Head of public affairs jobs
Want more results?
Add job titles:
How's your job search on our site?
Using Anonymous Recruitment
This organisation is using Anonymous Recruitment to reduce bias in the first stages of the hiring process. Submit your application as normal and our system will anonymise it for you. Your personal information will be hidden until the recruiter contacts you.
Are you a strategic, purpose-driven leader? Ready to shape policy, influence public discourse, and make a real impact? If this sounds exciting, then this could be the role and organisation for you! Day One is on an exciting journey of growth and expansion as we increase our impact and reach more people affected by serious and life changing injury. We are looking to recruit an experienced Head of Policy and Public Affairs to join our team who can shape and help lead the charity’s external positioning, policy engagement and thought leadership activity across the UK. You will work closely with the CEO, other Directors and Heads of Service to develop and execute a three-year plan to develop our voice, influence and reach.
This is an exciting opportunity for someone committed to supporting the charity in its next phase of growth. Day One has always punched above its weight as a start-up charity, and now, into its fifth year of operation as a national charity, our voice is becoming more important than ever.
Day One’s development has been fast-paced, roles broad, and the culture has fostered autonomy and flexibility in senior roles. As the needs of the organisation evolve, this remains important but it is also now essential that we build a team with the capability and capacity to carry out robust, longer term scoping and planning in order to implement our new strategy and to create further opportunity for influence around the impact, care and support needs of people affected by serious and life-changing injury.
More About You
You’ll be an ambitious, dynamic, politically astute changemaker with:
Senior experience in public affairs, policy, or government relations. A strong record of delivering successful, outcome-driven campaigns. Excellent communication skills with a flair for impactful messaging. A collaborative, tenacious attitude and drive to make a difference. An established network and the credibility to influence. Willingness to travel as part of your role.
What You Will Bring
You might come from a charity, public sector or values-led organisation, or from a commercial role where people and purpose have been at the heart of your work. You may already have experience marketing services, campaigns or causes, or be ready for a step up with more ownership and responsibility. What matters most is your ability to work with empathy, bring ideas to life, and help people find, trust and access support when they need it most.
In your first six months, you will develop key relationships, scope the workplan and, in conjunction with colleagues, begin to build the evidence base needed for delivery of the ‘Voice’ element of our new strategy.
You will use our flagship annual campaign - Major Trauma Awareness week (MTAW) as a platform for expansion of our voice and influence work. You will work closely with the Head of Lived Experienced and Social Research to ensure that we are able to develop a sound evidence base from which to grow our influence and reach.
Beyond the first 6 months you will:
-
Design and begin to implement an impactful influencing plan, identifying horizon scanning opportunities to influence and raise our profile.
-
Utilise own assets and organisational assets, including the CEO, SLT and Heads of Service, to deliver this element of the new strategy.
-
You will build highly credible and impactful relationships with a variety of stakeholders. This will include policy makers in national and local government officials, politicians, the health and social care sector, clinicians specifically the trauma care and rehabilitation space, as well as other third sector organisations, think tanks and commercial organisations connected to recovery after serious and life-changing injury.
-
Play a significant role internally and externally in communicating the organisation’s policy position, raising organisational brand.
-
Work closely with others in the SLT and ELT on developing our thought leadership and translating this into published blogs and comment pieces yourself and for others - disseminating our shared ideas, evidence base and compelling stories of impact and recovery.
-
Working closely with the Director of Income and Engagement, you will support their team’s expertise and credibility, helping them to generate income though speaking engagements, campaigns and key storytelling pieces.
How to apply
Please upload your CV and supporting cover letter to Charity Jobs outlining why you’re interested in the role. Please take your time to explain how your experience is relevant to this post.
For more information, please refer to the attached recruitment pack.
Closing date: 15th May 2026
Interviews:
First stage virtual: w/c 25th May 2026
Second stage in-person (Leeds): w/c 1st June 2026
Registered Charity
11 - 20
Inspired ‘by patients for patients’ our vision is that no one has to piece life back together on their own after catastrophic injury.
Thank you!
Using Anonymous Recruitment
This organisation is using Anonymous Recruitment to reduce bias in the first stages of the hiring process. Submit your application as normal and our system will anonymise it for you. Your personal information will be hidden until the recruiter contacts you.
Head of Public Affairs
Over the past 2 years, GuildHE has been transforming into the voice for distinctive higher education providers, building our brand on the principle that diversity is necessary for a healthy and vibrant higher education sector. We have a new look, a renewed energy, and a bold vision for the future of distinctive institutions. Now, we need the final piece of the puzzle: our first-ever Head of Public Affairs.
This is a landmark appointment for us. As a newly-created role following our recent rebranding, you’ll be building our external presence, taking our fresh identity and the work we’ve undertaken so far to the next level as we seek to double-down on our high-impact advocacy and engagement work.
As our inaugural Head of Public Affairs, you will have a unique mandate to shape the way GuildHE interacts with the world, where you can:
-
Own the Narrative: Take our new brand and shape the 'GuildHE voice' across Westminster, the media, and the wider HE sector.
-
Build the Blueprint: You will have the autonomy to design our engagement frameworks from scratch—working with the Director of Policy and Strategy to decide how we influence policy and how we best champion the value of specialist education.
-
Create a Legacy: Because this is a brand-new headcount, every success will be yours to claim. You are here to build a function that will help define our influence for the next decade.
Who we’re looking for
We’re looking for someone who will champion diversity in higher education. From world-leading arts and agricultural institutions to large and distinctive HE providers who serve their students, industries and communities in innovative ways, you will find the common threads that bind our members and weave them into a compelling national story. You aren’t just representing institutions; you’re representing a vision of a more varied, vibrant educational landscape.
We’re looking for pioneers, who are energised by the phrase, “we haven’t done that before.” We’ve done the work on our look and feel—now we need you to provide the megaphone. If you’re a strategist who loves the 'start-up' energy of building and expanding functions within a respected, established body, we want to hear from you.
This this is the right job for you? Please send a cover letter explaining that to us (max 2 pgs) and a CV by the deadline.
Application closing date: May 22
Interviews: June 3-4
Please submit the cover letter (2 pg maximum) telling us why you're right for this job, and a CV.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Thank you!
Lloyds Bank Foundation
Head of Public Affairs (Maternity Cover)
Starting Salary: £64,936 per annum (London-based)
Contract: Full-time, fixed-term contract (we are open to conversations about different ways of working - so please ask)
Location: London-based role with expectation of hybrid working from our London office
About Lloyds Bank Foundation
Lloyds Bank Foundation for England and Wales is an independent charitable foundation, backed by Lloyds Banking Group and the people within it. We want everyone to be in a good place - personally, in a home that’s a good place to live, and in a community that’s a good place to belong.
We play our role by connecting and catalysing community-led change, providing the money, time, tools and connections that build organisations’ capacity and capability, to make people’s lives better and their communities stronger.
We back people and communities across England and Wales, to make that happen, because when you back brilliant people, brilliant things happen. Our communities are full of ambitious, energetic and determined people stepping up to make their neighbours’ lives better and their communities grow stronger. Day in, day out.
About the Role
This is an exciting leadership opportunity to shape and lead the Foundation’s national public affairs and influencing work during a period of maternity cover, maintaining momentum and driving meaningful change in policy and practice.
As Head of Public Affairs, you will set direction for influencing activity across England and Wales, ensuring it is aligned to organisational priorities and continues to deliver impact. You will lead engagement with senior policymakers and political processes, acting as a credible and visible representative of the Foundation.
Working closely with colleagues, you will ensure that influencing activity remains informed by local insight and translated into clear national priorities. You will also contribute to organisational leadership, supporting strategic direction while leading a high-performing public affairs team through this period.
About You
We’re looking for an experienced and credible leader with a strong background in public affairs, policy, or influencing. You will bring a track record of delivering impact at national or regional level, alongside a strong understanding of the UK political landscape.
You will combine strategic thinking with practical delivery, with excellent relationship-building skills and experience of engaging senior stakeholders. You will be confident providing leadership and continuity in a fixed-term role. A commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging is essential.
How to Apply
Please click ‘Apply’ to be redirected to our website, where you can download the Candidate Information Pack and find details of how to apply.
For an informal conversation about the role and application process, please contact our recruitment partner, Atkinson HR via the information in the candidate pack.
Our Commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
We hold Disability Confident Employer status (Level 2) and are working towards full status by 2027. This means that if you're a disabled applicant and your CV and application answers clearly demonstrate that you meet the essential criteria for the role, we will invite you to interview.
More broadly, we are committed to building a diverse team that reflects the communities and people we work with. We believe that diversity of background, experience and perspective makes us stronger and helps us make better decisions. We actively welcome applications from people who are under-represented in the charity sector, including people from Black, Asian and minoritised ethnic communities, disabled people, and those with experience of the issues our funded charities work to address.
Key Dates
Closing Date: Thursday 7th May 2026
Optional Q&A Session: Wednesday 6th May 2026 at 09:00-10:00
First Interview: Monday 18th May 2026
Second Interview: Monday 1st June 2026
Registered Charity
21 - 50
We support small, local and specialist charities across England and Wales.
