Citizens UK
Citizens UK is a people power alliance of diverse local communities working together for the common good. Our mission is to develop leaders, strengthen civic organisations and make change. Our 550 member communities are deeply rooted in their local areas and connect every day to the lives of hundreds of thousands of people. Through the method of community organising we enable people experiencing powerlessness to develop their leadership and come together with the power and strategy to make change.
This leads to hundreds of neighbourhood improvements - from zebra crossings outside primary schools to renovated public toilets in cemeteries. And it leads to some of the biggest campaign impacts in the UK, such as winning over £2 billion of wages through the UK Living Wage campaign, securing a legal cap on the cost of credit to control exploitative lending, and ending the detention of children for immigration purposes. We enable local campaigns to grow into large-scale social change projects such as the Living Wage Foundation, Parents and Communities Together (PACT), Sponsor Refugees, and Refugees for Justice, that form an integral part of our theory of change. The most prominent of these is the rapidly growing Living Wage Foundation with a network of over 14,000 accredited Living Wage Employers across the UK.
South London Citizens
South London Citizens is a thriving chapter with a growing team of ~18 organisers and project staff. We are building the power of communities in South London through borough alliances (in Greenwich, Lewisham, Southwark, Lambeth, Wandsworth, Merton, Croydon) and the wider region by developing community leadership and supporting people to take action on what matters most to them. Over the past three years, we have worked in partnership with mental health trusts to deliver a pioneering organising project, South London Listens (SLL), to prevent mental ill-health, and more recently with wider South London NHS leaders to take action on a range of issues (from low wages to housing conditions) that impact our communities’ health.
Purpose
We are looking for two Associate Organisers to join our thriving and dynamic team in South London building the power of local communities. These roles will support local organising, and have a specific focus on health and living wage organising.
In this exciting and innovative role, you will work with community organisations, including faith institutions, schools, universities, and community groups. Your primary responsibility will be to
1. build ‘Be Well’ teams to support the wellbeing of their communities, as part of the South London Listens partnership;
2. find and develop new community leaders within their organisations; and
3. take action to tackle the social determinants of health inequality (e.g. lack of migration status, racism, housing conditions, low wages and precarious work).
One or both of the roles will also include specific organising with low paid workers to lead the fight for a real living wage and living hours.
With your passion, energy, and commitment to democracy, you will support communities to build the power they need to win justice and make a real and lasting impact. Join us in the fight for a healthier and more equitable future for South London.
A central focus of an Associate Organiser is their own development: learning the craft of Community Organising under the guidance of an experienced Community Organiser. An Associate Organiser is working towards becoming a competent practitioner of the craft of broad-based community organising methodology, and focuses on the building of relational power, the recruitment and retention of dues-paying institutions, the development of leaders, the strengthening of member institutions, leader-led public actions, and the winning of systemic change. Your learning and development will be paramount in the first few months as the responsibilities given to your experience and skills develop.
We encourage you to apply even if you don’t feel like you fit all the criteria. We are particularly interested in people who are angry at issues of injustice, who have demonstrated taking action on that in some way, who can communicate effectively, who can build relationships of trust with a diverse range of people, and who believe in the capacity of ordinary people to make extraordinary change! We are less interested in whether you understand every word in the responsibility list below or whether you have worked as a professional organiser before. You are also encouraged to reach out if you have any questions about whether you might be suitable for the role.
Main Responsibilities
Working as an Associate Organiser in South London for Citizens UK your main responsibilities will be to:
Grow and deliver on the priorities of South London Listens and our broader Health organising
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Build and support new Be Well Hubs in a range of institutions in your allocated boroughs. Including identifying new institutions, delivering training, and supporting them once they are established.
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Work with other organisers to deliver on the priorities identified by communities that are part of the South London Listens project
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Ensure reporting and capturing of stories of the South London Listens project are captured and shared to celebrate and grow the project.
At least one of the roles includes supporting our organising efforts for more just work and wages
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Identify and develop worker leaders
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Take action with South London Citizens leaders to increase the number of living wage and living hours employers in London
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Develop and deliver community organising training for worker leaders
Build relational power to further the goals of CUK
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Actively participate in the development of a comprehensive power analysis appropriate to the desired sphere of influence for each project/assignment
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Establish working relationships with identified leaders and demonstrate ability to move them into action, including as part of the wider alliance; taking the initiative to establish new relationships as required
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Conduct one-to-ones to develop relationships with leaders and understand their concerns.
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Tell a wide range of Community Organising stories effectively to influence others and achieve CUK’s goals
Identify and develop relational leaders prepared to act with others for the common good
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Identify and discern actual and potential leaders with the passion and ability to drive change in their borough alliance and through South London Listens.
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Proactively create opportunities for leaders to develop, in particular tertiary or new leaders; nominate for training on the core taster curriculum and Be Well Hubs training.
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Successfully deliver workshops in local institutions, South London Citizens community organising introductions and Be Well training.
Strengthen institutions and develop Broad Based Organisations
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Ensure good understanding of the basic interests and traditions of typical member institutions
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Organise a small cluster of up to 5 standard member institutions or 1 strategic partner to work together for the achievement of common goals
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Support pre-existing core teams and create/develop new core teams to provide leadership at local level and in South London Listens
Support leaders through the Cycle of Action in order to create change
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Support member institutions and Be Well Hubs in running listening campaigns
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Organise neighbourhood actions; demonstrating increasing independence in working without the need for close supervision
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Take the lead in supporting groups of leaders through the cycle of action on neighbourhood issues; aiming to achieve neighbourhood and health wins
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Evaluate the effectiveness of actions; demonstrating ability to incorporate lessons learned into future actions
Contribute to CUK’s financial viability through effective fundraising & financial management
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Contribute to fundraising to the value of at least £20,000 per annum through one or some of the following:
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WWritinge regular updates on the work to be shared with the funders and maintain a healthy relationship with them
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Recruit new dues paying institutions; work together with a more senior Organiser to negotiate annual membership fees and letters of understanding
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Liaise with the Finance & Operations team to update the membership database and ensure timely invoicing and fee collection
Contribute to effective teamwork and live out our ‘Inclusion’ value
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Be proactive concerning personal professional development and wellbeing: i.e. by reading widely, developing a healthy work-life balance and demonstrating ability to reflect on own organising craft & improve on self-identified weaknesses
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Demonstrate ability to work effectively with colleagues and participate in a team
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Produce all required reports and follow CUK’s procedures on time and to the required standards
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Contribute towards an inclusive environment for all colleagues and community leaders, so that our spaces are a place where all are able to participate
Participate in the development of the craft of Community Organising and play a role in the Guild of COs
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Schedule an average of at least three 1-2-1 relational meetings into your daily schedule as a core part of your professional practice
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Commit 10 working days per annum (pro rata) to the preparation, delivery, and evaluation of Citizens UK National Community Leadership Training or other local or regional trainings or other activities organised by the Learning and Innovation team.
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Participate in a Guild Team and help it develop as a Community of Practice that enables Organisers across the UK to develop their skills and experience.
Personal Specification
(D) Desirable, (E) Essential
EXPERIENCE
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Previous campaign experience (D)
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Evidence of having acted in a leadership role with peers or in local community activities (e.g. within a faith institution or clubs/societies) (E)
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Experience of project management; evidence of having delivered work on time and to standard (E)
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Able to demonstrate previous experience of ‘learning by doing’ in a work or project environment; evidence of being open to feedback and comfortably coachable (E)
KEY SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE
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Ability to speak additional languages, especially Spanish for one of the roles (D)
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Excellent interpersonal awareness – ability to listen well and appreciate a viewpoint or opinion that is different from one’s own (E)
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Excellent concern for impact – ability to adapt own behaviour to address the needs or concerns of someone else (E)
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Good communication skills – able to speak with conviction and passion; and to make a logical argument (E)
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PERSONAL QUALITIES & VALUES
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A self-starter with ability to take initiative and work independently (E)
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A passion for justice (E)
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A positive enthusiasm for working with faith congregations, trade unions, schools, and other community organisations (E)
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An interest in and experience of politics and public life (E)
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Able to work in a team (E)
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Willingness to work within accountable relationships (E)
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Self-motivated and adaptable (E
The successful applicant will be required to undertake a satisfactory Enhanced DBS check. DBS checks are renewed on a 3-year cycle.
Interviews are planned to take place on Wednesday, 12th June (subject to change).
Please note this is a 12-month fix term contract with a possibility to extend, funding permitting.
We are recruiting into our FAST team. In this role, you'll be instrumental in maintaining and advancing our technology infrastructure. Working closely with colleagues across seven sites, you'll be at the forefront, ensuring smooth operations and facilitating the delivery of essential services.
Please find full details of how to apply via our website in the advert below. The deadline for application submissions is 23:59, Wednesday 08 May 2024.
We are striving to better represent the young people we support and therefore are particularly keen to increase applications from Black/Black British, Muslim, and male candidates as they are currently under-represented in our organisation. We also encourage applications from people with relevant lived experience.
If you need an adjustment to be made to any part of the recruitment process, please let us know as soon as possible.
Who are we?
We are a leading youth homelessness charity based in the Southwest, working with over 1,500 young people. At 1625ip we are driven by Social Justice and Passion: we strive to do something that matters and take pride in seeing the results of our work in social outcomes and improving young people’s lives.
What you will be doing:
- Tapping into your previous experience in help desk support, multitasking to troubleshoot and repair issues, you will be providing technical support via our helpdesk to colleagues, resolving issues promptly and efficiently.
- Using your previous experience in IT, you will be managing and overseeing the day-to-day operation of our IT systems, including hardware, software, and network infrastructure, using your problem-solving skills to ensure smooth running of the network and systems.
- With your solid knowledge of IT systems and applications and strong communication and interpersonal skills, you will collaborate with teams and colleagues to assess their IT needs, identify areas for improvement, and implement appropriate solutions.
- Assisting and contributing to IT policy, planning, development.
You will be in the FAST (Facilities and systems team) and your line manager will be our Central Services Manager.
At 1625ip we are led by our Competency Development Framework. This connects our values to our behaviours in everything we do and gives us the tools to develop. The framework ensures our recruitment is better informed, applications and interviews are behaviourally based, and job profiles are developed on the ‘how’ of a job.
The role requires previous experience and knowledge of IT infrastructure. If you have transferrable skills and you are interested in this role, but you are worried about the application process, please get in touch with us. We encourage you to have an informal chat with the recruiting manager to discuss how your personal or professional experience and skills could be transferred to this role. Details of how you can do that are further down in this advert.
Contract details
- Hours per week: 37.5 (this represents full time hours)
- Contract type: Permanent
- Pay: £28,282 - £29,777 per annum
- The location: You will be based in Kingsley Hall, close to Bristol’s main train and bus stations as well as the vibrant city centre. There is also flexibility to work from home to be agreed upon.
A few benefits at 1625ip
In return for your dedication, we offer:
- A generous annual leave entitlement of 30 days per annum plus all Bank Holidays
- A supportive and approachable team with an emphasis on colleague wellbeing
- Flexible working
- A friendly and welcoming team
Important dates
- Application deadline closes: 23:59, Wednesday 08 May 2024.
- If you have not heard from us by the end of the day on Thursday 09 May 2024, please assume that your application has been unsuccessful on this occasion.
- Interviews are on Thursday 16 May 2024.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
This is an opportunity to join Refuge as Independent Domestic Violence Advocate to supporting women and children who are impacted by domestic violence. You will work closely with victims of domestic abuse from the point of crisis, to provide high quality independent advocacy and support to survivors of domestic abuse at the highest risk and their children. This post is restricted to women due to the nature of the role.
Please note that this post is restricted to women due to the nature of the role. The Occupational Requirement under Schedule 9 (part 1) of the Equality Act 2010 applies. An enhanced DBS will also be required for the successful applicant.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.