Director of Communications

Director of Communications

Are you a strategic thinker with strong communication skills?  Have you led evidence based policy/influencing programmes in voluntary or funding sectors?   Are you looking for an exciting opportunity to join a small, yet impactful organisation whose mission is to strengthen UK communities through action research? 

IVAR (The Institute for Voluntary Action Research) is looking for a new Director of Communications who will be responsible for leading and developing our approach to strategic communications.

About the role

Working closely with the Director of Research and the research team, you will lead the articulation, presentation and dissemination of learning, insights and messages from our diverse portfolio of projects, supporting the continuous improvement of writing and research communications, and ensuring our work has the greatest possible impact.  

As Director of Communications, you will be expected to work closely with the Director – who leads IVAR’s work with funders and supervises a range of individual projects – to help IVAR achieve its potential to influence and shape the operating environment for small charities.

Alongside that, you will take the lead, with the Director of Research, on a range of organisational management tasks, to ensure that IVAR has the culture, systems and support in place for staff to flourish and deliver work of the highest quality.

About you 

You will be a strategic thinker with strong communication and influencing skills, a passion for IVAR’s mission and an affinity with our values. We are looking for someone who has extensive experience in using communications to both inform and influence; confidence in facing both internally and externally; has led evidence-based policy/influencing programmes; and been part of a Senior Leadership Team, while also being comfortable with ‘mucking in’ as part of a small organisation. 

You may have worked for a funder, a campaigning organisation, or for a think tank. You will be comfortable operationalising and then communicating big ideas, representing the organisation externally and jointly leading on internal management, as part of a Senior Leadership Team (SLT). This will be underpinned by a strong understanding of and interest in the voluntary and funding sectors.

If you are motivated by this mix of work – we would love to hear from you. 

What we offer

Permanent, full-time (35 hours a week)
Salary: £60,000 - £70,000
Hours: Full-time
Hybrid working: 1 day a week in London office (SE11)
Benefits: 30 days annual leave (+bank holidays), pension contribution to 5%

Please send your CV and cover letter outlining why you are applying, how you meet the person specification, your availability to start and what in particular you will bring to IVAR.   

Closing Date: 5pm on Wednesday 8th January
Interviews: Thursday 23rd January

Welcome to IVAR - the Institute for Voluntary Action Research. 

We work with charities, foundations and public agencies to strengthen UK communities through action research. 

Our vision

A powerful and independent voluntary sector, meeting social need and galvanising change.

Our mission

We facilitate collaboration and learning with charities, foundations and public agencies to deliver useful insights that make a difference to communities.  

Guiding principles 

• Our starting point is understanding what those working in and with communities need to do the best possible job, as their context changes.
• We seek to balance deep work that uncovers useful insights and models that enable individual organisations/partnerships to make progress, while reaching as many people as possible. 
• We build dialogue and understanding between different people, organisations and sectors.   
• We connect local action into national conversations and movements, with the aim of influencing wider change.

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