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The Youth Endowment Fund

Change Lead for Policing

Reports to: Assistant Director of Change for Policing and Youth Justice

Salary: £55,000 per annum

Location:  Central London or Hybrid*(see below)

Contract: 2-year fixed term (potential to extend) or secondment opportunity

Closing date for applications: 9:00am Friday 23rd May 2025

Interview dates: week commencing 2nd June 2025

About the Youth Endowment Fund

We’re here to prevent children and young people becoming involved in violence. We do this by finding out what works and building a movement to put this knowledge into practice.

In recent years violent crime has risen significantly. Homicides, assaults, robberies and offences involving weapons have all seen sustained growth. We have also seen large increases in violent crime involving children and young people. This is a tragedy. Every child captured in these numbers is an important member of our community and society has a duty to protect them.

The Youth Endowment Fund (YEF) is a charity with a £200m endowment and a mission that matters. We exist to prevent children becoming involved in violence. Our mission is to find what works and build a movement to put it into practice. A big part of the movement that we need to build is in the world of policing. We need to inspire and connect with police forces across England and Wales to spread what works and make our country safer for some of our most vulnerable children. We are looking for someone to lead on making this happen.

Key Responsibilities Include:

We are making good progress building the evidence of what works within and around policing to reduce violence, with new Practice Guidance and implementation resources on diversion and focused deterrence. But the big risk is that we publish guidance and nothing changes. That’s where you come in. Your role is to work out the best way to make this change happen by getting more senior leaders within policing to use our Guidance, toolkit, research and implementation tools to inform day to day operations and strategic decision making. This will involve:

• Developing great relationships with senior leaders and frontline police officers, generating a strong understanding of key policing issues, needs and behaviours, and building credibility and trust with the sector. 
• Developing, managing and tracking the change plan to get more senior leaders to be aware of and use our Guidance, tools and resources, continuously looking for data-driven improvements.
• Creating practical tools and resources that help leaders put evidence into action.
• Supporting police forces, violence reduction units, and police and crime commissioners to develop or strengthen evidence-based practices, including focused deterrence, hotspots policing, and problem-orientated policing.
• Overseeing our partnership with the Society for Evidence Based Policing, helping us to collectively achieve our shared aims to promote evidence-base practice across the sector.
• Working out other effective ways to connect people with the evidence, then making those things happen, from putting on a brilliant conference to regular virtual learning events and presentations.

As a senior member of staff in the organisation you also:

• Build a culture where it is natural to perform well and support colleagues brilliantly.
• Contribute to setting the strategy, delivering results and building and modelling the culture that we need to succeed.

About You

You must have this sort of experience:

- You’ve changed frontline practice and/or systems: You have significant experience in leading behaviour, practice or policy changes within a police setting. You can show how these have been effective in delivering tangible change.

- You’ve working in or around policing, preferably in a role/setting specifically working with young people who are vulnerable to or involved in violence.

You might have this sort of experience:

- Crafting and delivering a strategy to get a new piece of evidence or guidance adopted within a police setting.

- Behaviour change research experience.

You are this sort of person:

• You are fascinated about change and are experienced in making it happen. You have outstanding analytical judgment alongside the emotional intelligence and experience needed to identify the right opportunities for change, then make them happen. You understand why people find change difficult. You come alive talking about how people make decisions and why they do the things they do.

• You understand the policing sector. You really understand how police forces’ work, from Chief Constables to frontline officers. You have experience working in/with police, ideally in a role that worked with young people who are vulnerable to or involved in violence. You might have previous experience of supporting a police force to reflect on and adopt evidence-based practice, such as focused deterrence, hotspot policing and problem-orientated policing.

• You write in a way that people easily understand. You have that rare skill of writing in plain English. You have experience of translating complex information into plain writing that everyone can understand.

• You have excellent project and time management skills and the ability to deliver high-quality work in a fast-paced environment. You can work independently and to a high standard.

• You win people over. People tend to warm to you and respect you. You have built good relationships with very senior people and with very junior people. You are good at chairing meetings, connecting people and having good introductory meetings. You are comfortable talking to a government minister, a youth worker, a company CEO, a teacher and a 15-year-old student. Listening to people from all backgrounds matters to you.

• You are an excellent strategic thinker. People say that you are good at seeing the big picture. You have experience of wrestling into place a strategy for a project or organisation. You are good at thinking logically but you are also creative. You have ideas but are happy rejecting a lot of them. You like seeing things from different points of view.

• You learn fast but remain humble. You are very quick at getting your head around things. You like learning. You are very good at synthesising information. You know how much you don't know. You know that you can learn more. You know that it's easy to assume you know when you don't. You care more that good things happen than who gets the credit. You are a great and supportive team player.

• You don't want your days to pass without making a difference. You want to play a significant part in reducing violence.

• You understand young people. You understand what the lives of vulnerable young people can be like and you understand some of the organisations that work with them, ideally through first-hand experience.

• You are committed to equality, diversity and inclusion.

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

It is also 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.

Secondments

We are open to candidates that would prefer to join us on a 12-month secondment. Secondment candidates should ensure that their current organisation is in support of this in principle, all candidates will go through the full interview process. Candidates should state clearly in their covering letter if they would like to join us as secondee.

Hybrid Working

The office is based in Central London. Those living in and around London 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.

To Apply

Please click on the "Apply for this” button and submit your CV, cover letter and complete the monitoring form 9:00am Friday 23rd May 2025.

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.

Interview Process

Interviews will take place the week commencing 2nd June.

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.

Benefits Include

· £1,000 professional development budget annually

· 28 days holiday plus Bank Holidays

· Four half days for volunteering activities

· 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%

Your 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.