Big Brother Watch
Post summary
This is an exciting position for an exceptional person with a strong campaigning background to work for one of the UK’s leading rights NGOs. In this role, you’ll have the opportunity to devise high-impact campaigns to achieve real change, co-ordinating a multi-disciplinary high-performing team to further privacy, free expression and data protection rights. Ideally, you’ll also be a key Big Brother Watch spokesperson in the media.
You’ll have both people and project management responsibilities, leading our campaigns on key policy issues such as facial recognition, free speech online, financial privacy, digital ID and algorithmic decision making in the welfare system.
You’ll plan, execute and evaluate campaigns across all areas of our organisational strategy: surveillance and power; free expression online; and identity and financial privacy – as well as explore new organisational priorities, over time.
To apply
Please see the job information pack here:
Then, please send:
- Your CV
- A covering letter setting out your motivation for applying and how you meet the person specification (2 page maximum)
Please apply via the button below.
Please note: applications without any one of the two requested submissions above will not be considered; applications must not be sent via Guardian Jobs but sent directly via the email address above. Applications may be considered on a rolling basis. Due to a high number of applications, unfortunately we are unable to respond to all applicants.
About you
We’re looking for highly skilled professional with a track record of delivering impactful change and, importantly, a demonstrable passion for protecting civil liberties – especially privacy and freedom of expression. Ideally, you’ll have a high level of experience of or interest in working on new and emerging technologies.
You’ll have significant experience working in a campaigns capacity, and significant experience managing people and projects in a comparable environment that relied on your expertise on civil liberties, surveillance or technology issues. You’ll be familiar with key issues in the area.
You’ll also have excellent knowledge of British politics and UK parliamentary procedures, a strong network of contacts in Westminster and significant experience campaigning for change in parliament in order to maximise our political impact.
You’ll be a brilliant communicator, able to simplify complex technology issues and convey powerful messages whether in campaign slogans or in live news interviews as a Big Brother Watch spokesperson. You’ll have an entrepreneurial approach to your work, always identifying opportunities to boost the progress of your campaigns. The ideal candidate will appreciate the importance of winning in the court of public opinion in order to win in parliament, and have the skills to do both.
You’ll be at ease working on a strictly non-partisan, cross-party basis and grounding our campaign strategies in human rights and liberal principles. You’ll also embody our principles of equality, respect and accountability.
You’ll be highly skilled in devising strategic campaign plans for the organisation to pursue within our work streams, and able to reflect and learn from each campaign. You’ll also be proactive and in building relationships with partner organisations, experts and stakeholders. We’re looking for someone who is a highly motivating manager with the diligence to uphold our reputational excellence, ensuring the highest quality output. You’ll need to be able to work under pressure with an often competing workload.
If you’re committed to Big Brother Watch’s mission, we’d like to hear from you.
Big Brother Watch
Big Brother Watch is a UK civil liberties campaign group fighting for a free future. We’re determined to reclaim our privacy and defend freedoms at this time of enormous technological change. And we fight to win.
We’re a fiercely independent, diverse, non-partisan and non-profit group of campaigners and researchers who work to roll back the surveillance state and protect rights in parliament, the media or the courts if we have to. We publish unique investigations and pursue powerful public campaigns to pursue real change. We work relentlessly to inform and empower the public to collectively reclaim privacy, defend our civil liberties and protect freedoms for the future.
We’re a small, dedicated and highly effective team of seven full-time staff and five volunteers.
Job description
Campaigns:
- Develop and execute quarterly campaigns plans to manage and schedule relevant advocacy, policy and research work to further our strategic aims
- Co-ordinate a high-performing, multi-disciplinary team to pursue campaign goals
- Identify advocacy and press opportunities to further campaign aims
- Strategise/oversee development of campaign materials & engaging supporter actions
- Promote Big Brother Watch’s campaigns in the media, writing articles and giving quotes/live interviews to press and for our social media channels
- Uphold Big Brother Watch’s reputational excellence in public fora
- Work with Director to periodically set campaign priorities in our organisational strategy
- Communicate complex issues to varied audiences, whether parliament, press or public; whether through traditional means (e.g. print media) or public stunts and actions
- Build strong relationships with parliamentarians and advisors across all parties
- Identify opportunities to further our strategic aims in parliament through committees, parliamentary questions and other activities; as well as regional assemblies and on occasion local government
- Work with stakeholders and pursue collaborative campaigns/coalitions on key issues
- Develop and advance Big Brother Watch’s relationships with allies across Government, legislative bodies, international organisations & NGOs in a strictly cross-party manner
- Reflect, evaluate and implement learning from Big Brother Watch’s campaigns
Events:
- Organise Big Brother Watch’s party conference fringe events annually
- Seek other opportunities to organise Big Brother Watch events at appropriate times, including report/campaign launch events, public events and stakeholder roundtables
Management:
- Oversee the organisation’s execution of campaigns, ensuring appropriate delegation
- Ensure the highest level of quality of all campaigns output
- Line management responsibilities for the advocacy team (currently the Senior Advocacy Officer and Legal and Policy Officer)
- Manage staff performance and development, and ensure wellbeing
- Help foster a positive, supportive and high-performance work environment
Person specification
Essential:
- Significant experience in a similar role, including project management
- Significant experience of successful people management
- Expertise and experience on UK issues relating to civil liberties and/or data rights/tech
- Excellent and persuasive communications skills
- Exceptional political judgement
- A strong understanding of the external political environment, including levers for change and knowledge of what changes the minds of decision-makers
- Proven ability to manage and build relationships with stakeholders
- Proven ability to take initiative
- Creativity and energy in managing a workload consisting of large long-term projects as well as reactive tasks, and proven ability to produce high quality work under pressure
- Able to work in non-partisan environment, and proven ability to build trust and support of MPs across all parties
- Commitment to protecting rights and liberties in the UK
Desirable:
- A degree in a relevant field
- Project management experience
- Familiarity with relevant UK surveillance and data protection laws
