Public affairs officer jobs

Keeping Young People Safe:

At Young Enterprise, safeguarding is at the core of everything we do. We are committed to promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults. All successful applicants will receive ongoing safeguarding training throughout their employment and be expected to uphold excellent safeguarding practice at all times.

Are you passionate about helping young people build brighter futures?

Are you curious about policy and public affairs and motivated by creating real-world change? If so, we’ve got a brilliant opportunity for you to join our team as our Policy and Public Affairs Officer at Young Enterprise.

Who We Are

We’re Young Enterprise – a national charity with a bold mission: to give every young person the skills, confidence, and mindset to thrive in the changing world of work.

For over 60 years, we’ve empowered more than 7 million young people through hands-on enterprise and financial education programmes. Whether it’s launching a student business or learning how to manage money, we help young people develop key life skills—teamwork, leadership, problem-solving, and resilience.

We’re a passionate, down-to-earth team of 90+ staff and 2,000+ volunteers who believe that every young person, regardless of background, deserves a fair start in life.

Why Join Us?

We think Young Enterprise is a great place to work—and we’re proud of our people-first culture. Here’s what you can expect:

• A friendly and supportive team where your voice is heard
• A strong commitment to diversity and inclusion—we want everyone to feel they belong
• Generous holiday allowance and flexible working
• Cycle-to-work scheme, life assurance, and NHS top-up plan
• Ongoing learning and mentoring opportunities
• A chance to directly impact the lives of young people every single day

About the Role

This is an exciting opportunity to join Young Enterprise at a key moment of growth and ambition for our policy and public affairs work. As Policy and Public Affairs Officer, you’ll help shape how we champion the voices and experiences of young people, ensuring their needs are reflected in decisions about education, skills and financial capability. Working closely with the Policy Lead and colleagues across the organisation, you’ll support the development of evidence-informed policy positions and contribute to impactful influencing and engagement activity.

This role is ideal for someone who is curious about how policy is made, enjoys working with ideas and evidence, and is motivated by the chance to create real-world change for young people. You’ll gain hands-on experience across research, stakeholder engagement, campaigns and parliamentary activity, in a fast-paced and supportive environment that values learning and collaboration.

If you’re passionate about social impact, enjoy writing and organising, and want to build a career in policy, public affairs or the charity sector, this role offers a fantastic platform to develop your skills while making a meaningful difference.

You’ll love this job if you are…

• Passionate about improving opportunities and outcomes for young people.
• Curious about policy, politics and public affairs, and keen to learn how change happens.
• A clear and confident writer who enjoys turning research and evidence into compelling messages.
• Organised, proactive and comfortable juggling multiple priorities in a fast-moving environment.
• Enjoy designing, organising and supporting engaging events for a range of audiences.
• Motivated by working collaboratively with a wide range of colleagues and external stakeholders.

Key Responsibilities

• Monitor developments in education, skills and related policy areas, identifying what they mean for young people and Young Enterprise’s work.
• Support the development of Young Enterprise’s policy positions through research, analysis and evidence gathering.
• Help plan and deliver public affairs and stakeholder engagement activities, including events, parliamentary briefings and meetings.
• Contribute to campaigns that aim to influence policy and raise the profile of issues affecting young people.
• Draft high-quality written outputs such as consultation responses, meeting notes, articles and social media content.
• Support policy networks and relationships, including Secretariat support for the APPG for Financial Education for Young People.
• Work closely with colleagues across programmes, research, communications and fundraising to align policy priorities and messaging.
• Coordinate the practical organisation of policy events, meetings and stakeholder communications. 

A few practical things

• This is a hybrid role, with a minimum requirement to work from our London office in Brunswick Square at least 8 days per month.
• The role involves regular travel to Westminster for meetings and events, and occasional travel to other parts of the UK.
• Occasional evening and weekend work will be required for events, with time off in lieu provided.
• There are no specific physical or manual handling requirements associated with this role.

How to Apply

If you’re ready to help shape the futures of young people, we want to hear from you!

Please send your CV and a cover letter answering the three questions below. Applications that do not directly address these questions will not be considered.  Applications must be submitted by 12:00 noon on 22 May 2026.

1.Interest in Young Enterprise (max 250 words)

What attracted you to Young Enterprise and the Policy and Public Affairs Officer role?

2.Experience and Achievements (max 250 words)

Tell us about your personal or professional achievements that you’re proud of which demonstrate your ability to:  

a. organise an activity or event

b. manage competing priorities

c. support others

3.Skills for the Role (max 250 words)

What relevant or transferable skills and experience would you bring to this role?

Should your written application be successful, an optional informal call will be offered to discuss the role with and answer any questions you might have. Following this, an in-person interview will take place in Young Enterprise’s London Office week commencing 1 June 2026, which will include a short written task, and the potential for a follow up online interview with a few colleagues across the organisation. Please note, we are only able to respond to shortlisted candidates. 

Full details can be found in the Job Description.

At YE we are passionate and committed to keeping your data safe and secure.  Full details can be found in the YE People’s Privacy Notice.

Join us – and help us give every young person the chance to thrive. Apply today!

Policy and Public Affairs Officer

Salary: £37,207–£42,070

Location: Hybrid, Cambridge

Application deadline: Friday 15 May (9:00AM)

We are looking for a Policy and Public Affairs Officer to lead and deliver the Foundation’s policy and influencing work to support evidence-based system change.

As part of our influencing team, you will drive the delivery of an influencing strategy and create strategic partnerships that have the potential to deliver regional and national impact.

You will work closely with senior colleagues, programme teams, and external partners to ensure that learning from the Foundation’s work informs national and regional policy debates. The role combines policy development and public affairs engagement, with the role holder representing the Foundation in external policy forums, as well as building partnerships across the sector, and positioning the Foundation’s research, evidence, and learning to inform public policy. This is an exciting opportunity for someone with experience in policy development and stakeholder engagement for system change, who is motivated by our charitable mission.

Person Specification

Experience

• Educated to degree level or equivalent.

• Experience of influencing Government and public policy in a comparable role.

• Demonstrable significant experience in parliamentary affairs and an excellent knowledge of the UK political landscape including the workings of Westminster, Whitehall, and regional Government.

• Demonstrable experience in developing and maintaining collaborations with a wide range of partners.

• Experience of developing policy positions and articulating these convincingly to decision makers and stakeholders.

• Experience of efficiently and accurately analysing complex information in a clear and concise manner for written materials and for different audiences.

• Experience of working productively across multi-disciplinary teams.

Knowledge

• Knowledge of methods used in public policy development and influencing.

• Knowledge of the structures of Government in the mayoral strategic authorities.

• An understanding of how structural inequalities impact on policy and political outcomes.

• Knowledge of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion principles and how to apply them in real world settings.

Personal skills/qualities

• Excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to interact effectively at all levels with partners and senior stakeholders including brokering new partnerships.

• Ability to drive the delivery of the influencing strategy and able to think laterally and creatively about opportunities.

• Outstanding written communication skills including the ability to write for different internal and external audiences.

• Excellent verbal communication skills, in order to be able to effectively communicate complex positions to policy makers and other stakeholders.

• Ability to develop policy positions and articulate these convincingly to decision makers and stakeholders.

• Ability to process large amounts of detailed information and present them in a succinct and persuasive manner.

• Ability to maintain political impartiality and be discreet.

• Self-motivated, with drive and commitment.

• Exceptional organisational skills, ability to keep to a clear timetable, work to tight deadlines and under pressure and an ability to work independently.

• Excellent facilitation and relationship management skills.

• Well-developed ICT skills, including word-processing, Excel and CRMs.

• A team player, able to work both on own initiative and in a collegiate manner.

• Commitment to the Foundation’s vision and mission.

The Foundation is committed to ensuring all staff are empowered to contribute fully to our work and the Foundation strives to ensure equity and fairness throughout the organisation. We support equality of opportunity and promote an inclusive culture.

We welcome applications from all backgrounds, across all protected characteristics and socio-economic status and particularly encourage submissions from those with lived experience of speaking another language.

We can only accept applications from those who have the right to work in the UK.