Regional Organiser – Cymru region

UNISON Torbay Health; Colwyn Bay; On-site; GBP 35,000 - 52,000; Full time

Job summary

UNISON is seeking a Regional Organiser to lead day-to-day activities, guide local branches and activists, and oversee casework across the Cymru Region. You will develop training plans, mentor stewards, and lead negotiations with employers to defend members’ interests.

The role requires travel across Wales, with the Colwyn Bay office as the main base and occasional trips to Swansea and Cardiff. Strong leadership and advocacy skills are essential.

Qualifications

• Strong understanding of the union movement and its drivers; commitment to equality.
• Proven commitment to organising and building worker power.
• Ability to advise on organising key branch duties and improving response times.
• Good knowledge of key employment law and forthcoming changes affecting members.
• Solid grasp of the political landscape and its impact on strategy.
• Experience in managing a team and collaborating across functions.
• Excellent communication and advocacy skills, including high‑level negotiations.
• Ability to build relationships with activists, committees and other stakeholders.
• Experience in strategic project management and budgeting.

Responsibilities

• Lead negotiations, representing members individually and collectively.
• Coach, mentor and support stewards and branch officers.
• Guide and develop local branches and activists for stronger workplace organisation.
• Identify activist training needs and develop targeted development plans.
• Manage a small team of area/local organisers and coordinate field activity.
• Develop and implement systems and processes for handling casework across branches.
• Travel throughout the Cymru Region; main office in Colwyn Bay with occasional visits to Swansea/Cardiff.

Skills

Movement understanding and equality

Worker power and organising

Branch duties guidance

Employment law knowledge

Political landscape awareness

Team leadership

Communication and advocacy

Stakeholder relationships

Strategic project management

Job description

The role

Our 1,200 staff work across 12 UK regions and our national centre in London. Regional offices support the work of local branches, helping to represent, recruit, organise and retain members – as well as making key contributions in areas such as campaigning, strategies for negotiation and bargaining, and actions against discrimination.

As a Regional Organiser, you’ll be playing a hands‑on, day‑to‑day leadership role, as well as acting as an advocate of the union. Guiding, supporting and developing local branches and activists to ensure the strongest possible workplace organisation, you’ll identify activist training and development needs, provide coaching and mentoring to stewards and branch officers, and manage a small team of area/local organisers. Additionally, you will lead negotiations, represent members individually and collectively, and help branches to develop effective systems and processes for handling casework.

The person

What we’re looking for

• An understanding of our movement, its pressures and drivers, with a passion for equality.
• A commitment to organising and building worker power.
• Ability to provide advice and guidance on the effective organisation of key branch duties (e.g. maintaining membership density, activist base enhancement, supporting employers with major restructuring, maintaining confidence in union ability to influence outcomes, oversight of case work and reducing response times).
• Good knowledge of key employment law, including developing case law and upcoming changes that may affect members.
• A strong understanding of the political landscape and how this might impact our approach.
• Ability to manage a team of staff, with a willingness to collaborate and to lead by example.
• Excellent communication and advocacy skills, with proven ability to manage high level negotiations and representation of cases in challenging situations.
• Ability to build and strengthen relationships with key stakeholders, ability to influence and engage at all levels e.g. activists, democratic bodies/committees.
• Strategic project management experience, including budget management. Ability to develop strategies and solutions to solve complex problems.

Please refer to the job description and person specification for full requirements for this role.

This is a field‑based role and you will need to be able to travel throughout the Cymru Region. Your main place of work will be our Colwyn Bay office, although travel to our Swansea and Cardiff offices will also be required. As the Cymru Region covers the whole of Wales, travel across both urban and rural areas will be expected. Occasional travel to other regions of the UK may also be required for training, meetings and other organisational activities.

UNISON is committed to equality, diversity and inclusion. We encourage you to complete the voluntary Diversity Monitoring Form to help us understand and improve the diversity of our applicant pool and recruitment practices.

About UNISON

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.