Head of Strategic Communications and External Affairs

About the role

The Head of Strategic Communications and External Affairs is a crucial role in delivering our mission to redesign the justice system for women and their children. As One Small Thing embarks upon a new organisational strategy, you will lead our public affairs work ensuring our work is seen, our voice is heard, and we are influencing at the highest levels across the criminal justice sector.

You will be a confident strategic thinker, able to devise and lead a new strategic communications strategy and will provide expert advice to the Chief Executive and other senior leaders.

You will work to deliver strong, compelling and evidence-based messages that draw upon our policy, research and frontline work and will play a key part in amplifying our voice across the sector and media, developing narratives and positioning us to advocate for transformational system change.

You will be an inspiring communicator, comfortable with liaising with and presenting to a range of high-profile stakeholders, producing written communications, as well as developing content which strengthens our website, brand and online presence.

Key Responsibilities:

1. Devise and lead a strategic communications strategy for One Small Thing, working with colleagues across the organisation and in alignment with our new organisational strategy.
2. Use excellent written and presentational skills to develop compelling and evidence-based messages that draw upon our policy, research and frontline work.
3. Lead and work collaboratively with colleagues and external stakeholders to develop our work and partnerships to amplify our messages and push for the key changes we want to see implemented.
4. Ensure that the voices and experiences of justice involved women inform and influence all our work and feed into our communications and external affairs.
5. Build our external profile and key messages to maximise our reach and spheres of influence across relevant audiences, including developing our website and online content and representing One Small Thing at key forums and strategic meetings.
6. Lead media relations and public engagement, driving public understanding of the issues women face within the criminal justice system audiences.
7. Maintain and develop excellent relationships, building trust and confidence across our networks, from women impacted by the justice system to senior civil servants and ministers.
8. Lead and provide effective line management support to the Influence Team.
9. Manage team resources and coordinate with colleagues to support our income generation activities.
10. Support the implementation of One Small Thing's new strategy
11. Contribute as required to the wider work of the team.
12. Act in a manner that is in keeping with One Small Thing's values.
13. Undertake any other duties as required and commensurate with the level of this post.

About One Small Thing

One Small Thing is striving for positive change across the justice system by implementing small things in a big way.

We provide gender responsive, trauma-informed programmes within the prison and community sectors that consider the individual caught in a cycle of crime and incarceration, with the aim of humanising their experiences. We want to shift the voice of blame and judgement and the 'what's wrong with them?' line of questioning to a kinder, respectful and healing approach that asks, 'What has happened to them?

Our vision is a justice system that recognises, understands, and responds to trauma.

Our mission is to redesign the justice system for women and their children by:

• Redesign the way the justice system responds to women and their children in a way that can be replicated and scaled nationally.
• Educate people within the justice system on the impact of trauma and draw on our knowledge and expertise to help build capacity within organisations.
• Influence politicians and policy makers to encourage culture change across the justice system and the people who work within it.

Our name reflects the value of those small things - empathy, compassion, respect - and their combined power to make a big difference to the individual - and to society as a whole.

Our Values

One Small Thing is built on six core values of trauma-informed care that underpin the way we work.

• Safety
• Trustworthiness
• Choice
• Collaboration
• Empowerment
• Cultural Competency