Senior National Campaigns Officer

Job description

Overall purpose of Role:

Scope’s policy and campaigns team works tirelessly to make sure disabled people’s needs and rights are understood and acted on by decision makers. We campaign side by side with disabled people to influence politicians, policy makers and civil servants, and we use a variety of influencing tactics and techniques to secure change.

As Senior National Campaigns Officer you will lead work with our network of 70,000 campaigners, ensuring that our campaigns stand out, engage the public and achieve their aims, in line with Scope’s strategic goals.

This is a key role in a team central to the charity’s social change ambitions. You’ll develop tactical and innovative campaigns strategies and coordinate the work of many teams to deliver them. You will need an in-depth knowledge of campaigning tactics. You’ll also need to be comfortable managing competing priorities and keeping projects on track.

You’ll manage the work of our Campaigns Assistant, setting clear objectives and supporting their learning and development. Some management experience would be ideal although not essential.

Main responsibilities and accountabilities:

• Lead on developing coordinated, objective-driven strategies for national campaigns, working with colleagues across campaigns, public affairs, policy, communications and PR, marketing, and storytelling.
• Project manage national campaigns. Work closely with National Campaigns Officer and Campaigns Assistant to run project groups, keep plans and strategies up-to-date, liaise with internal stakeholders about strategy developments, and identify influencing opportunities.
• Work with the National Campaigns Officer and Campaigns Assistant to ensure we maximise campaigner engagement, both online and through our growing network of offline communities
• Effectively line manage the Campaigns Assistant, supporting their growth and knowledge of campaigning.
• Keep abreast of developments in campaigning techniques, and proactively identify new audiences to engage.
• Take a lead on evaluating our campaign metrics and impact to ensure continual improvement.
• Write excellent campaign messaging, bringing creativity to present complex ideas in an engaging way.
• Stay alert to the current political climate and, in conjunction with members of the policy and campaigns team, understand the impact for disabled people, Scope and its campaigns.
• Engage disabled people in all aspects of your work.

Key contacts

Internal contacts

• Policy and campaigns, including public affairs and storytelling
• Communications
• Social media
• Communities
• Marketing
• Research and impact
• Internal communications
• Digital
• Retail

External contacts

• Disabled people and their families
• Disabled People’s Organisations and other charities
• Engaging Networks (campaigns software) staff

Person specification

Essential

• Experience of working in a national campaigns role, including planning and running campaigns which create change.
  
• Knowledge and experience of using campaign planning tools such as Theory of Change, and deploying different campaigning tactics.
• Ability to project manage, including planning, implementing, over-seeing and evaluating multiple projects at the same time.
• Demonstrable experience of engaging service users and/or campaigners in your work.
• Ability to establish personal credibility and to quickly develop effective working relationships with colleagues across an organisation.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, including verbal, written, negotiation and persuasion skills. A keen attention to detail for editing and overseeing impactful campaign communications for a variety of audiences.
• Good political judgement, and understanding of UK political environment, local and national government structures and decision-making, and experience of influencing them.
• Ability to understand complex information and policy documents, and pick out salient points to communicate.
• Proactive in approach to work and ability to respond positively to change, and keen to work as a team player.

Desirable

• Experience of line management of staff or volunteers
• Lived experience of disability,
• Experience of using campaigns software such as Engaging Networks, email software, and an understanding of digital impact metrics.
• Experience of using databases such as Dynamics 365.
• Understanding of the social model of disability and knowledge of policy issues affecting disabled people.