Programme Officer (Advocacy and Creative)
The Commonwealth Foundation is committed to bringing Commonwealth civil society and its citizens into the centre of discussion and decision-making around critical issues that affect their lives. The Foundation’s advocacy and creative work is central to that mission. With a small team we seek to make an outsize contribution to change in relation to our areas of strategic focus of climate justice, health justice and freedom of expression.
Applicants must have relevant experience. This position is only open to applicants with an existing right to work in the United Kingdom.
The organisation
The Commonwealth Foundation is mandated by its Member States to advance the interests of Commonwealth civil society. The Foundation seeks to nurture the growth of vibrant and free societies: championing the active and constructive participation of people in all aspects of governance. Our key focus areas are climate justice, health justice and freedom of expression. Our cross-cutting themes are gender equality, small and vulnerable states and young people.
The Foundation’s current Strategic Plan, which details what we are doing, how and why, can be accessed here. You can get a good idea of how we are currently working through our latest Annual Report.
The programme
The Advocacy and Creative Programme integrates creativity into advocacy efforts to amplify the voices of Commonwealth citizens and inspire positive change. This includes initiatives such as the Commonwealth Short Story Prize, the Critical Conversations series, and the Commonwealth People’s Forum. The programme also works to support civil society in leveraging creativity for advocacy in areas such as climate justice, health justice, and freedom of expression, while ensuring cross-cutting outcomes for gender equality, young people, and small and vulnerable states.
The role
The Programme Officer (PO) will be part of a five-person team, working under the direction of the Senior Programme Manager to advance the Foundation’s advocacy and creative work across and around our three thematic areas.
The Programme Officer will play a leading role in integrating creativity into the Foundation’s advocacy work while making an important contribution to our flagship creative programmes. This role will design and deliver events, such as the Commonwealth People’s Forum and the Critical Conversations series, and support other advocacy initiatives. The PO will also support our intergovernmental liaison and external outreach, maintaining effective relationships with the Commonwealth Secretariat and other key partners. They will also help shape and deliver the Programme’s creative output, including the Commonwealth Short Story Prize, while actively embedding creativity across our advocacy work.
Key responsibilities include:
Event delivery:
- Contribute to the design, delivery, synthesis, monitoring and evaluation of our online and in-person advocacy events, working with the Creative Lead to ensure full integration of creativity into our work.
- As a member of the Core CPF Team, contribute to the planning and delivery of the Foundation’s flagship biennial event, the Commonwealth People’s Forum.
Strengthen our advocacy initiatives:
- Support the planning, delivery and evaluation of our engagement in other Commonwealth and global policy spaces.
- Manage our Online Discussion Forum community.
- Assist in the development and implementation of cross-programme advocacy strategies, in collaboration with the other Foundation programmes, providing a platform for civil society to engage and influence Commonwealth institutions and Member States.
Programme management:
- Contribute to the development of the Advocacy and Creative Programme’s annual (July-June) workplan and budget.
- Deliver on agreed annual objectives to the highest possible standard, carefully managing spending of delegated parts of the programme budget.
Support our creative work:
- Develop a capacity to provide back-up support for the delivery of the Foundation’s creative output, including the Commonwealth Short Story Prize.
Cross team collaboration:
- Work collaboratively to ensure the Foundation’s cross-cutting priorities are appropriately integrated into all aspects of our programme work.
- Work collaboratively with the Foundation’s Communications team on outreach and delivery of the advocacy objectives and activities.
The individual
The PO will possess all the competencies set out in the Foundation’s Competency Framework under the ‘officers’ column.
The PO will also demonstrate an understanding of, and commitment to the Foundation’s vision, mission and values.
The PO is further expected to demonstrate:
- Experience in project and/or programme and/or event management gained within a comparable field (development, economic/social/political advocacy) and a comparable operating environment (international non-governmental or intergovernmental)
- Appropriate tertiary qualifications or additional experience in lieu of such qualifications
- Experience of delivering events, both online and in-person
- Skills in policy analysis and experience of delivering advocacy campaigns
- Excellent communication skills applied to a diverse range of audiences
- Excellent IT and social media skills, including Teams, G-Suite and ideally Google Group
- Experience in monitoring and evaluation
- Appreciation of diplomacy and its operation in an intergovernmental context
- A practical, solutions-based mindset and ability to exercise responsible independence
What we offer
The Foundation operates a salary scale for Officer positions, and the appointment would be on a band between £31,248 and £34,686 p.a.
The final offer made to the preferred candidate will be based on an objective assessment of their skills and competencies against the criteria established for this grade.
The Foundation is proud of our welcoming and accommodating working environment. We strive to be a great place to work.
We offer generous holidays (almost seven weeks a year excluding public holidays).
Fifteen percent of your salary is payable tax-free at stipulated periods in lieu of a formal superannuation scheme.
All Foundation staff are enrolled in our private health scheme, including dental cover.
Office
We are based in Marlborough House, Pall Mall, central London. We currently operate a flexible working policy which requires all staff to work from the office at least five days per fortnight including every Wednesday. Applicants must be able and willing to commit to this policy.
Our commitment
The Commonwealth Foundation is dedicated to ensuring that the diverse voices of the Commonwealth are fully represented in our workforce, driving innovation, creativity, and meaningful impact in all that we do. We encourage applicants from all backgrounds to join us in our mission to create a more equitable and inclusive world.
If you need us to make any special accommodations in the recruitment and selection process because of a protected characteristic, please let us know.
The process
Interested candidates should apply online through the link below.
The application requires you to provide a comprehensive CV as well as a motivation letter that clearly addresses the criteria as outlined in the person specification and the competencies framework.
You must possess and declare the right to work in the UK at the time of application submission for your application to be considered.
Closing date for applications
Tuesday 29 April 2025, at 1 pm BST
Interviews
We are expecting to hold first-round interviews via video link on Tuesday 20 & Wednesday 21 May 2025
Second-round interviews may be required and are expected to be held in person on Wednesday 4 and Thursday 5, June 2025
