Policy and Public Affairs Officer (Devolved Nations)
£34,839 pa plus excellent benefits
Home-based
35 hours per week, full-time
Permanent
The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) is seeking a talented and motivated Policy and Public Affairs Officer to join our Devolved Nations team. This is an exciting opportunity to contribute to policy development, advocacy and communications activity that helps improve child health outcomes across Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Working as part of the Policy and Public Affairs (Devolved Nations) team, you will play an important role in supporting the College’s policy and public affairs priorities. You will help build relationships with policymakers and stakeholders, support advocacy campaigns, develop policy positions and create engaging communications content that raises the profile of child health issues across the devolved nations.
This varied and rewarding role offers the opportunity to work with a wide range of stakeholders, including paediatricians, senior College Officers, politicians, government officials, charities and healthcare organisations.
Key responsibilities include:
• Supporting the development of policy positions specific to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, ensuring they reflect the needs of RCPCH members and have influence across the wider UK policy landscape
• Drafting consultation responses, policy briefings, reports and stakeholder communications on child health and paediatric issues
• Providing expertise and advice on the political, governmental and health service landscape within the devolved nations
• Supporting the delivery of public affairs and stakeholder engagement activity, helping to build productive relationships with governments, policymakers and health sector organisations
• Producing content for websites, social media, newsletters and other digital communications channels to support advocacy and engagement objectives
• Drafting media content, including quotes, press releases and briefing materials, in collaboration with colleagues across the College
• Supporting senior College Officers and staff during meetings and engagement with policymakers and external stakeholders
• Coordinating and supporting the work of Executive Committees across Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
• Assisting with administrative and financial processes, including invoice processing and supplier registration
• Working collaboratively with colleagues across the College to maximise the impact of policy, communications and public affairs activity
Essential skills and experience include:
• Demonstrable experience in policy, public affairs, communications or a related field
• Strong knowledge and understanding of policy and legislative processes in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland
• Experience producing high-quality policy and communications outputs, including consultation responses, policy briefings, reports and media content
• Experience creating engaging content for digital channels, including websites, social media and email communications
• Excellent organisational and project management skills, with the ability to manage competing priorities and work to tight deadlines
• Strong stakeholder management and relationship-building skills
• The ability to work independently while collaborating effectively within a team environment
Desirable:
• Experience working within healthcare, government, a membership organisation or the third sector
• Knowledge of public health, health inequalities or wider health service issues
• Experience working on issues relating to children and young people
The RCPCH has more than 25,000 members and fellows worldwide and employs around 200 staff across the UK. Our devolved nations teams play a vital role in ensuring that the needs of children and young people are represented at every level of government and policy-making.
Our values – Include, Influence, Innovate and Inspire – are central to everything we do. We are committed to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion and welcome applications from candidates from all backgrounds. We particularly encourage applications from Black, Asian and minority ethnic candidates and disabled candidates who are under-represented at this level of the organisation.
We operate a flexible and modern hybrid working policy. While this role is home-based in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland, travel across the devolved nations and occasional travel elsewhere in the UK will be required.
Policy and Public Affairs Officer (Devolved Nations)
£34,839 pa plus excellent benefits
Home-based
35 hours per week, full-time
Permanent
The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) is seeking a talented and motivated Policy and Public Affairs Officer to join our Devolved Nations team. This is an exciting opportunity to contribute to policy development, advocacy and communications activity that helps improve child health outcomes across Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Working as part of the Policy and Public Affairs (Devolved Nations) team, you will play an important role in supporting the College’s policy and public affairs priorities. You will help build relationships with policymakers and stakeholders, support advocacy campaigns, develop policy positions and create engaging communications content that raises the profile of child health issues across the devolved nations.
This varied and rewarding role offers the opportunity to work with a wide range of stakeholders, including paediatricians, senior College Officers, politicians, government officials, charities and healthcare organisations.
Key responsibilities include:
• Supporting the development of policy positions specific to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, ensuring they reflect the needs of RCPCH members and have influence across the wider UK policy landscape
• Drafting consultation responses, policy briefings, reports and stakeholder communications on child health and paediatric issues
• Providing expertise and advice on the political, governmental and health service landscape within the devolved nations
• Supporting the delivery of public affairs and stakeholder engagement activity, helping to build productive relationships with governments, policymakers and health sector organisations
• Producing content for websites, social media, newsletters and other digital communications channels to support advocacy and engagement objectives
• Drafting media content, including quotes, press releases and briefing materials, in collaboration with colleagues across the College
• Supporting senior College Officers and staff during meetings and engagement with policymakers and external stakeholders
• Coordinating and supporting the work of Executive Committees across Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
• Assisting with administrative and financial processes, including invoice processing and supplier registration
• Working collaboratively with colleagues across the College to maximise the impact of policy, communications and public affairs activity
Essential skills and experience include:
• Demonstrable experience in policy, public affairs, communications or a related field
• Strong knowledge and understanding of policy and legislative processes in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland
• Experience producing high-quality policy and communications outputs, including consultation responses, policy briefings, reports and media content
• Experience creating engaging content for digital channels, including websites, social media and email communications
• Excellent organisational and project management skills, with the ability to manage competing priorities and work to tight deadlines
• Strong stakeholder management and relationship-building skills
• The ability to work independently while collaborating effectively within a team environment
Desirable:
• Experience working within healthcare, government, a membership organisation or the third sector
• Knowledge of public health, health inequalities or wider health service issues
• Experience working on issues relating to children and young people
The RCPCH has more than 25,000 members and fellows worldwide and employs around 200 staff across the UK. Our devolved nations teams play a vital role in ensuring that the needs of children and young people are represented at every level of government and policy-making.
Our values – Include, Influence, Innovate and Inspire – are central to everything we do. We are committed to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion and welcome applications from candidates from all backgrounds. We particularly encourage applications from Black, Asian and minority ethnic candidates and disabled candidates who are under-represented at this level of the organisation.
We operate a flexible and modern hybrid working policy. While this role is home-based in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland, travel across the devolved nations and occasional travel elsewhere in the UK will be required.
Closing date: 6 July 2026
Registered Charity
101 - 500
The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health advocates on child health issues at home and internationally.
Thank you!
Actively Interviewing
This organisation is scheduling interviews as applications come in. They're ready to hire as soon as they find the right person. Don't miss your opportunity, apply now!
We are looking for a Weekenders Journey Guide to support prospective Weekend Foster Carers from their first conversations with Now Foster through to the next stages of the recruitment and assessment journey.
This is a highly relational, candidate-facing role. You will be one of the main people helping applicants understand what Weekenders is, explore whether it is right for them, stay motivated through the process, and feel supported to take the next step.
Introductory conversations (our ‘intro chats’) will be a core part of the role. You will speak with people who are curious about fostering, but who may also feel unsure, nervous or are still working out whether they can foster. Your role will be to bring warmth, clarity and momentum: helping people feel welcomed, informed and confident, while also making sure the right people progress at the right pace.
You will use Now Foster’s digital platform (a bespoke CRM system) to manage the candidate journey, track progress, record key information and help the team understand where applicants are getting stuck or moving forward. You will play an important role in making sure we are attracting the right leads, supporting them well, and learning how to improve the journey as we grow.
This role would particularly suit someone with experience of fostering or working in fostering. It could also suit someone from a related background who is deeply motivated by innovation in this area and excited by what fostering could look like if it were designed around children, carers and relationships.
You do not need to be a qualified social worker, but you do need to be emotionally mature, reflective, organised and comfortable working closely with a social work-led team. You will need to understand safeguarding, and be confident holding thoughtful conversations with prospective carers.
What You’ll Be Doing
Supporting candidates through the journey
-
Acting as a consistent, warm and encouraging point of contact for prospective Weekend Foster Carers.
-
Carrying out intro chats with people who have expressed interest in the Weekenders programme.
-
Helping candidates understand the Weekenders programme, what the role involves, and what the journey looks like.
-
Supporting candidates to reflect on whether Weekenders is right for them.
-
Keeping candidates engaged, informed and motivated as they move through the process.
-
Helping people overcome practical barriers where appropriate, while being honest and clear about expectations.
-
Making sure candidate communication feels relational, timely and values-led.
Helping the right people progress
-
Helping identify candidates who are ready to move forward, as well as those who may need more time, more information or a different route.
-
Support candidates to progress, pause or close, as advised by our fostering service colleagues.
-
Using strengths-based and motivational approaches to help candidates reflect on their motivations, support networks and capacity.
-
Working closely with social work colleagues to escalate questions, concerns or safeguarding issues appropriately.
-
Supporting candidates to prepare for training, home visits and assessment stages.
-
Helping ensure the process is clear, efficient and supportive.
Supporting groups, events and community activity
-
Supporting information events, training sessions and candidate-facing events.
-
Co-delivering sessions with social workers and other colleagues.
-
Helping create a welcoming community for people exploring Weekenders.
-
Supporting socials and community-building activity for applicants and approved Weekend Foster Carers.
-
Helping candidates connect with the mission and feel part of something meaningful.
Administration, data and follow-up
-
Keeping candidate records, notes and next steps up to date on Now Foster’s digital platform.
-
Using Google Workspace, Trello and other tools to access key documents and manage your workload.
-
Making sure no candidate falls through the cracks.
-
Supporting data capture so the team can understand what is working and where candidates are getting stuck.
-
Helping improve templates, messages, prompts and workflows for the candidate journey.
-
Supporting home visit admin and logistics where needed.
Contributing to innovation and learning
-
Gathering feedback from candidates to help improve the journey and bringing this insight from candidate conversations into team discussions.
-
Helping the team understand what motivates people to become Weekend Foster Carers, what worries them, and what helps them move forward.
-
Supporting testing and iteration of new candidate journey approaches.
-
Helping us build a process that is warm, efficient, inclusive and effective.
-
Contributing to a new model of fostering that is relational, ambitious and designed around children and young people.
You’ll Thrive in This Role If You Are
-
Warm and relational – able to build trust quickly and make people feel welcome.
-
Emotionally mature – able to have thoughtful conversations about motivation, care, family life and uncertainty.
-
A strong communicator – clear, encouraging and confident across phone, video calls, emails and written updates.
-
Motivational and strengths-based – skilled at helping people see their potential while also being honest about what fostering involves.
-
Organised and proactive – able to manage a busy candidate journey, track next steps and keep people moving.
-
Tech-savvy – comfortable using digital platforms, Google Workspace and Trello.
-
Confident in your judgement – able to decide when someone should progress, pause or close, while knowing when to seek advice.
-
Safeguarding-aware – able to recognise when something needs to be escalated and comfortable working within clear safeguarding processes.
-
Reflective and curious – interested in learning what works and improving the candidate journey over time.
-
Comfortable with ambiguity – happy working in a small, growing charity where things are evolving.
-
Committed to better outcomes for children and young people – motivated by Now Foster’s mission and the potential of Weekenders.
Experience We’re Looking For
Fostering experience would be highly beneficial. For example, this could include experience as a foster carer, working in fostering, supporting foster carers, working with fostering services, or working in a closely related part of children’s social care.
We are also interested in people with experience in:
-
Volunteer management
-
Children’s social care or youth work
-
Community work
-
Social prescribing
-
Mentoring or coaching
-
Recruitment, onboarding or candidate support
-
Relationship-based support roles
Most importantly, we are looking for someone who understands the importance of relationships, can guide people through a meaningful decision-making process, and is excited by the possibility of building a different kind of fostering journey.
Bonus Points For
-
Lived experience of the care system or fostering.
-
Experience working directly with prospective or approved foster carers.
-
Experience using motivational interviewing, coaching or strengths-based approaches.
-
Experience supporting people through an application, recruitment, assessment or onboarding journey.
-
Experience delivering or supporting information sessions, preparation groups, training or community events.
-
Experience working remotely or in a flexible, fast-moving team.
An interest in innovation, service design or changing how fostering works.
About Us
Now Foster is a team of innovative social workers, designers, and entrepreneurs on a mission to change fostering in the UK.
We bring together social work, service design, public sector transformation and lived experience to create better outcomes for children and young people. Our overarching vision is to transform the fostering system by bringing many more wonderful people into it as foster carers, so that children and young people have the relationships, stability and support they need to thrive.
You will be joining a small, ambitious and passionate team, alongside our trustees, freelancers and advisors, all of whom play an active part in shaping our work. We partner with local authorities and not-for-profits who share our values and are ready to embrace change. As a registered charity, everything we do is driven by purpose, not profit.
About Weekenders
Weekenders is Now Foster’s flagship programme. It pairs children and young people in foster care with inspiring adults who can offer guidance, stability and encouragement on a regular basis. It is about showing up, making a difference, and being that person a young person can count on.
The programme is growing quickly. We are scaling Weekenders across London and beyond, testing new ways to support applicants, local authorities and independent social workers, and building the operational foundations needed for long-term growth.
A core part of this growth is making sure that people who are interested in becoming Weekend Foster Carers receive the right balance of warmth, encouragement, information and challenge as they move through the journey. That is where the Journey Guide comes in.
Working Pattern and Location
This role is offered at 4 to 5 days per week, with a salary of £34,000 pro rata.
The role can be based anywhere in England, with occasional travel to our Weekender delivery areas. Our Weekenders team is currently based across London and Manchester, and our wider organisational team is based in Oxford. Most work will be home-based, but there will be some in-person meetings, events, training sessions or bi-monthly co-working days.
The role will involve some work outside standard office hours. This is likely to include:
-
Around one weekend day per month, which you would take back as time off during the previous or following week.
-
Some evening work, for example around one information event per month.
-
Some evening intro chats with prospective foster carers, where this helps people engage with the process.
We work flexibly and will support the successful candidate to manage their time in a sustainable way.
Safeguarding
Now Foster is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people.
This role will involve contact with prospective carers, rather than direct work with children and young people. However, you will need to understand safeguarding, work within Now Foster’s safeguarding processes, and escalate any concerns appropriately.
This role will require an enhanced DBS check.
What’s In It For You
Joining Now Foster means being part of something different. We are small, ambitious and innovative, and you will play a key role in helping Weekenders grow.
You will be close to the people exploring whether they could become Weekend Foster Carers, and your work will directly shape whether they feel supported, confident and ready to take the next step.
You will join a supportive, collaborative and values-led team. We work hard, care deeply about what we do, and are building something bold and lasting: a new way of fostering that blends social work, design, technology and relational practice.
We will provide the tools and technology you need, cover agreed travel and expenses, and support you to work flexibly within the rhythm of the programme.
How to Apply
Please send us your CV and a short cover letter explaining:
-
Why you are interested in Now Foster and the Weekenders programme.
-
The experience you would bring in supporting, guiding or motivating people.
-
Any experience you have of fostering, working in fostering, children’s social care, community work, volunteer management or similar.
-
What excites you about innovation in fostering and what fostering could look like.
-
Your availability, including whether you are looking for 4 or 5 days per week and when you could start.
You must have the right to work in the UK.
We recognise that some candidates may use generative AI tools, such as ChatGPT, to support the preparation of their application. While this is acceptable, applications must remain an authentic reflection of your own experiences and motivations. We ask candidates to let us know if and how they used AI as part of the recruitment process.
Our Commitment to Equality
Now Foster is committed to being an equal opportunities employer. We celebrate diversity and actively encourage applications from individuals of all backgrounds, identities and experiences.
Recruitment and selection decisions are made on the basis of fair, objective and transparent criteria. We will also make reasonable adjustments to the recruitment process to ensure accessibility for all candidates.
Please Note: We are hoping to appoint as soon as possible and will close recruitment once we find the right person so candidates are advised to submit an application as soon as they are able.
Thank you!
Join For Baby’s Sake in creating safer, healthier futures for babies and families.
We are looking for a compassionate and skilled Therapeutic Practitioner to deliver For Baby’s Sake across the North East of England. This is a home-based role with hybrid working, and applicants must be based in the region and able to travel to deliver a blend of online and face-to-face sessions. This is a meaningful opportunity to support families as they make lasting change during one of the most important stages of life.
For Baby’s Sake is an innovative, therapeutic, trauma-informed programme that works to break the cycle of domestic abuse, starting in pregnancy, to give babies the best possible start in life. We work individually with co-parents, keeping the baby at the centre, and using a therapeutic, recovery-focused framework to address the impact of domestic abuse with care, compassion, and respect. The programme supports parents to explore unresolved and often complex childhood trauma, change harmful patterns of behaviour, and create a home environment in which children can thrive. Our attachment-focused parenting approach helps babies and children feel safe, secure, and connected with parents who are emotionally available and attuned to their needs.
The programme begins during pregnancy, when motivation for change can be strongest. Both parents must want to co-parent their unborn baby, although they do not need to be in a relationship with one another. We can work with families until their baby reaches the age of two, reflecting the importance of this period in child development research.
The For Baby’s Sake Trust multi-disciplinary team is made up of trained therapeutic practitioners who build trusting, respectful relationships and create conditions for meaningful therapeutic change. This work supports co-parents to understand the impact of their own early experiences on their parenting and relationships, and to move towards safer, healthier family lives. To thrive in this role, you will have the skills to build therapeutic relationships, experience of safeguarding children and adults, knowledge of infant development, and a deep understanding of domestic abuse, attachment, and the effects of unresolved trauma.
Trauma-informed practice is at the heart of For Baby’s Sake. We have achieved Silver Accreditation for Trauma-Informed Practice with One Small Thing. We understand that trauma can shape an individual’s neurological, biological, psychological, and social development, and we are committed to responding in ways that are thoughtful, compassionate, and rooted in hope. In this role, you will help support the continued development of the programme while upholding the ethos, values, and integrity of The For Baby’s Sake Trust.
This is a full-time, permanent position. Full details, including the job description, person specification, and background briefing information, can be found in the relevant attachments. Occasional travel to locations across the UK will be required.
At The For Baby’s Sake Trust, we care about the wellbeing of our staff as well as the families we support. We offer flexible working arrangements, rest and reflect days, clinical supervision, and access to an Employee Assistance Programme.
If this opportunity feels like the right fit for you, we'd love to hear from you.
To apply, please submit your application form and an up-to-date CV via the 'Apply' button by midnight on 29 June 2026.
After submitting your application, you will receive an Equal Opportunities Monitoring Form. Completion of this form is voluntary, confidential, and separate from the selection process.
Interviews for the Therapeutic Practitioner role are scheduled to take place on 10 July 2026.
You can find further information about The For Baby’s Sake Trust on our website.
