Head of communications and external affairs jobs

We are seeking an exceptional advocate with a policy, legal or related digital rights campaigning background to work with us furthering privacy and civil liberties in the UK at one of the UK’s leading rights NGOs. Initially, this role will be principally challenging facial recognition surveillance and scrutinising police surveillance/AI powers.

The right Senior Advocacy Officer will help us to lobby UK Parliament to further privacy and wider rights at a critical time – when a legal framework on police use of facial recognition is very soon to be introduced, and police are expanding their use of AI and new surveillance technologies. You’ll build on your strong experience to be a credible and proactive lobbyist in Parliament, write expert briefings and be confident meeting parliamentarians, take a leading role liaising with policy stakeholders, advise on strategic litigation, be a leading advocate in the press and the public forum, develop policy positions on key issues, and help drive our public campaigns for change.

About you

You’ll have 3+ years experience in a legal or policy capacity, or in a comparable advocacy environment that relied on your expertise on technology and rights issues – ideally involving facial recognition. You’ll have a strong track record of advocacy success.

You’ll be familiar with key litigation and policy issues in the area. You’ll also have excellent knowledge of British politics and UK parliamentary procedures and strong political contacts to match.

You’ll be at ease working on a strictly non-partisan, cross-party basis and grounding policy analysis in human rights and liberal principles.

You’ll be proactive in pitching policy, litigation and campaign ideas for the organisation to pursue within our work streams.

You’ll be an experienced spokesperson, confident undertaking live and recorded TV and radio interviews, talking to a variety of audiences and representing the organisation and our campaigns.

If you’re committed to Big Brother Watch’s mission, we’d like to hear from you.

Senior Advocacy Officer job description

Policy

• Produce policy analysis, research, briefings and reports for dissemination

• Develop strategic policy recommendations informed by expertise

• Identify and explore new and emerging policy issues in our key work areas

• Communicate complex policy issues to varied audiences, whether Parliament, the press or the public

• Build strong relationships with parliamentarians and advisors across all parties

• Identify opportunities to further our strategic aims in Parliament, through committees, parliamentary questions and other activities; as well as regional assemblies and on occasion local government

• Work with stakeholders and pursue collaborative campaigns/coalitions on key issues

• Develop Big Brother Watch’s relationships with allies across Government, legislative bodies, international organisations, and NGOs

• Draft formal correspondence, blog posts, presentations, and other documents articulating Big Brother Watch’s policy positions

Advocacy

• Identify campaigns and advocacy opportunities, and feed into campaign plans and materials

• Write articles and give quotes to press

• Give pre-recorded and live interviews for TV and radio

• Uphold Big Brother Watch’s reputational excellence in public fora

• Help manage media enquiries (our 24/7 media phone is handled on a staff rota system)

Legal

• Help co-ordinate Big Brother Watch’s strategic litigation where appropriate, liaising with external lawyers

• Manage relationships with external counsel & build strong relationships with partners

• Produce legal and policy analysis and identify strategic litigation opportunities

Person specification

Essential

• Min. 3+ years experience in a similar role

• Familiarity/expertise with domestic policy matters relating to privacy, surveillance and/or free expression

• Strong legal and/or policy research skills

• Excellent and persuasive communications skills

• Demonstrable experience in privacy, freedom of expression, and other rights and technology areas

• Aptitude for managing and building relationships with partner organisations, parliamentarians and other stakeholders

• Proven ability to produce high quality work under pressure

• Creativity and energy in approaching a workload consisting of large long-term projects

• Willingness to work in non-partisan environment, and ability to recruit support of MPs across all parties

Desirable

• A track record of successful advocacy experience

• Experience of involvement in litigation, either in a legal or campaigns capacity

• Experience working with parliamentarians and/or producing policy briefings

• Project management experience

• Familiarity with relevant UK surveillance laws, human rights frameworks, and relevant case law

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 8 staff and 7 volunteers.

Are you an exceptional communicator who enjoys building relationships, delivering memorable experiences and helping others connect with a meaningful cause? We invite you to apply for the Development Officer - Gardens, Libraries & Museums (GLAM) position within Development and Alumni Engagement at the University of Oxford, where your work will help secure philanthropic support for one of the world's leading universities.

Location: Oxford, with hybrid working available

Salary: Grade 6: £35,681 - £41,636 per annum, with a possible extension to £45,212 including an Oxford University Weighting of £1,730

Contract: Permanent, Full time

About Us

Spanning the historic streets of the "city of dreaming spires", the University of Oxford has been ranked the world’s leading university for ten consecutive years. A place where centuries of tradition meet world-changing innovation, we offer you the chance to shape the future while working in an inspiring environment that promotes excellence. Here, you'll contribute to an organisation which delivers ground-breaking research that tackles global challenges - from advancing sustainability to pioneering healthcare solutions - and join a diverse, inclusive community that champions your wellbeing, development, and aspirations.

Development and Alumni Engagement (DAE) plays a central role in enabling the University's ambitions by building meaningful relationships with alumni, philanthropists, trusts, foundations and partners around the world. Within the Gardens, Libraries and Museums team, you'll help unlock philanthropic support that preserves world-renowned collections, expands access to knowledge and enables cultural engagement for future generations. Your work will directly contribute to initiatives that enrich research, education and public understanding on a global scale.

What We Offer

Working at the University of Oxford offers several exclusive benefits, such as:

• 38 days of annual leave (inclusive of public holidays), with the option to purchase up to 10 additional days.
• One of the most generous family leave schemes in UK higher education.
• Hybrid and flexible working arrangements.
• An excellent contributory pension scheme.
• Sustainable travel benefits, including cycle loans, discounted bus travel and season ticket loans.
• Access to a wide range of social, cultural and sporting activities.

About the Role

This is an excellent opportunity to build a career in major gift fundraising within one of the world's most respected cultural institutions. Working with experienced colleagues, you'll develop your own portfolio of donors, helping to secure philanthropic support for the Bodleian and across the Gardens, Libraries and Museums.

Alongside developing donor relationships, you'll lead the delivery of two high-profile annual stewardship events attended by senior University figures, oversee annual fundraising appeals and create compelling proposals and communications that inspire philanthropic support. You'll work closely with colleagues across the University to turn complex academic and cultural projects into engaging stories for donors.

Whether you're already working in fundraising or bring transferable experience from events, communications, alumni relations or another externally facing role, you'll receive training and support to develop your expertise in major gifts fundraising.

About You

You will bring:

• Experience in fundraising, alumni relations, marketing or other relationship-focused roles.
• Excellent written communication skills, with the ability to produce engaging and persuasive content for different audiences.
• Experience of planning and delivering high-quality events
• Strong relationship-building skills, with confidence working with a wide range of stakeholders.
• The ability to manage multiple priorities, organise your own workload and deliver to deadlines.
• Experience using Microsoft Office applications and CRM or relationship management systems.
• A demonstrable interest in the cultural sector and a desire to develop a career in philanthropic fundraising.

Application Process

To apply, please upload:

• A covering letter/supporting statement
• Your CV
• The details of two referees

The closing date for applications is 12 noon on Monday 3 August 2026.

Face-to-face interviews will take place funon Thursday 13 August 2026

Astra Foundation is seeking a Foundation Director; a dynamic, seasoned and strategic leader with a background in philanthropy who is motivated by their mission to combat loneliness in young adults, empower youth to reach their full potential, and reduce plastic pollution, primarily in the UK and France. This is an exciting opportunity to lead a young foundation and support the next phase of its evolution, building on strong foundations to further steward support for their priority areas and civil society partners. The ideal candidate will be collaborative, with a willingness to handle all aspects of the Foundation’s work, from high-level strategy and external relations to day-to-day administration.

This role will join an ambitious programme developing the capacity of the Libraries Connected public library networks. We want to help them evolve as strategic partnerships able to deliver social impacts at scale and to secure resources and investment from national, regional and sub-regional government. Be key to the development of libraries as essential social infrastructure, and help them secure the resources they need to make an impact. 

The role is part of a small team of two Regional Managers, supported by an Administrator. 

By developing our existing regional networks into formal, resourced structures we can enable the regions to: 

• Secure investment for the service and for the libraries from regional and devolved / combined authority funds.
• Create unique regional offers to meet specific needs across and within the regional areas.
• Deliver at scale. For example, the Yorkshire & Humber regional network has 15 library services, and 348 library buildings. 
• Create opportunities for cost saving – through joint procurement and shared / collaborative services. 
• Share good practice and experience on a formal and integrated basis. 

We have 9 regional networks in England, covering all library services and ranging in size from 9 to 33 services. Within each region they provide hundreds of library branches, thousands of staff, and serve millions of service users.  They have a long tradition of working together as peer support networks and to deliver activities such as festivals, marketing, and staff training. 

Please see the attached job description for a full description of the role, including person specification. 

Frequent travel within the UK may be required for the role.

About Libraries Connected 

We are an independent charity that supports, promotes and represents public libraries. Our work is driven and led by our membership, which includes almost every library service in England, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Crown Dependencies (Guernsey, Jersey and the Isle of Man).  

Across the areas we serve there are 176 individual library services with around 3,000 library branches serving over 61 million people. 

Our unique approach is to bring these services together to share experience, expertise and evidence – driving innovation and impact across the public library sector.

While senior library leaders sit on our board and committees, we work with library staff at all levels.

As well as providing practical support, training and advice to libraries, we represent them to government and raise their profile in the media. We also develop and lead national library projects with cultural, academic and corporate partners.  

We work to a strategic plan that runs until 2027, organised around four themes: drive, grow, connect and engage.  

We generate income from membership subscriptions, commissioned services, events and grants. As an Arts Council Investment Principle Support Organisation, part of our core funding in England comes from the Arts Council to help embed their Investment Principles across the library network.   

Our values 

• We are supportive. We respond to the varied, emerging needs of our members and their communities to enable libraries to learn from each other, and other sector leaders, so that they can safeguard and improve their services.  

• We are inclusive. We work with our members and partners to design and deliver our work and to determine our strategic priorities because we are committed to representing the diverse communities and libraries which we serve.  

• We are open. We are in constant communication with our members and partners on all levels to learn from their experiences, reflect on our practice and develop our services. We welcome challenge and new directions for our work.  

• We are ambitious. We believe that libraries are an essential part of the solution to a range of society’s needs. We promote innovation and collaboration to ensure that libraries are recognised locally and nationally.  

Working at Libraries Connected 

We are a friendly, collaborative team of around 20 staff based all around England and Wales. 

We value diversity and are committed to promoting an inclusive working environment. We strongly believe that inclusive and diverse organisations are not only better places to work, they are more innovative, make better decisions and are more successful. We value people who bring unique perspectives and knowledge to our team. 

We want to make our recruitment process as fair as possible. To reduce bias, we shortlist candidates based on their responses to up to six application questions. These are designed to tell us about your values, experience, attitudes to work, and transferable skills. We do not ask for a separate cover letter or supporting statement. 

We offer flexible working as standard, helping work fit around family and caring responsibilities. Many of our staff work their hours in different ways, including flexi time and compressed hours. We are open to discussing what would work for you and be possible for the role. 

All roles are remote and are open to applicants who live anywhere in the UK. We provide staff with a home office set-up including laptop, monitor and phone. There is the option to work from our central London office or use a co-working space if it is not possible to work from home. 

We welcome requests for adjustments to our standard recruitment processes for anyone who needs them. 

The Inland Waterways Association (IWA) is the only independent, national charity supporting and regenerating Britain’s rivers and canals for leisure, living and business. We campaign both locally and nationally for the waterways; lobbying parliament, championing regeneration, promoting sustainability and the environment and raising waterways users concerns. We also love to roll up our sleeves and get involved with direct work on the waterways, both through local branch activities and through the hands-on activities of our Waterways Recovery Group. 

At its heart IWA is a membership organisation, with around 8,000 individual members and over a hundred affiliated waterways organisations, groups and businesses. Having just celebrated the 80th anniversary of our founding in 1946, we continue to build on our legacy of campaigning, action and delivery for the future. 

We are looking for an experienced and enthusiastic manager to co-ordinate the day-to-day operation of the charity. Reporting to the chair of the Trustees and with a small team of permanent staff focused on three areas – Campaigning, Restoration and Support, your prime responsibility will be to ensure the smooth running of the charity. 

As an experienced manager you will have experience of all areas of business management: marketing, finance, human resources as well as the myriad issues common to all small charities and businesses. An experienced communicator and active people manager, you will be able to bring your skills to both managing the staff and integrating their work with that 
done by trustees and other volunteers for the Association.  The role may involve some out of office hours work. 

At CAP, we celebrate diversity and strive to build an inclusive workforce that reflects the diverse communities we serve. We warmly welcome applications from individuals of all backgrounds. We particularly encourage applications from Global Majority/UK Minority Ethnic candidates, as these groups are currently underrepresented within our wider workforce. We are committed to creating an environment where every individual can thrive and feel they belong.

Everything we do is rooted in our values. First and foremost, we are Christ-centred. The work that we do is guided by faith and the belief that everyone deserves to be treated with dignity and God’s love. 

We are bold in fearlessly putting that faith into action to help others and challenge injustice, while also seeking to be compassionate in the way that we want to understand others and offer them meaningful care. We are collaborative in our approach, making time to learn from others and work together to take on UK poverty. And finally, we prioritise being joyful in the face of challenges, because our faith gives us confidence that change is truly possible.

Please note that the salary shown is for full time hours and would be paid pro rata for part time (22.5 hours per week). The actual pro rata salary is £19494.00) This role requires a DBS check and three forms of ID provided (one photo ID).

 Please see the attached Job Profile for a full list of responsibilities 

Skilled Worker Visa

From 22 July 2025, the Government increased the salary threshold and skills level for Skilled Worker visas. If you are applying for a Skilled Worker Visa for the first time, this role does not meet the current eligibility criteria for sponsorship under the immigration rules.

The Department cannot consider sponsoring you for this role unless you have held a Skilled Worker visa continuously since before 22 July 2025. If you have held a Skilled Worker visa continuously, please raise this during your vetting checks, and eligibility will be assessed in accordance with the immigration rules and transitional provisions in place.

If you are applying for this role and you do not meet the new eligibility criteria for sponsorship or the transitional provisions, you will need to consider your options for obtaining and/or maintaining your right to work in the UK in light of these changes. Successful applicants must ensure they have and maintain the legal right to live and work in the Civil Service and in the United Kingdom.

The Department will continue to comply with the UK Immigration Rules applied in the UK and the Civil Service. You can read more about Skilled Worker visas and the eligibility criteria on the government's website.

Job Description

Context:

CAP's mission is to end UK poverty by equipping churches to reach their communities. We exist to empower and serve churches through exceptional partnerships, delivering impactful debt advice and coaching services. Providing accessible, community-rooted support to those facing financial and social challenges across the UK. Our approach is centered on empowering individuals providing holistic support to achieve financial resilience through expert debt advice and tailored coaching products. This approach goes far beyond financial stability, creating lasting personal and relational transformation and contributing to a society where all can flourish. We are committed to fostering strong relationships with our church partners, ensuring a collaborative and effective service that continually improves to meet the evolving needs of local communities.

Purpose:

The Enhanced Support & Grants Team Manager is instrumental in ensuring our clients who present with the most complex and vulnerable of situations receive specialised, tailored support to achieve financial stability and become debt-free. Including monitoring CAP’s Grants team who secure financial support for those accessing insolvency options.

Your key focus is to lead and empower a team of specialist Debt Advisors who operate at the intersection of complex financial distress and significant personal vulnerability. This involves not just triaging and assessing, but creating holistic, life-changing solutions while continuously monitoring and proactively intervening in clients' safeguarding and wellbeing needs. As the Team Manager, you will work in partnership with the Safeguarding Lead, exercising direct oversight over high-risk cases and proactively identifying and managing evolving areas of risk, in strict adherence to the FCA’s stringent guidance on vulnerable customers.

Personality:

We are strong collaborators and communicators, dedicated to building strong connections within our team, the Hubs and with local CAP workers, ensuring resources are allocated effectively and holistic client support is prioritised. 

We are confident decision makers and are comfortable working in high risk environments where situations can evolve quickly.

We are advocates for our team members, inspiring, empowering, and challenging them to reach their full potential, ultimately making a tangible and positive impact on the lives of those we serve; clients and churches alike. We think big-picture as well as about the details using data to make good decisions. 

We are decisive leaders who thrive in high-pressure, rapidly evolving environments, where the consequences of decisions directly impact vulnerable individuals.

Passion:

We are passionate about developing and empowering high-performing teams to deliver outstanding support to Service Delivery and our clients. We believe in creating an environment where advisors and case officers are equipped, challenged, and inspired to provide exceptional support to partner churches and clients. We are passionate about collaborating with regional partners to drive impactful change and ensure service level agreements are consistently met.

• Reporting to: Head of Church & Client Support

• Direct Reports: Enhanced Support Leads

Responsibilities

• Effective personnel management of staff, to facilitate the delivery of a high-performing debt help service in collaboration with the church through:

  • Ensuring adequate staffing by managing holidays, sickness and other absence within your team and across the Hubs

  • Regular catch-ups which include feedback on quality and output indicators, client outcomes and customer service. Bringing encouragement, challenge and coaching on how to improve these and seeking to empower team members.

  • Delivering effective team communication, both written and verbal, to engage staff members in business as usual and aid smooth change management. Demonstrating active ownership of organisational awareness and wider strategy.

• Workload management to facilitate an effective debt service by:

  • Collaborating with the Enhanced Support Leads, Enhanced Support In-Team Specialists, the Regional Team Managers and the Senior Hub Delivery Managers to ensure the workload is prioritised to meet agreed Service Level Agreements.

  • Participation in the wider Church and Client Support management team. This includes working with other Team Managers in your department, taking ownership of decisions pertinent to your area and covering responsibilities as needed when other managers are absent. Also included is attendance and participation on a directorate wide level and the willingness and ability to lead in that broader context where required.

• Overseeing Specialised Client Support 

  • Provide strategic oversight and guidance to the wider team of in-team specialists. This includes ensuring appropriate escalation pathways and adherence to best practices in safeguarding and the FCA’s consumer duty regulations. 

  • Responsibility as a Senior Safeguarding Officer and point of escalation for high risk situations across Service Delivery.

  • Being willing at times to speak to clients who are in high risk situations of vulnerability around mental health or domestic abuse.

  • Confidence in and experience of speaking about topics of vulnerability and safeguarding.

  • Ownership and strategic development of the Person at Risk of Violence procedures at CAP - oversight of current waiting times and development of procedures, such as a self-help pack.

• Overseeing the grants specialists workload

  • Oversight of the Grants team workload - engagement with specialist case officers, in particular channelling vulnerable client concerns.

  • Building and maintaining strong relationships with new and existing grant funders.

  • Budget oversight for grants obtained, with responsibility for coordinating quarterly reports for funders as required. 

• Management of Key Stakeholder Connection

  • Working alongside key stakeholders in the Agility and Mission & Movement directorates, to ensure the voice of those facing complex and vulnerable situations is integrated within all areas of the organisation.

  • Collaboration with Local CAP Workers; amplifying the consistent voice of Enhanced Support through training and information sharing. 

• External reporting

  • Oversight of the net promoter scores and outcomes for vulnerable clients; contributing to the content of the annual Consumer Duty report and the Foreseeable Harm risk register, representing Enhanced Support in this area.

• Mitigate risk by:

  • Proactively identifying and managing risks associated with supporting vulnerable clients, including financial, reputational, and safeguarding risks. Maintain robust processes and procedures to ensure compliance with all relevant regulations and internal policies.

• Foster a healthy team culture within their immediate team and across the department through 

  • Regular and effective stand-ups and team meetings, which include connections with Local CAP workers.

  • Encouraging engagement with wider CAP life and relevant regional events.

  • Monitoring, sharing and taking action based on the available data sources 

  • Bringing encouragement and challenge based on CAP’s cultural values, capturing and celebrating moments of faith.

• Champion the value of personal development by

  • Onboarding new staff and supporting them through their probation and sign-off process through regular reviews and goal-setting 

  • Facilitate team member engagement with CPD training and invest in long-term development through annual appraisals and development reviews 

  • Invest in their own personal development and attend relevant training within Service Delivery and across CAP

• Staff wellbeing 

  • Oversight of approvals for Service Delivery clinical supervision referrals.

  • Coordination of peer reflective practices groups with external providers.

• Strategic Direction

  • Proactivity in seeking out and encouraging continuous improvement, showing the ability to lead through change, leading to service improvements. To be available for general queries, strategic oversight and advice on operational impact during preparation and implementation of new processes and policy updates.

  • Work to empower Debt Advisors to feel confident in managing enhanced support cases to meet the demands of our target clients needs

• Any other tasks relating to these or other operational functions of the charity that are seen as necessary by your line manager

Skills required

• Confident decision maker

• Excellent communication at all levels

• Ability to produce excellent results through the use of team dashboards

• Ability to lead a team in actively promoting the cultural values of CAP

• Ability to develop strengths and skills in others

• Ability to challenge poor performance

• Ability to prioritise time, tasks and attention effectively in a pressured environment

• Able to hold a good balance between detail and the ‘big picture’

• Good strategic insight and understanding of organisational aims

• Ability to collaborate across teams and departments

• High emotional intelligence and ability to understand the human factors involved in the role

• Capable of maintaining own emotional wellbeing

• Skilled in techniques that assist in team strategy e.g. problem definition, ideation, LEAN methodologies

Experience:

Essential

• Experience of delivering results in a service based environment

• Experience of having to work using your own initiative

• Experience of supporting vulnerable people

• Experience in a safeguarding coordination role 

• Experience of leading and managing a team of staff

Desirable

• Experience of working within Service Delivery, and CAP debt help procedures

• Experience of leading a safeguarding or vulnerable client project. 

• Experience of leading teams to meet key objectives or targets

• Mental health first aid training or similar experience

Culture

Working at CAP is more than a job; it’s a commitment to a community and movement. We believe that a healthy culture is the fuel for our mission. This means we prioritise spiritual rhythms in our week—including dedicated time for morning prayer, worship, and team huddles. We are a 'joy-filled' office, which means we celebrate every win, from a client becoming debt-free to a colleague’s personal milestone. We expect our team to be 'all in'—not just in their tasks, but in contributing to a supportive, laughter-filled, and prayerful environment.

CAP is a mission-driven, fast-paced, and deeply relational environment. You will find a culture that prioritises:

• Spiritual Rhythms: We start our days with prayer and worship, staying connected to our 'Why.'

• Celebration: We are 'Debt-Free' obsessed. We ring bells, share stories, and celebrate transformation.

• Collaborative Bravery: We tackle big problems (like UK poverty) by working across teams and daring to try new things.

• Inclusive Belonging: We want you to bring your whole self to work, knowing you are valued for who God made you to be.

Christian Commitment

• The candidate must be able to give both verbal assent to and practical demonstration of Christians Against Poverty’s Statement of Faith 

• Must be able to actively participate in prayer and worship, whether individual, small group or corporately, as an expression of one's own personal faith and in line with CAP’s Statement of Faith.

All adults working in or on behalf of CAP have a responsibility to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and adults. This includes:

• A responsibility to ensure a safe environment in which CAP services can be delivered. 

• Identifying children and adults where there may be safeguarding concerns.

• Following the CAP Safeguarding policy in addressing any concerns appropriately.

Other Responsibilities

• Being willing to pray with each other and fully engaged with our Christ-centred culture.

• Encouraging friends, family and other contacts to support the charity through the Life Changer programme and other fundraising initiatives.

• Attending annual CAP staff conferences and team revive days.

• Completing all compulsory CAP training within given timescales.

• This role falls within the scope of the FCA’s conduct rules, and you will be provided with training as to how these apply to the role. It is your responsibility to ensure that you follow these conduct rules.

The above job profile is a guide to the work you may be required to undertake but does not form part of your contract of employment and may change from time to time to reflect changing circumstances.

Educational requirements

• A levels or equivalent