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Policy and Public Affairs Manager
Location: Remote, with some travel to Cannock, London and other locations as required
Reports to: Charity Director
Team: Charitable Service
At Newlife, we’re entering an exciting new chapter - we’re on a mission to empower disabled children and their families, to live life to the fullest and champion the joy of childhood.
So we’re investing in our people and building the team we need to deliver our new strategic ambitions.
Newlife is looking for an experienced and values-driven Policy and Public Affairs Manager to lead our policy, influencing, public affairs and campaigning work. This is an exciting opportunity to shape national conversations and drive meaningful change for disabled children and their families across education, health and social care systems.
In this role, you will ensure that lived experience is at the heart of Newlife’s influencing work, developing evidence-based policy positions, building strategic relationships and delivering campaigns that challenge barriers, raise awareness and improve outcomes for families.
About the role
As Policy and Public Affairs Manager, you will provide strategic and operational leadership across Newlife’s policy, campaigns, public affairs and lived experience activity. You will identify opportunities to influence policy and practice, develop compelling cases for change, and represent Newlife with decision-makers, sector partners and external stakeholders.
You will also oversee the delivery and development of the APPG for Access to Disability Equipment, working with parliamentarians, government departments and sector organisations to increase awareness of the issues affecting disabled children and families.
Key responsibilities
o Lead the development and delivery of Newlife’s policy, public affairs, campaigning and influencing strategy.
o Develop evidence-based policy positions informed by research, service insight and lived experience.
o Ensure the voices of disabled children and families shape Newlife’s policy, campaigning and influencing work.
o Oversee the APPG for Access to Disability Equipment and build relationships with parliamentarians, policymakers and sector partners.
o Lead campaigns and influencing activity that raise awareness, challenge barriers and support policy change.
o Build strategic partnerships and coalitions to strengthen Newlife’s influence and collective impact.
o Represent Newlife externally at parliamentary events, conferences, roundtables and sector forums.
o Provide effective leadership for policy, campaigns and lived experience activity, including line management of the Lived Experience Coordinator.
o Contribute to organisational strategy, planning and growth as a member of the Charity Leadership Team.
About you
We are looking for someone with significant experience in policy development, public affairs, campaigning or influencing, ideally within the charity, public or not-for-profit sector. You will bring strong knowledge of policy and influencing processes, excellent communication skills and the ability to build trusted relationships with senior stakeholders and decision-makers.
You will be confident developing policy briefings, consultation responses, reports and position papers, and able to use evidence, research and lived experience to influence change. You will also be a collaborative leader with a strong commitment to inclusion, equity and the rights of disabled children and their families.
Essential experience and skills
o Experience of developing and delivering policy and influencing strategies.
o Experience of building relationships with parliamentarians, policymakers, government departments or national stakeholders.
o Experience of managing campaigns, consultations or public affairs activity.
o Experience of partnership and coalition working.
o Experience of using research, evidence and lived experience to influence change.
o Strong understanding of education, health, social care and disability policy.
o Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
o Strong leadership, people management, strategic thinking and analytical skills.
o Degree-level qualification or equivalent professional experience.
For the full person specification, please refer to the attachement below
Why join Newlife?
This is a unique opportunity to play a leading role in strengthening Newlife’s voice and influence, helping to create systemic change for disabled children and their families. You will work with passionate colleagues, families, professionals and partners to shape policy, improve practice and ensure lived experience drives meaningful action.
If you are a strategic, compassionate and influential leader who wants to make a lasting difference, we would love to hear from you.
Benefits
In return, you will receive 25 days’ annual leave plus bank holidays, a generous in-store discount, a cash health plan, discounts on restaurants, travel and insurance, and access to an Employee Assistance Programme through Retail Trust.
#Policy and Public Affairs Manager #Policy and Public Affairs #Policy Manager #Public Affairs Manager
Registered Charity
101 - 500
The UK’s largest charitable provider of specialist equipment for disabled children.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Thank you!
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The Public Interest News Foundation (PINF) is the UK’s first charity that exists to promote high-quality journalism. Last year, we launched an ambitious ten-year mission to regenerate local news in the UK. We believe that local news is a vital part of the fabric of local communities, drawing people together around shared facts and pride in place at a time of disinformation and division.
We are pursuing our mission by (1) sourcing new funds for local news; (2) advocating for supportive government policies; and (3) celebrating local news providers from the UK and around the world that are Accountable, Sustainable, in the Public interest, Innovative, Representative and Engaging (ASPIRE).
Over the last year, we have successfully encouraged the UK Government to launch an unprecedented new £12m Local News Fund. We have also built support for our mission from US and UK donors. And we have launched initiatives such as the Tenacious Journalist Awards, to recognise and support independent news providers who are having a significant social impact.
We have a small and professional staff team and a dedicated board of trustees, and we are now looking to recruit a Programmes Officer to support our work. I hope that you will consider joining us on this exciting and important mission.
Jonathan Heawood, Executive Director
Summary of the Role
Title: Programmes Officer
Salary: £30,000
Benefits: 33 days annual leave including Bank Holidays; 7% employer pension contribution; professional development budget; flexible working
Type: Fixed-term renewable 12-month contract
Time commitment: 35 hours per week, with some scope for flexible working
Location: Remote, with occasional meetings in London or other UK locations, for which PINF will pay travel expenses from within the UK
Reporting to: Deputy Director, who will provide overall line management and lead 60% of the Programmes Officer’s work
Working closely with: Campaigns & Communications Manager, who will lead the remaining 40% of the Programme Officer’s work
Purpose of the Role
The Programmes Officer will support the PINF team across our three workstreams: the Local News Fund; Local News Campaign; and Local News Futures programme.
· Through the Local News Fund, we work with grantmakers and social investors (including government-backed fund managers) to unlock new economic resources for local news across the UK.
· Through the Local News Campaign, we work with the BBC, big tech firms, central and local government, MPs, Peers and regulators to shape a positive enabling environment for local news across the UK.
· Through the Local News Futures programme, we work with academics, civil society organisations, journalism support organisations and local news providers to showcase models of local news with the most positive impact.
The Programmes Officer will provide support with events, research and campaigns across these workstreams, and will also provide support with our organisational functions, including communications, fundraising and governance.
By providing efficient and effective support to the team, the Programmes Officer will unlock new potential for PINF to deliver our charitable purpose.
Key Responsibilities
Events
· Support the Deputy Director with the successful delivery of the annual Local News Forum by:
o Maintaining a comprehensive and up to date project plan
o Contributing to the effective marketing of the event within PINF’s network of independent local news providers and stakeholders
o Managing ticket sales and maintaining an accurate database of invitees and participants
o Contributing to effective working relationships with partners and suppliers, including venues and sponsors
o Managing speakers
o Supporting budget administration, including tracking agreed expenditure and processing spending in line with approved budgets and under the oversight of the Deputy Director
o Responding promptly and efficiently to queries
o Providing on-the-day support including registering participants, liaising with the venue and catering providers, ensuring smooth technical support and troubleshooting any issues as they arise
Research
· Support the Deputy Director with our research objectives by:
o Organising and minuting twice-yearly online meetings of our Research Advisory Group
o Working with colleagues to ensure the Local News Map is comprehensive and up to date
o Liaising with independent local news providers to support the new Local News Audit
Campaigns
· Support the Campaigns & Communications Manager with our campaign objectives by:
o Managing relationships with independent news providers participating in our annual Indie News Week
o Supporting budget administration for campaign activity, including tracking agreed expenditure and processing spending in line with approved budgets and under the oversight of the Campaigns & Communications Manager
o Supporting key campaign moments including parliamentary events, party conferences, roundtables and other online and offline events
o Providing logistical and administrative support for key campaign moments, including by maintaining participant and invitation lists, tracking RSVPs and preparing background information for colleagues
Communications
· Support the Campaigns & Communications Manager with our communications objectives by:
o Managing the ‘contact’ email inbox
o Supporting the delivery of engaging content across PINF’s blog and newsletter, including gathering stories, opportunities and other relevant material, in collaboration with the Campaigns & Communications Manager
o Managing PINF’s social media channels including LinkedIn, BlueSky and Instagram
o Updating elements and pages across our website
o Supporting PINF’s WhatsApp community of independent local news providers by sharing relevant content, helping eligible participants to join, and assisting with day-to-day moderation
Fundraising
· Support the Deputy Director with our fundraising objectives by:
o Maintaining the fundraising database and keeping records up to date based on information provided by colleagues
o Facilitating monthly internal fundraising meetings
Other
· Any other tasks as reasonably requested by the Deputy Director
Essential skills and experience
· Experience in an administrative, coordination or project support role
· Excellent organisational skills, with the ability to manage multiple tasks, deadlines and priorities
· Strong written and verbal communication skills
· Confidence using Microsoft Office and other common digital tools to organise work, manage information and communicate effectively
· Ability to work collaboratively in a small team and to support colleagues across different areas of work
· A high level of accuracy and attention to detail
· Support for PINF’s mission and charitable purpose
· Applicants must have the right to work in the UK.
Desirable skills and experience
· Experience of supporting events, campaigns, communications or fundraising activity
· Experience of working in a charity, membership body, media organisation or other mission-driven organisation
· Familiarity with website, newsletter or social media content management
· An understanding of the challenges and opportunities facing local and independent news providers in the UK
How to apply
· Please apply through CharityJob.
· In your application, you will be asked to provide a short example of how your previous experience makes you a strong candidate for this role. We encourage applicants not to use generative AI to draft this part of the application, as we are interested to hear about your own experience in your own words!
· If you require any adjustments to support your application, please let us know when you apply.
We particularly welcome applications from people whose backgrounds and perspectives are underrepresented in charities and the news sector.
Registered Charity
1 - 5
We are working to regenerate local news in the UK - because everyone should benefit from journalism that speaks to, for and with them
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.