Director of External Affairs and Advocacy

Closing date: Ongoing*

Contract: Permanent

Ref: DoEAA/CEO/0317

Salary: £70,441 per annum

Location: Birmingham, UK

Islamic Relief Worldwide is committed to achieving long term impact for the communities it works with and believes this can only be done within a culture of continuous learning

Islamic Relief Worldwide is currently recruiting for the position of a Director of External Affairs and Advocacy who will develop and coordinate international advocacy initiatives and campaigns involving the IR Family, on selected humanitarian and development issues, and to develop and protect the reputation and standing of Islamic Relief around the world. The job holder will be promoting and protecting the reputation and brand of Islamic Relief around the world as a trusted and respected partner, and the leading Islamic INGO in the world. S/he will develop relationships with international media organisations to secure positive coverage of the work of Islamic Relief.

The successful candidate will have experience of developing and leading international advocacy initiatives/campaigns involving multiple partners, with evidence of success in influencing external decision makers in several countries or in international organisations. The ideal candidate will be a strong external networker, with evidence of ability to build personal relationships with key influencers and decision makers, and of leadership roles in external networks. She/he will have experience of handling an effective external communications response to adverse decisions by governments or adverse media coverage. The candidate will have strong communication skills in English.

Closing date: Ongoing*

*The vacancy will be advertised on an ongoing basis, candidates will be interviewed as and when applications are received.

Islamic Relief promotes equality and meritocracy, and seeks individuals who agree with the IR values together with our policy standards on Anti-Bribery, Child Protection and Code of Conduct. We will carry out screening checks and will take out references on your behalf if you are selected.

Please note, for UK based roles, we are only able to accept applications from candidates who are eligible to work in the UK. We are unable to progress applications which would require sponsorship.

Applicants should be sympathetic to the values of Islamic Relief.

Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.

Islamic Relief is an equal opportunities employer.

Only applications from those who already have the right to live and work within the UK will be considered.

If you are talented, reliable, service minded, resilient and a highly motivated professional, with a strong commitment to IRW’s values and mission, please apply by downloading the application pack from our website http://www.islamic-relief.org/work-with-us/ and forward the completed form to recruitment@irworldwide.org on or before the closing date.