Director of Systemic Impact

Role Overview

As the Director of Systemic Impact at Big Change, you will play a critical role in shaping the direction of our work in supporting changemakers to show that a new way is possible. You will help us build on 12 years of experience co-creating insight with partners to help us shape our future. You will lead the programme of work comprising:

• Ensuring Big Change s programme is designed to make a long-lasting impact.

• Finding and supporting people with early-stage, high-impact ideas.

• The leadership journey of the changemakers in our community.

• The continued development of a thriving community and wider ecosystem around those leaders.

• Driving and recognising the cumulative impact of this work.

In your role, you'll explore key questions such as:

• How can we maximise our lasting impact and unique contribution to the sector through our approaches, the leaders we support, and how we back them?

• How can we effectively capture learning, impact, and insights from our work to continuously improve and demonstrate our role in driving system change with our partners?

• How can we collaborate with diverse stakeholders, including funders, to build strong ecosystems of support and collective action that drive lasting positive change?

You will report to: Managing Director.

You will manage: Head of Community, Impact Manager (Grantmaking).

Who We Are Looking For

• You have experience leading and/or catalysing systems change and leveraging a range of assets (funding, capacity building, communications, connections, insight) to unlock leaders' individual and collective impact.

• You re driven by the belief that change is possible when people come together to achieve shared goals. You are undaunted in your determination to challenge the status quo.

• You explore bold ideas and find practical, transformative solutions to complex challenges.

• You understand the power of investing in networks and bringing people and ideas together to achieve collective impact.

• You are comfortable building trusted relationships with a broad range of systems actors from change makers to policy makers, and you have a demonstrable commitment to intergenerational collaboration.

• You re naturally inquisitive, always asking questions with humility, seeking new perspectives, and leveraging insights to inform strategies and drive meaningful outcomes. Sharing what you learn across communities is second nature to you.

• You prioritise a hopeful and compassionate approach to leadership and change-making. You create a trusting environment in which your team is heard, valued and supported.

About Big Change

Big Change is unashamedly hopeful for a future in which all young people are set up to thrive in life. We find and invest in people challenging the status quo and leading change, backing their early-stage ideas that have high-impact potential. We provide opportunities for them to connect, learn and act together as part of a purpose-driven community rethinking and reshaping the systems around young people. We believe that together we can spark lasting change.

Big Change Benefits:

• £1000 Learning and Development Allowance - Annual.

• Unlimited annual leave policy.

• Flexible working.

• Wellbeing allowance.

• Volunteering days.

• Pension scheme with up to 5% matched by Big Change.

What You Will Do

Strategy and Team Leadership

• Accountability for creating, delivering, and communicating the team s objectives and strategy, leading and mentoring the team fostering an outcomes-oriented work environment.

• Activating the strategy while driving team engagement and building excitement for the work.

• Co-creating strategies and partnerships through a systemic impact lens, identifying and deploying the most effective use of funding and resources.

• Leading the planning and objective-setting process with key stakeholders across the organisation.

Impact, Learning, and Insights

• Leading the team, whilst creating a culture of learning - encouraging experimentation and co-creation for our innovative grant-making, capacity-building, community engagement, and systemic impact approaches.

• Leading the commissioning, management, and sharing of research to generate insight, maximise impact, and develop frameworks that align with our strategic direction.

• Advocate for Big Change s mission and impact, sharing learnings to inspire and inform social impact and philanthropic efforts, creating opportunities for collaboration and amplification.

• Championing and embedding systems thinking practices across the organisation, ensuring a cohesive approach to addressing complex social challenges impacting young people.

Stakeholder and Partnership Engagement:

• Representing Big Change in forums and platforms focused on impact, contributing insights.

• Building connections and partnerships to influence policy and shift systemic behaviours for and with our community of leaders.

• Driving a proactive approach to partnerships focused on mutual learning, shared goals, and sustainable solutions.

• Ensuring engagement with a broad range of stakeholders at different stages of the design process and embedding intergenerational collaboration in all our work.

• Working closely with the CEO and Director of Strategic Development to build relationships and engage the broader funding market for systemic change.

Systemic Engagement

• Building and strengthening relationships across sectors to connect our community of leaders to broader networks, ensuring a two-way exchange of insights and influence. This includes leveraging sector relationships to support the future pathways of leaders and ideas emerging from specific cohorts or initiatives.

• Supporting the team in expanding their networks, strengthening collaboration, and building relationships that amplify impact and drive collective success.

• Working across teams to ensure that systemic impact is embedded in all areas of Big Change s work, from data analysis to programme design, supporting Big Change as a catalytic organisation.

• Collaborating closely with our communications team to ensure that insights are effectively shared with both internal and external audiences.

• Acting as a bridge to connect insights and approaches between our UK and global work.

What You Will Need

Your Key Skills:

• Systemic Impact: You have significant experience in applying systems change approaches to strategy, programme design, partnerships and impact measurement.

• Insight generation: You excel at using research and data to inform decisions, tell compelling stories and translate them into actionable outcomes.

• Collaborative Leadership: You re highly experienced in leading teams and building partnerships that co-create solutions and amplify impact. You are brilliant at facilitating collegial discussions and building and weaving together strong, meaningful relationships.

• Communication: You re great at translating complex ideas into accessible insights for diverse audiences. Your exceptional communication skills support you in shaping public perspectives.

• Grantmaking: You know how to design inclusive grant-making frameworks to create maximum impact.

Your Experience:

• You ve designed and delivered grant funding programmes, grantee development and capacity-building initiatives, ensuring alignment with strategic goals and systemic approaches.

• You bring a deep understanding of systems change in practice, with a proven ability to integrate systems thinking into strategic planning and decision-making.

• You ve successfully built partnerships and collaborated to address critical social challenges, ensuring that solutions are sustainable and impactful.

• You have led high-performing and multi-disciplinary teams, fostering innovation and inspiring motivation in inclusive working cultures.

• You have transformed insights into actionable strategies aligning with broader organisational goals.