For our full Job Description, check out our website!

Power to Change is the think-do tank that backs community business. We turn bold ideas into action so communities have the power to change what matters to them. We know community business works to build stronger communities and better places to live. We’ve seen people create resilient and prosperous local economies when power is in community hands. We also know the barriers that stand in the way of their success. We’re using our experience to bring partners together to do, test and learn what works. We’re shaping the conditions for community business to thrive. 

Role Purpose

As Associate Director, you will play a pivotal role in the development and implementation of our practice work and delivery partnerships as part of our think-do approach. You will do this by working collaboratively with community businesses, governments, organisations, and networks at national, regional and local levels. This may involve convening partners to build a shared understanding of the challenges facing communities, codesigning and testing place- or service-based innovations involving community businesses and other partners and sharing what we learn to bring about broader changes to policy and practice. The role requires an ability to both identify opportunities and execute those opportunities. You will lead a team of six as well as work with passionate professionals across our organisation to amplify the efforts of community businesses and put them at the heart of a fairer economy.  

For further information about us and our current priorities to build community power, finance the future economy, and take back the high street please see Power to Change - We back community business from the ground up.  

Role responsibilities  

• Lead our ‘doing’ work, setting out an ambitious strategy and work programme that contributes to our organisational ambitions. 

• Lead and manage the team to implement planned activity and to continue to innovate, test and learn.  

• Shape our delivery approach as part of our think-do model and develop the skills, confidence and experience of team members to support this. 

• Regularly engage with community businesses across England to understand their experiences and use this to inform and shape what we do. 

• Establish and maintain relationships with potential co-funding partners, donors, and organisations to shape and deliver collaboration and partnership opportunities. 

• Develop income earning partnerships and opportunities, helping to generate ideas, shape proposals and devise budgets. 

• Work with team members to communicate the activities and outcomes of our demonstrator initiatives and practice-based work, helping to influence broader change. 

• Foster a learning culture and environment that encourages continuous learning, knowledge sharing, and collaboration within the team and across the organisation, including capturing and sharing the learning from our demonstrator work with external and internal audiences. 

• Lead a team of six and line manage four team members (manager level), offering guidance and coaching to support the implementation and communication of their portfolios and the development of their team members. 

• Set and manage an annual budget for the team, including managing income / expenditure in line with activities.  

• Collaborate with colleagues to ensure the processes and systems we use are proportionate for community businesses and align with our think-do approach. 

• Prepare papers to ensure regular updates and activity reporting to Power to Change’s Board of Trustee Directors, including attending quarterly meetings. 

• Work with the Associate Directors and Executive Team to set the overall strategic direction for the organisation and to create the conditions in which everyone at Power to Change can thrive. 

Collaborative responsibilities  

• Represent Power to Change, attending events, monitoring developments, and providing visibility through social media content, blogposts and analysis. 

• Embed and continue to review diversity, equity, and inclusion into our work.

• Be an active and engaged colleague, taking part in support and learning activities.  

• Provide ad-hoc assistance to other team members as required. 

Skills and experience 

• A successful track record and / or readiness to step into a team leadership role, setting a clear direction and working with the team to achieve it. 

• Great inter-personal and relationship-building skills with internal colleagues, including across different teams. 

• A successful track record of working collaboratively with external partners, including through networks, coalitions and alliances. 

• An ability to spot opportunities and develop innovative solutions / respond creatively to them. 

• Understanding and/or experience of business development and income generation in a comparable setting. 

• Understanding and/or experience of the social sector (e.g. social enterprise, community business, think tanks). 

• Understanding of the intersection between policy and practice. 

• A skilled communicator who is able to influence through written and verbal communications. 

• An ability to flex and be adaptive, changing activity or ways of working in response to what we learn. 

• Knowledge of and experience in budget setting and management, ideally at a team/departmental level. 

• Previous experience of line management, including an ability to work inclusively and support team members’ professional development. 

• Confident in using IT systems including MS Office.