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People and Culture Lead
animal think tank
  • Salary Compensation is given on a needs-basis. Refer to our Volunteers Grant System to read more
  • Location Lancaster, Lancashire (On-site)
  • Job Type Voluntary
  • Category Human Resources , Advocacy
  • Sectors Animal
  • Job Reference :

Job Description

Role Purpose

Develop and embed a strong and healthy organisational culture within Animal Think Tank (ATT) to support the delivery of  our organisational mission.

Who we are looking for 

This role is about developing and leading a team that can create the conditions for everyone at ATT to flourish. It is also an organisational leadership role.

You will lead our People and Culture Circle, working closely with our Direction Lead our current People and Culture Lead). The People and Culture Circle currently focuses on a range of areas including: embedding organisational culture best  practice; implementing people related systems, policies, processes, agreements and spaces; leadership development: recruitment and onboarding.

Much of the foundation work has been done and we believe we already have a healthy culture in place. However, we intend to grow at pace to 25-30 full-time members. This growth will require a well functioning People and Culture Circle to: deal with the complexity this growth will bring; ensure our culture can stay healthy and evolve and mature as needed; and support and steward the culture of the Social Movement ATT is seeding.

We are looking for someone who is committed to our mission, resonates strongly with our Core Values and has the capacity to embody, communicate and transmit these values in all aspects of their work. In particular we are looking for someone who is non egotistical, caring and grounded. Someone who genuinely cares about the wellbeing of others, who can lead by example, who can remain calm when others are anxious, and can deal with situations with emotional and social intelligence and empathy, while maintaining healthy boundaries.

This role is an organisational leadership role as it sits in the Coordination Circle, alongside the Operations, Story-based Strategy and Governance Circle Leads. We use Holacracy as a method of distributing management and authority  across the organisation so our model of leadership is that of the servant leader. We aspire to be a Team of (servant)  Leaders and believe we can do this best when we work together and support each other.

Initial Objectives and Key Results

1. Research and apply organisational culture best practice

At ATT we believe good culture is 50% of the work necessary to be effective. This role will give you the opportunity to deepen your knowledge and experience of strong, healthy and  transformative organisational cultures by:

a. researching and applying best practice around how to develop and further embed our organisational culture in line with our Core Values, and

b. identifying and working to fill gaps in our culture model and nurturing and tending to our ‘People Systems’ to help them  evolve and grow.


2. Build ATTs capacity to implement key people systems, policies and agreements. 

One of the ways we seek to actualise our Core Values throughout the organisation is to embed them in our systems and  processes. The key people systems (including policies, processes and agreements) are related to: Conflict Transformation; Feedback; and Care, Connection and Support. While the first iterations of these systems have been developed, and parts  of them are operational, you will be responsible for ensuring all aspects of them are operational and fit for purpose for an organisation of 25 - 30 people. Key aspects of this will be to build the capacity of:

a. ATT and the Conflict Transformation Team to support conflict transformation. We know one of the greatest risks to our organisation and movements is conflict that is not well managed. As an organisation we want to develop our capacity to transform conflict in ways that promote empathy, dialogue, understanding and connection, and develop our understanding of group dynamics and how these affect conflict and work in general 

b. ATT to implement Matrix Leadership Practices, a model we use to increase trust, connection and psychological safety and develop individuals’ and teams’ ability to collaborate, work with differences, innovate and unleash their collective  intelligence.

c. the People and Culture Circle to implement people related policies and agreements in ways that adhere to UK law and also align with our culture e.g. our Grievance and Disciplinary procedures, Membership Review Process and Respect in the Workplace Agreement (bullying and harassment).

3. Steward the Culture of the Social Movement ATT is seeding. 

Having established the organisational foundations of ATT we are now working to lay the foundations of a network of local campaign groups within the UK to launch in 2023. The Social Movement Culture Lead (SMCL) currently sits within the People and Culture Circle, though in time will move to the Local Group Support Circle. Part of your role will be to support the SMCL role and ensure that the culture being embedded in the local groups and wider Social Movement aligns with the Core Values and cultural direction of ATT.  Again, it is important that you strongly align with our Core Values and have the capacity to embody, communicate and transmit them  throughput the groups we build. 


You shouldn’t take this role if:

our Core Values do not strongly resonate with you

  • you are not passionate about or ready for the challenge of creating and stewarding healthy organisational and movement culture
  • you are not deeply curious about ‘people stuff’ and group dynamics
  • you have a thin skin and are easily upset or knocked off-centre by criticism, opposing ideas or what people think of you
  • you have trouble being self-directed
  • you are not ready to step into leadership.

The following readings will help you succeed in this role:

  • NEON Organisational Culture Toolkit
  • The Empowerment Manual: A Guide for Collaborative Groups by Starhawk
  • Healing Resistance: A Radically Different Response to Harm by Kazu Haga
  • Dare to Lead by Brene Brown
  • Lead Together: The Bold, Brave, Intentional Path to Scaling Your Business by Brent Lowe, Susan Basterfield and Travis Mars
  • Managing Conflict: A Practical Guide to Resolution in the Workplace by David Liddle
  • Transformational Culture: Develop a People-Centred Organization for Improved Performance by David Liddle

The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.