Research and public affairs officer jobs

Longer working lives and ongoing economic transitions are reshaping careers: how we start them, and how we move through them. But too many people remain paid in low-paid, low-quality work – with damaging consequences for them personally, and our economy as a whole. We’re seeking a senior, policy-oriented research leader to help us and our partners generate insights that enable more people to move into and progress through better work.

You’ll have a proven track record in scoping and securing funding for research and influencing activity, with significant autonomy to lead your own programme at L&W. You’ll be supported by committed researchers and managers whom you will coach, lead, and develop—alongside a peer group of Deputy Directors working across other key pillars. We welcome quantitative expertise, but most important are the skills to design and deliver high-quality, impactful research programmes.

You’ll join an organisation with a national reputation for driving policy change—and a friendly, highly capable, delivery-focused team. 

Location: Hybrid working: 40-60% in an L&W office. Our offices for this role are currently in Leicester and London, but if you are based elsewhere, please contact us to talk about how the role could work for you.

Team:Research and Development

Salary:£64,450 -£77,880 per annum (pro rata), dependent on experience and location

Duration:Permanent

Working hours:0.8 to 1 FTE, with flexible working supported (e.g. condensed hours, flexible start and finish times)

Main Purpose

The Deputy Director, Policy and Research (Better Work and Progression) will have overall ownership of the ‘Better Work’ pillar of our strategic plan at L&W: overseeing all projects and activity in this area and generating new work (including developing project ideas and securing funding).

While there is significant scope to shape the ongoing programme of research and impact work, we anticipate that key areas of focus in this area going forward will be: understanding & better supporting career change; understanding and improving policy to increase employer investment in skills; high quality and fair access apprenticeships and technical education; understanding how to better support progression from low pay.

They will be a senior leader for the organization – helping to continuously shape our strategy and the plans we are implementing to deliver it.

Duties and Responsibilities

Leadership and management

• Intellectual leadership of the Better Work pillar: developing and owning policy positions, messages, theory of change and research priorities, and supporting the wider team to feed into and understand them
• Line management of senior and mid-level staff
• Act as a senior leader at L&W – including taking on specific organization-level responsibilities where appropriate

Income

• Write and/or co-ordinate responses to reactive research and evaluation tenders in the areas of employment, better work and progression
• Develop pro-active proposals that will drive change in your area, and respond to the interests of funders and partners
• Build relationships with current and potential funders and research partners

Impact

• Act as an external expert on the issues of better work and progression: writing press quotes, articles and blogs;speaking on platforms
• Building relationships with practitioners, policymakers and partners to improve our insights, and get our recommendations implemented
• Develop appropriate means of tracking impact towards our better work goals, and monitor against them. 

Delivery

• Deputy Director/Project Director-level oversight of projects being delivered in your and related areas: supporting project team to shape research plans, deliver sharp insights and manage funder relationships
• Quality Assurance of research proposals and outputs
• Use your research skills and experience to support the wider development of the Learning and Work team

Person Specification

Experience

Experience of developing, overseeing and delivering programmes of policy-relevant research at a high level - Essential

Experience of business development in a policy/research context: developing ideas, writing bids and building relationships with funders- Essential

Experience of building senior-level relationships with external stakeholders for impact and influence -Essential

Track record of delivering national and/or local policy change - Essential

Experience of senior organisational leadership as part of a team - Desirable 

Experience of responding to tenders- Desirable 

Skills

Advanced research skills (qualitative of quantitative) -Essential

Quantitative skills: experience of using key national research and administrative data sets to generate insights into the labour market -Desirable 

Clear and direct written communication style - Essential

Knowledge

Knowledge of, and commitment to, L&W’s charitable aims and purpose.- Essential

Demonstrable knowledge of employment and/or skills policy in the UK - Essential

Demonstrable knowledge in the specific areas of Better Work and/or progression -Desirable 

Learning and Work Institute works across the UK. Our work in Wales is led by a Cardiff based team, but all staff are required to follow the guidance set out in our Welsh language scheme when working in Wales.

Annual leave: 33 days (plus eight bank holidays)

Benefits:

• enhanced maternity, paternity and adoption leave, and shared parental pay
• family-friendly policies
• 8% employer pension contribution (Aviva) 
• three x basic salary life assurance cover
• free health cashback plan (Medicash): employee cover plus up to four dependent children
• 24/7 virtual GP access (UK registered), plus access to Best Doctors
  free, confidential employee assistance programme (Medicash)
• access to a wellbeing app
• flexible working options including hybrid working, flexible working patterns such as part-time, compressed hours, and more*
• learning and development opportunities including bespoke training and access to LinkedIn Learning)
• commitment to employee health and wellbeing.
• we have a Menopause Friendly accreditation and are a Disability Confident employer

Join Dementia UK as a Policy Officer where you will play a crucial role in driving our long-term policy and influencing strategy in alignment with our 2025-30 strategic plan. As a member of our dedicated Policy, Campaigns, and Public Affairs division, you will lead and shape areas of public policy that affect the quality of healthcare delivered for people living dementia and their carers.

You will play a pivotal role in advocating for improvements to legislation, public policies, and statutory services on behalf of individuals affected by dementia in England. Reporting to the Policy Manager, yourresponsibilities will include monitoring and analysing policy developments while establishing external relationships with sector colleagues and central government. Working closely with the Insights and Evaluation team, Research team, and the broader Clinical Directorate, you will conduct and interpret both qualitative and quantitative research. Your findings will inform the creation of comprehensive public policy documents, reports, briefings, and consultation responses on behalf of the organisation.

The ideal candidate for this role will bring prior experience in public policy within a charity or public sector setting. You should possess a strong track record in policy making and influencing, with  proficiency in conducting qualitative and quantitative research. Effective communication skills will be essential, as you will need to adeptly negotiate and influence stakeholders to drive positive change.

If this sounds like you, join us in making a meaningful difference in the lives of those affected by dementia.

We would love to hear from you! 

Our culture

In addition to a competitive salary and a generous benefits package, we truly value our people. It’s important for us to create a working environment that looks after our workforce to support them in achieving their full potential. You will become part of a diverse and dedicated team who are supported to use and develop their skills. We recognise and value the key role you will play in delivering our strategic plans for the benefit of those living with dementia.

Our staff have a voice. Representatives from different roles and levels across the organisation positively contribute to and lead on our working groups around health and wellbeing, menopause, and equity, diversity and inclusion.

Dementia UK is proud to welcome everyone. We aim for a truly inclusive culture with talented, diverse teams that represent a variety of backgrounds, perspectives, and skills. We celebrate difference and individuality and encourage everyone to join us and be their whole selves always.

Dementia UK is a Disability Confident Employer. 

By applying to join Dementia UK, you acknowledge that in the event you are successful for the role, any offer and your ongoing employment will be conditional on you having or obtaining the right to work in the UK.

*Please note that any decision on flexible working is based on business needs 

When you apply for a job at Dementia UK, we will collect certain information about you to process your application and assess your suitability for the role. Further details can be found in our privacy notice.

Policy Campaigns Officer

A permanent position has arisen as part of the continued growth of our campaigns work within our friendly Policy, Public Affairs and Campaigns department. The Policy Campaigns Officer will play a key role in helping the charity deliver high-impact campaigns that mobilise supporters, influence policy, and raise awareness of issues relating to dementia research.

Working across digital and offline channels, you will support integrated campaign planning and delivery, contribute to evaluation and insight, and coordinate activity across multiple teams.

This exciting role will tackle complex issues, offering opportunities to work on innovative public-facing campaigns, digital engagement, and translating policy objectives into compelling actions and messages that drive measurable change for people living with, and affected by, dementia.

Key Responsibilities:

Campaign development and delivery

· Support the development and delivery of campaigns aligned to the charity’s strategic policy objectives.

· Help design campaign plans, including objectives, audiences, tactics, timelines and evaluation measures.

· Deliver campaign activity across a range of channels, both digital and offline.

· Work with colleagues across the organisation to ensure campaigns are evidence-led, inclusive and aligned with organisational priorities.

· Monitor campaign performance and contribute to evaluation and learning.

· Act as a point of contact for work with external agencies and suppliers.

Influencing and supporter mobilisation

· Support efforts to influence decision-makers by mobilising supporters and amplifying public voices.

· Work with policy and public affairs colleagues to align public-facing campaign activity with political influencing messaging and objectives.

· Help build and maintain relationships with supporters, volunteers, partner organisations and coalitions.

· Assist with producing campaign briefings, messaging and supporter-facing materials.

Communications and digital campaigning

· Work closely with communications and digital teams to deliver integrated campaign content.

· Support the development of email, social media and online action tools to engage supporters.

· Adapt campaign messages for different audiences, ensuring clarity, accuracy and impact.

· Contribute to content planning and delivery to maximise reach and engagement.

Events and engagement activity

· Support the planning and delivery of campaign-related events, both online and in-person.

· Represent the charity at relevant events, meetings and conferences as required.

· Assist with coordinating meetings and briefings involving supporters, stakeholders and internal teams.

· Liaise with colleagues, supporters and external partners to ensure effective delivery of campaign activity.

What we are looking for:

· Experience supporting or delivering public-facing campaigns, advocacy or engagement activity

· Understanding of how campaigns can influence decision-makers and public opinion.

· Experience of digital campaigning or supporter mobilisation

· Experience of working collaboratively with colleagues across different teams

· Experience of building positive relationships with supporters, stakeholders or partners

· Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to adapt messages for different audiences

· Strong organisational skills and the ability to manage multiple tasks and deadlines

· Ability to work both independently and collaboratively within a team.

· IT literate, with experience using Microsoft Office and digital tools

· Commitment to the charity’s vision, mission and values

· Proactive, flexible and solution-focused approach to work

· Strong team player with the ability to use initiative

· Willingness to learn and adapt in a fast-moving environment

· Willingness to work outside of regular office hours during busy periods (e.g. campaign launches or events)

Additional Information:

Ways of working: As part of our Agile ways of working you will be required to work approximately 2 days a week from the office, which is subject to the requirements of the role and the business needs. Flexibility on where you work can be split between working from home and our office.

Roles that are classed as part of the Agile ways of working are not able to claim any costs for Mileage/Travel on Public Transport, Accommodation and/or Meals.  This includes when attending the office for various meetings/events.

Our Office: Our office is at 3 Riverside, Granta Park, Great Abington, Cambridge, CB21 6AD. 

Salary: Circa £30,000 per annum, plus benefits.

Please download the Vacancy Pack on our website for more information.

The closing date for applications is the 1st February 2026, with interviews being arrange once shortlisting has been completed. Please indicate in your covering letter if you are unable to attend an interview on a certain date. We would encourage you to submit your application at the earliest opportunity, as on occasion we may have to bring forward the interview date and/or the closing date based on the needs of the business. Although a possibility, this will only happen in exceptional circumstances. Please indicate in your covering letter if you are unable to attend an interview on a certain date.

We value diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive culture where everyone can be themselves and reach their full potential.  We actively encourage applications from people of all backgrounds and cultures, in particular those from ethnic minority backgrounds who are currently under-represented.  Any offer of employment is however subject to you having the right to work in the UK.

As part of our commitment to being an inclusive employer and ensuring fairness and consistency in our selection process, we will handle your CV and application with the utmost confidentiality. While we strive to anonymise your CV where possible, there are certain sections, such as the application question, that cannot be fully anonymised. We kindly ask that you remove any personal information, including your name, when answering the application question. The hiring panel will not have access to your personal details, such as your name and address, until you are invited for an interview. Should you require any adjustments at either the application or interview stage, please contact us via our website.

How to apply: Please create an online account using our Online Recruitment Platform which can be accessed through our Job Vacancies page. You will be able to attach your CV to your application and track the status of your application.

About Alzheimer’s Research UK: Alzheimer's Research UK is the UK's leading dementia research charity. Our mission is to accelerate progress towards a cure.  Today 1 in 2 people will be impacted by dementia, either through caring for a loved one, developing it themselves or tragically both. But there is hope. 

There has never been a more important and exciting time in dementia research. With promising new drugs in clinical trials that slow the progression of the diseases that cause it, and revolutionary new ways to diagnose them on the horizon, we are now at a tipping point. Working with the smartest minds globally and across the UK, with industry and academia, Alzheimer’s Research UK is uniquely placed to invest in the very best research identifying barriers to a cure and knocking them down so that there are more and better treatments for everyone with dementia. For the first time in history, we can see a future where people with dementia can get a swift and accurate diagnosis, and effective treatments that could slow or even stop their disease. We stand for everyone affected by dementia. We stand for a cure. 

Context and Background

The NSPCC’s purpose is to prevent the abuse and neglect of children across the UK.

The Strategy and Knowledge (S&K) Directorate exists to help shape the world around us - and what the NSPCC does - so that it reflects what we have learned and can help keep children safe from abuse.

The Directorate is responsible for organisational strategy, developing and influencing public policy, championing an evidence-based approach in all our work, developing innovative services and managing our knowledge and information.

This role within our Policy and Public Affairs team will assist in delivering our influencing campaigns asking for public support to persuade government to change laws and policies to better protect children and young people. This exciting role will play a pivotal part supporting the team’s work so we are able to deliver large-scale, impactful campaigns in support of the NSPCC’s policy priorities and our organisational strategy.

Job purpose

This role will support the planning, delivery and evaluation of the NSPCC’s campaigns to mobilise the public behind our influencing goals and galvanise decision makers to act. The postholder will:

• Support the development of our influencing campaigns to inspire new and existing supporters to take action to keep children safe - including through research to inform the planning of campaigns and the creation and dissemination of impactful communications such as emails, social posts and supporter actions.

• Assist the Influencing Campaigns team to manage and develop the campaigns database so it can grow to build a strong, active network of supporters helping us influence change.

• Support the team’s work to ensure the insights and voices of children, young people and those with lived experience are embedded in the design and delivery of our influencing campaigns

Key relationships - Internal

• Influencing Campaigns Manager for England/UK (line manager)
• Other members of the Influencing Campaigns team across the UK
• Policy and Public Affairs team across the UK
• All Strategy and Knowledge teams
• Teams leading brand, marketing and income generation campaigns
• Media and social media teams
• Participation and Lived Experience Advocates teams

Key relationships - External

• NSPCC campaign supporters
• Individuals and representatives from agencies and suppliers on campaigning activity
• Contacts in corporate partnerships representing the NSPCC’s campaigning work

Main duties and responsibilities

Supporting the Influencing Campaigns team day-to-day

o Managing the campaigns inbox and responding to supporters
o Assisting the Influencing Campaigns team by attending meetings with stakeholders (across the NSPCC and beyond)
o Monitoring and evaluating campaigns activity at NSPCC
o Tracking and evaluating campaigns “best practice” in other organisations (to enable competitor analysis)

Development of NSPCC influencing campaigns

o Supporting background research for the development of influencing campaigns o Assisting with planning and designing content across owned, earned, and organic channels
o Helping Influencing Campaigns Managers across the UK with the development of campaign tactics and interventions
o Supporting the Influencing Campaigns Managers across the UK with the development of the campaigns network

Delivery and evaluation of NSPCC influencing campaigns

o Writing and designing campaigns content including social posts, emails and actions

o Support with planning, organising and delivering events

o Liaison with participation and lived experience teams to ensure the insights and voices of children and young people are embedded in our influencing campaign activity

o Issuing or publishing campaigns content
o Monitoring and evaluating the success of NSPCC campaigns o Reporting to stakeholders on campaign activity

Responsibilities for all Staff within the Strategy & Knowledge Directorate

A commitment to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and young people

• A commitment to safeguard and promote the welfare of children, young people and

  adults at risk.

• To comply with all relevant NSPCC safeguarding policies

• A commitment to applying NSPCC Values and Behaviours to all aspects of work

• To maintain an awareness of own and other’s health and safety and comply with

  NSPCC’s Health and Safety procedures

• A sound understanding of and commitment to equality, diversity, and inclusion.

• To comply with NSPCC Diversity and Equality policies and practices and work in a

  manner which facilitates inclusion.

• To maintain and develop competence in the use of IT systems.

• To manage confidential and/or sensitive information in accordance with NSPCC

  policies and Data Protection and GDPR regulations

Person specification

1. Experience of supporting the successful delivery of influencing campaigns that have had an impact in changing laws and policies

2. Good understanding of the political landscape and policy making processes across the UK

3. Strong verbal and written communication skills including an ability to analyse, respond to and present complex information in clear, accurate and persuasive ways for a wide range of audiences

4. Excellent organisational skills with the ability to organise and plan own work and the work of others to deliver objectives on time

5. Understanding of how to measure campaigning actions and optimise delivery of campaigns

6. Demonstrable ability to establish, nurture and maintain effective relationships and collaborative work with a wide variety of colleagues and stakeholders

7. Experience of working with children and young people and/or those with lived experience as part of the delivery of influencing campaigns

8. Experience of working with media and social media teams to help create communications which support campaigning work

9. Commitment to the NSPCC’s mission to prevent cruelty and stop child abuse and neglect.

Safer Recruitment

As an organisation, we are committed to creating and fostering a culture that promotes safeguarding and the welfare of all children and adults at risk.

Our safer recruitment practices support this by ensuring that there is a consistent and thorough process of obtaining, collating, analysing and evaluating information from and about candidates to ensure that all persons appointed are suitable to work with our children and adults.

The recruitment and selection of our people will be conducted in a professional, timely and responsive manner and in compliance with current employment legislation, and relevant safeguarding legislation and statutory guidance.

Our principles:

• Always seek to recruit the best candidate for the role based on merit including their skills, experience, motivation and competencies. Our robust recruitment and selection process should ensure the identification of the person best suited to the role and the organisation.

• Committed to diversity and equality of opportunity and will interview all applicants (internal and external) who self-declare at application as having a disability and who meet the minimum requirements in the person specification of the vacancy they are applying for.

• We will make reasonable adjustments at all stages of the recruitment process in order to enable successful candidates who declare disabilities to start working or volunteering their time with us.

• Any current member of staff or volunteer who wishes to apply for vacancies and is suitably qualified will be considered and addressed fairly and objectively based on their merit.

• As an organisation committed to safeguarding, we will ensure all under 18’s joining the organisation will have ongoing risk assessments to ensure their role and activities are safe and appropriate.

• All documentation relating to candidates will be treated confidentially in accordance with the GDPR legislation.

Are you an experienced Media or PR professional looking for the next step up in your career?

With homelessness at record highs, St Mungo’s are looking for a politically engaged, creative, and driven Press and PR Officer to amplify our frontline work and influence efforts to end homelessness for good.

You’ll join a small, dynamic team of three and lead all media and PR activity linked to our policy, research, and influencing work. This is a pivotal role in our busy press office, building strong relationships with political and social affairs journalists to share compelling stories from one of the UK’s leading homelessness charities.

In this role, you will:

• Respond to varied media requests, from service visits to commentary on major Government announcements like the National Plan to End Homelessness.
• Create impactful, politically savvy press materials, press releases, opinion pieces, responses to breaking news and letters to editors.
• Advise senior leaders on policy-related PR, providing briefings and practice interviews.
• Use St Mungo’s data creatively to tell stories about issues affecting people experiencing homelessness.
• Support ministerial visits and collaborate with government and sector partners to showcase our frontline work.

About you

You might already be working as a Senior Press and PR officer looking for a new challenge or looking for the next step in your media career. To be successful in this exciting role you will be someone who:

• Thrives under-pressure and can juggle multiple and competing demands, while prioritising your own workload.
• Is a team player who is happy to take ownership of projects and step up to support colleagues at all levels  as required.
• Works with a solution focused approach who can see the ‘big picture’ and problem solve in a pressurised environment.  
• Has excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Has experience of delivering proactive PR and communications campaigns and the ability to deal with crisis communications.

In this role you will be required to work flexibly for at least 2 days per week from our Central Office in London. This allows for training, in person collaboration, team building,  and other relationship building opportunities. We support a flexible approach to work with opportunities for agile working for the rest of your week; from home, or other St Mungo’s London or regional locations. 

While our Central Office is currently based in Tower Hill, London we plan to relocate in the summer of 2026 to a new space in Farringdon, London.

How to apply

To view the job description and guidance on completing your application form, please click on the ‘document’ tab on the advert page on our website.

When you're ready to apply click the ‘Apply Now’ Button to submit your CV and Supporting Statement. 

To find out more and apply please go to the St Mungo’s careers page on our website.

Closing date: 10am 28 January 2026

Interview and assessments on 5-6 February 2026

St Mungo's are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive workplace. We strongly encourage applications from all under-represented groups.

What we offer

• Excellent Development and Growth Opportunities
• A Diverse and Inclusive Workplace
• Great Pay and Other Benefits

Do you want your work to influence Parliament, shape public debate and make a tangible difference to people’s lives?

We are looking for a driven, curious and politically savvy External Affairs Officer to join an excellent team that delivers for our members every day. This role offers a genuine opportunity to help build and strengthen our parliamentary engagement and wider external affairs activity at a pivotal time for social care.

You will join a supportive, intelligent and ambitious team that values evidence, collaboration and impact. We invest in our people, encourage professional development and give you real responsibility and exposure from day one. Your work will help shape national conversations and support a sector that matters.

About us

We are the UK’s membership body for over 2,200 homecare providers. Together, we work to ensure society values and invests in homecare so people can live well at home and flourish in their communities. We support our members with practical tools, trusted insight and strong representation, and we speak with authority to government, Parliament, the media and the wider public.

About the role

As External Affairs Officer, you will sit at the heart of our communications and parliamentary work. You will work closely with colleagues and members to raise awareness of the value of homecare and advance the interests of the sector.

You will help grow our profile in Parliament and the media, support campaigns, and strengthen relationships with MPs, journalists and stakeholders. You will also play a key role in translating member experience into compelling external messages and ensuring members feel heard, supported and represented.

This role suits someone who enjoys joining the dots, spots opportunities quickly and wants to build a career in external affairs, public affairs or communications within a respected, mission-driven organisation.

What you will do

• Track parliamentary activity and political developments, summarising key issues for colleagues and members
• Support parliamentary engagement, including drafting briefings, communications and Parliamentary Questions
• Build and maintain relationships with MPs, parliamentary staff and external stakeholders
• Monitor media coverage and help shape proactive and reactive media opportunities
• Draft clear, engaging content for press releases, member communications and external channels
• Plan and deliver social media activity that strengthens reach, engagement and influence
• Work closely with members to capture case studies, insights and lived experience
• Contribute to blogs, publications, events and conferences, including party conferences
• Support the team with coordination, reporting and continuous improvement

About you

You are bright, motivated and organised, with a strong interest in politics, policy and communications. You enjoy writing, relationship-building and working at pace. You take initiative, think critically and care about delivering high-quality work.

You will bring:

• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with an ability to tailor messages to different audiences
• Experience in public affairs, media, communications or campaigning, or a closely related field
• An understanding of UK parliamentary processes and political engagement
• Confidence using social media to inform, engage and influence
• Strong planning skills and the ability to manage multiple priorities
• An interest in social care, health or public services, or a desire to build expertise in this area

Why join us

If you want a role where your ideas count and your work makes a difference, we would love to hear from you.

How to apply

To apply, please submit your CV and a 2-page covering letter outlining how you meet the person specification.

The Homecare Association is an equal opportunity employer. We value diversity and encourage applications from all qualified candidates.

For the full role profile, and person specification, please go to our website and the 'About Us' page.

Closing date for applications

Monday 26 January 2026 at 11.59pm. We reserve the right to close applications early.

Please note that we are not accepting speculative approaches or CVs from recruitment agencies or third-party recruiters.

Interviews

First stage interviews will be w/c Monday 2 February 2026.

These will be held in person, at our office in London. The closest train station is Waterloo.

The position is offered on a full time basis (36.25 hours per week). This role will be home-based but will require travel to Edinburgh and/or other parts of Scotland and the UK for in-person meetings as required.

Interviews will be held w/c 16th February in person at our Edinburgh offices.

Are you passionate about making a real difference in children's lives through impactful policy and public affairs engagement in Scotland and across the UK? Do you want to influence key decisions on child poverty and social policy while working with Scottish Government, MSPs, and UK-wide stakeholders? If so, we want to hear from you. 

Barnardo's is looking for a Policy & Public Affairs Officer (Scotland) to help shape our influencing in Scotland and strengthen our UK-wide work on child poverty. This is a fantastic opportunity for someone eager to build on their existing knowledge and experience with policy makers in Scotland while playing a pivotal role in creating positive, lasting change for children, young people, and families. 

In this role, you'll work closely with our Senior Policy and Public Affairs Lead (Scotland) to implement our influencing plan. You'll help raise Barnardo's Scotland's profile among key stakeholders and policy influencers. You'll be involved in: 

• Monitoring key developments within the Scottish policy landscape 

• Managing relationships and liaising with stakeholders at all levels 

• Conducting research and producing reports to support our policy objectives 

• Supporting reactive policy work to respond to emerging issues 

• Organising events to showcase Barnardo's vital work and engage decision-makers 

Your efforts will ensure that the voices of children, young people, families, and our services are central to our influencing activities in Scotland.

When completing your application please refer to your skills knowledge and experience in relation to the Person Specification and Job Description. This should be done with an understanding of the context of the service described.

Please note due to the high volume of applications for some posts, this advert might close before the displayed closing date. We recommend that you apply for this role as soon as possible.

The Difference is an education charity, founded to change the story on lost learning. Our vision is to see lost learning falling nationally by 2030 and for schools to be better equipped to support all children, particularly those most vulnerable.

We are a small, growing charity delivering many school leadership programmes, with a growing research and policy arm. We have had excellent early impact but there is work ahead to capture this, share learning with schools and policy-makers, and campaign to lower exclusions across England.

The Role
This is an exciting time to join The Difference as we increase our impact, reach more schools, and develop our influencing strategy. As Head of Policy and Public Affairs you will: 
 

Design and execute an impactful influencing plan 

• Design an influencing plan - Identify via horizon scanning opportunities to influence national policy using open policy windows, or by nudging/creating new ones. 

• Execute an influencing plan - Utilise own assets and assets across the organisation, including the Director team, to deliver against the influencing plan.

• Relationship building - Build highly credible and impactful relationships with a variety of stakeholders who hold power. This will include policy makers in national governments, local government officials, politicians, other third sector organisations and think tanks. 

• Leadership - Play a significant role internally and externally in communicating the organisation’s policy position, raising organisational and own brand.

Build policy capacity and credibility across the organisation

• Policy positions and solutions- Use the concepts, work and experience of The Difference’s programmes to develop new, and refine existing, national policy positions to shift incentives. 

• Thought leadership - Be the organisation’s education policy and political expert. 

• Generating income - Use own and team’s expertise and credibility to generate income via speaking engagements and consultancy to support the organisation’s financial sustainability. 

Person Specification

Essential – We are looking for someone with the following knowledge, experience and skills, though you may be stronger in some areas than others:
 

• Deep expertise in education policy, particularly on the topic of lost learning and the various policy and political debates, including areas of controversy, surrounding this policy topic. 

• Strategic thinker with a proven track record in identifying policy windows and designing activities that lead to meaningful national policy change. 

• Excellent relationship builder, who brings with them their own network of influential stakeholders and has a plan for building new relationships. Adept at navigating tricky situations and explaining complex, sometimes difficult, messages.

• Expert convener with a strong knowledge of the education sector, including which schools, trusts and local authorities are influential and experience in bringing a variety of perspectives together to generate consensus. 

• Persuasive and clear writing style for publication, including reports, press, blogs and ghost writing for members of the senior leadership team, often based on consensus positions, and designed to communicate key messages for impact. 

• Confidence and credibility in communicating nuanced messages in a contentious landscape, in writing, verbally and in public (e.g. on panels), to raise the profile of The Difference. 

• Strong project manager who can design systems and processes to keep self, team and other stakeholders on task and on time. Experience of designing programmes of work and monitoring their effectiveness. Flexible project management style that can adapt to a changing environment. Confidence in managing a variety of stakeholders and supporting them to deliver on time. 

Desired – You are more likely to be successful in your application if you have one or more of the following: 

• Familiarity with The Difference’s programmatic work, theory and practice. 

• Lived experience or insight into the school experiences of marginalised young people (e.g. those with experience of the care system, mental ill health, special educational needs, exclusion, and racism).

We know that some people, especially those from marginalised backgrounds, may hesitate to apply unless they meet every listed requirement. If this role excites you and you believe you could make a strong contribution, we warmly encourage you to apply. 

We actively welcome applications from people whose backgrounds are under-represented in the charity sector, including but not limited to: people from black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds, LGBTQ+ people, people with disabilities, people with experience in the case system, non-graduates and first-in-family graduates.

Job Title: Policy and Public Affairs Officer (Wales)

Directorate: Strategy and Knowledge

Team/Department:  Policy and Public Affairs

Salary range: £ 28,337 - £33,301 (recruitment is typically at the bottom of the range)

Location: Cardiff (hybrid working, with at least one day per week in the Cardiff office). The post holder maybe expected to travel to locations across the UK to support business needs, as and when required.

Working hours: 35 hours per week

Context and Background

The NSPCC’s vision is that together, we can stop child abuse and neglect. Through the collective power of our staff, volunteers, supporters, partners, and over 100 years of experience we will move closer to achieving that vision.

We launched our ten-year strategy in 2021, which is centred around three impact goals. This is the difference we want to make by 2031:

1.  Everyone plays their part to prevent child abuse: we’ll work together to make it easier for everyone to play their part and create a social safety net that prevents child abuse and neglect.
2. Every child is safe online: together, we’ll transform the online world, so it’s safe for every child to go online.
3. Children feel safe, listened to and supported: more children will be able to speak out, so they feel safe, listened to and understood – and abuse doesn’t shape their future.

The Policy and Public Affairs team works to ensure that national laws, policies and guidance across the UK are fit-for-purpose in preventing cruelty to children. We work across the four nations of the UK. We develop and maintain the NSPCC’s positions on key public policy issues, drawing on research and policy analysis and feed in organisational insight and expertise gained through our services. We use our evidence-based positions to shape and influence national policy discussions on issues affecting child protection and manage the NSPCC’s political relations and work with governments, legislatures and stakeholders across the UK.

We focus on five key policy priorities: the child protection system and children’s social care; early years and health; child sexual abuse; online safety; and young victims and witnesses.

Job purpose

We are recruiting a Policy and Public Affairs Officer to contribute to the work of the Wales Policy and Public Affairs team in delivering real change and reform in the best interests of children.

The Policy and Public Affairs Officer will be responsible for undertaking policy work to achieve the NSPCC’s strategic goals, using their skills and experience to strengthen the NSPCC’s impact on public policy, and in doing so make a significant contribution to keeping children safe. The post holder will support the delivery of a range of policy-focused projects both within the Wales policy team, and across the wider UK policy team:

• Within the Wales team, the Officer will research and help build persuasive, evidence-based policy positions, support the NSPCC’s influencing activity as appropriate, and write consultations and impactful briefings. They will play a key role in supporting policy analysis, policy research and public affairs activity with a range of external stakeholders, including relevant elected members and government officials. The ability to communicate in Welsh is desirable for this role.
• Across the wider UK team, the Officer will also support policy colleagues working on one or more of our policy priority areas (which are focussed on: child protection; child sexual abuse; early years; online safety; young victims and witnesses). The post holder will help to coordinate collaboration across the teams, facilitate information-sharing and support the delivery of relevant cross-nation projects

Key relationships - Internal

• Reports to the Policy and Public Affairs Manager Wales)
• Colleagues in the wider Policy and Public Affairs and Campaigns teams across the UK
• Colleagues in the Strategy and Knowledge directorate
• Colleagues in the Media team
• Colleagues in the Services directorate (to ensure policy development is informed by experiences and learning from our frontline professionals/ volunteers)
• Colleagues working with children and young people (to ensure the experiences and voices of young people are embedded in policy and influencing work)

Key relationships - External

• Key civil servants and policy advisers in Welsh Government
• Elected representatives in the Senedd and local government structures
• Colleagues in relevant voluntary and statutory agencies
• Practitioner bodies
• Key academics, researchers and research networks

Main duties and responsibilities

• Develop and maintain expertise on key policy areas, enabling the NSPCC to predict and react to changes in the external environment.
• Scope, develop and refine key policies on priority issues, in line with the NSPCC’s strategic goals and outcomes.
• Support the smooth running of one of more NSPCC policy workstreams, supporting effective four-nations collaboration
• Prepare high-quality briefings, summaries and papers for internal and external audiences.
• Draft responses to government consultations and other public policy initiatives.
• Use project management skills to plan effectively the delivery of policy development activity and aligned public affairs activities.
• Undertake policy research and analysis, using a wide range of primary and secondary sources of evidence (such as policy documents, academic literature, survey data and qualitative data from interviews and focus groups), to develop high impact, credible policy positions
• Be a point of contact for internal and external requests for information and advice on NSPCC’s positions public positions
• Coordinate the delivery of NSPCC policy events and conferences (working with colleagues from across the organisation) and represent the NSPCC at external events.

Responsibilities for all Staff within the Strategy and Knowledge Directorate

There is a set of responsibilities for all staff within each directorate.

• A commitment to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and young people
• To carry out the responsibilities of the post in a manner consistent with promoting equality and diversity, and which demonstrates respect for children’s rights
• To participate actively in regular department and team meetings, contributing to strategy, discussions and decisions
• To maintain an awareness of own and other’s health and safety and comply with the NSPCC’s Health and Safety policy and procedures
• A willingness to take a flexible approach to work.

Person specification

1.  A good understanding of public policy relating to the NSPCC’s work, child protection issues and knowledge of the wider legal and political context in Wales.
2. Demonstrable public affairs skills, with good knowledge of policymaking and parliamentary processes in Wales and experience of successfully influencing government or other policymakers.
3. Proven policy development and policy research skills, with experience of collecting and analysing data, forming robust, evidence-based policy positions, and clearly presenting findings to make a clear and compelling case for policy and legislative change. 
4. Strong verbal and written communication skills including the ability to write clearly, concisely, and persuasively in a variety of formats for a variety of audiences and deal effectively, efficiently and appropriately with internal and external stakeholders.
5. Good organisational and project management skills, with demonstrable experience of delivering on competing priorities within a time-pressured environment.
6. Confidence in working as part of a team, with experience of working collaboratively with colleagues to help ensure the successful delivery of projects.
7. Experience of organising and successfully delivering external influencing events
8. Support for the NSPCC’s mission and values

Safer Recruitment

As an organisation, we are committed to creating and fostering a culture that promotes safeguarding and the welfare of all children and adults at risk.

Our safer recruitment practices support this by ensuring that there is a consistent and thorough process of obtaining, collating, analysing and evaluating information from and about candidates to ensure that all persons appointed are suitable to work with our children and adults.

The recruitment and selection of our people will be conducted in a professional, timely and responsive manner and in compliance with current employment legislation, and relevant safeguarding legislation and statutory guidance.

Our principles:

• Always seek to recruit the best candidate for the role based on merit including their skills, experience, motivation and competencies. Our robust recruitment and selection process should ensure the identification of the person best suited to the role and the organisation.
• Committed to diversity and equality of opportunity and will interview all applicants (internal and external) who self-declare at application as having a disability and who meet the minimum requirements in the person specification of the vacancy they are applying for.
• We will make reasonable adjustments at all stages of the recruitment process in order to enable successful candidates who declare disabilities to start working or volunteering their time with us.
• Any current member of staff or volunteer who wishes to apply for vacancies and is suitably qualified will be considered and addressed fairly and objectively based on their merit.
• As an organisation committed to safeguarding, we will ensure all under 18’s joining the organisation will have ongoing risk assessments to ensure their role and activities are safe and appropriate.
• All documentation relating to candidates will be treated confidentially in accordance with the GDPR legislation.

We are really excited to have welcomed our new Director of Income Generation and Development to Brain Tumour Research this month, a great new start for the new year!​

​​This is a fantastic time to be joining our ambitious and growing charity and we are keen to share this with likeminded and talented individuals.​

We currently have an opening for a Community Fundraiser, to be based in the Mid-North Wales and West Midlands region.​​

​As the Community Fundraiser covering Mid-North Wales and West Midlands, you will play a crucial role in helping the charity meet its strategic plans and objectives, which include campaigning to increase the national investment in brain tumour research to £35 million per year, while fundraising to create a network of seven sustainable Brain Tumour Research Centres of Excellence across the UK.​

​​Your role will be to generate and grow our income through community fundraising activities, contributing to a regional team target of more than £1 million.​​

• Do you want to make a difference in one of the most innovative and exciting medical research fundraising charities in the UK?
• ​​Do you live in Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire,​Warwickshire, West Midlands, Worcestershire or Mid-North Wales?​
• Do you have at least one years' experience of working in a professional Community Fundraising position?​​Have you answered Yes to these questions?​
• Does this sound like the opportunity to really get 2026 off to an amazing start? ​​​

If you are excited to learn more about this position, please take a read through our recruitment pack provided with this advert.​​

If you have the skills and ambition that we are looking for we welcome your application.  We are really looking forward to welcoming a new member to our team!

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We are asking for a CV as the first step but applicants may be asked to provide a targeted covering letter as part of the selection process.  Interviews will be conducted during the application window as appropriate, and will consist of a first interview via MS Teams, progressing, if successful to a face to face second interview, held at our offices in Milton Keynes.​

​We reserve the right to close the application window early and advise candidates to apply in good time to avoid disappointment.​

We are looking for people who share our passion for finding a cure for brain tumours and who have the skills and experience to make a difference. We welcome applications from candidates of all backgrounds, cultures, genders, sexual orientations, abilities, and ages. We believe that diversity enriches our organisation and helps us achieve our mission. We are committed to providing an inclusive and supportive environment where everyone can be themselves and contribute to our vision.

This is an exciting opportunity to get experience with a large and growing charity with an engaged and fun team. You will be a key part of our mission to ​find a cure for all types of brain tumours.​

​Our Systems Manager is being seconded to an internal project for the next 6-9 months and so we are seeking an experienced IT professional to join our team for an interim basis for six months with the possibility of a three month extension.​​​​

In this role you will you lead a team of three people in supporting our staff team of 70 by providing reliable, effective and efficient IT systems and equipment. This include ​the monitoring and maintenance of our IT software and, with external support, our IT hardware. ​​

You will line manage the Database Assistant ​and Data Processing Assistant.

​

​If you are excited to learn more about this position, please take a read through our recruitment pack provided in the advert.

​

If you have the skills and ambition that we are looking for we welcome your application. ​ We are really looking forward to welcoming a new member to our team!​​​

We are asking for a CV as the first step but applicants may be asked to provide a targeted covering letter as part of the selection process. ​

Interviews will be conducted during the application window as appropriate, and will consist of a first interview via MS Teams, progressing, if successful to a face to face second interview, held at our offices in Milton Keynes.​

​

We reserve the right to close the application window early and advise candidates to apply in good time to avoid disappointment.​

We are looking for people who share our passion for finding a cure for brain tumours and who have the skills and experience to make a difference. We welcome applications from candidates of all backgrounds, cultures, genders, sexual orientations, abilities, and ages. We believe that diversity enriches our organisation and helps us achieve our mission. We are committed to providing an inclusive and supportive environment where everyone can be themselves and contribute to our vision.

The Organisation

Family Fund is the UK’s largest charity supporting low-income families raising disabled or seriously ill children and young people.

We help thousands of families every year with essential grants, services and practical support. But we do much more than that. We champion families’ voices, challenge inequality and help shape the conversation on disability, childhood illness and disadvantage. 

The Role 

This is an exciting opportunity to shape how Family Fund connects with people across the UK. As a newly created role, it offers real scope to define and develop the function, while playing a central role in strengthening the organisation’s voice and influence.

We are looking for a bold, creative Group Director of External Affairs to join our Senior Leadership Team. At a time when families need us more than ever, you will raise Family Fund’s national profile and influence, positioning the organisation as a trusted, evidence led voice on childhood disability, serious illness and the broader challenges facing low-income families. You will build and sustain strong relationships with policymakers, funders, and the public ensuring the organisation secures the visibility, support, and resources needed to drive lasting change for the families we serve.

You will lead an energetic, specialist team spanning communications, media, public affairs, partnerships and research, bringing these areas together through a joined up external engagement strategy that delivers real impact.

Some key responsibilities include:

• Lead our communications, media, public affairs, partnerships and research teams
• Raise Family Fund’s profile as a trusted national voice 
• Build strong relationships with policymakers, media, funders and partners 
• Help drive real change for families through influence and insight

Who we’re looking for 

We are looking for an experienced leader who loves the power of communication, influence and connection.

Key attributes will include:

• Senior experience in external affairs, communications or public affairs 
• A strong track record of influencing policy and engaging senior stakeholders 
• Experience leading teams and working at senior level 
• A warm, confident communication style and great relationship skills 
• A real passion for Family Fund’s mission and social justice

This is an exciting, high impact role with the chance to make a genuine difference to families across the UK. 

Candidate Briefing Pack

For comprehensive information about Family Fund, the role responsibilities and the person we are looking for, please download the Candidate Briefing Pack.

How to Apply

If you would like to apply for this fantastic opportunity, please provide the following with your application:

• An up-to-date CV
• A supporting statement of no more than 2 sides of A4, outlining your experience, motivations and suitability for the role.

All applications are being handled by our recruitment partner, Russam. All applications should be uploaded via the Russam website.

If you have any difficulty uploading your application or if you would like to have an informal and confidential discussion about the role, please contact Melissa Baxter - Managing Partner, Charities at Russam.

Closing date for applications: Monday 2nd February 2026
Initial interviews with Russam: 17th and 18th February 2026
Interviews with Family Fund: 4th, 5th and 6th March 2026

Flexibility will be provided if needed - do let us know as soon as possible if you are unavailable on these dates.

We commit to inclusion, equality and diversity and we welcome applications from all parts of the community. Family Fund is a Disability Confident Leader. We will invite to interview all disabled applicants who meet the requirements for the role. If you have a disability, and are happy to let us know, please highlight this in your covering letter. We have also signed the Armed Forces Covenant, and we welcome applications from the Armed Forces Community. 

About Woman’s Trust

The charity was established in 1996 to meet the gap in specialist mental health services. Woman’s Trust is led by and for women and aims to ensure that women affected by domestic abuse can live a life free from further harm and abuse. Our approach is trauma-informed and person-centred, empowering survivors on their journey to recovery from the trauma. We are committed to a positive, inclusive and equitable environment for our staff, service users and volunteers.

Alongside delivering our existing 1-1 counselling, self-development workshops and therapeutic support groups for women who have experienced domestic abuse, we are focused on developing our innovative mental health services for young women and girls, delivering new peer-led support groups and providing therapeutic groups to children and their mothers. We are also committed to developing further awareness-raising workshops and training for professionals, building on our research and policy to improve systems nationally.

Background

The lack of recognition of domestic abuse as a mental health issue within the NHS leads to delayed and inadequate support for survivors. This gap in understanding and response often result in survivors only being able to access and receive appropriate care when their mental health deteriorates to the point of requiring secondary mental health services (Women’s Aid 2021).  Meta analysis suggests that CBT, one of the NHS’s most prescribed approaches for mental ill-health, is not the best approach for domestic abuse survivors as it does not recognise and take into account the external factors and dynamics of abuse, specifically power and control, the role of the perpetrator and the resulting trauma for the survivor.

In March 2025, WT published its first major report, ‘Living Without Hope’ which consolidates existing and increasing academic, government and sector research demonstrating the significant impact of domestic abuse on women’s mental health. Outlining the current agency responses at national, regional and local levels and the gaps in provision; the report also makes recommendations for change and improvement across the VAWG and health sectors.

Building on the research highlighted in our ‘Living Without Hope’ report, WT has secured funding to work with key stakeholders in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea to examine the links between domestic abuse and mental health, the specific experiences of Arab and Moroccan women and their access to safe, appropriate services that meet their needs.

Purpose

This is an exciting new role and will be focused on developing Woman’s Trust’s (WT) response to addressing the systemic issues female survivors of domestic abuse face when trying to access support.

Working with key stakeholders in the London Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (LBKC) and specifically Al-Hasniya to ensure that professionals have a clearer understanding of the link between domestic abuse and mental health and its impact on survivors.

Contract & hours: Part-time, 22.5 hours per week (0.6 FTE). Fixed term as dependant on funding.

Location: Woman’s Trust premises including co-location with statutory partners and community partnership locations.

Closing date: 10 February 2026.

Interviews: 18 February 2026.

Please note, this post is open to female applicants only – Equality Act 2010, Schedule 9, Part 1 applies.

About Mesothelioma UK

Mesothelioma UK is a national charity dedicated to supporting anyone affected by mesothelioma, a rare and aggressive form of cancer caused primarily by asbestos exposure. Our mission is to help people live better and longer, champion equitable access to improved treatments, advance research, and amplify the voices of those living with mesothelioma. We are proud to provide specialist nursing, information, research, and advocacy services across the UK.

The Opportunity

As our founder and current CEO steps down, we are seeking a visionary and values-driven Chief Executive to lead Mesothelioma UK into its next chapter. This is a pivotal moment for the charity, offering the chance to build on our strong foundations and drive forward our ambitious strategy to improve outcomes for all those affected by mesothelioma.

About the Role

Reporting to the Board of Trustees, the Chief Executive will:

• Inspire and lead a high-performing team, including our unique NHS-based nursing network.
• Develop and deliver organisational strategy and operational plans.
• Ensure robust financial management and income generation.
• Build strong relationships with stakeholders including the NHS, donors, partners, and research teams.
• Act as an ambassador for the charity, raising our national and international profile.
• Uphold our commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion.

About You

We are looking for an exceptional leader who brings:

• Proven experience at CEO, Director, or equivalent senior level in a non-profit or health sector environment.
• A track record in leadership, strategic planning, financial management, governance and fundraising.
• Strong people management and stakeholder engagement skills.
• Passion for our mission and values, with high ethical standards and integrity.
• The ability to inspire, motivate, and unite staff, volunteers, and partners.

What We Offer

• Salary circa £75,000 (negotiable, dependent on experience)
• 10% employer pension contribution
• Health Cash Plan & Employee Assistance Programme
• Flexible working arrangements
• The chance to make a profound difference to people’s lives