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The National Lottery Community Fund is seeking a Strategic Communication Lead, Northern Ireland to drive forward our ambitious communications transformation. This newly created role sits at the heart of our restructured communications function, designed to deliver our strategy "It Starts with Community" and shift our focus to demonstrating the powerful impact communities have across the UK.
As we build a new, integrated approach to communications across the UK, this position offers an exceptional opportunity to shape how we tell our story. Playing a strategic leadership role, you will be the vital bridge between our grant makers and communicators, working in a matrix manner with the senior leadership team in your country and our wider communications team to solve problems and generate successful communications and engagement campaigns.
You will provide strategic leadership on communications and external affairs, working across two areas of responsibility: a specific country within the UK and one of our four missions. Your ability to create powerful alignment between these areas will be essential to success.
Your deep understanding of the devolved context and stakeholder landscape will help build the Fund's influence with regional decision-makers and opinion formers while advancing UK-wide objectives. You will also be an ambassador for the Fund's work, maintaining a strong network in your country.
We are looking for an experienced communications strategist with extensive knowledge of the local political, media and stakeholder landscape. You should bring a sophisticated understanding of how communications can drive organizational objectives and a proven track record of leading integrated campaigns. Your background might include senior communications roles in government, the VCSE sector, or complex organizations operating across devolved administrations, where you've demonstrated ability to navigate diverse stakeholder environments and translate strategic goals into impactful communications activity.
Key responsibilities
- Lead strategic communications for one Funding portfolio and one mission area, ensuring integration with business planning
- Build and lead matrix teams to deliver integrated communications campaigns
- Develop and implement communications plans that drive engagement with key stakeholders
- Provide senior counsel on reputation management and crisis response
- Act as senior regional point of contact for communications and external affairs
- Ensure consistent messaging across all customer journey touchpoints
- Represent the Fund with key external stakeholders and opinion formers
Location: You will be expected to be based in the country you will be supporting. We have a hybrid approach to working with work pattern and exact location agreed with the successful candidate. Our offices are in Belfast, Birmingham, Cardiff, Exeter, Leeds, London, Manchester, Newcastle and Newtown.
Interview date: Friday 18th July and Monday 21st July (Morning only on both dates)
On application, please align your supporting statement to the criteria below
Essential criteria
- Extensive experience in developing and delivering strategic communications and engagement in support of organisational priorities, including planning and executing media, marketing and external affairs
- Strong influencing skills with both internal colleagues and external partners
- Significant experience in building and leading high-performing teams in a matrix-management setting
- Demonstrable understanding of public affairs in devolved governments
- Experience providing strategic communications counsel to senior leaders including at times of reputational risk
- Experience in leading crisis communications
- Excellent project management skills in a complex organisation with competing deadlines
- Demonstrable experience in using data and insight to inform and deliver communications campaigns.
Desirable criteria
- Experience working across multiple regions or countries
- Track record of developing innovative communications approaches
- Experience in one or more of our mission areas
Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
Communities in the UK come in all shapes and sizes. National Lottery funding is for everyone – therefore, we are committed to equity, diversity and inclusion and we work hard to ensure our funding reaches where it is needed.
We also believe our people should represent the communities, organisations and individuals we work with. That’s why The National Lottery Community Fund is committed to being an inclusive employer and a great place to work. We recognise and celebrate the fact that our people come from diverse backgrounds. We positively welcome applications from people from ethnic minority backgrounds, people with disabilities or longstanding health conditions, people who are LGBTQ+, and people from different socio-economic and educational backgrounds, as well as people of all ages.
As a Disability Confident Employer, we take a proactive approach in making reasonable adjustments, if needed, throughout the recruitment process and during employment. (This can be related to a physical and mental health condition.)
It starts with community.
JUSTICE is looking for a motivated and organised Communications Officer to help us build a fairer UK justice system. The postholder will translate complex legal issues into compelling, clear writing, and believe in the power of communication to change minds and build broad support for policy change.
The postholder will communicate JUSTICE’s work to our key audiences using press, digital media, and printed publications, and will report to the Head of Communications. Responsibilities include working with journalists to gain coverage, managing our website and social media accounts, and producing printed materials. You will play a key role in communicating our work and improving engagement with our members and supporters.
We want someone who can learn and grow in this role so if you are a strong writer who is organised and passionate about our work but don’t have every skill listed, we’d still like to hear from you.
JUSTICE works across the whole justice system – from prisons and family law to Windrush and more. Over our 67-year history we have transformed the legal landscape for the better, led by evidence, expertise, and a focus on practical solutions.
It is a fantastic charity to work for, in terms of cause and culture. Our friendly and supportive team currently work in a hybrid manner with access to office space in London. Our staff enjoy flexible working conditions, 27 days annual leave plus a wellbeing day, a birthday day, and the days between Christmas and the New Year off. JUSTICE provides an 8% employer pension contribution, and access to an Employee Assistance Programme.
The candidate pack can be found on our website.
To be considered for this role, please complete the application form, which can be found on our website.
Please note you cannot save your progress on the application form and return to it later. To see the questions in advance please download them by clicking on the link on our website.
Please do not submit answers to the questions by email, they will not be considered.
Deadline for applications: 11pm, Sunday 22 June 2025. Interviews will be held during the week commencing Monday 7 July 2025. Candidates will be required to complete a test as part of the interview process.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Location: Sheffield
Salary: Grade 3 - £31,133 per annum
Hours: Full time – 37.5 per week
Contract: Fixed term until end of March 2026
Closing date: Tuesday 24th June 2025 at 11:30pm
Are you compassionate, proactive and collaborative with experience, knowledge of and/or proven ability in housing and homelessness advice and advocacy? If you’re looking for an exciting new career opportunity join Shelter as a Housing Rights Worker and you could soon be playing a vital role in standing up to the housing emergency.
About the role
Your focus will be to deliver high quality housing advice and advocacy in line with the hub’s local community priorities, working alongside people who are experiencing homelessness and bad housing to identify issues facing local communities. You will plan and deliver casework to individuals and communities to resolve their housing situation and engage with community groups, local organisations and individuals to understand local housing issues and raise awareness of people’s housing rights.
You will also work in local community settings and with community groups to deliver advice and rights awareness workshops and make sure that people with lived experience of homelessness have opportunities to share their story, give their opinions and participate in the design and delivery of Shelter services. Offering day to day support to volunteers, providing learning, shadowing and mentoring and being a consistent role model for our values are also key aspects of the role.
About you
You are able to listen to, engage and work with individuals and communities and with all stakeholders, including people with lived experience of homelessness. You will have experience, knowledge of and/or proven ability in housing and homelessness advice and advocacy and are able to progress to specialist level knowledge, as well as the ability to carry out casework related interviews, maintain detailed case records, advise and support clients to make informed decisions. A proven record of delivering group workshops and presentations is essential, as is a collaborative, flexible and professional approach to your work.
Benefits
We offer a wide range of benefits, including 30 days of annual leave (pro rata), enhanced family friendly policies, pension and interest free travel loans. Our employees also have access to a tenancy deposit loan, payroll giving, cycle to work scheme and an employee assistance programme.
About the team
Shelter Sheffield has 70 staff plus volunteers and has been providing housing advice and support services within the area for over 20 years, specialising in emergency homelessness work, intensive support to children and families, people experiencing domestic abuse and people experiencing multiple disadvantage. We provide front line support to over 5,000 people a year in the city and work to improve the underlying systems that prevent people from living securely in suitable, safe, affordable accommodation.
About Shelter
Home is a human right. It’s our foundation and where we thrive. Yet every day millions of people are being devastated by the housing emergency.
We exist to defend the right to a safe home. Because home is everything.
We need ambitious, passionate people to join us. This is your chance to play a part in the fundamental change we are striving to achieve.
Our enemy is the social injustice at the core of the escalating housing emergency. To win this fight, we must be representative of the people we are here to help and those who support our movement In all our people decisions, we take pride in being inclusive, equitable and transparent. We are committed to combating racism both within and outside Shelter. We welcome you on our journey to becoming truly anti-racist.
Safeguarding Statement
Safeguarding is everyone's business. Shelter is committed to protecting the health, wellbeing and human rights of those we support, and enabling them to live free from harm, abuse and neglect. All our staff will be expected to observe professional standards of behaviour and conduct their work in line with our Safeguarding Policies.
Shelter does not accept unsolicited CVs from external recruitment agencies nor accept the fees associated with them.
How to apply
Please click ‘Apply for Job’ on the advert. You are required to submit a CV and a supporting statement with responses to the following points in the ‘About you’ section of the job description of no more than 350 words each. Please provide specific examples following the STAR format:
• Knowledge and experience of housing and homelessness advice and advocacy and the ability to progress to specialist level knowledge
•Ability to listen to, engage and work with individuals and communities
•Experience of delivering and/or ability to deliver group workshops and presentations