Vacancy at Make-A-Wish UK
About the Role
Location & Contract: This is a full-time, permanent role. The role is hybrid working, with travel required to our Reading hub at least once per week.
Closing Date: Tuesday 22nd July, 12:00 pm
We may close this role sooner than the closing date advertised if we receive a significant number of applications.
The Wish Referral Officer is responsible for completing administrative duties, including processing new referrals and responding to Wishgranting-related enquiries, whilst providing excellent customer service to all stakeholders. A Wish Referral Officer is responsible for facilitating and managing a large network of relationships including wish child and their family, medical professionals, charities, volunteers and referral partners. As each wish is unique, accurate record keeping, data privacy and safeguarding are essential for every wish.
Key Responsibilities
- Process new referrals submitted by Community Referral Partners, health and social care professionals, ensuring accurate data entry, and excellent stakeholder management both through both written and verbal communication.
- Proactively manage a dynamic caseload of 150–200 wishes at any given time, ensuring each wish application progresses efficiently through the various stages of the wish journey in alignment with established referral targets and service timelines. This includes monitoring progress, identifying and resolving potential delays, maintaining accurate records, and self-allocating new referrals in line with organisational priorities
- Take ownership of the weekly coordination and distribution of wish referral materials, ensuring all communications and resources are prepared, reviewed, and delivered accurately and on time to key stakeholders—including Community Referral Partners, wish families, and internal teams—to support a seamless and consistent referral process
- Monitor and maintain the accuracy and integrity of data across internal systems to ensure full compliance with service level agreements (SLAs), data protection regulations, and organisational protocols. This includes conducting regular data audits, identifying and correcting discrepancies, and working collaboratively with internal teams to uphold high standards of data quality, which are essential for effective decision-making, reporting, and service delivery.
- Collaborate with the Wish Discovery Coordinator to facilitate the effective involvement of Make-A-Wish UK volunteers, ensuring families receive the support they need throughout the wish experience. This includes coordinating volunteer assignments, arranging interpreter services where required, and promoting a seamless, inclusive, and supportive journey for every wish family.
Essential Criteria:
- Experience in an administrative role
- Experience of handling large volumes of data accurately, within a fast-paced environment
- Experience in a customer service role with set targets and data management
- Demonstrate the ability to be flexible and change priorities within short time frames
- Excellent organisational and prioritising skills to support an ever-changing workload
- To be able to confidently communicate through all communication methods to multiple stakeholders
- Exceptional attention to detail
- Calm and professional, especially when dealing with emotional situations
- Excellent IT and administration skills including experience in processing/inputting data and MS Office
- Ability to work on own initiative without supervision
- A personal commitment to and understanding of equal opportunities
- Experience in using CRM systems
Desirable Criteria
- Knowledge of medical terminology
- Knowledge of safeguarding and GDPR
- Experience with holding team meetings and encouraging team involvement in discussions
At Make-A-Wish, we believe that agile working gives everyone an opportunity to have their own work pattern that suits their role and individual needs. We believe this is the most effective way to give our best to wish children and supporters, and as a result deliver our charitable mission in the most effective way; whilst ensuring we create a happy workplace.
To apply for this role:
To apply for this role you must submit both your CV and Cover Letter, ensuring all questions below are answered in full.
General Questions
1) Are you eligible to work in the UK?
2) Will you require any reasonable adjustment during the selection stages?
3) When are you available to start this role?
Assessed Questions
1) Thinking about the context of the job description, how would you demonstrate our values of magic, inclusion and inspiration in a meaningful way in this role?
3) Meticulous attention to detail and prioritising workloads is integral to this role. Can you tell us about a time when you had to manage a large amount of information with high accuracy? What was the outcome of this and what did
4) Managing emotionally challenging situations with families and referrers is part of this role. Please can you give an example of dealing with similar situations, how you have dealt with them and what you have learnt from them that would benefit this role?
5) How do you like to prioritise your day and what tools do you use to assist you with this?
If you have any queries, please contact jobs@makeawish.org.uk.
- Competitive salaries
- 26 days annual leave with the option to buy/sell annual leave
- An additional day's leave on your birthday
- Birthday and work anniversary recognition gifts
- Flexible working arrangements
- Access to a pension scheme with 4% employer contributions
- Two days of additional paid leave a year to volunteer
- Access to wellbeing support, training and events, including a wellbeing and retail discount platform, Mental Health First Aiders and occupational health
- Enhanced maternity and paternity pay for eligible employees
- Cycle to work initiative
Right now over 134,000 children in the UK are eligible for a wish because they are dealing with the gruelling daily reality of life with a critical illness. When it comes to their dreams, they deserve to wish for more than a life defined by their illness. We are granting a record number of wishes yet we face an urgent challenge. The demand for wishes is far outpacing our best efforts to keep up, so it’s taking longer than ever to grant once-in-a-lifetime wishes. But the heart-breaking reality is that many families simply can’t wait this long.
In recent years, Make-A-Wish UK have led the way in establishing an evidence base for the power of wishes. We now know what we have always believed. A child’s wish can have a profoundly positive impact on their lives and the lives of people around them. It can change the child’s perception of what is possible, provide hope for the future and a lifetime of happy memories.
These are not just jobs. Being part of Make-A-Wish UK doesn’t just change the life of the child. It changes everyone who has the good fortune to be part of this wonderful organisation. It can be very emotional. It can sometimes be quite upsetting. However, above all else it is an incredibly uplifting and joyful place to be.
| Title | File |
|---|---|
| Job Description | Wish_Referral_Officer_Job_Description_July_2025.pdf |