Call Us 01434 250232 enquiries@calvert-kielder.com

Jobs & Volunteers

At Calvert Kielder, we provide days, holidays and experiences for people of all abilities.  If you join our team you’ll be working part-time or full-time, or volunteering within the beautiful, uplifting and unique Kielder landscape, helping us to provide life-enhancing experiences for all our guests and visitors including individuals, groups, families, businesses, schools and colleges.

We are always on the lookout for exceptional people to join our team so please send your current CV and an impressive covering email letting us know the kind of roles you might be interested in and what you can bring to our organisation, to workwithus@calvert-kielder.com.

Let us know if you are looking for a job or volunteering opportunity or either. We’ll contact you straight away if there is an opportunity for you right now and we’ll keep you on file for a year if there isn’t.

Current Vacancies

Position:
Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
Location: Calvert Kielder, Kielder Water & Forest Park , Hexham, Northumberland NE 48 1 BS

Type: Full time /Part time
Salary FT £80k including benefits

Join Our Team as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at Calvert Kielder!

Are you a visionary leader with a passion for disability inclusion and adaptive outdoor activities?
Do you have the drive to lead a dynamic team and make a real impact in the community?
If so, we have an exciting opportunity for you!

About Us
Calvert Kielder is a leading charity dedicated to providing outdoor sports and adaptive recreation for people with disabilities. Nestled in the beautiful Kielder Forest, we offer a unique environment where individuals can challenge themselves, build confidence, and enjoy the great outdoors.

Your Role
As the CEO, you will be the strategic leader and public face of Calvert Kielder. You will work closely with the Board of Trustees to drive our vision, ensure financial sustainability, expand partnerships, and lead a team committed to disability inclusion, empowerment, and innovation.

Key Responsibilities

  • Strategic Leadership: Advise the Trustees on strategic direction, implement Board decisions, and lead the development of our long term vision and goals.
  • Operations Management: Oversee the planning, delivery, and evaluation of all activities, ensuring the highest standards of safety, accessibility, and participant satisfaction.
  • Financial Management: Develop and manage the annual budget, identify new income streams, and build positive relationships with beneficiaries.
  • Stakeholder Engagement: Serve as the primary spokesperson, build strategic partnerships, and engage with the disability community.
  • Team Leadership: Recruit, mentor, and lead a high performing team, promoting ongoing staff development and a positive workplace culture.
  • Governance & Compliance: Ensure sound governance practices, compliance with legal and regulatory requirements, and effective monitoring and reporting procedures.

About You
Essential Qualifications & Experience

  • Proven leadership experience in a non profit, social enterprise, sports/recreation, or
    disability services context
  • Deep commitment to disability inclusion and adaptive outdoor activities
  • Experience in business development, income stream generation, or fundraising
  • Strong operational, financial, and strategic planning skills
  • Excellent communication and stakeholder engagement abilities
  • Knowledge of outdoor sports, adaptive recreation, or therapeutic programming is highly desirable

How to Apply
If you are ready to take on this exciting challenge and lead Calvert Kielder into the future, we would love to hear from you! Please send your CV and a covering letter to Gill King gill.king@calvert-kielder.com
Join us in making a difference and empowering individuals through outdoor adventure!🌟

We are looking for enthusiastic, caring, and motivated candidates to join our care team in the provision of our short-term respite care programme. Carers at Calvert Kielder enjoy the opportunity to accompany guests on and take part in the many outdoor activities both land and water based that we provide, whilst also ensuring that the care needs of guests are met to the highest possible standards.

Carer’s are required to hold as a minimum NVQ L2 with a desire to progress their training. However, if you do not hold qualifications but would like to potentially progress career in care, why not talk to us about our health care assistant role.

All aspects of our guests’ personal care are met by the care team, ensuring that our guests enjoy a break from home and their home carers have a break from their caring responsibilities.

We offer

    • A full-time starting salary of £27,345 for qualified care staff
    • A minimum of 28 days annual leave with additional paid time off over Christmas and New Year (approx. 5 weeks)
    • A Salary Exchange Pension Scheme
    • Life Cover worth 3 x Annual Salary
    • Accident & Illness Cover
    • Staff Family & Friends Discount Scheme
    • Free Meals on duty
    • Ongoing Training (NVQ’s online and day courses)
    • Subsidised On-site accommodation (subject to availability)
    • Access to the Blue Light Card Scheme

If you are interested in applying for this role or would like further information, please send your CV and covering letter to the email address workwithus@calvert-kielder.com with the subject line heading “Care Staff”.

Make a difference!

An opening has become available for permanent activity staff to join our activity team in the provision of our land and water-based activities.

What makes us special?

Calvert Kielder has recently celebrated it’s 40th birthday and is known across the country as a place for people of all abilities to have a much needed holiday while they take part in our accessible activities.

  • We are a people led organisation. We look after our guests and our staff. We are a Real Living Wage employer (note, this is well above the government national living wage) and offer an excellent support package with many added benefits to our staff.
  • We are based in the North of Northumberland on the shores of Kielder Water in the heart of Kielder Water & Forest Park but still within easy reach of Newcastle, Edinburgh and Carlisle.

We are looking for people who are confident and engaging and have good experience of working in an outdoor activity setting.

Ideal candidates will possess:  

  • A water sports background, ideally with dinghy instructor and paddlesport leadership qualifications

and/or

  • A ropes background with CWI or RCI and ERCA high ropes course instructor.

D1 Driving entitlement would also be desirable.

We work with people of all abilities, but we specialise in working with people with disabilities, so let us know if you have experience in this area.

The best part is that you get to work in an exciting and challenging environment where no two days are the same AND you get to run the Kielder Zipcoaster, the World’s only Fully Accessible AvatarOne™ rollercoaster zipwire!

We offer

  • A Full-time starting salary of £26,245 per annum.
  • A minimum of 28 days annual leave with additional paid time off over Christmas and New year (approx. 5 weeks).
  • A Salary Exchange Pension Scheme.
  • Life Cover worth 3 x Annual Salary.
  • Accident & Illness Cover.
  • Staff Family & Friends Discount Scheme.
  • Ongoing Training.
  • Access to WeCare, MyStrength and Toothfairy.
  • Access to the Blue Light Card Scheme.
  • Access to Discounted Outdoor Equipment.
  • Subsidised Meals.
  • Subsidised On-site Accommodation (subject to availability).

We are set on the edge of the beautiful Northumberland National Park with easy access to a wide variety of climbing crags, the Cheviot Hills, the Northumberland coast, the Tyne and Tweed river catchments and of course, the Lake District.

If you are interested in applying for this role or would like further information, please send your CV and covering letter to the email address workwithus@calvert-kielder.com  with the subject line heading “Activity Staff”.

Closing date: November 21st November 2025

Start date: January 2026

In addition to our normal roles Calvert Kielder also offers apprenticeships in Care, Activities and Business Administration.

This is an opportunity for people of any age to join our organisation and train to become a fully qualified member of the staff team.

We offer

    • A full-time starting salary of £16,000 in Year One
    • A minimum of 28 days annual leave with time off over Christmas and New Year
    • A Salary Exchange Pension Scheme
    • Life Cover worth 3 x Annual Salary
    • Accident & Illness Cover
    • Staff Family & Friends Discount Scheme
    • Subsidised Meals
    • Ongoing Training (NVQ’s, NGB’s online and day courses)
    • Subsidised On-site accommodation (subject to availability)
    • Access to the Blue Light Card Scheme

If you are interested in applying for this role or would like further information, please send your CV and covering letter to the email address workwithus@calvert-kielder.com with the subject line heading “Apprenticeships”.

Volunteering Opportunities

At Calvert Kielder, we rely on and appreciate the help and support of our volunteers. Volunteering allows you to contribute directly to the amazing work that we do and help to make our guests’ stay as memorable as possible.

Volunteer Roles

There are many varied volunteer roles available including:

  • Socialising with our guests
  • Helping the activity team provide activities
  • Helping the care team support our guests
  • Maintenance and gardening work around site
  • Domestic or kitchen work
  • Customer service and administration
  • Supporting the fundraising team or fundraising in your local area

We offer short and long term volunteering roles, work, gap year and student placements and internships.

How to Apply

We are always on the lookout for exceptional people to join our team so please send your current CV, an impressive covering email letting us know the kind of roles you might be interested in and what you can bring to our organisation, to workwithus@calvert-kielder.com. Let us know if you are looking for a job or volunteering opportunity or either. We’ll contact you straight away if there is an opportunity for you right now and we’ll keep you on file for a year if there isn’t.

Application Guidance Notes

Please note that for volunteers who wish to stay on site, you must be 18 years or over. If you would like your application kept on file please give permission in your covering letter.Thank you for your interest in working or volunteering for Calvert Kielder.