Purpose of the role

ACF is recruiting a full-time Senior Policy and Engagement Officer to join us at an exciting time as we move forward with high-profile initiatives including Stronger Foundations, the Funder Commitment on Climate Change and the Funders’ Collaborative Hub. This role, part of the External Affairs team, will be key in supporting our policy, research and engagement activities, with an emphasis on our work related to climate change and diversity, equity and inclusion. The post-holder will also support and lead on policy projects related to the foundation operating environment and our programme of in-house research. Currently, ACF staff are working remotely and in the first instance the role will be based from home, so will require access to a consistent internet connection.

Strategic scope

• A key role supporting ACF’s policy and research programme, with an emphasis on our work related to climate change and diversity, equity and inclusion

• Support and lead on policy projects related to the operating environment and our programme of in-house research

Climate change and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI)

• Undertake proactive and reactive work to promote the Funder Commitment on Climate Change to the foundation sector and beyond

• Administer the web platform for the Commitment and manage member interactions

• Organise and facilitate events and communciations related to the Commitment

• Support implementation of ACF’s strategic priority on DEI, including events, briefings and toolkits

• Curate and share DEI resources for members and liaise with members to gather new intel on progress

• Support activities that enable members to implement the ‘Pillars of Stronger Foundation Practice’

Policy work related to the operating environment

• Engage with members to build and maintain understanding about their policy concerns, and provide support to issues they raise

• Identify opportunities to influence policy, regulation and legislation that is likely to affect the foundation operating environment, suggest actions and approaches to intervene, and support member communications about these

• Support and lead on drafting written responses to consultations, liaising with members and other stakeholders

• Share successes and updating members on progress made through written content for various communications outlets including the newsletter, magazine and website

• Support the Chief Executive, Director of External Affairs and the Head of Policy with briefings and other intelligence to inform the strategic direction of ACF’s policy function

• Support the activities of the Members’ Policy Forum, including producing regular bulletins, supporting its programme of events

• Deputising for the Head of Policy and other staff where necessary

Research and engagement programme

• Support the production of ACF’s research output, including flagship publications such as Foundation Giving Trends

• Support the ongoing implementation of Stronger Foundations across ACF’s work and in member practice

• Contribute to external communications about Stronger Foundations, especially on the website and social media, and present to members and external audiences on the project and its findings

• Support the development of the toolkit to enable foundations to measure their current practice and progress

External communication

• Create and contribute communications output, including articles, blogs and news copy

• Provide external affairs and policy content in member communications, such as Funders’ News

• Oversee content management of the web platform of the Funders’ Collaborative Hub

• Manage the day-to-day running of policy content on ACF’s website and social media

• Oversee and manage ACF’s knowledge sharing platform Funder Network

• Support the membership and external affairs team in responding to member and media enquiries

• Organise and manage events, both in-person and virtually, briefing speakers and delegates accordingly

Internal communication and support

• Support good internal communications to ensure that colleagues in other teams are aware of external affairs and policy activities

• Support drafting of trustee board papers on policy and external affairs matters

• On occasion, support budget management, fundraising and reporting on grants related to the policy team

The above list of job duties is not exclusive or exhaustive and the post holder will be required to undertake such tasks as may reasonably be expected within the scope and grading of the post.

Person specification

Knowledge, skills and experience

Experience in a policy, advocacy or communications role, ideally within a civil society context

Awareness and understanding of the importance of the charity sector, and foundations’ role within it

Ability to gather and research information from a broad range of sources, to interpret complex and technical information and to analyse data and evidence to inform policy

Good judgement with an ability to understand the perspective of a range of stakeholders and recommend approaches to the development of policy

A strong interest in issues related to tackling climate change

An understanding of and passion for diversity, equity and inclusion

Confidence in organising and facilitating events, both in-person and virtual

Strong writing skills in terms of technical policy work and/or media copy

Practical skills to manage online platforms, website management and social media

Able to work effectively and collaboratively with colleagues

Highly organised, with strong analytical skills, and able to prioritise a varied and fast paced workload and deliver to deadlines

Interviews will be held on 2 and 3 September 2020

Flexible working considered