Public Affairs Manager

TN United Kingdom; Cambridge; Hybrid; GBP 35,000 - 65,000

Job description

We are recruiting a new Public Affairs Manager to develop and lead our public affairs work at ARUK. The Public Affairs Manager will report to the Senior Public Affairs and Campaigns Manager.

In this role you will be joining a friendly and fast-moving Policy and Public Affairs team, with the scope to grow both the function and your role within ARUK. You will work closely with colleagues across the organisation to drive influence and impact with policy-makers in government, parliament and the wider political arena to make a difference for people affected by dementia and their families.

You will play a key role in a creative and dynamic team and will take initiative to work on projects and initiatives that maximise our impact with key decision makers. The role may include work in London and elsewhere in the UK.

Main duties and responsibilities of the role:

Public Affairs

1. Supervise a programme of parliamentary engagement for the organisation.
2. Ensure ARUK has a meaningful role in shaping future legislation on dementia, healthcare and scientific research.
3. Lead responses and briefings on key legislation and guidance, including proposed drafting of amendments where appropriate.
4. Take a leading role in our government relations work including building and maintaining relationships with key government stakeholders including Ministers, SPADs and civil servants.
5. Co-ordinate parliamentary briefs, develop submissions for parliamentary questions, Select Committees and other opportunities presented through the parliamentary system.
6. Work with campaigns, communications and brand colleagues to build our reach and engagement with key audiences ensuring we are using a range of channels to influence our key audiences.
7. Ensure our public affairs work reflects the needs and aspirations of people living with dementia and identify opportunities to involve our supporters in our political influencing work.
8. Work with team to develop and implement Public Affairs products, processes and ways of working to maximise impact and efficiency.
9. Ensure the Public Affairs team is delivering timely monitoring and successfully identifying, creating and leveraging parliamentary opportunities and securing influencing opportunities to achieve policy change.
10. Ensure appropriate system of tracking engagement is in place and ensure the Public Affairs Team are updating it regularly.
11. Provide regular updates and advice to the team, senior staff and wider organisation so they are up to date on our advocacy, engagement with key stakeholders and wider changes in the environment.
12. Ensure regular evaluation of our engagement and a constructive approach is taken to how we learn and improve.
13. Work with the Senior Public Affairs and Campaigns Manager to implement and further develop ARUK’s external affairs strategy, working with policy colleagues to ensure an aligned public affairs function that delivers on our influencing goals.
14. Work with wider department to devise and deliver influencing plans for priority areas, ensuring PA involvement in strategy development from the outset.
15. Work across the organisation to develop stakeholder management processes and mechanisms that help us to manage and derive insights from key organisational relationships.
16. Play a key role in developing ARUK's influencing stakeholder contact programme and identifying opportunities and strategies to improve engagement.
17. Build effective personal relationships with other organisations, political parties, parliamentarians and their offices across both Houses and relevant Government departments.
18. Ensure the team are effectively managing relationships and tracking stakeholder information, and key stakeholders are informed of relevant media stories, reports and consultation responses etc.
19. Identify opportunities to partner with other organisations in order to maximise our impact as an organisation.
20. Deliver expert political insight and sense making to help the team and wider organisation navigate the external environment.
21. Represent ARUK at parliamentary and other events and conferences, potentially including national party conferences.
22. Co-ordinate and attend meetings with parliamentarians and stakeholders alongside senior staff and to provide briefings for staff.

Management Responsibilities

1. Oversee the work of two public affairs officers and contribute to their learning and development.
2. Provide guidance, coaching and support to wider team development as required.
3. Ensure effective prioritisation and allocation of our resources in order to maximise the impact of our political influencing work.

What we are looking for:

1. Expert understanding of Public Affairs best practice.
2. Expert understanding of government, parliament and the wider political environment.
3. Sound political instincts.
4. Good knowledge of parliamentary procedure.
5. Good knowledge of Word, Excel and outlook.
6. Experience of building relationships with influencers or supporters.
7. Experience of delivering consultation responses and working with government teams to embed ideas.
8. Ability to manage a large programme of work.
9. Ability to manage people.
10. Ability to write professionally, with an ability to adapt communications for different audiences.
11. Ability to prioritise and manage the work of a team in accordance with key priorities.
12. Excellent personal communication skills, with the ability to communicate with people at all levels face to face and digitally.
13. Ability to work with a high level of accuracy and attention to detail.
14. Good organisational skills and the ability to prioritise workload.
15. Strong interpersonal and negotiation skills.
16. Professional and hard-working team player.
17. Outgoing, enthusiastic and able to remain calm under pressure.
18. Strategic thinker with a focus on impact.
19. Outward looking, taking an interest in people.

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.

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

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

The closing date for applications is the 13th April 2025, with interviews being arranged once shortlisting has been completed. We would encourage you to submit your application at the earliest opportunity.

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.

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. We stand for everyone affected by dementia. We stand for a cure.