Operations & Compliance Specialist for freelance contract

Apply by June 28, 2026. Any (with flexibility to work with us in-person, in our London office 4-6 days over the six months. Expenses covered).

Contract Type: Freelance operations project July 2026 - January 2027.

Reporting To: Director of People & Operations.

Hours: 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.

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 not‑for‑profits or charities, 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.

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 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, 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.

By the end of the service period, the following outputs will have been delivered and fully embedded into NEON’s ways of working:

• 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 safety and risk: 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.
• Day‑to‑day operations support: The freelancer will provide additional operational capacity to support the Hub with emerging priorities, and time‑sensitive pieces of work that arise during the contract period. Outputs may include support with operational problem‑solving and decision making, maintaining processes and procedures, providing subject knowledge expertise, maintaining documentation and other discrete operational tasks agreed with the Director of People and Operations.

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‑three 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.

Key part of this work: Ensuring that all outputs and improvements are properly embedded within the People & Ops Hub and the wider organisation. 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.