Head of Campaigns and Public Affairs

Organisation
:
London Borough of Waltham Forest

Salary: PO11 £ 73,602 to £77,550

Contract Type: Full-time/Permanent

Working hours per week:36

Final date to receive applications: 10/06/2026

Proposed Interview Date(s):25/06/2026

Reference: 2154

About Us:

Bursting with culture, energy, and opportunity, the London Borough of Waltham Forest is a fantastic and exciting place to work.

We are a highly ambitious borough. Driven by the innate creativity of our residents, we have developed new and innovative ways to build our communities. Our Council is relentlessly resident-focused, insight-led, digitally driven and commercially minded; a Council focused on meeting the needs of our existing and future residents.

London Borough of Waltham Forest is one of the Mayor of London’s Good Work Standardemployers. This accreditation is a proof of our commitment to creating a healthy, fair and inclusive workplace. This includes fair pay and conditions, workplace well-being, skills and progression and diversity and recruitment.

The Council’s preference is for online application. However, if you have a disability and are unable to complete an online application, please email
recr
so we can arrange an alternative application method.

We are a Home Office–licensed sponsor; however, for this specific role we are not able to provide Skilled Worker visa sponsorship. To be considered, you must already hold a form of UK work authorisation that does not require sponsorship.

About the role:

This is a pivotal leadership role in our Communications and Campaigns service, responsible for overseeing the planning, development, delivery and evaluation of fully integrated, multi-channel communications and influencing campaigns to drive participation, raise awareness, influence public behaviour, and to realise a range of defined strategic objectives.

The postholder will oversee end-to-end delivery, ensuring campaigns are delivered on time, within budget, and meet all performance KPIs.

The role will also oversee, and be the driving force behind, Waltham forest’s public affairs activities, influencing the national political agenda on significant areas of relevance and interest to the Council, representing the Council in meetings with officials and politicians, both locally and in Westminster, and working with senior colleagues in sector bodies such as LGA and London Councils.

You will make sure that our public affairs activity is responsive to opportunity, effective, and grounded in the achievement of tangible results.

You will involve people from multiple disciplines within the Directorate, across the wider Council, and the Borough as a whole, unlocking the full potential of people’s technical skills and lived experiences, and fostering a culture of active participation and open dialogue. Together with your team you will develop innovative campaigns that resonate with our community and reflect the Council’s values.

You will work extensively with a wide range of internal stakeholders and be required to build exceptional senior level relationships. Key to securing the evolution in culture and working practice required to make your brief a success will be effective influencing and presentation skills, the ability to formulate compelling arguments and the sensitivity and nous to work collaboratively across directorates and services.

You will be required to have excellent project management and communications skills, and experience of working with digital specialists, multimedia producers and designers to produce high quality, effective and impactful assets.

You will develop a campaign infrastructure for the Council, including planning cycles, review and evaluation mechanisms, governance frameworks and tools such as campaign packs and guides, seeking to establish the means to promote consistency and best practice internally. You will also ensure that effective triage mechanisms guide the team’s use of time and effort, making informed and sensitive calls on prioritisation whenever demands clash.

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