Campaigns and Advocacy Manager

The Children's Society

Salary
£49,571 - £49,572 per year

About the Organisation

Children's Society is a national UK charity that supports young people facing abuse, exploitation, and neglect, providing specialist services and campaigning for systemic change to improve the lives of disadvantaged children. They offer a range of support for issues like poverty, mental health, drug and alcohol use, and feeling unsafe, and use young people's voices to advocate for better policies and a more child-friendly society.

About the role

The Campaigns & Advocacy Manager will lead organisational political campaigning to drive policy change. You will work with colleagues in campaigning roles, alongside policy and public affairs experts within the Policy, Advocacy & Influencing team, reporting directly to the Director of Policy, Advocacy & Influencing. You will be setting the direction for our campaign plans and delivery, utilising a variety of creative methods to deliver campaign activity to increase support and engagement to enable successful influencing at a national and local level.

The role will work with the wider team to identify priority areas of campaigning across our priority areas of work, spanning young people's wellbeing and mental health, adolescent risk and vulnerability, and child poverty. You will set out an ambitious, strategic plan in line with these priorities, alongside adapting to immediate opportunities to rapidly react and respond to the external environment. We are looking for a talented and ambitious manager to set this new, exciting direction for the organisation in delivering public advocacy efforts to bring about meaningful, impactful change for children and young people.

As part of this leadership of campaign and advocacy work, you will directly line manage a Senior Campaigns & Advocacy Officer and 2 part-time Campaigns & Advocacy Officers. The individual in this role will be able to utilise multiple techniques and approaches to strategically plan, create, deliver, and measure the impact of a range of campaigning activities. As a campaigns specialist, you will lead by example, delivering and enabling effective campaigning activity.

Responsibilities

• Lead the campaigns and public advocacy work in line with defined policy and influencing priorities of the organisation, contributing to delivering and growing impact with and for young people.
• Set the organisational plan for delivering political campaigning activity, communicating this effectively to demonstrate and explain how campaign activity will bring about policy change to positively impact young people.
• Create opportunities for young people, parent/carers, and practitioners to be involved in campaigns and advocacy work, including having their voices heard by decision makers to inform policy change.
• Measure and capture the impact of campaigns and advocacy work, utilising data to form a powerful, compelling narrative to demonstrate the value of campaigning to influence change.
• Overseeing all campaign communications, externally and internally, to form an ambitious and inspiring tone and voice to political campaigning work.
• Direct line management and team group leadership, delivering specific projects and workstreams, and contributing to the wider work of the Policy, Advocacy, and Influencing team.

Skills, Competencies & Experience

Experience:

• Substantial experience and proven record of delivering effective campaigns, which have achieved tangible change
• Experience of working directly with campaign volunteers and supporters
• Experience of leading campaigning activity across an organisation and involving external stakeholders
• Experience in large-scale Project Management
• Experience in digital campaigning and knowledge of e-campaigning software
• Experience of involving service beneficiaries in campaigning
• Experience of supervising or line managing staff, volunteers, and campaigners

Knowledge:

• Knowledge of campaigning approaches and tactics, and how to use them effectively online and offline
• Knowledge of public communications and supporter mobilisation for campaigning
• Knowledge of evaluation approaches and tools
• Knowledge of the structures of power and influence in
• England, including ways to influence national decision-making
• Understanding of policy development and influencing tactics, and how they relate to campaign planning and delivery

Skills:

• Highly effective communicator with very high standards of written English, and excellent verbal communication, persuasion, and negotiation skills
• Influencing skills internally and externally, inspiring stakeholders
• Leadership skills, setting the strategic direction for long-term work
• Ability to manage competing priorities and balance proactive and reactive campaign work
• Ability to lead and facilitate large project teams, including cross-domain project groups

Desirable:

• Knowledge of best practice in relation to new models of campaigning and advocacy
• Experience of involving young people in campaigning

Required Qualifications

• Educated to at least degree level, or equivalent knowledge and experience

Working locations

• London, United Kingdom

How to apply

• Apply Online
• If, after 14 days, we have received enough applications, we reserve the right to close the vacancy early from the 13th October 2025.

Interviews

• Interviews will be held on Thursday, 30th October, and Friday, 31st October 2025

Policies

The Children’s Society is committed to safeguarding and protecting the children and young people we work with. As such, all posts are subject to a safer recruitment process, which includes the disclosure of criminal records, vetting checks, and the provision of appropriate references. The number and type of references required may vary depending on the nature and responsibilities of the role, ensuring that each appointment is carefully assessed. We have a comprehensive range of policies and procedures in place to promote safeguarding and safer working practices across all areas of our organisation.

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