Policy Officer Jobs

An exciting opportunity for a Policy Officer, to join a health membership organisation, in a newly created, permanent role. The chance to take full ownership for developing and delivering policy to improve the lives and experiences of the society’s membership. You will join a small team, where you can influence and develop in the role. You won’t be pigeonholed in this role, you can grow and shape it. The role is suited to a confident communicator, who can build relationships with ease, and bring initiative and ideas from day one.

Key responsibilities:  

- Monitoring the political landscape

- Develop expertise in policy areas related to this health issue and the membership

- Gather and analyse a range of relevant information to support the work of the external affairs team.

- Write briefings, letters, reports and presentations providing relevant evidence for external affairs and communications, the CEO, and Board as needed.

- Undertake stakeholder research, develop and maintain stakeholder relationships to understand the wider policy and advocacy landscape.

Your experience:

- Knowledge of the health landscape (either through a membership organisation, charity or patient facing organisation)

- Experience of the policy environment

- Excellent written and verbal communications skills – making complex information accessible to different audiences

- Problem solving skills and sound judgement

If you are passionate health policy and brining about change, with an opportunity to work with a small, innovative team, please apply!

- Salary £30,000- £34,000

- Full-time, permanent

- Hybrid- 2 days in the office, 3 from home.

- Office is based in Angel, London (N1).

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, with a firm closing date of 9am Friday 10^th January.

As leading charity recruitment specialists and a certified B Corp™, Harris Hill is committed to high and ever-improving standards of equitable and inclusive recruitment. We actively welcome applications from all sections of the community regardless of age, disability, gender, race, religion, sexuality and other protected characteristics.

Who we are: Transform Justice is a national charity working for a fair, open and compassionate justice system. We believe that evidence about what works to reduce crime and prevent reoffending should be at the heart of policy decisions and embedded into practice. 

We work to promote change by generating research and evidence to show how the system works and how it could be improved, and by influencing practitioners and politicians to make changes to the justice system. Current projects include our #FairChecks campaign for criminal records reform, our mass court observations programme CourtWatch London, and our work promoting greater use of diversion from court through our crime resolution tracker and policy advocacy.

About the role: Transform Justice is seeking a research and policy officer to play a vital role supporting its work for a better justice system. Working closely with the charity’s director and deputy director (and alongside our communications officer), you will conduct high quality research, draft policy briefings, and organise and participate in meetings and events. This role will support a range of projects including the next round of our innovative courtwatching project, and our research into victims’ experiences of the criminal justice system. You will also work closely with the director on a piece of research and policy work into the single justice procedure. 

We are looking for someone inquisitive, flexible, and organised. The role is home-based using your own equipment, so you will need to be able to work on your own with minimal day-to-day supervision. The team meets regularly online and for in-person meetings in London, with the option to work together for a half day in a cafe on a weekly basis. 

Main responsibilities and duties:

• Undertaking qualitative and quantitative research including phone interviews, survey design, submitting FOI requests and analysing published data

• Reviewing relevant academic evidence and policy documents and identifying what’s important for our advocacy work 

• Writing, editing and proofreading reports, briefings and submissions

• Liaising with policy makers and stakeholders including organising and attending meetings and drafting correspondence

• Organising online and in person events to support Transform Justice’s advocacy work 

• Supporting the CourtWatch London project including engaging with volunteers, organising and supporting the delivery of training, reviewing data collection 

• Support the drafting of funding applications

• Other reasonable duties as required including administrative tasks such as generating invoices 

Skills and experience:

• At least one year of work experience in a research or policy-related role

• Demonstrable qualitative and quantitative research skills, for example using interviews, surveys, or published statistics to produce insights and recommendations 

• Ability to communicate clearly and concisely, verbally and in writing 

• Ability to take ownership of tasks when working remotely with little supervision, seeking advice and support when needed

• Ability to prioritise your workload when working on a range of different projects and tasks 

• Excellent computer skills, with knowledge and practice of Word, Excel and PowerPoint 

• Interest in criminal justice policy issues, and a commitment to help achieve Transform Justice’s vision

Location: Remote working with regular in-person meetings in London

Contract: One year term with the potential to be renewable

Salary: £28,000 - £31,000 pa full time (pro rata if part time). There is also the opportunity for this to be a freelance role if preferred

Hours: Full time (also open to part-time 3 or 4 days a week)

Reporting to: Deputy director

Holiday/pension: 25 days FTE (pro rata if part time)

Probationary period: three months

How to apply: Please submit a CV and answer the screening questions through the CharityJob website by Saturday 4th January 2025. Interviews will take place on Thursday 16th January and Friday 17th January and will be conducted in person in London.

Candidates for interview will be notified by email. We are sorry that due to limited staff capacity we are not able to reply to all applicants.

Transform Justice is committed to fair recruitment and the inclusion of applicants with criminal records. This position is covered by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. For this role, the disclosure of a criminal record is not required. 

To reduce bias in the hiring process, Transform Justice uses CharityJob’s anonymous recruitment process. This automatically replaces personal information (i.e. name and email address) with pseudonyms on CVs until we invite a candidate to interview.

Are you passionate about influencing people to improve the lives of others? Are you a skilled communicator, able to get across complex ideas succinctly and impactfully, adapting your style to suit a range or audiences? Do you have a proven track record of engaging with policy makers & other key stakeholders at local and national levels to get key messages heard, understood and acted on? If so, this role could be for you.

Our policy work plays a pivotal role in pushing for widespread change that will help prevent epilepsy deaths and gain greater recognition of the life-long impact these sudden deaths have on communities. So we’re looking for someone who has experience of engaging with and influencing policy-makers, preferably in the charity or health/care sector. This is an exciting opportunity for someone interested in building on established relationships with the NHS and local authorities across the country who are keen to use SUDEP Action’s expertise and tools to make change. There is much to do in challenging circumstances. Our national campaign has global support with real opportunity with a new Parliament to build back to our level of influence to our experiences before the dramatic impact of Brexit, the COVID pandemic and cost of living crisis.  Working closely alongside and reporting to the Director of Policy and Influencing (who has nearly 3 decades of expertise), you will learn the field to deliver high quality policy and campaigning for the charity.

Engaging confidently with people and feeling comfortable in adapting your approach to different audiences is a key skill for this role – epilepsy, and in particular epilepsy bereavement is a challenging area to gain attention and change, so you’ll need tenacity, creativity and passion to succeed. You’ll have experience in writing punchy, evidence-based communications that have personal stories at the heart.

Building positive supporter connections is at the heart of what we do at SUDEP Action, so setting a positive example of this through your work and actions, and demonstrating the importance of maintaining strong, personalised relationships is key. You’ll be ready to record, monitor and evaluate the impact and engagement with policy work, so this feeds back into how the charity operates. The successful candidate will be able to build on current processes and successes to grow our engagement across all policy activities and campaigns.

More information about the role can be found in the SUDEP Action Job Pack which is downloadable with this advert once you click on Quick Apply.

Department: Campaigns, Policy and Public Affairs

Location: hybrid – minimum of 1 day per week in our Aldgate, London office

Hours of work: 37.5 hours

Contract: Permanent, full time

Salary: £33,000 – £35,000 per annum

Closing date: Sunday 5th January at 11.59pm

Annual leave: 33 days (plus eight bank holidays)

Benefits:

• enhanced maternity, paternity and adoption leave, 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 a wellbeing appflexible working options including hybrid working, flexible working patterns such as part-time, compressed hours, and more*
• learning and development opportunities including bespoke training and access to LinkedIn Learning)
• commitment to employee health and wellbeing. We have a Menopause Friendly accreditation and are a Disability Confident employer

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

Join the Policy, Campaigns, and Public Affairs team, providing expert policy research and analysis to advance Dementia UK’s influencing strategy.

As a Policy Officer (Access to Care), you will take the lead on public policy areas that tackle barriers to care and address health inequalities that impact people living with dementia, their carers, and loved ones. Your focus will be on ensuring that individuals from all communities and backgrounds can access care without exception.

In this role, you will work to secure improvements in legislation, public policy, and statutory services, emphasising inclusive and equitable access to care. You will monitor and analyse policy developments at central, devolved, and local government levels, collaborating closely with colleagues across the Policy, Campaigns, and Public Affairs team to shape Dementia UK’s campaigning and influencing activities.

Additionally, you will build and maintain external relationships to strengthen Dementia UK’s policy calls and increase the likelihood of achieving meaningful change. This includes forging strong working relationships with key policy staff in relevant government departments and representing Dementia UK at events, external committees, and working groups.

To succeed in this role, you will bring experience in public policy and campaigns. You will have a proven ability to formulate policy positions, supported by both qualitative and quantitative research skills. Strong communication skills are essential, along with the ability to build and manage effective stakeholder relationships.

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 support them in achieving 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 to and lead on our working groups around health and wellbeing, menopause, and equity, 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 difference and individuality and encourage everyone to join us and be their whole selves always.

By applying to join Dementia UK, you acknowledge that in the event you are successful for the role, any offer and your ongoing employment will be conditional on you having or obtaining the right to work in the UK.

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

Location: Hybrid working part London Office (Islington, London) part home work. The post holder will work a minimum of 1 day per week in the office. 

Salary: £34,525 per annum

Hours: 35 hours per week

Closing date: Tuesday 14 January 2025 at 10.00am

Interview date: Week commencing 20 January 2025

Please note that the interview process with involve a mixture of face-to-face interviews and a group discussion.

This is a full-time permanent position.  

Location: Hybrid working part London Office (Islington, London) part home work. The post holder will work a minimum of 1 day per week in the office. 

Salary: £34,525 per annum

Hours: 35 hours per week

Closing date: Tuesday 14 January 2025 at 10.00am

Interview date: Week commencing 20 January 2025

Please note that the interview process with involve a mixture of face-to-face interviews and a group discussion.

This is a full-time permanent position.  

Who we are looking for

We are recruiting a Senior Policy and Public Affairs Officer to join our award-winning policy and public affairs team.

We are looking for an experienced policy and public affairs professional, with charity, agency or industry experience and a strong track record of programme delivery. The successful candidate will have excellent interpersonal, written and verbal communication skills and an evidenced track record in managing cross sector advocacy programmes.

This role is fundamental to the delivery of our advocacy mission: to reduce health inequalities in type 1 diabetes, to widen access to type 1 diabetes treatments and technologies and to ensure that people with type 1 secure access to emerging new treatments and future cures.

It’s an exciting time to join Breakthrough T1D as global advances in treatments are transforming health outcomes for people with type 1 diabetes.  We invite you to apply and join our incredible mission.

Experience required

You’ll have previous experience of:

• experience of leading public affairs delivery of a cross sector, multi stakeholder programme 

• project management of cross sector influencing projects 

• communicating across a range of professional stakeholders at all levels 

• conducting desk research and analysis, summarising findings clearly to a range of audiences 

• drafting briefings, reports and policy submissions

• working in a policy and public affairs environment

About Breakthrough T1D UK

Breakthrough T1D UK is the world’s leading charitable research funder into type 1 diabetes, improving lives until we find the cure. We are dedicated to our 400,000 strong type 1 community in the UK and work closely with our international affiliates across the world, including the US, Canada and Australia.

You will find a vibrant atmosphere and spirited team at Breakthrough T1D UK, always striving to make a difference to people living with type 1.

Employee benefits

As an employer we offer:

• Hybrid working arrangements
• Flexible working and will consider compressed hours
• Generous annual leave entitlement – 25 days per year plus bank holidays for full-time staff with leave increasing after three and five years’ service
• Health cash plan that allows you to claim for some treatments such as dental, optical and physiotherapy treatment
• Season ticket and cycle loan
• Pension scheme
• Family-friendly policies – maternity, paternity, adoption and shared parental leave at enhanced rates
• Personalised training to suit your career aspirations and professional development

Breakthrough T1D UK is an equal opportunity employer, we welcome applications from all individuals regardless of race, gender, disability, religious belief, sexual orientation or age.

Who we are:

Muslim Aid is a UK faith-based international development organisation that provides support to communities around the world affected by disasters, conflict, or endemic poverty without regard to their social, religious, or ethnic background. 

Established in 1985, Muslim Aid has facilitated the engagement of the British Muslim and non-Muslim community in support of its work in a variety of ways. Over the years, its humanitarian work has included responses to major crises around the world including, famine in East Africa, earthquakes and flooding in Pakistan and Bangladesh as well as conflicts in Syria and Yemen. 

We place strong emphasis on long-term development projects that build the capacity of local people to help themselves. In addition to the 5 country offices worldwide we also work with multiple partner offices focusing on sustainable Development Programmes and providing humanitarian relief during times of crisis.

Summary of the role:

The Policy, Advocacy & Public Affairs Officer is responsible for developing and implementing advocacy strategies that advance the organisation’s mission, influence public policy and help achieve strategic priorities. This role involves engaging with policy makers, building relationships with key stakeholders, researching and writing policy positions, planning advocacy campaigns and supporting public affairs initiatives. The Policy, Advocacy & PA Officer will work closely with the Head of Communications to ensure that advocacy and public affairs efforts are integrated into the organisation’s broader communication strategy.

About the Role:

1. Identify key policy issues and opportunities for targeted advocacy campaigns to achieve organisational goals.
2. Conduct stakeholder mapping to identify key influencers, decision-makers and partners in the public policy space.
3. Develop and maintain a comprehensive database of stakeholders and ensure regular engagement with them.
4. Maintain relationships with government officials, policymakers, and other key stakeholders in the public sector.
5. Provide updates on legislative, regulatory and policy developments/changes that impact the delivery of our advocacy approaches.
6. Execute public awareness campaigns that raise the profile of the organisation’s advocacy issues and educate audiences on key issues aligned with strategic priorities.
7. Report on the performance of communication activities using data and insights to inform future communication strategies and activities.

About You:

To be successful in this role, you will need:

1. Bachelor’s degree in Political Science, International Relations, Public Policy, Law, or a related field.
2. Experience in advocacy, public affairs, or a related role, preferably within an INGO or nonprofit organisation.
3. Strong analytical and research skills, with the ability to conduct policy analysis and develop evidence-based advocacy materials.
4. Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to engage and influence stakeholders at all levels.
5. Proficiency in public affairs strategies, government relations, and coalition building.
6. Passionate advocate with a commitment to social justice and the organisation’s mission.

Why you should apply:

Join Muslim Aid as a Policy, Advocacy & Public Affairs Officer and drive meaningful change by influencing public policy and building key stakeholder relationships. If you are passionate about shaping policies, planning impactful campaigns, and collaborating with a dynamic team, apply now to contribute to an organisation committed to transforming lives and communities worldwide!

Benefits you will enjoy working for us: 

• 25 days annual leave + 4 Privilege days
• Hybrid working
• Paid time off for medical appointments 
• 2 hours lunch break on Fridays 
• Time off in Lieu (TOIL) 
• Pension Scheme

How to apply:

To apply please submit your cover letter (no more than 1 page) and CV.

Context and Background

The NSPCC's mission is to prevent cruelty to children in the UK. We're leading the fight against child abuse in the UK and Channel Islands. We believe that every childhood is worth fighting for. 

The Strategy and Knowledge directorate (S&K) is responsible for organisational strategy, developing and influencing public policy, championing an evidence-based approach in all our work, developing innovative services and managing our knowledge and information. It sits at the heart of all that we do and is responsible for ensuring we have a consistent, authoritative, evidenced voice across all the activities that will advance our strategy; policy influencing, service, products and campaigns. 

The Team Assistant will work across two teams, in the directorate: Research & Evidence and Policy & Public Affairs. 

The Research & Evidence team carries out, commissions and facilitates high quality research, evaluation and evidence-gathering to advance NSPCC's understanding, and improve the evidence base, about the prevention of child abuse and neglect, and how to support children who have experienced it. Our research helps us to understand the impact we have in our work with children, families and communities, how we can improve that work, and enables us to understand the needs, wants and experiences of children and families we seek to support. 

The Policy and Public-Affairs team works to ensure that national laws, policies and guidance across the UK are fit-for-purpose in preventing cruelty to children. We develop and maintain the NSPCC's positions on key public policy issues, drawing on research and policy analysis and feed in organisational insight and expertise gained through our services We use our evidence-based positions to shape and influence national policy discussions on issues affecting child protection and manage the NSPCC's political relations and work with governments, legislatures and stakeholders across the UK. 

Job purpose

· To provide an effective and efficient administrative support service to the Research & Evidence and Policy & Public Affairs teams.

· To work with the Research & Evidence Assistant and the Policy & Public Affairs assistants, to ensure the smooth running of internal and external meetings and events

· To provide administrative support for individual research and/or policy projects, as the need arises from time to time.

Key relationships - Internal

· Report to the heads of Research & Evidence and Policy & Public Affairs, and works closely with staff across both teams.

· Build and maintains working relationships with other executive assistants (Particularly the Research & Evidence Assistant and the Policy & Public Affairs Assistant), administrative and support staff and colleagues across the directorate, to enable the provision of high quality administrative support and information.

· Liaise with colleagues in NSPCC People, Procurement, Legal and Finance teams to ensure smooth running of recruitment and purchasing processes

· Responding to queries from colleagues across the NSPCC that come into the "research advice" inbox

· Part of a group of assistants in the directorate that provide support and cover for one another.

Key relationships - External

· Provide a customer service for NSPCC stakeholders externally, such as members of the NSPCC Research Ethics Committee.

· Maintain and builds relationships with suppliers and other service providers, such as Dod's Parliamentary Services.

Main duties and responsibilities

· Provide support to senior management of the Research & Evidence and Policy & Public Affairs teams, including supporting recruitment and induction, procurement

processes, financial processing and reporting, in line with NSPCC policies and procedures.

· Plan and organise meetings and events, both internally and externally, including drafting agendas, taking minutes and ensuring meeting rooms, venues and refreshments etc. are booked.

· Provide a professional and helpful service by handling and triaging calls, emails and messages from staff across NSPCC for: the Research Review Clinic, the Research

Ethics Committee, the Policy and Public Affairs inquiry email and external supporter queries

· Represent the teams at relevant internal forums and working groups (e.g. facilities and using our buildings, health & safety).

· Manage the Research & Evidence and Policy & Public Affairs team pages on The Green, alongside members of the teams and the Associate Heads of both teams

· Manage the Policy and Public Affairs team pages on The Green, alongside members

· Undertake ad hoe tasks, including projects and reporting, as requested by the Senior Management Teams of the Research & Evidence and Policy & Public Affairs teams, which may involve gathering and analysing information.

· Deal with confidential and sensitive information in an appropriate manner.

Responsibilities for all Staff within Strategy and Knowledge

· A commitment to safeguard and promote the welfare of children, young people and adults at risk.

· Application of NSPCC values and behaviours to all aspects of work

· At all times to carry out the responsibilities of the post in a manner consistent with promoting equalities and diversity, and which demonstrates respect for children's rights.

· To actively participate in regular team meetings and training, contributing at an appropriate level to strategy, discussions and decisions.

· To maintain an awareness of own and others' health and safety and comply with local

· Health and Safety policy and procedures.

Person specification

The right candidate for this role will have:

1. Excellent organisational skills, with the ability to organise and plan own work and help others to organise theirs.

2. Excellent interpersonal and communication skills to deal appropriately with internal and external stakeholders and colleagues.

3. Ability to work with others as part of a team, providing support as required, and building and maintaining effective working relationships.

4. Excellent written communication skills and the ability to understand, interpret and present information in a clear and accurate way for a range of audiences.

5. Sufficient numeracy skills, attention to detail and accuracy of information to enter and record financial and other data, as well as carrying out calculations and reporting on them.

6. Ability to deal with confidential information sensitively and appropriately.

7. Experience of running meetings, including arranging, facilitating, and taking accurate minutes and notes.

8. Experience of developing, maintaining and reviewing administrative systems and information systems.

9. Experience in using Windows-based software packages including Word, Outlook, Tearns and Excel.

Safer Recruitment

As an organisation, we are committed to creating and fostering a culture that promotes safeguarding and the welfare of all children and adults at risk.

Our safer recruitment practices support this by ensuring that there is a consistent and thorough process of obtaining, collating, analysing and evaluating information from and about candidates to ensure that all persons appointed are suitable to work with our children and adults.

The recruitment and selection of our people will be conducted in a professional, timely and responsive manner and in compliance with current employment legislation, and relevant safeguarding legislation and statutory guidance.

Our principles:

· Always seek to recruit the best candidate for the role based on merit including their skills, experience, motivation and competencies. Our robust recruitment and

selection process should ensure the identification of the person best suited to the role and the organisation.

· Committed to diversity and equality of opportunity and will interview all applicants (internal and external) who self-declare at application as having a disability and who

meet the minimum requirements in the person specification of the vacancy they are applying for.

· We will make reasonable adjustments at all stages of the recruitment process in order to enable successful candidates who declare disabilities to start working or

volunteering their time with us.

· Any current member of staff or volunteer who wishes to apply for vacancies and is

suitably qualified will be considered and addressed fairly and objectively based on their merit.

· As an organisation committed to safeguarding, we will ensure all under 18's joining the organisation will have ongoing risk assessments to ensure their role and

activities are safe and appropriate.

· All documentation relating to candidates will be treated confidentially in accordance with the GDPR legislation.

About us

We are National Energy Action (NEA) – and our vision is to end fuel poverty. Our work to improve and promote energy efficiency brings social, environmental, housing and employment benefits.  We believe everyone should be able to afford to keep their homes warm and safe. However, low incomes, high energy bills and poor energy efficiency currently deny this to millions of households across the UK.  Never has this been more important than today.

NEA’s teams are friendly, knowledgeable and are dedicated to what we do.  We are proud of our expertise and proud of the service we deliver to our clients.

We offer colleagues a friendly, rewarding workplace and the chance to build a worthwhile career with a not-for-profit organisation that makes a genuine difference to people’s lives each and every day.

The role

This post provides an exciting and rewarding opportunity to help the charity build its profile among national stakeholders while delivering projects that seek to bring an end to fuel poverty and to the misery of cold homes. The role will largely focus on working with the UK Government, Ofgem and other regulatory bodies to ensure that energy markets work in the best interests of NEA’s client group.

You will have responsibility for the production of NEA’s responses to relevant consultations and the ability to produce and deliver briefings on current relevant policies for internal and external audiences.  Including responding and influencing Government policy across key areas with a particular focus on our work to ensure that energy markets work in the interests of fuel poor households.

You will have a key responsibility for analysing relevant aspects of policy at a local, national and UK level – you will also represent and enhance the co-ordination of NEA’s stakeholder’s relationships and help us capture key insights and impacts from our practical work to ensure these are reflected in policy positions and our advocacy.

The post sits within the Policy and Advocacy Directorate and is part of a creative and caring team of professionals who bring a wide range of skills and expertise to this growing department.

What you will need to succeed

The Policy Analyst will have demonstrable, relevant experience within a national charity, the energy industry, lobby group or consumer body, and a proven ability to influence key stakeholders demonstrable experience in influencing policy or regulation within the energy industry, or equivalent experience within a national charity, energy retailer, energy network, consumer body or utility regulator. You will also have a thorough understanding of key aspects of relevant energy policy and its impact on fuel poverty.

Reporting to the Head of Policy and Public Affairs you will have proven analytical skills with demonstrable experience of both quantitative and qualitative approaches to inform policy making decisions.

Your base location is negotiable; either Newcastle upon Tyne or London, working on a hybrid basis.

Hybrid working is subject to necessary H&S and GDPR checks. Post holders must be resident within the UK and be able to provide their Right to Work in the UK.

The job description provides a list of the duties of the post and the person specification provides the list of essential and desirable criteria.

We are offering:

• £33,931 – £38,594, Scale SO1-SO2 (plus £3,300 London Weighting if applicable). New appointments usually begin at the starting point of the scale.
• 11½% non-contributory pension.
• 25 days annual leave plus 3 additional days in between Christmas New Year Period when our offices close; plus, all public holidays per annum.
• Flexible working arrangements including the opportunity for Hybrid working.
• Enhanced family friendly payments.
• Employee Assistance Programme.
• Employee benefits platform.

How to apply:

Apply online by clicking 'apply via website'.

The closing date for applications is 03 January 2025 at 12 noon.  Interviews will be held in the week commencing 13 January 2025.  Full details of this post and an application form are available on our website.

Please be aware that National Energy Action is not a sponsoring organisation. Therefore, the successful applicant must already possess the right to work in the UK or be able to secure the right to work in the UK independently.

Please note CVs will not be accepted as part of the application process.  No agency or advertising enquiries please.

NEA aims to be an equal opportunities employer. We welcome applications from all people with the necessary skills and experience for the post. Charity Registration No. 290511.  Company Registration No:  01853927

Summary

• Advising and supporting on subject matters of public policy.
• Representing the Church of England as required on partnership bodies
• Preparing briefing papers and reports for senior staff, bishops, archbishops and member bodies
• Maintaining and developing a strong network of contacts
• Participating as required in the Governance bodies of the church, and promoting good working relationships with staff across the NCIs.
• Acting as a point of contact, information and support for Diocesan Officers.
• Participating regularly in meetings of the Faith and Public Life team and ensuring the Director of the Faith and Public Life team is fully briefed on the Public Policy Team's activities.

• Hybrid working arrangements and must be able to work within the office - Lambeth Palace at least 2 days per week.
• Willingness and ability to travel within the UK and abroad, including overnight trips.

• A salary of £66,186, plus age-related pension contributions between 8-15% of salary. We will also match any pension contributions you make up to an additional 3% of your salary.

• 30 days annual leave plus eight bank holidays three additional days (pro-rated if working part-time).
• We welcome all flexible working arrangement requests. This is looked at in a case-by-case scenario and if this fits within the department's needs. We try to be as flexible as we can in your work pattern to support you with other commitments, and to give a good work-life balance.
• We offer many services and initiatives under our Family Friendly Programme, some of these include enhanced Maternity Leave initiative, Adoption Leave, Paternity Leave, & Shared Parental Leave. Structured induction programme and access to a range of development opportunities including apprenticeships.
• Automatic enrolment and access to Medicash (one of the UK's leading health cash plan providers), providing you with many services including reimbursements of routine dental treatment, optical, specialist consultations, and therapy treatments. Unlimited access to virtual GP & Private prescription service and health & Stress related helplines.
• Access to Occupational Health, and an Employee Assistance Programme 
• Access to the Department of Education Restaurant and Westminster Abby with a plus-one guest.
• Apply for eligibility for an Eyecare voucher.
• Opportunity to the Civil Service Sports & Social Club, and get involved in a range of staff networks, groups and societies.

• Strive for Excellence
• Show Compassion
• Respect others
• Collaborate
• Act with Integrity

The policy and engagement officer will play an integral role in engaging with charities and other organisations across the substance misuse field to support Collective Voice to influence decision-makers to improve England’s drug and alcohol treatment and recovery system and to champion the role of charities in delivering it.

Collective Voice is the national alliance of voluntary sector drug and alcohol treatment and recovery services.  We advocate for a system that reduces harm and nurtures recovery and the vital role of charities in delivering this.

In a typical week you might draft a response to a government consultation on national policy, support a meeting to convene and collate the views of the field on a key issue, write our weekly e-bulletin to engage and inform stakeholders, brief the Director on a policy issue before they meet officials in Whitehall, take minutes at a board meeting, or write a blog analysing and explaining policy developments.

Forming a team of just two with the Director, the post holder will work closely with the Director across all functions of the organisation.  This represents, therefore, a significant opportunity for professional development.

Key responsibilities

1. Advocating for treatment and recovery (40%)
• Support Collective Voice to develop authentic, empowering and influential public positions on policy and campaigning issues
•Research and draft high quality influencing materials, including formal policy submissions, briefings, blogs and articles
• Develop expert knowledge in specific areas relevant to CV’s strategy and make recommendations for proactive and reactive responses
• Represent Collective Voice at external meetings and events, including some public speaking
• Develop relationships with relevant stakeholders in national and local government, policy and advocacy charities and beyond

2. Building the field (35%)
• Work with the Director to build our work to convene the field, currently through Collective Voice’s groups and events (online and in person) including providing administration and chairing where appropriate.
• Engage and convene organisations across the field and wider partners to gather intelligence, good practice and canvas opinion to inform policy positions
• Manage a range of projects, setting and meeting own deadlines and managing simple budgets where needed
• Coordinate Collective Voice’s social media, weekly e-bulletin and blogs to engage and inform the field and support delivery of our strategy

3. Strengthening our Collective Voice (20%)
• Contribute to the strategic and organisational development of Collective Voice, working alongside the Director
• Support governance by organising board meetings, writing minutes and papers and communicating with trustees
• Be a proud ambassador for the organisation and the wider sector at all times • Manage contractors and/or junior staff where appropriate
• Work flexibly and pragmatically within the constraints of a small organisation with a high profile
• Provide general administrative support appropriate to a charity of this size

4.Developing self and values (5%)
Proactively pursue formal and informal learning opportunities and create own development plan
• Actively participate in line-management and appraisal processes

Do you have a passion to help Children and Young People and want to make a difference?

Are you a senior leader with excellent intuition and ability to make powerful, high impact policy positions, influencing national, regional and local government and decision makers?

Are you a driven, collaborative leader who wants to shape and significantly grow The Children's Society's impact and reach?

If so, we have an exciting opportunity for a Director of Policy, Advocacy and Influencing to join our dynamic and ambitious team.

Permanent contract (following 6-month probation period), working full time (35 hours a week).

The role can be situated in our The Children's Society's national office at Whitecross Studios, Old Street, London, or one of our regional offices (currently in Birmingham and Greater Manchester), with hybrid working options available. Alternatively, home-based by arrangement with the ability to frequently travel to the national office and other venues as required.

Salary: £61,125.54 per annum (National), £63,990.72 per annum (London)

The Children's Society is clear on the impact it wants to create for young people -directly through our services for young people and through our systems change and influencing work at all levels in society. The Director of Policy, Advocacy and Influencing is part of the Senior Leadership Team at The Children's Society, a Senior Leader within the Youth Impact domain. The Youth Impact domain is where all of our service delivery for young people and a lot of systems change activity takes place.

The Director will lead our Policy, Advocacy and Influencing Knowledge Group - a team of people who work hard to influence government policy for the benefit of young people through astute public affairs and campaigning. Our charity has been campaigning for change for young people for years, we have an excellent track record, and have had a number of policy successes, reaching young people way beyond the boundaries of our charity. We work well in collaboration with other charities, especially children's charities - the role holder will lead our strategic partnerships and external coalitions to build our external presence and collaboration opportunities. The recently published impact report of the Children's Charities coalition is an excellent example of this. Maintaining a relentless focus on the external environment to ensure that the charity responds to sector developments and remains a strategic leader in the field will be an essential part of the role. Your ability to cultivate a rapid response culture to opportunities to achieve impact will be vital.

Our collaborative culture at The Children's Society means that this role holder will work very closely with colleagues who lead research, evaluation and impact activities. Our developing Impact Measurement Framework will form part of the work of the Director of Policy, Advocacy and Influencing - ensuring the impact of the team, and reach of The Children's Society is effectively captured and reported.

Integrated working with colleagues across our impact domain is essential, for example with those who lead on external communications and messaging, bringing together compelling evidence to drive change - in public awareness and attitudes, and in policies and systems - that can improve young people's lives. Policy, advocacy and influencing works to put young people's voice and experience at the centre of our thinking and outputs. Internal collaboration with our wide range of young people's services is essential and the Director will be required to work with other leaders in the organisation to expand this work.

This is a newly formed Director role that will an active member of our Senior Leadership Team, reporting to the Executive Director of Youth Impact. It is a strategic, national role. With your energy, enthusiasm and passion to make a difference in young people's lives, you will be responsible for developing and implementing a strategic policy approach, influencing government for the benefit of young people - through political influencing (public affairs and campaigning). Your leadership, and the work of your team will help us drive forward the achievement of our goal.

Key responsibilities will be to:

-Lead and inspire ambitious policy, advocacy and influencing strategies to achieve policy change in the best interests of young people - through effective and aligned policy, public affairs and campaigning plans to influence change

-Lead the generation of The Children's Society's policy positions - playing to the unique strengths of our charity, aligned with our goal and strategic objectives - influenced by young peoples voice and experience

-Maintain the charity's strong external policy presence and political influence, ensuring strategically driven developments - through frameworks for proactive and reactive lobbying and campaigning.

-Build and grow strategically aligned external partnerships and coalitions - adding value, yet maintaining The Children's Society's own presence externally.

-Effectively communicate - verbally, written, illustratively The Children's Society's ambitions for change, and influential positions - reporting internally and externally to a range of audiences

You will be expected to represent the organisational externally, at the highest levels, with a wide variety of people and organisations. These could be supporters, politicians, civil servants, funders, media, partners - the list is endless. The effective verbal, written and visual communication skills you have will be important. You are likely to represent The Children's Society through media and public speaking - a good track record here will be encouraged.

The Children's Society ensures that youth voice is central to its work and drives its strategic objectives. The post holder will be expected to develop youth voice activity throughout our work, upholding the highest standards of promoting safe and ethical practice.

The Director of Policy, Advocacy and Influencing is a senior leadership position in the charity. This means you will get involved in cross-organisational development activities and will have an important role in championing our strategic objectives. Supporting and participating in integrated approaches within the organisation will be important - to ensure consistent messaging and to increase our external profile, brand and support network - to widen the reach and impact of our charity.

Here are just some of our benefits:

-Flexible working hours: 8 to 4, 9 to 5, 10 to 6, or in between (to be agreed with your manager).

-Family-friendly policies: Including enhanced maternity, paternity, and adoption leave.

-Pension: Stakeholder pension scheme: with company-matched employee contributions of up to 8%.

-'Xtras': Employee discount scheme offering a range of savings across groceries, fuel, clothing, and holidays.

-Free confidential counselling service: Available to all staff and volunteers.

-28 days holiday per year, plus bank holidays.

Recruitment process

The closing date for applications is 23:59 on Sunday 19th January 2025. If after 14 days, we have received enough applications we can close this vacancy from the 3rd January 2025 onwards.

First interviews will be held on the week commencing 27th January 2025, followed by further shortlisting.

Second interviews will be held on the week commencing 3rd February 2025.

We are currently working on agreeing a date for a young people's panel. We will advise shortlisted candidates of this date as soon as possible.

About us

The Children's Society has been helping children and young people in this country for over 140 years. We run more than 70 local services that help thousands of young people who desperately need our support, and we lobby and campaign to get laws and policies changed to make children's lives happier and safer. Every day we're changing the lives of children in this country for the better - you can find out more by reading our 'Impact Report' https://www.childrenssociety.org.uk/what-we-do/our-impact

The Children's Society is committed to safeguarding and protecting the children and young people that we work with. As such, all posts are subject to a safer recruitment process, including the disclosure of criminal records and vetting checks. We ensure that we have a range of policies and procedures in place which promote safeguarding and safer working practices across our services.

Therefore, candidates will be required to complete an “Employment history template” document prior to interview. The fully completed document should be loaded by the candidate at the point of uploading your CV.

IN1

Job purpose:

This is a fantastic opportunity for someone enthusiastic about driving change to join the Huntington’s Disease Association, proactively working to advocate for and improve care for people with this rare neurological condition. 
 

As Policy and Public Affairs Officer, you will work closely with our Head of Public Affairs to influence decision makers in the NHS, and UK and Welsh governments. You will be joining the charity at an exciting time as we develop a new influencing strategy. You will help shape this work, while having opportunity to work with external stakeholders, including health professionals, civil servants and other charities, all whilst developing your skillset and policy and public affairs experience. We have had success over the past year in parliament in highlighting the issues faced by people living with Huntington’s disease, and we are now focused on building this work to help drive policy change.
 

This is a remote role, working from home mostly, but will require travel to London and other locations across England and Wales (which the charity will cover expenses for).

This is an essential role in a small, national organisation supporting people affected by Huntington's disease.

Learn more about the role in the job pack included.

Benefits:

* 25 days annual leave plus public holidays (pro rata for part-time staff)

* A pension scheme with 3% employer contribution

* Medicash scheme

* Tax-free working from home allowance

* Flexible working approach

* Supportive and positive working environment

* Fantastic learning and development opportunities

Applications:

Applications submitted without a CV and cover letter will not be considered.

Closing date for applications is Tuesday 7th January 2025, 9 am.

Interviews will be held on Wednesday 22nd January 2025.

" Package Description:

Together we make a difference, develop and learn, and support each other. Every day with us is different, but our mission remains the same: To champion the rights, needs and ambitions of the people we support - they are at the heart of everything we do. We stand by them and we work together for change.

• Assisting staff and the people we support to present at conferences, workshops and other events with key stakeholders including MPs, Councillors and commissioners.
• Building relationships with key organisations and stakeholders, including the people we support and their families, frontline staff, volunteers and commissioners.
• Identifying problems and solutions that relate to the people we support and raising awareness of these issues on a regional and national level.
• Working collaboratively with the communications team to create engaging content for blogs, campaign emails, case studies, social media and PR.
• Identifying opportunities to strengthen the Trust’s campaigning identity.
• Providing regular reporting to internal stakeholders such as leadership teams and Trustees.
• Assisting with the organisation of virtual and in-person events that raise awareness of our campaigning work.
• Keeping up to date with changing policies and legislation in relation to vulnerable children and young people’s rights, social care and disability rights.
• Improving the Together Trust’s visibility in UK Parliament by supporting the Communications and Campaigns Manager to attend sessions, submitting evidence and nurture networks.
• Supporting the Policy and Campaigns Manager in their role, deputising for them where necessary.
• Championing diversity, equality and inclusion, in addition to meeting legal and charitable regulatory requirements.

• NVQ/QCF Level 3 or 4 or equivalent experience.
• Experience of researching and analysing complex information such as policy and legislation.
• Experience of writing and editing impactful communications.
• Ability to work with multiple teams to deliver campaigns including fundraising, communications and frontline service staff.
• Commitment to meeting the needs of the people we support so they are empowered to make decisions to support the direction of our strategy.
• Ability to help bring in new ideas with the ability to assimilate and make sense of complex data and research. 

Benefits

• Annual Leave 27 day holiday plus 8 days bank holidays rising to 30 after 5 years, 33 days after 10 years
• Generous pension scheme and death in service benefit , up to 7% company pension contributions and up to 6 x basis salary death in service 
• Occupational sick pay and family friendly policies including enhanced maternity, paternity and adoptive leave.
• Reward and Discount platform offering discounts at high street shops, travel, insurances etc.
• Eligibility to apply for Blue Light card
• Proud to be a real living wage employer
• Refer a friend scheme, be rewarded for recommending a friend to work with us
• Comprehensive training and development opportunities, including apprenticeship qualifications
• Long service awards including cash gifts and extra holiday.
• Promotion of Wellbeing across the organisation including Mental Health First Aiders offering wellbeing support from trained colleague and free weekly yoga session  in person or online
• Access to our Employee Assistance Programme for you and adults at your home

Alongside an incredible team of like-minded peers, you’ll be working behind-the-scenes to support our staff, volunteers, families, and supporters. 

You will be helping our work happen across the charity; enabling us to care for and champion the rights, needs and ambitions of the people we support.

"

The Policy and Networks Officer will work within the London Higher Policy and Networks Team. Working closely with the Head and Policy and the Senior Policy and Project Officer, the post-holder will support the London Higher membership through providing briefings and insights to members. 

The Policy and Networks Officer will support the running of the London Higher networks, representing staff from across the breadth of university functions, including strategic planning, research, teaching and sustainability. They will help set agendas and support the project work that arises through the network meeting, such as drafting a report, undertaking research or leading an initiative. 

The post-holder will have the ability to manage a busy workload and meet deadlines in fast-changing policy environment. They will build effective working relationships with colleagues from across the London Higher membership.

The successful post-holder will be expected to spend time each week in London, in the office and visiting key stakeholders.