Wish Referral Officer

Location: Reading, Hybrid 
Hours: 37 per week 
Salary: £27,792
Contract Type: Permanent
Campaign Closes: 13th November 2025

First Stage Interviews: 26th November 2025

Second Stage Interviews: TBC

Are you passionate about making a real difference in the lives of children with critical illnesses? Do you thrive in a fast-paced environment where empathy, precision, and people skills come together? Join Make-A-Wish UK as a Wish Referral Officer and be the guiding light at the start of every wish journey. You will be the warm, reassuring voice that helps families navigate the first steps of their magical experience, all while managing vital relationships and keeping everything running smoothly behind the scenes.

Core Purpose
The Wish Referral Officer is responsible for processing new referrals and stewarding the wish child and their application through the initial stages of their wish journey, whilst providing excellent stakeholder management. A Wish Referral Officer is responsible for facilitating and managing a large network of relationships such as the 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 and experience. This role requires the ability to work at a high pace while maintaining strong attention to detail, with data management and accuracy forming core aspects of day-to-day responsibilities.

Essential Criteria
To be successful in this role you will need:

• Experience in an administrative role 
• Experience of handling large volumes of data accurately, within a fast-paced environment
• Experience in 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 

Personal Qualities

• Maintain a professional, caring, friendly and helpful manner always whilst dealing with wish children, their families, volunteers, suppliers as well as other stakeholders 
• Strong empathy with wish families understanding that each child is an individual and may have needs 
• The ability to be able to build strong relationships
• Maintain high levels of attention to detail 
• Ability to remain calm under pressure 
• Punctual and reliable 
• Friendly, courteous and professional 
• Be motivated to always support the charity and its objectives

Key Responsibilities:
Referral Enablement

• 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.
• Ensure all referral processes, service level agreements (SLAs), and Make-A-Wish UK eligibility criteria are consistently followed, maintaining full compliance with organisational policies and procedures. This includes accurately assessing referral information against eligibility requirements, escalating any concerns, queries, or ambiguities to the appropriate team or line manager for review, and ensuring all decisions are documented and communicated clearly. Additionally, maintain strong communication with stakeholders to ensure clarity around eligibility decisions and support a fair, transparent referral process.
• Ensure the principles of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion are always reflected within the wish process.
• Support the Wish Referral Team Manager and Wish Referral Lead and Make-A-Wish UK in achieving our goal to reach every eligible child within the UK.

Stakeholder Communication

• Act as the first point of contact for all Wish Granting (WG)–related queries and enquiries, responding promptly and professionally via email, phone, WhatsApp, and post. Ensure that all stakeholders—including wish families, volunteers, and referral partners—receive a high-quality, compassionate, and consistent customer service experience
• Ensure accurate communications with referral partners, wish children and their families/guardians, employees, and volunteers in relation to wish applications.  
• Ensure that our service level agreements are met, and stakeholder expectations are sensitively and professionally managed in line with our policies.
• Liaise with other charity partners to assess whether referred wish children meet Make-A-Wish UK’s eligibility criteria. Where referrals do not meet the criteria, collaborate with the Wish Referral Partner Manager to ensure that referrers receive clear, constructive feedback and gain a full understanding of Make-A-Wish UK’s eligibility requirements, supporting transparent and informed referral practices.

Systems and Processes:

• Collaborate with the Wish Referral Team Manager to identify and implement improvements to the wish journey experience, ensuring it is seamless, inclusive, and positive for all stakeholders. Contribute feedback, insights, and suggestions to enhance processes, communication, and overall service delivery in line with organisational goal
• Maintain accurate and up-to-date records within our CRM system (Salesforce), ensuring data integrity and consistency, at all times.
• Follow internal processes to ensure wish children and their families move through the wish journey smoothly, and always in line with our service level agreements.
• Actively participate and engage in project work, providing constructive insights and ideas to enhance the wish journey for every wish child.

Safeguarding and Data Governance:   

• Ensure all wish records and related data are stored and maintained on Make-A-Wish Information Systems and that all data is managed within set policies and procedures (such as data privacy, liability, consent forms, marketing permissions etc.)
• Facilitate a culture of safeguarding awareness. Identify, report and escalate any issues or concerns in line with organisational processes and procedures.
• Raise safeguarding concerns and complete relevant internal procedure