Executive Director @ Medact

Background

Medact brings together health workers to fight for health justice. We recognise that health injustice is driven by political, social and economic conditions, and we mobilise the health community to take action to achieve systemic change, working together towards a fairer, better, safer world.

We address some of the most pressing national and global threats to health and wellbeing including climate change, human rights abuses, militarism, nuclear weapons, institutional racism, and rising health and social inequality. We are a member-led organisation, and our members are made up of people who work in health and social care including nurses, doctors, midwives, and clinical researchers. We strive to embed anti-oppressive politics in our work and governance.

Closing date: 9am, Monday October 7th

Interviews:  w/c Nov 4th – w/c Nov 11th, tbc

Hours: Full-time, 35 hours per week or part-time (0.8FTE)

Salary: £50,000 starting salary with annual increments based on tenure

Contract Permanent

Location: Hybrid. Staff work remotely and from the Medact office in East London. London-based staff work in-person as a team one day per week, and staff based outside London come in at least once a month, with support for travel costs. Applications from outside London are encouraged.

Medact has grown significantly over the last five years and is in an exciting new period as an organisation. As we develop our next five-year strategy we are looking to refine our campaigning and organising practice and grow our membership base to secure long lasting victories in our campaigns for health justice. 

About the role 

The new Executive Director will be responsible for leading the organisation in developing a new strategy to guide us through the next phase of growth, while leading the team through a new political climate.

Grants fundraising is of particular importance to the role, and the successful candidate will be the lead person responsible for securing funding for our campaigning and organising work and maintaining strong relationships with donors. 

Our Executive Director will lead an experienced team and an organisation that deeply values collaborative working, consultative decision making, and a commitment to transparency. 

About you

We are looking for someone who is passionate about addressing health, climate, racial and economic injustice and the health impacts of conflict and militarisation, and who understands the vital role that health professionals have in making the connections between these issues and working for peace, to make the world a better, fairer and safer place.

You will have an understanding of the national and international framework within which Medact operates, and you will be able to demonstrate that your values and politics align with those of our organisation. Ideally you will have experience of working in health or with health workers, so that you have an appreciation of the culture within which they work and the potential of their contribution.

You will have strong leadership skills so that, valuing the collaborative approach of our team and respecting varying views, you are able to arrive at clear decisions. You will also have a track record in fundraising in similar fields and a good knowledge of a range of potential supporters.

We are open to applicants interested in applying for this role as a job share between two people. Please include in your application (i) your proposal for sharing the essential responsibilities of the role, (ii) considerations you think are key for sharing a role of this nature and seniority, and (iii) any proposed breakdown of time between post-holders.

Person spec and job description

How to apply

Submit a CV and accompanying cover letter explaining how you meet the criteria in the person specification to [email protected]. Please also complete our monitoring form.

If your application is shortlisted, we will invite you to an interview. Interviews will be held in person in Bethnal Green, London. Candidates will also have the opportunity to meet and interact with staff and some of the Trustees. The interview will involve: a presentation to staff on a specific task that will be set in advance, and an interview with a panel of Trustees and senior staff.

If invited for interview, please share any reasonable adjustment requests, which we will do our very best to accommodate. We can also reimburse shortlisted candidates for childcare and travel costs as a result of attending interview(s).

Help applying

We have members of the team and board on hand to talk about the post and application process. They won’t be involved in recruitment, and any chats will be kept confidential. If you think this could be helpful, email [email protected].

Key dates

Closing date: Monday October 7th, 9am

Interviews: w/c Nov 4th – w/c Nov 11th, date tbc

Our recruitment principles

Medact aims to be an inclusive and supportive employer, and we recognise that recruitment processes don’t work for everyone. We acknowledge that people from certain backgrounds are under-represented in the NGO sector, and we’re committed to doing what we can to correct this. We welcome applications from people with marginalised identities or lived experience of the issues Medact works on. If you have any questions or uncertainties about this position, and whether you are right for it, please do get in touch!