Global Director of Strategic & Political Communications

Job description

Global Director of Strategic & Political Communications Location: Global - remote - we encourage applications from candidates from any location that are comfortable working occasionally during European hours. Conditions - full time role - 5 days a week. The opportunity This is a rare opportunity to build the public-influence infrastructure for one of the most important gaps in the climate and environmental movement: how to make care for the environment credible, visible and mainstream among conservative and traditional audiences globally. Our Common Home (OCH) works through independent local organisations in around 19 countries. These partners engage people with a strong attachment to the land, traditions and communities – audiences who have often felt alienated by the tone and politics of mainstream climate advocacy. The role of the Global Director of Strategic Communications is to help credible local voices be heard, trusted and repeated in the places where public and political opinion is formed. The postholder will build OCH's central public-influence capability - known internally as media engagement - from the ground up. They will establish the standards, systems, methods and shared infrastructure that allow national teams to strengthen their own media and public-influence work. In the early phase, the role will be hands-on with priority countries. Over time, the work will shift deliberately from delivery to coaching, with the capability embedded in the network rather than held at the centre. About OCH OCH increases support for protecting the environment by empowering those who are currently left out of the conversation. It works through independent local organisations in around 19 countries, supporting local actors to take environmental action rooted in more mainstream values and interests. It works by: developing better, longer-lasting solutions that reflect the priorities of ordinary people; creating the space for decision-makers from across the political spectrum to lead on environmental issues on their own terms; and building confidence, capability and credibility in places where environmental action has too often been framed as belonging to one side of politics. OCH’s model depends on local credibility. Country teams know their audiences, politics, language and media environments best. The central team exists to strengthen that work, not to direct it. A small global team sets the mission and supports country teams on strategy, research, governance and fundraising. Why this role matters now The media and information environment is changing fast. Trust is fragmenting, audiences are harder to reach through traditional channels, and AI is reshaping how information is produced, discovered, summarised and repeated. Generic content is losing value. The premium is moving towards trusted voices, credible data, distinctive insight and rapid relevance. That shift plays to OCH's strengths, but only if the network is built for where media is heading rather than where it has been. The successful candidate will help OCH partners build the infrastructure to build up credible voices, develop them, connect them to the right media and platforms, and ensure their stories and evidence travel across the network. Purpose of the role The Global Director of Strategic Communications will build and lead OCH's central strategic communications and public-influence function. The role will define what good media engagement work looks like across the network, support countries to develop their own capacity, and create shared systems that allow learning, intelligence and media opportunities to travel quickly. The consistent priority is to amplify partners and credible local voices rather than to raise OCH's own profile. The postholder will have the authority, licence and resources to build the infrastructure needed to do that well. The role works across three levels Partner and spokesperson amplification. Elevating credible conservative and centre-right voices already rooted in communities through the network's partners and ground game, led by local people and local stories. Country entity communications. Helping national entities develop their own public presence, earned-media capacity, spokesperson base and public-influence strategy, without taking ownership of their political positioning. OCH central communications. Developing the strategy for OCH's own public profile where it is useful to the mission, while keeping the primary emphasis on the network and local voices. What success looks like After the first year, success would mean that OCH has a clear media engagement strategy, a small but effective central capability, shared standards and methods, a tested spokesperson-development process, priority-country plans, and a growing rapid-response model. After three years, success would mean that country teams have the tools, confidence, relationships and judgement to lead their own public-influence work; credible conservative and centre-right environmental voices are more visible in national debates across priority countries; and the centre has moved from doing the work to advising, coaching and strengthening it. Key responsibilities Build OCH's central strategic communications and public-influence capability, including shaping the team, external support and operating model required for the build phase. Define what good media engagement work looks like across the network: the shared language, standards, frameworks and practical tools that country teams can adapt to their contexts. Work directly with country teams in the early phase to develop their strategies, then move progressively into a coaching and advisory role as country capacity grows. Develop a network-wide spokesperson methodology: how country teams identify, prepare, support and sustain credible voices over time. Build a rapid-response capability so credible local voices can become part of relevant breaking stories in a timely way. Create shared infrastructure for narrative testing, media monitoring, intelligence gathering and cross-network learning, so that good practice travels quickly. Position OCH's voices, stories and data for an AI-shaped media environment, including how information is found, summarised, trusted and reused. Help country teams map and build relationships with the outlets, validators, think tanks, creators and platforms that reach their audiences. Lead on developing crisis response protocols Manage a budget focused mainly on developing capacity and skills across the network Plan the handover from the start: define the milestones at which central support reduces, what country teams need to demonstrate before taking fuller ownership, and how the function moves to a lighter-touch model. The wider ambition Beyond the foundational systems, this role carries a larger strategic opportunity. OCH is well placed to build much needed new public-influence infrastructure. That could include a global or regional network of conservative environmental spokespeople, country-level mapping of the outlets and validators that shape non-progressive audiences, new media partnerships, or even the creation of platforms and formats that engage these audiences seriously. Not all of these ideas will prove viable. The postholder will have room to test these ideas, the judgement to decide which are worth pursuing, and the discipline to stop the ones that are not working. What sits with country teams OCH's ethos is rooted in the belief that those closest to the work are best placed to devise and deliver the strategy. The Global Director of Strategic Communications will not own national political positioning, decisions about who speaks publicly in each country, campaign priorities and timing, national media relationships, or the specific language of media engagement work in each context. The credibility of the work depends on it being and feeling genuinely local. The role requires authority without directiveness: the ability to set standards, challenge constructively and build capability while leaving ownership where it belongs. Person specification Essential Senior strategic communications judgement. The ability to see how media, politics, audiences, narratives and organisational strategy connect. Media-operator credibility. Recent, hands-on experience of placing stories, developing spokespeople, managing narratives and working with journalists, editors, creators or platforms at pace. Builder instinct. The appetite and ability to create infrastructure from scratch, without an established playbook. Coaching orientation. A genuine commitment to developing others' capability rather than defaulting to doing the work personally. Political fluency. Strong understanding of centre-right and conservative landscapes, and the credibility to engage the validators and spokespeople the network needs to reach. Network orchestration. The ability to work across many country contexts, with the cultural judgement to adapt without losing coherence. AI and media change. Current, practical interest in how AI is reshaping the way information is produced, found and trusted, and what that means for strategic communications. Temperament. The ability to bring authority and judgement, but not ego. Able to set clear standards, challenge when needed, and still let country teams own their work. Professional proficiency in English (CEFR C2 or equivalent). Desirable Experience of building, spinning out or scaling a new entity, function or practice. Experience of multi-country civil-society networks, international NGOs or politically diverse coalitions. Experience in climate, environment, energy, land, rural affairs or adjacent public-policy debates. Experience working with philanthropic funders, boards or senior political stakeholders. What this role is not This is not a conventional head of communications role. It is not a content-production function, not a press office, not a brand role for OCH, and not a command-and-control role directing what country teams say. Candidates whose strength lies mainly in running an established communications operation may find the role frustrating. The successful candidate will be someone who wants to build a capability, prove its value, embed it in others and then deliberately let it go. Terms Reports to: Chief Strategy Officer, working closely with the CEO. Team and resources: The postholder will be expected to shape the team, external support and budget required for the build out, in discussion with the CEO and Chief Strategy Officer. Hours of work: Full-time role. Some overlap with European working hours will be helpful during the intensive early phase, when the role works closely with Europe-based leadership. What we offer A competitive remuneration package, including health insurance, pension contributions and other benefits appropriate to the successful candidate's location.