Policy & Communications Manager

Policy and Communications Manager

 £40,000 per annum (FTE)

Full-time and Permanent (part-time option may be considered no less that 4 days per week 0.8 FTE)

Office base Liverpool Street, London EC2M – Commonweal operates a flexible hybrid working policy requiring staff to attend the office base at least 2 days per week one of which is our Tuesday anchor day when all staff are in the office.

Commonweal is an independent charity working to investigate, pilot and champion housing based solutions to social injustice.  Using our charitable resources, we provide experts and partner organisations with the opportunity to trial and test new approaches designed to enhance housing equality and justice. Independently evaluating each of our projects we share our experiences, using this learning to inspire new thinking. Through the replication of what works and the lessons from what doesn’t, we influence changes in policy and practice.  In addition, we commission other research identifying and spotlighting new areas of housing injustice. 

As Policy and Communications Manager, reporting directly to the CEO and working as part of and alongside our project leads you will formulate our policy messages.  You will help lead on stakeholder engagement and growing the understanding across our sector of who Commonweal are and what we can offer.  You will shape and then develop and deliver the strategy for effectively communicating our growing range of positive project findings and aligning our PR to public policy research initiatives.   In short your role will be to put comms in to action!

You will need to have experience of the voluntary and community sector as well public policy, the political environment and its current and potential implications for the charity.  You will be regularly presenting to Trustee Board meetings, ensuring Trustees and colleagues are involved and updated on external affairs activities to embed support for communications activities.  You will be supported in this role by a Communications Officer therefore experience of staff management would be desirable but not necessarily essential.

You will possess experience of working in a communications or PR environment, with strong written skills and design skills along with demonstrable knowledge of a range of communication channels (including print, broadcast and online media). Experience of liaison with the press and media securing the take up of press releases, opinion pieces or other outputs is important.

Ideally you will have experience in the field of housing or, homelessness, but certainly a demonstrable interest in the positive role for housing whether professionally, personally or through lived experience.  However, more important is demonstrable experience of policy research and stakeholder engagement, especially communicating to influence and deliver impact to Parliamentarians, local authorities and others across the voluntary sector and public service environment.  Staff or volunteer management would be helpful however a track record of building successful working relationships with a range of internal and external stakeholders, strong organisational skills and the ability to work on your own initiative are all a must.

Deadline for applications: 9.00 am on Friday 13th September 2024

Initial interview date: Thursday 19th September – via Zoom or TEAMS video platforms.

 Final interview in person at the Commonweal Offices: Friday 27th September

 

How to Apply

Please read the job description for the role. The person specification sets out the skills and experience we are looking for. For an application pack containing further information please click on the apply button and follow the link to download the relevant documentation.  If you wish to apply for the role, we ask that you upload an up-to-date CV plus a covering statement of no more than 2 sides of A4 setting out how you meet the requirements for this post and your motivations for applying

In addition, you will need to answer the following question in your covering statement. In no more than 200 words please answer: ‘From what you have read about Commonweal Housing, which of our projects would you be most passionate about promoting further and why?’ 

 No agencies please. 

Commonweal Housing is committed to equal opportunities and values diversity in its workforce.

 You may have experience of the following: Policy & Communications Manager, Internal Communications Manager, External Communications, Policy Officer, Public Affairs, Senior Policy Officer, Housing, Charity, Charities, Third Sector, Policy Officer, Policy Planning, Researcher, Not for Profit, Public Affairs, Communications Manager, Marketing Communications Manager, Marketing Manager, Senior Communications Executive, Press Officer, PR, Public Relations, etc. 

                                                                  JOB DESCRIPTION

JOB TITLE: Policy & Communications Manager

RESPONSIBLE TO: CEO

RESPONSIBLE FOR: Communications Officer

TYPE OF CONTRACT: Full-time permanent (part-time option may be considered no less that 0.8FTE)

LOCATION: New Broad Street, Liverpool Street, London EC2M 1NH

SALARY: £40,000 per annum

 BACKGROUND:

Commonweal Housing is pleased to announce an exciting opportunity to join our impactful team. Working at the heart of an exciting and unique housing charity, the role of Policy & Communications Manager is an excellent opportunity for someone keen to use their communications skills and housing sector interest to help turn our innovative thinking into long term practice and demonstrable change.

 JOB CONTEXT:

Commonweal Housing is an action learning charity using housing to combat social injustice. We provide the space for partner organisations to investigate and test bespoke housing for people facing different social injustices. Since 2007 we have allocated over £12 million for such projects and currently have a portfolio of around 40 homes which are used by our partners to deliver innovative pilot models. 

Whilst investigating and testing new ideas is central to our mission, we believe that sharing knowledge and replicating projects is a fundamental measure of our success.

The role of Policy & Communications Manager at Commonweal Housing is to share the learning from our projects. From inception through to evaluation, each project produces learning about how best to support people through housing. The Policy & Communications Manager is at the forefront of making sure this learning is seen and understood by the right people and has the impact we aim for.

Using a range of communications tactics, the Policy & Communications Manager will help to spread the word about our projects and our purpose in order to influence practice and policy. Managing a Communications Officer, the post-holder will be able to spot opportunities and communicate our work in a creative and engaging way to ensure that we not only test housing solutions to social injustice, but embed them and that our communications has impact and changes policy

Building upon a range of comms platforms and innovations such as podcasts, specially commissioned anthologies and reports, webinars and traditional press releases and social media you can be imaginative, bold and ambitious about how we can achieve our 2025 ambition:

 ‘By 2025 Commonweal will be widely viewed as a ‘go to’ organisation for innovative and deliverable housing-based solutions to social injustice – at the forefront of imaginative thinking.’

 

JOB SUMMARY:                  

Working with colleagues, notably the Chief Executive, Deputy CEO and Senior Programmes Manager, the Policy & Communications Manager will lead on Commonweal Housing’s communications and policy influencing. 

MAIN DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

Communications

• Oversee all communications channels, including but not limited to media and press, content writing, branding, website and social channels, events, newsletters, reports and briefings
• Effectively line manage the Communications Officer in accordance with Commonweal’s policies and procedures supporting their personal and career development
• Work with colleagues and external partners to identify key project learning messages and opportunities for policy influencing.
• Maintain a continued output of communications content to highlight our work, partnerships and charitable goals effectively
• Take the lead on planning and management events organised by the charity such as receptions, seminars, round table meetings and / or other events
• Grow the reputation of Commonweal in the sector to ensure impact on policy decisions
• Brief and manage external suppliers such as printers and designers to support the delivery of communications activity
• Track and evaluate communications performance to achieve continual improvement and to keep key internal stakeholders (namely Trustees and staff) up to date on progress via internal briefings and board papers
• Develop relevant key media contacts to highlight and profile Commonweal’s work effectively

Policy & Influencing

• Identify and develop opportunities for influencing policy across a broad spectrum of social injustices
• Working with and advising the Commonweal Executive Team to establish positive links with Parliamentarians, civil servants and others to ensure our communications and policy messages are heard and understood in the right palces.
• Work with colleagues and external partners to ensure project reports are accessible, meaningful and impactful within the policy arena
• Work with sector experts and project delivery partners to raise the profile of social injustices identified by our projects to support existing or developing campaigns
• Maintain an up to date and coherent map of stakeholders and opportunities for influence from Commonweal’s work and learning
• Work with the CEO, DCEO and Senior Programme Manager to horizon scan for future opportunities for Commonweal and/or partners and projects
• Be Commonweal’s key point of contact with the University of Birmingham for whom we sponsor a third-year student bursary for the School of Social Policy – engaging with the student bursary awardees and presenting annually to second year students about the bursary opportunity
• Maintain up to date knowledge and awareness of the growing social investment market and the opportunity this offers for the replication of Commonweal supported projects

Other

1.    Represent and promote the image of the charity at both internal and external events and maintain a good working relationship with suppliers, service users, external stakeholders and other charities.

2.    Promote Equal Opportunities, particularly with regard to service delivery, decision making processes and working practices.

3.    Undertake all duties in accordance with Commonweal’s policies and procedures.

4.    Carry out any appropriate duties as directed by the Chief Executive.

 

CHANGES:

This is a description of the job as it is presently constituted. It is the practice of Commonweal Housing to examine job descriptions from time to time and to update it to ensure it relates to the job as then being performed, or to incorporate whatever changes are being proposed.  This will be conducted in consultation with you.

 This job description is supported by annual objectives and performance standards to provide an indication of the level of performance expected from the role.