Executive Assistant To Head Of Communications Jobs in Sheffield, South Yorkshire

Job Title: Assistant Director Activism & Advocacy

Location: Flexible - Home-based, Shelter Office-based, or combination with regular travel to London and other locations

Contract Type: Permanent Full Time

Salary: £78,414 per annum

Hours: 37.5 per week (pro-rata if part-time)

Leave: 30 days holiday per annum + Exceptional Benefits

Closing Date: 27th May 2024 at 23.30pm

About Shelter

A home is a fundamental human need, as essential as education or healthcare. Yet millions of people across Britain struggle on a daily basis with homelessness, bad housing conditions, soaring rents, discrimination, and the threat of eviction. So, we are striving for change, with individuals, in communities, across society, and leading the way to a safe home.

We need ambitious, best-in-class individuals who are passionate about our cause to join us at this exciting time. This is your chance to play a part in the fundamental change we are striving to achieve.

At Shelter we are united by our purpose to defend the right to a safe home. Our enemy is the social injustice at the core of the escalating housing emergency. We believe that to win that fight, we must be representative of the people we are here to help and those who support our movement for change. In all our people decisions, we take pride in being inclusive, fair, equitable and transparent.

We have committed to combat racism both within and outside Shelter and welcome you on our journey to becoming a truly anti-racist organisation.

About the Team

This role is part of the Communications, Policy, and Campaigns (CPC) team, which drives Shelter's ground-breaking campaigning efforts.

The CPC team leads initiatives advocating for social housing, renters' rights, and ending the housing emergency.

As our Assistant Director Activism & Advocacy, you'll work alongside other Assistant Directors, contributing to a collaborative, non-hierarchical decision-making environment.

About the Role

As Assistant Director Activism & Advocacy, you will provide strategic direction to the heads of Digital campaigning, Community Organising, Policy, Research, and Public Affairs teams.

You'll support the development of high-profile campaigns and drive continual improvement to achieve Shelter's strategic goals.

This role involves building strong relationships across Shelter, promoting collaboration, and acting as a spokesperson when required.

You'll need excellent political instincts, campaign experience, and the ability to oversee the production of high-quality policy and research.

About You

We're seeking candidates with experience in matrix management environments, senior leadership skills in project/change management, and a track record of impactful campaigning, policy, research, or public affairs activities.

You should demonstrate the Shelter Behaviours, including collaboration, prioritising diversity, enabling decision-making, creating change, openness to risk, and learning from experiences.

How to apply

You are required to submit a CV and a supporting statement. The supporting statement should include why you’re interested in the role and address the following 3 questions. The supporting statement should be no more than two A4 pages.

1. Can you provide examples of your experience leading and implementing high-profile campaign strategies that have resulted in significant political impact, particularly in influencing complex policy decisions at the highest levels?

2. Please provide an example of how you have successfully worked across different teams/departments and delivered on cross-organisational objectives?

3. Considering Shelter's commitment to being an anti-racist organisation, can you outline how you would integrate anti-racism and equity principles into your leadership approach within the context of driving strategic change and delivering impactful activism and advocacy initiatives?

Please note any applications submitted without a supporting statement will not be considered.
 

Benefits

We offer a wide range of benefits, including 30 days of annual leave, enhanced family friendly policies, pension, and interest free travel loans. Our employees also have access to a tenancy deposit loan, payroll giving, cycle to work scheme and an employee assistance programme.

Shelter helps millions of people every year struggling with bad housing or homelessness through our advice, support, and legal services. And we campaign to make sure that, one day, no one will have to turn to us for help. We’re here so no one has to fight bad housing or homelessness on their own.

To find out more about the role and the benefits of working for Shelter please visit our website. Apply to be part of our team and be the change you want to see in society.

Safeguarding is everyone's business. Shelter is committed to protecting the health, wellbeing, and human rights of those we support, and enabling them to live free from harm, abuse and neglect. All our staff will be expected to observe professional standards of behaviour and conduct their work in line with our Safeguarding Policies. 

Shelter does not accept unsolicited CVs from external recruitment agencies nor accept the fees associated with them.

Job Title: Assistant Director - Communications and Content

Location: Flexible - Home-based, Shelter Office-based, or combination with regular travel to London and other locations

Contract Type: Interim, 12 months Fixed Term Contract

Accountable to: Director of Communications, Policy, and Campaigns

Salary: £78,441per annum

Hours: 37.5 per week (pro-rata if part-time)

Leave: 30 days holiday per annum + Exceptional Benefits

Closing date: Sunday 5th May at 11:30pm

About Shelter

A home is a fundamental human need, as essential as education or healthcare. Yet millions of people across Britain struggle on a daily basis with homelessness, bad housing conditions, soaring rents, discrimination, and the threat of eviction. So, we are striving for change, with individuals, in communities, across society, and leading the way to a safe home. We need ambitious, best-in-class individuals who are passionate about our cause to join us at this exciting time. This is your chance to play a part in the fundamental change we are striving to achieve.

At Shelter we are united by our purpose to defend the right to a safe home. Our enemy is the social injustice at the core of the escalating housing emergency. We believe that to win that fight, we must be representative of the people we are here to help and those who support our movement for change. In all our people decisions, we take pride in being inclusive, fair, equitable and transparent.

We have committed to combat racism both within and outside Shelter and welcome you on our journey to becoming a truly anti-racist organisation.

About the Team

This interim role reports to the Director of Communications, Policy and Campaigns (CPC), alongside other Assistant Directors.

The CPC team drives Shelter's campaigns for social housing and renters' rights, supporting our services and income generation efforts.

You'll manage heads of important content and engagement teams, driving strategic direction and collaboration across functions.

About the Role

As Assistant Director Communications and Content, you'll lead Shelter's communication efforts, ensuring impact, reach and a coherent organisational voice.

You'll oversee media teams, drive cross-channel campaigns, and develop ambitious communication strategies. With your experience in matrix management and project/change management, you'll guide teams to achieve our strategic goals amidst organisational change.

About You

We're seeking candidates with extensive experience leading and managing media and communications teams, along with a track record of developing impactful cross-channel campaigns. Your ability to navigate complexity, build collaborative relationships, and drive strategic change will be crucial in this role.

How to Apply

Please reserve the following dates in your diary when you apply:

• An introduction Interview will take place Friday 10th of May virtually for approximately 30 minutes
• Panel Interviews will take place virtually on Monday 13th of May

Please ensure you have read the full Recruitment Pack before applying. Please click ‘Apply for Job’ below. You are required to submit a CV and a supporting statement. The supporting statement should address and cover the following 3 questions. Answers should not be more than 250 words in length.

1. Can you elaborate on your experience leading and managing high-performing communication team/s? Please provide an example of a successful initiative or project you led, highlighting how you achieved strategic objectives.

2. Can you provide an example of a time when you led a high-performing team/s through a period of significant change or transition? How did you approach managing both the strategic objectives and the team dynamics during this process?

3. Please elaborate on your experience of leading external communications that deliver on values of anti-racism and inclusion - highlighting how you navigated challenges and supported team members to feel empowered to contribute.

Benefits

We offer a wide range of benefits, including 30 days of annual leave, enhanced family friendly policies, pension, and interest free travel loans. Our employees also have access to a tenancy deposit loan, payroll giving, cycle to work scheme and an employee assistance programme.

Shelter helps millions of people every year struggling with bad housing or homelessness through our advice, support, and legal services. And we campaign to make sure that, one day, no one will have to turn to us for help. We’re here so no one has to fight bad housing or homelessness on their own.

Safeguarding

Safeguarding is everyone's business. Shelter is committed to protecting the health, wellbeing, and human rights of those we support, and enabling them to live free from harm, abuse and neglect.

All our staff will be expected to observe professional standards of behaviour and conduct their work in line with our Safeguarding Policies.

Shelter does not accept unsolicited CVs from external recruitment agencies nor accept the fees associated with them.

Main responsibilities will include:

Administration

• Be responsible for securing contracts by confirming booking information and working with the Head of Budgets, Contracts & Policy to ensure freelance trainer contracts and Service Agreements are in place

• Oversee the general administration of all APD functions including responding to customer queries and feedback

•  Process course bookings made via Thinkific and other platforms, ensuring all requirements are noted and passed on appropriately

• Regularly review policies and procedures which relate to sales and bookings Artswork Limited Registered Charity No: 800143 Company Limited by Guarantee Registered in England No: 2150619

• Ensure effective contribution of accurate and timely data required by Artswork and its funders / stakeholders

Finance

• Be responsible for APD budgets including raising sales invoices, reconciling payments and managing deferred income

• Follow anti-money laundering procedures to ensure APD sales are compliant with legislation

• Ensure all finance and operations processes and procedures are rigorously implemented in collaboration with the Finance & Operations team

• Produce budget forecasts for APD and provide monthly updates on current financial position to the Deputy CEO and Head of Budgets, Contracts & Policy

• Chase debtors and regularly report any overdue payments to the Finance team

Strategy

• Contribute to the APD growth strategy through ideas and practical solutions

• Work with the APD team and Deputy CEO in the development of new programmes, routes to market and audience development

Communications

• Help to maintain strong communication channels with all partner organisations and customers

• Provide administrative support in developing regional networks, contacts and partners

• Assist with the engagement of employers and partners for projects and programmes

Administration and Legal Compliance

• Maintain positive professional relationships with our participants, partners and stakeholders •

• Adhere to Artswork’s values and its policies and procedures, i.e. Equalities, Health and Safety, Data Protection, Safeguarding and Environmental policies

• Be a committed champion for Artswork’s Anti-Discrimination Charter

• Maintain and develop personal skills and knowledge through appropriate training

• Perform own administrative duties

• Maintaining positive professional relationships with our participants, partners and stakeholders.

About us:

The Humane League UK is a charity ending the abuse of animals raised for food by influencing the policies of the world's biggest companies, demanding legislation, and empowering others to take action. 

We're a mission-driven, energetic team focused on problem-solving and effective teamwork, and have grown significantly over the last few years. 

Thanks to our effectiveness, The Humane League has been named Top Charity by the independent evaluator Animal Charity Evaluators for every rating period since 2012.

THL UK is an equal-opportunity employer. We are committed to furthering equity and inclusion, and we value diversity. We seek people from a wide range of backgrounds who will bring a fresh perspective to the team, not just because it is the right thing to do, but because it makes us stronger. 

We make employment decisions by matching our organisational needs with the skills and experience of candidates, irrespective of race, colour, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, neurodiversity, age, or veteran status.

​We are proud to be a Disability Confident Committed Employer, demonstrating our commitment to recruiting, retaining, and supporting disabled people and people with health conditions, based on their skills and talent.

You can read more about how The Humane League UK is working on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion on our website.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding accessibility, please contact us via our website and we will be happy to discuss, via email or telephone, reasonable adjustments that you may require throughout the process.

The position:

We are seeking a creative, collaborative and effective fundraiser to drive long-lasting improvements for millions of farmed animals.

This is an exciting time to join a growing organisation, with ambitious plans to become more self-sufficient and financially stable for the long-term. You can be part of our Development Team helping to make this happen.

You’ll manage a portfolio of donors, have the opportunity to develop new relationships and shape our income now, and for the future. 

By raising valuable funds and securing major gifts from high net worth individuals, you can make sure that our work continues to have long-lasting impacts - ending cages for egg-laying hens, convincing corporates to commit to improving chicken welfare in their supply chains, challenging the Government over the use of fast-growing breeds of chicken, and working to secure the first legislation to protect farmed fishes.

Through your work you will also have the opportunity to educate and inform our supporters, connecting them to our cause and creating greater awareness about the suffering of farmed animals.

We will be holding a webinar on Thursday 16th May at 7pm BST for you to find out more about the role and to ask any questions you may have. The webinar will be hosted by Gavin Chappell-Bates, Head of Development and Klara Schmidt, Digital Fundraiser. If you’re interested, please register via the link on our website which can be found by following the Apply via website button.

A recording of the webinar will be available within 48 hours after the end of the event.

Hours:

This is a full time position of 37.5 hours per week over Monday to Friday.

From 1st July 2024 we are piloting a four day working week across the whole of the UK organisation. This pilot is planned to run for 12 months, at which point a decision will be made by our Board of Trustees as to whether this will become permanent. Success of the trial relies on the organisation being able to achieve the same or improved level of impact in four working days as five, with staff experiencing either the same or improved levels of wellbeing.

During the four day week pilot, working hours for this position will be reduced to 30 hours per week, spanning Monday to Thursday, with no reduction in salary. This will be a temporary change to the contractual terms with the successful candidate. The appointed person must be prepared to increase their working hours to 37.5 hours per week if a return to a five-day working week is decided.

Who you are:

We are looking for someone who can, through compelling and inspiring writing and communication, engage donors and potential funders in a variety of different formats, whether that’s email updates, thanking them for their support, or drafting a funding proposal. Ultimately, you will need to be able to bring them closer to our work, so that they can understand their individual contribution and the impact their donations can have, and are more likely to take action as a result.

You will also need to be able to build strong relationships, with the ability to understand the motivations of our donors, demonstrate the impact of our work, spot opportunities to engage them, and ask for their financial support at the right time.

Many of our donors come from the Effective Altruism (EA) community, so having an understanding of this community and how to engage it will be helpful. You will help to grow our supporters within the space, raising our profile and spotting opportunities to develop relationships with prospective new donors and funders.

Home-based, you will enjoy collaborating and working independently. As a self-starter, you are able to work autonomously and use your initiative to solve problems and see projects through from start-to-end. You’ll thrive on a varied and interesting mix of tasks and projects.

You’ll keep good records and understand the importance of clean and up to date supporter and donation data in creating efficient systems and processes.

We foster an environment of feedback, development and learning at THL UK. You’ll be someone that values receiving feedback, is able to assess your own performance, and has a desire to want to learn, develop and improve as an individual.

Prior experience of major donor fundraising is beneficial, whilst knowledge and understanding of trusts and grants fundraising would also be helpful. However, we are also keen to hear from you if you have relevant transferable skills and are looking to transition into this exciting area. 

We’re looking for the right person, committed to the work we do at THL UK, with values that align with our own, and with the right skills and attitude - an exceptional and confident relationship builder and strong communicator. 

We will provide relevant learning and development opportunities, tailored to your experience and personal needs, which could include in-house training, external training and fundraising events and conferences.

Be part of our mission to end the abuse of animals raised for food.
 

Primary Duties:

• Thanking and stewarding some of our key major donors - acting as a direct point of contact for their queries and questions, keeping them updated with our work, thanking them for their support and donations, building strong, long-term relationships, and developing them as prospects or donors to elicit further gifts, through regular email, telephone and face-to-face contact, thank you cards, networking, written updates, online and face-to-face meetings, and other feedback as appropriate.

• Creating and submitting funding asks to secure funding and achieve your own fundraising targets and those of the wider organisation, with a focus on securing multi-year funding. This will include creating cases for support and funding briefs for specific projects, working with the Programs Team to pull together all relevant information, as well as completing bespoke funding proposals. You will also need to be able to identify opportunities, know when is the right time to make an ask and what type of ask it should be, whether a one-off gift, multi-year funding, unrestricted or for a specific project, or match funding to help leverage a specific campaign or appeal.

• Coordinating our funding pipeline - managing and monitoring what stages our major givers are at in their cultivation journey, tracking details of funding applications/asks made, managing deadlines for applications and monitoring reports, tracking and reconciling donations and providing receipts, securing relevant funding agreements, and capturing the motivations, giving history and details of interactions of our donors.

• Leading on the development of our quarterly newsletter - a document designed as a key engagement tool specifically for our major gifts audience, to keep them up to date on our latest news, victories and forthcoming plans.

• Mapping out and developing our major donor programme for the next twelve months and beyond - planning a calendar of content and touch points to further cultivate and steward our key donors, such as exclusive webinars, networking meet-ups or larger fundraising events.

• Coordinating the major donor version of our annual supporter survey - collaborating with colleagues to align this to our general supporter survey, targeting questions with a major donor audience in mind, collating and analysing responses, and using them to inform and develop our major donor programme.

• Hosting donors at events - inviting them to protests and other events, such as our legal challenge against the use of Frankenchickens, and making sure they are well looked after.

• Prospect research - identifying, researching and assessing potential new major gifts prospects, and then developing cultivation plans for further engagement.

• Supporting the Head of Development with our trust and grant fundraising. This could include collaborating with consultants to complete prospect research and applications, creating and submitting low-level funding bids, and working with colleagues from across the organisation, to coordinate the submission of monitoring reports for our funders.

• Helping drive understanding of and engagement with fundraising across the organisation, with staff, volunteers and trustees - giving presentations, leading workshops with other departments, engaging staff, volunteers and trustees in the thanking process (i.e. getting them to send thank you cards to donors), and regularly updating the wider team on fundraising progress.

• Supporting other fundraising campaigns and initiatives, such as our end of year appeal, working with your colleagues in the Development Team to help find match funders from our pool of our major givers.

• Attending relevant events and conferences, to meet and cultivate prospective new funders and steward existing donors, develop learning and understanding, network with your fundraising peers, keep up to date with the fundraising sector and look for opportunities to raise our profile amongst funders and donors within the EA community.

In addition:

• Participating in team meetings including note-taking and facilitation.

• Attending in-person team workshops several times a year.

• Helping us make THL UK an inclusive workplace where employees and supporters are proud to be members of the movement.

• Demonstrating commitment to creating a stronger and more effective animal protection movement through inclusion and belonging, recognising the need for all of us to do better for social justice on a personal and organisational level.

• Helping us galvanise further support by lending your organisational skills to fundraising events and supporting our Managing Director and Head of Development by planning meetings and events.

• Performing any other duties assigned by the Head of Development.

For full details of the role, including the key competencies we see as the the most important requirements for being successful in this position, please visit our website by following the 'Apply via Website' button.

Good to know:

You will have access to:

• ​A fully remote work environment and team (all equipment is provided)
• A 4 day working week (note: this is a year long pilot until July 2025 when its continuation will be assessed)
• A pro rata share of 25 days leave plus Public Holidays (reduced proportionately during four day week trial)
• ​Flexible working hours
• ​A workplace pension
• An annual learning and development budget
• Support for mental and physical wellbeing 
• £25 per month reimbursement towards home working costs

At The Humane League UK, animal welfare is at the forefront of our everyday work and as such, many of our employees are vegan by personal choice. All of our events and workshops offer only plant-based meals. We welcome all mission-aligned candidates to apply, no matter where you are in your journey to end the abuse of animals raised for food.

We are looking to speak to a wide range of candidates with diverse backgrounds - #NonGraduatesWelcome

Our employees all work remotely but still enjoy a supportive, collaborative environment.

For our salaries to be fair, transparent and equitable we want to provide a system that delivers a competitive salary in the market and could eliminate potential biases in compensation (such as the gender pay gap). For more information about the Major Gifts Fundraiser salary please the attached document.

All applicants need to be:

1. ​Fluent in written and spoken English.
2. ​Live and have the right to work in the UK (we are unable to consider applications from those without the right to work in the UK).
3. ​Committed to our mission to end the abuse of animals raised for food.

The Process:

All applicants will be contacted within one week of the closing date to let you know if you have been successful in reaching the next stage.

Our full interview process comprises of the following stages:

• A skills test to give us an opportunity to see your skills in action (completed remotely).
• Join an online interview (via video call) so we can learn more about each other.
• Final Interview (via video call as above)

For full details of our recruitment process please see the attached document.