Engagement & Civil Society Lead in London

Permanent. Full time. Hybrid working (2 days per week in the office)

Location: London

Salary: £57,977 (including London allowance) per annum

About us

Christian Aid exists to create a world where everyone can live a full life, free from poverty. We are a global movement of people, churches and local organisations who passionately champion dignity, equality and justice worldwide. We are the changemakers, the peacemakers, the mighty of heart.

We’re committed to building a diverse and inclusive workplace, and recognise the value this brings in forming strong, creative and high performing teams. We welcome applications from all sections of the community, and from those with experience from outside of the voluntary sector. And no, you don’t have to be Christian to work here – we encourage people of all faiths and none to apply. We just ask that everyone lives out our values of dignity, equality, justice and love. We value a good work-life balance, so we’re open to part-time and flexible working. We also offer hybrid working for our office-based colleagues.

About the role

Reporting in to the UK Influencing Lead, the Engagement & Civil Society Lead will manage Christian Aid’s church influencing, interfaith and civil society partners in the UK, in line with policy, advocacy and campaigns strategies that maximises impact. The post-holder will ensure Christian Aid is engaged in effective civil society coalitions, and coalition spaces, working closely with the campaign’s advisor and UK influencing team, empowering collaboration.

You will be building and developing relationships with the organisation’s partners, influencers and networks within the UK and globally.

Some of the key responsibilities of the Engagement & Civil Society Lead include:

• Cultivates and maintains influential relationships within UK based CSO’s, faith-based networks, private sector and campaign coalitions to enable high-impact initiatives to maximise our impact.
• Drives and communicates high quality strategies, to ensure our engagement and influencing work has political traction within Civil Society, faith/interfaith networks and the private sector.
• Provides advocacy and influencing support on engagements with UK ecumenical groups such as CTE/CTBI in collaboration with the Ecumenical Lead.

About you

Who we are looking for:

• Degree level qualification in a relevant field.
• Substantial experience of working in an advocacy role, faith and church advocacy, civil society engagement, community development, campaigning, or related areas.
• Substantial experience of working with stakeholders including civil society, government, or the private sector.
• Significant experience of influencing and engaging within UK Civil Society spaces.
• Detailed understanding of how to deliver influence within UK Civil Society.
• Detailed understanding of the development sector, private sector and faith networks, their policy positions and dynamics.
• Detailed knowledge of influencing and engaging churches and wider faith communities.
• Significant experience of working in complex coalition spaces.
• Significant experience of public speaking.
• Strong communication skills and ability to communicate with diverse audience.
• Highly developed skills in strategic planning, people management and project management.

Further information

At Christian Aid we strive to be an inclusive and diverse employer and recognise the value that this brings in helping to build strong, creative and high performing teams. We are actively encouraging racialised minorities, LGBTQ+, people with disabilities, returning parents or carers who are re-entering work after a career break, people with caring responsibilities, people from low socioeconomic backgrounds, women, and older workers to apply. This is because these groups are under-represented within our teams, especially at senior level, and we recognise and value the contributions members of these groups make to strong, creative and high performing teams.

We have a strong Christian ethos and we encourage applications from all faiths. Applicants will be expected to demonstrate an understanding of and sympathy with Christian Aid’s faith identity. All successful candidates will require a DBS/police check appropriate to the role and location and a Counter Terrorism Sanction check as part of your clearance for commencing your role with us. We also participate in the Inter Agency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme. In line with this Scheme, we will request information as part of the referencing process from job applicants’ previous employers about any findings of sexual exploitation, sexual abuse and/or sexual harassment during employment, or incidents under investigation when the applicant left employment. By submitting an application, the job applicant confirms their understanding of these recruitment procedures.

This role requires applicants to have the right to live and work in the country where this position is based and undertake the role that you have been offered. If you are successful and we make you an offer for the role, we will be required to conduct a right to work check on your immigration status in the UK. We will contact you regarding the documentation you will need to provide to evidence this.