Head of Acquisition JD 2016

Job Description and Person Specification

Please note this statement is for information only and does not form part of a contract. This list is not exhaustive and you will be expected to undertake such duties as may be assigned to you by ActionAid from time to time. Employees are expected to be flexible in their work in order to deliver the objectives of the organisation.

Job title Head of Acquisition Contract type Permanent, Full-time Grade/starting salary Band 6A: £45,184 - £46,551 Reporting to Head of Direct Marketing and Sponsorship Direct reports 4

Context Are you passionate about making a real difference?

ActionAid is a leading international charity working in over 45 countries. We work with the poorest women and children in the world, changing their lives for good. Our local staff provide immediate, hands-on support to women and children living on the margins of survival. Together we demand action at local, national and international level. We don’t walk away until we’ve achieved lasting change.

In the UK our role is to raise funds to reduce poverty in the communities and countries where we work, to take action for long term change and to act in solidarity with people fighting poverty and injustice in poor countries. We aim to make a stronger global difference by working closely with ActionAid International and our country programmes around the world.

We want to achieve a way of communicating that creates a powerful emotional, intellectual and practical connection between people here and in developing countries so as to motivate and engage our supporters. We believe success will be driven by connecting people, demonstrating our impact, seizing opportunities and key moments, working with others, focussing on ethical and sustainable approaches and harnessing technology and digital. We are a value driven, forward thinking organisation, focused on achieving long-term and sustainable change in the lives of the poorest people in our world.

Purpose of the Role

To lead the acquisition team, creating a positive environment where they are supported to deliver a first-rate programme across the full channel mix.

To give strategic direction of the acquisition programme, optimising this to target the right audience with products and propositions in the most effective channels.

Last updated April 2016 Key tasks and responsibilities

The key deliverables of this role are:

Management  Lead the Acquisition Team ensuring that there is a positive working environment in which people are supported to succeed.

 To provide superb line management to your direct reports, so that they receive appropriate support and development to fulfil their potential

Operational Management  To provide leadership to the Acquisition Campaign Mangers so they are equipped and enabled to develop marketing campaigns and deliver against targets and organisational priorities

 To create an environment where best practice is cherished and team members are able to run a superb programme, focussed on learning, with best direct marketing practice across all channels.

 Ensure that fundraising materials produced reflect the organisation position and branding.

 Ensuring that past and present campaigns are analysed and developed as a result of insights and learning. Work closely with the Data and Insight team to ensure there is accurate and effective reporting on key performance indicators and that quality insight informs future activity.

 Work closely with colleagues in Data and Supporter Care to ensure campaigns are successfully administered and cross team working is effective.

Strategic planning and budget  Responsibility for the development and management of the acquisition budget including planning, reporting and ongoing re-forecasting.

 Working closely with senior colleagues, lead the strategic development of the acquisition programme – ensuring full consideration of audiences, products, proposition and channels.

 Work closely with the Supporter Development team to ensure consistent communications to supporters through acquisition and retention including effective welcome plans and supporter journeys.  Prepare and present strong business cases to the Head of Direct Marketing and Sponsorship and the Deputy Director of Fundraising to ensure appropriate testing and innovation of channels, product, propositions, and audience.

Relationship management  To actively build collaborative relationships with key agency partners. To ensure that you can manage and motivate these partners to give their best to ActionAid.  To ensure appropriate supplier agreements are in place, working with the Contracts & Procurement Manager to ensure that these are commercially robust, contractually sound and optimised to bring greatest benefit to the poorest people on the planet.

Last updated April 2016  To build strong relationships with key colleagues internally, most especially the Supporter Development team, as well as colleagues in data, digital and communications.

Emergencies  Work collaboratively with colleagues on humanitarian emergencies, ensuring supporter acquisition is at the heart of every emergency opportunity.

Person Specification

Knowledge and Experience Essential Desirable  Experienced in strategic management of a Direct  Strong knowledge of acquisition Marketing programme  Experience in motivating and leading a group to  Team management perform at their best  Experience of planning and delivering a  Experience of working for an supporter/customer acquisition programme in a overseas development organisation non-profit environment  Experience of developing budgets and plans, and monitoring, reporting and reforecasting against plans and budgets  Significant experience in overseeing successful direct marketing campaigns that drive considerable response and responsible for substantial expenditure budgets.  Experience of developing integrated multi-media campaigns and managing the relationship between on and offline fundraising campaigns.  Experience of working with agencies, collaborating with them to ensure best results. This should include managing creative, print and media agencies with practice in negotiating strong commercial agreements.  Experience of the full range of DM channels  Strong working knowledge of DRTV and Digital  Experience of managing staff with proven track record of inspiring and motivating staff to exceed targets.  Knowledge of direct marketing principles and current direct response marketing best practice.  Experience of devising and implementing segmentation, targeting and positioning strategies

Skills and Abilities  Ability to lead a team of people, inspiring them to perform to their best

Last updated April 2016  Strong creative instinct, both in leading the development of campaigns and in critiquing work  Excellent verbal and written communication and highly numerate to interpret complex data  Confident and resilient with a ‘can-do’ attitude that thrives on challenges and calm under pressure  Adept in use of MS Office, particularly Excel and Word.  Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to build strong relationships, based on mutual respect and trust, and ensure that the relationships thrive under pressure  Engages with and is committed to, AAUK's mission, vision, values and strategic aims and works towards their achievement within the context of the Supporter Acquisition and Marketing team’s vision, plans and personal objectives.  Aligned to ActionAidUK’s High Performance Framework in meeting standards of personal behaviour and competencies in Action, Planning, Innovation. Communication, Collaboration, and Leadership and Management

Last updated April 2016