BSOF Area Organiser – South East region

Unison; Woking; Hybrid; GBP 44,000 - 54,000; Full time

Job summary

UNISON is looking for an enthusiastic, flexible organiser to recruit members and activists and build sustainable branches through campaigning and organising projects across the South East region. The role involves travel within the South East, including to our Woking Office, and occasional London travel for training or meetings.

Starting salary is £48,787 per annum plus £3,629 Annual Subsistence Allowance, with opportunities to contribute to broader campaigns and bargaining efforts.

Qualifications

• Experience as negotiator, organiser or campaigner desirable.

Responsibilities

• Deliver targeted organising projects across the South East Region.
• Work with branches to build recruitment and organising initiatives and train workplace reps.
• Organise region-wide campaigns and events and prepare briefing notes.
• Support collective negotiations, research agreements, draft claims, and engage with employers as needed.

Job description

UNISON is looking for an enthusiastic, flexible, and resourceful individuals to help us recruit member & activists and build sustainable branches through our campaigning and organising projects

Our region covers a large area including Kent, Surrey, Sussex, Hampshire, Milton Keynes, Oxford, Southampton, Buckinghamshire, and beyond.

The BSOF Area Organiser will be responsible for

• delivering targeted organising projects across the South East Region, including areas such as Health and Social Care, Schools, In-Sourcing and UNISON’s Migrant Workers Campaign.
• You will work closely with branches and activists to build recruitment and organising initiatives, develop and train workplace representatives, and support branch communications and campaigns.
• The role involves organising region-wide campaigns and events and preparing information briefings or guidance to support organising or bargaining efforts. BSOF Area Organisers also support collective negotiations, research relevant agreements, draft claims, and engage with employers as needed.

While previous experience as a negotiator, organiser, or campaigner within a trade union, political or community organisation is desirable, transferrable skills are also welcomed. Candidates must demonstrate an understanding of our union’s values and objectives.

The South East Region aims to represent and reflect the entire public sector in the South East, we support and encourage applications from underrepresented groups, including those from Black, Asian and non-white backgrounds. This ensures our union truly reflects our members, the community, and public sector workers, reaching those who need us most. In UNISON, ‘Black’ – with a capital B – is used to indicate people with a shared history. ‘Black’ is used in a broad political and inclusive sense to describe people in the UK who have suffered from colonialism and enslavement in the past and continue to experience racism and diminished opportunities in today’s society. This includes people of African, Caribbean, Asian, Arab, and other heritage.

This is a field-based role and whilst we aim to allocate work to reduce travel time, you will need to be able to travel in and around the South East Region as required, including to our Woking Office where our organisers are based, and occasionally to London for training, meetings, or other purposes.

If you want to find out more, why not come along to either of our online drop-in session to find out about the role and hear what a typical day looks like in the life of a UNISON Organiser using the link below to sign up:

If you can’t make it, don’t worry, you do not need to attend one of these sessions to apply. Please note attendance does not guarantee an interview or job, but we provide advice and support.

UNISON is the UK’s leading public services trade union, with over 1.3 million members working in the public sector, private, voluntary and community sectors and in the energy services. We employ approximately 1,200 staff, with around 370 at our national centre in Euston in central London and the remainder in our 12 regions across the UK, including Northern Ireland.

UNISON is a dynamic, progressive union, committed to equality. We encourage men and women of all ages, Black and minority ethnic groups, disabled people, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people to work with us.

Starting salary: £48,787 per annum plus £3,629 Annual Subsistence Allowance

Job reference: R9/BSOF01

UNISON in numbers

• UNISON has more than 1.3 million members and activists, making us one of Europe’s largest unions
• More than 70% of our members are women
• UNISON is spread over 12 UK regions
• UNISON has more than 1,000 UNISON UK branches