About Friends of the Earth England, Wales and Northern Ireland
What is Friends of the Earth?
Friends of the Earth "is a grassroots environmental campaigning organisation made up of supporters, local activists and staff all working together to make the planet a safer, healthier, fairer place for everyone." Friends of the Earth England, Wales and Northern Ireland "has more than 200 local action groups working to protect people and planet", and calls itself "the largest grassroots environmental campaigning community in the country, and one of the oldest and largest worldwide." Its campaigns cover climate and energy (a fossil-free future, renewable energy and its Big Climate Plan), nature and the environment (ending exploitation by big business, holding polluters accountable and its Postcode Gardener programme) and rights and justice (anti-racism, building community power and legal work in the courts). It belongs to an international community "Connecting more than 2 million people in 75 countries". Friends of the Earth Limited was incorporated in 1971 and receives grants from the Friends of the Earth Charitable Trust, a registered charity.
Where will I work?
The head office is at The Printworks on Clapham Road in Stockwell, London, and there are offices in Belfast (Friends of the Earth Northern Ireland), Cardiff (Friends of the Earth Cymru) and Manchester. In September 2026 it was hiring four community organisers, home-based in Southampton, Luton, Manchester and Hackney (the Manchester and Hackney roles with some office attendance), and a lawyer based in London "with flexibility for some remote working" and at least two office days a week. All five were fixed-term contracts: 24 months, tied to funding, for the organisers and 6 months for the lawyer.
What is the Friends of the Earth team like?
The England team "is at the heart of grassroots organising at Friends of the Earth and is responsible for supporting nearly 200 Local Action Groups across England to build power and campaign for change." The legal team is "a cross-cutting team providing expert support and intellectual leadership in our campaigning", with another senior lawyer embedded in the Northern Ireland office. Every vacancy publishes its salary, and Friends of the Earth pays above the Living Wage. It says its staff body is currently under-representative of people of colour, LGBTQIA+ people and people with long-term conditions or impairments, particularly encourages applications from those groups, and guarantees an interview to disabled candidates who meet the essential criteria. Staff who publicly represent Friends of the Earth may not also represent a political party.
Work-Life Balance
Friends of the Earth is "now operating a 4-day week with no loss of pay", and a full-time week is "30 hours over 4 days". Its benefits include "Flexitime and flexible working" and a "Generous annual leave allowance, plus extra Christmas leave", plus Climate Perks leave: two additional days a year for sustainable personal travel.
Perks and Benefits
- A 4-day week with no loss of pay: full time is 30 hours over 4 days
- Pay above the Living Wage, with salary ranges on every vacancy
- Flexitime and flexible working
- Generous annual leave, plus extra Christmas leave
- Climate Perks leave: 2 extra days a year for sustainable personal travel
- Employer pension contribution of up to 7%
- Life insurance
- Employee assistance programme
- Eye care vouchers and free flu vaccinations
- Interest-free loans for season tickets, bicycles, hardship, and personal and professional development
- Enhanced maternity and paternity pay, shared parental leave and enhanced shared parental leave pay
- Cyclescheme