Citizens UK

Citizens UK is the UK’s biggest, most diverse and most effective people-powered alliance. We bring communities and local organisations together to work on issues that matter; from campaigning for zebra crossings on dangerous roads, to reforming the immigration system, to the Living Wage campaign. We have a track record of winning change through hundreds of local and national campaigns. We know everyday people have the ability to shape the world around them. We believe that through developing local leaders, we can drive nationwide change and create community-led solutions to big and small problems.

Living Wage Foundation

The Living Wage movement began in 2001, after Citizens UK brought together communities in East London to discuss poverty and low pay. The campaign grew in momentum and soon required a mechanism to recognise employers who wanted to join the movement, which saw the establishment of the Living Wage Foundation in 2011.

Still part of Citizens UK today, the Living Wage Foundation continues to work with community organisations to make sure the voices of both workers and businesses are part of the Living Wage movement. We now work with over 16,000 employers, benefitting over 475,000 people and winning over £3bn of better wages for people who need it most. 

Citizens UK works with a broad base of institutions across the political spectrum. At the Living Wage Foundation, we take the same 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 for a one-year maternity cover post. 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

Working as the Operations and Data Manager for the Living Wage Foundation, reporting to the Senior Operations and Data Manager, your main responsibilities will include:

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.

• Support Operations and Data Officer to run systems surgeries for colleagues to answer ad hoc enquiries and support learning.

Develop and manage external relationships

• Oversee the work of our external developers

• Work with Senior Operations and Data Manager to identify suitable new suppliers to meet organisational need.

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 and Data 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’s policies, procedures, and values in own work and that of the team

Personal Specification

(D) Desirable, (E) Essential

Qualifications

·       Bachelor’s degree or equivalent professional qualification or experience (D)

Experience

·       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 administrating and updating Salesforce or similar databases, and using database integrations such as Zapier, QuickBooks, FormAssembly and email marketing platforms (D)

Key skills and knowledge

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

·       Interest in and good 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 qualities & values

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

·       A strong commitment to the Living Wage campaign and principles of Citizens UK

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. 

Interview date: 10-11th June 2026 (TBC)