Executive Director

About Tax Justice UK

The UK’s approach to tax isn’t working. Our government fails to raise enough money to support high quality public services and wealth is desperately under-taxed.

We campaign for a fairer tax system that takes more from the very wealthy. A tax system that actively redistributes wealth to tackle inequality; and that funds high quality public services.

Our mission is to ensure that everyone in the UK benefits from a fair and effective tax system.

Our Long-Term Vision

Tax Justice UK recently undertook a project to define its long-term vision.

We asked ourselves: what kind of country do we want the UK to be in ten, 20 or 50 years’ time – and how can we change the tax system to get there?

These aren’t abstract questions. With inequality growing, public services on their knees and an impending climate emergency, it’s never been more important to define what an alternative future could look like.

We’ve recently spent time with other members of the tax justice movement thinking about how we address these problems. Here is our outcome.

What’s our vision?

Our country is facing four major crises. There is an alternative and the tax system can play a big role in getting us there.

The first crisis we identified was the state of our NHS and public services. They’re on their knees and need more funding to survive. Our vision is for good quality public services, supported in part by higher taxes on wealth and the biggest companies.

The second crisis is rampant inequality. A small minority hold huge and growing wealth, while everyone else is getting poorer, with the cost of living crisis accelerating these trends.

We believe a country where wealth and opportunities are evenly spread across the population is possible. How do we do this? The tax system needs to be rebalanced so that the super-wealthy are taxed significantly more, with the money re-invested in supporting the country as a whole.

The third crisis is climate and environmental breakdown. We need rapid decarbonisation and a transition to a more sustainable economy. The tax system needs to raise money to support efforts to tackle global heating. We also need to end the way the tax system subsidises carbon emissions, for example the current big tax breaks for new oil and gas exploration.

Finally, our democracy itself is under threat with power and wealth concentrated in the hands of so few. Our tax system currently favours this elite. We want to see a society where the tax system is set up to help the majority, not just the rich.

All of our work aims to resolve these crises, using tax to pursue the vision we believe is possible.

Our Strategy

Our strategy is to build a strong UK tax justice movement, influence the media conversation on tax and persuade politicians to back tax reform.

Our work is supported by over 60,000 members of the public, as well as a wide range of organisations. We are not-for-profit and politically non-aligned.

You can read our full 2022-24 strategy. Our initial strategy, covering 2019-2021 is available here. Our 2025-2027 strategy will be published shortly and will be shared with all candidates.

Tax Justice UK is a partner of – but independent from – the Tax Justice Network.

Role Summary

Tax Justice UK (TJ-UK) has built momentum for progressive tax reform. Tax is high on the political agenda and the new government opens up space for a fairer tax system. Your role will be to use key political moments to win significant policy reform. You don’t need to be an expert in tax policy, but you do need to be hungry for change, and able to convince people in positions of power to listen to our messages and make changes.

Tax Justice UK has a track record of securing campaign wins, putting wealth taxes onto the political agenda and securing a number of manifesto commitments for our policy ideas. We have built strong relationships with politicians, advisors, policy makers and a network of influential think tanks and organisations. We also have excellent relationships with many influential media outlets, regularly securing extensive media coverage on tax justice issues.

We’re looking for a progressive and inclusive leader with a track record to achieve political change and a commitment to tax justice. You will be confident in shaping policy, building good working relationships across networks and political spaces.

If that sounds like you, we’d love to hear from you.

Role Purpose

The purpose of this role is to lead TJ-UK to deliver tax reform ensuring that everyone in the UK benefits from a sustainable, fair and effective tax system. The Executive Director (ED) will build on our long-term strategy for the organisation, demonstrate our organisational values and lead our supportive and inclusive culture, be a thought leader and key spokesperson, ensure good governance and financial management and provide strategic leadership for the organisation.

The Board Chair and the ED have a standing monthly call with regular communication, and the ED calls on other board members expertise as required.

Strategic leadership of the organisation and the Senior Leadership Team (SLT)

• Lead the organisation to deliver on TJ-UK’s values by promoting equity, inclusion and diversity.
• Build and support the SLT to lead the organisation, developing and delivering a strategy which achieves sustainable growth of the organisation and external impact.
• Oversee the planning and implementation of TJ-UK’s external campaigns in response to strategic opportunities.
• Lead the SLT to build an organisational culture that attracts, develops and motivates staff whilst promoting effective collaboration in line with organisational values.
• Oversee the evaluation and improvement of the organisation’s activities.
• Oversee the delivery of a fundraising strategy which involves building and cultivating long term relationships with a range of funders including from major donors, individual donors and grants.
• Lead the development of organisational policies, HR and staff development.

Develop and implement organisational strategies

• Develop the organisation-wide strategy with the team and board
• Oversee the development and implementation of specific strategies with the team including:
  • Building a collaborative tax justice movement
  • Communicating a consistent and powerful message.
  • Mobilising members of the public
  • Engaging politicians and external influencing

TJ-UK thought leader and key spokesperson

• Be the lead ambassador for TJ-UK, building the organisation’s reputation, presence and impact, including with the media, the public and politicians
• Build and maintain relationships with key stakeholders including parliamentarians, press and media, influencers, organisations, funders and think tanks
• Oversee TJ-UK’s policy development including building relationships with leading tax thinkers
• Produce written content for publication sharing TJ-UK policy positions and campaign messages
• Contribute and steer the wider tax justice movement where appropriate

Governance and financial management

• Ensure effective governance, including through managing board meetings, statutory reporting, and the development of corporate policies and procedures as required (including managing organisational risks)
• Oversee the organisational budget, ensuring income targets are hit and expenditure is managed
• Report to the board on progress against strategy and plans as well as the financial health of the organisation
• Ensure appropriate accounting systems, financial policies, processes and controls are in place to meet all relevant legislative, regulatory and accounting requirements.
• Ensure proper project governance, including oversight of funding agreements and other contractual documents.

General responsibilities and duties

• Undertake the duties of the job description in accordance with the operational policies of TJ-UK, including but not limited to the equality and diversity statement.
• Maintain good working relations with the board, staff and other stakeholders.
• Present the organisation in an appropriate and professional manner to its stakeholders.
• Contribute to the development and growth of the organisation through working in accordance with its wider objectives, organisational culture and values.
• Work out of usual hours if necessary.
• Undertake any other reasonable duties as may be required.

If your skills and experience do not match this list but you feel that you have transferable experience, a desire to learn, and a commitment to TJ-UK’s vision, we still welcome your application.

A savvy progressive leader:

• A deep commitment to progressive values
• A track record of achieving political change and motivating others to take action
• A sound strategist, who understands how to make an organisation and a movement ready for success and harness political opportunities in support of campaigns
• A deep understanding of how UK politics works, including Parliament and relevant government departments
• Ability to build strong relationships with figures from across the political spectrum and wider tax justice movement
• Generosity, sensitivity and humility to work with a range of people with different perspectives
• Experience of being a media spokesperson

A confident collaborator:

• Experience of navigating complicated policy issues to reach credible policy positions
• Ability to work with funders, politicians, policy experts, to shape the wider narrative around tax
• Ability to convey complex policy ideas to non-expert audiences in a simple and compelling way – adapting style, language and content to deliver maximum clarity and gain support
• Experience of acting as a media spokesperson for TJ-UK
• Understanding of economic and tax justice.
• A team leader who listens and lets others take the lead where appropriate.

An innovative culture shaper:

• Experience as a senior leader and manager in the not-for-profit space
• Experience of developing and implementing strategy
• Ability to motivate staff and maintain a positive and inclusive organisational culture
• Experience of hands-on day to day working alongside ability to delegate effectively
• Commitment to flexible working practices

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