Willis HR Consulting is advertising this position on behalf of Community Foundation NI Job title: Womens Development Officer (Maternity Cover) Responsible to: Director of Programmes Hours: 21 hours per week (the post holder will work flexibly to meet the needs of the post occasional evening and weekend work will be required) Salary: NJC Points 26-28 (£36,124 - £37,938) - starting on point 26 £36,124). It is our normal practice for new employees to start on the first point of the this is a part-time post the salary will be pro rata. Duration: Maternity Cover- Mid February 2025- Mid August 2025 (the post could be extended to mid Feb 2026) Location: The Foundation currently has a hybrid working approach and therefore your place of work will include both the office location and home-based working. You will be expected to travel extensively across Northern Ireland. Role Description The Community Foundation for Northern Ireland is an independent grant-making trust. Our vision is for a fair and equitable society for everyone, working hand in hand with communities to build a better future. We are passionate and ambitious about what we do, and we act with integrity. We believe this is an exciting role. We specifically want to engage, support, and empower women from local communities in a our programme of work: Nothing About Us Without Us, Amplifying the Voice of Grassroots Women, and this post is key in helping us achieve this. The aim of the Nothing About Us Without Us, Amplifying the Voice of Grassroots Womens programme, is to create a society in NI where women are visible, vocal, and valued and where they are proportionately and equitably involved in decision making that affects and matters to them. This is an ambitious programme which seeks to make a real difference to women who lack voice or opportunity to develop their confidence, capacity, and capability to help them be visible, vocal, and valued in society today. Anticipated Programme Outcomes: To increase the knowledge, confidence, skills, and capabilities of 400 women from grassroots communities in NI to raise their voice, use their agency and successfully influence decisions being made on issues that affect and matter to them. To accelerate and improve collaboration between women and decision makers so there is more proactive and intentional engagement of women on issues that affect and matter to them. To connect grassroots women with women from communities other than their own to broaden their worldview, to build their networks and supports, to create solidarity and to amplify their voice. To work with local women to effectively lobby government to deliver a Womens Health Strategy for NI that fully reflects the needs of women, especially those from disadvantaged communities. About You You will be an approachable, dynamic, and driven person who wants to help lead, grow, and develop this important area of the Foundations work and strategy. You will be motivated and committed to our values, vision, and mission. You will be interested in creating a society where women from local communities across NI are visible, vocal, and valued and where they are proportionately and equitably involved in decision making that affects and matters to them. You will have a clear vision for achieving this. You will be someone with experience of working with local women to successfully build their aspiration, motivation and capacity using a range of methods, based on needs. You will have experience of using community development approaches, managing programmes aimed specifically at womens development and demonstrable creativity to resolve any issues which may arise in the management and development of this programme. You will have proven oral and written communication and analytical skills, be a strong team player and will be passionate about the work and the Foundation, striving for excellence in all you do.?? You will be able to deal with people from diverse backgrounds using collaboratively approaches and will excel at managing relationships internally and externally to develop and inspire trust and confidence. You will enjoy working within teams, as well as on your own initiative. We expect you to have strong administrative and financial skills, be highly organized and proactive. You should be able to plan and manage your time effectively and prioritise your work and/or work under pressure. We expect all our staff to have strong IT skills and be competent in using MS Office or Google Workspace and databases. We also expect that you will identify improvements and efficiencies to help us enhance our services and live our culture and values. Main Responsibilities The dynamic nature of our organisation, our responsiveness to funders, and the changing environment we work in means it is not possible to list all the potential tasks in a job description. Your tasks will be directed by the prevailing context, changing needs and external challenges. Broadly however you will be expected to: Programme Development and Delivery To develop resources, (such as tool kits), which improve the awareness, knowledge, understanding and capacity of women to speak out on issues of importance and which support them to effectively engage with decision makers on same. Specifically, this will include working, in conjunction with the programmes codesign group, to develop and promote resources, to help build the capacity of local women to understand civic structures better. Develop an ongoing programme of issue-based workshops (10-12), designed to connect, and engage women from grassroots communities, on issues that affect and matter to them (such as good relations/diversity, poverty, violence against women, climate change) to grow their confidence, understanding, and support them to build their own agency to affect change. Support grassroots women to come together, to raise and add their voice to, campaigns such as End Violence Against Women and other campaigns as identified. Lead and coordinate the work to call for a womens Health Strategy. Build the numbers of women involved in, and support women to, advocate for a codesign process to be implemented by local government to effectively engage with women from grassroots communities on a womens health strategy that reflects the needs of women and addresses health inequalities experienced by them. Develop, in conjunction with the Grants Directorate, a bursary programme to provide support for women from grassroots communities each year to enhance their knowledge, skills, leadership, and capacity to influence and affect change. Build networks and contacts, across a range of stakeholders, to accelerate and improve collaboration between women and decision makers so there is more proactive and intentional engagement of woman on issues that affect and matter to them. Strategy Support the implementation of the Foundations strategy, ensuring it has a positive impact in communities and the women you are engaging with. As directed, lead on and contribute to, research and evaluation relevant to the areas of womens health, wellbeing, and community development. Contribution to other strategies, policies, and initiatives as appropriate and relevant to the Nothing About Us Without Us, Amplifying the Voice of Grassroots Womens Programme. Communications & Networking Work with the Foundations Public Affairs, Policy & Communications Directorate to build the Nothing About Us Without Us brand and in the process create strong visibility regarding progress and programme activities. Represent and promote the Foundation. This will include for example: Delivering presentations, representing the views of the Foundation and the women you are engaging with at meetings and events. Building and maintaining contacts and facilitating discussion especially with donors, funders, and key decision-makers, in statutory (including local government) and non-statutory agencies, and within the voluntary and community sectorto accelerate womens involvement in decision making that affects and matters to them. Organising and supporting events and visits which showcase the work of the programme and its impact. Report writing, responding to emails and communications promptly and efficiently. Knowledge & Learning As directed, lead on and contribute to, the programme evaluation. Develop impact reports and monitoring returns as required by the Funder. Share learning and lessons both internally and externally. Use knowledge and impact to inform policy and practice internally and externally. General: All staff are required to: carry out their work in accordance with the organisational culture, values and behaviours; be aware of, understand and comply with all the Foundations policies and procedures; manage their workload effectively while ensuring the efficient use of office resources and in particular Microsoft Office and the Foundations database, Salesforce; always maintain the confidentiality of information received; carry out such other appropriate tasks and work as requested; attend and participate in staff meetings, team meetings and relevant training; attend some of the Foundation events each year; Identify improvements and efficiencies we have a lean approach to our operations and are always trying to improve. This Job Description is not intended to comprehensively list the responsibilities of the post, but to indicate the main areas which at this stage appear to be the essential requirements of the post. ESSENTIAL CRITERIA QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE A relevant third level qualification and three years paid experience in a similar role. Or At least five years paid experience in a similar role. Significant work experience and competency (at least 3 years) in: (i) Working within and across local communities using community development approaches and practices. (ii) Working with urban and rural women, especially those most marginalised. (iii)Establishing good working relationships within and between community groups; statutory agencies; government departments. (iv)Building the leadership capacity of local women in a similar role. KNOWLEDGE/ SKILLS Strong knowledge and understanding of the issues affecting women from local communities, gained from working directly with them. Strong and adaptable facilitation skills to successfully engage women from local communities across a range of relevant issues. Effective management of budgets. The ability to communicate orally and in writing in a clear and concise manner, including writing reports. Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills. Highly effective organisational and time management skills, including the ability to work independently and to tight deadlines. Strong IT skills including the ability to use IT systems (Microsoft office) to communicate, implement, manage, and monitor processes and workloads. OTHER REQUIREMENTS Available to work outside normal office hours, including evenings and weekends. Full driving licence and access to a form of transport. Consideration will be given to alternative travel proposals in respect of applicants with a disability who cannot hold a license. We operate a hybrid working model whereby staff work both from home and the office. A large part of this role requires you to be working independently but reporting regularly into the wider team. DESIRABLE CRITERIA EXPERIENCE Working on policy issues related to women. How to apply To request an recruitment pack and application form, please register your interest by clicking apply now. A recruitment pack and application form will be sent to you by email shortly afterwards. Application Forms must be completed in full, signed (electronic signature accepted) and returned by email to Natalie Duncan at. The closing date for applications is 12 noon on Wednesday 8th January 2025. Applications received after the closing date will not be considered. CVs will not be accepted.