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Working as part of a job share, you will shape and deliver a strategic programme of public affairs activity, building the charity’s profile and driving impact through effective advocacy.
Key responsibilities include:
- Public affairs strategy and leadership
- Plan and deliver influencing strategies for the Northern Ireland Assembly
- Lead the public affairs function locally, working closely with your job share partner
- Contribute to wider devolved nations activity and deputise as needed
- Stakeholder engagement and influencing
- Build and maintain relationships with MLAs, civil servants, advisers, academics and sector partners
- Identify new opportunities to extend the charity’s reach through meetings, events and networks
- Represent the charity at external forums and support senior stakeholder engagement
- Policy insight and political intelligence
- Monitor political and policy developments across Northern Ireland
- Provide insight on emerging trends and opportunities to influence
- Events and profile raising
- Deliver a programme of events at the Northern Ireland Assembly
- Lead party conference activity, including receptions, briefings and stakeholder events
- Ensure strong visibility for CRUK’s expertise and innovation
- Communications and media
- Deliver media interviews as part of influencing campaigns
- Produce high quality briefings, speeches and political communications
- Planning and governance
- Contribute to operational planning, objectives and KPIs
- Support financial reporting and maintain high professional standards
You’ll bring strong experience in public affairs, policy or parliamentary work, with a proven ability to influence senior decision makers. You will have a deep understanding of the Northern Ireland political landscape, alongside excellent communication and relationship-building skills.
You’ll be strategic, collaborative and highly organised, confident managing competing priorities in a fast-paced environment. This role requires a proactive approach, sound judgement and the ability to build credibility quickly across a wide stakeholder network.
Closing date ASAP – please apply as soon as possible.
We want you to have every opportunity to demonstrate your skills, ability and potential; please contact us if you require any assistance or adjustment so that we can help with making the application process work for you.
Thank you!
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!
For over 60 years the National Children’s Bureau (NCB) has been building a better childhood for all.
Policy and Public Affairs Manager
Contract: Permanent
Work Pattern: Full Time, 35 hours per week (1.0 FTE) (We are open to flexible hours and working patterns, including accommodating part-time and compressed hours (0.8 FTE) where possible).
Salary: £44,167 per annum
Location: London Fields, E8. NCB promotes a hybrid, flexible way of working with 2 days working in the office.
The Vacancy
The Policy and Public Affairs Manager will act as a driving force behind our credibility and impact across key policy areas, working to influence national policy development and decision making and help enshrine good practice in law. It will also grow our presence in the sector as thought leaders, drawing on a range of evidence to take richer and deeper positions on the solutions needed to bring improvements.
This position will ensure that robust policy development is translated into effective public affairs and influencing strategies, ensuring that solutions to complex policy issues are understood and acted upon by decision-makers. The role will manage and deliver key elements of NCB’s core work across policy and public affairs, lead the delivery of funded projects and provide robust project management, and actively contribute to project proposals and income generation.
About NCB
For more than 60 years, the National Children’s Bureau has championed the rights and amplified the voice of children and young people in the UK. We interrogate policy and uncover evidence, blending in lived and learnt experience to shape future legislation and develop more effective ways of supporting children and families.
Bringing people and organisations together is fundamental to how we improve the systems that babies, children, young people and their families rely on to thrive. We push boundaries, even looking beyond childhood itself to consider transitions into adulthood and the impact of childhood issues on an entire lifespan. We are united for better childhoods and brighter futures.
The Benefits
- 30 Days Annual Leave
- Generous Pension Scheme
- Cycle to work scheme
- Flexible Working
- Winter Holiday Closure & Break
- Employee Assistance Programme
Closing date: 08:00am, Monday 6th July 2026
Please note that we reserve the right to close this vacancy early should we receive a high volume of applications. We encourage interested candidates to submit their applications as soon as possible
Interested?
If you would like to find out more, please click the apply button. You will be directed to our website to complete your application for this position.
We are actively seeking to broaden the diversity of our staff group and warmly welcome applications from candidates underrepresented in the charity sector, including those from Black and Global Majority communities, disabled people, LGBTQ+ individuals, and people with lived experience of the issues NCB works on.
No agencies please.
