Campaign Manager (West Kent)

Salary: £30,000 - £37,000 + pension contribution, depending on experience (open to negotiation for an exceptional and more experienced candidate)

Hours: Full-time (40 hours per week). Exceptional part-time applications will be considered. Evening and weekend working will be required, primarily as unitary elections draw closer.

Location: Initially at the Tunbridge Wells HQ (Town Hall, TN1 1XR), with travel across West Kent as needed. A new office is planned for the future. Some work can be carried out from home. 

Responsible to: West Kent Agent and West Kent Steering Group (a coordinating committee of West Kent local parties)

Start date: Negotiable, ideally May 2026.

Contract: Permanent, subject to probationary review after 3 months.

Leave: 25 days holiday (+8 bank holidays)

Mike Martin MP and the West Kent Liberal Democrats are seeking an ambitious and experienced campaigner to lead their unitary council election campaign, with elections currently expected in May 2027.  

Tunbridge Wells is now a held seat with a well-established campaign infrastructure and is a growing team of seasoned campaigners – join us to help us continue to grow.

Key responsibilities 

Project manage the campaign.

You’ll ensure we secure seats across West Kent by delivering an agreed-upon campaign plan on time and within budget, working closely with the Steering Group to meet campaign goals and expectations.  

Manage the design and production of on-message and persuasive campaign literature at scale

You’ll manage the creation of well-designed leaflets and letters for all candidates, working with others to craft persuasive copy that aligns with the campaign’s agreed-upon strategic messaging. You’ll be responsible for coordinating the production and distribution of all literature from printers and our campaign headquarters, with overall responsibility for quality control and ensuring timely delivery to tight deadlines.

Staff management, volunteer training, and capacity-building 

You’ll help senior local party campaign activists recruit and engage new volunteers in the West Kent Liberal Democrat campaign. You’ll be responsible for training and capacity-building to equip our volunteers with the skills, tips, and tricks needed to make an impact when meeting voters at the doorstep and to build a winning leaflet delivery team. You’ll also manage a small team of local organisers, in partnership with local parties. 

Provide data-driven strategy, targeting and campaign performance insights, advice and decisions 

Drawing on voter contact data, feedback from canvassing teams, responses to literature and your sharp political instincts, you’ll provide data and qualitative analysis to support the robust strategy, voter targeting and operational decisions we need to win. Depending on prior experience and performance in the role, candidates may be given more responsibility to drive key decisions.

Organise our ground campaign activity 

You’ll plan, oversee and track the ground campaign activity of local teams, designing and managing a shared system of performance metrics and reporting. This will also involve supporting local teams in recruiting volunteers, organising doorstep canvassing sessions, and coordinating leaflet delivery teams, among other tasks – all while working alongside our seasoned local volunteers – to ensure high levels of activity on the ground.  

Who we’re looking for

You know how to get things done

You’re highly organised and have experience managing projects with multiple strands at pace and scale. You know how to ensure team members understand what’s expected of them, what tasks they need to complete, and that they do them. You’re good at meeting tight deadlines and ensuring others do too, while keeping track of an agreed-upon budget and proactively addressing problems as they arise. 

You have an eye for detail, design and wordsmithing

You have experience designing and writing high-quality, engaging and well-crafted campaign leaflets and letters that win votes. With sharp attention to detail, you know how to produce proof-ready products, have experience using publishing tools and are capable of training and supervising others to use such tools. 

You can motivate and lead others

You possess the professionalism, enthusiasm, and empathy to work effectively with a diverse range of people across a large team of volunteers. You know how to build relationships, motivate and influence others and will be able to work closely with our candidates and senior activists to grow capacity and get things done. Ideally, you will have experience recruiting, managing and training volunteers. 

You know how to use data to win

You have experience in rigorously using voter contact data to provide campaign performance insights and create new opportunities to win votes. You’ll understand how data and rigorous qualitative analysis are fundamental to strategy and operational decisions. Ideally, you will have experience providing high-quality advice to support informed and robust decision-making.  

You can manage competing priorities in a fast-paced role

You’re organised enough to multitask at pace across lots of simultaneous demands and manage competing priorities, whilst overseeing the work of others. You know how to keep your cool under fire and when surrounded by distractions, never losing sight of your goals, and you are good at encouraging others to do the same. 

You want to win

You’re hungry and driven to win. You’re committed to our mission to secure seats at the local level, driving positive change both locally and nationally.  You care enough to get stuck right in and get the job done. In exchange, we will demonstrate how we have successfully run winning campaigns over the past two years. 

Technical experience

Powerful general computer skills with up-to-date knowledge of Microsoft Office. Good knowledge and familiarity with Lib Dem campaign software and resources, Connect and Affinity publisher.

The ideal candidate will have a minimum of 4 years’ experience (or a similar level of seniority in their current role) and must have experience in line management.

How to apply

By email to sueabish@gmail.com  

· A full CV of no more than two pages, including a telephone number and email address. Please include the contact details of two referees. 

· A covering letter (no more than one A4 page) setting out why you want the job and how your experience and skills are relevant to it.

Closing date: Friday 6 March 2026. Interviews will be offered on a rolling basis, and we may appoint before the closing date.

Any questions? Contact Sue Bishop (Vice Chair, Tunbridge Wells Lib Dems) at sueabish@gmail.com.

Please note: We will not be able to employ you if you are not eligible to work in the UK. We will not be able to obtain a work permit on your behalf.

Applicants are encouraged to inform us if any reasonable adjustments are needed during any part of the recruitment process.

The Party believes it is essential to foster equity, equality, diversity and inclusion within our workforce. We want our employees to thrive in an environment where everyone is welcome and supported in achieving their full potential. It is important to celebrate what makes us unique and that you feel valued, appreciated and free to be who you are