Deputy Director - Policy and Engagement

About Us

The Early Education and Childcare Coalition unites the voices of parents, children, providers, early years professionals and the wider business community, working together for investment and reform of early education and childcare in England.

We believe that we all benefit from a well-functioning early education system and we all have a role to play in ensuring it works for children, parents and the economy.

We are backed by some of the most high-profile campaign and research organisations in the UK. Our members include early years provider membership bodies, parent campaign groups, early childhood experts, trade unions, the business lobby, anti-poverty campaigners and NGOs. Together, we use our collective voice and research to build public and political support for early education and childcare. And it s worked. Thanks to the dedication of our members, early years is one of the top priorities for the government s Plan for Change.

But our work isn t done we have an ambitious agenda to rescue and reform the system, ensuring that:

• Every child can access high-quality education and care that their parents can afford and that will support them to thrive
• Every provider is funded fairly for the places they offer
• Every early years professional is rewarded and recognised for the skilled work they do

This is an exciting time to join the Coalition. We have experienced significant growth in recent years and with early years firmly on the policy agenda, we expect this to continue.

We are now looking to appoint a Deputy Director to help steer that work and further drive the development of the Coalition. You will work closely with the Executive Director (ED) to lead our influencing work at the highest level, strengthening our policy platform, and ensuring we translate evidence into meaningful impact. At the same time, you will play a pivotal role in supporting a talented and experienced team and shape the continued growth of the Coalition as a charitable organisation.

About The Role

• Hours: Full-time, 37.5 hours per week over 5 days. We may consider 4 days per week.
• Duration: Two-year contract, renewed subject to funding.
• Location: Home-working but based in or near London.

Salary: £62,000 - £64,170 per annum FTE

We are a remote team, with most colleagues based outside London. This role requires regular access to Westminster, so you will need to be based in or within easy reach of London.

We work flexibly and understand the realities of balancing work with caring commitments. We trust you to manage your time but expect that most of your hours are worked within core office hours to fulfil the requirements of the role. To support fluent remote working, we require all staff to work on Thursdays.

This is a dual role, delivering our policy, engagement and public affairs strategy while also supporting the Executive Director to grow the Coalition as an organisation and movement. You will play a central role in shaping the Coalition s strategy, culture and growth. This is a senior, outward-facing role, suited to someone who can think strategically, build influence at the highest levels, and remain hands-on within a small and ambitious team.

About You

You are a senior public affairs professional with a strong track record of strategic influencing and engagement to shape policy. You bring robust judgement and credibility and are motivated by the opportunity to deliver meaningful change in a high-profile policy area and may have experience on public-service reform.

You are equally comfortable setting direction and delivering through others as you are rolling up your sleeves to respond to fast-moving political developments. You are a confident relationship-builder who can operate effectively at senior levels, while working collaboratively across a diverse coalition.

You should have previous experience of managing functions and teams and working in senior leadership teams. Ideally you will be live to the challenges of working in a small, but high-impact national organisation and have experience of scaling teams and functions.

What You Can Expect To Be Doing

• Executive leadership
  This will include supporting the ED with key senior stakeholder relationships including funders, ministers and policymakers. You will be required to deputise for the ED during periods of leave or when directed to do so. This is a pivotal role which straddles the executive and senior leadership functions. Consequently, you will be expected to make decisions that balance multiple interests and help scale and grow the Coalition as a sustainable organisation.
• Lead the Coalition s policy and influencing function
  Work with the Senior Leadership Team and Coalition members to turn evidence into clear, credible policy positions and priorities, ensuring members are aligned, informed and able to contribute.
• Develop and deliver a cross-party influencing strategy
  Building on the Coalition s profile, you will further nurture and maintain relationships with MPs, peers, special advisers, civil servants and key stakeholders, ensuring strong reach across Westminster, local government and the wider policy community.
• Maximise key moments for impact
  Identify and respond to opportunities in the parliamentary and policy cycle to maximise influence, including producing briefings, consultation responses and submissions.
• Oversee policy-related events to support engagement
  Lead activity such as events, roundtables and party conference attendance to strengthen the Coalition s visibility and impact.
• Align policy, public affairs, research and communications
  Work closely with the Head of Communications and Campaigns, and the Associate Director of Research to ensure a joined-up approach across research, influencing, media and campaigning.
• Represent the Coalition externally
  Act as a senior spokesperson at high-level meetings, events, and in the media where appropriate.
• Strengthen how we measure impact
  Work with the Executive Director to further develop our impact framework, improving how we track, evaluate and communicate influence.
• Lead and develop the team
  Provide support to team members, fostering a collaborative, inclusive and high-performing culture.

Person Specification

Essential

• Experience of leading a team or working at executive/senior leadership levels where you have managed budgets and had to make decisions related to organisational effectiveness. This should also include demonstrable experience of building and nurturing teams that can deliver an organisational strategy.
• Proven experience leading influencing functions in an advocacy or policy environment and delivering change
• Experience turning research and insight into clear, credible and persuasive policy positions.
• Knowledge of system change approaches, ideally within public service reform or similar
• Knowledge of how Government, Parliament, Whitehall, political parties and the wider policy community operate, and how to navigate them effectively.
• Able to operate confidently in complex, fast-moving and politically sensitive environments, working across party lines with diplomacy.
• Demonstrable experience building and maintaining trusted relationships with politicians, advisers, officials and sector leaders.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with experience producing high-quality briefings and representing organisations externally.
• Experience of supporting fundraising activities either through relationship-building or bid-writing.

Desirable

• Understanding of early education and childcare policy in England and the challenges currently facing the system.
• Experience working in or with coalitions, membership organisations or alliances.
• Proven ability to work flexibly as part of a small, remote team.

The application process

Please apply with a CV and cover letter (no more than two pages) by the listed closing date. No agencies please. We recognise that the use of AI technologies can be useful in reducing the work that goes into job-hunting, however, we kindly request that you use your cover letter to evidence that you have understood the requirements of the role and provide examples of how you can meet the criteria.

The EECC is committed to equity, diversity and inclusion. We use anonymous recruiting during the application process and we use positive action under section 159 of the Equality Act in relation to disability or race. This means that if we have two candidates of equal merit in our process, we will seek to take forward the disabled or Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic candidate in order to diversify our staff team.

We regret that our small team does not have capacity to provide individual feedback on every application.

Recruitment timeline

• Closing date: 23:30, Thursday 11th June.
• Notified for interview by: Tuesday 16th June
• Interviews: We expect this to be a two-stage interview process with first interviews held on either 24th or 25th June and second stage interviews arranged an agreed time.

In the event that we don't receive suitable applications, we may extend this deadline and timeline.