Head of Digital Communications

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.

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.