Civil Society Engagement Manager

World Animal Protection; York and North Yorkshire; On-site; GBP 50,000 - 55,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

24 days annual leave

Global Wellbeing closure days

Inclusivity Benefits

Pension scheme

Life Assurance

Flexible working

Cycle to work

Eye care

Job summary

World Animal Protection is seeking a Civil Society Engagement Manager to build and strengthen relationships with civil society organisations, grassroots movements and external stakeholders to accelerate campaign impact globally. The role leads a distributed team and embeds best practices in civil society engagement across campaigns and projects, including engagement with stakeholders in Latin America.

You will guide movement building, coalitions and partnerships, monitor external developments,

Qualifications

• Experience engaging civil society stakeholders across geographies.
• Proven ability to build and strengthen strategic partnerships and coalitions.
• Strong leadership to guide multicultural, multifunctional teams.
• Excellent negotiation and stakeholder management skills.
• Experience in international NGO environments is advantageous.

Responsibilities

• Lead coordination and delivery of civil society engagement across priority geographies and campaign areas.
• Develop and implement strategies to strengthen civil society engagement and campaign impact.
• Build and maintain strategic partnerships, coalitions and alliances.
• Identify opportunities to increase influence, relevance and collective impact.
• Provide guidance on movement building, coalition development and grassroots engagement.
• Monitor external developments and stakeholder opportunities affecting campaigns.
• Represent World Animal Protection with civil society organisations and networks.
• Lead, motivate and develop a team of Civil Society Engagement Leads.

Skills

Stakeholder engagement

Partnerships

Leadership

Team management

Negotiation

Project management

Budget management

Multicultural collaboration

English fluency

Spanish fluency

Job description

Civil Society Engagement Manager

Application Deadline: 27 October 2026

Department: Strategy and Impact

Employment Type: Permanent

Location: International - UK

Reporting To: Head of Campaigns, Research and Advocacy

Compensation: £50,498 - £54,826 / year

Description

Join us in creating a better world for animals

At World Animal Protection, we work as one global organisation to create lasting change for animals through collaboration, partnership and collective action. We are looking for a Civil Society Engagement Manager to lead and strengthen relationships with civil society organisations, grassroots movements and key external stakeholders that can help accelerate our campaign impact across priority geographies.

This role plays a critical part in helping World Animal Protection build and sustain the relationships, coalitions and networks needed to influence change. Working closely with campaign, research, advocacy and engagement colleagues, you will identify strategic opportunities, strengthen partnerships and ensure our campaigns benefit from diverse voices, shared expertise and collective action.

You will lead a globally distributed team and help embed best practice in civil society engagement across campaigns and projects, including strengthening our ability to engage effectively with stakeholders in Latin America.

What you will be doing

• Leading the coordination and delivery of civil society and grassroots engagement across priority geographies and campaign areas.
• Developing and implementing strategies that strengthen civil society engagement and contribute to campaign impact.
• Building and maintaining strategic partnerships, coalitions and alliances that support organisational priorities.
• Identifying opportunities to increase influence, relevance and collective impact through stronger stakeholder engagement.
• Providing guidance and best practice on movement building, coalition development and grassroots engagement.
• Monitoring external developments, stakeholder relationships and engagement opportunities that could influence campaign success.
• Representing World Animal Protection with civil society organisations, networks, coalitions and other external stakeholders.
• Leading, motivating and developing a team of Civil Society Engagement Leads to deliver high-quality outcomes and maximise impact.

What we are looking for

We would love to hear from you if you bring:

• • Demonstrated experience managing and engaging civil society stakeholders across multiple geographies.
  • Experience developing and strengthening strategic partnerships, coalitions and networks.
  • Proven leadership experience with the ability to lead multicultural and multifunctional teams.
  • Experience motivating and managing teams to deliver ambitious outcomes.
  • Strong relationship-building and stakeholder engagement skills, including experience representing an organisation externally.
  • Experience identifying, developing and influencing strategic partnerships that advance campaign objectives.
  • Strong negotiation and influencing skills and experience securing agreement across multiple stakeholders.
  • Experience managing projects and budgets within complex programmes of work.
  • Experience working across different countries and cultures, particularly in the Global South.
  • Professional fluency in English and Spanish, with strong written, verbal and presentation skills.
  • A strong commitment to animal welfare and the mission and values of World Animal Protection.
• Experience working in an international NGO, matrix organisation or supporting growth and fundraising strategies would be advantageous but is not essential.

Why join World Animal Protection?

This is a unique opportunity to help shape how World Animal Protection works with civil society around the world. You will play a key role in strengthening movements, partnerships and coalition-based approaches that drive meaningful change for animals, while working alongside passionate colleagues and partners across multiple regions.

Benefits

All staff are entitled to 24 days of annual leave per calendar year (from January 1 to December 31). In addition, there are 2 Global Wellbeing midyear closure days and 3 additional days to be taken at the end of the calendar year, as determined by World Animal Protection. For part-time staff, holiday entitlement is prorated accordingly

An increase to annual leave through length of service - 1 additional days leave after each years' service up to max 5 days.

Opportunity to flex public holidays to an alternate day that better suits an employee and their beliefs.

A range of 'Inclusivity Benefits': to aid belonging and inclusion at work, and to give our employees support in the moments they most need it:

• Bereavement/Compassionate Leave (10days)
• Carers/Dependent Leave (3 days)
• Disability Leave (10 days)
• Menstrual and Menopause Leave (12 days)
• Pregnancy Loss Leave (10 days)Fertility Treatment Leave (5 days per cycle, up to max 3 cycles)
• Gender AffM medical Leave (20 days)
• Companion animal bereavement Leave (2 days)
• Pawternity’ leave (2 days)

World Animal Protection have a generous Pension Scheme – World Animal Protection contribute 6% and the employee must contribute a minimum of 4%.

Employees are entitled to 2 days Volunteer Leave (pro-rata) a year to volunteer for a cause that matters to them

Full time staff work 35 hours per week Monday to Friday. Actual working hours are flexible however as a global organisation working hours would need to fit with the requirements of the role. In most circumstances, employees can start between 8am and 10 am and finish between 4pm and 6pm however there may be occasions for the need to work outside these hours

All World Animal Protection employees receive Life Assurance. Under the Death in Service benefit scheme the employee will receive 3 x annual salary to go to their nominated beneficiary (only applicable if you are in the pension scheme)

We offer excellent Family Friendly Policies – enhanced Gender-Neutral Parental Leave for new parents

Flexible working options including compressed hours

Interest-free season ticket loans are available to all staff after 6 months service, the cost of which is deducted from your salary over the course of the year.

Cycle to work scheme, a tax-free way to purchase your bike, the cost of which is deducted from your salary over the course of a year.

We offer a free and confidential Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) from an independent provider of employee support services. The EAP is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and is accessible by telephone, email or online and is available in many languages. The service is there to help with a wide range of work, family and personal issues.

We cover the cost of an annual eye test.

Where job vacancies occur, we encourage internal applications, we have a good track record of offering existing staff promotions.

We are committed to ensuring our employees have the appropriate qualifications and skills to fulfil their job role and progress their careers. World Animal Protection invests in employee’s development by offering opportunities to undertake studying for relevant qualifications paying professional membership fees and agreeing suitable study leave.