Advocacy manager jobs

The Woodland Trust is looking for a Nature and Society Advocacy Manager to join our policy team. This exciting and important new role will lead a high-performing team to shape and deliver advocacy strategies that maximise the Woodland Trust’s influence on UK national and local policy, driving nature recovery and access to trees for all. 

Working collaboratively with colleagues, partners and supporters, you will develop evidence-based, practical policy solutions and identify new opportunities to influence decision-makers across key areas including nature recovery, land use, planning, infrastructure, ecosystems, access to nature, and health and wellbeing. 

This role is advertised as full-time, 37.5 hours per week, however we would consider applications from those wanting reduced hours at 30 per week. 

The Role: 

• Lead and develop the Nature and Society Advocacy team, identifying capability gaps and providing coaching, direction and support to deliver effective policy advocacy. 
• Build strong cross-organisational relationships to secure coordinated support for advocacy activities and ensure senior leaders and colleagues are effectively briefed. 
• Provide expert advice on UK and international policy developments to senior stakeholders, enabling consistent, evidence-based advocacy, communications and campaigns. 
• Develop and maintain influential relationships with government, parliamentarians, NGOs, businesses, academics, media and other key stakeholders to advance advocacy objectives. 
• Represent the Woodland Trust externally at high-level forums and with key audiences to strengthen the organisation’s influence and achieve policy outcomes. 
• Contribute to the strategic development of the Trust’s policy advocacy work and lead the development and promotion of policy positions through stakeholder engagement and media activity. 
• Commission and apply policy research, and provide specialist input to reports, consultation responses, briefings and other advocacy materials. 
• Oversee the effective delivery of advocacy projects through budget management, monitoring and evaluation, and continuous learning to maintain high-quality, up-to-date policy expertise. 
• This is a hybrid position with a mix of home working, and from our head office in Grantham, Lincolnshire. Head office attendance would be required no more than once a month on average. Occasional travel to other offices and remote locations may also be required. 

The Candidate: 

• Demonstrated success in leading and developing high-performing teams, managing people, projects and multiple workstreams. 
• Expertise in budget management, policy research and the delivery of evidence-based advocacy programmes. 
• Significant experience in policy advocacy across nature recovery, land use and planning, and access to nature. 
• Proven ability to develop, negotiate and secure policy solutions that deliver positive outcomes for nature and society. 
• Strong track record of building and influencing senior-level internal and external stakeholder relationships. 
• Excellent communication and influencing skills, with the ability to engage diverse audiences and present complex issues clearly across a range of channels and media. 
• Experience designing and implementing theory of change, monitoring, evaluation and continuous learning frameworks. 
• Degree-level qualification in conservation, ecology, geography, land management, environmental or biological sciences, with a strong understanding of UK environmental and social policy, legislation, and evidence analysis. 

Benefits and Wellbeing: 

Joining our team means you’ll be a big part of tackling environmental and climate issues. We take good care of our staff, offering support and training opportunities. We also offer: 

• Enhanced Employer Pension 
• Life Assurance 
• Flexible & Hybrid Working Options 
• Generous Annual Leave - 25 Days Plus Bank Holidays (pro rata’d for part-time) 
• Buy and Sell Holiday Scheme 
• Enhanced Parental Pay 
• Employee Assistance Programme 

About Us: 

The Woodland Trust is the UK’s largest woodland conservation charity.  We want to see a world where trees and woods thrive for people and nature. The Trust engages and inspires people to make their difference tackling the nature and climate crisis helping protect, restore and create our vital woods and trees. 

Our Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion: 

To achieve our vision of a world where woods and trees thrive for people and nature, we need to better reflect society and the communities we work in. All people, no matter their background, identity, ability, or circumstance, should benefit from trees.

People of colour and disabled people are currently under-represented across the environment and conservation sector. If you identify as a person of colour and/or disabled, we particularly encourage you to apply.  

Please contact us to discuss any additional support or adjustments you may need to complete your application. 

Application Advice: 

For fairness we keep our candidates’ personal details hidden from the hiring managers, and CVs are redacted until after shortlisting is complete.  

Make sure that your Personal Statement clearly shows how your skills and knowledge link to the specifications in the job description and you share with us your passion for the role.  

Acceptable Use - Artificial Intelligence (AI): 

We understand that candidates may choose to use AI tools to support their job applications-for example, to help structure or edit written responses. We welcome the use of AI in this way, particularly where it helps improve accessibility, such as for neurodivergent applicants. However, we ask that any information submitted reflects your own experience, skills and understanding. During interviews, candidates are expected to respond independently without the use of AI tools.

Apply Now: 

If you're ready to make a difference and grow with us, send in your application today. We might close the job opening early if we get a lot of applications, so it's a good idea to apply soon. If we do close the advert early, and you have an application in process, we will email you prior to closing to give you time to complete.

Interviews will be held via Microsoft Teams on 28th & 29th July.   

Belfast, Northern Ireland / Dublin, Ireland

Location: The successful candidate must be based on the island of Ireland.

Closing date: 12 July 2026

Ref: 7364

Save the Children has an exciting opportunity for an advocacy and partnership focused individual with extensive relationship management experience to join us as our Senior Advocacy & Partnership Manager where you will work with various internal and external stakeholders including the Irish Government, civil society partners and the wider Save the Children movement.

Please note: This is a 12 month secondment/Fixed term contract.

Location: The successful candidate must be based on the island of Ireland.

About Us
Save the Children believes every child deserves a future. On the island of Ireland and around the world, we work every day to give children a healthy start in life, the opportunity to learn and protection from harm.  When crisis strikes, and children are most vulnerable, we are always among the first to respond and the last to leave.  We ensure children's unique needs are met and their voices are heard. We deliver lasting results for millions of children, including those hardest to reach.

About the role
Save the Children is seeking a Senior Advocacy and Partnership Manager to lead and coordinate our engagement with key stakeholders across Ireland, supporting our global ambition to ensure children affected by conflict, humanitarian crises and poverty can survive, learn and thrive.

This is a unique opportunity to play a central role in managing and strengthening Save the Children's relationships with the Irish Government, civil society partners, academic institutions and colleagues across the wider Save the Children movement. Acting as a key focal point for our work in Ireland, you will help shape strategic partnerships, manage key contracts, coordinate cross-organisational initiatives and support policy and advocacy efforts that advance children's rights globally.

Working closely with colleagues in Northern Ireland, the UK, Europe and international country offices, you will provide strategic advice, facilitate collaboration and identify opportunities to enhance Save the Children's influence, partnerships and impact.

In this role, you will: 

• Lead and strengthen Save the Children's strategic relationships with the Irish Government, institutional stakeholders, civil society partners and academic organisations, acting as a key focal point for engagement across Ireland.
• Identify and develop opportunities to enhance partnerships, influence, collaboration and funding in support of Save the Children's global and national priorities.
• Coordinate and manage strategic partnership initiatives and collaborative projects, working across Save the Children, Save the Children International, country offices and external stakeholders to deliver shared objectives.
• Support the development and implementation of advocacy and influencing strategies focused on children affected by conflict, humanitarian crises and poverty.
• Monitor political, policy and funding developments in Ireland, providing strategic analysis, intelligence and advice to colleagues across the Save the Children movement.
• Build and maintain effective relationships with policymakers, government officials, NGOs and coalition partners to advance child rights and humanitarian objectives.

About you

To be successful, it is important that you have:

• Significant experience managing relationships with government, institutional or donor stakeholders. As well as working with civil society organisations and coalitions.
• Experience working within advocacy, public affairs, policy, international development or partnership-focused roles.
• Strong stakeholder management skills, with the ability to influence and build trust across diverse audiences.
• Experience coordinating complex projects or partnerships involving multiple organisations and teams.
• Excellent communication skills, including the ability to prepare briefings and present complex information clearly to senior audiences.
• Knowledge of humanitarian, international development or child rights issues, particularly in relation to conflict-affected contexts.
• Strong analytical skills and the ability to identify opportunities, risks and emerging trends.

To learn more about the position, please review the Job Description in the attached Documents.

What we offer you 
We promote flexibility, inclusion, collaboration, and wellbeing both at work and beyond, and offer a wide range of benefits designed to reward your hard work and inspire you to help improve the lives of children every day. 

Some of the benefits you can expect include: 

• Generous Annual Leave – Starting at 27 days per year (pro rata for part-time employees) increasing with service up to 32 days, plus public holidays and our annual 'Save the Children Day'. 
• Family Leave – Up to 39 weeks of maternity/adoption pay (including up to 21 weeks full pay) and paternity/adoption leave of 10 weeks full pay (plus statutory entitlement).
• Special Leave – Up to 10 days paid leave per year (pro rata) for urgent or exceptional personal circumstances, without using annual leave.
• Volunteer Leave – Up to 3 days paid leave per year to support volunteering and give back. 
• Pension & Life Assurance – Helping you plan for the future with up to 7% employer pension contributions. 
• Employee Discounts – Access thousands of deals across groceries, retail, tech, travel, fitness, and more.
• Health & Wellbeing Support – Including access to a 24/7 Virtual GP and Employee Assistance Programme and Counselling, eye care support, and seasonal flu vaccinations. 

Please note: To avoid disappointment, you are advised to submit your application as soon as possible as we reserve the right to close the vacancy early if a high volume of applications are received. This is to ensure that we can manage application levels whilst maintaining a positive candidate experience. Unfortunately once a vacancy has closed, we are unable to consider further applications.

Location & Ways of Working:
This role can be performed remotely on the island of Ireland, but at times you will be required to come to your contracted office in Belfast (usually between 1–2 days per month, depending on the needs of your role, team, or service). For many roles, this is likely to be the minimum required to deliver impact.

This will be discussed and agreed with your manager /team and we encourage candidates to discuss our ways of working in more detail at interview stage.

Please note: travel costs to your contracted office will be at your own expense.

Flexible Working - We are happy to discuss flexible working options at interview.

This is an exciting opportunity to shape the future of our Advice Centre at NTSU as we deliver our ambitious new strategy focused on student advocacy, belonging and care.

You’ll lead our Advice Centre, ensuring students receive high quality advice, representation and advocacy when they need it most. But this role is about much more than managing casework.

We're looking for someone who can think beyond traditional advice services, using insight, evidence and student experiences to influence change across the University and improve outcomes for students. You'll play a key role in identifying emerging issues, championing student interests and ensuring student voices help shape policy, practice and decision making.

Working closely with colleagues across Membership Services, you'll build strong partnerships with our Student Voice team to drive advocacy work and support elected officers and student representatives. You'll also work alongside our Opportunities team to help create a culture of support, belonging and early intervention across all student-facing services.

This role would suit someone who enjoys leading people, developing services and working collaboratively to solve problems. We're looking for someone who is willing to challenge existing ways of working, embrace innovation and help us develop an Advice Centre that is responsive, inclusive and genuinely student-led.

What you'll be doing:

• Leading and developing NTSU's Advice Centre, ensuring students have access to high-quality advice, advocacy and representation.
• Managing and supporting a team of advisors, creating a positive culture of learning, development and continuous improvement.
• Working directly with students on complex and sensitive cases, providing advice, advocacy and support through University procedures.
• Using casework trends, student insight and evidence to influence institutional policy and practice and improve the student experience.
• Working closely with the Student Voice team to support elected officers, student representatives and campaigns that drive positive change for students.
• Building strong partnerships across NTSU and NTU to ensure students receive joined-up, student-centred support.
• Leading service development and exploring new approaches, technologies and ways of working that improve accessibility and impact.
• Acting as NTSU's Designated Safeguarding Officer and ensuring appropriate support and interventions are in place.
• Monitoring service performance, quality and impact, ensuring the service continues to evolve in line with student needs and sector best practice.

What we're looking for:

• A passionate advocate for students who believes in the power of representation, influence and student voice.
• An experienced manager who can motivate, support and develop others.
• Someone with experience of advice, advocacy, casework or support services, ideally within Higher Education, Students' Unions, charities or similar environments.
• A collaborative leader who enjoys building relationships and working across teams to achieve shared goals.
• Someone who is comfortable using data, insight and evidence to identify issues and influence change.
• A creative thinker who is willing to challenge convention, embrace innovation and explore new ways of supporting students.
• A confident communicator who can build credibility with students, colleagues and senior stakeholders.
• Someone who is committed to inclusion, fairness and ensuring all students can access the support they need.

Why work for NTSU?

At NTSU, you'll be part of a supportive and ambitious organisation that exists to make students' lives better. Working as the Advice & Advocacy Manager not only positions you at the heart of delivering meaningful impact on students every day but also offers a range of benefits designed to support your professional and personal growth.

• Generous Paid Holiday: Enjoy 33 days of paid time off, allowing ample time for rest, recreation, and personal pursuits.  New staff start with 20 days holiday, 8 bank holidays and 5 closure days
• Time Off in Lieu (TOIL): We understand the importance of work-life balance. That's why we offer TOIL for extra hours worked, ensuring you have time to recharge
• Competitive Pension Contribution: With a 4-6% pension contribution, we invest in your future, helping ensure your financial stability post-retirement
• Flexible Working: We embrace flexibility, offering arrangements that can help you balance your professional and personal life effectively
• Salary Progression Based on Performance: Your hard work and dedication won't go unnoticed. We reward performance with salary increases within a band, reflecting your value to our team
• Travel Pass Loan and Wage Loan: Ease your commute and manage unexpected expenses with our travel pass and wage loan benefits
• Enhanced Sick Pay: We support our employees during difficult times with enhanced sick pay, ensuring you can focus on your health when you need it most
• Training and Development Opportunities: Grow with us. We offer numerous opportunities for professional development, helping you expand your skills and advance your career
• Enhanced Parental Leave: We support new parents with 3 weeks of paid paternity leave, enhanced maternity leave and shared parental leave ensuring you can spend invaluable time with your new family member
• Free eye tests and financial contribution towards glasses required for computer work
• Free annual flu jabs

WHO WE ARE

We are Zarach, the children’s bed charity, and we’re on a mission to end child bed poverty, helping children get a good night's sleep, and the chance to thrive at school. 

In our nearly eight years as a registered charity, we’ve captured the hearts and attention of many individuals, community groups, businesses and funders who want to support us on our mission. We’ve also been given an incredible media platform from which we have raised awareness of child bed poverty at local, regional and national levels. This support and awareness has seen us deliver over 17,000 bed bundles to children to date!

WHO WE ARE LOOKING FOR

As we grow, we are looking to recruit a Policy & Advocacy Manager to join the Communications team.

As our ideal candidate you will need to be in commuting distance to our Leeds warehouse, meaning you can travel regularly to meet with the team. This is a hybrid role based between the Leeds warehouse and home, and regular travel to other locations will be required to attend meetings, conferences and other such activities related to policy and advocacy. As such, you will need to have a full UK driving license and access to your own car.

You will be someone who has strong experience in the field of policy and advocacy, with a proven track-record of engaging and influencing a range of external audiences and political stakeholders, such as MPs and councillors.

Alongside your relevant skills and experience, we’ll be looking to see that you have a genuine care for our mission and, as such, are self-motivated to do a great job and be a values-led member of our team.

Ideally, you’ll have experience in a charity/NGO or social policy sector, due to some of the specialities that come with this. However, charity experience is not essential if you can demonstrate an appetite and track record for continual learning and development across your working life to date. 

WHAT WE OFFER

• Starting at £20,400 with progression up to £22,800 p/a (£34,000 - £38,000 FTE)

• 28 days, plus Bank Holidays (prorated for part-time work)

• Healthcare Cash Plan

• Quarterly Staff Recognition Award

• A great working environment! One of our colleagues described us as- “Zarach is a wonderful place to work with the mission at the core of all that we do” 

To decide if you’d like to bring your skills and experience to bear in the pursuit of our mission, please have a look at the job description, our website and the coverage of us across social media.