Co-Director

About UKY4N

UK Youth for Nature is a youth-led organisation of 16-35-year-olds across the UK. Our main objective is to create the political pressure needed, from young people, on governments and politicians to stop and reverse the nature crisis in the UK.

UK Youth for Nature has two main goals: develop and deliver creative campaigning activity with our volunteers to drive change for nature, and training and educating our team to give them the skills to campaign effectively.

Our organisation has grown exponentially over the last three years and we are in a significant scale-up period, including growing volunteer numbers, funding and volume of campaigning activity. Over the last three years we have undertaken significant legal, financial, and organisational change to build the long term sustainability of the organisation both financially and at an organisational structural level.

About the post

Job title: Co-Director
Reports to: Board of non-executive Directors
Job purpose: We are looking for a Co-Director who can provide responsible, steady influence and leadership, helping the organisation to achieve its core aims, as well as a community focused leader who can continue to grow our community and speak out for young people and their concerns.
Approximate start date July 2026

0.6 FTE with flexible working

12 months (8 week probationary period) - with opportunity for extension (dependent on funding)

Location: UK remote/home-based with travel across the UK

Working relationships: Managing head of campaigns and project co-ordinator for schools project, working with core team and managing volunteers.

Salary and benefits:

• £45,540 pro rata
• 20 days annual leave (including bank holidays) + office closure over Christmas
• 3% Pension contribution

Job Description - key responsibilities and tasks

The Co-Directors are responsible for managing the team, delivering the organisation’s strategy, setting its direction, and being its leading external spokespeople and representatives.

As the organisation’s leaders, the Co-Directors have legal and financial responsibility and accountability for the organisation, along with the Board of non-executive Directors.

1: Strategy & Campaigning

• Develop the 2026-29 organisational strategy alongside other Co-Director and Board where appropriate, and ensuring it is delivered effectively and sustainably by the core team and volunteers
• Maintain an overview of all campaigns work underway, and work with core team and volunteers to deliver campaigns actions around the UK, both in Westminster, devolved governments and at a local council or mayoral level
• Monitoring and reporting of progress against relevant Key Performance Indicators on an ongoing basis and ensuring that they are met quarterly and at the end of the year
• Driving morale and engaging with volunteers to nurture community and grow the team.

2: Communication

• Represent UKY4N as a spokesperson at in person events and in the media
• Contribute to UKY4N social media channels eg: Instagram, Tiktok, and our Newsletter.

3: Internal relationships

• Work in partnership with our other Co-Director to lead, build momentum and forecast future campaigning opportunities
• Management of Head of Campaigns position
• Management of volunteers to ensure the safe and effective delivery of campaign actions
• Maintain positive and regular communication with volunteers using our Slack platform
• Work with our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion lead to ensure that our work genuinely and meaningfully shifts our organisation and the wider movement to be a more equitable, inclusive and diverse space for all
• Supporting and engaging the Board of Directors, ensuring quarterly meetings take place, and papers are prepared and circulated in advance.

4: External relationships

• Maintain, develop and manage appropriate partnerships with the wider environmental, youth related NGOs and decision makers (eg MPs, MSPs, Members of the Senedd and councillors etc)
• Developing relationships that bring benefit to the organisation and our objectives in and outside the environmental NGO space that enable us to build trust and influence
• Develop opportunities through our partnership working that benefit our youth volunteers, enabling them to build confidence and skills outside of our regular work.

5: Legal and finance

• Taking legal responsibility for the organisation, assuring it complies with all relevant legislation
• Ensure that UK Youth for Nature is a safe environment for the young people involved, that it has fit for purpose safeguarding policies, processes and practices, and complies with all relevant legislation and regulation
• Undertaking timely reporting, based on ongoing monitoring and evaluation, to funders
• Ensuring the organisation’s values are expressed through its practices
• Managing risk of the organisation through compliance with regulation, and reporting to board where appropriate (eg: risk register).

6: Financial

• Working alongside Co-Director to manage the finances in a responsible manner, keeping accounting documents up to date, and (working with an accountant) ensuring timely filing of accounts
• Working to develop a long-term financial and fundraising strategy for the organisation
• Contribute to funding bids (both corporate and foundations).

Person specification

Your application will be scored against the following criteria. We don’t expect expertise in each and every area, and the nature of a co-directorship means that management and responsibilities will be split across the two Co-Directors based on their strengths and interests.

Essential:

• Significant professional or voluntary experience in an environmental, policymaking or campaigning field
• Experience of developing and delivering campaigns
• Passion for the natural world
• Strong inter-personal skills, can lead and nurture teams
• Comfortable and confident spokesperson both at in person events (speeches), and in the media (both developing quotes as well as live and pre-recorded TV and radio interviews)
• Capable, efficient and effective facilitation of meetings eg: core team, volunteer, and partnership meetings
• Desire to be at the forefront of youth-led nature campaigning and empowering young people to get politically active on nature issues in the UK
• Can adapt quickly and learn new areas of information
• Work well in a small, dynamic and determined team
• Get excited about creative campaigning and believe that youth-led campaigns can have an impact on policymaking.

Desirable

• Experience of leadership, including financial, company law, management, and strategic responsibility
• Experience working with volunteers
• Knowledge of policy and practice areas such as chemicals, farming and nature are particularly useful
• Confident contributing to UKY4N social media to build and develop our existing social media platforms eg: Instagram, Tiktok, and our Newsletter.

Studies have found the environmental sector to be the second least diverse sector in the UK. As an organisation committed to equity and inclusion, we are keen to hear from underrepresented groups, particularly from those from the global majority.

Timeline:

Applications close: Monday 18th May 11:59pm

Interviews will take place w/c: 8th June

Approximate start date: July 2026