Living Wage Foundation 

The Living Wage is an independent movement of businesses, organisations and people who believe that a hard day’s work deserves a fair day’s pay. The Living Wage campaign was launched by London Citizens in 2001 and aims to ensure low paid workers have enough money to get by and enough time for community and family life. 

The Living Wage is an hourly rate calculated according to the basic cost of living in the UK that employers choose to pay on a voluntary basis. The Living Wage Foundation recognises and celebrates employers that pay the real Living Wage through an accreditation programme which awards the Living Wage Employer Mark.  

The independently-calculated rates are announced during Living Wage Week each November when we celebrate our growing network of Living Wage employers. There are now more than 15,000 accredited Living Wage employers across the UK which has secured pay rises for over 475,000 employees.   

The Living Wage Foundation is part of Citizens UK – a community organising charity which works with a broad base of institutions across the political spectrum. At the Living Wage Foundation, we take a deliberately broad-based approach and accredit all organisations who pay the real Living Wage to their directly and indirectly employed staff and are committed to tackling in work poverty.  As a team we work across a range of industries and sectors to achieve this mission. We seek pragmatic coalitions in order to progress specific campaigns, and partnership around a particular issue such as Living Wage, does not imply an endorsement of broader purpose and policies. 

Purpose 

The Living Wage Foundation has an exciting opportunity to join our dynamic team as an Operations and Data Manager. We are looking for a highly motivated and organised individual to maintain, develop and continuously improve our systems. The role will be an integral part of the Living Wage Operations Team, providing strategic technical support and ensure the integrity of our systems, often overseeing development projects with external partners. 

The Operations and Data Manager will need to be highly numerate and have great analytical skills to support our monitoring and evaluation functions, working with the Head of Operations and Insight on financial and budgeting management, reconciliation and forecasting for the Living Wage Foundation. The suitable candidate will be detail-oriented, be able to demonstrate their ability to seek out improvements and problem solve creatively and have experience working with Salesforce or equivalent CRM systems. 

Main Responsibilities 

Project Management 

Deliver work targets on time and to standard to support the Foundation’s progress incl. tracking performance and expenditure: 

• Lead the day-to-day operations and management of all systems within the Living Wage Foundation designed to support the functioning of Living Wage accreditation schemes. 

• Proactively seek out systems improvements to make our processes more efficient so the Living Wage Foundation continues to provide an excellent service to the Living Wage network. 

• Provide operational support for all aspects of the accreditation and recognition systems, including identifying and fixing errors 

• Oversee the management of systems integrations to ensure they are providing efficient and effective solutions to our data requirements, including maintenance of Zapier, Form Assembly, Act-On and QuickBooks, and the integration between Salesforce and our Drupal website. 

• Carry out maintenance of integrated systems, including syncing data to Act-On and the website. 

Learning and expertise  

• Keep up-to-date with functional good practice and technical updates to all our systems, including within the third sector. 

• Train the team to carry out data selections and export in an appropriate format to support the press and communications team’s work and the Foundation’s research projects. 

• Keep internal training manuals up to date to ensure the Foundation’s team can access clear information about our processes and ensuring the team’s training requirements are met. 

Communications 

• Create and write dashboards and reports to support the analysis of our performance. 

• Champion systems throughout the organisation to ensure a positive user experience. 

• Offer ad hoc guidance to the team and communicate any changes to systems. 

Develop and manage external relationships 

• Oversee the work of our external developers 

Develop and manage internal relationships 

• Work with the Living Wage Foundation team to identify business requirement and translate them into technical solutions  

• Line management of Operations Officer. 

• Work effectively with colleagues across Citizens UK, actively participate in the team and organisational wide events 

Income and resources 

• Maintain and improve the financial integrations between our database and accounting software to allow accurate invoicing and financial reporting systems. 

• Ensure the integrity and safety of our data, including training the team on good data-keeping practices and GDPR considerations. 

• Track expenditure for systems providers and the associated budget 

• Contribute to plans and proposals to grow sources of income or resources 

Contribute towards Citizens UK’s strategic objectives 

• Responsibility for delivering agreed areas of the Foundation’s work plan 

• To work collaboratively with the LWF team and across Citizens UK to ensure that we are meeting the expectations of our network and stakeholders 

• Display self-awareness of DEI issues and good practice, considering impact on direct reports and stakeholders.  

• Understand how your role contributes to the purpose of the Foundation and the core mission of Citizens UK 

• Implement Citizens UK’s and the Foundation policies, procedures, and values in own work and that of the team 

Person Specification

(REQUIREMENTS ESSENTIAL = E, DESIRABLE = D)

EXPERIENCE AND QUALIFICATIONS

A minimum of 2 years proven, comprehensive experience in an operations role  (E)

Experience of analysing business requirements and turning them into technical solutions   (E)

Experience of providing technical support to a team  (E)

Experience of managing database integrations such as Zapier, QuickBooks, Form Assembly and email marketing platforms  (D)

Degree or equivalent professional qualification or experience (D)

KEY SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE

Extremely analytical with the ability to interpret large quantities of data to evaluate and improve performance  (E)

Comprehensive understanding of database and systems management and integration  (E)

Ability to take in and interpret information and communicate in a succinct manner  (E)

Demonstrable ability to find creative solutions to complex problems and implement new systems  (E)

High levels of numeracy with strong attention to detail   (E)

Excellent time management skills with the ability to juggle a wide range of competing demands. (E)

Strong IT skills to include MS Office and database software  (E)

Sound knowledge of data protection regulations and GDPR (E)

Understanding of the policy and campaign landscape in the UK (D)

PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES

A proactive approach to all areas of work with a ‘can do’ attitude and a flexible approach to work demands  (E)

A strong commitment to the Living Wage campaign and principles of Citizens UK (E)

Interviews will take place on 18-19th September 2024 (subject to change).

About the Application Process

We work within diverse communities bringing people together. In line with our Inclusion value, we would love to see applications from LGBTQIA+ people, people from racialised communities, people living with disabilities and people of faith, all to better represent the communities we work in. We want our employees to have the working conditions that allows them to fully participate, be able to be their best authentic selves and thrive doing so, and we have employee networks to support staff. Even if you don’t quite meet all the required criteria still consider applying, as we invest in our employees and support them to develop the skills and knowledge required to deliver their role.

For questions and reasonable adjustments regarding your application including information in a different format, or our recruitment process, please email recruitment@citizensuk.org. 

Want to find out more about us and the role?

If you would like further information on the role, the organisation, or our commitment to addressing under-representation and the development and progression of all colleagues, we would be happy to answer any questions.

Join us for a 45-minute lunchtime webinar to learn more about working at the Living Wage Foundation/Citizens UK. Anyone can attend to find out more about the role, all enquiries welcome. In the past, candidates have found this a helpful space for understanding whether the role is right for them.

The webinar will take place on 28th August 2024 at 12pm on Zoom. Sign up here.