Find your place in the field of good food

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Roots to Work is a project of Sustain: the alliance for better food and farming.

Job description

Pesticide Action Network UK (PAN UK) is the only charity in the UK focused solely on tackling the problems caused by pesticides and promoting safe and sustainable alternatives in agriculture, urban areas, homes and gardens. It is an independent, non-profit organisation, which works nationally and internationally to eliminate the use of the most hazardous pesticides, reduce dependence on pesticides overall, and to increase the adoption of sustainable alternatives to chemical pest control.

Our Head of Policy & Campaigns leads our work in the UK which aims to better protect both the environment and human health from pesticide harms. Through policy work, lobbying, research, media and strategic communications, we aim to influence a range of decision makers, from the UK government and devolved administrations to local councils and the country’s biggest supermarkets. The role also includes working alongside PAN UK’s Director to secure funding to cover the UK team’s salaries, overheads and activities. It is an incredibly varied role, involving everything from leading on strategy development for the UK team while also being intricately involved in writing and editing publications and executing other activities such as events and mobilising the public.

The Head of Policy & Campaigns is part of PAN UK’s Senior Management Team (along with our Director, Head of Finance and Governance and Head of International Programmes) which sets the direction of the organisation and ensures it is well-managed and delivering on our mission. The successful candidate will work from PAN UK's office in central Brighton at least two days' per week. 

• Job Title: Head of Policy & Campaigns
• Grade and Salary: Team lead - £56,000 to £60,000 (depending on experience)
• Reporting To: Director
• Number of direct reports: Three (currently)
• Location: Brighton/Hybrid (At least two days per week in Brighton Office)
• Contract: Full time, permanent (35 hours a week)
• Travel Requirements: The post involves some UK travel and may include occasional travel to Europe.

Specific responsibilities

1. Advocacy, policy and campaigning

• Lead the UK team in developing advocacy strategies, and fully utilising opportunities to make progress towards achieving PAN UK’s mission.
• Conduct high quality research and analysis aimed at influencing decision makers. Ensure it is presented in a way which is both technically accurate and compelling.
• Develop and/or maintain expertise in pesticide policy with the aim of being able to represent PAN UK credibly in a range of external fora.  
• Build relationships with a wide range of decision makers including government ministers and civil servants, parliamentarians, devolved administrations, local councils and supermarkets.
• Ensure that the organisation’s policy positions on UK pesticide issues are clear, well thought out and will lead to positive change.
• Find creative ways to involve the UK public in PAN UK’s work, including enabling members of the public to contact decision makers directly.

2. Communications

• Secure media coverage for PAN UK outputs, including writing press releases and liaising with journalists. Provide written quotes for media outlets and give interviews for radio and TV.
• Write materials including policy reports, political briefings and public-facing communications such as blogs and supporter emails. Edit and sign off all outputs from the UK team, ensuring they are both well-written and accurate.
• Conduct public speaking at a range of events, from high-profile events in parliament to community gatherings (and everything in between!).
• Work closely with PAN UK’s Communications Manager to provide content for the organisation’s website and social media channels. Support the Communications Manager in their broader work which includes raising PAN UK’s public profile and leading on individual giving.

3. Fundraising and financial management

(Please note that PAN UK does not employ fundraisers).

• Raise sufficient funds to cover the UK team’s salaries, activity costs and contribution to organisational overheads.
• Contribute to efforts to raise core funds, which are led by PAN UK’s Director.
• Identify and build relationships with new funders, particularly trusts and foundations, with the aim of securing funding.
• Maintain excellent relationships with existing funders, making sure to meet reporting deadlines.  
• Follow PAN UK protocols to ensure that the UK team’s finances are well-managed.

 4. Leadership and strategy

• Manage a high-performing team, leading on strategy development and implementation and ensuring that the team runs effectively.
• Line manage the staff of the UK team, running regular 121s, annual appraisals and generally making sure they are happy and productive.

5. Contributing to the organisation

• Contribute to the effective and smooth running of the organisation through membership of the Senior Management Team.
• Report to the PAN UK Board of Trustees as and when required.
• Other duties as may reasonably be requested by the Director and commensurate with the post.

Person specification

Essential

• At least eight years’ advocacy experience, including experience of designing, developing and implementing both policy work and public campaigns.
• Experience of developing, implementing and reviewing strategies designed to create change. 
• Excellent writing and editing skills and experience of producing both technical and public-facing materials. Exceptional attention to detail and a personal commitment to accuracy.
• An understanding of the political context, actors, and processes relating to key policy areas that intersect with pesticides such as food, farming, environment and/or health.
• Experience lobbying decision makers and knowledge of how the UK political system works.
• Demonstrable experience of preparing successful funding applications and building relationships with funders.
• Experience of managing, leading and motivating staff.
• Commitment to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Justice.
• Proven ability to work on own initiative, meeting objectives and tight deadlines under pressure.
• The right to work in the UK.

 Desirable

• Knowledge of problems and solutions associated with pesticides and/or other chemicals. 
• Experience working in sectors related to pesticides including environment, health and/or social justice. 
• Relevant degree in a related discipline (science or social science).
• Experience of dealing with the media and acting as a spokesperson.
• Experience in managing project budgets.
• Knowledge of UK libel laws.

Application information

The vacancy can be found on trhe PAN UK website at: https://www.pan-uk.org/vacancies/

If you are interested in applying, please email your CV and a covering letter (of no more than two sides) explaining how you meet the person specification and what you can bring to the role to Josie Cohen, at josie@pan-uk.org by midnight on Sunday 1st February 2026. 

First round interviews will be held in Brighton on 11th and 12th February. Second round interviews will be in Brighton on 16th and/or 17th February. 

PAN UK actively encourages applications from diverse backgrounds. We view diversity in its broadest form which includes, but is not limited to, the consideration of race, nationality, gender, age, class, disability, sexuality, language and educational background. We particularly encourage applications from eligible candidates from minority ethnic groups which remain under-represented in the charity sector.

If you would like to discuss whether you are eligible to apply for this role, please contact Josie Cohen at josie@pan-uk.org. 

We are asking all applicants to complete a diversity form, even if you choose to leave some parts blank. Your responses will remain anonymous and will not be linked to your application. The information you provide will help us to better understand our own recruitment practices and how they can be improved to ensure that we are reaching as broad a pool of people as possible. The form is at https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScAIxgnwkdxj6EAAlTT2jN_ZxNfJGkFafFGfWzE6wKTZT-sQg/viewform

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