Head of Policy & Campaigns

Grade and Salary: Team lead - £56,000 to £60,000 (depending on experience)

Reporting To: Director

Number of direct reports: Three (currently)

Location: Brighton/Hybrid (At least two days per week in Brighton Office)

Contract: Full time, permanent (35 hours a week)

Travel Requirements:The post involves some UK travel and may include occasional travel to Europe.

How to apply:

If you are interested in applying,  and a covering letter, of no more than two sides, explaining how you meet the person specification and what you can bring to the role to Josie Cohen, at by midnight on Sunday 1st February 2026.

This advert will come off the Guardian Jobs website on 25th January but applicants can find all the information on the PAN UK website until 1st February:

First round interviews will be held in Brighton on 11th and 12th February. Second round interviews will be in Brighton on 16th and/or 17th February.

PAN UK actively encourages applications from diverse backgrounds. We view diversity in its broadest form which includes, but is not limited to, the consideration of race, nationality, gender, age, class, disability, sexuality, language and educational background. We particularly encourage applications from eligible candidates from minority ethnic groups which remain under-represented in the charity sector.

If you would like to discuss whether you are eligible to apply for this role, please contact Josie Cohen at .

We are asking all applicants to complete a diversity form, even if you choose to leave some parts blank. Your responses will remain anonymous and will not be linked to your application. The information you provide will help us to better understand our own recruitment practices and how they can be improved to ensure that we are reaching as broad a pool of people as possible.

The diversity form is linked to from

Background

Pesticide Action Network UK (PAN UK) is the only charity in the UK focused solely on tackling the problems caused by pesticides and promoting safe and sustainable alternatives in agriculture, urban areas, homes and gardens. It is an independent, non-profit organisation, which works nationally and internationally to eliminate the use of the most hazardous pesticides, reduce dependence on pesticides overall, and to increase the adoption of sustainable alternatives to chemical pest control.

Our Head of Policy & Campaigns leads our work in the UK which aims to better protect both the environment and human health from pesticide harms. Through policy work, lobbying, research, media and strategic communications, we aim to influence a range of decision makers, from the UK government and devolved administrations to local councils and the country's biggest supermarkets. The role also includes working alongside PAN UK's Director to secure funding to cover the UK team's salaries, overheads and activities.

It is an incredibly varied role, involving everything from leading on strategy development for the UK team while also being intricately involved in writing and editing publications and executing other activities such as events and mobilising the public.

The Head of Policy & Campaigns is part of PAN UK's Senior Management Team (along with our Director, Head of Finance and Governance and Head of International Programmes) which sets the direction of the organisation and ensures it is well-managed and delivering on our mission.

Specific responsibilities

1. Advocacy, policy and campaigning

• Lead the UK team in developing advocacy strategies, and fully utilising opportunities to make progress towards achieving PAN UK's mission.
• Conduct high quality research and analysis aimed at influencing decision makers. Ensure it is presented in a way which is both technically accurate and compelling.
• Develop and/or maintain expertise in pesticide policy with the aim of being able to represent PAN UK credibly in a range of external fora.
• Build relationships with a wide range of decision makers including government ministers and civil servants, parliamentarians, devolved administrations, local councils and supermarkets.
• Ensure that the organisation's policy positions on UK pesticide issues are clear, well thought out and…