Director for Global Advocacy and Influencing September 2016
Introduction Dear Applicant, Thank you for your interest in Tearfund. We are a Christ-centred international NGO with a mission to respond to God s call to follow Jesus where the need is greatest. We do whatever it takes to end poverty and to help rebuild poor communities. When disasters strike, we respond prayerfully, purposefully, professionally and quickly. We work in over 50 countries with people in need, through local churches, partners and individuals, to discover the answers to poverty in their unique contexts and communities. We know that poverty - both in its causes and impact - is extremely complex. However, with almost half a century of experience, we ve developed expertise to tackle both the causes and impact of the problem of poverty that brings so much suffering to so many people. We have seen again and again that when a community lifts itself out of poverty, everything changes. In 2006, we launched a ten-year vision to see 50 million people released from material and spiritual poverty through a worldwide network of 100,000 churches. We are well on the way to achieving this, and are now in the process of refreshing our corporate strategy. Our next challenge is to seek God s guidance for a renewed sense of vision and purpose and to discern how best to demonstrate God s love for those in crisis in an increasingly turbulent and volatile world. This is no ordinary strategic process - it has to be breathed on by God, inspired by Jesus and mediated by the Holy Spirit. As we move into this exciting phase in the life of Tearfund, we are specifically looking for a Global Advocacy and Influencing Director to join our Executive Team. We are looking for a servant-hearted leader who recognises that our people are key to achieving our mission. If you feel called by God that this role might be for you, then I very much hope you will submit an application. Sincerely, Nigel Harris Chief Executive
Who we are Tearfund is a Christian international relief and development agency working globally to end poverty and injustice, and to restore dignity and hope in some of the world s poorest communities. We operate in more than fifty countries around the world. We deliver our strategy by: Envisioning churches to embrace their calling to address poverty and injustice; Developing communities and building resilience, sustainably and holistically; Changing unjust policies and practices to deliver justice for poor communities; Enabling communities affected by disaster and conflict to recover quickly and be better equipped to face future hazards. We are committed to following Jesus where the need is greatest Tearfund is a Christian organisation. We re passionate about living out God s kingdom values of love, hope and transformation. It s what inspires and drives us. We were born out of the Evangelical Alliance in 1968 and our biblical values are the foundation of everything we do. How we work Our work reflects our reputation for both spiritual passion and professional excellence. We aim to help the people in the world who are in the greatest need, regardless of race, religion, gender or nationality. We do this by: Identifying the places of greatest poverty; Working through local churches and Christian partners to seek out and help the most marginalised and vulnerable people in those places; Responding to emergencies with our partners and our own operational teams. Our work reflects our reputation for both spiritual passion and professional excellence. We aim to help the people in the world who are in the greatest need, regardless of race, religion, gender or nationality
We operate through local churches wherever we can, training and equipping them to end poverty and rebuild their communities. This is because we believe that: Churches are the most powerful local and global network for God s love to reach people in poverty; Churches care for the whole person, inside and out. This makes lasting, sustainable change for an individual and a community possible. Most of what we do is about taking communities through a facilitated process to name their own needs, recognise their own strengths, and find their own solutions to poverty. We model this all over the world. It s effective, long-lasting, far-reaching and transformative. In the most vulnerable places we have experts ready to help people prepare for, withstand and recover from disasters. We campaign in the UK and across the world for just policies and structural change on issues such as corruption, poor governance, conflict and exploitation that will support people in poverty. In advocacy, Tearfund is seeking to mobilise churches and partners worldwide, in understanding and addressing the challenges of mankind s cumulative impact on our fragile planet such as climate, air, fresh water, biodiversity and agriculture. Tearfund has just over 1100 members of staff, with around 300 working in the UK. We re signatories to the Red Cross Code of Conduct and are certified against the Core Humanitarian Standard. Income and Expenditure Tearfund s total income in 2015/16 was 72.1m, comprising 11.4m in response to the emergency situations (in Nepal, Syria, Philippines and the Ebola Crisis), including 4m from DEC. Income from institutional donors was 18.8m, and institutional contracts 3.8m. We received 33.7m from our supporters and 3.5m in legacies. Our overall expenditure was 71m. We seek to be as transparent as possible about our costs, outcomes and effectiveness. Being open and accountable to our supporters is one of our core values. As an example, for every pound that Tearfund receives, approximately 83 pence is spent in direct delivery of our work in emergencies, development, campaigning and advocacy. Approximately nine pence is spent raising funds and less than one penny in every pound on administration and governance. The Global Advocacy and Influencing Group exists to bring about large-scale Christ-centred change on issues that affect the poorest and most marginalised. We believe that change must happen at multiple levels for there to be meaningful transformation. We therefore seek to mobilise the church and civil society to be agents of change, shift public perception on key issues, and influence key leaders and decisionmakers in both the church and public square. We do this at a national, regional and global level.
The Role Building and leveraging strategic relationships with key policy and decision-makers and opinion formers in order to influence the policies and practices of key institutions. Corporate leadership Key responsibilities and accountabilities The successful candidate will lead Tearfund s strategic work on influencing and advocacy by: Providing clear leadership, vision and strategic direction to the Global Advocacy and Influencing Group Representing Tearfund externally in the global faith, development and policy world to support the Group s influencing agenda, working directly with a range of external stakeholders Ensuring the ongoing development of Tearfund s Global Advocacy and Influencing strategy. Ensuring clear communications and agreed ways of working between the Global Advocacy and Influencing Group and the rest of the organisation, particularly the International Group and the Global Fundraising Group. Contributing to the corporate leadership and spiritual direction of Tearfund. The Group s work includes the following: Envisioning churches around the world to adopt a holistic and integral approach to poverty and mission. Supporting the mobilisation of churches and communities to be agents of change to tackle poverty and injustice To contribute to the spiritual leadership of Tearfund. As a member of the Executive Team, to take shared responsibility for creating a united, highly effective ET built on relationships of trust, openness, mutual respect and loyalty. To take shared responsibility for Tearfund achieving its corporate goals. To represent Tearfund externally. To lead corporate projects as required by the Chief Executive Officer.
Person Specification Experience Proven ability to lead teams of significant scale and complexity Experience of campaigning for societal change and/or changing unjust policies Deep understanding and experience in influencing and advocacy work Substantial proven ability of employing a range of influencing and advocacy methods including policy development, lobbying, public mobilisation and media Substantial proven ability of leading an advocacy function on development or related issues The following experience would also be desirable: Experience of managing major networks or coalitions in executive or board member capacity A proven record of successful lobbying or campaigning at the UK and international level (including either EU, UN or international financial organisations) Significant personal relationships in any or all of global faith, development and policy networks Strong communications and media experience Skills/Knowledge A thorough understanding of development theories, trends and practices Strong political judgement and decision making skills Ability to influence effectively at a high level including senior politicians and Church leaders in the UK and overseas Ability to set vision and strategy and support its delivery The ability to apply Biblical principles to Tearfund s approaches to influencing and advocacy Outstanding written and spoken communication skills Proven ability to build high performing teams Strong analytical skills Proven ability to train and mentor others Proven ability to manage specialist staff Entrepreneurial mindset, able to seek new opportunities for Tearfund's work A thorough understanding of societal and political change processes A deep understanding of UK and global church culture and trends Qualifications Degree (or equivalent level of knowledge) or member of a professional body of recognised graduate status Personal attributes Clear and demonstrable Christian commitment Commitment to Tearfund s values A strong commitment to justice for poor people A strong commitment to cross-departmental, collaborative working, teamwork and service delivery A strong commitment to organisational effectiveness Ability to undertake international travel up to six weeks per year
The Process It is anticipated that the longlisting process will take in place the week beginning 31 October 2016. Preliminary interviews will take place in the week commencing 21 November 2016. Final interviews will take place in the week commencing 5 December 2016. Terms of Appointment The role will be based at Tearfund s office in Teddington, London United Kingdom Remuneration will be agreed with the successful candidate. The appointed candidate is required to sign the Tearfund Statement of Faith.
How to Apply Applications can be made on online here. The closing date for applications is midnight on 23 October 2016.