Regional Organiser x2 – Eastern region

Unison; Nether Poppleton; Remote; GBP 57,000 - 64,000; Full time

Job summary

UNISON, the UK’s largest trade union, is seeking a Regional Organiser to lead and develop workplace organisation across the Eastern region, including Bury St Edmunds and Chelmsford. You’ll guide local branches, coach stewards, and manage a small team of area organisers to strengthen member engagement.

The role covers negotiations, casework representation, and developing systems to improve efficiency. Travel across the region and to training events is required, with a focus on building activist

Qualifications

• Experience leading teams or large projects.
• Strong negotiating and advocacy skills in challenging contexts.
• Ability to coach and develop stewards and branch officers.

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop local branches and activists to strengthen workplace organisation.
• Guide, coach and mentor area/local organisers and staff.
• Lead negotiations and represent members individually and collectively.
• Help branches develop systems for handling casework and improve response times.

Skills

Leadership

Negotiation

People management

Campaign planning

Job description

If you are a highly capable, collaborative leader who’s committed to the aims of UNISON with a desire to strengthen workplace organisation and build worker power here’s a chance to help steer the UK’s largest trade union through a period of major change

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.

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 in and around the Eastern region, including to our regional offices in Bury St Edmunds and Chelmsford as required – and occasionally to other regions of the UK for training, meetings or other purposes. The Eastern regioncovers a large area including Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk.

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: £57,826 per annum, plus £3,629 annual subsistence allowance

Job reference: R1/19 or R1/21

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