The job of a Save the Children's UK Squad Lead is challenging and fulfilling.

• Do you have proven leadership experience in developing and driving change strategies?
• Do you have practical experience working in a complex institution and proven ability to navigate effectively in such organisations?
• Are you able to translate strategic objectives into clear deliverables?
• Are you motivated by our vision of creating a world where every child doesn't just survive, but thrives, and can go on to change the world?

If the answers to these questions are yes, we would love to hear from you!

About Us

Save the Children UK believes every child deserves a future. In the UK and around the world, we work every day to give children a healthy start in life, the opportunity to learn and protection from harm. When crisis strikes, and children are most vulnerable, we are always among the first to respond and the last to leave. We ensure children's unique needs are met and their voices are heard. We deliver lasting results for millions of children, including those hardest to reach.

Our Policy, Advocacy, and Campaigns department is where we drive political agendas at national and global levels. We've integrated lobbying, policy, research, and campaigning into one agile, powerful engine for change. Together, we save children's lives, fight for their rights, and help them fulfil their potential.

About the role

As Squad Lead/Head of UK Influencing, you will be responsible for driving whole organisational progress against Save the Children UK's strategic mission to deliver this vision, taking accountability for the delivery of a specific set of squad objective(s) of ensuring change in the UK. Initially this role will play a leading role in delivering our next Global Campaign which will focus on inequality and climate.

This is a cross-organisational leadership role, and the post-holder will lead a multi-disciplinary team (known as a squad), made up of colleagues from across Public Affairs, Campaigns/Organising, Policy, Media, and others to design and deliver an ambitious change programme that delivers the squad's objective here in the UK.

The post-holder will be fully accountable for their squad's objective and is expected to draw upon every relevant discipline across Save the Children UK to achieve it, working closely with colleagues from different divisions, including Fundraising & Marketing Division, which will be crucial for delivering the mass-marketing activities that will support the squad's objectives, as well as working with colleagues from across the wider sector in the UK and beyond.

Key Accountabilities of the Role

• Lead development of the objectives and strategy for one of Save the Children UK's mission squads aimed at influencing policy, practice and/or attitudes in the UK
• Lead a multi-disciplinary squad made up of staff from across policy, advocacy, campaigning and media disciplines (at a minimum), plus other relevant functions, to achieve those objectives
• Develop and articulate a clear vision for what needs to be done to achieve the squad's objective(s), over a range of time horizons
• Take responsibility for the impact of the squad and ensure the squad's work supports the achievement of the overall mission objectives and is in alignment with Save the Children UK's supporter-engagement and “world-class impact” strategies, including through a focus on the rights of the world's most deprived and marginalised children
• Liaise extensively with stakeholders
• Own and manage prioritised deliverables that realise the squad's objectives
• Attend relevant Supporter Engagement strategy and planning meetings and work closely with the thematic Campaign Manager, who will lead the public-engagement aspects of the squad's work
• Support squad members to complete squad deliverables autonomously and in a way that leads to maximum impact

Competencies

• Leading and inspiring others: demonstrates leadership in all our work, embodies our values, and articulates a compelling vision to inspire others to achieve our goals for children.
• Innovating and adapting: develops and implements innovative solutions to adapt and succeed in ever-changing and uncertain global and working environments
• Networking: builds and uses sustainable relationships and networks to support the work of Save the Children
• Working effectively with others: works collaboratively to achieve shared goals and thrives on diversity of people and perspectives; knows when to lead and when to follow and how to ensure effective cross-boundary working
• Problem solving and decision making: Takes effective, considered and timely decisions by gathering and evaluating relevant information from within or outside the organisation.

Technical skills

• Proven leadership experience in developing and driving change strategies, including working across the full theory of change and bringing together policy, advocacy, media, campaigning and public engagement
• Knowledge of, or willingness to acquire knowledge of, agile methods of working
• Good technical knowledge in the squad's thematic area of focus (e.g. international development, conflict, or UK poverty)
• Practical experience (over 5 years) working in a complex institution and proven ability to navigate effectively in such organisations
• Experience of running high-impact projects within Save the Children UK or another organization
• Practical knowledge and experience of relevant organisational processes
• Practical knowledge and experience of using coaching tools and of team management

Behavioural and personal skills

• Translates strategic objectives into clear deliverables
• Proactively and accurately identifies needs and requirements of a wide range of stakeholders
• Delegates tasks effectively and supports team members' autonomy, while simultaneously taking care to ensure high-quality outputs in line with agreed expectations
• Continuously verifies assumptions and reacts well to unforeseen situations
• Constantly develops new skills in ways of working and relevant technical fields
• Explores new approaches and innovates in order to increase impact
• Collaborates effectively between a wide range of colleagues in order to achieve the best results

Remote Working:

The majority of SCUK employees are currently working remotely within the UK in line with UK Government guidance. Commencing July 2021 we will transition to flexible and hybrid ways of working (i.e. a mixture of remote/home and office-based working) as social distancing restrictions ease.

We are happy to discuss flexible working options at interview.

Commitment to Diversity & Inclusion: 

Save the Children UK is committed to diversity and equality of opportunity in all aspects of our work both external and internal. We strive to be an inclusive employer and particularly encourage applications from under-represented groups such as returning parents or carers who are re-entering work after a career break, people who are LGBT+, from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic backgrounds, with a disability, impairment, learning difference or long-term condition, with caring responsibilities, from different nations and regions, and from less advantaged socioeconomic backgrounds.