Global Head of Food Systems Advocacy

Do you want to lead a team that champions a global shift to regenerative agriculture, advocates for a global reduction in meat consumption, and improves the lives of billions of animals across the globe?

Do you want to advocate at the highest levels to secure a UN Global Agreement on food system transformation? 

Then we have an exciting opportunity for you to join our leading global farmed animal welfare organisation and help end factory farming to protect animals, people and the planet. 

About us:  

Compassion in World Farming International was founded in 1967 by Peter Roberts, a dairy farmer, who identified the threat of industrial agriculture to animal welfare and spearheaded campaigns to end it.

Today, we lead a global movement of compassionate people fighting to mend our broken food system and introduce a regenerative approach to agriculture – one that helps combat the climate crisis, prevents biodiversity loss, protects human health, and gives all farm animals a life worth living.  

With global headquarters in the UK and offices in Belgium, China, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, and the USA, Compassion in World Farming International is a highly influential organisation whose 1,000,000+ supporters help achieve meaningful legislative and corporate changes to policies and practices affecting farm animals. 

Recent achievements include: 

• Rallying over 1.4 million supporters for a European Citizens’ Initiative to end caged farming. 
• Halting Scottish live calf exports and securing a review of the law in England and Wales. 
• Launching a new report in collaboration with Chatham House and the United Nations Environment Programme, making the case that protecting biodiversity requires a new approach to global food systems. 

About the role: 

Overall responsibility for the delivery of Compassion’s food systems transformation work, which aims to secure a UN Global Agreement to significantly reduce meat consumption and replace factory farming with regenerative agriculture. To inspire, lead and coordinate a multi-level program of advocacy that spans lobbying at a national and inter-governmental level, NGO mobilization around agreed policy positions and garnering corporate support for our stated aims.

Key responsibilities: 

• Creation, development and oversight of outstanding lobbying strategies for our food systems work, with support from the Global Director of Campaigns, Chief Policy Advisor, Chief Scientific Advisor, and Special Advisor to the CEO.
• Integrating our food systems programme across the organisation including the Campaigns, Food Business and Research Teams as well as our international offices. Chairs the cross-organisational strategy group on Food Systems and is ultimately responsible for the output of this group.
• Strategic overview of lobbying strategies at national and inter-governmental levels, including detailed knowledge of the roll out of each campaign, and the interactions between campaigns. In depth understanding of the ‘now and next’ of each campaign.
• Support development of new partnerships across civil society, think tanks and food businesses.
• Manage the Food Systems Team, both direct reports and the wider team to ensure they meet their objectives.

About you: 

You will be a positive team player, with strong leadership and an ability to develop and implement advocacy strategies. You will be compassionate to people and animals, as well being creative, innovative and persuasive.

Proven abilities: 

• Strong project management skills working across a global project or organisation
• High calibre internal and external communication skills
• Demonstrable experience in a lobbying/policy role
• Strong strategic capacity
• Excellent team leadership and management
• Advisor to senior management and CEO on policy matters
• Creating targeted change 
• Creating messaging and shaping complex ideas for key influencers
• Excellent knowledge of national, regional and global political and policy institutions, and Government/s 
• Experience of having successfully managed an organisation’s relationship with key institutions and individuals – especially the UN.

Applications:

Closing date: 21 May 2021

Please complete the online application form and upload your CV and covering letter outlining how you meet the person specification detailed in the Job Description. 

Please note that we reserve the right to commence interviews on a rolling programme.

No agencies please.