Director Of Strategy

Working arrangements: Remote working, permanent, regular or ad hoc (with some travel to London if not London based)

Closing date: Friday 16th February 2024 at 9am

First Stage Interview: Tuesday 20th or Wednesday 21st February
Second Stage Interview: Thursday 22nd or Friday 23rd February

Please note that the turnaround time between the first and second stage interviews will be short.

We are looking for someone to join our senior leadership team for a fixed term period during 2024. We need a strategic expert who understands politics, campaigning and how to get the best out of campaigning organisations.

2024 will see a major election and probably a major, and challenging, change for 38 Degrees and how we operate. We also know that a change of government could mean big changes for our organisation, and leave us unmoored from our usual way of working, how we make impact, recruit new supporters, and sustain our income.

The Director of Strategy and Change will focus on formulating plans for the post-election period – our strategy, our tactics and how we are set up as an organisation to succeed.

At the same time we have identified the need for additional support for our CEO to develop and deliver key, often ambitious strategic projects in a busy year. Your role will be to provide that support as and when required.

Your background and experience

We are looking for someone who understands 38 Degrees, our model and our organisational culture already, and our fierce determination to change our country – campaigning to do so without fear or favour whoever is in power. You will have worked at, or with, a similar organisation to us, where our supporters are our purpose, and you’ll be ready to engage in discussions about strategies, tactics and way of working from day one.

You will understand the challenges we may face from a change of government. Our power is the passion, and number, of our supporters. You will have insight and experience on how an organisation like ours should respond to a new environment – and capitalise on the changed landscape.

You will understand not just the purpose and strategies of organisations like ours, you’ll know that we can only succeed if we have the right people, structure and culture. You’ll have experience of working in productive and positive environments, and you’ll have insight into how teams can be set up for success in a campaigning space.

You’ll be adept and experienced at project management, understand the pressures the team face working in a fast paced reactive environment and be able to get the best of people in this context to help deliver on longer term, strategic goals.

And most of all, you will be a positive, practical person who can work with others, bringing them with you, to solve problems in a collaborative way.

About us

38 Degrees is one of the UK’s biggest campaigning communities, involving over a million supporters who campaign to make the UK a better place. We’re united by a shared vision to create a fairer and more respectful UK and a more sustainable world.

In the space of a week, millions of supporters could be campaigning on anything from protecting our NHS and stopping cuts to Universal Credit, to saving local green spaces and protecting our democracy.

38 Degrees is fiercely independent. We are primarily funded by small donations from hundreds of thousands of members of the public from all over the UK. This independence means we never have to hold ourselves back from taking on those with power and can truly listen to our supporters.

Why you’ll want to work here

The 38 Degrees culture is honest, kind, supportive, courageous, and respectful. We move fast, and frequently change plans to respond to events. We work hard but we also have fun. We regularly enjoy team away days and social hours.

Benefits include:

27 days holiday per year (plus bank holidays); Office closure between Christmas and New year; 9-day fortnight (office closed every other Friday); 4pm closure on the alternate Friday; Flexibility to work 90 days per tax year (30 day maximum per travel in any location as per approval process); one month paid sabbatical leave after 5 years of service; Employer pension contribution; 24 hour employee assistance programme; Enhanced family leave policies; Cycle to work scheme; employer paid annual flu vaccination; Rental deposit loan; Contribution to eye tests/glasses; Learning and development budget

Our commitment to Diversity & Inclusion

We’re especially keen to hear from people who’ll bring lived experience of the issues we work on and who’ll make our team more diverse as a result. So if you’re Black, Asian or from any other minority ethnic group, if you’re disabled, LGBTQIA+, or if you’re from a working class home, your application will be especially welcome. And thanks to our flexible home working approach and network of offices, we have a staff team that is increasingly based across the UK. We’re keen to continue diversifying geographically, so that we’re rooted in our supporters’ communities.

To make sure that we are able to reach our goal of a diverse team we have equal opportunities monitoring requirements. Your application will not be complete without the equal opportunities monitoring form.

Application Questions

1. Can you give an example of a major organisational change initiative that you led and implemented for an organisation. What were the challenges?

2. 38 Degrees is a digital first, people-powered campaigning organisation where millions of people do something small to add up to bigger political and corporate change. Tell us about a time you’ve worked with a similar model – and about how it can make a difference in the country.

3. We are expecting there may be a change of government soon which will have a considerable impact on a politician campaigning organisation like ours. Have you adapted organisational strategy in light of changed external circumstances? How did you analyse the impact of what happened? And how did you see through the change?