Permanent jobs

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Southwark

Chief Operating Officer

£125,000

Full-time, permanent

North Lambeth with travel in the Archdiocese and occasionally beyond with some home working possible.

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Southwark is one of the largest dioceses in the UK, but more than that it is a vibrant and diverse Diocese with ambitious plans for leading people to Christ.  This includes through spreading the Good News of the Gospel, delivering high-quality Catholic education and support for the vulnerable and marginalised.

The Archdiocese has 175 parishes and 162 schools across the whole of London south of the Thames, all of Kent and the eastern parts of Surrey. While parishes operate under individual canonical status, the Archdiocese has extensive operating procedures which govern areas of parish life, activity and operation. This means the Archdiocese supports parishes to flourish, while ensuring they comply with UK law.

Today, Southwark consists of range of diverse communities from inner London and suburban parishes to coastal and rural churches. Southwark’s rich history continues to evolve under the dynamic pastoral leadership of Archbishop John Wilson, who invites all to embrace social justice by putting their faith into action, to and become part of an evangelising and missionary Archdiocese that shares the Good News of Jesus Christ.

Centred on Jesus Christ, the Archdiocese of Southwark will evangelise by helping people to grow in faith and to live in hope. Collectively we can change our world for the better by imitating Christ in showing love, justice, and peace to all. Our mission is to invite people to know the Lord Jesus who offers us life in its fullness.

We are seeking to appoint a Chief Operating Officer who is passionate about this mission and who can provide the leadership that will drive us forward in our work to be a Missionary Diocese.

The Chief Operating Officer provides strategic and operational leadership across the Archdiocese.  You will hold responsibility for ensuring that Archdiocesan operations support the mission of the Church, are financially sustainable, and are compliant with legal and regulatory requirements. This role is pivotal in safeguarding and enhancing the Archdiocese’s Mission and the supporting physical estate for current and future generations.

Post summary

This is an exciting senior position for an exceptional digital communications manager who wants to work for a high-impact campaigning NGO. In this role, you’ll have the opportunity to lead and grow the digital channels of one of the UK’s leading rights NGOs. We’re looking for someone with a vision to help take our digital reach to the next level, whilst respecting supporters’ privacy.

Big Brother Watch is a leading voice in the UK protecting privacy and free speech, and has a strong track record of successful campaigns that defend civil liberties in the UK. In this role, you’ll work closely with the Director and Head of Advocacy to build campaigns that respond to pressing threats to our freedoms. You’ll devise strategies to run successful digital campaigns including mass mobilisation; you’ll curate the supporter journey for our network of 100,000 email subscribers; you’ll manage and produce highly engaging content including long and short form videos and graphics for our social media channels; and you’ll lead our digital fundraising.

About you

The right candidate will have strong experience in a similar role and a proven track record in social media management, content/video production and digital fundraising.

You’ll have experience working across a range of digital channels, including social media and video, website CMS, and email marketing platforms such as MailChimp. We are looking for someone who will diligently uphold our brand identity and voice; who is self-motivated, resourceful, and a proactive team player. You will be flexible, able to work under pressure and thrive managing a busy and sometimes competing workload.

If this sounds like you, and you’re passionate and committed to Big Brother Watch’s mission (this is essential), we’d like to hear from you.

This is a broad role and you may not have experience in every area listed, but if you are a creative, digital-first communicator who is eager to grow and make an impact contact us.

Big Brother Watch

Big Brother Watch is a UK civil liberties campaign group fighting for a free future. We’re determined to reclaim our privacy and defend freedoms at this time of enormous technological change. And we fight to win.

We’re a fiercely independent, diverse, non-partisan and non-profit group of campaigners and researchers who work to roll back the surveillance state and protect rights in parliament, the media or the courts if we have to. We publish unique investigations and pursue powerful public campaigns to pursue real change. We work relentlessly to inform and empower the public to collectively reclaim privacy, defend our civil liberties and protect freedoms for the future.

We’re a small, dedicated and highly effective team of seven full-time staff and five volunteers.

Person specification

• Passion for Big Brother Watch’s mission

• Experience of managing website CMS, basic HTML

• Experience in developing and managing newsletter strategy to drive engagement and support campaign goals

• Strong understanding of social media, particularly X, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok, including best practice and trends

• Strong working knowledge of Adobe Creative Suite, particularly Premiere Pro, Photoshop, InDesign, and After Effects

• Hands-on experience shooting video content for campaigns or social media

• Experience of producing impactful copy for campaigns, including on sensitive and nuanced issues

• Demonstrable experience using digital skills for campaigns and/or fundraising

• Good understanding of the political climate

• Ability to translate technical information into easy to understand persuasive content and create engaging messaging for a variety of audiences across multiple digital channels

• Ability to monitor trends and identify creative opportunities that support campaign objectives

• Ability to monitor, analyse and report on performance data

• Strong organisational skills with ability to manage multiple projects and deadlines

• Friendly, positive and adaptable team player

Desirable:

• 5+ years experience in digital campaigns, marketing or communications

• Educated to degree level in a relevant field.

• Interest in free and open source software

Job description

Key responsibilities

General

• Devise and ensure delivery of Big Brother Watch’s digital strategy & communications calendar, encompassing social media, website, and email, working closely with the Head of Advocacy

• Line manage and support staff within the digital communications team, including performance management and professional development

• Develop packages of digital and physical campaign resources to a high standard

• Monitor trends, sector standards and contribute ideas on new digital initiatives

• Designing templates for our briefings and bespoke report templates

Website

• Drive recruitment of supporters and grow fundraising

• Help maintain and develop the Big Brother Watch website structure, content and SEO

• Create, upload and edit content (including images and video), work with HTML

• Work with colleagues to ensure all content is kept up-to-date.

Email

• Manage the newsletter schedule and mailouts, and other supporter journey engagement

• Ensure best practice in email content, testing, delivery and response rates

• Ensure the highest standard of data protection regarding our databases

• Drive recruitment of subscribers

Social media

• Manage and publish content on Big Brother Watch’s social media platforms and demonstrate growth in outreach

• Lead the development and ideation of new social media content

• Create and edit videos and graphics

Media

• Reposting spokepersons’ appearances in broadcast, online and print media via our digital channels

• General media monitoring of relevant news & press opportunities

• Contributing to press strategies

• Potential requirement to be on 24 hour call for media enquiries – this is on a rota system.

A senior leadership opportunity to drive growth, build influence and secure the resources needed to tackle poverty and homelessness through access to safe, decent housing in the UK and around the world. 

Location:  Home-based with frequent travel to internal and external events, networking and other meetings in London and occasionally across the UK. Occasional international travel will also be required. All staff meetings are held in our ReStore, Romford.

About Habitat for Humanity Great Britain

Habitat for Humanity Great Britain (Habitat GB) is part of the global Habitat for Humanity Federation fighting global poverty and homelessness. We believe that a decent home helps to permanently break the cycle of poverty and allows families to achieve strength, stability, and self-reliance.

Habitat GB mobilises resources, partnerships, public engagement and advocacy to support high‑impact housing solutions in the UK and internationally, working closely with Habitat for Humanity International (HFHI) and the wider Habitat network.

Job Purpose

The Director of Fundraising & Partnerships is accountable for leading the vision, strategy and performance of Habitat GB’s fundraising, partnerships, engagement and resource mobilisation activity.

This role combines senior‑level engagement and income generation leadership with organisational and strategic responsibility. The postholder will design and deliver ambitious, sustainable income and partnership strategies; strengthen Habitat GB’s profile and positioning; and lead a high‑performing, values‑led team.

As a member of the Senior Leadership Team, the Director of Fundraising & Partnerships plays a key role in organisational leadership, transformation, and long‑term sustainability, working collaboratively across Habitat GB, the international Habitat network and with a wide range of external partners. This role has 4 direct reports, and an overall team of 10.

Key Accountabilities/Responsibilities:

Strategic Fundraising, Partnerships & Engagement

• Design, deliver and adapt an integrated multi‑year fundraising and partnerships strategy, setting ambitious and achievable targets that increase income, engagement and impact.
• Lead the organisation’s approach to partnerships, philanthropy, fundraising and resource mobilisation across all non-institutional income streams, including:
  • Trusts and foundations (UK and international)
  • Corporate partnerships and strategic alliances
  • High‑net‑worth individuals and philanthropic supporters
  • Blended funding, including institutional and investment‑linked income where appropriate
• Shape and deliver Habitat GB’s positioning as a credible, innovative and impactful development and housing partner.
• Lead the development and delivery of communication and engagement strategies that increase profile, visibility, audience engagement and supporter commitment.
• Draw on learning from the wider Habitat network and sector trends to inform strategy, innovation and continuous improvement.
• Ensure compliance with fundraising regulation, ethical standards, safeguarding and best practice, including oversight of relevant policies, due diligence and risk.

Income Management, Forecasting & Performance

•  Hold accountability for all non-institutional fundraising income targets and performance against agreed budgets, with responsibility for year-on- year growth and diversification of income streams.
• Set clear quality standards, KPIs and expectations to promote accountability, ownership and high performance within the team.
• Oversee active management of a robust, strategically aligned prospect and partnership pipeline.
• Work collaboratively with the Director of Impact & Influence to align opportunities, approaches and targets across non-institutional and institutional partnerships and fundraising pipelines.
• Work closely with the Director of Finance, Operations & Compliance on income forecasting, financial planning, reporting and budget management.
• Ensure high-quality impact, financial and narrative reporting to funders, partners, the SLT and Trustees.

Senior Partnerships, Stewardship & External Profile

•  Lead and model relationship-based development with priority prospects, partners and influencers.
• Act as senior relationship lead for key high value corporate partners, donors and funders, ensuring excellent stewardship and long‑term engagement.
• Support and enhance relationship building with High‑Net‑Worth Individuals, Trusts and Foundations.
• Work collaboratively with colleagues to develop compelling proposals, propositions and reports across funding opportunities, positioning Habitat GB as a partner of choice across all priority audiences.
• Raise the profile and positioning of HFHGB through public engagement, media opportunities, online presence and attendance at relevant networks and events.
• Respond strategically to external opportunities and challenges, protecting and enhancing Habitat GB’s reputation and impact.

Leadership & Management of the Fundraising & Partnerships Team

•  Lead, inspire and develop a high performing, ambitious team focussed on fundraising, partnerships, communications and brand marketing.
• Provide clear direction, prioritisation and performance management through regular 1‑to‑1s, objective setting, feedback and development.
• Ensure effective planning, resourcing and deployment of team capacity and budget.
• Foster a collaborative, inclusive and learning led team culture, role‑modelling Habitat GB’s values and behaviours.

Organisational & Executive Leadership

•  Act as a collaborative senior leader, supporting the National Director in delivering HFHGB’s strategy and vision.
• Actively shape and influence organisational strategy, ensuring income generation and partnerships are fully integrated into strategic planning and decision making.
• Contribute to organisational wide leadership on performance, productivity, risk, diligence and transformation.
• Work effectively across teams and functions to deliver integrated, organisation wide outcomes.
• Support Trustees in fulfilling their governance, ambassadorial and fundraising responsibilities.
• Represent Habitat GB at national and international meetings, forums and events, deputising for the National Director where required.

We are looking for someone with:

•  Substantial senior level experience in fundraising, development and partnership leadership.
• Proven track record of designing and delivering ambitious income strategies.
• Expert knowledge of fundraising best practice, partnership development and donor stewardship.
• Significant experience of leading and developing high performing teams.
• Experience and awareness of communication and brand marketing in a relevant context.
• Strong financial acumen, including budget ownership, income forecasting and performance management.
• Excellent interpersonal, influencing and communication skills, with the ability to engage diverse senior stakeholders.
• Experience working collaboratively within complex or networked organisational structures.
• Strong alignment with Habitat GB’s mission, values and commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion.
• Experience working closely with Boards and Trustees.
• Knowledge of UK charity governance, fundraising regulation and compliance.
• Experience of organisational growth, change or transformation.
• Experience within housing, international development, humanitarian or social justice contexts would b

Flexibility:

 Habitat GB is seeking to rapidly expand its activities and impact to fight poverty across the world. This requires adaptability and an ambitious, dynamic and flexible team.  The post holder is expected to be flexible in terms of location (within reason), line management, and duties and responsibilities.

Application Process:

We want our recruitment process to give you an opportunity to shine, to share your skills and experience as clearly as possible, and for you to find out more about Habitat for Humanity GB in return.  ​

​To apply for the role please send us your CV and a supporting statement (max two sides of A4) telling us about the skills and experience you would bring to the role and your motivation for applying, using the link found on our website.​

Deadline for applications is Monday 25th May 2026 (at 11:59 pm).​

​We plan for first stage interviews to take place w/b 1st June 2026. Interviews may be held online, or in person in London (please note that we do not reimburse any expenses incurred during interviews).