Senior public affair officer jobs

We are SafeLives, the UK-wide charity dedicated to ending domestic abuse, for everyone and for good.

We work with organisations across the UK to transform the response to domestic abuse. We want what you would want for your best friend. We listen to survivors, putting their voices at the heart of our thinking. We look at the whole picture for each individual and family to get the right help at the right time to make families everywhere safe and well. And we challenge perpetrators to change, asking ‘why doesn’t he stop?’ rather than ‘why doesn’t she leave?’ This applies whatever the gender of the victim or perpetrator and whatever the nature of their relationship.

Last year alone, nearly 13,500 professionals received our training. Over 70,000 adults at risk of serious harm or murder and more than 85,000 children received support through dedicated multi-agency support designed by us and delivered with partners. In the last four years, over 2,000 perpetrators have been challenged and supported to change by interventions we created with partners, and that’s just the start.

Together we can end domestic abuse. Forever. For everyone.

This is a broad and varied role across Policy, Public Affairs and Communications, with a specific focus on the Drive Project:

The Drive Project is the Drive Partnership’s flagship intervention for high-risk, high-harm and serial perpetrators of domestic abuse. The core mission of the Drive Project is to stop the cycle of domestic abuse and increase the immediate and long-term safety of adult and child victim-survivors. The Drive Project does this by partnering with agencies and local perpetrator services to disrupt, challenge, and change the behaviour of high-risk, high-harm and serial perpetrators, and working closely with IDVAs and victim-survivor services to always centre the safety and needs of victim-survivors, in line with the Respect Standard.

Key Duties and Responsibilities

Communications

• Support the Drive Partnership’s communications and stakeholder engagement regarding the Drive Project.
• Lead central support on communications for Drive Project partners and build strong working relationships across network, ensuring both policy and communications expertise and input flows both ways.
• Work closely with internal and external partner colleagues to support the safe and effective roll-out of the Drive Project across England and Wales.
• Support the delivery of the Drive Partnership’s communications plan, including website content, social media, newsletters, and events.
• Develop and maintain communications and branding guidelines and support the Drive Partnership team and network of partners to use correctly.
• Support the Policy, Public Affairs and Communications Manager in developing media relations, including media enquiries, drafting press releases and responses.
• Ensure the website is fit for purpose and up to date with relevant information and news.
• Ensure victim-survivor voice guides our communications thinking and output - engaging in a compassionate, considerate and effective way with victim-survivors through Pioneer interaction, colleagues and any other interaction we have in our daily work.
• Ensure service user (perpetrator) input is collated and utilised in a responsible and safe way – always centring victim-survivors and considering their safety within this work.
• Project and promote our values – through considered language, inclusivity and equality in Drive Partnership communications.

Policy and Public Affairs

• Support the Policy, Public Affairs and Communications Manager to develop and promote policy positions, drawing on the expertise of the partnership.
• Lead and coordinate policy input into the Government’s strategic approach to perpetrators, particularly through influencing on the Drive Partnership’s key recommendations within its Call for Further Action.
• Identify and act on policy opportunities to promote best practice in perpetrator interventions – including both risk management and behaviour change, such as select committee enquiries, consultations, Bills, news developments.
• Build relationships with politicians, voluntary sector, civil servants and professional bodies, deputising for the Policy, Public Affairs and Communications Manager in key meetings where required.
• Support the coordination of sector and stakeholder forums to enhance collaboration towards a more strategic approach to perpetrators of domestic abuse.

Internal

• Play a role in the development of the team, nurturing and drawing on the talents of others.
• Maintain an accurate and secure audit trail of all relevant communication and ensure that all work is compliant with data protection law.
• Engage in a compassionate, considerate and effective way with all victim-survivors through Pioneer interaction, colleagues and any other interaction we have in our daily work.
• Undertake any other duties as may reasonably be required.

Person Specification

Experience

Experience of communications planning and delivery:

• Digital communication and website management (E)
• Using data and evidence in communications (E)
• Experience in reactive and crisis communications (D)
• Experience of working with the media and journalists (D)
• Experience of developing a communications plan (D)
• Creative and innovative approach to presenting information across different formats and channels, for a range of audiences (D)

Experience of working with a range of internal and external stakeholders to influence policy:

• Experience of working in coalitions or partnerships (E)
• Experience of building and maintaining good relationships with a range of stakeholders (E)
• Experience working with policymakers/parliamentarians to influence policy (D)
• Experience of working with people with lived experience of the issue at hand (D)

Skills

• Creativity and fluency
• Organisational skills

Competencies

• Teamwork and collaboration
• Communication and relationship management
• Delivering quality
• Goal orientation
• Influence

At the Nuffield Council on Bioethics (NCOB), we are on a mission to place ethics at the centre of decisions regarding biomedicine and health so that we all benefit. We are looking for an enthusiastic, creative, and organised communications all-rounder to support our communication and engagement activities and assist in our mission to ‘Make Ethics Matter’.

The Communications and Engagement Officer role combines work on events, communications, stakeholder management and public affairs, all seeking to build audience engagement and increase the profile and influence of the NCOB.

This is an important role within our Executive team, working across our priority areas and workstreams, with range of stakeholders, and utilising a variety of channels including in-person and online events, website, email, social media and traditional media.

The Communications and Engagement Officer reports to the Senior Communications Manager and works closely with them across all communications functions. This post will have responsibility for updating our website, running our social media channels, producing internal and external newsletters and championing and maintaining our brand identity. The post holder will also help to deliver our media relations and policy influencing activities, playing an active role in delivering media campaigns and in supporting our Parliamentary and Government engagement through working closely with the Public Affairs Manager.

We are looking for someone with experience across the communications and engagement mix, including in events and internal communications, stakeholder management and digital and social media content creation. Our work focuses on research and policy in biomedicine, health and life sciences, and while you don’t need to be an expert in those areas, you should have an enthusiasm to develop knowledge of them and the ability to quickly get to grips with the landscape in which the NCOB operates, our strategy and our target audiences. 

You will enjoy working in a team environment and will have excellent written and verbal communication skills. You will be confident working with a range of stakeholders, ranging from subject specialists and academics to policy makers, journalists and members of the public. We are seeking someone who can think creatively about communicating complex and technical research and can work independently on a range of projects. You will be highly organised, with good project management skills and the ability to prioritise and work across several projects at once. 

You will have a creative mind, strong news sense and ability to tailor communications to the appropriate audience. You will be able to turn your hand to writing newsletter copy, stakeholder emails, social posts and event materials / briefings to a high standard. You will be able to distil key messages from our outputs and use them to create content for a range of communication channels and audiences. 

Ideally, you will have some experience of managing both online and face-to-face events. You will be confident working with audio visual equipment and systems and have experience of using data for analysis, reporting and evaluation. 

Stakeholder engagement is a big part of the role, so you will need some knowledge and experience of using databases/CRM systems to manage and report on stakeholder communications.

This is an excellent opportunity for someone looking to develop their skills across the full range of communications and engagement, working on projects and campaigns in the high-profile area of bioethics, and supporting our ambitious policy-influencing agenda. 

For further information about the role, please click through to the vacancy listing on our website.

About us

The Nuffield Council on Bioethics is a leading independent policy and research centre, and the foremost bioethics body in the UK.

For over thirty years we have tackled some of the most complex and controversial bioethical issues facing society. We are funded jointly by the Nuffield Foundation, Wellcome and the Medical Research Council. 

We aim to inform policy and public debate through timely consideration of the ethical questions raised by biological and medical research so that the benefits to society are realised in a way that is consistent with public values. Our work has led to shifts in public understanding and policy change on topics ranging from assisted reproduction and genome editing to managing the disagreements that arise in the care of critically ill children. 

We value diversity in background, skills, perspectives and life experiences. 

Further information and how to apply

For further information about the role, please click through to the vacancy listing on our website. The closing date for applications is 09:30am (BST) on Tuesday 9th June 2026.

We are committed to inclusive working practices and during the application process we commit to:

• As a Disability Confident employer, we will offer an interview to a fair and proportionate number of disabled applicants that meet the essential criteria for the job. 
• making any reasonable adjustments – for example providing documents in different formats, arranging for a sign language interpreter for interviews etc
• paying for travel costs (and any childcare or care costs) for interviews where in-person attendance is required

Our benefits package includes:

• Genuine flexibility - we are open to requests for part-time hours, compressed working weeks, or job shares. 
• 28 days holiday per annum and all public holidays, with the option to buy or sell up to 5 days (prorated for part time staff).
• A salary exchange pension scheme that offers employer contributions of up to 11%. 
• Life assurance scheme. 
• Family leave policies that provide an enhanced level of pay. 
• Cycle to work scheme and loans towards season tickets. 
• Regular opportunities for learning and development – including coaching, mentoring, and dedicated reading days for personal development and reflection. 
• Support with your physical, mental and financial wellbeing including an employee assistance provider, a private GP service, personal health reviews with Bupa, a will and funeral planning service and a staff network of trained Mental Health First Aiders. 
• A warm and welcoming workplace culture, with active peer groups and social networks to help you connect and belong. 

Policy and Public Affairs Manager (England)

Reporting to: Head of Policy and Public Affairs

Line Management: 1 Policy and Public Affairs Officer England

Location of work: Remote but role holder will ideally be London-based to be able to frequently commute for meetings/ events at Westminster. The role may involve also some infrequent travel across the UK.

Contract type: Full-time, 35 hours per week, although flexible/ compressed hours will be considered. The role will require occasional evening and weekend work.

Contract Length: Permanent

Salary: £42,000

BACKGROUND

Magic Breakfast is the UK’s leading school breakfast charity and makes a difference to over 350,000 children and young people every day by offering breakfasts and expert advice to tackle child morning hunger in schools across England and Scotland.

This is an exciting time for Magic Breakfast as the benefits of school breakfast provision are increasingly recognised by policymakers, educators and the public. The Policy and Public Affairs (PPA) Team is central to this work. And through our new organisational strategy, Nourishing Futures, the work of the PPA Team is growing to meet our advocacy ambition to expand school breakfast provision and deliver our vision which would see every child in the UK nourished, empowered and thriving.

JOB PURPOSE

The role of the Policy and Public Affairs Manager is a high-impact role, central to designing and delivering Magic Breakfast’s national policy and public affairs strategy in England. The role holder will lead the development of evidence-based policy positions and work collaboratively to drive forward strategic, integrated and impactful advocacy campaigns to successfully influence decision-makers, policy change, and funding frameworks aligned with our key objectives. Specifically, you will also lead the design and implementation of our new workstream to expand school breakfast provision to secondary schools and early years settings, alongside our work to ensure the effective implementation of the Free Breakfast Club Programme.

More broadly, you will keep abreast of political developments relevant to Magic Breakfast - proactively identifying opportunities to respond, influence and shape the debate across the school food system and provide strategic, analytical and timely advice to the Senior Leadership Team.

Using your excellent communication skills, you will be able to translate complex policy into tailored and effective communications, policy briefings, positions and submissions, and will play a lead role in confidently engaging external stakeholders including UK Government Ministers, Parliamentarians, special advisers, officials and sector partners.

We are looking for someone who enjoys collaboration, who shares our passion for driving systematic change, and who can use their experience to navigate, respond to, and influence the fast-moving political environment to deliver lasting and meaningful change. You’ll be part of a collaborative and ambitious organisation, working at the intersection of policy, practice and impact – putting children and young people at the heart of everything we do and helping to ensure every child starts their day nourished, empowered and ready to thrive.

KEY RESPONSOBILITIES

• Lead the policy development process in consultation with cross-organisational teams and external organisations to develop clear, evidence-based policy recommendations and positions.

• Build and maintain strong relationships with UK Government Ministers, Parliamentarians, Special Advisers, officials and sector organisations, including conducting stakeholder mapping and power analysis to identify key routes to influence.

• Design, lead and implement integrated advocacy campaigns to deliver maximum impact in collaboration with cross-organisational teams.

• Work closely with colleagues to share expertise and intelligence, inform and shape research areas, support campaign activities aligned with advocacy objectives, and respond proactively to live developments across the organisation.

• Line manage and support the development of the Public Affairs Officer.

• Strong ability to translate complex policy into clear, persuasive communications tailored to specific audiences to deliver maximum impact.

Please read the full job description attached below. 

WHAT WE OFFER

At Magic Breakfast we value our employees and work hard to develop offer a supportive, respectful culture which enables everyone to thrive.

Please see our job pack below

Please see our website

APPLICATION PROCCESS

Should you wish to discuss the role before applying please email our People and Culture Team, HR @ magicbreakfast .com

Shortlisting: w/c 25th and 26th May

Interview 1: w/c 1st and 2nd June

Interview 2: w/c 8th and 11th June

We reserve the right to close the vacancy early if a high volume of applications are received. This is to ensure that we can manage application levels whilst maintaining a positive candidate experience. Unfortunately, once a vacancy has closed, we are unable to consider further applications.

We are looking for an experienced and connected Policy and Public Affairs Adviser to lead the development of this function within the organisation. Reporting Directly to the CEO you will engage with teams and partners to design both an on-going influencing strategy and the future shape of this work in coming years.

Key Responsibilities:

· Undertake internal opportunities review to identify key work strands.

· Undertake external opportunities review to identify both short term and long-term areas for influence.

· Develop long term policy and influencing strategy in conjunction with the Senior Leadership Team (SLT).

· Review and recommend future staffing structure and reporting lines as part of the above.

· Act as lead for existing activity in this area including attending meetings with MPs, Peers and civil servant, working with internal teams to provide accurate briefing information and supporting other appropriate spokespeople across the organisation.

· Identify and Lead on the formulation of appropriate evidence-based policy positions and responses.

· Work with staff and our growing Public and Patient Network (PPN) to ensure those with lived experience have a meaningful voice in the above activity.

Key requirements:

Required:

• Experience of developing and delivering campaigns that include influencing and engaging with policy makers, MPs, Peers and other relevant stakeholders.
• Strong understanding of the legislative process in England (Scotland and Wales desirable).
• Ability to quickly develop effective relationships with internal and external stakeholders.
• Demonstrable ability of analysis of information that can be communicated to a variety of audiences.
• Experience of developing policy positions and briefings, along with responding to consultations.
• Ability to effectively manage competing interests and views to achieve the aims of the organisation.
• Excellent communication and teamwork skills.

Depending on location, this role will require regular travel to the Leeds Office and Westminster.

Desirable:

• Experience of working in a charity.

Personal Attributes:

• Strategic thinker
• Passionate about our cause and mission.
• Organised and reliable with a collaborative mindset.
• Open to feedback and committed to continuous improvement.

What We Offer:

• The opportunity to contribute to a respected national charity.
• A supportive and collaborative working environment.
• Professional development and learning opportunities.
• Flexible or hybrid working options (where applicable).
• Generous holiday allowance and staff benefits package.

Are you passionate about building relationships to drive meaningful change to make a real difference in people’s lives? Samaritans is the UK and Ireland’s leading suicide prevention charity. While we are best known for listening to those who need us, we also work to influence change through our advocacy campaigning and relationships with political stakeholders.​

We are looking for a Public Affairs and Campaigns Officer to join our team and help influence decision makers and mobilise our campaigners to achieve our vision of fewer lives lost to suicide. You’ll play a pivotal role in delivering inspiring public affairs and advocacy campaign activity that help achieve our policy and influencing aims, resulting in lasting system change.​

​

About the Role

As Public Affairs and Campaigns Officer, you will lead on the development and delivery of impactful advocacy campaigns and public affairs activity, managing supporter journeys and mobilisation, as well as political engagement. It involves building strong relationships with parliamentarians, Samaritans branches and people with lived experience, while producing high‑quality campaign actions, briefings, events, and intelligence to influence change.

​

Contract

£30,000-£33,000 per annum plus benefits

Full Time (35hrs per week)

Permanent

Hybrid working with link to Ewell office

In-person working: Meeting in person and working collaboratively are things we value. We work in person around 2 days per month. This role will also involve regular travel to Westminster.

We are passionate about flexible working, talk to us about your preferences 

​

What You’ll Do

• Develop and deliver effective advocacy campaign actions.
• Manage campaign data, mailing lists and inboxes.
• Support strategy development for campaigns and lead community mobilisation.
• Promote our campaigning work internally and externally.
• Build and maintain public affairs relationships, particularly with parliamentarians.
• Monitor parliamentary developments and identify opportunities for influencing.
• Coordinate political engagement events.
• Provide secretariat support to relevant APPGs.

​

What You’ll Bring

• Strong experience designing impactful advocacy campaigns.
• Solid understanding of public affairs and the Westminster environment.
• Excellent communication, facilitation and relationship‑building skills.
• Highly organised, proactive and adaptable, with strong project and time‑management skills.
• (Desirable) Knowledge of suicide prevention and mental health policy, local and regional political structures, and experience within complex service‑delivery charities.​

Full Job Description and Person Specification attached

​​

Why Samaritans?

At Samaritans, you’ll be part of a people-first organisation deeply committed to inclusion, compassion and learning. You’ll contribute to a team where your voice matters, your expertise makes a difference, and your work helps save lives.​

We welcome applications from individuals with lived experience and encourage those from underrepresented communities to apply. We are committed to creating an environment where all our people feel seen, heard and supported.​

You’ll join a values-led organisation with a powerful mission and a collaborative culture. We offer flexible hybrid working, excellent benefits, and the chance to make a tangible difference in suicide prevention across the UK and Ireland.​

For further information about Samaritans, including our charity structure, values, employee benefits, and application process, please read our recruitment brochure available here. You can also visit our careers website to access this.​

We recognise the enormous benefits and the social justice imperatives of ensuring diversity at every level of our organisation. Samaritans is wholly committed to inclusion and diversity and to building a culture and environment where everyone is appreciated for the unique person they are. To ensure Samaritans is representative of those we support and who support us, we particularly welcome applications from disabled, racialised minority and LGBTQ+ candidates, as these people are under-represented at Samaritans.​

​

Apply now

If this sounds like the opportunity for you, please apply. You will be asked to some answer short application questions (please keep your answers to max 300 words) and to upload your CV.​

Applications close:09:00am on Tuesday 2nd June 

Interviews: w/c 15th June 

​

At Samaritans, human connection is at the heart of everything we do.

We do not use AI at any stage during the selection process. Your application will always be carefully reviewed by the recruiting manager or a member of the Talent Attraction Team.

We kindly ask that you avoid using AI tools to generate your application or interview answers. We want to hear your own ideas, insights, and writing style so your unique strengths can shine through.

Be part of something extraordinary at Epilepsy Society. We are seeking a values driven Policy & Public Affairs Manager to join a charity that provides world leading support for people with epilepsy through Care, Research and Advocacy.

About the role

Epilepsy Society is a dynamic charity with ambitious plans to revolutionise the lives of people through advocacy, research and care.

We are looking for someone to join our award-winning campaigns team and help us to progress change through political engagement at both national and local level. We have an impressive track record of working with government, locally elected politicians, professional organisations, patient stakeholder groups and other charities in the sector on a range of issues which affect people with epilepsy.

Our recent work includes our successful Zach’s Law campaign. This role is an exciting opportunity to help bring about further change that will make a real difference to the lives of people with epilepsy. 

The postholder will develop an effective programme of policy and public affairs work across the UK to have maximum impact for people with epilepsy and to raise the public profile of epilepsy. 

We seek someone with a degree or relevant experience in political or public affairs, extensive experience of influencing, organising campaigns and major events and negotiating at a senior level. You will be required to have a detailed level of understanding of government politics and the charity sector and an empathy to the cause.

Please download the recruitment pack attached to view the full job description and essential criteria. 

The post holders should demonstrate our people values of CAIRO (Caring, Accountable, Improving, Respectful and Open.

Some information about us

The Epilepsy Society’s Vision is a full life for everyone affected by epilepsy. We want everyone affected by epilepsy to have the best opportunity for a full life - as free from seizures as possible. We set out to make a difference to every person affected by epilepsy whatever their background, however seriously it impacts on their life, and whether they have the condition themselves or are close to someone with epilepsy.

What we can offer

•    27 days annual leave + bank holidays, with the ability to buy and sell annual leave 
•    A generous Employee Referral Scheme (refer a friend and earn up to £150) 
•    Length of service awards
•    Access to shopping discounts and cashback with thousands of retailers through Purple Rewards
•    Staff recognition scheme 
•    Excellent training and development opportunities
•    Group Pension
•    Life Assurance (2x your annual salary)
•    Confidential, supportive Employee Assistance Programme, accessible 24/7
•    Salary Finance, offering you products linked to your salary and tailored to your individual circumstances. Providing services such as loans, advances, savings and financial education

If you have the right skills and experience and are inspired to apply, please do so by uploading your CV and covering letter explaining how you meet the specifications of this role. 

A DBS (Disclosure & Barring) check will be required before appointment is confirmed. 

We reserve the right to close the post early once we have received a sufficient number of applicants: please submit your application as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

Bowel Cancer UK is the UK’s leading bowel cancer charity. We’re determined to save lives and improve the quality of life of everyone affected by bowel cancer. We support and fund targeted research, provide expert information and support to patients and their families, educate the public and professionals about the disease and campaign for early diagnosis and access to best treatment and care.

We currently have employees working across four nations in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Thanks to the generosity of our community, we’re in a privileged position to be able to deliver our ambitious new strategy, On a Mission. There are huge challenges facing bowel cancer patients across the UK and our community needs us now more than ever. We’re building a strong and united team to bring us closer to a world where nobody dies of bowel cancer.

Job Summary

As the Senior Public Affairs and Campaigns Officer, and with the support of the Senior Public Affairs and Campaigns Manager you will be responsible for the development, implementation and monitoring of public affairs and campaigns activity in order to achieve real change through influencing policy and legislation on health services which impact the lives of people affected by bowel cancer in England, with a particular focus on Westminster.

Safeguarding

Safeguarding is everyone's responsibility and at Bowel Cancer UK we are committed to safeguarding children, young people and vulnerable adults and we expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

Successful candidates may be subject to either a satisfactory basic, standard or enhanced DBS check from the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) dependent upon the role.

Do you have the passion and storytelling skills to amplify our ambitious plans to improve the lives of everyone affected by ovarian cancer? Could you play a pivotal role in bringing our work to life through powerful case stories, compelling content and engaging communications that inspire action and raise awareness? 

We are looking for an Interim Communications & PR Officer to join our brilliant marketing and communications team on a fixed-term basis. This is an exciting opportunity for someone who thrives on creating impactful content, building relationships, and working collaboratively across an organisation to deliver meaningful communications.

In this role, you’ll take the lead on developing and managing a library of real life stories from people affected by ovarian cancer, ensuring their voices are heard in a way that is sensitive, authentic and impactful. You’ll create high quality written content across a range of channels – from website copy and emails to reports and campaign materials – helping to engage and inform audiences and support organisational objectives 

You’ll also play a key role in managing relationships with supporters, including celebrities and influencers, identifying opportunities to amplify our work and increase our reach. A creative, empathetic and highly organised individual, you’ll be confident working with people with lived experience and handling sensitive stories with care. You’ll enjoy collaborating with colleagues across teams and be motivated to continuously improve how we communicate, ensuring our messages are clear, compelling and impactful.
 

With the support of the Interim Senior Marketing and Communications Manager, you’ll contribute to delivering communications that engage more people with our work – whether that’s using our services, campaigning for change, or supporting us through fundraising and partnerships.
 

If you’re excited by the opportunity to use your communications and storytelling skills to make a real difference, we’d love to hear from you. 

Join us and together we'll fight for a world where everyone with ovarian cancer lives. 
 

The role is a full time, 35 hours per week, interim position (1 year fixed term contract).  
 

We currently offer a hybrid-working model. This means you may usually work from your home or remote location, but are expected to attend meetings and pay for your own travel to the office near London Bridge when required.Please email our organisation if you would like to find out more about how frequently you would likely be required in the office for this role. 

About us

We’re Breast Cancer Now, the research and support charity. We’re the place to turn to for anything and everything to do with breast cancer. However you’re experiencing breast cancer, we’re here. 

The brightest minds in breast cancer research are here. Making life-saving research happen in labs across the UK and Ireland. Support services, trustworthy breast cancer information and specialist nurses are here. Ready to support you whenever you need it. Dedicated campaigners are here. Fighting for the best possible treatment, services and care for anyone affected by breast cancer.

About the role

This is an exciting opportunity to work within our policy, evidence and influencing team to deliver change for people with breast cancer in Wales.

You’ll play a key role leading the development and delivery of our policy and public affairs work in Wales. You’ll develop evidence-based policy positions, and design and deliver influencing plans in line with our new strategy. Over the coming year this will include our engagement following the Senedd election and with the new Welsh Government. You’ll also support the roll out of campaigning activity in Wales and act as a key spokesperson for the charity in Wales, representing us in the media as well as with campaigners and senior stakeholders. 

About you

You’ll have experience of working in relevant policy or public affairs roles developing policy positions and materials, and a proven ability to build strong external contacts.

Along with strong analytical and communication skills, you’ll have the ability to work well independently while managing a varied workload, and the capability to lead projects and work with teams across the UK. 

You’ll have a good understanding of the current health policy landscape in Wales or the UK as well as knowledge of Welsh or UK parliamentary processes and legislative systems. 

Job description and benefits

Please download the job description and our attractive benefits package.

Location and hybrid working

This role is primarily based in our Cardiff office. Our hybrid working model allows you to work up to 3 days per week at home.

When applying

We hope you choose to apply for this role. To support your application, you’ll be asked to submit your anonymised CV and a supporting statement online. Please refer to the essential criteria on the person specification and clearly provide as much information as you can with examples, to demonstrate how and where you meet the criteria.

Our commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion

We’re committed to promoting equity, valuing diversity and creating an inclusive environment – for everyone who works for us, works with us, supports us and who we support.

Closing date: Tuesday 26 May 2026 at 09.00am

Interview date: Thursday 4 and Friday 5 June 2026

We reserve the right to close this advert early. Therefore, to avoid disappointment please submit your application as soon as possible, if you’re interested in this opportunity.

Head of Public Affairs

Over the past 2 years, GuildHE has been transforming into the voice for distinctive higher education providers, building our brand on the principle that diversity is necessary for a healthy and vibrant higher education sector.  We have a new look, a renewed energy, and a bold vision for the future of distinctive institutions. Now, we need the final piece of the puzzle: our first-ever Head of Public Affairs. 

This is a landmark appointment for us. As a newly-created role following our recent rebranding, you’ll be building our external presence, taking our fresh identity and the work we’ve undertaken so far to the next level as we seek to double-down on our high-impact advocacy and engagement work.

As our inaugural Head of Public Affairs, you will have a unique mandate to shape the way GuildHE interacts with the world, where you can:

• Own the Narrative: Take our new brand and shape the 'GuildHE voice' across Westminster, the media, and the wider HE sector.

• Build the Blueprint: You will have the autonomy to design our engagement frameworks from scratch—working with the Director of Policy and Strategy to decide how we influence policy and how we best champion the value of specialist education.

• Create a Legacy: Because this is a brand-new headcount, every success will be yours to claim. You are here to build a function that will help define our influence for the next decade.

Who we’re looking for

We’re looking for someone who will champion diversity in higher education. From world-leading arts and agricultural institutions to large and distinctive HE providers who serve their students, industries and communities in innovative ways, you will find the common threads that bind our members and weave them into a compelling national story. You aren’t just representing institutions; you’re representing a vision of a more varied, vibrant educational landscape.

We’re looking for pioneers, who are energised by the phrase, “we haven’t done that before.” We’ve done the work on our look and feel—now we need you to provide the megaphone. If you’re a strategist who loves the 'start-up' energy of building and expanding functions within a respected, established body, we want to hear from you.

This this is the right job for you?  Please send a cover letter explaining that to us (max 2 pgs) and a CV by the deadline.

Application closing date: May 22

Interviews: June 3-4

Crisis is the national charity for people experiencing homelessness. We have embarked on our 10-year strategy and launched our new campaign to end all forms of homelessness in Scotland by 2040. We know homelessness is not inevitable. We know together we can end it.

Homelessness is rising fast in Scotland, and we are seeing unprecedented demand for our services. At this critical time, as the Scottish election passes and a new parliamentary term begins, we are looking for a talented and experienced Media and Public Affairs Manager to raise the public and political profile of homelessness in Scotland, to shine a light on the human impact and trauma that it brings, and to build momentum and support for Crisis work to end homelessness for good.

Location: Cranston House, 271 Canongate, Edinburgh, EH8 8BQ (Working from home is an option in line with Crisis’ Hybrid working policy). You will be required to work from the Edinburgh office twice a week.

About the Role

As Media and Public Affairs Manager, you will bring to life the work of Crisis’ day to day services and our national influencing agenda. Using print, digital and broadcast journalism you will advocate for the solutions needed to end homelessness and inspire and active politicians to join our campaign and take meaningful action to end homelessness in Scotland by 2040. You will oversee the development and delivery of high-profile media, communications and political influencing campaign strategies, and help to build our brand reach, engaging a wide range of new audiences across Scotland.

With homelessness at record levels there has never been a more critical time to join Crisis and ensure ending homelessness is firmly on the national news agenda and central to all political party’s goals.

About you

You will have significant experience of working in a challenging, fast-paced news, media and public affairs environment to secure high-profile coverage and political engagement. You will also have experience of leading and managing individuals or teams, motivating people to achieve objectives and overcome challenges. Having the ability to navigate competing priorities and influence senior internal and external stakeholders is essential.

To be successful in this role, you will be able to demonstrate excellent knowledge and experience of working with the Scottish media and the Scottish Parliament to secure national policy change, demonstrate the ability to secure high profile sustained media coverage to convey complex stories in an engaging and relatable way, and have exceptional news sense, with the ability to take a creative approach when seeking out new media opportunities. You will have an excellent track record in national campaign and parliamentary influence, familiar with how parliament works and competent in influencing politicians.

Please see the full Job Pack linked below, for a full list of requirements for this role. We realise that long lists of criteria can be daunting, and you may not want to apply for a role unless you feel 100% qualified. However, if you feel you have relevant examples to answer the screening questions, we encourage you to apply.

We believe diversity is a strength, and our aim is to make sure that Crisis truly reflects the communities we serve. We are actively working towards our organisation being a place where everyone can thrive and make their best contribution to our mission of ending homelessness for good. We know that the more perspectives, voices, and experiences we can bring to this work, the better. We particularly welcome applications from people who have lived experience of homelessness, and people from all marginalised groups, communities, and backgrounds.

Working at Crisis

Our values, Bold, Impactful, Collaborative and Equitable, are at the heart of everything we do as we continue in our mission to end homelessness.

Our staff, members and volunteers are vital to getting the right government policies in place, providing breakthrough services, and building a supportive community. We’ll lead by example to nurture a positive and ambitious workplace guided by ending homelessness.

As a member of the team, you will have access to a wide range of employee benefits including:

• A competitive salary. Please note, our salaries are fixed to counter inequity and we do not negotiate at offer stage
• Interest free loans for travel season ticket, cycle to work, and deposit to secure a tenancy
• Pension scheme with an employer contribution of 8.5%
• 28 days’ annual leave (pro rata) which increases with service to 31 days and the option to purchase up to 10 additional days leave
• Enhanced maternity, paternity, shared parental, and adoption pay.
• Flexible working around the core hours 10am-4pm
• Wellbeing Leave to be used flexibly And more! (Full list of benefits available on website)

Alongside our excellent staff benefits, we will support your ongoing development to build your skills, experience, and career.

When you join us, you will have the opportunity to join our staff diversity networks, which aim to champion issues across the organisation, enable staff to be their authentic and best selves and contribute to making Crisis a truly diverse organisation.

How do I apply?

Please click on the 'Apply for Job' button below. Our shortlisting process is anonymised as part of our commitment to equality, diversity, and inclusion. We do not ask for CVs, instead we ask you complete the work history section and answer the screening questions for us to be able to assess you fairly and objectively. At least two members of staff score all applications.

Closing date: Monday 1st June at 23:59

Interview date and location: In person, on Tuesday 9th June 2026 at Crisis Skylight Edinburgh, Cranston House, 271 Canongate Edinburgh, EH8 8BQ

AI in Job Applications

We understand some candidates use AI tools when applying. Whilst we welcome the use of technology to support clear communication and structure, we want to learn more about you, so please ensure that your application reflects your own skills, knowledge and experiences

Accessibility  

We want our recruitment process to be as accessible as possible. If you need us to make an adjustment or provide additional support as you apply for a role, please email our Talent Acquisition team to discuss how we can help.  

   
Registered Charity Numbers: E&W1082947, SC040094  

This is a new role leading on engagement in the Transport for the South East area, playing a vital role in building and strengthening local networks, supporting grassroots campaigning, and ensuring that disabled people’s experiences inform both regional and national influencing work. You’ll organise campaigns and forums, represent Transport for All at events, and work with service providers and councils to make transport fairer and more equitable.

We are a small, committed and disabled-led team working to make sure that disabled people’s voices are heard in politics, the media and beyond. This role is central to ensuring lived experience drives systemic change in London’s transport system.

You must be disabled and live in the South East of England to apply for this role

This role has a genuine occupational requirement of lived experience of disability. This explicitly includes those of us who are Deaf, neurodivergent, chronically ill, have a mental health condition, have age-related impairments, and people with both visible and non-visible impairments. If you do not meet the genuine occupational requirement, your application will not be shortlisted for an interview.

Transport for All has a strong reputation for leading the debate and advocating for change to improve the journeys made by disabled people. This role presents an opportunity for a strong leader with the commitment, enthusiasm and expertise to build on our success.

Our Chief Executive will be responsible for continuing to delivering the remainder of our 5-year strategy, whilst horizon-scanning to work with the team and wider DPO community to engage in the opportunities and changes ahead. We’re a small team and this is a wide-ranging role which includes:

• Representing the voice of the 16 million+ people in the disabled community by influencing policy and infrastructure decision-makers through our campaigns.

• Overseeing a highly regarded policy and public affairs function with associated communications and stakeholder engagement, maintaining our high profile and reputation with national and local governments.

• Ensuring the charity’s funding is robust and sustainable, looking at how we can diversify our income and direct it towards what matters through continuing to deliver our strategy and planning for our future.

• Overall responsibility for our successful training, research and consultancy business, building partnerships and further growth. This includes the National Accessible Transport Survey.

• Championing our award-winning support services for disabled people.

• Leading our expert teams through a period of growth and consolidation, embedding a strong organisational culture and matching our structure and systems to our upcoming challenges and increasing size.

You will report to and be supported by a well-functioning and committed Board of Trustees who are professionals with experience of working in the charity and transport sectors, as well as finance, legal and government backgrounds.

*** Application extension: we are welcoming applications until 24th May ***

We are looking for an enthusiastic individual with experience working in a policy role focused on food or related issues (climate, nutrition, health or education). You will have knowledge of the political landscape in the UK and experience working with or in government departments, academia and NGOs on a range of policy issues.

It is an exciting time in food policy, and in this role you’ll have opportunities to work across our national policy portfolio, whether its exploring the link between climate change and food prices, developing our proposition for a Good Food Bill, improving the Healthy Start scheme, or strengthening public sector procurement.

The postholder will manage a variety of high impact activities and outputs that are used to drive forward change across our national policy areas and will work will colleagues across the organisation working in national policy, local policy, communications, events and food business transformation to do this.

Due to the evolving policy landscape, there will be a chance to tailor the role to the interests and experience of the successful candidate.

Across these workstreams, you’ll get a chance to:

• contribute to the refinement of policy asks and comms messaging,
• undertake desk research to inform policy,
• coordinate activities with different stakeholders and partners working across different policy areas
• support Ambassadors on advocacy related to dietary inequalities
• support communications and campaign work related to this work

Job Description:

Management and Strategy

• Support the policy portfolio of campaigns and projects across our national policy areas, including on food prices and food inflation, our Good Food Bill campaign, Healthy Start and early years.
• Work closely with the Policy and Advocacy Manager to develop and implement project plans and deliverables across these areas
• Maintain a careful record of our policy impact according to our agreed metrics within our Monitoring Evaluation and Learning framework.
• Policy and research
• Synthesize evidence for and play a significant part in the development of position statements/briefings/reports, working closely with the wider policy team and our designer.
• Support the Public Affairs lead to develop policy products for use in parliamentary engagement.
• Working closely with our Research Lead, identify evidence gaps and policy research questions which are relevant to our policy work to support new positions and generate new ideas for research or evidence collection which help achieve our policy goals.
• Work where needed with external contractors in the delivery of specific pieces of work, setting clear expectations and holding them accountable for delivery.
• Stakeholder engagement
• Develop and maintain a strong civil society network of stakeholders, working to broaden the support base for specific policies.
• Participate in coalitions of organisations who are campaigning together on specific areas of policy change.
• Develop and maintain relationships with junior civil servants in key departments across all policy areas.
• Work with the Citizens Engagement Manager to identify opportunities to bring Adult and Young Food Ambassadors into policy activities and research.
• Represent the Food Foundation and present our work in external events and meetings with relevant audiences and the media.
• Budgets and fundraising
• Administer grants which support our projects and ensure that funders are kept well informed, receive timely reports and that budgets are kept on track.
• Maintain good relationships with funders according to their requirements and provide input to proposals and funding bids.

Communications and campaigns

• Develop a comprehensive approach to dissemination of our policy outputs so they reach our intended audiences.
• Act as a local/regional media spokesperson, brief journalists, and respond to media queries.
• Contribute policy and evidence expertise to support campaign delivery.
• Contribute policy expertise to press releases, newsletters, web copy, podcasts and blogs.
• Support the maintenance of website pages related to project areas.
• Draft social media posts and newsletters.

Personal Profile

Technical skills:

• Knowledge and understanding of the food system, food and nutrition and/or health policy and policy levers for change.
• Strong knowledge of the mechanics of the UK policy-making landscape, including the workings of Westminster and Whitehall.
• Proven experience in synthesising evidence and using evidence to make a case for change.
• Proven experience in writing reports and briefings for different audiences, with the ability to explain complex and highly nuanced subject matter in plain English.
• Previous experience working in a policy role, refining policy asks and communicating these with different stakeholders
• Excellent analytic skills and close attention to detail.

Personal skills:

• Proven experience in budget management, project management and reporting to funders.
• Proven experience in managing multiple projects concurrently to tight deadlines and prioritising workload.
• Strong interpersonal skills and experience working collaboratively as a member of an interdisciplinary team.
• Strong presentation skills and confidence in speaking to external audiences.
• Excellent communication skills, both written and oral.
• Ability to problem-solve and manage risk.
• Ability to work independently and manage own time effectively.
• Ability to build strong relationships with all members of the team.
• Open to giving and receiving challenging viewpoints.
• Resilience and tenacity whilst recognising the need for self-awareness and the impact of actions on others and the organisation.
• Willingness to travel for project meetings and dissemination events.
• A confident networker who enjoys building connections and relationships with new people.

This job description is intended as an outline indicator of general areas of activity only. The Food Foundation is a small charity and as such all staff are expected to vary their duties as necessary to meet the needs of the organisation.

Please see the full job pack on our website