No. of direct reports: / UK/Europe Public Affairs Manager
Advocacy Advisers x 2
Alumni Officers x2
Partnerships Co-ordinator / Country: a VSO office location / Location is flexible
Role purpose: This role provides critical leadership in developing the capacity and processes by which VSO can deliver on its engagement and leadership strategies. Engagement and leadership take VSO’s volunteering for development approach to the next level, amplifying our impact by – by (a) providing key platforms for people across the VSO network to engage, learn and take action on key issues relating to the sustainable development goals and by (b) influencing other players in the development sector to take up a volunteering for development approach. In this way we aim to ensure greater inclusion of marginalized people, improved spaces and capacity for holding duty-bearers to account, and strengthened resilience of impoverished communities and our global community.
Responsibilities
Strategic contribution:
- Develop and maintain VSO’s approach towards the engagement and leadership strands of the PeopleFirst strategy and facilitate its adoption across the organisation
- Support VSO’s global portfolio to amplify the organisation’s contribution to positive change for impoverished and marginalized people through engagement and leadership
- Facilitate effective collaboration across VSO – countries, core programme area teams and global functional teams – to deliver the engagement and leadership outcomes
- Coordinate VSO’s partnership development across the global portfolio
- Provide oversight for the development of community advocacy and citizen led monitoring approaches that support engagement within VSO’s signature programmes
- Oversee the development and maintenance of systems and practices that facilitate VSO’s engagement with returned volunteer and other networks globally
- Coordinate the development of VSO’s key strategic partnerships regionally and globally to ensure achievement of partnership-related deliverables for the volunteering for development and other relevant grants
- Support the team deliver on DFID’s International Citizen Service (ICS) and volunteering for development grant deliverables amongst the UK political community
- Collaborate with the core programme area and core approach sponsors to design opportunities for global engagement and advocacy around issues relevant to the sustainable development goals
- Work together with the Monitoring and Evaluation team to build the evidence base for a volunteering / relational approach to development throughout the life cycle of our primary actors, partners and volunteers
- Work together with the communications, public fundraising and people resourcing teams to ensure effective integration and consistency of strategies and activities that share information and build relationships with appropriate audiences
- Work together with the business development team on positioning VSO to build a pipeline of funding to support the expansion of VSO’s work in engagement and leadership
- Build VSO’s profile in contributing to global partnerships for the achievement of the SDGs through our volunteering for development approach
- Represent VSOwith donors, at major forums and with the media, building alliances and networks of influence to advance volunteering for development
- Share responsibility for leadership of the organisation, delivering on continuously shaping global strategy and informing and aligning team priorities
- Work collaboratively with colleagues across VSO to share knowledge, skills, resources and networks
- Lead by example in embedding People First practice and principles across the organisation
- Effectively leadteam members, striving for high performance across direct and matrix reporting structures
- Ensure ways of working and behaviours are in line with People First Principles and our VSO values, policies and practiceEnsure the engagement and partnership teamact as a global team adapting and responding with a common purpose to deliver VSO’s strategy
Working together ; Creates approaches that improve team work across and beyond VSO
Communicating and influencing ;Builds mutually beneficial alliances and networks at senior levels within and outside VSO and is a well known thought leader, exceptional communicator and coach.
Managing knowledge ; Creates approaches that improve knowledge management across and beyond VSO
Striving for excellence:Builds and sustains an organisational culture of continuous performance improvement that helps to set VSO apart as a brand.
Managing resources; Creates approaches that help VSO to acquire, allocate and use resources more effectively across VSO; builds strategic alliances and partnerships to enable sharing of resources.
Managing people ;Creates effective Human Resource planning processes; builds a culture of excellence in people management.
Developing people ;Creates approaches to support a continuous learning culture, where staff are equipped, engaged and empowered to achieve their career goals in a VSO context.
Leading for the future; Represents VSO at major forums; works with leaders in the private, public and not-for-profit sectors to progress the International Development agenda. Exemplary role model, truly “living” VSO’s values.
Thinking strategically ;Drives forward VSO’s corporate strategy; helps to set the future direction in response to anticipated changes in the external environment.
Delivering results; Drives commitment across and beyond VSO to equipping, engaging and empowering people to solve problems, make decisions and deliver the best possible results.
Skills, Knowledge and Experience required
Essential
- Extensive experience in international development or a related relevant area
- Knowledge of socio/political/economic issues driving development and poverty
- Understanding of issues and challenges of working in development through volunteering / relational approach to development
- Proven experience as a senior leader at an operational level in an INGO on programming, strategy development and implementation
- Significant experience of managing and developing teams of employees in a geographically dispersed organisation
- Experience of working in leading and delivering results in a complex matrix management structure
- Demonstrable experience of building strong external partnerships
- Experience of managing large change projects across multiple locations/countries.
- Relevant experience of demonstrating measurable impact through programme delivery
- Demonstrable experience of representational and advocacy activities in high level forums.
- Experience of working with donors including government funders, and independent foundations
- Able to handle complex workload.
- Able to build strong working relationships across a large complex global organisation, and work collaboratively as a member of several teams.
- Commitment to VSO’s vision, purpose and values
- Strong negotiation skills
- Ability to network and influence high profile stakeholders
- Written and verbal presentation skills and report writing
- Able to be flexible and travel significantly
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