Senior Public Affairs and Campaigns Officer

Help shape policy, influence decision-makers and drive change for people facing financial difficulty.
Join Money Advice Trust as our Senior Public Affairs and Campaigns Officer and lead high-impact campaigns that turn insight and evidence into meaningful change.

Position Title:            Senior Public Affairs and Campaigns Office

Location:                    Hybrid / London or Birmingham                                                     

Reports To:                Head of Communications and Influencing

Special Conditions:  Hybrid contracts are subject to a minimum of four office attendances per year in Birmingham. This role may also require occasional travel to London in line with business needs.

Job Overview:

To play a key role in delivering Money Advice Trust's influencing strategy, using public affairs, and campaigning to secure positive change for people in debt. Working closely with the Head of Communications and Influencing, the postholder will lead the development and delivery of high-impact influencing campaigns, drive engagement with parliamentarians, policymakers and key stakeholders, and help shape and strengthen the Trust's external affairs and campaigning function.

Key Responsibilities:

 Supporting the delivery of Money Advice Trust’s campaigns and influencing strategy 

• Working with the Head of Communications and Influencing to plan and deliver effective campaigns and public affairs activities to support the charity’s influencing priorities.  
• Identifying and leading opportunities to influence decision-makers through integrated campaigns, stakeholder engagement and public affairs activity.
• Developing campaign plans, objectives and measures of success to support the Trust's strategic priorities.

 Engaging with Parliamentarians and policy makers  

• Delivering public affairs and parliamentary lobbying interventions, including producing briefings, working on debates, questions, legislation and the work of select committees 
• Working with the Head of Communications and Influencing to develop and implement engagement strategies with key parliamentarians, ministers and shadow ministers, select committees, advisers and officials  
• Identifying key parliamentary and policy stakeholders relevant for our work and maintaining the parliamentary contact database.   
• Producing engaging communications and content for parliamentarians and political stakeholders, including to raise awareness of our services. 
• Supporting the delivery of successful party conference activity and other public affairs events as required. 
• Building and maintaining strong strategic relationships with external stakeholders across government, regulators, industry and the third sector. 

  Developing campaigns strategy and capabilities 

•  Working with the Head of Communications and Influencing to develop and deliver creative campaigns to support policy objectives from theory of change through to evaluation
• Deliver powerful and creative campaign materials – e.g. newsletters, briefings and social content to move our campaigns forward 
• Leading the development of compelling campaign narratives and messages that engage stakeholders and support organisational objectives.
• Supporting the Head of Communications to develop the Money Advice Trust’s campaigning infrastructure, systems and processes 
• Identifying opportunities to mobilise partners, stakeholders and supporters in support of campaign objectives

 Supporting delivery of events and stakeholder engagement 

• Managing the Communications and Influencing Teams programme of events and assisting with the delivery of Money Advice Trust’s wider programme of events – including roundtables, panel discussions and breakfast briefings 
• Providing coordination and administrative support for our wider organisational stakeholder engagement and event activities as needed

Developing and communicating policy and evidence  

• Working with policy and insight colleagues to translate evidence, research and lived experience into compelling campaigning and influencing activity
• Contribute to policy reports, briefings, consultation responses, articles and blogs 
• Supporting the development of our research and evidence base, including working with the Trust’s Insight Team on client and adviser surveys and liaising with external research agencies
• Engaging with external stakeholders on relevant policy issues, including regulators, think tanks, industry bodies, advice sector partners, and the wider third sector 
• Representing the Trust at external meetings and events, feeding back to the wider team.

 General responsibilities 

• Providing cover for other members of the Communications and Influencing department in their absence 
• Proactively monitoring political, policy and media developments relevant to Money Advice Trust's priorities 
• Any other related tasks as directed by the Head of Communications and Influencing work to agreed budgets, with approved suppliers  
• Complying with organisational policies 
• Occasional working out of hours when required for events or other activity including early morning, evening, weekends and occasional overnight stays 

Any other duties commensurate with the level of the post. 

Knowledge & Experience - essential:

• Experience of developing and delivering campaigns that have achieved measurable outcomes
• Experience of using campaigns and public affairs work to support organisational objectives 
• Experience of dealing with civil servants and politicians 
• Excellent writing and editing skills with an emphasis on developing engaging and persuasive copy  
• Experience of delivering and managing events such as roundtables and receptions 
• Experience of developing policy including drawing on insight and evidence in building arguments 
• Experience of developing campaign strategies 
• Experience of producing content for a wide range of channels including social media, blogs, articles and press releases 
• First class relationship building and people skills 
• Experience of building and maintaining stakeholder coalitions, partnerships or networks to support influencing objectives.

 Knowledge & Experience - desirable:

• Experience of working in a charity or social policy context  
• Experience of developing visual content as well as written copy 

Skills - essential:

• Strong strategic thinking and campaign planning skills
• Ability to manage multiple influencing and campaigning projects simultaneously
• Ability to work under pressure, to tight deadlines and prioritise own workload 
• Confident in dealing with external contacts 
• Negotiation skills 
• Ability to understand, synthesise and clearly present policy information 
• Verbal and written fluency, and an ability to present to a range of different audiences 
• Attention to detail 
• Creative and tenacious in solving problems 
• Ability to act as an ‘ambassador’ for Money Advice Trust

 Qualifications – essential:

•  Degree or equivalent level of experience (essential)

Personal Qualities:

• Empathy with people who experience problem debt  
• Passionate about the role of policy and public affairs in helping people and bringing about change 
• Committed to delivering organisational strategies and plans, and achieving KPIs  
• Curious to understand complex information and issues, and good attention to detail 
• Willingness to travel within UK and work outside of normal hours when required 
• Commitment to the values of Money Advice Trust which are:
  • We put people first
  • We support each other
  • We solve problems