Community, Events and Education Team Lead

Community, Events and Education Lead

Contract type: Permanent, Full time, 35 Hours per week

Location: London, UK
UK hybrid working – a minimum of 40 % of working time is spent face-to-face (London office, external meetings or travel). 60/40 hybrid working at WaterAid means roughly three days wherever you work best and two days together in person.

Salary: £61,645 per year with excellent benefits#

*We offer competitive, market-aligned starting salaries. While most roles are offered at the advertised starting salary, we may adjust this in exceptional cases depending on a candidate’s experience, skills, and potential.

Change starts with water. Change starts with you.

Every day, millions of people live without clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene. WaterAid exists to change that – for everyone, everywhere. Join us, and your energy will help unlock people’s potential and create a fairer future.

About WaterAid

We’re a global federation driven by one vision: a world where everyone, everywhere has clean water, sanitation and hygiene by 2030. Powered by our values of Respect, Accountability, Courage, Collaboration, Integrity and Innovation, we work alongside communities, partners and supporters to make change happen.

About the team

The Community, Events and Education team sits within the Mass Engagement department. The team manages a diverse portfolio of marketing, fundraising and engagement activities, ranging from challenge events and the partnership with Glastonbury Festival, to community fundraising and WaterAid’s volunteer Speaker Network. 

The team has major ambitions to grow income beyond £3m, and this is a transformational moment to reimagine how this area can deliver greater impact for WaterAid. There is broad scope for the team and team Lead to put their stamp on this area of the organisation and set a new strategic direction.

About the role

The Community, Events and Education Lead is a critical member of WaterAid’s Mass Engagement Department, driving forward both marketing and fundraising from a range of audiences, as well as leading our Special Events and volunteering activities.

It is a broad role that offers the opportunity to reimagine this area and set a new transformational direction for the team. It is an area that has significant opportunities for income growth and requires a Team Lead to focus our efforts on the largest opportunities. It is a rare and exciting chance for someone with a strategic, entrepreneurial approach to marketing, supporter engagement and special events to create real impact.

The role balances raising income from individuals and groups, bringing them closer to WaterAid and our mission, with delivering first-class volunteering experiences and managing our relationships with key partners, such as Glastonbury Festival.

Requirements

To be successful, you will need to have / to be:

• Passionate about ending poverty and want to be a part of making it happen, with commitment to WaterAid’s mission and values, and a working style that reflects these.
• Alignment with WaterAid’s values and a commitment to driving Diversity, Equality and Inclusion.
• Experience of leading teams with demonstrable success of managing a motivated and high performing team.
• A strategic thinker who can demonstrate successful delivery of a broad programme of activities and events.
• Experience of developing a comprehensive strategy for an income area, with a particular focus on income growth opportunities and new product development.
• Proven experience of working in a marketing or fundraising role, including experience understanding and reaching different audiences, and growing income from them.
• Experience of delivering events and a strong understanding of the key processes and health and safety requirements. Calm under pressure and decisive in live event environments, with a proactive, solution-focused approach to problem solving.
• Excellent inter-personal skills, and the ability to build strong relationships internally and to manage relationships with external agencies, suppliers and consultants.
• Proven ability to analyse data to inform evidence-based decision making.
• Proven ability to deliver against objectives, work under one’s own initiative, and manage one’s workload while overseeing multiple projects simultaneously.
• An entrepreneurial attitude and an energetic desire to continuously improve how we work and what WaterAid delivers.

Although not essential, we’d prefer you to have:

• Understanding of and interest in international development.
• An understanding of law and best practice relating to fundraising events and activities.
• Familiarity with CRMs and GDPR legislation.
• Experience supporting and motivating volunteers.

Closing date: Applications close 12PM UK time on Monday 27 April. Interviews are expected to take place week commencing 11th May.

How to apply: Click Apply to answer the pre-screening questions and upload your CV only and Cover Letter.

Can I use Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology in my application?

At WaterAid, we strongly advise against using AI technology at any stage of the recruitment process. Our goal is to ensure a fair and transparent process that provides every applicant with an equal opportunity to succeed. We value hearing about your unique experiences and perspectives in your application, and, if shortlisted, during the interview as well.

Pre‑employment screening

To apply for this role, you must be able to demonstrate your eligibility to work in the respective country. All pre-employment checks will be carried out according to local law and WaterAid’s Safer Recruitment policy. All UK based roles require a basic Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check.

Benefits

• 36 days’ holiday (including 8 Bank Holidays)
• Option to buy an extra 5 days’ annual leave
• Employer pension contribution up to 10 %
• Flexible and hybrid working arrangements
• Season ticket loan
• Free annual eye tests
• ‘Give as you Earn’ charitable giving scheme
• Enhanced parental leave (maternity, adoption/surrogacy, shared parental and paternity)
• Sabbaticals
• One paid volunteer day each year

As part of our annual leave policy, all employees receive three additional days of annual leave on top of their standard allocation of 25 days. These days are designated to cover the period when our UK office closes between Christmas and New Year, allowing all UK WaterAiders to take a well-deserved break.

These days are automatically scheduled and cannot be changed or moved. Annual leave is accrued based on your start date. If sufficient leave has not been accrued by the time of the closure, the 3 days will be taken as unpaid leave or pro-rated, depending on your circumstances.

Our People Promise

We will work with passion and focus to make sure everyone everywhere has clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene. WaterAid is a place of purpose – where people have a real commitment and shared responsibility for the impact we have. We are a global community with diverse backgrounds and perspectives, motivated by inspiring, stimulating work. We are determined to be a place where people feel safe and able to contribute their voice and truly live our values.

Equal Opportunities

We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds, beliefs, customs, traditions, ways of life and status. This includes, but is not limited to, race, ethnicity, caste, colour, gender, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth, disability status, neurodiversity, age, marital and family status, sexual orientation and gender identity, health status, place of residence, economic and social situation.

Safeguarding

We are committed to protecting everyone we come into contact with. We have a zero- tolerance approach to abuse of power, privilege or trust across our global work, and to any form of inappropriate behaviour, discrimination, abuse, bullying, harassment, or exploitation. Safeguarding the people and communities we work with, our staff, volunteers and anyone working on our behalf is our top priority, and we take our responsibilities extremely seriously. All offers of employment are subject to satisfactory references and appropriate screening checks (which can include counterterrorism, safeguarding and criminal records checks).

Together, we’ll change the world through water.

Join us and be part of the change!