Campaigns Coordinator

Role: Campaigns Coordinator
Hours: 37.5 per week Monday to Friday
Contract: Permanent
Salary: £25,000-£33,000 
Holiday: 25 days per year plus Bank Holidays 
Based: Home Based with some travel to London and across the UK
Probationary Period: 3 months
Reports to: Head of Campaigns
Benefits: An additional 3 days holiday between Christmas and New Year / Flexitime policy / 5% pension contribution

We are River Action

We are a small and agile campaigning organisation on a mission to rescue Britons rivers
from a toxic cocktail of agricultural, sewage and industrial pollution. We support community
action, galvanise and mobilise public opinion, influence government policy, and call out
destructive industrial practices to incentivise changes that end pollution. 

We are building a talented team of positive disrupters and community mobilisers to
deliver our strategy to urgently protect and restore our rivers for the benefit of community
and wildlife.

Britain’s rivers are our life support system and they are dying. We need urgent action
to bring them back to life.

Who we are looking for:

We are looking for highly engaged people who share our passion for rivers, wildlife and
people who bring a creative, collaborative and investigative approach to campaigning. For this
role we are looking for people who will blend intelligent analytical problem solving and
laser-focused tactics with creative and engaging ways of inspiring others to act and to achieve
impact through our work.

What you’ll be doing:

The Campaigns Coordinator will help to deliver highly engaging public and political
campaigns and activations. You’ll work closely with the Head of Campaigns and the wider team to
develop and deliver positively disruptive campaign strategies designed to meet the
organisation’s overarching goal of rescuing our rivers. You’ll be investigating the causes of
river pollution at a catchment level, delving deep into supply chains to uncover those behind
the damaging practices that are killing our rivers and identifying constructive solutions at a
catchment and national scale. You’ll be working collaboratively with the River Action team to
devise, develop and deliver creative campaigns and tactics, designed to have the greatest
impact on the most threatened rivers and communities by engaging the voting and consuming
public and holding polluters and government to account. You’ll be supporting the Head of
Campaigns and our external consultants to deliver our political advocacy and legal action
strategy to bring about change at the highest level of decision making. You will bring energy
and innovation for scaling our reach and impact, blending a touch of the maverick with a
professional and diplomatic approach to bringing about change urgently.

Main Duties 

• Contribute to the delivery of River Action’s campaign strategies.
• Plan, deliver and coordinate data-driven campaigns for community, media and
  political audiences.
• Generate highly engaging written and graphic content for our campaigns, adjusting
  the tone and messaging to different audiences and campaign needs.
• Utilise research showing the causes and sources of river pollution at a catchment
  level within the policy and regulatory context and assess evidence (including scientific
  data and reports) to develop impactful campaigns.
• Work with our outside legal counsel to explore legal routes to tackling river
  pollution such as bringing judicial reviews targeting Government and private actions
  targeting industry.
• Utilise River Action’s project assessment and management systems and processes to
  ensure the efficient coordination of campaigns. 
• Investigate and report pollution supply chains at a catchment level for example the
  relationship between farming, producing, transporting and retailing food and the associated
  pollution.
• Plan, deliver and coordinate creative campaigns including petitions, public
  meetings, protests, stunts and campaign collateral such as video and other
  content. 
• Develop key campaign tools and assets such as props, promotional assets, toolkits
  and digital campaign tools.
• Draft engaging written content for different audiences to raise awareness of the
  problems rivers and communities face and offer hope and solutions.
• Contribute data and research outputs for the creation of press releases, MP
  briefings, policy documents and public communications.
• Represent River Action at campaign events and media opportunities, providing
  well-informed, professional and motivating contributions. 
• Coordinate contractors and suppliers that are engaged to support our campaigns and
  activations.
• Contribute data and content for our impact monitoring and evaluation
  systems.
• Produce internal monthly campaign reports and provide content and data for external
  communications. 
• Maintain and develop partnerships with other key groups and stakeholders working in
  similar areas of work to River Action.
• Identify opportunities to engage, empower and expand River Actions network of
  supporters. 
• Support the Communications Coordinator to create inspiring and high quality digital
  and social media content and news stories, including taking photographs and videos, writing
  articles/blogs, providing comments and conducting interviews.
• Support the Head of Campaigns, Communications Coordinator and Senior Media
  Coordinator in responding to the reactive news agenda.
• Help ensure all team members are well-briefed and on brand ahead of external
  engagement.
• Contribute to fundraising efforts particularly crowd funding and drafting of
  funding proposals to support Campaigns and Fundraising Teams and charity’s
  mission.
• Work as a motivated and collaborative team player within a fast-paced
  team.
• Carry out any other duties as are within the scope, spirit and purpose of the post
  as requested by your line manager or any other member of the River Action team.

Other Duties & Responsibilities 

• Adopt a positive approach to personal and professional development; engaging in one
  to one meetings and relevant training.
• Be aware of, and act on, relevant health and safety responsibilities as an employee
  of River Action and adhere to these wherever you are working.
• To maintain confidentiality in all areas of work at River Action.
• UK travel will be required. Training & operational activities may require
  overnight stays away from home, in which case standard River Action procedures
  apply.
• Demonstrate a strong commitment to creating an inclusive, equal and diverse
  workplace.
• Work collaboratively with colleagues across River Action to collectively deliver
  our ethos and mission.

What you’ll bring

The position will suit an energetic, inquisitive, passionate and dedicated person. The
ideal person will be an excellent communicator, well-organised, and thrive within a dynamic and
fast-paced environment, comfortable representing River Action and engaging with diverse
stakeholders. The person will have a passion to protect and restore our waterways and hold
those responsible for environmental destruction to account.

• A curious nature and desire to delve below the surface in your approach to
  understanding problems and offering solutions.
• Ability to think strategically and creatively to help deliver campaigns that are
  highly impactful, positively disruptive and meet River Action values.
• Significant project management experience, and familiarity with using project
  management systems, spreadsheets and databases.
• A track record of delivering high-impact campaigns, interventions and events, and
  organising people inside and outside an organisation.
• Creative attitude and skills for solving problems and raising awareness of problems
  and solutions.
• Digital campaigning skills and experience including digital tools and social
  media.
• A head for organisation and excellent time management, bringing others along with
  you in planning and delivering interventions and projects at short notice and under
  pressure.
• Significant experience in public and political campaigning preferably within the
  environmental sector.
• Excellent written skills, adaptable to different audiences and messages, preferably
  backed by creative design and digital skills.
• An understanding of the issues that are impacting our rivers, land and wildlife,
  especially relating to land management including agriculture, transport, and
  utilities.
• The ability to establish and maintain effective contacts and relationships with
  senior and influential external individuals and bodies.
• The ability to communicate effectively and appropriately with a wide range of
  people both verbally and in writing including the media, community groups, other NGO
  representatives, supporters and followers on social media.
• Exceptional IT literacy and a head for figures.
• Ability to work independently and take initiative to solve problems.
• Ability to work flexible hours as necessary.
• A good team player with a willingness to muck in as and where required.
• Ability to think clearly even when working under pressure.
• A passion for River Action’s mission and vision.

Diversity and Inclusion

Don’t meet every single requirement? Studies show that women and people of colour are
less likely to apply for jobs unless they meet every single criteria. We are committed to
building a diverse, inclusive and equitable workplace. So if you like the look of this role but
your past experience does not align perfectly with everything in the job description, we would
still like to hear from you. You may be just the right person for this or other
roles. 

How to apply

To apply, please submit your CV, a cover letter explaining how your skills and
experience meet the requirements of the role and a written submission as described below to
[email protected]. Only applications including all three documents will be
accepted.

Written submission

River Action has just released data about the state of the British dairy industry in
the national press. Please provide a one page campaign plan for how you would use that data and
initial story to target the responsible polluters and government regulators, mobilise the
public and campaign for urgent changes in industry practices and regulation. Consider how you
would generate media headlines about the pollution problems and potential solutions while
raising the profile of River Action, promoting positive opportunities that put farmers in a
positive light and offering support to help them change their practices while targeting the
root causes of the systemic problem caused by lack of regulation, lack of incentive and
pressures from supply chains such as supermarkets. This should include your idea, target
audience, how you would measure success, and a high level project plan. You do not have to
include costs but your proposal should be appropriate for an overall budget of £20,000. Should
you be successful in being invited to interview, you may be asked to present this
idea.

Closing Date: 

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until 24th May. Screening calls and
first-round interviews may be conducted with short-listed candidates before the application
deadline. The deadline may be closed early if the right candidate is found. 

Interview Date: Interviews expected to be held week commencing 27th May via video
conference.