conducting interviews throughout the duration that the role remains open. Due to the ongoing interview process, we reserve the right to close the position earlier than the specified deadline. We encourage interested applicants to submit their applications as soon as possible to ensure consideration.

Schoolreaders aims to give all primary school children the opportunity to learn to read well, by recruiting volunteers from communities and matching them to local primary schools where they listen to children read on a one-to-one basis. We provide our service free to all partner schools so that every child can benefit. We are the largest in-school literacy charity in the country, supporting over 30,000 children each week in more than 1,500 primary schools.

Role Description:

This leadership role plays a crucial part in overseeing the financial operations of the organisation, ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements, and contributing to strategic decision-making.

Main Duties:

1. Financial Planning and Analysis:

Develop and manage the annual budgeting process, working closely with department heads to ensure alignment with organisational goals
Conduct financial analysis, forecasting, and provide insights to support strategic planning
To ensure budget holders receive timely management information to control day to day expenditure
To prepare, monitor and update the 5 year plan
To prepare the mid year review and re-forecast

2. Financial Reporting and Compliance:

Prepare timely and accurate monthly management and financial reports
Prepare timely and accurate annual financial statements and reports for internal and external stakeholders in line with SORP and GAAP including allocation of costs for restricted funds
Ensure compliance with regulatory and statutory requirements, including Charity Commission guidelines.
Review bank reconciliations and balance sheet reconciliations
To report to SMT and Board of Trustees as required
To work with the CEO to ensure stakeholders are kept informed of key decisions
Work with the CEO and Fundraising team to monitor forecasts and provide financial oversight
To advise the charity on statutory and financial reporting requirements in line with SORP requirements
To prepare Gift Aid Claims
To assist the CEO with the Annual Return

3. Cash Flow Management:

Monitor and manage cash flow to ensure the organisation's financial stability, preparation of monthly cashflow statement
Implement & monitor effective financial controls on incoming and outgoing resources

4. Strategic Financial Advice:

Contribute as a member of the Senior Management Team, and collaborate with the executive team to provide financial insights and support strategic decision-making
Evaluate the financial implications of new projects and initiatives
To advise on accounting and taxation implications as required
To provide financial ad hoc advice as required

5. Team Collaboration:

Work closely with the Business Support team and external bookkeeping accountants, fostering a high-performance culture
Monitor finance operations, including accounts payable, accounts receivable, and payroll.
Ensure compliance with the organisations values and support the CEO

6. Risk Management:

Identify and mitigate financial risks, advising and monitoring robust internal controls
To ensure the organisation implements robust internal financial controls and procedures in line with current good practice as defined in SORP
Stay updated on changes in financial regulations and assess their impact on the organisation
Ensure there are financial policies and procedures in place and adhered to, to cover all financial areas of governance

7. Audit Coordination:

Liaise with external auditors, coordinating the annual audit process and addressing any audit findings
To lead and participate in the Audit Committee

8. Donor and Grant Management:

Manage financial aspects of grants and donations, ensuring compliance with donor requirements.
Provide financial information for grant applications and reporting.
To monitor restricted funds
To monitor future & multi year pledges

Person Specification:

- Qualified accountant (ACA, ACCA, CIMA, or equivalent).

- Proven experience in a senior finance role, preferably within the charitable sector.

- Strong knowledge of charity accounting, including SORP.

- Excellent leadership and interpersonal skills.

- Proficiency in financial management software preferably SAGE 50 Cloud and MS Excel.

Benefits:

As part of our commitment to making Schoolreaders a great place to work, we offer access to the following employee benefits:

- 25 days annual leave (3 of which must be taken over Christmas) plus an additional paid day off on your birthday and public/bank holidays (pro-rated for part time staff)

- Contributory pension

- Access to a free 24/7 support service providing legal, financial, emotional, and medical advice

To apply:

Applications will be reviewed, and interviews offered, on an ongoing basis. We reserve the right to close the role prior to the closing date should a suitable applicant be found, so please submit your application as soon as possible. To apply for this role, please email your CV and cover letter, incorporating a supporting statement to s.wrampling@schoolreaders.org

Schoolreaders is committed to safeguarding the welfare of children and young people and requires staff to share this commitment. This post is subject to a range of vetting checks including a basic disclosure check of unspent criminal convictions.

For the purposes of recruitment, we will store your data for up to 30 days before destroying it unless we invite you to interview.

If you are appointed to a role within Schoolreaders you will be subject to the organisation's Code of Conduct, a copy of which you can find by clicking here.

Should you need any adjustments to the recruitment process, either at application or interview please contact us via apply@schoolreaders.org