Head of Policy and Impact (maternity cover)

About Spear

We launched the award-winning Spear Programme over 20 years ago, and there are now 20 Spear Centres across the country, equipping unemployed 16–24-year-olds facing barriers to employment with the skills and mindset they need to secure work and thrive in the workplace.

About the role

As Head of Policy and Impact, you’ll have a unique opportunity to shape both the future of youth employment policy and how we understand and improve what works for young people. You’ll turn Spear’s frontline experience and evidence into a compelling voice for change, building relationships with government and key decision-makers to influence policy, while leading our work to evaluate and strengthen our programme.

From engaging Ministers to overseeing a major external evaluation, you’ll work across the organisation to ensure our impact is understood, our learning drives improvement, and our voice helps shape the solutions to youth unemployment. It’s an exciting opportunity to combine strategic influence, rigorous evidence and organisational leadership to create change for young people at both an individual and a systemic level.

For more information please read through our Job Specification and our Work with us pack.

Key information

• Salary: from £50,000 dependent on experience


• Contract: Full time (4 days considered) Maternity Cover


•  Occasional out of hours work needed for events such as Spear Celebration


• Annual leave: 28 days annual leave (including Christmas gift days) plus bank holidays


• Closing date: Friday 6th November (We interview on a rolling basis throughout the application period, and may close the role early if we find the right candidate)

If you require any reasonable adjustments as part of the recruitment process, please let us know.

Person Specification

• A practising Christian, passionate about personally representing the values and beliefs of Spear, and our mission to inspire and equip young people to overcome the barriers they’re facing to enter and sustain employment


• Proven track record in developing effective advocacy strategy and tactics, including by consulting and buying in key stakeholders where needed 


• Excellent communication skills; able to clearly communicate complex issues to different internal and external audiences  


• Forward planner with excellent project development and management skills who works well under pressure 


• Good understanding of impact management principles and familiarity with theory of change 


• Strong analytical, numerical and strategic planning skills, with a high level of accuracy and attention to detail


• Excellent reporting and communication skills, including the ability to present information clearly and effectively using written, visual and data-driven formats