Public Affairs Officer

Do you have experience of working in the UK Parliament, in an in-house public affairs team or within a public affairs consultancy? Are you looking to drive change to help tackle one of the UK’s biggest killers?

If so, you may be the Public Affairs Officer we’re looking for!

About the role

Our Policy and Public Affairs team exists to engage, inform and influence key decision makers in the UK Government and health system in England to help ensure the UK remains a global leader in heart and circulatory research, and improve treatment and care for the 7.6 million people living with heart and circulatory diseases across the UK.

We have an exciting opportunity for a Public Affairs Officer to join our award winning and high impact team as we seek to influence the new Government.

In this role you'll be engaging with Parliamentarians to promote our work at Westminster and in their individual constituencies, while proactively spotting opportunities to build relationships and advance the interests of British Heart Foundation (BHF). You’ll deliver a programme of activity and engagement that contributes to our wider Hearts Need More campaign, which aims to make cardiovascular disease a key priority in the upcoming 10-year health plan.

Working arrangements 

This is a blended role, where your work will be dually located between your home and our London office. 
 
At BHF we believe in the power of working together. On a blended contract, you  can expect to spend some time in the office, at least one day each week, on average.  The use of office spaces is driven in part by your role and the work you will do with other teams.  This may vary from time to time, so you will need to work in a flexible way to unlock your best work for our cause. 
 
Need more help balancing your work and home life? Talk to us about the flexibility offer available at the application or interview stage.  

About you

With an interest in, and understanding of the external political environment, you'll have a good understanding of the workings of the UK Government and parliamentary procedure. You'll have an understanding of the role of BHF and other health and medical research charities in general, and particularly in the political arena.

You'll have experience of working in the UK Parliament or within a public affairs in-house team or consultancy, and have excellent communication skills. Having previously engaged with political stakeholders, you'll be able to build strong relationships with key internal and external colleagues.

With a proven ability to write clearly, concisely and persuasively for political audiences in a variety of formats, you’ll be able to summarise complex information swiftly and accurately for a variety of audiences. You'll also have strong organisational skills, including experience of coordinating events.

This is an opportunity to make a profound impact for our patients, their families, and our supporters.

About us 

Our people are at the heart of everything we do. By funding research across six decades, we’ve helped keep millions of hearts beating and millions of families together. We’re investing in ground-breaking research that will get us closer than ever to a world free from the fear of heart and circulatory diseases.

We value and respect every individual’s unique contribution, celebrate diversity, and make inclusion part of what we do every day. 

Our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Strategy, Igniting Change, along with our internal EDI group, Kaleidoscope, and a growing number of employee network groups (our Affinity Groups), help us create an environment where all our colleagues and volunteers can succeed.

Benefits 

To find out more about benefits available at the BHF please download our benefits document at the bottom of this page.

Interview process

Interviews will be held at our London offices on Tuesday 12th and Thursday 14th November. A short task will form part of the interview process, details for which will be provided on the day.