Head of Digital Communications

The Youth Endowment Fund

Head of Digital Communications

Reports to: Director of External Affairs and Youth Understanding

Salary: £67,800

Location:  Central London or Hybrid*(see below)

Contract: 2-year fixed term contract
Closing date for applications: 12pm, Tuesday 7th April 2026
Interview dates: Week commencing 20th April 2026

About the Youth Endowment Fund (YEF)

All of us will experience violence at some point in our lives. For many children, it is a

daily reality. Each year, tens of children are killed, hundreds are hospitalised, 1 in 5

teenage children are victims and the majority admit to feeling afraid of violence. It

scares them when they travel home from school, prevents them from going out and

makes the most vulnerable feel like they don’t matter. It is taking lives, traumatising

families and dividing communities. It robs potential, progress and hope.

But it doesn’t have to be this way.

The Youth Endowment Fund believes that no child should be affected by violence.

We research violence to understand it; we find, fund and test what works to prevent

it; and we are building a movement to end it.

Communications at YEF

The Communications team, within the External Affairs and Youth Understanding

directorate, is a critical arm of the organisation. We can only reduce violence if

people hear about what works and put it into practice. Change is hard and it only

happens if people trust where it comes from and want to engage with what we are

communicating. We can only make change at scale if we’re smart about using

digital tools to reach a growing, diverse audience across society.

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We need professionals working across our sectors — youth-workers, police officers,

social workers, policymakers, headteachers, and more — to find out about and be

part of our movement. To do this, we must communicate with humility, authenticity

and clarity.

We need politicians, commissioners and funders to follow our guidance and use our

products. To do this, we must secure a seat at the table, communicate with

intellectual rigour and persuade using the evidence.

We also need to connect with wider society, helping anyone who cares about

making Britain safer for the next generation to understand what we do, what works

and how they can support our cause. To do this, our brand must be accessible and

inspiring, leveraging robust research alongside human storytelling.

As the Head of Digital Communications, you will be essential to achieving our

mission. You will join the YEF at an exciting time. We are entering a crucial phase of

increasing our policy influence at the top of government, changing things for the

better across our sectors — education, youth justice, youth sector, children’s

services, policing, health — and mobilising a movement to keep children and young

people safe.

Your job is to make sure that the right people are drawn to our website and our

digital communications, that they discover and engage with our content — from

quoting our data, to using our Toolkit and evidence, to following practical

recommendations in our guidance, to watching videos about the latest trends and

conversations in violence prevention  — and trust what we have to say.

You will support the Director of External Affairs and Youth Understanding to plan,

build and execute a digital campaign to make all of this happen. You will help to

lead the Communications team to hold the attention of our priority audiences and

making them act.

Key Responsibilities

•  The core of your job is to ensure that YEF's audience grows rapidly and

strategically in size, that people working in our sectors gain awareness and

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confidence in our brand and that decision-makers engage with our work via

our digital channels: our website, social media, newsletters, search, long-

and short-form videos and the Safe podcast.

•  You will further develop YEF’s existing digital marketing strategy into a

national campaign across 2026-2029 for mobilising the evidence to prevent

violence affecting children and young people.

•  You will provide leadership to YEF generally and the Communications team

specifically - managing the Senior Digital Marketing Manager and Digital

Marketing and Communications Officer – to develop internal collaboration

for boosting organisation-wide digital activity, such as call-to-actions via

social media and video content.

•  You will execute a strategy for moving to a more segmented, sector-specific
communication strategy that engages each audience (whether teachers,

youth workers, police officers etc.) to use of YEF’s products whether our

Toolkit, our Guidance on what works and self-assessment tools for each

sector.

•  To commission and develop compelling, eye-catching video content that

authentically showcases case studies of our work, drives our audiences

towards our channels and products and significantly boosts widespread

engagement — views, likes, comments and shares — online.

•  To help secure and convert high-profile digital communications

opportunities for the team in representing YEF’s work, including podcast and

video placements.

•  To develop and leverage relevant agency relationships, and use data

analytics, to optimise our SEO positioning for online searches related to youth

violence, advise on investment in paid advertising to drive traffic to our

website and products, and generally boost our digital engagement.

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About You

You are this sort of person:

•  You communicate complex ideas clearly. Whether speaking or writing, you
break down complicated concepts in ways that make sense to different

audiences – without oversimplifying. You bring clarity where others bring

jargon.

•  You get things done. You’re organised, delivery-focused, and produce high-
quality work, even under pressure. You work independently and to a high

standard.

•  You are skilled at designing and delivering digital comms and audience

journeys for different segments of an organisation’s audience. You know how

to build up a clear picture of audience members, develop their customer

journey and turn them from unaware to aware, to a user and then an

advocate.

•  You think big and adapt fast. You’re a strategic thinker who can see the big
picture without losing sight of the detail. You’re logical, creative, and open to

challenge – always testing and refining your ideas.

•  You care about the detail. You like getting a system working well, planning a
campaign and getting the detail right, organizing who is doing what and

seeing it all happen.

•  You pay attention to what is happening in the world. You’re plugged into

current affairs, technological trends and media conversations, particularly

when it comes to British society.

•  You are committed to equality, diversity and inclusion. You believe and act in
a way that celebrates and encourages a range of experiences, backgrounds

and values.

You have:

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•  A track record of driving digital communications to hundreds of thousands of

people at a regional or national scale. You have led, planned and executed

campaigns that bring about measurable outcomes online and practical

change in the real world.

•  Experience working with a mission-driven charity, organisation or business.

You care about using your extensive digital skills to drive the work of an

organisation striving to achieve social change.

•  Experience within a leadership or management position. You have led people

to drive bold, transformative communications for an organisation, company

or business.

•  Expertise in using technical tools and data analytics to target audiences

online. You know how to segment and target digital audiences, transform

SEO performance, develop high quality websites, increase newsletter

engagement and bring new technical tools to solve problems.

•  You have experience of commissioning creative partners - like consultants,

videographers and designers - to produce compelling digital outputs and

developing narrative-led content about urgent social issues that draws

people in.

•  A track record of producing video – such as case studies, explainers or

podcasts - to increase positive regard, brand awareness and audience

engagement on LinkedIn, Instagram Reels, YouTube, TikTok and X.

You may have the following, but they are not necessary:

•  A qualification in digital marketing.
•  Past experience of using Salesforce for marketing campaigns.
•  Experience of working in or close to one or more of our priority sectors:

education, youth justice, youth sector, children’s services, policing and health.

•  Knowledge of using Artificial Intelligence to ethically and effectively boost

digital performance at an organisation

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While it’s not a criteria, we are especially interested to hear from applicants who

have lived experience of youth violence.

It’s important to us that the people we hire do not discriminate. We believe in being

inclusive and giving everyone an equal chance to succeed. Applications are

welcome from all regardless of age, sex, gender identity, disability, marriage or civil

partnership, pregnancy and maternity, religion or belief, race, sexual orientation,

transgender status or social economic background.

All appointments will be made on merit, following a fair and transparent process. In

line with the Equality Act 2010, however, the organisation may employ positive

action where candidates from underrepresented groups can demonstrate their

ability to perform the role equally well.

This position will require a DBS check to be performed, but a record is not a block to

performing this role.

Hybrid Working Details

The office is based in Central London, but you don’t have to be. Those living

in London and within the 32 London Boroughs are expected to be in the office a

minimum of 2 days per week. If you live outside of London and work remotely, you’ll

be expected to work from the London office 2 days per month. As part of our

commitment to flexible working, we will consider a range of options for the

successful applicant. All options can be discussed at the interview stage.

To Apply

To apply, please send a CV and a cover letter answering the specific questions

below, along with the completed monitoring form, by clicking the "Apply for this"
button by 12pm, Tuesday 7th April 2026.

Application Questions

1.  Why are you drawn to work at the Youth Endowment Fund and why do you

care about our mission? (400 words max)

2.  Tell us about your experience of leading a digital communications team?

(400 words max)

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3.  Tell us about your experience of creating and implementing a digital strategy

within an organisation to engage a large audience. Please be clear about

how you measured your success? (400 words max)

Interview Process

Shortlisted candidates will be sent a technical task to complete before the

interview. Interviews will take place from the week commencing 20th April 2026

PLEASE NOTE: We do not sponsor work permits and you will be required to provide

proof of your eligibility to work in the UK.

Benefits Include

•  £1,000 professional development budget annually
•  28 days holiday plus Bank Holidays
•  Employee Assistance Programme – 24hr phone line for free confidential

support

•  Volunteering days - 4 half days per year
•  Death in service - 4 times annual salary
•  Flexible hours. Core office hours 10am – 4pm
•  Financial support including travel and hardship loans
•  Employer contributed pension of 5%.

Personal Data

Your personal data will be shared for the purposes of the recruitment exercise. This

includes  our HR team,  interviewers (who may  include  other  partners  in the project

and independent advisors), relevant team managers and our IT service provider if

access to the data is necessary for performance of their roles. We do not share your

data with other third parties, unless your application for employment is successful,

and we make you an offer of employment. We will then share your data with former

employers  to  obtain  references  for  you.  We  do  not  transfer  your  data  outside  the

European Economic Area.

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