Working directly with, and reporting to, the Director of Campaigns, the Senior Public Affairs Officer is a critical post in the charity. You will help plan and deliver a packed programme of public affairs activity, including policy development and media/sponsor relations, to progress Brake’s policy calls in the UK and internationally.
This is a role for a high-performing, high-energy and intelligent, research-focussed analyst, negotiator and communicator. You will be comfortable working with facts and figures relevant to our cause, present our arguments persuasively in meetings, help draft briefings, consultation responses, letters and media statements and be a strong commentator on our policy positions in the media.
This full-time position requires someone based in London or within commutable distance to work three days a week (approx.) from a London-based shared workspace with the Director of Campaigns, who is also based in London. The role will be home based for the remaining weekdays (you will not work from Brake’s UK administrative office, which is in Yorkshire, but you will work as a key member of the wider Brake team and be in regular contact with many colleagues.) Occasional travel required, including overseas.
Senior Public Affairs Officer summary job description
- Staying abreast of fast-emerging UK and global issues relevant to the charity’s public affairs work and unearthing facts, statistics, case studies and survey results which strengthen and progress our policy positions and inform story ideas;
- Identifying and working with academics and other colleagues internally and externally to coordinate responses to policy consultations and policy position developments;
- Progressing stakeholder relationships with policymakers, government agencies and other NGOs and sponsors;
- Working with the Director to plan and deliver a programme of strong, proactive media stories. You will be responsive to emerging news, issuing reactive press statements with speed, precision and impact;
- Acting as one of Brake's leading spokespeople in the media;
- Leading a planned, consistent and proactively engaging social media presence that generates and grows public support for our policy positions;
- Assisting with events including stakeholder meetings, media photo calls and conferences;
- Helping the charity generate income from corporate organisations for our public affairs and other work;
- Leading our communications and public affairs evaluation and reporting activity.
Person specification
You will:
- Have developed your career in busy, research-based public affairs / campaigning / communications environments, dealing with complex topics and statistics, and are hungry for this role to make a real difference to people's lives;
- Have proven direct experience in demanding public affairs, communications or research-based roles;
- Be able to digest information fast, with attention to detail. You are known for your ability to research, understand and analyse technical papers. Jargon and statistics don’t daunt you;
- Be adept at unearthing newsworthy and powerful points and stories to support policy positions; you understand what interests people, politicians and journalists;
- Have superb writing skills, able to translate your knowledge concisely and accessibly into attention-grabbing and accurate text;
- Be the person who picks up the phone; you relish building relationships and partnerships, securing meetings and speaking opportunities and selling in stories with leading journalists;
- Be comfortable working on your own to determined targets while also working as part of a wider team and directly for a driven Director;
- Be process driven; you understand the importance of quality procedures to preserve reputational integrity. You ensure everything is right and presented right;
- Have a passion for sustainability and humanitarian / public health issues and a willingness to give above and beyond the normal 9-5;
- Hold a graduate or post graduate qualification.
Watch this short Luc Besson film for an inspiring introduction to our cause globally. To find out about our work in the UK, go to our website here. To read about the global cause, click here.