Associate Director, Programme, and Impact – Centre for Early Childhood

About the Royal Foundation and the Centre for Early Childhood

The Royal Foundation mobilises leaders, businesses, and people so that together we can address society’s greatest challenges. Led by The Prince and Princess of Wales, our work is built on world-class research, long-term partnerships, and measurable, scalable impact. We build collaborative initiatives where leaders from all parts of society can come together to identify emerging challenges, agree joint action, and make a real difference on key societal challenges.

The Centre for Early Childhood, which was launched by Her Royal Highness the Princess of Wales in June 2021, drives awareness of and action on the extraordinary impact of early childhood – changing what we think and do from pregnancy to five to transform society for generations to come. We are a small team with big ambitions - delivering research, insights and creative campaigns to deepen understanding and make the case for change, while convening, collaborating and designing initiatives to create tangible, long-term impact. 

The role

We are seeking an exceptional Associate Director of Programme and Impact to join the Centre for Early Childhood senior leadership team. Reporting to the Centre’s Executive Director, and working closely with Royal Foundation and Kensington Palace teams, you will play a key role in designing and implementing our ambitious programme of work to drive action on the extraordinary impact of early childhood.

You will combine optimistic and creative leadership, with a rigorous, collaborative and hands-on approach, to support the delivery of existing programmes and the design of new ideas from concept to launch. This will involve working with stakeholders from right across the system around children and the adults in their lives, including health, education, business, and voluntary and community sectors.

The role requires cross-sector experience, broad subject-matter expertise, and an ability to make sense of a complex evidence and policy landscape for a range of audiences - to support strategic decision-making and prioritisation, as well as to ensure the quality of our day-to-day work. You will provide sound counsel to internal and senior stakeholders, and be a trusted, credible voice when engaging externally.

You will provide expert oversight of the Centre’s research plans and activities, ensuring our programme of work is evidence-informed and that we can evaluate our impact. You will be adept at taking a brief and working with a range of perspectives to develop high impact programmes and products, and skilled in leading cross-functional teams to deliver to the highest quality. From supporting the design and delivery of creative campaigns and engaging events, to developing impactful partnerships and initiatives, you will bring energy, creativity and grip to ensure the success and impact of our work.

This is a unique opportunity which will allow the successful candidate to lead and implement a range of exciting and unique programmes to drive awareness and action on early childhood.

Our Company & Culture:

 The Royal Foundation is committed to equity, diversity, and inclusion and to ensuring a positive, safe, and respectful environment which promotes the wellbeing and dignity of our employees, partners, suppliers, and those whose interests we represent. We are committed to promoting a positive and inclusive working environment that has a diversity of people and views, and one that supports our culture of collaboration and curiosity. These principles underpin our professional behaviour and are embedded in our policies, procedures, day-to-day practices, and external relationships.  We therefore welcome and encourage job applications from people of all backgrounds.

• Salary:   Circa £70,000, DOE
• Location: Central London office three days a week, with flexibility to work from home the remaining two days
• Contract type: Permanent
• Holiday: 25 days per annum
• Hours: 37.5 hours per week (Monday to Friday)
• Benefits: Pension scheme (non-contributory), private medical insurance, life insurance, season ticket loan