Campaigner – Sabbatical Cover

Contract: six months
Days: 5 days per week; flexible hours
Holiday: 45 days per year
Home working: Up to 2 days per week flexible home working
Closing date: as soon as a suitable candidate is found, so please apply promptly

About Power for People

We are a not-for-profit organisation campaigning for the UK to rapidly transition to 100% renewable energy and for this to benefit local communities.

We work to achieve these aims by engaging and mobilising public support nationwide for legislative and policy changes and focusing it on the Westminster Parliament and the UK Government.

This approach is extremely effective. In recent years we have had several successes and we have ambitious plans for more.

Since being founded in 2017 we have grown quickly and now have tens of thousands of individual supporters across the UK. We plan to continue this growth, with a vision of being one of the most influential campaign groups in the UK within the next four years.

We were founded by three veteran campaigners whose experience is unparalleled. Together they have achieved over twenty legislative successes via Parliamentary campaigns, including the Climate Change Act, the Sustainable Energy Act and the Warm Homes Act.

We are a UK registered organisation and work with a charitable partner, the Poverty and Environment Trust. Our funding comes from individuals and registered charitable trusts and foundations, a full list of which is here.

We are a small and highly effective staff team. We seek a new team member, who is passionate about climate campaigning, to be part of our current work for legislation to enable dramatic growth in local renewable energy schemes – especially schemes that are community-run.

During the last Parliament, we set out our aims in a Private Members Bill, called the Local Electricity Bill, which we won widespread support for, including from over 320 MPs from all major parties. We seek to see these provisions made law by any Parliamentary means available, such as amendments to a Government Bill. We are currently working with supportive MPs and Peers, including on building support for Early Day Motion 2151 ‘Buying community energy locally’.

We seek someone highly competent and organised, with high quality communication skills. Knowledge of campaigning and Parliamentary processes is not necessary, as we can train you in those areas.

About the Role

You will work on a major Parliamentary campaign: engaging MPs and Peers, grassroots organising, managing public communications, fundraising, creating content and conducting research.

Your tasks each day and week will vary depending on the evolving priorities of the campaign. You must be an all-rounder, with an ability to switch between different work streams all with the common goal of new legislation to affect transformative environmental and social change.

You will engage the public and mobilise supportive individuals, local groups and national organisations in advocating to their MPs. This will include drafting inspiring copy for supporter communications, our website, media releases and our social media accounts. It will likely include some travel to different parts of the UK to meet with individuals, community groups and local journalists in order to recruit, mobilise support and build profile.

Your communications will keep supporters up to date on the campaign and inspire them to take action. You will also provide them with tailored support for lobbying their MP. For example, helping a supporter with a written reply to their MP or making sure they are briefed and prepared for a face-to-face MP meeting.

You will work on raising and managing funds required for the above activities. This will include drafting compelling grant applications and reports for funders, managing financial administration and seeking out new funding opportunities.

As a small team we work closely with each other across all areas. You will receive guidance, mentoring and leadership from our director. You will also be responsible for line managing a Campaigns Assistant who will provide you with support.

You will have the opportunity to extend your employment beyond six months, depending on your performance in the role and available funding.

Main Responsibilities

• Managing the recruitment and engagement of individual supporters and community groups, including developing ways to engage new audiences
• Corresponding with the Parliamentary staff of MPs and Peers and with staff at national organisations that support our campaign
• Providing advice and guidance to supporters on effectively engaging with their MP
• Organising constituency and Parliamentary lobbying events
• Drafting funding applications, reports to funders and identifying new funding opportunities
• Drafting press releases and corresponding with local, regional and national mainstream media
• Writing engaging social media content, high quality website content and managing our website
• Monitoring and evaluating our supporter engagement strategy

Requirements

Essential

• The ability to take complex material and present it, in writing, in a clear, concise and relatable way
• The ability to build and maintain relationships with people and to facilitate and inspire them to take action
• The ability to engage and inspire verbally, either in-person or when on a phone or video call
• Strong organising skills
• Strong problem solving skills
• An ability to motivate yourself and those around you
• Enthusiasm for tackling the climate crisis
• Proficient in Microsoft Word and Excel

Desirable

• Experience of working on climate change policy and in political campaigning
• Experience of writing grant funding applications or raising donations
• Experience of managing administrative duties, including financial administration
• Experience of organising or working at public events
• Experience of working with mainstream media at local, regional or national levels
• Experience of managing an organisation’s social media accounts
• Experience of managing contact details databases
• Experience of using a website content management system, e.g. Squarespace
• Knowledge of Parliamentary processes

Encouraging Diversity

We are committed to providing equal opportunities for all applicants regardless of their background. We particularly encourage applications from people from disadvantaged backgrounds, minority groups or those who identify as having a disability. If you are unsure about whether to apply, please get in touch and we would be happy to talk to you.