External Relations Coordinator

The Vacancy

Islamic Relief Worldwide is an independent humanitarian and development organisation, serving humanity for over 40 years. With an active presence in over 40 countries across the globe, we strive to make the world a better and fairer place for those affected by poverty, conflict and natural disasters. In the UK, IRW has a partner whose main role is to raise funds, raise awareness, carry out advocacy and support domestic programmes: this partner is called Islamic Relief UK (IRUK).

Islamic Relief UK (IRUK) is actively recruiting for the position of ‘External Relations Coordinator’ to be based from its Waterloo Office, London. The organisation operates to a hybrid working model.

JOB PURPOSE:

The External Relations Coordinator is responsible for:

• Supporting the development and delivery of the external relations strategy, working closely with advocacy and media colleagues as well as Islamic Relief Worldwide.
• Leading the implementation of key external relations activities, including the establishment of an IRUK Advisory Committee.
• Supporting and coordinating the implementation and on-going development of Islamic Relief’s stakeholder management work.
• Supporting and coordinating a programme of external relations activities to build the organisation’s external profile, including events, conferences and sponsorships.
• Representing IR at high-profile engagements, conferences and events.
• Helping to organise and support public engagements on behalf of IR
• Providing support on reactive reputational issues and crisis communications.

The successful candidate must have:

• Substantial experience of supporting and coordinating external relations/corporate communications – including crisis management. 
• Sound experience of supporting external engagement through events and stakeholder meetings.
• Demonstrable experience of writing content, presentations/speeches and briefings for external audiences with clarity and flair.
• Experience of working in large organisations (preferably global), and comfortable with complexity.
• Excellent interpersonal, communications and representational skills. 
• Educated to degree level in a relevant subject/discipline: international relations/politics and public affairs / media or / and another relevant degree. 
• Extensive knowledge of external/corporate communications. 
• A good understanding of media, social media and online channels, and their use in external relations. 
• Able to write engagingly and persuasively for a variety of external audiences, with a native or bilingual proficiency in English. 
• Able to assimilate complex information swiftly and communicate it accurately and with clarity.
• Good understanding of international advocacy, government affairs and political sensitivities.  
• Good knowledge and understanding of the charity and international NGO/humanitarian. sectors including current trends, challenges, opportunities and networks. 
• Strong relationship management skills: builds trust and productive relationships with others, internally and externally.
• Demonstrable exercise of sound judgement and decisions when dealing with complex or unexpected issues.
• IT literate, with a command of MS Office applications, in particular Word, PowerPoint, Excel and Outlook. 

For more information, please click on the Documents tab above to view the full Job Description.

If you are talented, reliable, service-minded, resilient and a highly motivated professional looking for a meaningful career, with a strong commitment to IRW’s mission and values of sincerity, excellence, compassion, social justice and custodianship, please apply by completing our online application form.

For more information on the excellent company benefits we offer our employees, please visit our website.

PLEASE NOTE: Interviews are expected to take place on 07/08/2024.

Pre-employment Checks:

Any employment with Islamic Relief will be subject to the following checks:

• screening clearance
• proof of eligibility to live and work within the UK
• receipt of satisfactory references

Please note, for UK-based roles, we are only able to accept applications from candidates who are eligible to work in the UK. We are unable to progress applications which would require sponsorship.

Our values and commitment to safeguarding

IRW is committed to preventing any type of unwanted behaviour at work including sexual harassment, exploitation and abuse, lack of integrity and financial misconduct; and committed to promoting the welfare of children, young people, adults and beneficiaries with whom IRW engages. IRW expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment through our code of conduct. We place a high priority on ensuring that only those who share and demonstrate our values are recruited to work for us.

The post holder will undertake the appropriate level of training and is responsible for ensuring that they understand and work within the safeguarding policies of the organisation.

All offers of employment will be subject to satisfactory references and appropriate screening checks, which can include criminal records checks. IRW also participates in the Inter Agency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme.

In line with this Scheme, we will request information from job applicants’ previous employers about any findings of sexual exploitation, sexual abuse and/or sexual harassment during employment, or incidents under investigation when the applicant left employment.

By submitting an application, the job applicant confirms his/her understanding of these recruitment procedures.

Islamic Relief is an equal opportunities employer