Advocacy & Communications Assistant

Overview of Role
The Advocacy and Communications department consists of three teams – Policy and Advocacy, Press and PR, and Digital. The department is responsible for three major objectives in delivering War Child’s strategy to 2019:
• To secure greater political and financial support, and influence policy change, for children affected by armed conflict at national and international levels
• To significantly raise War Child UK’s media profile and brand awareness in the UK and internationally to enhance our reputation, credibility and impact
• To considerably enhance War Child’s digital footprint to increase supporter mobilization across fundraising and campaigns
The successful achievement of all these objectives requires administrative and logistical support – whether managing the Director’s diary, updating and organising databases for data capture, helping to coordinate events or booking travel. As the team has more than doubled in size in the past year, these administrative and support
functions are currently being delivered by team members, but further capacity is needed which the Assistant will
help to deliver.
The Assistant will be working within a team dedicated to external public communications and advocating for
change. As such, it may be of interest to someone who is looking to gain exposure and experience of this kind of
work. However, the primary duties will relate to administration and logistics so it is important that any candidate
can demonstrate a high degree of competence in these areas.
The post will report directly to the Director of Advocacy and Communications.
Specific Responsibilities
The Advocacy and Communications Assistant will have the following specific responsibilities.
Support for the Director
• Managing the diary of the Director of Advocacy and Communications
• Supporting development of presentations and reports
Team Administration
• Organising team meetings, booking rooms and taking notes and action points
• Booking travel and accommodation for the team
• Logging and filing team information
Financial administration
• Managing contracts for commissioned work and ensuring all paperwork is completed
• Managing invoices and raising purchase orders
• Logging and tracking Directorate expenditure
• Developing and managing consultancy contracts and tenders
Data management
• Reviewing and updating databases across press, digital and advocacy – working with Salesforce where
needed
• Working with team heads to track and record KPIs
Events and logistics
• Developing and managing invite lists
• Securing venues and liaising with suppliers
• Coordinating materials and logistics
Person Specification
Mandatory criteria
• Right to work in the UK
• Commitment to the aims and objectives of War Child
Experience and knowledge
• Experience of providing administrative support for individuals and teams – diary management,
arranging meetings, taking notes and following up on action points
• Knowledge of and ability to use project management tools and systems
• Experience of working with, navigating and updating databases
• Knowledge of financial management systems and experience of keeping track of expenditure
• Experience of tracking and monitoring performance indicators, gathering data and reporting
• Experience of event coordination and logistical considerations
• Excellent skills across all Microsoft applications – Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook
Skills and Competencies
• Understanding and appreciation of the importance of excellent administrative support
• Capable of coming up with innovative solutions to administrative challenges
• Highly organised and methodical, with strong time management skills
• Ability to concisely summarise information and identify key points
• Capable of quickly understanding and navigating new systems
• An eye to detail, with the ability to spot inconsistencies and errors
• Willingness to take initiative and rise to any tasks set
• Great team player, with strong interpersonal skills and ability to support a range of staff
• Ability to manage multiple tasks and work with manager to prioritise tasks
• Willingness to learn and take on responsibilities outside direct brief where needed.
• Interest in communications, campaigns and advocacy
Contract Terms
Post: 2 years fixed term
Working Hours: Full-time, 37.5 hours per week
Probation: 6 months
Location: Linton House, 39-51 Highgate Road, London, NW5 1RT, UK
Salary: £19,900 - £22,000 (dependent on experience)
Leave: 28 days’ pa pro-rata, increasing by one day for each year’s service up to a maximum of
5 additional days
Pension: All eligible employees are automatically enrolled into a Group Personal Pension Plan.
Contributions will be made on a salary exchange basis as follows: employees
contribute a minimum of 3% of basic monthly salary to receive a contribution of 5%
from War Child.
Other: As defined in standard War Child contract terms
Application Process
• Complete application form and submit to recruitment@warchild.org.uk
• Please visit www.warchild.org.uk for a full application pack. No CVs are accepted.
• Only applicants with the right to work in the UK should apply.
• Due to limited resources War Child HR will contact only the shortlisted candidates
• Application deadline: 11:59pm on Sunday 30th April 2017
• First round interviews for shortlisted candidates will be held w/c 1st May 2017 or w/c 8th May 2017
• There may be a second round of interviews in the same or following week
• Any offer made to the successful candidate will be a provisional offer subject to written references
from your current employer, your previous employer and one character referee. We will also call these
referees for clarification.
• The successful applicant will be expected to undergo a DBS Police check and/or international police
check, a medical check for overseas travel purposes, be compliant and sign up to War Child’s Child
Safeguarding Policy prior to a final offer being made.