Join our team!

Campaign Director

  • Contractual details: From 2.5 to 3 days a week subject to negotiation

  • Term: Until end of May 2026 with a possibility of extension, and a target start date of 2 June

  • Salary: £32,000 - £42,000 pro rata plus pension contribution depending on experience

  • Location: Oxford

Background:

Oxfordshire Liveable Streets (OLS) was formed in 2018. Our objectives are to promote, in Oxfordshire, a safe and liveable streetscape and travel environment; develop and see the realisation of a blueprint for better transport; engage directly with the public; and build a coalition for change.

OLS has so far scored several major successes, working with partners. First, we helped to get the LTN concept adopted as policy in Oxford and to get the councillor in a target area to request government money for LTNs. We did this by taking the public to visit the successful Waltham Forest scheme, giving talks in Oxford, holding weekend ‘Mini Holland’ events, and bringing Waltham Forest officers and residents to meetings in Oxford. Second, we campaigned for an improvement to the 2019-2020 council’s demand-management policy and won. More recently we have played a leading role in explaining the impact of the proposed traffic filters, including public talks and a dedicated website Oxford’s Traffic Filters. For more information see also https://www.oxfordshireliveablestreets.org/.

The highway authority in Oxford is now bringing forward the Central Oxfordshire Travel Plan (COTP), an ambitious scheme to re-prioritise space for public and active travel (see here). These are the kinds of plans campaigners have sought for decades.

In implementing these proposals, the council is caught between an aggressive DfT funding schedule and a challenging “sell” to the public. The need to engage and campaign in favour of these changes is therefore urgent. The council has committed to introducing the filters soon after the current works to the Botley Road rail bridge are completed, so the next year is critical.

We have a four-point plan which aims to:

  • Organise public talks. Run a series of public and employer-based talks explaining the purpose of the Central Oxfordshire Travel Plan measures and how to adapt to them, helping to ensure they have more widespread support.

  • Support Council officers and councillors. OLS has created a space as a critical friend to the Council, supporting and encouraging but pressing them to be more ambitious. You will lobby councillors to ensure that the political will to introduce the measures is maintained, and that the traffic reduction measures are implemented with equity and social justice in mind.

  • Create positive messages. Further develop our various websites, offering support and information to both residents and employers on how to shift to more sustainable forms of travel. Support the Zero Carbon Oxford Partnership and Low Carbon Oxford North to promote the new Oxford Travel Options website, which will launch shortly. Direct the campaign officer with ideas for positive social media stories.

  • Spread the word. Engage with local authorities and campaign groups in other cities to encourage them to adopt similar measures by showing them what has been achieved in Oxford and how it came about so that they can learn from Oxford in introducing similar schemes.

Role description:

The aim of the role is to support the introduction of the local authority’s Central Oxfordshire Transport Plan, in particular the traffic filters, which are expected to be operational in autumn 2025. We are in the rare and hugely privileged position of rallying behind the council’s own plans, but we also want to challenge them to go further.

You will also need to undertake some administrative work alongside the Campaigns Officer in reporting to the board on activities, finances, and fundraising.

Management and reporting:

You will report directly to the OLS board, which meets monthly.

You will be responsible for managing any contractors and the Campaigns Officer.

You will also need to shape and coordinate a team of volunteers willing to support the campaign effort and ensure that their work helps to deliver on the four-point plan.

Person specification:

We are seeking an experienced and well-organised campaign director who can lead on campaign activity, manage contractors, produce campaign materials, and mobilise, support and coordinate a wide range of skilled and experienced volunteers.

You will need to have experience of campaigning, although not necessarily in the transport sector, with the ability to work independently and in an agile and collaborative manner. You must have:

  • Strong writing and communication skills

  • Strong coordination skills

  • Project management skills

  • Experience of managing volunteers

It would also be desirable for you to have:

  • IT skills, ideally in Action Network, Mailchimp or similar

  • Knowledge of transport issues in Oxford

To apply:

Please email info@oxlivsts.org.uk with a short description of your suitability for this post, and your CV, and put “OLS Campaigns Director” in the subject line.

Applicants will need to already have a right to work in the UK.

Deadline: 17 April 2025 at 5pm

Interviews: 25 April 2025, please let us know if you are not available on this day