Senior External Affairs Adviser
Contract type: Fixed Term Contract (12 months)
Full time: 34.5 hours, we are open to a conversation about how you work these hours
Location: Home based
Salary range: £43,000 - £48,000
About us
At Macmillan you'll find talented people working together to do whatever it takes to support people living with cancer. We're going all out to find even better ways to help even more people who need our support. Our values are at the heart of who we are and everything we do, inspiring our thinking and guiding our actions.
Our new organisational strategy sets out how we’ll fight even harder to make every pound raised count for even more. With your help, we’ll transform cancer care for good.
About the role
Join Macmillan Cancer Support as a Senior External Affairs Adviser, where you will play a vital role in shaping and delivering impactful change propositions and external affairs strategies across the UK. Your work will focus on delivering at-scale change for people with cancer, particularly the most marginalised groups.
Key responsibilities:
- Provide senior-level advice to develop external affairs strategies aligned with Macmillan’s mission.
- Lead cross-functional external affairs projects that are evidence-based and impactful.
- Develop and manage relationships with political stakeholders, policymakers, civil servants and healthcare providers.
- Provide high-quality insight and briefings to senior colleagues on the political landscape, and what the external opportunities and risks are.
- Anticipate shifts within the external environment and adapt approaches to maintain our relevance and influence.
- Collaborate with teams to ensure policy positions are strategic and evidence-based.
- Represent Macmillan at external events, advocating for improvements in cancer care.
- Coordinate campaigns to influence public policy and funding decisions.
About you
The successful candidate will have...
- Proven ability to manage complex and sensitive external contexts, making sound judgements on tone and messaging.
- Strong understanding of operating within a four-nations context and engaging with diverse stakeholders, including senior politicians and civil servants.
- Expertise in analysing complex policy issues and developing impactful, evidence-based policy positions.
- Strong organisational skills and flexibility to adapt to changing circumstances and emerging issues.
- Excellent communication skills which are adaptable for external and internal audiences.
- Experience of working in multi-disciplinary teams or on multi-disciplinary projects.
Recruitment process
Application deadline: 23:59 on Tuesday 16th December 2025
Interview date: Virtual interviews will be held on 8th January 2026
To ensure fairness and consistency to select the best candidate for this role, all our applications are anonymised up until an interview has been confirmed.
So we can support you to be your best during the application or interview process, please contact Macmillan's TA Team for advice and reasonable adjustments.
We welcome applications from everyone who meet the criteria and strongly encourage individuals to apply who have a disability, impairment or health condition or individuals who identify as Black, Asian or from another minority ethnic background, as these groups are currently under-represented at Macmillan. Our Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy along with our internal employee representation body, ‘Our Voice’ and 8 Employee Network groups help us promote fairness and belonging, becoming an engaged and inclusive organisation for all our people.
Registered Charity
More than 1000
At Macmillan you'll find talented people working together to do whatever it takes to support people living with cancer.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Thank you!
Location: Home Based with regular national travel
Since 1962 the National Autistic Society has been campaigning to transform lives, change attitudes and create a society that works for autistic people. In National Programmes we champion the rights and interests of autistic people and their families, making sure national policy and legislation to reflect their needs. We provide autism training and best practice services and want all autistic people to have access to services and support that fully meet their needs. We provide diagnostic services, training, accreditation, consultancy and conferences, designed to support all professionals and organisations.
The Supporter Fundraising team is responsible for managing and growing all supporter-led fundraising activity, including third-party challenge events, community fundraising, and our own portfolio of fundraising events. Together, our work generates over £1 million in income each year—vital funds that help the National Autistic Society achieve its mission: a society that works for autistic people.
Visit our website to find out more about who we are and what we do:
Who we are looking for:
We are seeking a proactive and creative Senior Events Fundraising Officer to join our dynamic team on a permanent basis.
This is an exciting opportunity for someone who is passionate about events fundraising and eager to take ownership of a diverse portfolio. You’ll play a key role in developing new fundraising events, supporting and inspiring colleagues, and delivering excellent supporter experiences that maximise income and impact.
The role will involve:
- Leading on a portfolio of owned and third-party fundraising events, including feasibility research, planning, marketing, participant recruitment, logistics, budgeting, and evaluation.
- Taking a lead role in the development of new fundraising events in collaboration with the Innovation Team, from research and proposals through to approval, delivery and evaluation.
- Providing first-class supporter care, ensuring participants feel valued and engaged, and that income and expenditure targets are met or exceeded.
- Working closely with marketing, press and PR colleagues to create and implement event promotion and communications plans, across both traditional and digital channels.
- Line managing and supporting Events Officers where appropriate, and deputising for the Events Fundraising Manager when required.
- Building and maintaining strong relationships with internal stakeholders, suppliers, and event providers to ensure effective delivery and the best possible experience for supporters.
- Overseeing volunteer recruitment and stewardship plans to increase engagement and retention.
The successful candidate will bring:
- Experience of planning and delivering fundraising events, with proven ability to meet financial targets.
- Strong relationship-building skills, with confidence in working with a wide range of stakeholders.
- Excellent organisational skills, with the ability to manage multiple projects and deadlines.
- A creative, innovative mindset and a passion for developing new fundraising opportunities.
- A commitment to delivering outstanding supporter care and improving supporter journeys.
This is a full-time, permanent role, for 35 hours per week. The salary for this position is £32,577 per year.
To view the full job description please click
What we can offer you:
- Auto-enrolled Pension Scheme
- 25 days annual leave plus bank holidays
- Excellent induction, training and development programme including training about autism and opportunities to attend our conferences
- Online staff discount scheme for a range of benefits such as cycle to work scheme, season ticket loan & shopping discounts for places such as Asda, Tesco, Sainsburys, Halfords, Nike, Apple and loads more!
- Healthcare Cash Plan
- Life Assurance at 2 x base salary
- A portfolio of fantastic new salary sacrifices benefits and other flexible benefits private health, dental insurance, car salary sacrifice scheme, activity pass, holiday trading, enhanced pension & salary deduct loans (eligibility criteria may apply)
- Access to a 24-hour Employee Assistance Programme & counselling programme
- Free access to the Headspace App – a global leader in mindfulness and you can enrol up to three friends or family for free!
- Eligibility for a Blue Light Card
Where you will be working:
City Road, London / Homeworking / Hybrid
(Up to 20% national travel, including some evenings and weekends, as required.)
About our application process:
When providing a supporting statement, please refer to the job description and person specification and include any information that shows your suitability for the role.
For more information about this job, please contact Jonathan Littledale – Events Fundraising Manager ( ########### )
We do reserve the right to close this advertisement early if we receive a high volume of suitable applications.
For some roles, successful applicants will be required to complete the relevant safeguarding checks which will include additional references and criminal background checks.
Applications for this job are sought from anyone who is suitably qualified and experienced for the role but particularly welcome from those with a diagnosis of autism.
The National Autistic Society is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all children and adults who use our services and as such expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. Successful applicants will be required to complete the relevant safeguarding checks.
We are an equal opportunities employer
