Programme Officer – South West

Citizens UK Citizens UK is the UK’s biggest, most diverse and most effective people-powered alliance. We bring communities and local organisations together to work on issues that matter; from campaigning for zebra crossings on dangerous roads, to reforming the immigration system, to the Living Wage campaign. We have a track record of winning change through hundreds of local and national campaigns. We know everyday people have the ability to shape the world around them. We believe that through developing local leaders, we can drive nationwide change and create community-led solutions to big and small problems. Living Wage Foundation The Living Wage movement began in 2001, after Citizens UK brought together communities in East London to discuss poverty and low pay. The campaign grew in momentum and soon required a mechanism to recognise employers who wanted to join the movement, which saw the establishment of the Living Wage Foundation in 2011. Still part of Citizens UK today, the Living Wage Foundation continues to work with community organisations to make sure the voices of both workers and businesses are part of the Living Wage movement. We now work with over 16,000 employers, benefitting over 475,000 people and winning over £3bn of better wages for people who need it most. Citizens UK works with a broad base of institutions across the political spectrum. At the Living Wage Foundation, we take the same deliberately broad-based approach and accredit all organisations who pay the real Living Wage to their directly and indirectly employed staff and are committed to tackling in work poverty.  As a team we work across a range of industries and sectors to achieve this mission. We seek pragmatic coalitions in order to progress specific campaigns, and partnership around a particular issue such as Living Wage, does not imply an endorsement of broader purpose and policies. Purpose At Citizens UK, our organisers and project staff work within communities to develop leaders, strengthen organisations, campaign for change and organise across difference. There are various project roles and operational, communication, finance and HR roles that support the organisation and project staff and organisers to deliver on this mission and work. This work is rewarding and can be challenging; it requires a personal commitment to inclusion, a willingness to listen and disagree respectfully, and an interest in working in an organisation where our staff, member institutions and leaders will come from a diversity of backgrounds and often hold views that may be very different from our own. More information about how we operate within this context and build trusted relationships across difference can be found on our website and is covered in induction. Onboarding and navigating this relational culture, and type of work, is supported by line managers and further training. Main Responsibilities We are looking for highly motivated and organised individual to coordinate our accreditation scheme. The role will work with our network of employers, and support new organisations through the accreditation process. The Programme Officer will lead our work across the South West and support our managers to grow and deepen engagement with Living Wage Employers through our associated schemes. You will help to ensure our resources and publicity materials are well written and up-to-date, and to coordinate events to grow our employer network. Working as the Programme Officer for Citizens UK, reporting to a Programme Manager, your main responsibilities will include: Contribute towards the achievement of CUK and LWF’s strategic objectives Understand how the role contributes to LWF’s purpose and the core mission of CUK Reliably implement CUK’s and LWF’s policies, procedures, and values in own work Work with CUK community organisers and leaders to promote civic engagement with and ownership of the Living Wage campaign Feed into the LWF strategy and objectives development Living Wage Accreditation Support key contacts at potential LW Employers through the accreditation process, from dealing with initial enquiries to guiding them through the employer journey, to checking and processing their accreditation Develop rewarding relationships with key employers, industry, and campaign partners within our networks to build interest in the Living Wage and deliver a high-quality experience to our accredited employers With support from the wider team, develop plans and strategies to grow the number of accreditations in specific regions or industries Collate and disseminate Living Wage criteria and policy issues through both internal and external facing guidance, whilst reviewing and monitoring its suitability Support the development and implementation of projects to promote and grow Living Wage accreditations and develop the quality of service offered Build and manage projects and achieve work targets effectively Successfully progress projects and tasks incl. tracking per