Are you committed to driving excellence and innovation? Do you have experience leading a community of practitioners nationally?

Why this role matters 

We know that clear, two-way communication is essential to performance, trust and belonging - and it’s a key area St John employees and volunteers have told us to improve. This Community of Practice will help us improve our reach and engagement by translating national messages into local contexts - supporting a stronger shared voice, and helping people feel informed, involved and connected.

What you’ll do 

As a Community of Practice Lead, you will play a crucial role in establishing and guiding a national community of practice. You will provide strategic leadership, coordination, and oversight across the community of practice, ensuring that efforts within the community across the country align with national standards and priorities while avoiding duplication of efforts.

You’ll lead the Internal Communications & Engagement Community of Practice, a volunteer-led community designed to strengthen how we communicate and engage with St John people. You’ll shape the community’s ways of working, coordinate activity across members, and create a constructive space for advice, feedback, and real-world testing of messages and campaign ideas. 

A core part of the role is helping national communications travel further by enabling members to cascade and amplify key messages across their own local networks. 

As the Internal Communications & Engagement Community of Practice Lead, you will:

• Support and lead the national community of practice.
• Inspire and guide community members to deliver impactful initiatives.
• Foster collaboration, strengthen professional engagement, and champion inclusivity and support.
• Play a critical role in shaping the future success of our organisation.

To succeed in this role, you will be expected to organise and lead regular meetings with your team of Internal Communications & Engagement Officers, as well as liaising regularly with the centra Internal Communications & Engagement Team and the National People & Culture Advisor. Connection and liaison with County Commissioners, Community Projects Officers, Deputy County Commissioners and those in their teams (for example Network Leads) will also be a key part of the role to enable the two-way communication needed for effective internal communications.

Attendance at the annual conference for Community of Practice Leads is also required, to ensure you are connected with the other Community of Practice Leads and engage in supporting delivery of the strategic aims of the charity. There will also be opportunities to meet with other Community of Practice Leads, Community of Practice Officers and St John people.

The majority of the role can be undertaken virtually from anywhere in the UK, but there may be a need to attend occasional in person meetings that may be held in London, Birmingham, Manchester or other St John locations across England.

Training for role

This role requires the completion of the 9 mandatory online training courses for all St John people. Any additional training necessary for the role will be discussed with the successful applicant by the National People and Culture Advisor (the line manager for this role) following appointment to the role.

How to apply

For more information about this role, please see the role description. 

The closing date for this vacancy is the 11/05/2026

For more information on this vacancy, please contact Natalie.Miller@sja.org.uk