Campaigns Coordinator

Role: Campaigns Coordinator
Hours: 37.5 per week Monday to Friday
Contract: Permanent
Salary: £25,000-£33,000 
Holiday: 25 days per year plus Bank Holidays 
Based: Home Based with some travel to London and across the UK
Probationary Period: 3 months
Reports to: Head of Campaigns
Benefits: An additional 3 days holiday between Christmas and New Year / Flexitime policy / 5% pension contribution

We are River Action

We are a small and agile campaigning organisation on a mission to rescue Britons rivers from a toxic cocktail of agricultural, sewage and industrial pollution. We support community action, galvanise and mobilise public opinion, influence government policy, and call out destructive industrial practices to incentivise changes that end pollution. 

We are building a talented team of positive disrupters and community mobilisers to deliver our strategy to urgently protect and restore our rivers for the benefit of community and wildlife.

Britain’s rivers are our life support system and they are dying. We need urgent action to bring them back to life.

Who we are looking for:

We are looking for highly engaged people who share our passion for rivers, wildlife and people who bring a creative, collaborative and investigative approach to campaigning. For this role we are looking for people who will blend intelligent analytical problem solving and laser-focused tactics with creative and engaging ways of inspiring others to act and to achieve impact through our work.

What you’ll be doing:

The Campaigns Coordinator will help to deliver highly engaging public and political campaigns and activations. You’ll work closely with the Head of Campaigns and the wider team to develop and deliver positively disruptive campaign strategies designed to meet the organisation’s overarching goal of rescuing our rivers. You’ll be investigating the causes of river pollution at a catchment level, delving deep into supply chains to uncover those behind the damaging practices that are killing our rivers and identifying constructive solutions at a catchment and national scale. You’ll be working collaboratively with the River Action team to devise, develop and deliver creative campaigns and tactics, designed to have the greatest impact on the most threatened rivers and communities by engaging the voting and consuming public and holding polluters and government to account. You’ll be supporting the Head of Campaigns and our external consultants to deliver our political advocacy and legal action strategy to bring about change at the highest level of decision making. You will bring energy and innovation for scaling our reach and impact, blending a touch of the maverick with a professional and diplomatic approach to bringing about change urgently.

Main Duties 

• Contribute to the delivery of River Action’s campaign strategies.
• Plan, deliver and coordinate data-driven campaigns for community, media and political audiences.
• Generate highly engaging written and graphic content for our campaigns, adjusting the tone and messaging to different audiences and campaign needs.
• Utilise research showing the causes and sources of river pollution at a catchment level within the policy and regulatory context and assess evidence (including scientific data and reports) to develop impactful campaigns.
• Work with our outside legal counsel to explore legal routes to tackling river pollution such as bringing judicial reviews targeting Government and private actions targeting industry.
• Utilise River Action’s project assessment and management systems and processes to ensure the efficient coordination of campaigns. 
• Investigate and report pollution supply chains at a catchment level for example the relationship between farming, producing, transporting and retailing food and the associated pollution.
• Plan, deliver and coordinate creative campaigns including petitions, public meetings, protests, stunts and campaign collateral such as video and other content. 
• Develop key campaign tools and assets such as props, promotional assets, toolkits and digital campaign tools.
• Draft engaging written content for different audiences to raise awareness of the problems rivers and communities face and offer hope and solutions.
• Contribute data and research outputs for the creation of press releases, MP briefings, policy documents and public communications.
• Represent River Action at campaign events and media opportunities, providing well-informed, professional and motivating contributions. 
• Coordinate contractors and suppliers that are engaged to support our campaigns and activations.
• Contribute data and content for our impact monitoring and evaluation systems.
• Produce internal monthly campaign reports and provide content and data for external communications. 
• Maintain and develop partnerships with other key groups and stakeholders working in similar areas of work to River Action.
• Identify opportunities to engage, empower and expand River Actions network of supporters. 
• Support the Communications Coordinator to create inspiring and high quality digital and social media content and news stories, including taking photographs and videos, writing articles/blogs, providing comments and conducting interviews.
• Support the Head of Campaigns, Communications Coordinator and Senior Media Coordinator in responding to the reactive news agenda.
• Help ensure all team members are well-briefed and on brand ahead of external engagement.
• Contribute to fundraising efforts particularly crowd funding and drafting of funding proposals to support Campaigns and Fundraising Teams and charity’s mission.
• Work as a motivated and collaborative team player within a fast-paced team.
• Carry out any other duties as are within the scope, spirit and purpose of the post as requested by your line manager or any other member of the River Action team.

Other Duties & Responsibilities 

• Adopt a positive approach to personal and professional development; engaging in one to one meetings and relevant training.
• Be aware of, and act on, relevant health and safety responsibilities as an employee of River Action and adhere to these wherever you are working.
• To maintain confidentiality in all areas of work at River Action.
• UK travel will be required. Training & operational activities may require overnight stays away from home, in which case standard River Action procedures apply.
• Demonstrate a strong commitment to creating an inclusive, equal and diverse workplace.
• Work collaboratively with colleagues across River Action to collectively deliver our ethos and mission.

What you’ll bring

The position will suit an energetic, inquisitive, passionate and dedicated person. The ideal person will be an excellent communicator, well-organised, and thrive within a dynamic and fast-paced environment, comfortable representing River Action and engaging with diverse stakeholders. The person will have a passion to protect and restore our waterways and hold those responsible for environmental destruction to account.

• A curious nature and desire to delve below the surface in your approach to understanding problems and offering solutions.
• Ability to think strategically and creatively to help deliver campaigns that are highly impactful, positively disruptive and meet River Action values.
• Significant project management experience, and familiarity with using project management systems, spreadsheets and databases.
• A track record of delivering high-impact campaigns, interventions and events, and organising people inside and outside an organisation.
• Creative attitude and skills for solving problems and raising awareness of problems and solutions.
• Digital campaigning skills and experience including digital tools and social media.
• A head for organisation and excellent time management, bringing others along with you in planning and delivering interventions and projects at short notice and under pressure.
• Significant experience in public and political campaigning preferably within the environmental sector.
• Excellent written skills, adaptable to different audiences and messages, preferably backed by creative design and digital skills.
• An understanding of the issues that are impacting our rivers, land and wildlife, especially relating to land management including agriculture, transport, and utilities.
• The ability to establish and maintain effective contacts and relationships with senior and influential external individuals and bodies.
• The ability to communicate effectively and appropriately with a wide range of people both verbally and in writing including the media, community groups, other NGO representatives, supporters and followers on social media.
• Exceptional IT literacy and a head for figures.
• Ability to work independently and take initiative to solve problems.
• Ability to work flexible hours as necessary.
• A good team player with a willingness to muck in as and where required.
• Ability to think clearly even when working under pressure.
• A passion for River Action’s mission and vision.

Diversity and Inclusion

Don’t meet every single requirement? Studies show that women and people of colour are less likely to apply for jobs unless they meet every single criteria. We are committed to building a diverse, inclusive and equitable workplace. So if you like the look of this role but your past experience does not align perfectly with everything in the job description, we would still like to hear from you. You may be just the right person for this or other roles. 

How to apply

To apply, please submit your CV, a cover letter explaining how your skills and experience meet the requirements of the role and a written submission as described below to jobs@riveractionuk.com. Only applications including all three documents will be accepted.

Written submission

River Action has just released data about the state of the British dairy industry in the national press. Please provide a one page campaign plan for how you would use that data and initial story to target the responsible polluters and government regulators, mobilise the public and campaign for urgent changes in industry practices and regulation. Consider how you would generate media headlines about the pollution problems and potential solutions while raising the profile of River Action, promoting positive opportunities that put farmers in a positive light and offering support to help them change their practices while targeting the root causes of the systemic problem caused by lack of regulation, lack of incentive and pressures from supply chains such as supermarkets. This should include your idea, target audience, how you would measure success, and a high level project plan. You do not have to include costs but your proposal should be appropriate for an overall budget of £20,000. Should you be successful in being invited to interview, you may be asked to present this idea.

Closing Date: 

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until 24th May. Screening calls and first-round interviews may be conducted with short-listed candidates before the application deadline. The deadline may be closed early if the right candidate is found. 

Interview Date: Interviews expected to be held week commencing 27th May via video conference.