About you

We are looking for someone who can demonstrate the following:

• A minimum level 2/GSCE level qualification (essential) or a Level 3 Qualification in an appropriate discipline from backgrounds from either education, social care, early help or the voluntary sector (desirable).
• Experience of living and working in the local community or other communities facing similar challenges.
• Basic understanding of child development and early years practice.
• Ability and confidence to quickly build new relationships with parents and carers in the community.
• Confidence in solo working in community spaces.
• Ability to communicate information and advice in a style that supports parents of a range of backgrounds including a warm, empathetic and non-judgemental approach.


About the role

The responsibilities of this role include:

• Reach parents of babies and toddlers up to 5 at scale, focusing on those who do not routinely connect with services, to connect them to support they may need
• Engaging with parents and carers by establishing opportunities to meet them in community spaces.
• Connecting parents and carers to local and national support based on their unique challenges and needs, identified using key skills like Motivational Interviewing. This support might include Parent and Baby Toddler Groups, the Family Hub, other professionals, local services, apps and online resources.
• Promote key Thrive at Five messages aligned with our intermediate outcomes using the Parent Connector toolkit, sharing key information and advice as appropriate;
• Supporting Parent, Baby and Toddler groups leaders to empower parents and children effectively through activities provided and informal support from peers and staff, e.g. by setting up activities, welcoming parents, playing with children and modelling positive interactions, supporting activities etc.
• Using sustained relationships with parents and carers to capture testimonials for use by our evaluation and communications teams.
• Capturing and sharing insights from parents and carers as appropriate which could help improve the system and support on offer.

About us
 
Thrive at Five is a national charity focused on giving every child the best possible start in life. We know the foundations for life and learning are built in the earliest years, from pregnancy to five. By working alongside families, communities and local partners, we help build stronger, more connected support for parents, so more children get what they need to thrive and reach a good level of development by age five.
 
Thrive at Five is a relatively young organisation but with an already strong national and political profile, having been called out in Parliament for our ways of working in Stoke-on-Trent and invited to be interviewed at the 2025 Civil Society Summit by the Secretary of State for Education. We have grown rapidly in our first four years, with a growing team of nearly 40 across the country. 2026 will be a year of further growth and milestones for the charity as we celebrate our fifth-year anniversary and expand into our third and fourth regions. This will involve recruiting for a new teams, establishing our programmes and beginning to co-design and implement our work in partnership with communities.
 

Please note that as this role is subject to a successful Enhanced Level Disclosure check through the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). If you have any unspent convictions, but wish to apply for this role, please advise us in your application. The successful candidate will also need to provide satisfactory references and current right to work in the UK.

We are committed to creating a workplace where everyone feels valued, respected and empowered to succeed. We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds, experiences and perspectives and are dedicated to ensuring an inclusive recruitment process free from discrimination. We believe that a diverse workforce strengthens our organisation and helps us better serve our customers, colleagues and communities.

We acknowledge the value of AI in the workplace; however, we ask candidates not to use AI to write or generate application responses. Our recruitment process is designed to assess your individual skills, experience and potential, and we encourage authentic applications that reflect your own work.

How to Apply

To apply for this role, please submit your cover letter and CV by following the APPLY NOW button.
 
Closing date for applications is midnight on Thursday 3rd September 2026

 For an informal discussion about the role, please contact Cathy Wilson at Cathy.wilson@thriveatfive.org.uk 

 Interview Date Thursday 17th September 2026