Parliamentary Officer

This is an exciting time to join Age International. We have a refreshed strategy and a strong track record of influencing UK Government policy on issues affecting older people in low and middle-income countries.

We are now looking for a passionate and politically engaged Parliamentary Officer (Fixed Term for 2 years) to support and strengthen our work.

As the UK member of the HelpAge global network and a member of the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC), we champion the rights, dignity and wellbeing of older people worldwide through policy influence, awareness raising and fundraising.

The successful post holder will build and maintain relationships with MPs, Peers and parliamentary stakeholders, helping to ensure the voices of older people in low and middle-income countries are represented in UK political decision-making. Our work is already well established in this area, and we are looking to build upon it.

Also working closely with colleagues across the organisation, you will support parliamentary engagement activities, identify influencing opportunities, and help raise Age International's profile and impact.
This is an excellent opportunity for someone passionate about creating meaningful change for older people.

We operate a hybrid-working model, a blend of home and office working. This role will include regular days working from our London office (minimum twice per week.) Your travel costs to the London office are not covered by the charity. The successful postholder will also need to have the ability to attend external meetings in Westminster and at external stakeholder events, as required.

Age UK Internal Grade 7L

Must haves:

The below competencies will be assessed at the indicated stage of the recruitment process: Application = A, Interview = I, Test = T, Presentation = P

Experience
* Experience of working in a political or parliamentary setting. (A, I)
* Experience of communicating complex issues in relevant, politically informed and engaging ways to parliamentary and related audiences, including through briefings and other materials. (A, T)
* Experience of managing parliamentary monitoring systems and/or project managing parliamentary or political work. (A, I)
* Experience of collaborative team working, both with internal colleagues and externally with allies. (A, I)

Skills and knowledge
* Excellent knowledge of, engagement with, and interest in UK political and parliamentary affairs. (A, I, T)
* Excellent oral and written communication skills, with a high level of attention to detail. (A, T)
* Excellent interpersonal skills, with ability to collaborate across the political spectrum and with diplomacy. (A, I)
* Ability to prioritise workloads, set and meet deadlines, and balance conflicting demands. A self-starter. (A, I)

Personal attributes
* Commitment to making a positive difference for older people in low and middle-income countries as part of the Age International team. (A)
* Sensitive to issues of diversity, equity and inclusion, and willingness to promote Age International's values. (A, I)
* A clear thinker who can work under pressure and to multiple (and often competing) priorities. (I, T)
* A collaborative and supportive colleague who champions the function. (I)
* Willingness to learn and remain open-minded in a fast-changing sector. (I)

Great to Have's:
The below competencies will be assessed at the indicated stage of the recruitment process:
Application = A, Interview = I, Test = T, Presentation = P

Experience
Experience of building constituency-level engagement with MPs and Prospective Parliamentary Candidates. (A)

Skills and knowledge
Knowledge of issues facing older people in low and middle-income countries, and of international development policy agendas. (I)

Additional Information

Supporting statements and anonymisation
Candidates are expected to provide a supporting statement that explains how they meet the competencies annotated with an 'A' in the job description, to assess suitability for the position. Age UK acknowledges and accepts that AI may be used to support the application; we do expect candidates to personalise experience, knowledge and skills and failure to do so, may result in your application being rejected.

Please submit a Word version of your CV as it will be anonymised by our recruitment system when you apply for a role. Our system is unable to anonymise supporting statements and heavily formatted CVs. 
Please could you remove any personal information including your name before you upload to support our inclusive recruitment process. All equalities monitoring information is also anonymised and not shared with the hiring panel. Your name and address will only be known to us if invited for interview.

Equal opportunities & Disability Confident Scheme

Age UK is an Equal Opportunities employer and positively encourages applications from suitably qualified and eligible candidates, regardless of age, sex, race, disability, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, religion or belief, marital/civil partnership status, or pregnancy and maternity. Age UK is a Disability Confident Scheme employer. Due to high numbers of applications received, Age UK reserves the right to limit the overall number of interviews offered, and therefore, it may not always be practicable or appropriate to interview all disabled people that meet the minimum criteria for the job.

Reasonable adjustments
Disabled job seekers can access reasonable adjustments at any stage of the recruitment process. All requests for reasonable adjustments are considered on a case-by-case basis, in collaboration with the disabled job seeker to best meet their needs, by contacting the Recruitment Team. Disability disclosures will be kept confidential and only shared on a need-to-know basis to support the implementation of adjustments. Disclosures will not be used to inform hiring decisions.

Early application is encouraged as we will review applications throughout the advertising period and reserve the right to close the advert at any time.

Age UK is committed to safeguarding adults at risk, and children, from abuse and neglect. We expect everyone who works with us to share this commitment.