APPLICATION PACKCommunications and

Fundraising ExecutiveLondon£26,000

INTRODUCTION FROM THE CEO

Dear applicantThis is a great organisation, not just because we get to do great work with some inspiring young people, but because the people who work here are fantastic. ‘Envisionaries’ are all people who really want to be here and we give it our all. This role might not suit you, in which case, best not to apply. On the other hand this unusually diverse opportunity might be perfect for you. Here’s three points to help you decide:

• If you want a high-profile brand, that’s not us. If you want to build one, that’s us. We have a mine of untapped stories. We have a formula that’s proven to work. We’re growing and our current successes mean we’re punching above our weight. For example, because we’ve been identified as an example of effective practice by the Careers and Enterprise Company and the Education Endowment Foundation have selected us for another randomised control trial so people want to know why our approach works. Our topical cause offers scope for thought-leadership on education. Our young people, who give up their time to develop solutions to social problems, offer inspiring human interest stories. What’s more, the Community-Apprentice brand offers great scope for creativity - for example could you build on this short video of young people in the ‘boardroom’? http://bit.ly/1NAKv9b

• If you want to be in a big communications or fundraising department, that’s not here. We don’t have ‘departments’. We’re a relatively small organisation. Small is not for everyone, but I love it because I feel connected to what we do. It means you’ll get a lot of variety, a lot of responsibility and the opportunity to see all aspects of how a charity works. That might be particularly appealing if you are still, like me, exploring what you want to do when you grow up!

• If you want detailed hand-over notes, there aren’t any! This is a new role so there’s a chance to make it your own. That said, we already have a successful track record in some of the areas within the role, such as events and trust fundraising that you’ll be able to build on.

In return, what we’re looking for is someone who has an ability to spot what makes a strong story and excellent writing skills along with the ability to construct a strong well-articulated case for support. You’ll use your interest in digital technology to communicate your stories to the widest possible audience. You’ll be able to demonstrate to us that you are highly organised and able to manage multiple priorities. Your love for systems will be matched by a flair for dealing with people. You’ll be able to ‘lead from the back’ co-ordinating senior people to network and get involved with our work. Above all, you’ll be motivated by the opportunity to enable us to work with even more young people and help them to change the world for the better.

Sound like you? If so we’d love to hear from you.

Yours sincerely

Jennie Butterworth, CEO Envision

“We help young people come up with ideas . . . and turn them into

reality. You’ll be inspired and able to do both those things yourself

in this role.”

An independent randomised control trial provides “compelling and robust evidence that young people who take part in Community-Apprentice develop some of the most critical skills for employment and adulthood.” Participants showed statistically significant improvements across a range of competencies, for example an 11% increase in empathy, an 11% increase in co-operation , a 7% increase in grit and resilience and a 6% increase in problem solving. They also showed an 11% improvement in attitudes towards education compared to the control group.

We don’t just help young people to develop their skills we also enable them to demonstrate that they have them to employers. Every young person graduates with a reference drafted by a

business volunteer which provides real examples of behaviours drawn from the programme. 97% of young people say that they feel more confident about talking to prospective employers about their

competencies and 90% feel more confident of getting a job as a result of completing the programme.

We’ve recently been supported by the Careers and Enterprise Company as a model of effective practice and they are supporting us to scale our operations. We are planning to increase the number of young people we are supporting by 50% next year and are looking for people who want to be part of our growing success story.

Where there is a sense that doing something for others is good for all of us. A society where every individual feels

A bit about usHow would you change education?

Why social action?

Several other organisations already run enterprise competitions in schools. But not all young people see themselves as an ‘entrepreneur’. Using social action, we’re able to engage a different cohort of young people. Often these are young people who feel passionately about issues which have touched their lives or those around them, such as gang crime, mental health or food poverty.

We also use social action because we believe that education should prepare young people to contribute to society beyond making a purely economic contribution. We believe that the most effective way to ensure young people really believe that they can make a difference, is to give them a positive experience of doing so.

At Envision we believe that schools should be more than exam factories. That’s why we’re working with them to support young people, particularly those from more disadvantaged backgrounds, to develop the personal qualities they’ll need to succeed in life.

When it comes to preparing young people for work, we think that what employers would find really useful would be a GCSE in the art of ‘getting s**t done’! In the meantime we’ve come up with the next best thing. Through Community-Apprentice, we engaging local companies and the wider community to inspire and support young people to come up with their own ideas and make them happen.

Our impact

Our ambitions

2: THE FILM CHALLENGEIn September and October, participants explore real problems, which may involve carrying out surveys with local stakeholders, consulting with decision makers and speaking with community groups and local charities. We ask them what upsets them or makes them angry and to identify ‘one thing’ they would like to see changed.

Collaboration skills are developed as the team work together to agree on a single issue for their project. Once an issue is chosen, students learn more about their subject through research such as meeting external experts, who are often part of our network.

Teams hone their communication skills to produce a short two-minute film (in a single take) which, through a combination of passion and evidence, seeks to win hearts and minds about why their cause matters.

1: THE ‘AUDITIONS’Community-Apprentice graduates from previous years present the programme in school assemblies. Young people are asked to submit an expression of interest saying why they would like to be involved. The programme is generally over-subscribed which means that we can work with teachers to identify pupils who are most likely to benefit.

4 : THE BOARDROOM CHALLENGEThrough continued weekly sessions we coach young people to solve their own problems and hold each other to account to keep their projects progressing. During this phase there is a lot of activity between meetings and at weekends. The nature of the activities depends upon the project, ranging from transforming a physical space to delivering peer education workshops. In June, teams come together in clusters again to present to ‘Sir Alan’s advisors’ why they deserve to win Community-Apprentice. Young people present the problem they identified, what they did about it and the difference they made. Their business mentors support their case by highlighting examples of how they have developed key competencies throughout the experience. One team from each cluster semifinal is chosen to go through to regional final in the boardroom.

5: GRADUATION EVENT

A film of this final boardroom event is shown and the winner announced at a graduation event in July. This is also when all young people are presented with their personal competencies profile.

3: THE PITCHING CHALLENGEIn weekly coaching sessions, students are supported to structure their plans clarifying how their project will have a positive social impact and how they will measure this. Community-apprentices use a range of communication methods e.g. letters, meetings and presentations, to engage potential stakeholders, and secure support including resources, they need for their projects. In December teams come together at cluster events (five schools per cluster) to pitch their plans in Dragons’ Den style events for an investment of up to £300 per team to help them to deliver their projects.

OUR PROGRAMME

COMMUNICATIONS ANDFUNDRAISING EXECUTIVEJOB DESCRIPTION

Reports directly to the CEO

Based in London with occasional travel to Bristol and Birmingham

PURPOSE

The post-holder will drive a systematic approach to building relationships with key donor groups through a programme of proactive communications, direct engagement with young people and participation in events. They will also be responsible for the generation of income from trusts and foundations.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Donor communications

• Develop, manage and deliver a programme of digital communications to build the engagement of potential and existing donors.

• Develop and deliver information and case studies in creative ways to demonstrate impact.

• Manage Envision’s Twitter account

High net-worth individuals (HNWIs)

• Liaising with the Board, organise an annual event to engage HNWIs and generate income.

• Co-ordinate the cultivation of HNWIs, involving the CEO, Board and Management Team.

• Support and co-ordinate effective stewardship for HNWIs, ensuring that they recognise the value of their support, feel that Envision is ‘their charity’ and want to refer other potential donors to us.

Trusts and Foundations

• Through effective research, identify trusts and foundations whose giving policies reflect Envision’s work and plan an application timetable to reflect their meeting schedules.

• Build an evidenced case for support.• Draft applications for the CEO and regional managers,

clearly identifying how our work impacts on a clearly identified need.

• Monitor reporting schedules and produce delegated reports.

Employee fundraising

• Develop and manage a sustained communications programme to turn business mentors into long-term supporters, particularly through donations and fundraising.

• Develop a menu of fundraising challenges (through third party agencies and bonded places)

• Working with managers, promote these opportunities to our corporate partners and mentor community.

• Ensure that all participants in challenge events feel valued for their contribution and part of our supporter community.

Other

• Oversee our network of youth ambassadors and ensure that they are well utilised to support fundraising.

• Develop expertise in the use of our CRM database (Salesforce) and ensure that all information relating to prospects and donors is up to date.

Person Specification

EXPERIENCE

You must have at least 18 months experience in one or more of the following areas:

• Communications / PR• Account management in a charity or commercial environment• Generating income from trusts and foundations• Employee fundraising

In addition, experience of co-ordinating events would be an advantage, but is not essential.

EDUCATION AND SKILLS

You must hold a degree or equivalent standard of qualification for this role

You must be able to generate accurate copy to convey key messages in an engaging way for a variety of audiences.

In addition, the following skills are desirable, but could be developed on the job:

• Use of In-design• Social media• Electronic newsletters and web• Use of data bases• Film and photography

COMPETENCIES

The following competencies are all essential

• Excellent interpersonal skills• Highly organised• Proactive self-starter• Demonstrable passion for the cause

APPLICATION PROCESSTo apply, please submit your CV and a covering letter, of no more than two sides, which should set out how you meet the Experience, and Education and Skills criteria set out above (evidence of competencies will not be assessed at this stage).

Applications should be submitted by email to recruitment@envision.org.uk and accompanied by an equal opportunities form and a criminal convictions form.

The deadline for applications is 9am on Monday 10th July. We will let you know if you have been invited to interview before the end of that week. Interviews will take place on Thursday 20th July.

Please note that we will only be contacting candidates who have been shortlisted for interview. If we have not contacted you by Friday 14th July, please assume that we will not be inviting you to interview. We regret that, due to the high volume of applications we receive, we are unable to provide you with any feedback at the first application stage.We look forward to reading your application.