External Affairs and Influencing Manager

The role

This new role will provide much-needed capacity to engage with key stakeholders, boost the charity’s profile and credibility, and promote learning and adoption of the solutions we fund.
We want to shout about the great work our grant holders are doing, and we want to see the most effective solutions taken up outside of south London. That means we need to influence the people who fund, adopt and commission mental health care and services – sharing the evidence and learning from what works here.

It will also help us to increase our engagement with policy which we currently do as a member of a few coalitions. Policy work is currently led by the CEO. This role will work closely with her to share those duties. It will ensure our positioning is informed by what is happening in the wider landscape and that we can take advantage of opportunities to be part of a national conversation to achieve our objectives.

Is this role right for me?

• You’re an experienced communications professional who has worked within a mental health sector organisation
• You have guided and advised senior leadership on policy and positioning
• You have a track record of developing and implementing successful influencing strategies in the mental health sector
• You have experience of stakeholder management within mental health care, including NHS Trust leaders, Integrated Care Boards, commissioners and senior clinicians, and optionally with academics and researchers
• You have led media relations, including briefing senior spokespeople, drafting press releases, media handling, and securing media coverage with a good understanding of the needs and expectations of different outlets and publications
• You have planned and organised events like workshops, roundtables and conferences
• You have worked with and managed external PR and creative agencies

The application process

The Charity is serious about building a diverse team. We’ve increased the time and budget we spend on recruitment to ensure we place more adverts in more places to reach more people, and we’ve looked at each stage of the recruitment process to remove biases.

Before you apply

Join our ‘Ask Us Anything’ webinar on Thursday 16th July – 12.30-1.30pm

Email alice@charitypeople.co.uk at Charity People for joining instructions.

You won’t see or hear other candidates, and you can choose to be anonymous, so we don’t undermine our blind recruitment process. You really can ask us anything – about the role, the process, our work, culture, team, flexible working policy or just listen to what others ask.

Your application

This is a blind recruitment process, and non-graduates are welcome.

We are committed to offering interviews to candidates who meet the role requirements and have lived experience of mental illness or a disability.

Once you’ve expressed your interest to Charity People, you will be sent questions to answer to apply for the role. Please ensure your answers stay anonymous by removing any identifying content. Including names of organisations. Your identity will be completely anonymous to the panel who will score them independently. We will only see your CV if you get shortlisted.

Submit your answers in written format or in a voice memo. We’ll type up any recordings to maintain anonymity.

The interview

We’ll ask you if you have any needs for the interview and put any reasonable adjustments in place.

We’ll pay for your travel expenses within the UK if you need us to.

We’ll give you the interview questions before each round. We want you to perform to your best, and we know that this can help some to do that.

The interview will be face-to-face at our offices in Denmark Hill, southeast London.

We’ll ask values and competency-based questions in the interview. This is to ensure we focus decisions on your potential performance in the role.

We’ll only share scores and discuss candidates as a panel when all candidates have been seen; to remove any influence panel members might have over each other.

Your application

We hope you will consider making an application. If you have questions about the appointment and would find it helpful to have an informal conversation, please contact Alice Wood alice@charitypeople.co.uk and we will be happy to arrange a call.

Closing date: 9am Tuesday, 28th July

Panel interviews, online: Thursday 13th August

View the role and qualifying questions on the Charity People website.