Director for Policy and Advocacy

The RSPB is seeking a Director for Policy & Advocacy to lead our work to change the
political and economic frameworks that drive the loss of biodiversity and to promote the
solutions that will restore nature and respond to climate change. In this role you would be an
influential leader in shaping the public and political response to the nature and climate
emergency.

Your work will involve leading teams and partnerships that aim to stop decisions that damage
nature, hold decision makers to account on their commitments and promote positive solutions to
enable nature restoration at scale through policy and legislation, as well as standards, advice
and practice, and developing impactful collaborations with others who share our goals.

We are looking for an experienced and credible environmental leader, with strong political
intelligence, able to build influential networks and coalitions across sectors. You will be
able to see the big picture, understand the policy detail and the political context. You will
be an articulate, persuasive and inspiring communicator for nature. You will facilitate
multi-disciplinary teams, including across the countries of UK and international teams, to
create advocacy and influencing strategies and propositions that maximise our impact and align
people and resources around shared priorities.

Essential skills, knowledge, & experience:

• A passion for nature and a drive to change the fate of nature, and a broad understanding of
  and engagement in current and future environmental issues
• Credibility within the environment sector and notable expertise in policy and advocacy
  – with demonstrable expertise across a breadth of subject areas (e.g. at least three of
  conservation, agriculture, land use, water, forestry, marine, planning, sites, species,
  casework, economy, energy, climate.)
• Demonstrable experience of influencing UK politics, governments and/or business frameworks
  at multiple levels and an in-depth understanding influencing tactics and the political context
  in which change happens
• Understanding and experience of leading work which builds Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
  (EDI) into the agenda to drive organisational and societal change
• Substantial and broad experience of leading a professional function and/or large
  geographically dispersed team to implement strategy
• Knowledge of the UK and devolved country governance and frameworks affecting nature and
  climate and their use in public policy making
• Proven inclusive leadership and people management skills, able to convene teams, develop
  and support individuals and teams for high performance, building a positive collaborative
  culture
• An innovative, creative thought leader, able to think clearly and deeply on issues, help
  others think out of the box to develop new propositions and approaches using analysis of an
  array of different inputs e.g. scientific evidence, policy & legislation, operational
  experience and political/social contexts
• Excellent written and verbal communications skills to present, influence and represent the
  organisation including to the media
• Capable team manager with experience of providing direction, leading change, building
  capability and providing professional & personal development support to their reports
• Facilitative leadership skills and a demonstrable experience of leading teams without
  direct line management authority
• Able to develop professional guidance and set ways of working to guide the performance and
  effective working of teams to meet standards
• Experience of developing and leading teams through change – developing new capabilities,
  skills and ways of working
• Demonstrable commitment to the RSPB and its mission and values
• Educated to degree level or relevant high-level experience

Desirable skills, knowledge, & experience:

• Experience of leading political campaigns, strategic communications and/or wider behaviour
  change campaigns
• Understanding and experience of influencing the international framework for nature and
  climate
• Partnership development, stakeholder management and negotiation skills
• Strong collaboration skills to build relationships, navigate politics and address conflicts
• Financial acumen to develop and manage budgets, forecasting, use of business metrics and
  understanding financial and wider socio-environment benefits of conservation, including ethical
  considerations
• Understanding and commitment to using Programme and Project Management Frameworks
• Specialism in or lived experience of any area of EDI
• Project management skills to plan and manage successful projects, manage risks, costs, time
  and project teams
• Experience in the not-for-profit sector, working in a resource constrained environment
  and/or with volunteers as a key part of the workforce
• Experience of corporate decision making beyond particular remit

This is a Permanent, Full-Time role for 37.5 hours per week. 

Location is flexible but as this role will require frequent travel to London (Westminster). The
ideal candidate will be based within 2 hours journey time of London. There will be some
overnight stays and overseas travel by arrangement in advance. 

People from Black, Asian and minority ethnic groups and Disabled people are
significantly underrepresented across the conservation and climate sector. We are on our own
journey to enable and empower more diverse people to act for nature. We want to actively
increase diversity in our workforce, and we’re committed to recruiting people on the objective
basis of their skills, ability and experience. This level of role at the RSPB has been
identified as being particularly underrepresented and we are offering a guaranteed interview to
eligible applicants who meet the criteria detailed in the candidate information pack, available
on our website, and opt in to be considered.

You will be required to upload a CV and complete an application form. Support notes can be
found above. For any application or role queries please contact [email protected]