Location: Flexible, home based within UK, Kenya, India
Contract type: FTC 1 year (subject to renewal based on strategic direction)
Working hours: 2-3 days per week (willingness to work flexibly across time zones)
Salary: c£55k depending on experience
Reporting to: CEO
Job Purpose:
This is a unique opportunity to shape the future of Family for Every Child. The role is responsible for identifying, testing and scaling new ideas that strengthen our impact, sustainability and organisational effectiveness. Working closely with the CEO, the postholder will lead innovation across the organisation and with external partners, turning promising concepts into practical solutions that deliver measurable change.
The role requires strategic thinking, strong project management and a design-thinking approach to rapidly test ideas, learn from experience and recognise when successful initiatives should be embedded into our mainstream work. We welcome creative thinking, including ideas drawn from other sectors that can strengthen our social impact.
As Family continues to pioneer digital innovation, this role will explore how technology, including AI, can extend our reach, improve efficiency and enhance the value we create for members and partners. The role will also help shape new approaches to localisation and international collaboration, developing strategic partnerships that advance Family's mission.
Success will depend on building strong relationships, communicating a compelling vision and bringing colleagues and partners with you through change. We are looking for an entrepreneurial, curious and collaborative leader who is comfortable experimenting, learning and adapting. Experience of design thinking would be an advantage but is not essential.
As a senior manager, the postholder will contribute strategically across the Secretariat, Board and wider alliance, proactively identifying opportunities that strengthen the organisation as a whole.
Key Responsibilities:
● Lead innovation projects from concept through to implementation, developing project plans, governance arrangements, terms of reference, risk management and delivery plans.
● Research emerging trends, technologies and best practice (including AI), identify opportunities for innovation and prepare strategic recommendations.
● Build and manage relationships with internal and external stakeholders, facilitating collaboration, workshops and strategic partnerships.
● Monitor project delivery, resolving issues, managing risks and dependencies, and ensuring projects are delivered on time and to agreed objectives.
● Prepare reports, presentations and briefing papers, analyse data, and maintain project documentation and governance records.
● Champion agile ways of working and embed design thinking and innovation practices across the Secretariat.
● Lead communications and engagement on the innovation portfolio across the Alliance, ensuring stakeholders are informed and actively involved.
● Manage the innovation budget and oversee engagement with external partners to deliver agreed outcomes.
The Key Responsibilities above set out the priorities for this role which will shift and develop to respond to the evolving nature of Family for Every Child.
Family for Every Child is evolving and the role of the Secretariat has to adapt and respond to the changing needs of the members and its strategy. This has an impact on each and every role within the Secretariat, therefore flexibility is key and the ability to respond to change, shift responsibilities and work collaboratively underlies the approach all staff need to take.
Person Specification & Behaviours:
Essential
● Previous experience of organisation wide/cross team project management skills and use of relevant tools
● Previous experience of bringing innovation and entrepreneurial thinking into an organisation
● Understanding of agile working and design thinking
● Change management experience.
● Ability to communicate ideas clearly and build trust..
● Good financial management and budgeting skills
Desirable
● Understanding of the potential for digital to support a for purpose organisation.
Skills and personal attributes
Role specific skills
● Curiosity and willingness to fail forward
● Strong communicator, able to engage people in change processes
The following skills and personal attributes are expected of all staff
● Flexible and adaptable; willing to contribute to other streams of work and across teams
● Highly skilled communicator, in different formats, and capable of working across languages and cultures (using translation and interpretation support as relevant)
● Flexibility to work outside typical working hours and across time zones and to support cross team working
● Highly organised and self-motivated, able to manage and deliver on multiple concurrent tasks
● Competent IT proficiency across a range of packages, able to learn quickly and troubleshoot problems independently
● Ability to use initiative and work without close supervision, working both as part of a team and as an individual
● Excellent command of English (oral and written) is a must, but working knowledge of Spanish, Portuguese, or French is appreciated to broaden the range of language skills within the Secretariat
Safeguarding Statement:
Family for Every Child has zero-tolerance for abuse and exploitation of all people. Successful candidates and post-holders are expected to understand and comply with the Safeguarding policy and other related policies (e.g. Safeguarding checks and recruitment of ex-offenders policy). If a role is assessed as having a medium or high safeguarding risk, a safeguarding self-declaration form and a criminal background check will be requested from individuals holding the position.
This position was originally posted by Family for Every Child and has been curated by PurposePhil Career. To apply, please visit the original listing on the "apply" link on the side. We are not affiliated with the employer organization of this job ad or consultancy, and provide this curated listing as a service to our users.
