Operations and Compliance Specialist

About NEON

NEON is a not-for-profit organisation committed to accelerating social movements. We build capacity and infrastructure to accelerate the transition to a new economy. We work across a wide range of progressive issues including climate, housing, healthcare, and migration and we support over 1,000 organisers across the UK working towards political, environmental, and social justice. Our theory of change is rooted in understanding both the strategies, stories, and structures required to sustain a movement. Short term, this results in improved movement infrastructure, skills, and connections; long term, it leads to robust relationships and movement alliances capable of systemic change.

Context

NEON’s People & Operations Hub makes sure all our internal systems run smoothly and that our team is happy, high-performing and cared for. The People & Operations Hub brings together people, culture, operations, fundraising and finance, and plays a key role in making sure NEON is both high impact and a joyful place to work, at the heart of this is ensuring our values of respect, generosity and solidarity and anti-oppression principles are embedded into all internal practices. As part of this, we’re currently looking for someone to support us for a defined period of time to review and refresh some of our core operational and compliance areas. This includes reviewing, updating and embedding key systems and processes so that they are clear, usable and consistently followed across NEON. Alongside this, we want to create a NEON-wide handbook, so that we have a simple accessible place where people can find everything they need to know about how we do things at NEON. We also want to strengthen our guidance around event safety, both online and in-person, so staff feel comfortable and supported when planning and delivering work. It’s crucial for us that this work is developed in collaboration with the People & Operations Hub as well as the wider team.

Who we’re looking for

We’re looking for someone who is comfortable moving across operational and compliance work. Someone who has a solid understanding and experience in delivering high-level health and safety, data protection, IT and systems work, and other operational aspects of running an organisation, and can turn that into something practical, usable and genuinely helpful for our team. Someone who is self-motivated, comfortable working independently, and able to take ownership of pieces of work from start to finish. We’d love someone who has experience working closely in or within people and operations teams in small- medium sized organisations, and who knows how to take complex or messy systems and make them simpler, clearer and easier to embed in day-to-day practice. We’re looking for someone aligned with our values of respect, generosity and solidarity and is well-versed in including anti-oppression principles into operational work. Someone who is motivated by working in a values-led organisation where decisions factor in culture, trust and care as well as the technical elements. This person should be confident reviewing and improving systems and understands and is experienced in working closely with other people to do this, whether that’s with the Director of People and Operations to receive direction or troubleshoot, working alongside our People and Ops Manager and Ops Assistant to put things into practice and draw on their organisational expertise, or engaging the wider team to elicit their ideas and challenges, and incorporate them into improvements. Similarly someone who is able to work with external support we have in place around IT, HR and data protection and translate their recommendations into practical action. They’ll need to be able to hit the ground running and pick up discrete pieces of work that are in need of a light-touch review and update, working thoughtfully and collaboratively with a team that’s juggling lots of different priorities. Aside from improving key pieces of work, the other core part of the role is bringing people with them, which will involve coaching and mentoring skills, a learning and development approach, and helping others feel confident taking on and owning this work. Above all, we’re looking for someone who understands how to make organisations compliant and well-run in a way that feels proportionate, caring, and realistic for a team of our size. Someone who can embed these pieces of work, without overcomplicating things, and who can foster a sense of shared ownership. We’re also looking for someone who really cares about how operational work is truly embedded and put into practice across organisations, who thinks carefully about what happens after their involvement or support ends and knows how to build internal capability so work doesn’t stay dependent on them.

Key deliverables

• IT and systems: The freelancer will complete a high-level review of NEON’s current IT systems, identify key risks and gaps, and produce a set of recommendations. Outputs will include working with the People & Operations Hub to lead implementation and embedding of agreed improvements across tools and ways of working, including an improved GDrive structure, Google Workspace and IT security improvements and an IT and phones policy.
• Data protection: The freelancer will complete a high-level review and strengthening of NEON’s GDPR and data protection approach. Outputs will include updated core policies (GDPR policy, privacy notice, retention policy) and practical guidance to support consistent implementation across the organisation. It also includes delivery of staff training and further strengthening of our “Data Champions”.
• Event processes: The freelancer will assess our current event-related practices (online and in-person). Outputs will include clear, practical recommendations, strengthened guidance for managing event safety and risk in practice and staff training and support.
• Health and safety: A review and update of NEON’s health and safety approach will be completed to ensure policies and processes are clear, practical and consistently applied. Outputs will include an updated H&S policy, incident reporting process, risk assessment templates, and a simple event safety framework with guidance and checklists. It also includes delivering staff training and embedding of H&S practice across the organisation, including clarification of roles and responsibilities.
• AI policy and guidance: The freelancer will research and develop NEON’s approach to AI use across the organisation, considering best practice, risks, opportunities, and the impact of AI on staff and NEON’s work. It should also include thoughtful consideration of the harms and ethical concerns associated with AI. Outputs will include engagement with staff to understand current use and concerns, alongside the creation of clear and practical AI guidance and an organisational AI policy to support safe, thoughtful and consistent use of AI tools across NEON.
• NEON Handbook: A NEON-wide handbook will be created, bringing together key processes, guidance and signposting to essential organisational information in one accessible place. The handbook will be co-developed with staff and People & Operations Hub members to ensure it reflects day-to-day practice and is maintainable internally after completion. A key part of this work will be ensuring that all improvements are properly embedded within the People & Ops Hub. This includes creating clear documentation, guidance, training and handover processes so that NEON staff can confidently hold and maintain this work after the consultancy ends.

Timescales and fee schedule

The freelancer will be appointed and ready to engage from the end of July/ start of August 2026. We expect this work to be completed across two days per week for up to six months, ideally finished by the end of January or February 2027 (depending on start date). There may be a possibility of extension if other relevant and discrete projects arise and in agreement with the Director of People and Operations.

Call out information required

Interested freelancers are asked to provide the following information in response to this call out: Brief career history and details of relevant assignments undertaken (this could be in the form of a CV) A statement not exceeding 800 words on your proposed approach to the deliverables, including: Your technical and subject matter expertise Your personal style and approach to working with others How you will embed our values of respect, generosity and solidarity and anti-oppression principles into the deliverables Your day rate, indicating whether VAT is payable (please note our indicative day rate that is aligned with our internal budget is £375) A clear commitment to undertake the work within the timeframe set out above Two testimonials from suitable clients or professional partners The deadline for submissions is Sunday 28th June 11.59pm Please find email address for submission of applications on our website. We may wish to discuss submissions with you on Monday 6th July or Wednesday 8th July 2026. We will inform you if this is the case. For any further information or clarification prior to submission, contact us at our website.