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The Youth Endowment Fund

Head of Digital Communications

Reports to: Director of External Affairs and Youth Understanding

Salary: £67,800

Location:  Central London or Hybrid*(see below)

Contract: 2-year fixed term contract

Closing date for applications: 12pm, Tuesday 7th April 2026

Interview dates: Week commencing 20th April 2026

About the Youth Endowment Fund (YEF)

All of us will experience violence at some point in our lives. For many children, it is a daily reality. Each year, tens of children are killed, hundreds are hospitalised, 1 in 5 teenage children are victims and the majority admit to feeling afraid of violence. It scares them when they travel home from school, prevents them from going out and makes the most vulnerable feel like they don’t matter. It is taking lives, traumatising families and dividing communities. It robs potential, progress and hope. 

But it doesn’t have to be this way. 

The Youth Endowment Fund believes that no child should be affected by violence. We research violence to understand it; we find, fund and test what works to prevent it; and we are building a movement to end it.

Communications at YEF

The Communications team, within the External Affairs and Youth Understanding directorate, is a critical arm of the organisation. We can only reduce violence if people hear about what works and put it into practice. Change is hard and it only happens if people trust where it comes from and want to engage with what we are communicating. We can only make change at scale if we’re smart about using digital tools to reach a growing, diverse audience across society.

We need professionals working across our sectors — youth-workers, police officers, social workers, policymakers, headteachers, and more — to find out about and be part of our movement. To do this, we must communicate with humility, authenticity and clarity.

We need politicians, commissioners and funders to follow our guidance and use our products. To do this, we must secure a seat at the table, communicate with intellectual rigour and persuade using the evidence.

We also need to connect with wider society, helping anyone who cares about making Britain safer for the next generation to understand what we do, what works and how they can support our cause. To do this, our brand must be accessible and inspiring, leveraging robust research alongside human storytelling.

As the Head of Digital Communications, you will be essential to achieving our mission. You will join the YEF at an exciting time. We are entering a crucial phase of increasing our policy influence at the top of government, changing things for the better across our sectors — education, youth justice, youth sector, children’s services, policing, health — and mobilising a movement to keep children and young people safe.

Your job is to make sure that the right people are drawn to our website and our digital communications, that they discover and engage with our content — from quoting our data, to using our Toolkit and evidence, to following practical recommendations in our guidance, to watching videos about the latest trends and conversations in violence prevention  — and trust what we have to say.

You will support the Director of External Affairs and Youth Understanding to plan, build and execute a digital campaign to make all of this happen. You will help to lead the Communications team to hold the attention of our priority audiences and making them act.

Key Responsibilities

• The core of your job is to ensure that YEF's audience grows rapidly and strategically in size, that people working in our sectors gain awareness and confidence in our brand and that decision-makers engage with our work via our digital channels: our website, social media, newsletters, search, long- and short-form videos and the Safe podcast.
   
• You will further develop YEF’s existing digital marketing strategy into a national campaign across 2026-2029 for mobilising the evidence to prevent violence affecting children and young people.
   
• You will provide leadership to YEF generally and the Communications team specifically - managing the Senior Digital Marketing Manager and Digital Marketing and Communications Officer – to develop internal collaboration for boosting organisation-wide digital activity, such as call-to-actions via social media and video content.
   
• You will execute a strategy for moving to a more segmented, sector-specific communication strategy that engages each audience (whether teachers, youth workers, police officers etc.) to use of YEF’s products whether our Toolkit, our Guidance on what works and self-assessment tools for each sector.
   
• To commission and develop compelling, eye-catching video content that authentically showcases case studies of our work, drives our audiences towards our channels and products and significantly boosts widespread engagement — views, likes, comments and shares — online.
   
• To help secure and convert high-profile digital communications opportunities for the team in representing YEF’s work, including podcast and video placements.
   
• To develop and leverage relevant agency relationships, and use data analytics, to optimise our SEO positioning for online searches related to youth violence, advise on investment in paid advertising to drive traffic to our website and products, and generally boost our digital engagement.

About You

You are this sort of person:

• You communicate complex ideas clearly. Whether speaking or writing, you break down complicated concepts in ways that make sense to different audiences – without oversimplifying. You bring clarity where others bring jargon.
   
• You get things done. You’re organised, delivery-focused, and produce high-quality work, even under pressure. You work independently and to a high standard.
   
• You are skilled at designing and delivering digital comms and audience journeys for different segments of an organisation’s audience. You know how to build up a clear picture of audience members, develop their customer journey and turn them from unaware to aware, to a user and then an advocate.
   
• You think big and adapt fast. You’re a strategic thinker who can see the big picture without losing sight of the detail. You’re logical, creative, and open to challenge – always testing and refining your ideas.
   
• You care about the detail. You like getting a system working well, planning a campaign and getting the detail right, organizing who is doing what and seeing it all happen.
   
• You pay attention to what is happening in the world. You’re plugged into current affairs, technological trends and media conversations, particularly when it comes to British society.
   
• You are committed to equality, diversity and inclusion. You believe and act in a way that celebrates and encourages a range of experiences, backgrounds and values.

You have:

• A track record of driving digital communications to hundreds of thousands of people at a regional or national scale. You have led, planned and executed campaigns that bring about measurable outcomes online and practical change in the real world.
   
• Experience working with a mission-driven charity, organisation or business. You care about using your extensive digital skills to drive the work of an organisation striving to achieve social change.
   
• Experience within a leadership or management position. You have led people to drive bold, transformative communications for an organisation, company or business.
   
• Expertise in using technical tools and data analytics to target audiences online. You know how to segment and target digital audiences, transform SEO performance, develop high quality websites, increase newsletter engagement and bring new technical tools to solve problems.
   
• You have experience of commissioning creative partners - like consultants, videographers and designers - to produce compelling digital outputs and developing narrative-led content about urgent social issues that draws people in.
   
• A track record of producing video – such as case studies, explainers or podcasts - to increase positive regard, brand awareness and audience engagement on LinkedIn, Instagram Reels, YouTube, TikTok and X.

You may have the following, but they are not necessary:

• A qualification in digital marketing.
• Past experience of using Salesforce for marketing campaigns.
• Experience of working in or close to one or more of our priority sectors: education, youth justice, youth sector, children’s services, policing and health.
• Knowledge of using Artificial Intelligence to ethically and effectively boost digital performance at an organisation

While it’s not a criteria, we are especially interested to hear from applicants who have lived experience of youth violence.

It’s important to us that the people we hire do not discriminate. We believe in being inclusive and giving everyone an equal chance to succeed. Applications are welcome from all regardless of age, sex, gender identity, disability, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, religion or belief, race, sexual orientation, transgender status or social economic background.

All appointments will be made on merit, following a fair and transparent process. In line with the Equality Act 2010, however, the organisation may employ positive action where candidates from underrepresented groups can demonstrate their ability to perform the role equally well.

This position will require a DBS check to be performed, but a record is not a block to performing this role.

Hybrid Working Details 

The office is based in Central London, but you don’t have to be. Those living in London and within the 32 London Boroughs are expected to be in the office a minimum of 2 days per week. If you live outside of London and work remotely, you’ll be expected to work from the London office 2 days per month. As part of our commitment to flexible working, we will consider a range of options for the successful applicant. All options can be discussed at the interview stage. 

To Apply 

To apply, please send a CV and a cover letter answering the specific questions below, along with the completed monitoring form, by clicking the "Apply for this" button by 12pm, Tuesday 7th April 2026.

Application Questions  

• Why are you drawn to work at the Youth Endowment Fund and why do you care about our mission? (400 words max)
• Tell us about your experience of leading a digital communications team? (400 words max)
• Tell us about your experience of creating and implementing a digital strategy within an organisation to engage a large audience. Please be clear about how you measured your success? (400 words max)

Interview Process

Shortlisted candidates will be sent a technical task to complete before the interview. Interviews will take place from the week commencing 20th April 2026

PLEASE NOTE: We do not sponsor work permits and you will be required to provide proof of your eligibility to work in the UK. 

Benefits Include

• £1,000 professional development budget annually
• 28 days holiday plus Bank Holidays
• Employee Assistance Programme – 24hr phone line for free confidential support
• Volunteering days - 4 half days per year
• Death in service - 4 times annual salary
• Flexible hours. Core office hours 10am – 4pm
• Financial support including travel and hardship loans
• Employer contributed pension of 5%.

Personal Data

Your personal data will be shared for the purposes of the recruitment exercise. This includes our HR team, interviewers (who may include other partners in the project and independent advisors), relevant team managers and our IT service provider if access to the data is necessary for performance of their roles. We do not share your data with other third parties, unless your application for employment is successful, and we make you an offer of employment. We will then share your data with former employers to obtain references for you. We do not transfer your data outside the European Economic Area.