Thrive at Five is a national charity focused on giving every child the best possible start in life. 

We’re looking to recruit a highly organised, experienced administrator to provide operational and co-ordination support for our growing team in West Dunbartonshire.

Location: West Dunbartonshire
Salary: £30,000 per year
Contract Type: Permanent
Hours: 35 hours per week
Closing Date: Sunday 22 November 2026

Thrive at Five Introduction
Thrive at Five’s vision is a society where every child can thrive and achieve their potential.
Our mission is to help children develop strong foundations for life and learning, in and alongside communities where families face the most challenges.
We work in Stoke-on-Trent, Redcar & Cleveland and Middlesbrough, with a programme launching West Dunbartonshire, partnering locally to join up and strengthen early years systems so children can thrive from pregnancy to five.
Our goal, everywhere we work, is to achieve long-term, sustained improvements in children’s developmental outcomes.
Our work is rooted in place and built on long-term partnership. We focus on areas where outcomes for children are persistently low, committing to work alongside partners for a minimum of five years to build trust, embed change and support sustainable improvement. Alongside delivery, we capture learning from each place to develop a practical, experience-informed playbook that supports wider system improvement.
Purpose of the role
The purpose of the Programme Support Officer is to provide administrative, operational, and coordination support that enables the effective delivery of programme activities.

Key accountabilities
Team Coordination & Operational Support
•Deliver high-quality administrative support across all areas of programme activity to ensure the effective delivery of programme goals.
•Provide advice and oversight on effective administrative and operational practices to ensure team activities are well planned, coordinated, and consistently delivered.
•Support team members with day-to-day administrative tasks to maintain smooth operational functioning.
•Develop, implement, and continuously improve office systems, policies, and administrative procedures.

Diary coordination and meeting preparation
•Coordinate diaries, schedule meetings, and maintain accurate and up-to-date calendars for the Director of Programmes.
•Coordinate booking of community spaces and maintain organised storage of equipment and resources.
•Support the Parent Outreach & Engagement Lead with the maintenance of the Parent Connector roster.
•Plan and organise meetings, including preparation of agendas, taking minutes, and maintaining action logs.
•Draft, prepare, and distribute regular correspondence and communications to parents and key stakeholders.
•Support recruitment processes by coordinating interview logistics, booking spaces, and assisting with onboarding activities.
Financial Support and Data Compliance
•Process purchase orders, invoices, and payments in line with financial procedures and controls.
•Lead the maintenance of secure electronic filing systems and databases in compliance with the Data Protection Act 2018 and GDPR requirements.
•Collate data from programme teams to support monitoring, analysis and evaluation by the Learning & Impact team.
•Create and maintain simple spreadsheets, tables, and charts to support programme monitoring and reporting, ensuring all outputs are accurate and visually accessible.

Events & Stakeholder Support
•Work in partnership with the wider team to provide coordination and delivery support for events.
•Support the production and distribution of materials used for engagement with parents.
Policies, Procedures and Compliance
•Be familiar with, and comply with all organisational policies, procedures and guidelines.
•Promote and support initiatives that contribute to aa healthy and safe working environment for all employees, contractors and visitors.
•Ensure compliance with Health and Safety policies and legislative requirements.
Other duties may be reasonably assigned to this position in consultation with your manager.

Competencies
Qualifications and Experience
•Proven experience in an administrative, office management or executive assistant role, including coordinating diaries and meetings.
•Experience supporting or delivering programmes at a local level.
Knowledge and Skills
•Strong attention to detail with the ability to manage multiple priorities.
•Strong knowledge of the Data Protection Act 2018 and GDPR standards.
•Excellent written and verbal communication skills and the ability to communicate effectively and confidently with different groups of people.

Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to develop relationships.

Ability to meet deadlines and manage competing demands effectively.
•High levels of empathy, passion, and care for those in our community.
•Highly organised, calm under pressure and comfortable working in a fast-paced environment
•Digitally savvy with skills in Microsoft 365 including Word, Excel, Outlook and PowerPoint.

To apply, please submit a CV and a one-page covering statement.

For an informal discussion about the role, please contact Hayley Street, Senior Communications Officer on hayley.street@thriveatfive.org.uk 

Closing Date: 11.59pm Sunday 22 November

Interview Date(s): Expected to be week beginning Monday 30 November

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.