Advocacy and campaigns advisor jobs in manchester
Contract: 2-year rolling
Location: Remote working (with occasional international travel for events)
(For non-UK candidates, please note that you would be hired via Deel either as a contractor or as an employee with local national benefits)
Reporting to: Policy & Advocacy Advisor
The organisation
United for Global Mental Health was founded in January 2018. It exists to support and unite the global effort to promote good mental health. Through our campaigning, advocacy and financing work, we aim to create a world in which everyone, everywhere has someone to turn to in support of their mental health. Since 2018, we have worked with a variety of international and national partners to help us reach this goal.
The Initiative:
The WHO Constitution and several UN human rights declarations affirm everyone’s right to the highest attainable standard of mental health. However, many countries’ laws and policies fall short of enabling this. Human rights violations and barriers to access persist, often due to the prioritisation of institutional care over primary and community-based services, and the existence of discriminatory laws, such as those criminalising suicide. Addressing these issues is a key focus of UnitedGMH’s human rights pillar under its current three-year strategy.
The Role:
You have the opportunity to join this initiative, working as part of a global policy, advocacy and financing organisation that puts its national partners and persons with lived experience of mental health at the forefront of their advocacy efforts. You will work with the Policy and Advocacy Advisor and colleagues, to develop, coordinate, support and implement policy and advocacy projects including; influencing global, regional and national law and policy, conducting research, report writing, drafting policy briefs and positions, partnership building and management, supporting national partners with their advocacy and representing the organisation at online and in-person events, including at key global moments. You will be working to achieve the objectives of our strategic pillar on rights, delivering on the 2026 strategy and action plan for the project on decriminalising suicide worldwide and supporting the project to deinstitutionalise mental health care, as well as contributing to the work across the organisation. You will also have the opportunity to help shape our next three-year organisation strategy from 2027-2029.
You:
You have a proven track record in international health policy and advocacy with an eye for detail and an entrepreneurial spirit. Confident to work across the range of advocacy and policy activities you are flexible, competent and take initiative, and have a desire to learn and grow. You are a true team player; able to take both responsibility in managing important projects and relationships and unafraid to take on essential tasks to support the team. You have a passion for international development, law and policy and mental health.
Responsibilities:
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Partner Support: Help to build and manage partner relations with external stakeholders including national and global civil society, research institutions, governments, UN agencies, donors etc. Support them with their national advocacy and assist them in developing and managing national coalitions to advance their work at a national level.
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Stakeholder relations: Support, and sometimes lead, engagement with key governments, the UN and other international organisations. As appropriate, directly engage and manage relationships with key decision-makers and global and regional advocacy organisations.
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Engagement of Experts by Experience and young people: ensure experts by experience of mental health conditions and young people are provided opportunities to influence global and national policy through your projects
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Grant and contract management: Lead in the identification of funders in your program area and develop funding proposals for work on policy, advocacy and financing; track and report on grant deliverables.
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Policy, advocacy & financing strategies: Lead the design and implementation of policy, advocacy and financing strategies for UnitedGMH and in collaboration with, or for, a range of stakeholders.
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Policy reports and papers: Draft policy reports and papers to support high level influencing.
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Briefings, policy packs and influencing language: Preparing briefings, policy packs and influencing language for senior government officials, Ministers, and other decision-makers as well as national partners as required.
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Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning: regularly update UnitedGMH’s MEL system with relevant data and information around your projects
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Communications: Support the internal and external communication activities of the organisation and develop project-based communications plans.
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Funder profiles: Maintain updated profiles on key mental health funders.
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Events: Organise meetings, events (including side-events at key global moments), workshops and small gatherings of partners and other stakeholders.
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Represent the organisation: Speak on behalf of the organisation on your project areas at key global moments and in-person and virtual events, webinars and conferences
Experience:
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You will have at least five years of experience working in country and/or global health policy, advocacy and/or financing for a UN agency, non-governmental organisation, think tank or decision-maker.
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You will have undertaken work related to public health and/or human rights and have a track record of advocacy with policy makers, brief/report writing and research.
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A background in health, including mental health, either professionally or through lived experience.
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Demonstrable experience of having worked on health legislation and policy in low- and middle-income countries, including drafting, reviewing and/or having been part of consultative processes at a government level. Experience working on suicide prevention policies/strategies or the decriminalisation of suicide and/or the repeal of other discriminatory legislation will be preferred.
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Low-to-middle income country level experience engaging with different stakeholders – persons with lived experience of mental health conditions, governments, civil society, donors etc.
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Experience of representing your organisation at key global, regional or national political gatherings
Skills:
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Project management and reporting.
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Networking and relationship management
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Ability to perform research and report writing
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Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning.
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Grant Proposal Writing.
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Ability to work as part of a team but equally a self-starter capable of devising and delivering work under your own direction
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Experienced in and thrive working in a fast-paced environment, with the ability to respond quickly and effectively to changing agendas
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Strong organisational skills to plan, meet deadlines and successfully deliver events
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Ability to multitask and prioritise workload over short time frames
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Knowledge of foreign languages is desired but not mandatory.
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A good knowledge of Microsoft Office and other project management tools e.g., Trello, Google Suite, among others.
Qualifications:
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A degree in a relevant discipline (e.g. health, law, human rights)
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Ability to work remotely and travel internationally
Benefits
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28 days of holiday a year plus national holidays in your country of residency
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Possibility of being hired by Deel as a local employee (with local pension and social security benefits) or as a contractor (decision up to the employee based on personal preference)
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Up to £1000 a year of allowance for coworking space
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Up to £500 a year in personal development training allowance
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A minimum of 1 in-person team retreat a year
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Possibility to work from anywhere in the world (where you have the legal right to work)
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Possibility to work compressed hours
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Access to Employee Assistance Programme via HealthAssured
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[For UK-based staff] You contribute 5% of your salary and we pay for 3% (8% total)
Diversity and inclusion
Equity, diversity and inclusion are central to UnitedGMH’s core mission and values, and the organisation is dedicated to promoting this across our work and also within the workplace. We will ensure that this commitment is embedded in all operational aspects of the organisation and also implemented within our day-to-day working practices.
Reasonable adjustments statement
We aim to ensure that all applicants are provided with the same opportunities during the recruitment process. Should you have a disability and require a particular adjustment to be made to allow you to fully participate in the recruitment process, please ensure that this is made known to the person arranging your interview.
Interviews: There will be 2 interview rounds, and a short task for those who progress to the second round of interviews. Interviews will be arranged between the last week of November to the 12th of December.
Closing date: 9am on Monday 24th November
Application: To apply please submit your CV and a cover letter (800 words maximum) via Charity Job.
Thank you!
Role: Communications Officer
Reporting to: Communications Advisor: Brand and Content
Term: 2 year fixed term contract, renewable
For non-UK candidates: Please note that you would be hired via Deel either as a contractor or as an employee with local national benefits.
Salary: £35,534
Location: Candidates must be based within the GMT to EAT time zone range (UK to East Africa).
Closing date: 9am (UK time) on Monday 24th November.
Interviews: First-stage interviews will take place on 28 November and 1 December, and will include a short task. Candidates successful at this stage will be invited to attend a second-stage interview at a mutually convenient time shortly thereafter.
The opportunity
We are looking for a Communications Officer to play a key supporting role in the smooth running of our day-to-day communications - from managing the social calendar, compiling email updates, to updating website content. You’ll help our small team to continuously improve the quality and consistency of our communications outputs for United for Global Mental Health and its partners.
About Us
United for Global Mental Health is dedicated to creating a world that enables good mental health for all. We draw on our expertise in policy, advocacy, and financing to work with organisations who share our commitment to driving mental health up the political agenda - and securing additional funding for mental health at national and global level. We founded and act as the secretariat for the Global Mental Health Action Network, an open coalition of mental health professionals of over 8,000 individuals and organisations across 170 countries.
About you
Our ideal candidate is a dependable communicator who enjoys the day-to-day delivery of communications - planning and scheduling content, creating and posting on social media, drafting newsletters, updating the website, and producing simple graphics and videos. They are organised, detail-oriented, and help keep our communications running smoothly. They will also understand how to communicate across different geographies and audiences, and bring some familiarity with the UN system, as well as experience working in INGO or global health advocacy contexts.
The role
Key components of the role include:
- Social media content development - collaborate with internal subject specialists to produce consistent and frequent on-brand written and visual content for social channels, in support of brand and advocacy goals. You’ll use Canva, Adobe Creative Suite and AgoraPulse for this.
- Email - develop, write and send UnitedGMH’s regular email newsletter, working with internal staff to source news, updates and relevant content tailored for email subscribers.
- Website development - develop, maintain and update content for the UnitedGMH website - including uploading content and editing pages.
- Social media channel and community management - lead on day-to-day management and posting on UnitedGMH social media channels, including X, LinkedIn and Pinterest. Manage paid social campaigns where required. Use monitoring tools to manage social media comments (organic and paid).
- Brand guardian: Be a steward of the UnitedGMH brand, helping to ensure consistent application of visual identity and tone of voice across all external organisational outputs, maintaining high standards of design.
- Monitoring, evaluation, and reporting - create regular analytic reports for social, website and email channels.
- Editorial planning and communications calendar management - lead on the maintenance of the organisation’s communications calendar, ensuring content across channels is planned-in-advance of key advocacy moments.
- Team support - support the communications team through project management, meeting management, processing supplier invoices, keeping journalist lists up-to-date, and other responsibilities where needed.
- Ad-hoc support for the Global Mental Health Action Network - you’ll also provide a supporting function as needed for the GMHAN team, including tasks related to website and social management, plus others where needed.
Requirements
- Understanding, and experience in use, of online channels (incl. website content management systems (CMS) such as Wordpress and Squarespace, a broad spectrum of social media platforms and email marketing through Mailchimp)
- An excellent copywriter, with demonstrable experience crafting copy for different audiences - including for social media and email newsletters
- Strong research and proofreading skills, adapted to key audiences
- Comfortable prioritising and delivering on multiple pieces of work against tight timeframes
- Highly organised individual with experience of team administration support
- An understanding of using digital project management tools e.g. Trello
- An interest in mental health, advocacy and international development
- Strong relationship management skills
- Willingness to travel at least twice per annum and more if required
Desirable
- Experience working in an advocacy / international NGO environment within a fast-paced globally distributed staff team
- Demonstrable experience in working with journalists
- A communications-related qualification or vocational experience
- Additional language skills (note the position requires fluent English)
Diversity and inclusion
Equity, diversity and inclusion are central to UnitedGMH’s core mission and values, and the organisation is dedicated to promoting this across our work and also within the workplace. We will ensure that this commitment is embedded in all operational aspects of the organisation and also implemented within our day-to-day working practices.
Reasonable adjustments statement
We aim to ensure that all applicants are provided with the same opportunities during the recruitment process. Should you have a disability and require a particular adjustment to be made to allow you to fully participate in the recruitment process, please ensure that this is made known to the person arranging your interview.
How can I apply?
To apply please submit your CV and a cover letter (800 words maximum) via Charity Job.
Thank you!
Using Anonymous Recruitment
This organisation is using Anonymous Recruitment to reduce bias in the first stages of the hiring process. Submit your application as normal and our system will anonymise it for you. Your personal information will be hidden until the recruiter contacts you.
Role: Healthcare Partnerships Lead
Hours: 22.5hr hrs per week, (3 days, Tuesday and Friday core days)
Location: Homebased within the UK with a requirement to travel independently and support in person events, conferences and meetings
Reporting to: Director of Programmes and Partnerships
Benefits: Flexible working arrangements, 28 days of annual leave (FTE) + 1 day for your birthday, pension scheme
Key relationships: Managing external relationships with key healthcare professionals and partners and working closely with our Medical Advisor and Information and Research Manager
Salary: £35,000 per annum (FTE)
About the role
Do you have a proven track record of building impactful partnerships in the healthcare sector? Do you want to make a meaningful difference at the world’s leading multiple sclerosis healthy lifestyle charity?
We are seeking a dynamic Healthcare Partnerships Lead, to drive forward our Healthcare Engagement Strategy, ensuring that more people understand the importance of healthy lifestyle in managing MS symptoms and progression. You will lead the development and delivery of initiatives that align with our strategic vision—ensuring that everyone affected by MS knows that hope and possibility exist beyond diagnosis.
Healthcare professionals play a pivotal role in the lives of people with MS. As the first point of contact, they are the primary source of trusted information and support. Given the lifelong nature of MS, these relationships can span decades, making it essential that we engage meaningfully with the healthcare community. By fostering strong partnerships, we can ensure that more professionals are equipped to share evidence-based lifestyle interventions and offer hope from the very beginning.
Why this role matters
Since 2012, Overcoming MS has been at the forefront of promoting an evidence-based approach to the self-management of MS using healthy lifestyle choices alongside medication. Although there is no cure for MS, we help people with MS to live well by making informed lifestyle choices.
Over the past 18 months, we have laid a strong foundation for this work:
· Identifying key barriers to supported self-management in MS.
· Co-developing educational resources to support healthcare professionals
· Piloting projects with healthcare professionals.
· Refining and presenting data to demonstrate the value of our approach.
Now, we are ready to build on that momentum—and we need you to take it further.
Key responsibilities
· Lead the successful delivery of the Healthcare Engagement strategy, identifying and promoting engagement with our key audiences and stakeholders, in accordance with the NHS 10-year plan.
· Raise awareness with healthcare professionals of the importance of healthy lifestyle in managing MS symptoms and disease progression, resulting in expanded access to supported self-management for people with MS.
· Lead the development and delivery of strategic projects that engage healthcare professionals.
· Raise the profile and credibility of Overcoming MS, our information, events and courses, positioning us as the go-to charity for lifestyle and living well with MS.
· Increase the impact of our HCP education module, through our existing partnership with the British Society of Lifestyle Medicine, marketing the education widely, evaluating its benefit to HCPs and strategically reviewing the format, vehicle and content as appropriate.
· Work closely with our internal Evidence Gathering Group, our Medical Advisor, and Information and Research Manager to facilitate the development of the relationship, profile and reach between the charity and the health and social care sectors.
· Develop a wide network of key healthcare professionals to inform our strategy, provide expertise, expert review of materials, and content (podcasts, webinars, blogs)
· Co-produce posters, abstracts and academic articles to present at key conferences.
· Identify and attend key healthcare events and conferences, building networks, partnerships and other resources to increase knowledge and awareness.
Other responsibilities
· Create meaningful engagement with the MS community and healthcare professional partners, widening our reach to support more people with MS.
· Empower people affected by MS and their healthcare professionals to discuss lifestyle modification and the Overcoming MS Program with confidence, improving self-management and health outcomes.
· Identify opportunities for accessing funding streams, working with Fundraising colleagues to diversify our income base.
· Raise our profile within the healthcare environment so that they recommend the charity and will advocate on our behalf.
· As we are a small, busy charity, all staff help with the general running of the organisation in addition to their specific role activities.
What you will bring
· Proven experience in healthcare partnership development and stakeholder engagement.
·Strong understanding of the challenges facing people living with a lifelong condition such as MS, including the emotional, physical, and social impacts along with a strong understanding of the NHS, Public Health and the UK health care policy landscape.
· A proactive, independent professionalism with the ability to problem solve.
· Strategic thinking with a collaborative, hands-on approach
· Strong understanding of health inequalities and community-based health initiatives.
· Excellent communication, presentation and influencing skills.
· Confidence to attend meetings as sole representative of the charity and ability to get oneself there independently.
· Intellectual flexibility, with the ability to embrace and deal with complexity.
· Passion for improving lives through lifestyle and wellness interventions.
· Comfortable working remotely, attending events during evenings and weekends.
· Experience as a senior healthcare lead or similar role (Desirable).
· Experience and knowledge of neurological conditions (Desirable).
First stage interviews to be held online: Wednesday 3rd December and Thursday 4th December
Second stage interviews to be held online: Friday 12th December
Registered Charity
11 - 20
We're here for everyone with MS who wants to take control of their health and wellbeing.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.