Regional external affairs officer jobs

This role will join an ambitious programme developing the capacity of the Libraries Connected public library networks. We want to help them evolve as strategic partnerships able to deliver social impacts at scale and to secure resources and investment from national, regional and sub-regional government. Be key to the development of libraries as essential social infrastructure, and help them secure the resources they need to make an impact. 

The role is part of a small team of two Regional Managers, supported by an Administrator. 

By developing our existing regional networks into formal, resourced structures we can enable the regions to: 

• Secure investment for the service and for the libraries from regional and devolved / combined authority funds.
• Create unique regional offers to meet specific needs across and within the regional areas.
• Deliver at scale. For example, the Yorkshire & Humber regional network has 15 library services, and 348 library buildings. 
• Create opportunities for cost saving – through joint procurement and shared / collaborative services. 
• Share good practice and experience on a formal and integrated basis. 

We have 9 regional networks in England, covering all library services and ranging in size from 9 to 33 services. Within each region they provide hundreds of library branches, thousands of staff, and serve millions of service users.  They have a long tradition of working together as peer support networks and to deliver activities such as festivals, marketing, and staff training. 

Please see the attached job description for a full description of the role, including person specification. 

Frequent travel within the UK may be required for the role.

About Libraries Connected 

We are an independent charity that supports, promotes and represents public libraries. Our work is driven and led by our membership, which includes almost every library service in England, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Crown Dependencies (Guernsey, Jersey and the Isle of Man).  

Across the areas we serve there are 176 individual library services with around 3,000 library branches serving over 61 million people. 

Our unique approach is to bring these services together to share experience, expertise and evidence – driving innovation and impact across the public library sector.

While senior library leaders sit on our board and committees, we work with library staff at all levels.

As well as providing practical support, training and advice to libraries, we represent them to government and raise their profile in the media. We also develop and lead national library projects with cultural, academic and corporate partners.  

We work to a strategic plan that runs until 2027, organised around four themes: drive, grow, connect and engage.  

We generate income from membership subscriptions, commissioned services, events and grants. As an Arts Council Investment Principle Support Organisation, part of our core funding in England comes from the Arts Council to help embed their Investment Principles across the library network.   

Our values 

• We are supportive. We respond to the varied, emerging needs of our members and their communities to enable libraries to learn from each other, and other sector leaders, so that they can safeguard and improve their services.  

• We are inclusive. We work with our members and partners to design and deliver our work and to determine our strategic priorities because we are committed to representing the diverse communities and libraries which we serve.  

• We are open. We are in constant communication with our members and partners on all levels to learn from their experiences, reflect on our practice and develop our services. We welcome challenge and new directions for our work.  

• We are ambitious. We believe that libraries are an essential part of the solution to a range of society’s needs. We promote innovation and collaboration to ensure that libraries are recognised locally and nationally.  

Working at Libraries Connected 

We are a friendly, collaborative team of around 20 staff based all around England and Wales. 

We value diversity and are committed to promoting an inclusive working environment. We strongly believe that inclusive and diverse organisations are not only better places to work, they are more innovative, make better decisions and are more successful. We value people who bring unique perspectives and knowledge to our team. 

We want to make our recruitment process as fair as possible. To reduce bias, we shortlist candidates based on their responses to up to six application questions. These are designed to tell us about your values, experience, attitudes to work, and transferable skills. We do not ask for a separate cover letter or supporting statement. 

We offer flexible working as standard, helping work fit around family and caring responsibilities. Many of our staff work their hours in different ways, including flexi time and compressed hours. We are open to discussing what would work for you and be possible for the role. 

All roles are remote and are open to applicants who live anywhere in the UK. We provide staff with a home office set-up including laptop, monitor and phone. There is the option to work from our central London office or use a co-working space if it is not possible to work from home. 

We welcome requests for adjustments to our standard recruitment processes for anyone who needs them. 

We are looking for a creative, organised and experienced media and communications professional to join our External Affairs team within the Policy and External Affairs Directorate.

The Senior Media & Communications Manager will manage our press office and lead our media engagement activity to support our strategic impact and communications objectives, aligned to our business plan and wider corporate strategy.

You will use your skills and experience to help engage a range of media outlets on our expertise, insights and evidence on youth employment, placing our spokespeople appropriately for a variety of opportunities.

• You will also work closely with wider External Affairs colleagues and teams across the organisation to build our corporate impact narrative.

• At a time when youth employment is a high priority for Government and the news agenda, the post holder must also be able to demonstrate policy and political literacy and high comfort levels when working with policy, research and public affairs colleagues.

• This role is perfect for a proactive and agile professional with strong writing skills, who is excellent at building relationships internally and externally and able to engage external stakeholders and partners.

At a time when the youth employment agenda is so prominent, this role presents an exciting opportunity to be part of Youth Futures’ mission to help every young person achieve good work.

This role can be based at our Birmingham, Leeds or London hub. We currently operate a hybrid model of two-days per week in the office and three-days from home.

Please download our recruitment pack for more information on this opportunity.

Due to receiving high volumes of interest in our opportunities, this vacancy may close earlier than the advertised deadline. To ensure your application is considered, please submit it as soon as possible.

Role Overview:
The Talent Set are delighted to partner with our client on a fantastic Media Officer role. This position involves supporting the charity’s public relations efforts across digital and traditional channels, enhancing their public profile, and inspiring action through impactful media campaigns and engaging content.

Key Responsibilities:

• Assist in planning and delivering integrated, digital-first PR campaigns that generate media coverage at national, regional, and digital levels.
• Write and distribute press releases, media briefings, opinion articles, and other communications materials to secure positive media attention.
• Develop and maintain professional relationships with journalists, broadcasters, and media outlets, managing media enquiries and proactively pitching stories.
• Support media activities for campaigns, events, and partnerships to meet shared objectives.
• Collaborate with the Celebrity and Influencer team to maximise opportunities with ambassadors and high-profile supporters across various media platforms.
• Create, film, edit, and publish engaging digital content for platforms including TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
• Monitor media coverage, compile reports, and evaluate campaign effectiveness to identify opportunities for improvement.
• Assist with media visits, interviews, photo calls, and content gathering both in the UK and internationally as needed.
• Contribute to the out-of-hours media support rota and be willing to undertake occasional travel.
• Uphold the charity’s commitments to equity, inclusion, and safeguarding in all activities.

Person Specification:

• Excellent written and verbal skills, capable of producing engaging, accurate media content.
• Experience in a press office, PR agency, communications team, or journalism role.
• Good understanding of the UK media landscape and identifying newsworthy stories.
• Proven ability to create content for digital and social media platforms such as TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
• Experience supporting integrated media campaigns across traditional and digital channels.
• Confidence in building and maintaining relationships with media professionals and external stakeholders.
• Organisational skills to manage multiple priorities and meet tight deadlines.
• Awareness of how media efforts can support fundraising, advocacy, and public engagement strategies.
• A collaborative, proactive attitude with a willingness to learn and develop.
• Commitment to principles of equity, inclusion, and safeguarding.

What’s on Offer:

• Salary: £35,000
• Location: Hybrid - 2 days onsite in London
• Contract: 6 month FTC

How to Apply:
To apply, please submit your CV demonstrating your suitability for this role by clicking the 'apply now' button (please do not apply via email). We aim to get back to all successful candidates within 48 working hours.

Commitment to Diversity
The Talent Set are committed to diverse and inclusive recruitment practices, ensuring equal opportunities for all applicants regardless of race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, disability, or age. We actively encourage applications from a wide range of backgrounds and are always happy to make reasonable adjustments to ensure a fair recruitment process.

Youth Employment UK is seeking a Senior Policy Officer to join our Policy and Research department at an important moment for youth employment policy.

The Senior Policy Officer will strengthen Youth Employment UK’s policy and insight capacity by helping gather, analyse and communicate evidence from young people, employers, members and the wider youth employment system.

Working with the Policy and Research Director, the role will support Youth Employment UK to develop high-quality policy positions, recommendations, briefings and reports, and to strengthen our reputation as a leading source of insight and practical solutions for youth employment.

This is a policy-focused role with strong research literacy. It is not a technical academic research post, but the postholder will need to be confident in interpreting evidence, drawing out implications, writing clearly, and translating insight into practical recommendations for different audiences.

Summary of responsibilities

• Monitor, analyse and respond to youth employment-related policy developments through written briefings, articles, guidance and formal evidence submissions. 

• Support the development of Youth Employment UK policy positions, recommendations and messages

• Work with Youth Ambassadors and young people to gather insight that informs policy positions, reports and recommendations

• Support delivery of our Youth Voice Census by writing up findings for a wide range of audiences

• Support Youth Employment UK’s Good Youth Employment Benchmark by conducting employer interviews and writing employer-facing reports.

• Support Youth Employment UK’s public affairs activity, including APPG, Connected Communities and other policy forums.

• Work closely with the Policy and Research Director, Policy and Research Coordinator and wider team in an agile, fast-paced working environment 

About you

We are looking for someone with strong policy judgement, excellent writing skills, professional curiosity and a commitment to improving systems for young people. 

You will bring:

• Experience in policy, public affairs, research, youth employment, education, skills, employment support, social policy or a related area

• Research literacy and confidence working with evidence, data, reports and lived experience insight

• Ability to turn complex information into clear briefings, recommendations and practical outputs

• Confidence in engaging with a range of stakeholders, such as young people, employers, members, policymakers, charities, NGOs, think tanks or public bodies.

• Excellent written and oral communication skills, with the ability to adapt communication to a wide range of audiences 

• A high level of self and project management skill, able to work effectively as part of a team and independently 

• A clear passion for improving education, employment and transitions outcomes for young people through policy activity. 

A full overview of responsibilities in the role and person criteria can be seen in the attached job description. 

What we will provide to you

• Competitive salary.

• Standard company pension.

• 25 days annual leave plus Bank Holidays, increasing to 26 days after 12 months’ service.

• 2 volunteering days per year.

• 2 additional wellbeing days per year.

• Onsite parking, available on a first come, first served basis.

• Personal development opportunities.

• Free breakfast and lunch options when in the office.

• Team activities and events.

• Dog-friendly office.

Please note that this is a full-time (37.5 hour) role, with some flexibility over working hours. Our main office is in Kettering, right next to the train station. However, we are open to discussing remote and hybrid working arrangements with the right candidate. 

We are seeking an exceptional advocate with a policy, legal or related digital rights campaigning background to work with us furthering privacy and civil liberties in the UK at one of the UK’s leading rights NGOs. Initially, this role will be principally challenging facial recognition surveillance and scrutinising police surveillance/AI powers.

The right Senior Advocacy Officer will help us to lobby UK Parliament to further privacy and wider rights at a critical time – when a legal framework on police use of facial recognition is very soon to be introduced, and police are expanding their use of AI and new surveillance technologies. You’ll build on your strong experience to be a credible and proactive lobbyist in Parliament, write expert briefings and be confident meeting parliamentarians, take a leading role liaising with policy stakeholders, advise on strategic litigation, be a leading advocate in the press and the public forum, develop policy positions on key issues, and help drive our public campaigns for change.

About you

You’ll have 3+ years experience in a legal or policy capacity, or in a comparable advocacy environment that relied on your expertise on technology and rights issues – ideally involving facial recognition. You’ll have a strong track record of advocacy success.

You’ll be familiar with key litigation and policy issues in the area. You’ll also have excellent knowledge of British politics and UK parliamentary procedures and strong political contacts to match.

You’ll be at ease working on a strictly non-partisan, cross-party basis and grounding policy analysis in human rights and liberal principles.

You’ll be proactive in pitching policy, litigation and campaign ideas for the organisation to pursue within our work streams.

You’ll be an experienced spokesperson, confident undertaking live and recorded TV and radio interviews, talking to a variety of audiences and representing the organisation and our campaigns.

If you’re committed to Big Brother Watch’s mission, we’d like to hear from you.

Senior Advocacy Officer job description

Policy

• Produce policy analysis, research, briefings and reports for dissemination

• Develop strategic policy recommendations informed by expertise

• Identify and explore new and emerging policy issues in our key work areas

• Communicate complex policy issues to varied audiences, whether Parliament, the press or the public

• Build strong relationships with parliamentarians and advisors across all parties

• Identify opportunities to further our strategic aims in Parliament, through committees, parliamentary questions and other activities; as well as regional assemblies and on occasion local government

• Work with stakeholders and pursue collaborative campaigns/coalitions on key issues

• Develop Big Brother Watch’s relationships with allies across Government, legislative bodies, international organisations, and NGOs

• Draft formal correspondence, blog posts, presentations, and other documents articulating Big Brother Watch’s policy positions

Advocacy

• Identify campaigns and advocacy opportunities, and feed into campaign plans and materials

• Write articles and give quotes to press

• Give pre-recorded and live interviews for TV and radio

• Uphold Big Brother Watch’s reputational excellence in public fora

• Help manage media enquiries (our 24/7 media phone is handled on a staff rota system)

Legal

• Help co-ordinate Big Brother Watch’s strategic litigation where appropriate, liaising with external lawyers

• Manage relationships with external counsel & build strong relationships with partners

• Produce legal and policy analysis and identify strategic litigation opportunities

Person specification

Essential

• Min. 3+ years experience in a similar role

• Familiarity/expertise with domestic policy matters relating to privacy, surveillance and/or free expression

• Strong legal and/or policy research skills

• Excellent and persuasive communications skills

• Demonstrable experience in privacy, freedom of expression, and other rights and technology areas

• Aptitude for managing and building relationships with partner organisations, parliamentarians and other stakeholders

• Proven ability to produce high quality work under pressure

• Creativity and energy in approaching a workload consisting of large long-term projects

• Willingness to work in non-partisan environment, and ability to recruit support of MPs across all parties

Desirable

• A track record of successful advocacy experience

• Experience of involvement in litigation, either in a legal or campaigns capacity

• Experience working with parliamentarians and/or producing policy briefings

• Project management experience

• Familiarity with relevant UK surveillance laws, human rights frameworks, and relevant case law

Big Brother Watch

Big Brother Watch is a UK civil liberties campaign group fighting for a free future. We’re determined to reclaim our privacy and defend freedoms at this time of enormous technological change. And we fight to win.

We’re a fiercely independent, diverse, non-partisan and non-profit group of campaigners and researchers who work to roll back the surveillance state and protect rights in Parliament, the media or the courts if we have to. We publish unique investigations and pursue powerful public campaigns to pursue real change. We work relentlessly to inform and empower the public to collectively reclaim privacy, defend our civil liberties and protect freedoms for the future.

We’re a small, dedicated and highly effective team of 8 staff and 7 volunteers.

This strategically important role will provide global leadership for advocacy across the Open Doors ministry, helping local and regional teams to shape advocacy priorities, strengthen alignment across international teams, and ensure the experiences and voices of the most persecuted Christians continue to inform decisions at every level of our organisation.

The role also oversees Global Integrated Campaigns and plays a key role in strengthening Open Doors’ voice and influence amongst external partners, institutions, governments and decision-makers. As the global context continues to evolve, advocacy remains an essential part of our mission. We believe God is calling us to speak courageously, act wisely and work collaboratively on behalf of those whose voices are often unheard.

This is a role for a courageous and servant-hearted leader who can bring together diverse stakeholders, develop and execute strategic priorities, and strengthen advocacy’s contribution to the mission of Open Doors worldwide.

Purpose of the Position

The Global Advocacy Director is a strategic leadership role, reporting directly to the CEO and responsible for providing direction, alignment and influence for advocacy across the Open Doors organisation. Working closely with field regions, fundraising bases and international leaders, the Director ensures that advocacy priorities remain connected to the needs of persecuted Christians and contribute to the wider mission and strategy of Open Doors.

Personal Qualities

The successful candidate will be:

• A servant leader with humility, wisdom and integrity.

• A strategic thinker who can see both the wider picture and the practical steps needed to achieve it.

• A relationship builder who can unite people around a shared purpose.

• A courageous and resilient leader, comfortable operating in complex and sometimes challenging environments.

• An excellent communicator, able to inspire, influence and engage a wide range of audiences. 

Working for Open Doors

Open Doors International offers a unique opportunity to combine professional expertise with meaningful ministry impact. As a global Christian organisation serving persecuted Christians in more than 70 countries, we are committed to attracting and developing exceptional leaders who are passionate about our mission and values.

The Director of Global Advocacy will join a diverse international organisation working across cultures, regions and functions to strengthen the persecuted Church and advance the mission of Open Doors worldwide.

Location: The successful candidate must live in an African, European or Asian time zone. Applicants must be able to work effectively across international teams and time zones.

International Travel: The successful candidate should expect a significant amount of international travel to engage with colleagues, partners, advocacy networks and ministry stakeholders.

Salary and Benefits: A competitive salary package will be offered, commensurate with the seniority and international scope of the role.

Additional benefits and employment arrangements will be discussed with shortlisted candidates and will be tailored to the successful candidate’s location and circumstances.

Faith Requirement: As a Christian ministry, Open Doors requires the Global Advocacy Director to demonstrate a mature Christian faith and full alignment with the organisation’s Christian beliefs, values and statement of faith.

ABOUT CFAB

CFAB is the UK's only charity with a dedicated international children's social work team and the UK's sole member of the International Social Service (ISS) network. We identify, protect and support children and families separated by international borders as a result of conflict, trafficking, migration, family breakdown and asylum-related issues.

Working with partners in more than 130 countries, we are experts in international social work, cross-border child protection, international care proceedings and overseas family placements, helping children remain connected to their families, identities and cultures wherever possible.

ABOUT THE ROLE

We are seeking an ambitious and experienced fundraiser to join CFAB at an exciting stage of our development. This is a unique opportunity to help shape the future of a small charity with a global reach, securing sustainable income that enables children and families across borders to remain connected, protected and supported.

Fundraising is central to CFAB's long-term sustainability, generating almost 60% of the charity's £1million annual income. As we deliver our new organisational strategy and strengthen our External Affairs function, you will play a key role in growing and diversifying income to support our future ambitions.

Trusts and foundations will be at the heart of your role, building on our strong portfolio of funders while developing opportunities across corporate partnerships, supporter stewardship, challenge events and other emerging income streams. Working closely with the Deputy CEO, you will lead the day-to-day delivery of our fundraising strategy, develop new opportunities and help strengthen CFAB's fundraising capability.

As our senior operational fundraising lead, you'll have significant autonomy and the opportunity to influence organisational strategy while working as part of a collaborative team spanning fundraising, policy, communications and digital engagement. This role offers the chance to make a meaningful contribution to a growing organisation with an international impact.

You will also have the opportunity to recruit and line manage a Fundraising Coordinator from January 2027, helping to shape the next phase of CFAB's fundraising function.

If this sounds like the opportunity for you, and you have the

skills, experience and passion to succeed in this role,

we'd love to hear from you.

JOB SPECIFICATION

Key responsibilities:

1. Strategy Delivery and Management

Working closely with the Deputy CEO, you will lead the delivery of CFAB's fundraising strategy, translating strategic priorities into operational plans that support sustainable income growth.

You will contribute to fundraising strategy, budgeting and income forecasting, monitor performance against agreed targets and ensure fundraising activity is effectively managed through Salesforce. You will identify opportunities to improve fundraising processes, strengthen fundraising performance and support the development and implementation of new income streams and fundraising initiatives.

2. Trusts, Foundations and Corporate Partnerships

You will lead CFAB's trust and foundation fundraising programme, developing and managing a portfolio of funders, partners and supporters to maximise long-term income. You will prepare and oversee high-quality funding applications, reports and pitches, ensuring all funder requirements and deadlines are met.

You will also develop and manage corporate fundraising opportunities, identifying prospective partners, preparing partnership proposals and supporting the growth of corporate income as a strategic priority. Working alongside the Deputy CEO, you will help shape the organisation’s corporate offer and operate a shared account management model for strategic funders and high-value funding opportunities.

3. Relationship Management and Income Growth

Working with the Deputy CEO, you will lead the development and delivery of CFAB's stewardship strategy, strengthening relationships with existing supporters and creating meaningful supporter journeys for new donors. You will oversee donor communications, the supporter newsletter, and recognition processes, ensuring supporters understand the impact of their giving and remain engaged with CFAB.

You will also grow CFAB's challenge events programme, increasing participation, enhancing the supporter experience and developing challenge events as a sustainable source of unrestricted income.

Working collaboratively with the Deputy CEO, Digital Engagement and Outreach Lead, and Policy and Communications Officer, you will develop and deliver digital fundraising campaigns, including Big Give match funding campaigns, and a programme of fundraising events to grow and engage CFAB's supporter base.

4. Team Leadership and Fundraising Operations

You will line manage the Fundraising Coordinator, providing day-to-day leadership, coaching and support to ensure the effective delivery of fundraising operations.

You will oversee prospect research, fundraising administration, supporter stewardship, challenge events, Salesforce management and fundraising reporting, ensuring high standards of performance, accurate data management and effective collaboration across the fundraising function.

5. Governance and Representation

You will help prepare fundraising reports, pipeline updates, income forecasts and performance information for the Senior Management Team and Board of Trustees.

You will ensure fundraising activity complies with relevant legislation, the Code of Fundraising Practice, GDPR, Gift Aid requirements and organisational policies, maintaining the highest standards of fundraising governance and supporter care.

You will represent CFAB externally with funders, corporate partners, supporters and sector networks, acting as an ambassador for the organisation and helping to strengthen its profile, reputation and long-term strategic relationships.

6. Additional Responsibilities

As a member of the wider management team, you will contribute to organisational planning, continuous improvement and cross-organisational projects. You will identify opportunities to strengthen fundraising systems, develop new ways of working and support the long-term sustainability of the organisation. You will also be expected to attend occasional evening and weekend events, meetings and networking opportunities, and to carry out your responsibilities in line with CFAB's policies and relevant legislation.

Essential Skills, Knowledge and Experience

These criteria describe the core skills, knowledge and experience required to succeed in the role. Please ensure your cover letter demonstrates how you meet each of the essential criteria, providing examples where possible.

1. A successful track record of securing income through trusts and foundations within the charity sector, with experience of developing high-quality funding applications, reports and funding proposals.

2. A genuine passion for building long-term relationships with supporters, funders and partners, together with experience of identifying and developing new fundraising opportunities.

3. Experience of developing fundraising pipelines, supporter journeys and stewardship plans that strengthen relationships and maximise long-term income.

4. Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to produce compelling fundraising materials and build effective relationships with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders.

5. Experience of using CRM systems (preferably Salesforce) and fundraising data to manage relationships, monitor performance and inform fundraising decision-making.

6. Excellent organisational and project management skills, with the ability to manage competing priorities, work independently and contribute strategically to the continued growth and diversification of fundraising income.

Desirable Skills, Knowledge and Experience

The criteria below are not essential but will help us identify candidates with additional relevant experience. We encourage you to apply even if you don't meet every desirable criterion.

1. Experience of fundraising within a children's, family support, social care or international charity.

2. Experience of corporate fundraising, challenge events, supporter stewardship or digital fundraising campaigns.

3. Experience of line management or supporting the skills and development of colleagues, volunteers or interns.