Parliamentary Officer Jobs

Senior Public Affairs Officer

This is a pivotal moment in our parliamentary influencing with the arrival of a new Government, and here at YMCA England & Wales we have created an exciting new role for someone to help us continue our important work in this space.  The timing couldn’t be better for an experienced parliamentary operator to forge crucial new relationships across the political spectrum. Our policy interests are focused on youth; and the barriers and opportunities they face ahead. We work to influence Government on key issues such as affordable housing, access to youth services, benefits and ensuring everyone has the best start in life. The role will give you the opportunity to shape and influence real policies which can affect lives for the better.

YMCA England & Wales is a unique organisation: We blend an immediately recognisable national profile alongside our support, development and representation of 85 local YMCA’s, ranging from small community-based organisations to nationally relevant specialists.

You will bring influence with key decision makers through our campaigns and policy positions. You will support YMCAs policy function and drive a range of public affairs activities to engage and build relationships across Government, Parliament and the Civil Service. You will also provide a full range of public affairs advice and support to the YMCA Federation.

We will hire a strong communicator, both spoken and written; you are able to create accurate and informative communications to persuade and influence a target or audience. Perhaps you’re looking to deepen your already established experience in a public affairs role in the charitable sector or maybe you have worked in parliament in recent years.  Whatever your exact experience we would love to hear from you.  Please apply with your current CV to start the conversation!

We are seeking a Policy & Public Affairs Officer who will drive forward the organisation’s policy and public affairs work, securing key policy recommendations from the 'Every second counts' report across Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.

Main duties and responsibilities

• Influence policy and legislation to ensure everyone across the devolved nations has the skills to save a life.
• Develop, deliver, and evaluate strategies for specific areas of policy and stakeholder engagement work, including influencing decision-makers, building and strengthening support among key regional and national stakeholders in the devolved nations.
• Lead on a number of policy and stakeholder events and activities, which could include in-depth research and writing of policy analyses.
• Write Parliamentary questions; briefings for parliamentary debates; briefings for individual MPs and internal briefings as and when needed.
• Manage Policy & Public Affairs customer relationship management systems, regularly reporting on external engagement processes.
• Rally MPs / and or Peers to support any amendments to Bills.
• Collaborate with colleagues to identify and prepare proactive and reactive policy communications.
• Develop and oversee the effective monitoring of parliamentary activity in the devolved nations.
• Build new relationships and strengthen existing relationships with spads, think tanks, offices of Parliamentarians, All Party Parliamentary Groups.
• Draft high-quality policy-related paperwork, such as relevant public/private consultation and inquiry responses, parliamentary briefs, media responses and official correspondence.
• Coordinate the building and maintaining of policy stakeholder relationships, including with partner organisations and other stakeholders; working to ensure that the voices of a broad intersection of communities are heard in the work we do.
• Support the organisation’s equity, diversity, and inclusion work, displaying a genuine commitment to understanding issues faced by the diversity of communities we support.

How to apply

Please email your CV, covering letter and Equality & Diversity monitoring form to us with 'Devolved Nations Policy & Public Affairs Officer' in the subject line.

The closing date for applications is 17:00 Monday 16 September 2024.

Interviews for this role will take place the week commencing 23 September 2024.

Please note: We reserve the right to close this advert early if enough suitable applicants apply.

Applicants must have the right to work in the UK. Sponsorship is not available.

Department: Policy, Campaigns and Public Affairs
Location: hybrid (minimum one day in our Aldgate, London office each week)
Hours of Work: 37.5 hours per week
Contract: full-time, permanent
Salary: £33,000 – £35,000 per annum
Closing date: Tuesday 10th September at 10.00am

Expected interview dates: Wednesday 18th September or Thursday 19th September

Annual Leave: 33 days (plus eight bank holidays)

Benefits:

• enhanced maternity, paternity, adoption, and shared parental pay
• family friendly policies
• 8% employer pension contribution (Aviva) or opportunity to continue NHS Pension
• free health cashback plan (Medicash) employee cover plus up to four dependent children)
• 24/7 virtual GP access (UK registered), plus access to Best Doctors
• free, confidential employee assistance programme (Medicash)
• access to wellbeing app (healthy living tips and Bright TV )
• flexible working options; including hybrid working, flexible working patterns such as part-time, compressed hours and more*
• learning and development committed (bespoke training, LinkedIn Learning etc.)
• employee health and wellbeing committed (menopause friendly, disability confident employer etc.)

Background

Every three minutes someone in the UK develops dementia; a progressive and complex condition that can be devastating for the whole family. One in two of us will be affected by dementia in our lifetime – either by caring for someone with the condition, developing it ourselves, or both.

Dementia UK is the specialist dementia nursing charity that is there for the whole family. Our specialist nurses, known as Admiral Nurses, provide free, expert advice, support and understanding to help families care for their loved one. Every day, Admiral Nurses help families up and down the country to have the best life possible for as long as possible.

Purpose of the job/About the role

This is an exciting opportunity to join Dementia UK as a Public Affairs Officer where you will play a crucial role within the Policy, Campaigns, and Public Affairs team to drive our long-term policy and influencing strategy.

Working closely with the Policy and Public Affairs Manager, you will be pivotal in leading impactful initiatives across Westminster, the devolved nations, and local government. Your primary objective will be to raise the profile of Dementia UK, Admiral Nurses, and individuals living with dementia and their families among parliamentary and elected decision-makers. By working to improve legislation, public policy, and statutory services, you will directly influence and enhance the lives of those affected by dementia.

In this role, you will support the development and dissemination of briefings and materials for parliamentary debates and other related activities. You will also stay informed about the political landscape, providing regular updates to colleagues through a weekly political monitoring report and briefing documents as needed.

To succeed in this role you will have previous experience in a parliamentary, policy, or related environment, with a solid understanding of national, devolved, local, and parliamentary processes. You will possess excellent written and verbal communication skills and the ability to identify and capitalise opportunities to build and maintain strong relationships. You will have previously organised and delivered impactful events and ideally have some project management skills with an ability to prioritise workloads effectively and meet deadlines.

If this sounds like you, join us now and be part of a team dedicated to making a real difference in the lives of those affected by dementia.

Our Culture

In addition to a competitive salary and a generous benefits package, we truly value our people. It’s important for us to create a working environment that looks after our workforce to achieve their full potential. You will become part of a diverse and dedicated team who are supported to use and develop their skills. We recognise and value the key role you will play in delivering our strategic plans for the benefit of those living with dementia.

Our staff have a voice. Representatives from different roles and levels across the organisation positively contribute and lead on our working groups around health and wellbeing, menopause, and equality, diversity and inclusion.

Dementia UK is proud to welcome everyone, we aim for a truly inclusive culture with talented, diverse teams that represent a variety of backgrounds, perspectives, and skills. We celebrate differences and individuality and encourage everyone to join us and be their whole selves always.

How to apply:

Your supporting statement should include why you have decided to apply for this role at Dementia UK, how you meet the person specification, and answers to the following questions (maximum 250 words per answer).

• The Public Affairs Officer has an important role in pushing for improvements to post diagnostic dementia support. Please provide an example of when you have successfully influenced for a positive outcome.

• Having read the job description, what do you think are the three strongest qualities that you could bring to this role?

• Can you tell us a time when you demonstrated one of Dementia UK’s values in a work setting, project or campaign?

*Please note that any decision on flexible working is based on business need

This role plays an integral part in helping produce and develop the outputs of the External Affairs team. The activity of the role focuses on undertaking policy, influencing and other public affairs activity inclusive of ensuring the FSRH Hatfield Vision achieves its aims to improve reproductive healthcare for all, and assisting the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Sexual & Reproductive Healthcare (SRH) with its programme of activity.

We are looking for an enthusiastic individual with an interest in healthcare policy and a passion for improving society. Experience of working in policy, public affairs, campaigning, as well as experience of working in a project environment is desirable. Excellent writing skills are essential, as is a broad understanding of communications techniques to engage policy makers around the issues that clinicians and the public alike face.

FSRH offers a flexible working pattern, including hybrid working to suit the individual, with the option of working in the offices of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists in London Bridge, where the FSRH is situated. The FSRH also offers a package that includes a first-class pension scheme, generous annual leave and a season ticket loan.

About Us

The Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare (FSRH) believes that access to quality sexual and reproductive healthcare is a fundamental right. This is why we are working together with our 14,000 members and partners to shape better sexual and reproductive health for all.

The FSRH is the leader in the field of sexual and reproductive healthcare, and we are the voice for healthcare professionals working at the frontline of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare (SRH) in a range of settings in the community and primary care. Our members include SRH specialists, GPs, nurses, midwives and pharmacists. As a multi-disciplinary professional membership organisation, we set clinical guidance and standards, provide training and lifelong education, and champion safe and effective sexual and reproductive healthcare across the lifecourse for all.

The FSRH’s External Affairs Team influences policy and practice through evidence-based advocacy as well as raising awareness of SRH rights among the public. We aim to develop policy, build partnerships to enhance influencing ability, and provide external communications inclusive of media relations in order to promote the Goals set out in the FSRH’s Hatfield Vision and Organisational Strategy, through the promotion of the highest standards in the field of SRH.

Join our team and contribute to the exciting work of the External Affairs team - influencing policy and practice through evidence-based advocacy as well as raising awareness of SRH among our partners, members and the wider public.

NB:  In order to fulfil this role you should be resident in the UK with a valid right to work; we are unable to sponsor applicants requiring a work visa. 

To Apply

Deadline for applications is Tuesday 10 September 2024

Interviews are likely to take place w/c 16 September 2024

We want you to have every opportunity to demonstrate your skills, ability and potential; please contact us if you require any assistance or adjustment so that we can help with making the application process work for you.

We value diversity, promote equality and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds.

NB:  In order to fulfil this role you should be resident in the UK with a valid right to work; we are unable to sponsor people requiring a work visa

The Evidence and Impact Officer will play a key role in improving Become’s approach to monitoring and evaluation, strengthening our research and evidence base, and ensuring that our policy influencing and service development is underpinned by robust evidence. This role will be part of the Policy, Campaigns and Communications department, but will work closely with colleagues in the Services department and across the organisation to deliver impact. We are looking for someone who is motivated, analytical, is passionate about improving the lives of care-experienced young people, and has a good understanding of research methods and data analysis.

Become, the national charity for children in care and young care leavers, is here to make a difference to individual lives right now, and the care system as a whole for future generations. We believe that young people who’ve experienced care should have the same chances as everyone else to live happy, fulfilled lives. We put young people at the heart of everything we do – helping them to be powerful agents of positive change in their own lives, in the care system and in society.

Your application and answers will be anonymously reviewed to ensure fairness and help remove bias from the application process. You’ll need to send us your CV, but it’ll only be considered if you score well on the anonymous review.  Please do not include any additional wording or messages on the application. 

As an organisation serving children in care and care leavers, we are keen to receive applications from people with experience of care. We actively seek to bring diversity of perspectives and experience, and especially welcome applications from those from racially marginalised communities and people with disabilities.  We also ask all applicants to fill in an Equality and Diversity Monitoring Form so we can better understand the diversity of applicants. This is anonymous and will not be connected to your application.   

If you would like an informal chat before applying, please contact Matt Blow, Policy and Public Affairs Manager to arrange a convenient time. 

Please tell us if there are any reasonable adjustments we can make to assist you in your application. 

Interview details:  

Interviews will have two parts: 

• A session with young people; 

• A panel interview with Become staff. 

These interviews may be held virtually, using a video calling app (Zoom or Microsoft Teams) or face-to-face in person at our location in Central London. If access to technology/WiFiis difficult for you, please contact us so we can assist in making suitable arrangements. 

Become also wants to ensure fairness in all of our interviews so all successful shortlisted candidates will be sent the interview questions in advance. 

Interviews will take place: 

• Young people’s panel: 20th September 

• Staff panel: 26th September 

Please note:   

Before continuing with your application, you must have a Right to Work in the UK. Although the role is hybrid, we do not offer work visas or sponsorship for any candidates based outside of the UK.  

About Us

Change Mental Health is a leading national mental health charity providing unique support to people with severe and enduring mental ill health. With over 50 years’ experience across Scotland, we believe people affected by poor mental health and illness deserve the highest quality of support in the community and that every person has the right to be valued and to share in the opportunities, challenges, and joys of everyday life. 

About the Position

Our Policy and Public Affairs Officer connects with and influences politicians and senior decision makers to make society better for people who have mental health challenges, have mental illness and their families. They shall manage projects that shall lead to improvements in support for those with poor mental health.

 

Key Responsibilities

In this critical role you will work closely with the Director of Public Affairs and Communications to develop and implement a policy and influencing strategy to ensure that the voices of people we support, and their families are heard in all the places they need to be. You will manage projects related to mental health and provide reports.

You will build powerful relationships with politicians, civil servants and partners and feel comfortable representing the organisation at a range of different stakeholder events. You will love policy and public affairs, enjoy mastering details and offering sound advice. You will respond on behalf of the organisation to consultations and events and will be comfortable doing lots of reading and writing. You will enjoy building powerful and meaningful relationships.

 

General Duties:

• To ensure that Change Mental Health have a robust policy and public affairs process in order, to respond to events and consultations, set up meetings with influencers, write briefings for those meetings and record our interactions on the Lobbying Register.
• Develop and implement a policy and public affairs strategy which means Change Mental Health engage with external stakeholders, have key messages disseminated and ensure that the voices of our members and the people we support are heard at all levels. 
• Ensure that Change Mental Health’s Public Affairs and Stakeholder policies are kept relevant for our staff and promoted throughout the organisation.
• Collaborate on key communications documents and channels, including our newsletter, website and support the high-quality use of our social media channels.
• Manage projects that improve the outcomes of those with poor mental health and wellbeing. When agreed, engage with parliamentarians and stakeholders, representing Change Mental Health and advocating for our policy agenda 
• Take ownership of policy developments in fields relevant to Change Mental Health’s work and  ensure you are up to date and well informed of recent developments. 
• Write briefings for the Director of Public Affairs and Communications, the CEO, and Board as needed.
• Write briefings for debates in Parliament and communicate with members of Parliaments.
• Write reports for projects relating to mental health and wellbeing.
• Organise and undertake the administration of events that support our policy platform whether that be events at party conferences, cross party groups, parliamentary receptions or other activity that support the charity.
• Network and build relationships with different stakeholders across the private, third and state sectors.
• Support the work of the National Rural Mental Health Forum, organising meetings and reporting on impact.
• Act in accordance with Data Protection legislation.  Ensure all records, personal, staff and client data are managed in line with Data Management and Information Governance policies
• Comply with legal and regulatory requirements such as provisions set out in the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974
• As with all employees, workers and volunteers; encourage people to join Change Mental Health as a member, fundraiser, donor or activist
• To act in accordance with the charity’s Health & Safety and Safeguarding policies and to notify your line manager promptly if there are any concerns
• To participate in regular supervision and appraisal and undertake any relevant training as appropriate to the role
• To work in accordance with the charity’s national policies and local operating procedures and those of external regulators or professional bodies.
• To be friendly, polite and professional to all staff, members of the public and people Change Mental Health support.

All sucessful applicants will require a Basic Disclosure check. 

Policy and Public Affairs Officer

Location: United Kingdom
Discipline: Marketing & Communication
Job type: Permanent
Salary: £30,989, increasing to £31,918 from 1st October 2024
Working Hours: 37.5 hours per week, Monday to Friday

#Care to join us?

We are looking for a Policy and Public Affairs Officer to join our friendly and welcoming team here at Hft. This is your chance to make a real difference to people's lives.

Hft is one of the largest charities in England and Wales supporting learning disabled adults to live their life their way. We’re passionate about what we do and we use our unique understanding of the challenges facing the people we support to amplify their voices to bring about positive change. Hft was founded more than 60 years ago by a group of pioneering families who wanted a better life for their learning disabled children. We have a clear vision, we’re ambitious and fully committed to positive change for those we support and the social care sector. We’ve embarked on a journey of transformation that will ensure we can meet changing needs and extend our reach and impact.

What will you be doing?

Reporting into the Deputy Director of Communications and Fundraising, this is a fantastic opportunity to establish and strengthen Hft’s relationship with politicians, policymakers. As Policy and Public Affairs Officer you will monitor parliamentary activity, consultations and policy developments to inform Hft’s campaign and communications activity.

The role is varied, often working with multiple and complex priorities, using the insight gained through public insight to inform integrated campaigns that raise awareness of the critical issues and the needs of people with learning disabilities.

You will be confident at building strong internal and external stakeholder relationships, with a core understanding of UK political systems and processes, and how public affairs and campaign tactics operates.

If you have the ability to identify the news angle in any story, provide strategic advice on key reputational and media issues, to influence our campaigns and help build our voice of authority, we would like to hear from you!

What’s in it for you?

There are a range of benefits and career development opportunities at Hft. We’ll give you a comprehensive induction, full training, and lots of support along the way. ???????

With Investors in People and Skills for Care accreditation, we are committed to investing in you to ensure you have the specialist skills and expertise needed to support people to live the best life possible. As a ‘Gold’ standard Investors in People accredited employer, we are committed to supporting colleague wellbeing as a priority.

We offer:

- All Hft employees get access to the Telus Health – the world’s biggest 24/7 colleague counselling and support service. It is completely free for all colleagues to use in complete confidence, whenever and however they want to access it.
- Access to a range of discounts on your favourite brands through Telus Health
- Wagestream - allows colleagues to flexibly access their pay throughout the month and utilise a range of financial support, through its dedicated app
- Access to wellbeing services including Health checks, Digital GP and mental health support via Aviva Digicare + Workplace
- Access to award winning training and development – Hft is one of only four charities to have achieved the Skills for Care ‘Centre of Excellence’ provider status
- 33 days holidays (including 8 bank holidays)
- A contributory pension scheme & life assurance
- Discounted mobile phone contracts with Vodaphone
- Long service awards - Hft offers a monetary award after 10 years of service
- Free DBS check

Find your place with us and change lives

STRICTLY NO AGENCIES PLEASE

???????????We reserve the right to close this vacancy early should we receive sufficient applications.

Apply Now

REF-216538

Salary: £37,564 starting salary (salary range will increase due to max £40,166 via the length of service) per annum plus £4,190 Inner London Weighting.

Contract: Permanent basis

Hours: Full-Time 35 hours per week (excluding lunch breaks)

Location: London. We will consider a UK-based hybrid working option. (Some travel in the UK with occasional overnight stays away from home will be required).

 

About Refugee Action

Refugee Action exists to work with refugees and people seeking asylum who’ve survived some of the world’s worst regimes. We are a national charity with more than 40 years’ experience of empowering people who’ve survived some of the world’s worst regimes to secure the protection and support that they need to live with dignity and respect and build a new life in the UK. We do this by providing expert advice and casework, building the capacity of partner organisations and campaigning on the policies that affect them.

The postholder will work in the Campaigns team to implement Refugee Action’s advocacy strategy which is central to our ability to influence change at all levels of government, across departments and other statutory stakeholders.

To succeed in the role you will need to demonstrate:

• Experience of developing and implementing effective public affairs strategies, including successfully identifying target lists and influencing political stakeholders.
• Experience of working with sitting MPs, select committees or all-party parliamentary groups advocating for policy change, ideally bringing existing working relationships with MPs and/or their staff. This may have been through another NGO, charity or civil society organisation.
• Experience of planning and organising events, ideally in Parliament or attended by parliamentarians.
• Excellent personal organisational skills, and confidence in building relationships and networks, both in person and online.
• Strong communication skills - both written and verbal.
• A desire to work proactively towards positive solutions with the ability to take the initiative and manage workload effectively and independently.
• Ability to work effectively across multiple campaign areas, and to develop relevant expertise across each of them with support from colleagues.
• A collaborative approach, with both internal colleagues and external partners and stakeholders.
• Understanding of the UK’s hostile refugee protection and asylum system and how it impacts those affected by it. 
• Commitment to removing barriers to power for people with lived experience, and commitment to anti-racist practices.
• Ability to travel in the UK with occasional overnight stays away from home.

Those with lived experience as a refugee are particularly encouraged to apply

Closing date: 23:59 on Sunday 15 September 2024

Interviews: 01 and 02 October 2024 (on Zoom)

 

Refugee Action only operates in the UK, so all roles are UK-based, and you must have the right to work in the UK.

This role is not on the Shortage Occupation List.  If you have permission to work that is restricted to the Shortage Occupation List, we will be unable to appoint you to this role.

You can find out which roles are on the shortage occupation list via these two links:

• Skilled Worker visa: shortage occupations
• Skilled Worker visa: shortage occupations for healthcare and education

We are currently campaigning for a not-for-profit asylum accommodation system, see our Most Wanted campaign here.

Hours: 35 hours per week, part-time will be considered minimum 21 hours.

As the leading specialist mental health charity for women who have experienced domestic abuse, Woman’s Trust is on a mission to help women and their children to overcome the devastating mental health impact of Domestic Abuse. This is a pivotal time to join our Communications team.

As the Public Affairs/Policy Officer, you work with the CEO, Senior Communications Manager and Research and Data Team along with internal and external stakeholders to help design, manage and deliver a cutting-edge policy agenda and stakeholder outreach programme.

Woman's Trust

The charity was originally established by a group of survivors and Counsellors to meet the gap in specialist mental health services, designed by and for women, to ensure that women affected by DA can live a life free from further harm and abuse.

This is a pivotal time to join the Woman’s Trust Communication’s team, as we want to proactively generate more awareness of our work, capitalising on our unique position in the women’s and mental health sectors by ensuring that the public and key stakeholders understand the impact of our work; that we can generate more support and funding for what we do, helping more women as a result; and that we can influence public policy to ensure even more survivors of domestic abuse have access to specialist mental health support.

If you are looking to make a real impact in your Communications career, then we would like to hear from you, so please do get in touch. 

To apply, please send your CV and a cover letter of no more than 2 pages outlining your experience, skills and knowledge, relevant to this post and showing us, through examples, why we should choose you.

Please also provide us with the details of two referees. We require their name, contact information, and relationship to you. Referees will not be contacted until an offer of employment is made.

Interviews will be held on a rolling basis.

Closing date for applications: Monday, 16th September 2024.

Please note, that this post is open to female applicants only, the Equality Act 100 pursuant to Schedule, 9 Part 1 applies. Thank you again for your interest in our work.

The RAF Charitable Trust is looking for someone with vision and ambition to lead the organisation. The need for our work is clear. Technology and aviation continue to advance at an unprecedented rate. The IET estimates that the skills shortage in STEM jobs costs the UK economy £1.5bn a year, and there are over 173,000 STEM vacancies. The UK Commission for Employment and Skills stated in 2022 that 43 per cent of STEM vacancies were hard to fill due to a shortage of applicants, leaving tech skills in even higher demand. The All-Party Parliamentary Group on Diversity and Inclusion in STEM also notes significant inequality in high skilled and graduate level roles for those from minority and disadvantaged backgrounds. RIAT’s ongoing success enables RAFCT to be increasingly ambitious regarding its impact through the inspiration of young people: 1. By 2026, RAFCT will have delivered high-quality interventions to over 500,000 young people (measured from 2022).

2. From 2026, RAFCT will deliver high-quality interventions to at least 500,000 young people every year.

3. These interventions will either be via:

a. New programmes unique to RAFCT

b. Existing programmes scaled with funding from RAFCT

To achieve this ambition, we are looking for a highly experienced Director to continue the Charity’s trajectory of growth. The successful candidate will work with the RAFCT Chair and Board of Trustees to set, implement, and then assure the delivery of the Trust’s strategy. The Director will lead the Trust’s charity team, and work closely with the Trust’s trading company, RAF Charitable Trust Enterprises Ltd, the RAF, and existing and new delivery partners and charities.

This is a role that requires pragmatism, vision, diplomacy and flexible and creative thinking. The successful candidate will be a strategic and credible leader with strong financial acumen and a successful leadership track record. They will possess an innovative and entrepreneurial mindset, and be able to connect ideas and people. They will have a proven record of collaboration while providing constructive challenge when appropriate, and they will have good experience of measuring impact in a national STEM setting. They will also ensure high operational standards while continuing to promote a transparent, collaborative and values-driven culture within the Charity team.

Of note, the successful candidate will be highly supportive of the RAF and Defence, and have a passion to deliver the life-changing benefits for young people of an interest in aviation, and STEM.

For more information and to download the full Application Pack, including Candidate Brief, Job Summary and How to Apply instructions, please click on APPLY.

This is an incredible opportunity to lead a highly-respected, visionary, organisation with a peerless track record of achieving change in immigration detention policy and practice. We are looking for an exceptional individual with strong strategic leadership and people management skills, and an unwavering commitment to human rights, above all the rights of people in detention. 

Our new Director will be leading the organisation in a period of both challenges and opportunity, as the new Government settles in and debates about immigration policy continue. Despite the uncertain times, we are committed to continuing to challenge immigration detention in the UK. The new Director will inherit a well-resourced, effective and well-regarded organisation with an impressive, dedicated and friendly staff team. While the role will be multi-faceted, it will be hugely rewarding, supported by a committed board of trustees.

BID is a small organisation - our new Director will own the overall operation, management and sustainability of the charity, with the support of committed trustees. The Director will lead on strategic leadership, finance and operations, people and culture, fundraising, policy and communications, legal casework and governance and regulation - all with the support of our brilliant team of 10 staff, and the opportunity to recruit. As with any small charity, the post-holder will need to be agile and responsive. 

To find out more about the Director role, download and read our job ad and description. 

The Centre for Progressive Change is looking for two full-time Regional Leads, in Greater London and the North West, to join our team. These roles will be in charge of moving MPs in their region to actively support our campaigns in parliament through effective advocacy, community organising and mobilising. They will also grow our power in the region by building regional relationships, taking effective regional action and bringing in money to hire regional campaign staff.

At the Centre for Progressive Change we build campaigns for national policy change. We do this through effective advocacy, community organising, press, mobilising, business engagement and campaign research. We are a small dynamic team, punching well above our weight. 

Over the last two years we have built the Safe Sick Pay campaign - a campaign for Statutory Sick Pay reform. We have had huge successes including gaining the backing of 95 cross-party MPs for the reforms, securing at least two policy reforms in five of the manifestos during the electing including in Labour's and built a wide national coalition of health organisations, business groups, trade unions and others. 

The Regional Leads will be in charge of the campaign strategy and activities in their area to secure the backing of cross-party MPs. They will be part of a team of Regional and National Leads across the country that together are helping secure progressive national policies on economic, social and environmental issues. 

Position: Regional Lead

Responsible to: Executive Director

Location: 

For North West Regional Lead: Work from home, with a potential option of a hot desking space in the North West. The successful candidate must be based in the North West and be able to travel to different parts of the region and the country. 

For Greater London Regional Lead: Work in the office in Victoria or in the field 3 days a week. 

Hours: 37.5 hours per week (full-time)

Salary: £45,000–£50,000 per annum

Annual leave:  40 days annual leave including bank holidays

How to apply:

To apply please download and fill in the application form on the website.

The deadline to submit your application form is Wednesday 18th September, 9am. 

Those shortlisted will be invited to a first interview on Monday 30th September online. A second interview will be held for successful applicants on Monday 7th October in person at Victoria SPACES, London.

Job Responsibilities

They will:

1. Create and implement a strategic plan to win over the majority of MPs in the North West region to actively support our campaigns in Parliament.

2. Use advocacy, community organising and mobilising to bring MPs on board with our campaigns across the region.

3. Build relationships with the key organisations in the region and engage them in our national campaigns.

4. Have, and keep updated, a regional Power Structure Analysis for each of our campaigns. 

5. Carry out listening campaigns, with regional partners, of constituents in the North West to inform our future campaign focus and policy demands. 

6. Build relationships with key businesses in the region to bring them on board with our campaigns and support them to put pressure on the MPs. 

7. Run our general election campaign for the region and bring Prospective Parliamentary Candidates (PPCs) on board with our campaign.

8. Gather evidence on parts of the campaign so that we can learn which of our actions are being most effective - this will involve some standardising of the work. 

9. Raise £95k in funding for the North West region, including for additional campaigning staff, and manage the regional budget.

10. Recruit, retain and develop staff.

These responsibilities may change as the team grows, as the political context changes and as we shift our campaign focus. 

Skills, Experience and Qualities 

Requirements

You should have:

1. A proven track record of winning regional campaigns.

2. A proven track record of bringing cross-party MPs on board with a campaign and effectively taking action together.

3. Good existing relationships in the North West region. 

4. Excellent advocacy, mobilising or community organising experience. 

5. An ability to be strategic and pragmatic, and take the most effective route to our legislative goals.

6. An excellent track record of persuading different types of people in senior positions to support and actively engage in a campaign. 

7. A demonstrated ability to raise £95k a year.

8. Experience of managing a budget and staff. 

9. Excellent skills at self-directed work, problem solving and dealing with complexity, as well as the ability to be flexible and work in a startup environment with high levels of uncertainty and small campaign budgets, where everyone has to collaborate to get things done outside of their job role.

10. A commitment to the Centre for Progressive Change’s strategy, values and culture.

Desired (not required)

1. Expertise in community organising.

2. Knowledge of the political landscape in the North West and the key political power players. 

You may not have all of this experience but if you feel confident that you could fulfill the job responsibilities then we wold encourage you to apply. 

PR and Communications Manager
Reporting to: Head of Communications
Responsible for: Communications Officer
Based: Our Head Office is based in London, but we have an agile working policy enabling people to work at another UK location up to 4 days/week. Permanent remote working in the UK is possible and we welcome applications from people based in other parts of the UK.
Terms: Full time (35 hours/week), permanent.
Salary: £34,424 - £45,448 per annum

About the role

The main purpose of this role is to lead on the delivery of a broad and engaging PR and communications strategy for the BSA, and several of its programmes, to raise the profile of the organisation’s work and its spokespeople.

They will create engaging content for our digital channels, as well as work on national PR campaigns, develop social media strategies and produce thought-provoking case studies.​

They will work on key aspects of the British Science Week PR and events campaign and will lead the British Science Festival’s media relations work. They will also oversee the communications plans for our Policy, Partnerships and Impact programmes, including For Thought, Sciencewise, and Future Forum.

They will line manage our Communications Officer and provide support and advice to the wider communications team, especially on PR and media relations activity.

Key responsibilities

The main responsibilities of this role are to:

• Deliver the BSA’s corporate communications strategy, by developing integrated, multi-channel communications plans and activities;
• Manage a programme of profile-raising PR and media relations for the BSA and its spokespeople;
• Develop the PR and communications plan for British Science Week, including leading on the stakeholder launch event;
• Lead on the PR and media relations plan for the British Science Festival, by liaising with the researchers and academics involved;
• Deliver the communications plans for our Policy, Partnership and Impact programmes, including our annual thought leadership summit, For Thought, the BSA’s work on Sciencewise, the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Diversity and Inclusion in Science, and Future Forum;
• Oversee the use of our corporate brand, our corporate tone of voice and lead on the content creation of our owned social and digital corporate channels;
• Play an active role in evaluating the success of our communications campaigns;
• Line manage the Communications Officer, offering support and guidance as necessary, and ensuring their Learning and Development needs are met;
• Collaborate with colleagues across the organisation on content & ideas for the various programmes we run.

About you

The PR and Communications Manager role will suit someone who has a passion for showcasing the impact of an organisation with stakeholder audiences.

We are looking for someone who is proactive and creative, with an eye for detail. You should be a compelling storyteller, with experience in developing engaging content in various media.

Ideally, you will have a background in media relations or PR, but if not, a sound understanding of the UK media landscape is essential.

You do not need a background in science to apply for this role – we are looking for someone who wants to communicate messages and deliver excellent content.

You will have the opportunity to work with a range of stakeholders in this role, including some of the BSA’s beneficiaries, our partners and sponsors, the press and media, as well as contractors. You need to feel comfortable meeting and talking to new people.

You will occasionally work at events, so a professional manner is a must, and a willingness to travel to other parts of the UK from time to time.

The closing date for applications is 23.59 on Sunday 15 September 2024. 

Interviews are due to take place w/c 30 September 2024.

You will be informed as soon as possible after the application deadline whether you have been selected for interview.

Interested?

If you would like to find out more, please click the apply button. You will be directed to our website to complete your application for this position.

As part of the British Science Association’s commitment to being a Disability Confident employer, all disabled* applicants who meet the ‘essential criteria’ for this vacancy will be offered an interview under our guaranteed interview scheme.

If you wish to apply under the guaranteed interview scheme, you will be asked to indicate this when you submit your application by selecting ‘yes’ in the relevant box when asked during the application process. Applicants do not need to state any further information or declare their disability at the application stage.

Whether you are applying under the scheme or not, if you are successful in being shortlisted, we will ask candidates with disabilities or long-term health conditions to let us know if they need any adjustments during the recruitment process.

While we try to ensure that everyone finishes work on time, and can vary their working hours in line with our agile working policy, from time to time the job entails working extended hours and occasional weekends, for which no overtime payments are made. The BSA operates a time off in lieu policy for weekend working and some other out-of-hours instances.

Only applicants who have a legal right to work within the UK will be considered. You will be asked to bring along proof of nationality and/or proof of ability to work in the UK.

You will also be asked to declare any previous convictions in line with your rights under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) order 1975.

This is a description of the job as it is presently constituted. It is the practice of the Association to examine job descriptions from time to time and to update them to ensure they relate to the job as then being performed, or to incorporate whatever changes are reasonably required, in discussion with the postholder.

A copy of our Privacy Notice is available on the vacancies page of our website.

*The Disability Confident scheme’s definition of disability is in line with the Equalities Act 2010: “a physical or mental condition which has a long-term and substantial effect on your daily life”.

Further information about our Disability Confident commitments can be found on the Disability Confident page of our website.

Our commitment to EDI

For the BSA's vision to come to fruition, we need to help science become part of culture, including those who are currently least engaged. We need to be able to engage with people in groups that are poorly represented in science, and that’s why equality, diversity & inclusion (EDI) needs to be central to our activities.

The BSA has established three objectives for our work with EDI:

• Develop our staff and internal systems to ensure the BSA reflects the society we want to see, and develops inclusive culture and policies;
• Change our programmes to increase their relevance to audiences who are traditionally under-represented in science engagement activities, and empower people to run science engagement activities for their networks and communities;
• Influence other organisations and individuals in the science engagement to sector to develop and improve their EDI practices in capability and audience development to reach new audiences.

We recognise that in many settings, at the BSA and beyond, EDI can be seen as an add-on or ‘fix’ to the regular work. Our aim is for EDI to be the heart of everything we do.

No agencies please.