Campaigns Officer

ROLE PURPOSE

PAN UK is the only charity in the UK focused solely on tackling the problems caused by pesticides and promoting safe and sustainable alternatives in agriculture, urban areas, homes and gardens.

We are looking for a passionate, organised, self-motivated individual with experience of corporate campaigning to lead PAN UK’s highly-impactful supermarket campaign which aims to reduce pesticide-related harms to both human health and the environment. Launched in 2019, the campaign has secured a wide range of wins from getting Tesco to ban 200 toxic pesticides from use within its global supply chains to convincing Co-op, Waitrose, Aldi and Lidl to stop selling synthetic garden pesticides.

As Campaigns Officer, you will be involved in a variety of tasks including; campaign strategy development, meeting with decision-makers, providing feedback on policies, writing communications materials and running events. You do not need to have extensive knowledge of pesticide issues but must be able to pick up new, complex topics quickly and communicate them confidently.

In addition to running the supermarkets campaign, you will be an integral part of a small, high-performing team which is also working to influence national government and local councils. It should be noted that, while in its current iteration this role will focus on PAN UK’s supermarket campaign, the organisation reserves the right to change this focus in the future to another campaign focussed on reducing UK pesticide-harms to human health and the environment.

Job Title:                                     Campaigns Officer (focussing on UK supermarkets)

Salary:                                         £35,000 to £40,000 p.a. depending on experience

Reporting To:                              Head of Policy & Campaigns (UK team)

Location:                                      PAN UK’s office in Brighton (or able to work from Brighton a minimum of two days per week)

Contract:                                      Permanent

Hours:                                           Full Time (35 hours per week)

Travel Requirements:              The post could involve national travel

Closing date & Interviews:       The closing date for applications is 11pm on Wednesday 2nd October 2024. Interviews will be held on Tuesday 22nd October in Brighton. PAN UK is able to help with travel costs if required.

PAN UK particularly encourages applications from diverse backgrounds. We view diversity in its broadest form which includes, but is not limited to, the consideration of race, nationality, gender, age, class, disability, sexuality, language and educational background. We particularly encourage applications from eligible candidates from minority ethnic groups which remain under-represented in the charity sector.

We are asking all applicants to complete this diversity form, even if you choose to leave some parts blank. Your responses will remain anonymous and will not be linked to your application. The information you provide will help us to better understand our own recruitment practices and how they can be improved to ensure that we are reaching as broad a pool of people as possible.

 

SPECIFIC RESPONSIBILITIES

1.         Campaign leadership

Advocacy

·       Maintain excellent working relationships with staff from the UK’s ten largest supermarkets, while also playing the role of ‘critical friend’ by pushing them to strengthen their approach to pesticides.

·       Meet regularly with individual supermarkets to discuss progress made by the company and make recommendations for further improvements.

·       Provide feedback to supermarkets on their existing pesticide-related policies and recommendations for improvements, including collating comments from other PAN UK staff.

·       Track progress made by supermarkets on implementing PAN UK’s recommendations by keeping thorough records. 

Communications, mobilisation and events

·       Work closely with PAN UK’s Head of Communications to design and launch major outputs and publications.

·       Write online and offline communications (including policy documents, press releases, web pages, blogs and social media posts), paying close attention to detail including potential implications for libel.

·       Create opportunities to secure media coverage for the campaign and liaise with journalists.

·       Create e-actions designed to mobilise members of the public.

·       Use PAN UK’s convening power to organise and run events that bring decision-makers together to discuss common obstacles and solutions.

·       Give presentations and chair events on behalf of PAN UK.

Strategy

·       Lead the other PAN UK staff members through regular reviews of, and updates to, supermarket campaign strategy.

·       Spot key opportunities for advancing the aims of the supermarket campaign and design and implement plans for taking advantage of them.

Miscellaneous

·       Develop and maintain sufficient expertise in pesticide issues to be able to speak confidently.

·       Contribute to funding proposals and donor reports as and when required.

·       Track expenditure and sign off significant costs in advance with the Head of Policy & Campaigns.

·       Coordinate internally to ensure that all PAN UK staff are able to feed into the campaign, and that we are making best use of our extensive, internal expertise. 

·       Conduct occasional research and present findings accurately, including references.

·       Be willing to contribute to other UK campaigns (beyond supermarkets) as required.

2.         Other

·       Be an active member of the UK team, attending meetings, helping out other team members as required and feeding into the team’s strategy.

·       Work within PAN UK’s policies, processes and procedures at all times.

·       Other duties as may reasonably be requested and commensurate with the post.

 

 

PERSON SPECIFICATION

Experience, skills and knowledge

Essential

·       At least three years’ experience of corporate campaigning to change the behaviour and or/policies of large companies.

·       Excellent writing skills, including strong attention to detail and accuracy.

·       Experience of conducting face-to-face and online advocacy meetings with decision-makers.

·       Experience of drafting a wide range of communication materials, from policy documents to social media posts.

·       Ability to think strategically and experience of devising, implementing and evaluating campaign strategies and theories of change.

·       Strong verbal communication skills and experience of public speaking.

Desirable

·       Knowledge of relevant subject areas (including the environment, conservation, human health, sustainable farming, toxicology etc.) and an understanding of pesticides and their impacts on health and environment.

·       Experience of developing policy positions and recommendations.

·       Experience of using social media for advocacy.

·       Experience of working with journalists to secure media coverage, including drafting press releases.

·       Experience of mobilising the public, including designing and drafting     e-actions.

·       Experience of organising and running events.

·       Experience of feeding into funding applications and reporting to donors

·       Knowledge of UK libel laws.

·       Basic budget management experience.

 

Qualifications

Desirable

·       A qualification in a field related to pesticides, environment, health, politics, advocating for change or any other relevant topic.

 

Personal disposition

Essential

·       Committed to the achievement of environmental and social justice and a belief that campaigning works.

·       Strong attention to detail and accuracy, particularly in written work.

·       A ‘hands on’ individual also able to operate at a strategic level.

·       Organised, independent and self-motivated.

·       Enjoys a fast-paced work environment and has ability to be flexible, work effectively under pressure and deal with conflicting priorities.

·       A positive, ‘can-do’ attitude and the confidence to undertake new tasks.

 

Circumstances

Essential

·       Ability and willingness to travel within the UK. 

·       Ability and willingness to work outside of normal office hours occasionally when required.

·       Ability to work from Brighton office at least two days per week.