About Open Cages
Open Cages is a UK-registered charity fighting animal suffering. We are part of an international organisation, Anima International. To achieve our goal we use scientific evidence, careful reasoning, and draw upon decades of collective experience. Just in the last few years, we have successfully helped improve the lives of hundreds of millions of farmed animals in the UK.
We are impact-oriented and use a wide array of tools to make the world a better place. Our current toolkit includes:
- Investigations which reveal the reality hidden behind the walls of factory farms
- Negotiations with companies to encourage them to eliminate cruel practices from their policies
- Advocacy to secure legal milestones for animals
At Open Cages we won’t stop until we end animal suffering. We would like to invite you to join us and help us achieve this goal.
What do you gain by working at Open Cages?
- Meaningful work – you will help build a world free from animal suffering
- Time – you will be able to focus full-time on helping animals
- High degree of flexibility – the work is almost totally remote and you will organise your working hours and workflow yourself
- Trust – we expect you to make mistakes as a given and learn from them
- Autonomy – you will experience freedom and independence in your decision-making
- Transparency – you will have access to the work and decisions of others
- Honest work culture – you will know what your colleagues are doing and what they really think
- Knowledge – you will learn and receive support from people who have been fighting for animals for many years
- Opportunity to grow – you will learn every day and be encouraged to experiment beyond your skill set
- Ability to influence the organisation – we encourage our people to openly speak their mind and thus you will be able to impact what kind of organisation we are
- A laugh – animal advocacy can be dark at times, we think that having a fun atmosphere is key to balance this
- Transparently set compensation – Our salaries are not negotiable and are based on a transparent algorithm that is the same for each role
Following a 3-month probation period, you will transition to a fixed-term contract. Upon successful completion of this term, you will be offered a permanent employment contract. A minimum salary of £39,695.24 gross (our salary base for people resident in the UK) will apply from the beginning of the probationary period. The salary base may change due to your previous experience related to the position, or your experience in animal advocacy (+3% for each year). In addition, the salary increases with your seniority in Open Cages according to the following model:
+ 7% – for every year worked at Open Cages during the first 5 years of work
+ 5% – for every year worked at Open Cages during the next 5 years of work
+ 3% – for every year worked at Open Cages during the next 5 years of work
+ 2% – for every year worked at Open Cages during the next years of work
About your role
We are a small and ambitious early-stage organisation with two full-time team members. Our current objective: to help the 1 billion chickens raised annually in the UK. By joining us as a campaigner who focuses on communications, you will work on the frontlines by shining a light on the hidden suffering of animals trapped on factory farms, and mobilising the public to take action. Your first task will be to help us convince the UK’s largest food businesses to improve their chicken welfare policies, primarily through crafting media stories and marketing campaigns that capture the hearts and minds of the public.
While this may sound challenging, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make a historic change for those who cannot stand up for themselves. Someone has to pick up the fight, and we hope it will be You.
We can accommodate to you
Due to the broad scope of our work, there is no simple description of the perfect campaigner. There may also be certain areas where you are stronger than others, and we are open to fitting the role around you. We are looking for a generalist rather than a specialist. However, you do need to have some particular strengths such as resilience, persistence, creativity, and critical thinking. Ideally, some day, you will be able to lead a big team and transfer your knowledge to them.
No previous experience is required for this role. While experience will be valued (and reflected in the salary), we welcome applications from both seasoned professionals and passionate newcomers who align with our organisational culture.
What do we require from you?
- Strong belief in the mission of our organisation. Working for us should not be thought of as a ‘career step’. We want people who are motivated by our mission above all.
- Flexible availability. We think of ourselves as a small startup. The fate of the organisation rests on a handful of highly motivated advocates who want to do something ambitious with their lives. We want to maintain the intensity of our current operating culture, so you should expect to work the occasional weekends and late evenings.
- Not being an asshole. We expect you to treat others with respect, decency and compassion – even the occasional adversaries.
- A preference for hard work. Activism is our passion and one of the main motivations in life. To fit our culture, you have to be a person that is proactive and enjoys work.
- Growth mindset. Nobody knows how to fix the world, so we need you to keep learning. We constantly strive to be better at our activism, but also as people.
- Strong interest in a high-feedback culture. We have a culture of honest and direct communication. We talk openly about our strengths and weaknesses on a daily basis because we want to be the best. You will know what your colleagues really think of you and be encouraged to speak your mind.
- Ability to reason and communicate your thinking, especially in written form. In order to thrive in our organisation you must be able to think carefully, try to back up your ideas with reasonable evidence, and above all be open to being proven wrong and changing your mind.
- Fluency in English. You will be working in a UK-based organisation which will require constant communication with English speakers.
- Ability to work in the UK. This offer is open to candidates who are either currently UK-based, or are willing to move to the UK for the job. We are happy to do whatever we can to help you in relocating, depending on your needs and our ability. If you have any questions about what we can help with, don’t hesitate to write to us!
You do not need to be vegan or vegetarian. While all of our events provide only plant-based meals, we are open to anyone who wants to fight for a world that is free from animal suffering. We won’t turn down any help.
What will you do?
- Build culture – you will help build and reinforce our culture, so we never lose what makes up the strength of Open Cages.
- Embrace reality – you will make it your mission to understand the world as it is rather than as you would like it to be.
- Manage activists – you will manage and work with teams of both employed and voluntary activists.
- Experience frustration – you will feel frustrated about things you could do better or things that are not working in the organisation or your team, and use this frustration as an opportunity to refine and elevate our organisation.
- Question ideas – you will question common knowledge, especially your own ideas, so that our results are always as good as they can be.
- Optimise your performance – you will continuously deepen your knowledge – both about particular areas of animal advocacy and about how the world works – and enjoy this process.
- Prioritise action – you will act even when there is not sufficient data.
- Abandon projects – you will change your objectives when it makes sense, no matter the time already invested.
- Respect and trust others – you will be there for others and trust their intentions. You will support them when they succeed and when they fail.
- Seek information independently – you will be responsible for acting very independently which will require you to obtain and verify data.
- Make mistakes – you will embrace your mistakes without being ashamed with the desire to learn from them.
- Strategise – it is not easy to change the world. As a campaigner you will ask yourself endless questions. You will be responsible for campaign strategy which requires careful planning and the ability to think ahead.
- Try again and again and again – the decision makers we want to convince often don’t want to improve animal welfare, others may simply not have time for you. You will need extreme persistence in order to gain traction with companies.
- Take risks – negotiating in a high stakes meeting, attending a farming conference, organising a protest, taking hundreds of videos of a retailer’s chicken products for a BBC story (yes, we did this!) – in this role you will need to be comfortable with stepping out of your comfort zone.
- Conduct research – you will spend many hours online gathering information, working with investigators and lawyers, or delivering chicken products to a lab in Germany (we did this too).
- Create marketing content – you will produce graphics and videos for social media, and utilise marketing tools to reach millions of people.
- Work with the media – you will engage with journalists, write press releases, pitch stories and be animals’ voice on the radio and TV.
- Mobilise advocates – you will write emails to our supporters and motivate them to take action with us. You will also organise and run street actions like protests and stunts.
- Connect with diverse audiences – you will need to talk about the suffering of animals to very different groups of people that compose our society. To do that effectively, you will need to understand their perspective and be a good, empathetic communicator.
- Ask for support – you will help us fundraise to increase our impact.
Do you think this role is too challenging and you're not fit for it?
You may be thinking that this role would be interesting for you, but you won’t make the cut.
We encourage you not to worry and fill out the application nonetheless, especially if you meet our requirements (even on a basic level) and you think this position could bring you a lot of joy. Leave the judgment about your competence to us. You may even learn something useful along the way.
We prepared support materials to help you through the application process. We'll also be hosting informational webinars about this role and our recruitment process – click ‘Redirect to recruiter’ to see the website for more details.
Registered Charity 
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The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Thank you!
Using Anonymous Recruitment
This organisation is using Anonymous Recruitment to reduce bias in the first stages of the hiring process. Submit your application as normal and our system will anonymise it for you. Your personal information will be hidden until the recruiter contacts you.
Ambitious, professional, committed and friendly. That describes us. If it also describes you and you have a passion for corporate fundraising, then we’re keen to hear from you.
We have 600 volunteers supporting unrepresented litigants in the civil and family courts in England and Wales, helping over 50,000 times last year. At a time when legal support is increasingly limited, we have a vision that no one should have to go to court alone. To make this vision a reality we have a focused fundraising strategy to ensure the charity has the resources it needs and our corporate partnerships are key.
We’re looking for a Corporate Partnerships Manager (Maternity Cover) to join our team, to steward existing partnerships and grow new connections, especially with those in the legal sector. As well as running our Guardians’ network, you’ll arrange key supporter events and develop bespoke partnerships.
It’s a busy role and you’ll be supported by an assistant and a close working fundraising team. You’ll also be able to build on the firm foundations we already have in place.
We’re open to applications from experienced corporate fundraisers, as well as corporate fundraisers ready to step up into managing the corporate income streams.
Interviews will be held on the 14th May 2025
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Thank you!
The Volunteer Relationship Manager will play a crucial role in overseeing and optimising the volunteer programme within the College of Paramedics.
With a focus on enhancing volunteer relationships and strengthening organisational capabilities, you will lead strategic initiatives to help to create a positive, productive, and rewarding experience for volunteers while maximising their contribution to our strategic objectives.
The Volunteer Relationship Manager will be required to:
- Recruitment and Onboarding – Develop best practice volunteer recruitment strategies, conduct interviews and volunteer screening and organise required induction sessions
- Volunteer Management – Match volunteers with appropriate roles, coordinate schedules and maintain the volunteer database
- Support and Development – Provide ongoing support to volunteers, identify opportunities for skill development and address any concerns
- Recognition and Retention – Implement volunteer recognition programs and events, developing strategies to improve volunteer retention rates and gather feedback from volunteers to enhance their experience
- Policy and Compliance – Ensuring volunteer activities comply with relevant laws and regulations, develop and updating volunteer policies and conduct risk assessments for volunteer roles
- Reporting and Evaluation – Track volunteer impact and prepare reports to identify effectiveness of the volunteer programme
- Collaboration – Work closely with all departments to integrate volunteers effectively and build relationships with external organisations for potential partnerships
- Diversity, Equity and Belonging
- Inspire and enable paramedics to participate in the profession within an environment based on safety, collegiality, inclusiveness, mental and physical wellbeing, and innovation
- Review activities in relation to the role to ensure alignment with the College of Paramedics ‘Belonging and Inclusion’ Strategy
- Ensure diversity equity and belonging is an integral aspect of volunteers
Qualifications and/or Knowledge (essential)
- Be educated to degree level or equivalent through experience
- Knowledge of best practices in volunteering, safeguarding, and inclusion
- Commitment to keeping up to date with best practice in volunteering and ensuring compliance with latest legislation
Experience (essential)
- Have proven experience in volunteer management and implementation of volunteer programmes
- Have experience of successfully managing a project or team
Experience (desirable)
- Experience of working in the voluntary sector, NHS, or public sector
- Experience of working in a membership organisation
Aptitude and Abilities (essential)
- Strong ability to recruit, train, and support diverse groups of volunteers
- Have demonstrable and evidenced leadership skills and the ability to enthuse and motivate individuals.
- Be able to manage a delegated budget and contribute to financial planning and budget setting activity
- Have the ability to think strategically and to develop and present plans clearly
- Be able to manage multiple work-streams, conflicting priorities and an ability to meet deadlines
- Be able to collect and analyse data from IT systems, reports and research to measure volunteer impact
- Have evidence of well developed communication skills (written, verbal and digital) with the ability to
engage with a wide range of stakeholders
Values
- Be self-motivated and have personal drive, integrity, and adaptability, with the ability to work flexibly, under pressure and to deadlines, as required
- Be reliable with a high degree of personal integrity, acting with positivity, energy, and compassion to inspire those around them to achieve their full potential
- Flexible attitude to working hours
- Have a commitment to the aims and ethos of the College of Paramedics, demonstrating a passion and desire to lead positive developments and improvements in volunteer management within the College
- Have personal insight with regards to values and behaviours and the impact on others, with the skills to build relationships and create a shared vision
Other (important)
- Be eligible to work in the UK
- Be able to work remotely as necessary and be willing to travel as required, to attend meetings or support College events across the UK or attend the College head office in Bridgwater, Somerset
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.