Deputy country director jobs in Bermondsey, greater london

We are an intergovernmental organisation working with Civil Society across a global reach of 51 member countries. Our work advances the interests of Commonwealth Civil Society in areas of equality, participation, and good governance.

The Foundation is guided by a Board of Governors, representing Commonwealth Governments, High Commissioners and Civil Society Leaders. The Board ensures our work reflects the values and aspirations of the Commonwealth.

As our Senior HR Officer, reporting to the Deputy Director-General, you will lead on key HR functions including recruitment, policy development, and HR systems during an exciting transformation as we prepare for our Strategy 2026–2031. This role is central to our commitment to investing in our people and cultivating a vibrant, inclusive organisational culture.

What you will focus on: 

• Serve as the primary point of contact for all HR related queries, ensuring timely, accurate, and solutions-focused responses.

• Lead recruitment and onboarding for all UK-based roles and internships, actively championing the Foundation’s values of equality, diversity, and inclusion.

• Review, enhance, and develop HR policies to ensure alignment with UK employment legislation and best practice standards.

• Oversee and support the full performance management cycle, guiding managers and staff.

• Drive the implementation of innovative HR systems and learning initiatives to improve efficiency and support organisational development. 

What we are looking for: 

• CIPD Level 5 (or equivalent) and a minimum of 2+ years’ HR experience 

• Strong knowledge of UK employment law and HR best practices 

• Excellent communication and organisational skills 

• Proficiency in HR systems and Microsoft Office 

What We Offer: 

• Salary: £39,800 to £44,000  

• Generous annual leave (almost seven weeks excluding public holidays) 

• 15% of salary payable tax-free at stipulated periods in lieu of a formal superannuation scheme 

• Private health scheme including dental cover 

• Flexible working policy (several days in the office per week) 

• A collaborative and inclusive work environment at Marlborough House, Pall Mall, London 

The Process 

Applicants must declare their right to work in the UK at the time of submission. Any application that fails to do so is unable to be processed.

Applications should include: 

• A comprehensive CV 

• A motivation letter addressing the person specification and competencies 

Shortlisted candidates will be contacted within two weeks of the closing date.

First round interviews will be held online via video link on Wednesday 28 January 2026. 

Second round interviews will take place in person on Wednesday 4 February 2026. 

Closing date for applications: 

5.00pm GMT Monday 19 January 2026

We are seeking a full-time Training and Development Associate to develop, pilot and deliver a range of training programmes in 2026. These programmes will be developed from the findings of two key research reports from 2025. Our flagship Shattered Britain report outlined the seven segments of Britain today, while our Progressive Activists report delved deeply into this segment’s views and beliefs. The training programmes aim to:

• Equip Progressive Activists with the tools and strategies to build broad coalitions and campaign effectively informed by deep knowledge of public opinion.

• Help leaders and boards manage progressive, values-driven workforces, ensuring alignment between organisational mission and staff culture while maintaining effectiveness.

• Help managers understand the diversity of public opinion on a range of issues, as well as wider trends and drivers of public opinion, and learn how to use the seven segments to understand and reach new audience

The Training and Development Associate role involves the following indicative duties:

• With the Deputy Director (Strategy and Development), launch More in Common UK’s training arm, ensure all training programmes are high-quality, impactful and - in the long-run - commercially self-sustaining.

• Develop More in Common UK’s training programmes, creating a suite of training materials with advice and support from external partners and contractors where necessary.

• Deliver directly, and support others to deliver, at least 20 in-house training programmes and 6 ‘open-access’ training programmes in 12 months.

• Train over 700 individuals in 12 months, with more than 90% rating the training highly effective.

• Design and implement a robust approach to monitoring and evaluation for our training programmes.

• Ensure all training programmes are underpinned by robust, up-to-date research from More in Common’s work.

• Contribute to More in Common’s wider thought-leadership and political engagement.

• Ensure that More in Common’s UK outputs are of the highest quality and genuinely lead to impact in line with our mission.

• Lead the marketing and outreach to external partners and organisations to secure new business and customers for the training programmes.

• Work with colleagues to build opportunities for training into larger research projects with external partners.

• Design and deliver webinars and short insights products to disseminate our latest insights and research to partners and the wider eco-system.

• Support and collaborate with colleagues on a range of quantitative and qualitative research projects for More in Common’s own thought leadership work and our client/partner work.

• Represent More in Common's work and values to a wide variety of external organisations, acting as a public face for people to learn about our research.

• Any other tasks as reasonably required from time to time.

The Training and Development Associate will work closely with the UK Team across our core areas of research, communications, partnership, and client work. More in Common UK is a small team with a start-up culture where everyone is expected to execute a range of responsibilities, though the Training and Development Associate will focus on launching and making a success of More in Common’s new training arm.

We have initial funding to appoint a Training and Development Associate on a fixed-term (12-month) contract. However, subject to the success of the training programmes, their potential commercial viability and/or further funding, our hope would be to extend or make permanent the role.

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

• Considerable experience in delivering high-quality training programmes. 

• Experience in designing or updating training materials, particularly drawing on robust research.

• Experience designing monitoring, evaluation and learning frameworks for training.

• Strong public speaking and facilitation skills

• Some experience with and understanding of quantitative and quantitative research methods.

• Experience producing written content that is engaged with wider political or social debates, and grounded in robust research.

• A deep understanding of UK politics and the role research and communications play in shaping public policy outcomes. 

• An ability to manage projects from start to finish, handling both budget and time management, and dealing with large and complex clients. 

• An entrepreneurial mindset and a track record of spotting opportunities to secure new work.

• The ability to manage tasks and projects independently and in a team - from inception through to delivery and evaluation 

• A hunger for disseminating More in Common’s research to new audiences.

The above is an indicative guide to what we’re looking for, but you do not need to meet every bullet point listed. We are open to a diverse range of experiences, backgrounds and skillsets.

OTHER INFORMATION

With over 70 staff across six countries, each member of our team makes a vital contribution to our impact, and we put a strong emphasis on team selection and values. We look for people who: 

• Are curious, rigorous, restless, energetic and creative

• Are able to think ahead and get big stuff done

• Are committed to a process of ongoing learning

• Have direct experience with and understand people from different perspectives and backgrounds

• Are excited to do work that works across political divides and that promotes shared national identities

• Are interested in reaching left behind communities

• Are excited to work with heart as well as head

• Want to be part of finding practical solutions

COMPENSATION AND CONDITIONS

Competitive salary (£35,000-£40,000) plus excellent benefits including private health insurance, generous leave policy, and a personal learning and growth budget.

DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION

We will have a better chance of uniting divided societies if our team reflects a broad range of social and cultural backgrounds, beliefs, political opinions, and life experiences. We particularly encourage applications from underrepresented and minority communities.  

HOW TO APPLY

Applications should include:

• a short cover letter (max. one page)

• a CV

• a separate Word document describing a piece of training or public speaking you have delivered in the last few years, and what made it effective (max 200 words). 

Initial screening calls will take place w/c 12 January, with interviews w/c 19 January. We aim to appoint by w/c 26 January.