Drive Senior Policy, Public Affairs and Communications Officer

We are SafeLives, the UK-wide charity dedicated to ending domestic abuse, for everyone and for good.   

We work with organisations across the UK to transform the response to domestic abuse. We want what you would want for your best friend. We listen to survivors, putting their voices at the heart of our thinking. We look at the whole picture for each individual and family to get the right help at the right time to make families everywhere safe and well. And we challenge perpetrators to change, asking ‘why doesn’t he stop?’ rather than ‘why doesn’t she leave?’ This applies whatever the gender of the victim or perpetrator and whatever the nature of their relationship.   

Last year alone, nearly 13,500 professionals received our training. Over 70,000 adults at risk of serious harm or murder and more than 85,000 children received support through dedicated multi-agency support designed by us and delivered with partners. In the last four years, over 2,000 perpetrators have been challenged and supported to change by interventions we created with partners, and that’s just the start.   

Together we can end domestic abuse. Forever. For everyone.   

This is a broad and varied role across Policy, Public Affairs and Communications, with a specific focus on the Drive Project:   

The Drive Project is the Drive Partnership’s flagship intervention for high-risk, high-harm and serial perpetrators of domestic abuse. The core mission of the Drive Project is to stop the cycle of domestic abuse and increase the immediate and long-term safety of adult and child victim-survivors. The Drive Project does this by partnering with agencies and local perpetrator services to disrupt, challenge, and change the behaviour of high-risk, high-harm and serial perpetrators, and working closely with IDVAs and victim-survivor services to always centre the safety and needs of victim-survivors, in line with the Respect Standard.  

Key Duties and Responsibilities

Communications

• Support the Drive Partnership’s communications and stakeholder engagement regarding the Drive Project.
• Lead central support on communications for Drive Project partners and build strong working relationships across network, ensuring both policy and communications expertise and input flows both ways.
• Work closely with internal and external partner colleagues to support the safe and effective roll-out of the Drive Project across England and Wales.
• Support the delivery of the Drive Partnership’s communications plan, including website content, social media, newsletters, and events.
• Develop and maintain communications and branding guidelines and support the Drive Partnership team and network of partners to use correctly.
• Support the Policy, Public Affairs and Communications Manager in developing media relations, including media enquiries, drafting press releases and responses.
• Ensure the website is fit for purpose and up to date with relevant information and news.
• Ensure victim-survivor voice guides our communications thinking and output - engaging in a compassionate, considerate and effective way with victim-survivors through Pioneer interaction, colleagues and any other interaction we have in our daily work.
• Ensure service user (perpetrator) input is collated and utilised in a responsible and safe way – always centring victim-survivors and considering their safety within this work.
• Project and promote our values – through considered language, inclusivity and equality in Drive Partnership communications.

Policy and Public Affairs

• Support the Policy, Public Affairs and Communications Manager to develop and promote policy positions, drawing on the expertise of the partnership.
• Lead and coordinate policy input into the Government’s strategic approach to perpetrators, particularly through influencing on the Drive Partnership’s key recommendations within its Call for Further Action.
• Identify and act on policy opportunities to promote best practice in perpetrator interventions – including both risk management and behaviour change, such as select committee enquiries, consultations, Bills, news developments.
• Build relationships with politicians, voluntary sector, civil servants and professional bodies, deputising for the Policy, Public Affairs and Communications Manager in key meetings where required.
• Support the coordination of sector and stakeholder forums to enhance collaboration towards a more strategic approach to perpetrators of domestic abuse.

Internal

• Play a role in the development of the team, nurturing and drawing on the talents of others.
• Maintain an accurate and secure audit trail of all relevant communication and ensure that all work is compliant with data protection law.
• Engage in a compassionate, considerate and effective way with all victim-survivors through Pioneer interaction, colleagues and any other interaction we have in our daily work.
• Undertake any other duties as may reasonably be required.

Person Specification

Experience

Experience of communications planning and delivery:

• Digital communication and website management (E)
• Using data and evidence in communications (E)
• Experience in reactive and crisis communications (D)
• Experience of working with the media and journalists (D)
• Experience of developing a communications plan (D)
• Creative and innovative approach to presenting information across different formats and channels, for a range of audiences (D)

Experience of working with a range of internal and external stakeholders to influence policy:

• Experience of working in coalitions or partnerships (E)
• Experience of building and maintaining good relationships with a range of stakeholders (E)
• Experience working with policymakers/parliamentarians to influence policy (D)
• Experience of working with people with lived experience of the issue at hand (D)

Skills

• Creativity and fluency
• Organisational skills

Competencies

• Teamwork and collaboration
• Communication and relationship management
• Delivering quality
• Goal orientation
• Influence