Women’s Development Officer (Fixed Term)
Closing Date: Friday 30 October 2026, 10:00am
Salary: NJC Points 26-28 (£38,510 – £40,444) – starting on point 26 £38,510). It is our normal practice for new employees to start on the first point of the scale. As this is a part-time post the salary will be pro rata.
Hours per week: 18.00
Job Title: Womens Development Officer (Maternity Cover)
Responsible to: Director of Programmes
Hours: 18 hours per week (the post holder will work flexibly to meet the needs of the post occasional evening and weekend work will be required)
Salary: NJC Points 26-28 (£38,510 – £40,444) – starting on point 26 £38,510). It is our normal practice for new employees to start on the first point of the scale. As this is a part-time post the salary will be pro rata.
Duration: Maternity Cover January 2027 December 2027.
Location: The Foundation currently has a hybrid working approach and therefore your place of work will include both the office location and home-based working. You will be expected to travel extensively across Northern Ireland.
Programme Aim
The aim of the Nothing About Us Without Us, Amplifying the Voice of Grassroots Womens programme, is to create a society in NI where women are visible, vocal, and valued and where they are proportionately and equitably involved in decision making that affects and matters to them.
Role Description
The Community Foundation for Northern Ireland is an independent grant-making trust. Our vision is for a fair and equitable society for everyone, working hand in hand with communities to build a better future. We are passionate and ambitious about what we do, and we act with integrity.
We specifically want to engage, support, and empower women from local communities through our Nothing About Us Without Us, Amplifying the Voice of Grassroots Women programme, and this post is key in helping us achieve this.
The aim of the Nothing About Us Without Us, Amplifying the Voice of Grassroots Womens programme, is to create a society in NI where women are visible, vocal, and valued and where they are proportionately and equitably involved in decision making that affects and matters to them.
This is an ambitious programme which seeks to make a real difference to women who lack voice or opportunity to develop their confidence, capacity, and capability to help them be visible, vocal, and valued in society today.
Anticipated Programme Outcomes
1. Programme Oversight & Leadership
Provide effective management support and mentoring to ensure successful programme delivery.
Oversee programme development and implementation in line with grant requirements.
Governance structures ensure transparency and accountability.
Leadership demonstrates commitment to programme vision and values.
2. Influence & Representation
Partner with the co-design group to lead ongoing discussions with stakeholders (elected representatives, councils, government departments, funders) to support womens involvement in decision-making.
Facilitate joint engagement sessions/cluster meetings across regions (e.g., Antrim/Newtownabbey, Belfast, Mid Ulster) to build networks, share experiences, and create momentum for change.
Womens voices are amplified on issues that directly impact their lives.
3. Empowered Leadership
Offer up to 10 bursaries to grassroots women in Year 2 to strengthen leadership, advocacy, and influence.
Develop practical resources (e.g., toolkits) to enhance womens ability to engage effectively with decision-makers.
Create 24 Champions for Change to act as peer mentors, supported through training and development.
4. Knowledge & Capacity
Women access high-quality resources and learning opportunities to strengthen engagement with power structures.
Deliver 4-6 workshops and themed discussions annually, connecting local women with key stakeholders.
Deliver the Visible Vocal Valued (VVV) programme with a stronger focus on using voice to influence power and systems.
Continue quarterly VVV e-zine featuring policy updates, global perspectives, and practical guidance.
Implement a Womens Bursary Programme to support education, training, lobbying, and research on emerging issues.
5. Policy & Systems Change
Tangible progress toward a comprehensive Womens Health Strategy and action plan.
Womens issues gain prominence in public discourse through targeted campaigns.
Decision-makers are influenced to adopt inclusive approaches that encourage womens participation in shaping change.
Advance the womens health strategy campaign, including calls for a Womens Health Champion and fully funded strategy.
Organise two annual fact-finding visits to decision-making spaces (e.g., Stormont, Council Chambers, Dil/Seanad) and online links to UK/EU networks.
6. Cultural & Social Impact
Creative platforms (media, drama, storytelling) amplify womens experiences and challenge systemic barriers.
Produce 4 short videos featuring local women raising their voices on key issues.
7. Sustainability & Legacy
Mechanisms such as bursary programmes and VVV platform ensure leadership development beyond programme lifecycle.
Strong networks and alliances lay the foundation for long-term systemic change.
Advocacy efforts become embedded in organisational and community structures.
Activities
1. Building Confidence, Skills, Capabilities & Supporting the Emergence of New Voices
CFNI will support the development of capacity-building and leadership opportunities for local women. We anticipate new and emerging voices of women coming forward from grassroots communities across a range of issues because of the programme. We intend to support capacity building of women in a practical sense, to develop their aspirations, confidence, skills, knowledge, and capacity to influence and challenge. Bursaries to support the mentoring, learning, development, and training of new and emerging voices will be available in year 2. We will work closely with key personnel within the Foundation to connect grassroots women with the fund. We will collaborate with potential donors to promote the benefits of bursaries to increase investment.
2. Understanding Civic Structures
Grassroots women are being held back from engaging more effectively with decision-making that affects and impacts them due to a lack of understanding of how government works. Often women are disconnected from decision-making because they lead busy lives working, caring for children and family members, as well as looking after homes. They tend to disassociate themselves as a direct result. They are put off by terminology and processes they do not understand. It is our intention to collaborate with the co-design group to develop a resource that helps address this issue. It will help create consciousness amongst women, explain complicated terminology in straightforward language, and it will debunk structures and processes linked to government, including how a Bill is developed and the stages it goes through to become legislation. It will provide insight into how individuals and groups can influence these processes.
The resource will be promoted through the Foundations grantees and community networks. The programme worker and codesign group will actively organise and lead discussions in grassroots communities using the resource. This will enhance the capacity of local women to understand civic structures better and increase their motivation to influence change. Guest speakers from local government departments, elected representatives and councils will provide insight into how government works in NI at these events. Speakers from other regions, such as Ireland, the UK and Europe, will be invited to discuss how grassroots women from their regions engage with democratic structures, highlighting lessons learned.
3. Engagement with Decision Making (and others) on Issues that Affect and Matter to Grassroots Women
CFNI will host an ongoing programme of issue-based workshops, designed to connect, and engage women from grassroots communities on issues that affect and matter to them (such as good relations/diversity, poverty, violence against women, racism, climate change). The aim is to grow confidence, understanding, and support women to build their own agency to affect change. Women will connect with peers from across communities, bringing a range of diverse voices and lived experiences together. We will utilise our networks to amplify the voices of other women in discussions. It is hoped that exposure to experiences from the UK, Ireland, and Europe will support local women to expand their worldview, gain confidence and understanding, experience solidarity and become better connected to global issues.
4. A Womens Health Strategy in NI
Women participating on the programme will continue to be encouraged and supported in our efforts to challenge Stormont to prioritise the development and implementation of a NI Womens Health Strategy. As part of the programme, CFNI will continue to support the co-design group to lobby on this issue, as well as build the agency of women in grassroots communities to join this call. We will support women to advocate for a co-design process to be implemented by local government to effectively engage with women from grassroots communities on the strategy to ensure their needs are addressed within it.
About You
You will be an approachable, dynamic, and driven person who wants to help lead, grow, and develop this important area of the Foundations work and strategy. You will be motivated and committed to our values, vision, and mission. You will be interested in creating a society where women from local communities across NI are visible, vocal, and valued and where they are proportionately and equitably involved in decision making that affects and matters to them. You will have a clear vision for achieving this.
You will be someone with experience of working with local women to successfully build their aspiration, motivation and capacity using a range of methods, based on needs. You will have experience of using community development approaches, managing programmes aimed specifically at womens development and demonstrable creativity to resolve any issues which may arise in the management and development of this programme.
You will have proven oral and written communication and analytical skills, be a strong team player and will be passionate about the work and the Foundation, striving for excellence in all you do. You will be able to deal with people from diverse backgrounds using collaboratively approaches and will excel at managing relationships internally and externally to develop and inspire trust and confidence.
You will enjoy working within teams, as well as on your own initiative. We expect you to have strong administrative skills, be highly organized and proactive. You should be able to plan and manage your time effectively and prioritise your work and/or work under pressure.
We expect all our staff to have strong IT skills and be competent in using MS Office or Google Workspace and databases. We also expect that you will identify improvements and efficiencies to help us enhance our services and live our culture and values.
Main Responsibilities
The dynamic nature of our organisation, our responsiveness to funders, and the changing environment we work in means it is not possible to list all the potential tasks in a job description. Your tasks will be directed by the prevailing context, changing needs and external challenges. Broadly however you will be expected to:
Programme Development and Delivery
To develop resources, (such as tool kits), which improve the awareness, knowledge, understanding and capacity of women to speak out on issues of importance and which support them to effectively engage with decision makers on same. Specifically, this will include working, in conjunction with the programmes codesign group, to develop and promote resources, to help build the capacity of local women to understand civic structures better.
Develop an ongoing programme of issue-based workshops (10-12), designed to connect, and engage women from grassroots communities, on issues that affect and matter to them (such as good relations/diversity, poverty, violence against women, climate change) to grow their confidence, understanding, and support them to build their own agency to affect change.
Support grassroots women to come together, to raise and add their voice to, campaigns such as End Violence Against Women and other campaigns as identified.
Lead and coordinate the work to call for a womens Health Strategy.
Build the numbers of women involved in, and support women to, advocate for a codesign process to be implemented by local government to effectively engage with women from grassroots communities on a womens health strategy that reflects the needs of women and addresses health inequalities experienced by them.
Develop, in conjunction with the Grants Directorate, a bursary programme to provide support for women from grassroots communities each year to enhance their knowledge, skills, leadership, and capacity to influence and affect change.
Build networks and contacts, across a range of stakeholders, to accelerate and improve collaboration between women and decision makers so there is more proactive and intentional engagement of woman on issues that affect and matter to them.
Strategy
Support the implementation of the Foundations strategy, ensuring it has a positive impact in communities and the women you are engaging with.
As directed, lead on and contribute to, research and evaluation relevant to the areas of womens health, wellbeing, and community development.
Contribution to other strategies, policies, and initiatives as appropriate and relevant to the Nothing About Us Without Us, Amplifying the Voice of Grassroots Womens Programme.
Communications & Networking
Work with the Foundations Public Affairs, Policy & Communications Directorate to build the Nothing About Us Without Us brand and in the process create strong visibility regarding progress and programme activities.
Represent and promote the Foundation. This will include for example:
Delivering presentations, representing the views of the Foundation and the women you are engaging with at meetings and events.
Building and maintaining contacts and facilitating discussion especially with donors, funders, and key decision-makers, in statutory (including local government) and non-statutory agencies, and within the voluntary and community sector to accelerate womens involvement in decision making that affects and matters to them.
Organising and supporting events and visits which showcase the work of the programme and its impact.
Report writing, responding to emails and communications promptly and efficiently.
Knowledge & Learning
As directed, lead on and contribute to, the programme evaluation.
Develop impact reports and monitoring returns as required by the Funder.
Share learning and lessons both internally and externally.
Use knowledge and impact to inform policy and practice internally and externally.
General
All staff are required to:
Carry out their work in accordance with the organisational culture, values and behaviours.
Be aware of, understand and comply with all the Foundations policies and procedures.
Manage their workload effectively while ensuring the efficient use of office resources and in particular Microsoft Office and the Foundations database, Salesforce.
Always maintain the confidentiality of information received.
Carry out such other appropriate tasks and work as requested.
Attend and participate in staff meetings, team meetings and relevant training.
Attend some of the Foundation events each year.
Identify improvements and efficiencies we have a lean approach to our operations and are always trying to improve.
This Job Description is not intended to comprehensively list the responsibilities of the post, but to indicate the main areas which at this stage appear to be the essential requirements of the post.
Essential Criteria
Qualifications & Experience
A relevant third level qualification and three years paid experience in a similar role.
Or
At least five years paid experience in a similar role.
Significant work experience and competency (at least 3 years) in:
Working within and across local communities using community development approaches and practices.
Working with urban and rural women, especially those most marginalised.
Establishing good working relationships within and between community groups; statutory agencies; government departments.
Building the leadership capacity of local women in a similar role.
Application Form and interview
Knowledge/Skills
Strong knowledge and understanding of the issues affecting women from local communities, gained from working directly with them.
Strong and adaptable facilitation skills to successfully engage women from local communities across a range of relevant issues.
Effective management of budgets.
The ability to communicate orally and in writing in a clear and concise manner, including writing reports.
Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills.
Highly effective organisational and time management skills, including the ability to work independently and to tight deadlines.
Strong IT skills including the ability to use IT systems (Microsoft office) to communicate, implement, manage, and monitor processes and workloads.
Personal Qualities
Commitment to the Foundations vision, mission, and our values. Values Ambition, Passion, Integrity and Kindness.
Behaviours Active Listening, non-judgemental and collaborative.
Committed to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and to working with a diverse range of people and communities across Northern Ireland.
Other Requirements
Available to work outside normal office hours, including evenings and weekends.
Full driving licence and access to a form of transport. Consideration will be given to alternative travel proposals in respect of applicants with a disability who cannot hold a license.
We operate a hybrid working model whereby staff work both from home and the office. A large part of this role requires you to be working independently but reporting regularly into the wider team.
Desirable Criteria
Working on policy issues related to women.
How to Apply
Submit your completed application form by clicking the apply button below.
The closing date for applications is 10AM on Friday 30th October 2026. Applications received after the closing date will not be considered. CVs will not be accepted.
Summary of Main Terms and Conditions
This is a part-time post of 18 hours per week for maternity Cover December 2026 to September 2027 (the post could be extended to December 2027). Working hours are exclusive of meal breaks.
The working hours for this post will be agreed between the post-holder and their line manager. Office hours are Monday to Friday 9.00am-5.00pm inclusive of meal breaks. The post-holder will be required to be flexible and work unsocial hours, including evenings and weekends, to meet the needs of the post. The post is based in the Foundations Belfast Office. However, the Foundation is a flexible employer operating a flexible working policy and therefore some flexibility will be available. We are currently operating a hybrid working model and you will be expected to work both from home and the office.
Holidays are 25 days annually (plus statutory & customary days)- pro rata for part-time posts.
Staff also get a day off for their birthday each year.
The post is subject to a probationary period of up to 6 months.
The post-holder may be eligible for membership of the Foundations Pension Scheme.
The post-holder may be entitled to membership of the Foundations Health Shield Employee Benefits Scheme.
The post-holder will not be entitled to on-site parking.
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