Living Wage Foundation

The Living Wage Foundation was launched in 2011 by Citizens UK to tackle in-work poverty and ensure that workers earn enough to live on and participate in family and community life. Citizens UK is the home of community organising with diverse civil society alliances set up to develop leaders to work on the issues that matter to them, such as the Living Wage. Other projects include PACT (Parents and the Community Together) and Sponsor Refugees to add depth to the impact of Citizens UK’s work.

The Living Wage is a movement of businesses, organisations and people who believe that a hard day’s work deserves a fair day’s pay. The real Living Wage is an independently-calculated hourly rate based on the cost of living and announced each November during Living Wage Week, our annual celebration of a growing network of more than 10,000 Living Wage Employers.

The Living Wage Foundation (LWF) celebrates employers that voluntarily choose to pay the real Living Wage through an accreditation scheme that recognises a long-term commitment to fair pay and has secured pay rises for nearly 350,000 low paid workers.

Purpose

The Living Wage Foundation has an exciting opportunity to join our dynamic team as a Programme Officer. We are expanding our team and are looking for a highly motivated and organised individual to coordinate our accreditation scheme and help us to deliver our growth strategy. The role will provide support to our network of Living Wage Employers, Living Wage Funders and Recognised Service Providers whilst supporting new organisations through the accreditation process, with a specific regional and sector responsibility.

The Programme Officer will support our Managers to deliver project strategies to grow and deepen engagement with Living Wage employers through associated schemes. There will also be some communications responsibilities to ensure our online and publicity materials are well written and up-to-date and opportunities to coordinate events to support and grow our network of Living Wage employers.

Main Responsibilities

Living Wage Accreditation

• Support key contacts at potential Living Wage Employers through the accreditation process, from dealing with initial enquiries to guiding them through the employer journey, to checking and processing their accreditation.                   

• Develop rewarding relationships with key employers, industry and campaign partners within our networks to build interest in the Living Wage and deliver a high-quality experience to our accredited employers.

• With support from the wider team, develop plans and strategies to grow the number of accreditations in specific regions or industries.

• Collate and disseminate Living Wage criteria and policy issues through both internal and external facing guidance, whilst reviewing and monitoring its suitability.

Project Support

• Support the development and implementation of projects to promote and grow Living Wage accreditations and develop the quality of service offered.

• Engage with a diverse range of internal and external stakeholders to support projects as required.

• Support the growth and development of new and existing Living Wage schemes including, Recognised Service Providers, Living Wage Funders, Living Wage Places, Living Hours, Global Living Wage and Living Work Consultancy.

Administration

• Respond to telephone and web-based enquiries by providing advice and support to employers and supporters.

• Provide administrative support for all aspects of the accreditation journey, including processing accreditations, recognitions and renewals.

• Maintain information stored on administrative systems for the Living Wage Foundation, including the Salesforce database of employers.

• Support the maintenance of our systems to ensure efficient processes and develop reporting mechanisms for effective monitoring and evaluation of our impact and progress against plans.

• Coordinate and administrate Steering, Advisory or Leadership Groups as required, including coordinating agendas, sending out timely papers, taking minutes and following up on actions.

Events and Communications

• Plan and organise events to celebrate and grow our network of Living Wage Employers, including playing an active role in the delivery of Living Wage Week and assisting other members of the team with event logistics.

• Represent and speak on behalf of the Living Wage Foundation at internal and external meetings and events.

• Develop or feed into employer resources including marketing materials, blogs, reports, templates and guides.

General

• Work with Citizens UK community organisers, members and leaders to promote civic engagement with and ownership of the Living Wage campaign.

• Responsibility for delivering agreed areas of the Living Wage Foundation’s work plan and leading on agenda items to report into team meetings.

• Feed into the Living Wage Foundation strategy and objective development.

• Work collaboratively with the Living Wage Foundation and franchise teams to share learnings and experience and ensure that we are meeting the expectations of our network and stakeholders.

Interviews are scheduled to take place in early July.