RSPCA - Assistant Director, Policy, Advocacy and Evidence

Assistant Director, Policy, Advocacy and Evidence

About RSPCA

We’re proud to be the oldest welfare charity around.

Our vision is a world where all animals are respected and treated with kindness and compassion. Our mission is to ensure animals have a good life by rescuing and caring for those in need, by advocating on behalf of all animals and by inspiring everyone to treat them with compassion and respect.

The world is changing at a rapid pace; from the growing climate emergency and the post-Brexit trade environment to the recognition of loneliness in our society and the changing nature of how we live, work and interact, not least as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. That’s why we’re introducing this bold, ambitious strategy - to put ourselves in the best possible place to improve the lives of even more animals.

Our 8 bold ambitions to 2030 are to:

02 03

Reduce neglect, abuse and cruelty to companion animals – including exotic pets – in England and Wales by 50 percent.

End the illegal selling of puppies and kittens in the UK.

See more than half of all the UK’s farm animals reared to RSPCA welfare standards.

End severe suffering for animals used in science.

Secure legal protection for animals. Establish an Animal Protection Commission.

Achieve statutory powers in England and Wales for RSPCA inspectors under the Animal Welfare Act 2006.

Secure the adoption by the United Nations of a comprehensive Universal Declaration on Animal Welfare.

Inspire a one million-strong movement for animal welfare by 2030.

Our five priorities to 2030 are:

Rescue and Care

We rescue and care for animals in need

Advocacy

We change attitudes, behaviours and laws

Prevention

We inspire kindness and compassion to all animals

Support

will grow support and income

Organisational Effectiveness

We strive for excellence in all that we do

Introduction The Role

The Policy, Prevention and Campaigns team at RSPCA is responsible for influencing change amongst governments, corporates and the public to advance animal welfare. We do this directly by creating the evidence base for change, lobbying politicians, working with corporates, delivering public campaigns, and running education and prevention programmes. RSPCA also works behind the scenes to try to change the conversation about animal welfare, with the intention of making it an essential social consideration.

In order to deliver against our ambitious 2030 Strategy, we are recruiting two senior Assistant Director positions related to Campaigns and Prevention and, Policy, Advocacy and Evidence.

Title: Assistant Director, Policy, Advocacy and Evidence

Department: Policy, Prevention and Campaigns

Location: Flexible mix of homeworking, attendance at London and Southeast offices and regular national travel. You must have existing right to work in the UK to apply for this position.

Direct reports: Head of Companion Animals, Head of Farm Animals, Head of Animals in Science, Head of Wildlife, Senior Policy Manager (with a total team of 27 people)

Reporting to: Emma Slawinski, Director Policy, Prevention and Campaigns

Salary: £70,000

This role will provide the strategic planning and thought leadership for the policy, advocacy and evidence team. The team is comprised of subject matter experts who develop and maintain our policy lines on specific issues connected to farming, welfare, wildlife and animals in science and will provide overall leadership for this work. These subject matter experts are the external facing advocates for animal welfare, and this role should be supporting, enabling and developing that external-facing work to be high quality, effective and influential.

In this role, you will lead on contextualising how our policies relate and are interconnected to wider issues - positioning and developing RSPCA’s relationships with other sectors, including the environmental/climate change movement and human health sectors. There is significant opportunity for RSPCA to create and develop new and existing partnerships,

coalitions and collaborations with other sectors (with mental health and loneliness organisations for example), which is something you can spearhead in this position.

Internally, this role provides thought leadership and expertise on theories of change and influencing. Working with the Director of Policy, Prevention and Campaigns and the Assistant Director of Campaigns and Prevention to deliver of progress against RSPCA’s major milestones in our 2030 Strategy

Responsibilities

In this role you will:

Lead the Team

• With the Heads of Department, develop theories of change for major organisational objectives, ensuring that we have the evidence base and resources to deliver them.

• With the Heads of Departments, lead the Society’s development of key animal welfare policies, working collaboratively across the organisation to ensure cohesion and maintaining the Society’s reputation for high quality.

• Further lead in the distributing of these policy positions more widely in the right forums – for example, policy provocations, reports, briefings and research projects and partnerships with other organisations.

• Deliver effective people management and inspiring leadership, including performance management, coaching, development and mentoring through formal and informal mechanisms.

• Lead the development of plans and budgets for the financial year for your team, in order to inform the wider directorate’s annual plans and budget.

Develop thought leadership

• Build partnerships across the animal welfare community creating broad coalitions for change and position the Society as a thought leader both within the sector and inter/nationally and the ‘go-to’ place for animal welfare policy solutions.

• Oversee the delivery of high quality external and internal research to help the Society evaluate and improve its services, and inform our policies, positions and strategic approaches.

• Lead on the monitoring of performance and resources within

the function to ensure the delivery of high-quality outputs, outcomes and animal welfare impact.

• Be a role model for continuous improvement, regularly benchmarking against external organisations, current and future trends.

Connect across the organisation

• Take ownership of the RSPCA policy book, maintaining and developing our policy position on existing and new issues. Working with stakeholders across the organisation to better manage the internal and external knowledge and information.

• Lead and influence, as a member of the Senior Leadership Group (SLG), to the overall organisational strategy and direction. Contribute as a senior leader to the effective functioning and team working of the SLG, advising on and contributing to, the work of Board of Trustees’ committees and working groups as required.

Competencies we look for at RSPCA in leadership positions

• Leadership – outstanding stakeholder management skills and extensive understanding and experience of the political and legislative process, and attitudinal and behaviour change concepts.

• Strategic thinking – demonstrating a holistic view of issues, events and activities, with a perception of their longer-term impact or wider implications.

• Action orientated & results driven – able to prioritise work, with a clear readiness to make decisions, take the initiative and focus on delivery. Seeking better ways of doing things,

looking to improve on status quo and willingness to deal with difficult situations that affect output and impact, whatever the organisational level of the role.

• Quality – taking a lead role in setting goals, standards and priorities. Following through to ensure that quality and productivity standards are met.

• Influencing – the ability to influence, motivate and empower others in order to reach organisational goals. Recognising the value of sharing ideas, knowledge and information with others and taking personal responsibility for doing so.

• Strong at oral and written communication – writing and speaking fluently and persuasively and able to deliver arguments in a compelling manner to influence both individuals and groups.

• Flexible and resilient – successfully adapting to changing demands and conditions. Maintains effective work behaviour in the face of setbacks or pressure.

• Personally motivated – Committing to work hard towards goals. Showing enthusiasm and career commitment with personal energy, enthusiasm and willingness to learn.

• Accountability – ability to work in the interest of the organisation as a whole - working closely with colleagues across all functions to get there. Motivates their team, displays effective approach to internal communication and holds excellent interpersonal skills.

Person Specification

Essential:

• A track record of building and managing constructive working relationships with relevant stakeholders in government, industry and academia. With knowledge of how things work with UK government, law-making, party politics, current affairs, media structures and public affairs.

• Experience of influencing policy/decision makers at a high level and of representation on committees. Ideally you will have examples of how your work has changed a policy or legislation.

• Experience of creating cross-sectoral partnerships, ideally with policy expertise and experience related to health, environment or the social sector – with the ability to bring an intersectional lens to RSPCA’s work.

• Experience of commissioning and utilising research and managing research teams (internal and external).

• Experience of preparing and delivering (both verbally and written) presentations/reports to varied audiences from a variety of backgrounds and the ability to translate complex subject material into digestible and compelling arguments orally and in written form

• Experience of working at a senior level within a complex environment with budget and project and people management experience

• Experience of leading change and improvement within a team and organisational environment

• A commitment to animal welfare and to the Society’s aims, policies and ethos

Desirable:

• Higher degree or PHD in relevant area

• Wide contacts base in industry and academia

• General knowledge of legislation that impacts on animal welfare and an indepth knowledge of relevant national and international regulations and the scientific, ethical and social/political issues

• Experience of working at a senior level in a policymaking and a legislativeinfluencing environment in Wales or England

• Experience of working within or alongside the Government sector such as the civil service, a Government-Sponsored Body, Ministerial Task & Finish group, or a role integral to the development of government policy

How to Apply

To apply for this post, click on the “Apply” button on the job advert page, complete our online application form, and submit your CV and cover letter in two different documents, which should be prepared before applying as they will be considered in the application process. The cover letter should be no more than two pages long and explain why you are interested in this post and how your skills and experience make you a good fit. The documents should be saved as a PDF in the following format: Your First Name-Your Last Name-Document Name- Date (mmyy) e.g., PatJones-CV-102022-RSPCA.

Timeline

Closing Date: 2nd December 2022

Equality statement

Diversity, Inclusion and Equality, are at the core of RSPCA’s values. Staff are expected to work collectively and individually to promote a constructive and sensitive approach to others from a variety of backgrounds, where the work of others is valued and respected.

Selection process

All candidates will be notified about the status of their applications. Shortlisted candidates may be required to undergo a background check and references prior to final appointment. We advise candidates to add the role email to their safe senders list and regularly check their spam folder.

Queries

If you have any queries on any aspect of the appointment process, need additional information, or would like to have an informal discussion, please email rspca-dir-pae@oxfordhr.co.uk in the first instance.

About Oxford HR

Oxford HR operates globally - mainly within the international development and charity sectors. We carry out retained executive search mandates at board and senior management levels. We also offer human resource and organisational development consultancy.

Oxford HR has many years of experience in search as well as an extensive network of international development, social sector, corporate, public sector, and academic contacts from across the world. We carry out comprehensive and often international searches designed to meet the specific needs of our client.