Director

Demos
United Kingdom
Applications close 19 April 2006

Challenges and opportunities for the New Director Demos has never been short of ideas or appetite for work. The challenges we face all flow out of the need to build on the great stuff we’ve already done, rather than reinventing the organisation or turning us inside-out. Creating a think tank that goes well beyond the traditional boundaries of the category means it is not always straightforward to graft our work on to government priorities or departments. Yet many of the things we are working on – public engagement, trust, creativity, families, to name but a few – are the kinds of ‘messy’ problems that government and others have recognised are crucial and yet answers are not easy. So the challenge is to connect Demos to today’s politics, but to do it on our own terms – going above, beyond and across the traditional lines of party politics and factions. On this basis, the next chapter of Demos’ development needs to see it becoming more focused, and doing more to connect its set of activities with the wider debates about democracy, political renewal and how we can learn to live together. Who we are looking for The role of the Director involves making connections – both across the broad areas of work we are undertaking, and between our work and the wider political and public policy field both in the UK and internationally. The Director also currently holds responsibility for quality control, editing and commissioning work. The current director works closely with our media and events people to sequence our public launches, events and publications for maximum impact. The role of the Director will be to provide leadership and the necessary intellectual firepower to crystalise the shared vision amongst the team and enable them to fulfil their ambition to keep Demos at the forefront of policy leadership and action promoting democracy and democratic engagement in society. At the heart of this role is the need to increase Demos’ overall impact on politics and in the many public arenas that we could operate in, to increase the ‘wow’ factor; in other words this is about building on existing great work, not starting again from a different point. Given the shifts in leadership and management of the organisation, the Director’s role is less focused on organisational and operational issues, and more on the intellectual development of the organisation. The Director will need to focus on enhancing the intellectual and political capital of Demos, both through working with others in the organisation, and through making connections beyond the organisation to people and places that will support this work. Whilst we still see the role as deeply embedded in the organisation, shifts in management should create the space for someone to be able to envisage this role as being an inspiring figurehead capable of enrolling the world in Demos’ agenda. They will both develop talent within the organisation and attract talent to us. Director DemosJob Description The Director will provide strategic direction and leadership for the organisation to assert the essential and unique character of DEMOS and take it forward with a clear and coherent vision for the next 4-6 years. The Director will also;