Open Rights Group

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Head of Communications and Campaigns

  • Salary: £54-£62 FTE (this is a for 4 days per week, 0.8 FTE), depending on experience 
  • Benefits: Flexible working including flexible hours; parental leave; 7% pension contribution; generous training and development budget; 25 days paid annual leave (increasing one day every year for 5 years) plus public and bank holidays pro rata and additional time off in December when office is closed; day off for your birthday; company-provided Macbook. 
  • Location: Nationwide (home-based/remote). Candidates must be eligible to work in the UK. 
  • Duration: Permanent
  • Deadline for Applications: 9am Monday 14 November 2022 
  • Interview Dates: W/c 21 November 2022 
  • Start Date: ASAP

Role

We are looking for an exceptional and inspiring Communications and Campaigns strategist, but above all, an empowering leader with a determination to succeed, who thrives in a fast moving and dynamic environment. 

A talented Communications strategist with significant experience of devising and delivering cross-channel campaigns using a variety of online and offline tactics, such as public mobilisation, parliamentary lobbying and engagement, online campaigns, and public relations such as press and media management. 

Open Rights Group (ORG) is at heart a membership organisation. Our members and supporters inform our policy, power our campaigns and help us bring about change. We place a premium on having an active base of members, supporters, and activists and our intention is to expand our grassroots movement across the UK. ORG’s work is also engaging a broader range of sectors and communities across civil society, and we want to mainstream these new alliances across our campaigns and communications. To help us do all that, we’re looking for an experienced and talented Communications and Campaigns professional. 

The Head of Communications and Campaigns will lead our campaigns and mobilisation work and our external engagement and communications to shift the public debate, build powerful cross-sectoral coalitions for change and influence decision-makers in the UK. 

They will lead an integrated Communications and Campaigns strategy covering member and supporter communications, development and grassroots activism, online fundraising, press and broadcast media, national and local Campaigns, and engagement with decision-makers through local and national campaigns. 

The Head of Communications and Campaigns will lead the Communications and Campaigns team and report directly to the Executive Director and will be a member of the Senior Management Team (SMT), sharing in the strategic leadership of ORG.

About the Open Rights Group

Open Rights Group (ORG) is the UK’s premier privacy, data and digital rights campaigning organisation. Founded in 2005 by a group of grassroots activists, we now have over 20,000 members and supporters and 10 local groups across the UK. Our members and supporters inform our policy, power our campaigns and help us bring about change. 

We uphold human rights like free expression and privacy. We condemn and work against repressive laws or systems that deny people these rights. 

  1. We DEFINE emerging harms and abuses through our research and investigation
  2. We PERSUADE allies and adversaries through our policy advocacy
  3. We EQUIP civil society partners to incorporate digital advocacy into their work through our coalition building
  4. We MOBILISE our members and supporters across the UK through our public campaigns
  5. We CONFRONT threats to our fundamental rights through our litigation 

We campaign, lobby, go to court – whatever it takes to build and support a movement for freedom in the digital age. We work across three main areas: 

  • Combating Big Tech and Platform Power
  • Combating State Intrusion into Rights Online
  • Promoting the Rights of Vulnerable, Marginalised and Minority Communities against Digital Threats 

How to Apply 

To apply, please submit a CV and covering letter (no longer than 2 sides of A4) setting out how you are suited to the role by emailing recruitment@openrightsgroup.org by 9am on 14 November 2022.

Please ensure that your email has the subject heading “Head of Communications and Campaigns” and that all attachments are sent in PDF format. 

Interviews for short-listed candidates will be held online. 

Key Responsibilities 

Organisational leadership 

  • Play a visible leadership role in ORG and participate actively in meetings of the senior management team; 
  • In conjunction with other SMT members, responsible for overall strategic development and leadership of the organisation; 
  • Lead in ensuring the effective operation of ORG in line with our policies and values, and the well-being of colleagues;
  • Engage with the Board of Directors and contribute to its meetings

Communications and external engagement 

  • Responsible for designing and delivering the organisation’s overall Communications and Campaigns strategy in consultation with other colleagues; 
  • Act as the brand ambassador for ORG, and ensuring consistent use of ORG’s brand identity both internally and externally; 
  • Ensure the production of regular articles and blogs and that policy and campaigns staff represent ORG in the media across our policy areas. 
  • Proactive management of media relations and media coverage to help communicate ORG’s campaigns and policies; 
  • Responsible for leadership, management, developing, and empowering the Communications and Campaigns staff members; 
  • Responsible for the communications and campaigns budget, liaising with others such as the Executive Director in the setting and forecasting the budgets, ensuring compliance with financial procedures and policies;
  • Overall responsibility for strategic and operational delivery of ORG’s website and social media channels; 

Campaigns

  • Overall responsibility for grassroots and national campaigns in conjunction with other colleagues aimed at engaging elected officials such as Parliamentarians (Westminster, Holyrood, and Senedd) and localcouncillors; 
  • Overall responsibility for devising, coordinating and executing national campaigns in conjunction with other colleagues; 
  • Provide expertise and guidance for colleagues in building effective campaign approaches into their work and identifying ways to engage the people most impacted by the policies and practices we seek to change. 
  • Lead on building grassroots activism and campaign capacity across ORG, supporting colleagues to identify and use effective approaches to engage the public and influence policy makers
  • Responsible for monitoring and tracking the success of our campaigns with a view to constantly optimise and iterate campaigns; 

Online Fundraising 

  • Provide strategic and operational leadership for ORG’s online fundraising campaigns;
  • Responsible for the design and delivery of online fundraising campaigns; 

Membership and Movement Building 

  • Provide strategic and operational leadership for ORG’s member and supporter development strategy; 
  • Lead initiatives to strengthen the capacity of ORG Local Groups to work with a wider range of groups, activists and organisations in their communities to build support for ORG campaigns.
  • Provide strategic and operational leadership of ORG’s local groups, volunteering, and grassroots activism strategy; 

Skills, experience, and aptitude 

  • Significant experience in a senior Communications and/or Campaigns position in a think tank, campaigning organisation, political party, other NGOs, trade union or other organising institution;
  • Demonstrable experience and ability in successfully providing strategic and operational leadership for campaigns using cross-channel communications methods/techniques and involving public mobilisation and Parliamentary lobbying; 
  • Demonstrable experience of building partnership and alliances to deliver tangible change;
  • Demonstrable experience in managing media relations and ability to secure media coverage to help communicate campaigns and policies and shape the news agenda; 
  • Experience in campaign monitoring and tracking and an aptitude for using the gathered data to optimise and iterate campaigns;
  • Advanced knowledge, experience and understanding of social media channels, tools, and campaigns; 
  • Demonstrable experience in designing and delivering successful online fundraising campaigns; 
  • Demonstrable experience in brand development; 
  • Experience in membership or campaigning organisations highly desirable; 
  • Strong inter-personal and communications skills including relationship-building, facilitation and influencing; 
  • Experience of organisational leadership and managing others; 
  • An understanding or experience of community organising and change movements is desirable; 
  • An empowering leader with a determination to succeed, who thrives in a fast moving and dynamic environment; 
  • A well-organised person, with a high degree of self-motivation and exceptional attention to detail.

Key Contacts 

The Head of Communications and Campaigns will directly report to the Executive Director and will be responsible for leading the Communications and Campaigns Team. 

Length and Salary 

The Head of Communications and Campaigns will be employed on a permanent basis following successful completion of a six-month probation period. 

The annual salary is £54-£62 FTE (this is a for 4 days per week, 0.8 FTE), depending on experience less any required deductions for income tax and national insurance. 

Candidates must be eligible to work in the UK. 

ORG is an equal opportunity employer. We believe that a diverse and inclusive team working in a supportive environment is vital to the success of our work. We particularly welcome applications from disabled and Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) candidates as well as from LGB, Trans and non binary candidates.