Head of Policy & Advocacy

About Climate Cymru

Climate Cymru is a movement of thousands of individuals and a network of over 420 organisations from all sectors in Wales, brought together by shared values and a recognition that the climate and nature emergencies require urgent, fair action. We believe that action should be guided by science and the voices of people across Wales.

Climate Cymru is hosted by Cymru Global. Cymru Global is a charity that inspires people in Wales to learn about and take action on global issues. Cymru Global’s vision is that everyone in Wales contributes to creating a fairer and more peaceful world.

Climate Cymru is impact-focused and a powerful vehicle for change in Welsh society. We do this by:

• Putting pressure on those with power to take concrete action
• Engaging productively with the Welsh Government
• Making sure voices from across Wales are heard and represented
• Inspiring and connecting our network
• Amplifying and accelerating our partners' work
• Sharing important information and opportunities with our network and the wider public
• Learning from society in Wales, and beyond
• Building broad public support for action
• Representing Welsh voices and organisations nationally and internationally

Much of the work for Climate Cymru is done by a group of staff and volunteers, organised into four small teams:

1. Movement building: Serving, connecting, inspiring, unblocking and learning from a large, diverse movement of organisations & individuals, including hosting a range of themed convening groups & spaces.
2. Communications & narrative change: Building communications infrastructure, storytelling, upskilling the movement & delivering values-based narrative change work.
3. Advocacy: Politics, policy & campaigns - collective work for Climate Cymru and supporting partners to meet their individual advocacy goals.
4. Funding ecosystem: a range of interventions to help fix a broken funding landscape for Wales and the movement.

Summary of the Role

The headline objective of the Head of Advocacy is to strengthen political ambition and societal appetite for climate action in Wales, ensuring that ambitious, fair climate policies remain politically viable and publicly supported during a period of increasing political polarisation.

The role will involve delivering a coordinated system of interventions designed to strengthen public legitimacy for action, coordinate advocacy with the Welsh and UK movements, alongside improving the quality of public and political discourse on climate change in Wales. The role will also be strategic lead on the Cymru Together campaign, and some aspects of delivery, including some policy work relevant to Climate Cymru’s mission.

This role will lead Climate Cymru’s advocacy team and sit in a senior leadership group with the three other team leads. The role will include managing the strategic direction of the politics, policy and campaigns work, while facilitating collaboration and join-up with Climate Cymru’s other primary areas of work to ensure effective collective work.

Specific responsibilities for the role

Team leadership and strategy

• Develop and lead Climate Cymru’s advocacy strategy.
• Work collaboratively across the organisation to maximise effectiveness, including committed efforts within a senior management structure to joined up strategic approaches across movement, narrative and advocacy work.
• Provide line management for the Politics, Policy, and Advocacy team (which would currently mean one direct report)
• Alongside strategic advice and support to colleagues and volunteers in other teams involved in advocacy activities.
• Lead the development of funding bids and progress reports for the Politics, Policy, and Advocacy team, alongside contributions to wider bid development across Climate Cymru.

Movement coordination

• Lead future developments of the Cymru Together campaign, including engaging with the signatories and wider partners.
• Share strategic political and policy insights across our network, and provide targeted support to partners when required.
• Represent Climate Cymru within networks, coalitions and external forums, to promote collaboration and identify opportunities for joint influencing.

Policy advocacy

• Identify opportunities to influence policy and decision-makers, ensuring advocacy remains responsive to the political and policy landscape.
• Convene and facilitate partner contributions toward key policy interventions and consultations.
• Build and maintain strategic relationships across the Welsh political, policy and civil society landscape.
• Provide strategic policy advice to the Welsh Government, and support Senedd processes (e.g. Committees), working with Climate Cymru and our partners.

Narrative change

• Work with the Head of Communications & Narrative Change to ensure Climate Cymru's advocacy activities are supported by effective messaging.
• Contribute to the development of messaging that challenges misinformation and supports constructive public and political debate on climate and nature.
• Act as a spokesperson for Climate Cymru where appropriate, representing the organisation in media interviews, events and public forums.

Person Specification

Applicants must demonstrate the following attributes by linking them with relevant experiences and achievements in the job application statement.

Essential requirements

1. Commitment to Climate Cymru’s and Cymru Global’s organisational vision and values.
2. Experience in developing and delivering high-impact advocacy strategies that have achieved organisational outcomes and effectively managed risks.
3. Experience in leading teams, providing line management, and enabling collaboration within and outside an organisation.
4. Strong strategic thinking, with the ability to identify opportunities, set priorities and align diverse activities around shared goals.
5. Strong knowledge and experience of the political and policy landscape in Wales.
6. A commitment to collaborative working and contributing to a positive and high-performing organisational culture.
7. Excellent written communication skills including developing funding proposals, progress reporting to funders and advocacy.

Desirable attributes

1. Fluency in Welsh, with the ability to write and deliver communications in Welsh and bilingually.
2. Technical policy expertise in relevant fields
3. Established relationships with politicians, policymakers, civil society leaders, journalists, and other key stakeholders in Wales relevant to Climate Cymru’s mission.
4. Experience in developing strategic communications, and representing an organisation in the media as a public spokesperson.