Project Director (MAT Cover)

Project Director (Maternity Cover) Contract: Fixed term maternity cover from April 2026 up to 16 months Hours: 30 hours per week (to be worked Monday-Thursday) Location: Home based in England or London office with UK travel as required A rare and exciting opportunity has arisen for an experienced senior leader to direct a high profile multifaceted national anti-littering programme funded by a major third-party grant. This role offers the chance to shape a complex impactful behavioural change initiative with national reach working at the intersection of research innovation communications and policy.

About the Role As Project Director you will set the strategic direction of the programme and lead a dedicated multidisciplinary team responsible for delivering a coordinated portfolio of research behavioural interventions and evidence-based communication campaigns. You will ensure the programme meets its ambitious KPIs supported by a strong evidence base and robust monitoring and evaluation. You will act as the primary point of contact for the funder manage senior level stakeholder relationships across government NGOs local authorities and the private sector and represent the programme at board meetings political conferences and major events. As a key media spokesperson, you will help raise the profile of the programme and champion its impact. This role sits on the Executive Team contributing to wider organisational strategy and business development.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the delivery of a national anti littering programme ensuring high quality research innovation and behaviour change campaigns
• Manage and support an eight person multidisciplinary team across research monitoring and evaluation and campaigns
• Oversee the full project budget ensuring effective resource allocation and delivery within budget
• Ensure timely delivery of grant KPIs negotiating with the funder where required
• Act as the main liaison for the funding organisation presenting progress at senior meetings and conferences
• Handle media enquiries and proactively consider the programmes public profile
• Develop and maintain strategic partnerships with local authorities businesses and voluntary sector organisations
• Produce robust annual proposals informed by evidence political context and programme performance
• Ensure all contractual legal and charitable requirements are met for each grant year
• Contribute to organisational leadership as part of the Executive Team
• Promote the programmes insights internally to inform wider policy campaigns and service development
• Oversee project planning performance management and quality assurance

About You You will bring substantial senior leadership experience and a strong track record of delivering complex programmes with multiple stakeholders. You will be confident in high profile environments and experienced in public relations. You will also demonstrate:

• Experience managing relationships with high profile organisations and ensuring quality of contracted work
• Strong financial management skills including budget development and reporting
• Proven ability to lead multidisciplinary teams and oversee diverse workstreams
• Understanding of how research and evaluation inform effective policy and campaigns
• Experience of profile-raising activity including speaking at conferences and working with communications teams

Desirable experience includes:

• Scaling pilot projects to national programmes
• Knowledge of litter waste or place-based agendas in England
• Overseeing mass multimedia behaviour change campaigns
• Media management expertise

Other Requirements

• The right to work in the UK with immediate effect
• Willingness to travel across the UK including occasional overnight stays and weekend work

For more information or an informal conversation about the role please contact Hannah at NFP People.