Communications manager jobs in bedford, central bedfordshire

Location: Home-based in the UK, with regular national and international travel

Contract: 2 years with the possibility of extension dependent on funding.

Reporting to: Chief Operating Officer

Salary: £65,000 to £70,000.

Additional benefits: 25 days annual leave plus public holidays (annual leave increasing by 1 extra day for every years’ service up to 30 days total), life assurance and access to an employee assistance programme.

WeProtect Global Alliance will not be responding to expressions of interest or applications sent by third parties (agencies, brokers or recruitment specialists).

We require a highly skilled and motivated individual who has strong ethical standards and demonstrable commitment to our values to help grow, oversee, retain and actively engage the WeProtect Global Alliance to collaborate, advocate and  members and collectively work together to deliver our vision of a world where children and young people can access and participate in the digital world free from harm, sexual abuse and sexual exploitation.

The successful candidate will demonstrate considerable professional experience in a comparable role and a genuine passion for child protection. They will have a strong track record in developing, harnessing and deploying a diverse community of practice to develop real world solutions to make the digital world safer for children and young people across the globe.

Politically, commercially and financially astute, you will have a broad range of skills. You will be able to grow, activate and develop deep connections to nurture, harness and activate our alliance members to deliver our global mission and strategic objectives in a period where we are developing our new Strategy.

You will relish the opportunity to lead and support our member alliance, which currently comprises a broad range of high profile and influential representatives drawn from government, multi and bilateral agencies, global tech communities, NGO and advocacy groups, to focus on delivering real world solutions to often sensitive issues where competing views, political opinions and priorities can make seeking a resolution a challenge.

You will be comfortable supporting our Members Team and Alliance member community to ensure we remain relevant, responsive and impactful in an increasingly polarised political landscape as we enter the fourth industrial revolution. 

You will be able to focus on both the detail and the bigger picture in a complex landscape and be an inspirational and supportive team player who will live our values, shine confidently as a key member of the senior management team, be a role model to our brilliant secretariat workforce and an ambassador when engaging with members and external partners.

If leading, growing and getting the best out of a global community, combined with our mission of making the digital world free of harm for children and young people, motivate you to come to work and give your best every day, then this is the place for you and we cannot wait to welcome you!

About WeProtect Global Alliance 

The online world was not created with children in mind and can be unsafe for children and young people to explore. Every phone and computer is a potential gateway for offenders seeking to sexually exploit children. Our Alliance generates political commitment and practical approaches to make the digital world safe and positive for children, preventing sexual abuse and long-term harm.

Our Alliance’s geographical reach is unprecedented: 103 governments are members along with 82 private sector companies, 126 civil society organisations and 10 intergovernmental organisations. This diverse membership is key to our ability to deliver real change. Together, we break down complex problems and develop policies and solutions to protect children from sexual abuse online. More information on who we are and what we do can be found on the WeProtect Global Alliance website.

WeProtect Global Alliance is supported by a high-performing secretariat of eleven staff based in the UK and Belgium and is overseen by an influential Global Policy Board that the Head of Strategy will work collaboratively with to ensure the Alliance members remain impact and child centred.

Job description

Overall purpose of role

As the WeProtect Global Alliance Head of Members, you will grow and lead our capability and capacity to harness and grow our global alliance network to guide and drive the implementation of our Strategy and mission targets. This role requires an organised, driven, and people-oriented leader with deep and global connections in the child protection field. 

Your team will develop and deliver an elevated approach to managing a diverse community of members, supporting the Alliance maximise our impact on the global stage, support and advise the Management Board, Executive Team, Head of Strategy and Head of Development on the best ways to harness our Alliance community to respond to a rapidly evolving operational landscape and navigate key strategic decisions.

You will also work closely with the Head of Strategy and Head of Development to support the development of new ways of working to understand our collective impact and ensure our secretariat, members and broader organization actively remain relevant and focused on delivering our mission and strategic objectives. 

You will grow the capabilities and lead the WeProtect Global Alliance members work, with key accountability for the following outcomes:

· Work with the Executive Team, Management Board and Policy Board to develop, secure buy-in and implement a members strategy, operational and action plans to harness our diverse community to deliver the existing and forthcoming WeProtect Global Alliance Strategy and delivery targets.

· Collaborate with the Head of Strategy, the Head of Development and MEL lead to collectively build, maintain and oversee our theory of change and broader operational model to ensure we effectively harness and activate our member community to have real world impact on the lives of children and young people.

· Build the capability and capacity of the organisation to remain truly member led, build and manage the Members Team to pro-actively deliver a portfolio of work that will raise the profile of our mission and shift the needle on governmental, public and private sector agencies approaches to child protection and safety in the digital world. This includes overseeing and leading the Alliance’s Reference Groups and working collaboratively with the Executive Team and Head of Strategy to co-lead our work in international fora (most notably the WeProtect Global Summit).

· Build and maintain meaningful engagement with a broad range of members from across the public, private and third sector (including government agencies, advocacy communities, specialist tech and civil society organisations) across the globe to deliver the WeProtect Global Alliance strategic mission.

· Play an active role in building the operational resilience, financial sustainability and compliance capability and capacity of the Secretariat to provide a world class service to our members and Board to ensure WeProtect Global Alliance remains focused on creating a world where children and young people can access and participate in the digital world free from harm, sexual abuse and sexual exploitation.

Key Responsibilities

1. To lead the Members team to strengthen the WeProtect Global Alliance member’s portfolios by developing, securing buy-in and implementing the organisations member strategy, operating, governance model, plans, success indicators and internal capabilities to harness the power of our members to achieve our mission and vision in line with our core values.

2. To be a thought leader, keep abreast of external trends and developments and changing circumstances to ensure the WeProtect Global Alliance Member Strategy remains relevant, targeted and focused on improving outcomes for children and young people in a rapidly changing legislative, operational and technology landscape.

3. To be accountable for member services, outreach, growth, governance and cross organisational projects and work streams.  This includes planning and organising relevant performance and delivery areas, being mindful of cross-cutting impacts and priorities.

4. To ensure the continuous development and effective delivery of the WeProtect Global Alliance Member’s Strategy in a fast paced, politically sensitive and rapidly changing external environment, including participating in and leading (where relevant) annual business planning, forecasting, setting, monitoring, reviewing and reporting on budgets and relevant donor requirements to support effective decision making throughout the year.

5. To provide exemplary leadership and line management to staff, including appraisals, supervision, team meetings, delegating, managing, engaging, developing and supporting staff to be the best they can be and achieve our strategic objectives in accordance with our vision and values.

6. Lead and develop effective working relationships with external partners, stakeholders, members and staff to maximise the collective impact of WeProtect Global Alliance (governmental, public, private, civil society and advocacy communities).

7. To take accountability for preparing papers, reports and presentations for internal and external meetings including senior management meetings, executive team, trustee, board and reference groups meetings. To attend, chair, and contribute to meetings, briefings, reviews, due diligence and auditing and compliance activities.

8. Represent the Executive Director and the Chief Operating Officer at internal and external events, share peer responsibility for problem solving challenges, creating a ‘one team’ approach to delivery and deputising were appropriate.

9. To be an ambassador, spokesperson and representative of WeProtect Global Alliance Secretariat at external events.

Expectations

As a member of the Senior Management Team (SMT) you will also have a pivotal role to play in supporting and improving the organisation’s effectiveness as we develop the WeProtect Global Alliance’s new strategy, operating model and ways of working to ensure we remain effective, responsive and relevant in an increasingly complex and fast-moving technological landscape.

As a global, multi-sector alliance, ensuring equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) is embedded in everything we do is a critical priority. We embrace diversity and understand that being an inclusive organisation, recognising different perspectives, will enable us to be impactful and effective.  We are committed to ensuring all our employees are treated fairly and equitably at work and promoting equality in physical and mental health for all.

1. To attend and contribute to meetings, training and other events as required.

2. To actively participate in our supervision and appraisal process.

3. To ensure that all responsibilities and activities within this post are delivered in accordance with WeProtect Global Alliance core values and relevant corporate, organisational, financial and compliance policies.

4. To travel to meetings and fora which may require the need to work unsociable hours e.g. attending evening or weekend meetings.

5. To adhere to relevant legal and statutory requirements including Data Protection Act and the Health and Safety at Work Act.

To use WeProtect Global Alliance resources responsibly.

Person Specification

Essential criteria

Experience

1. Significant senior experience and demonstrable record leading and growing a diverse global membership and/or partnership alliance function and/or service to deliver an ambitious child centred mission on the global stage.

2. Outstanding leadership and team management experience, including experience coaching and line managing direct reports.

3. Demonstrable effective influencing and negotiation skills and political judgment with a proven track record building productive and impactful professional relationship and partnerships with a wide range of individuals and organisations.

4. Demonstrable experience leading change and transformation with demonstrable qualities as a change agent. 

5. Demonstrable senior management level experience in project management, financial, donor and budget management, monitoring, evaluation and lesson learning across the fields of strategy, research and policy.

6. Significant experience commissioning high quality, high value research and policy projects and able to demonstrate the use of insights in long term planning and impact frameworks.

Skills

1. Outstanding communication skills and ability to effectively engage and build meaningful relationships with internal and external staff and stakeholders at all levels.

2. Outstanding self-management skills to work independently, autonomously and as part of a team, using own initiative and being flexible and adaptable to deliver as ‘one team’.

3. Excellent IT, project management, financial management and donor engagement skills.

4. Demonstrable excellent planning and organisation skills to deliver work to agreed timescales and standards.

Knowledge

1. Knowledge and understanding of WeProtect Global Alliance mission, vision, values and ambition and how it applies to this post.

2. Knowledge and understanding of a child centred approach to participation, advocacy and EDI and how it applies to this post, with a focus on embedding effective policies and processes.

3. Awareness of global child protection policies and procedures within the digital arena and a genuine passion for child protection.

Other

1. A willingness to travel and work unsocial hours (time in lieu can be claimed)

2. Commitment to your own continuing professional and personal development

3. To uphold high standards of work, standards and conduct in line with WeProtect Global Alliance values.

Diversity, inclusion and equity

We welcome applicants from all sections of the community, regardless of age, sex, gender (or gender identity), ethnicity, disability or sexual orientation. We particularly welcome applicants from ethnic minorities and other under-represented groups. 

Safeguarding and values

As a child-focused organisation, we have a strong commitment to child safeguarding and rigorous procedures. The successful candidate will be required to provide two referees and to undergo a criminal record check. 

All staff are expected to act at all times in a manner consistent with our values and in compliance with our policies and procedures, including our Safeguarding Policy and Code of Conduct.

Our values are: 

· Empowerment – collaboration, innovation, challenge

· Accountability – responsibility, delivery, safeguarding

· Respect – honesty, feedback, inclusion