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Join the Network

As a Senior External Affairs Officer you will:                                        

  • Support the running of an active, and ongoing, public affairs programme so that we maintain strong links with a broad range of influencers, including senior officials across Government, Parliament, the ALBs, and other representative bodies;
  • Support our external monitoring activities so that the NHS Confederation and our members are abreast of, and can steer, key developments in policy;
  • Lead on coordinating and drafting briefings for the chief executive, chair, and other senior colleagues ahead of important engagement opportunities, such as appearances before parliamentary committees, the annual political party conferences, 1:1 meetings, roundtables, and events;
  • Draft, schedule, and distribute letters and other correspondence to our strategic partners and Parliamentarians on a range of matters;
  • Support our major campaigns and communications activities for some of the coalitions that the NHS Confederation hosts, in addition to contributing to the delivery and coordination of broader communications plans;
  • Play an active role in our media relations work, including in responding to enquiries from journalists, preparing briefings ahead of interviews, and drafting stories and other content for mainstream outlets. In addition, the postholder will form part of the press office on-call rota.

About You 

We would love to hear from you if you have:

  • Demonstrable experience in a public affairs role and/or parliamentary environment, with a detailed understanding of politics and ideally, of the health and care sector in England;
  • Excellent written and oral communication skills, political awareness and analytical skills, including the ability to interpret policy at pace;
  • Developed positive relationships with chief executives, MPs, government officials and other stakeholders;
  • Contributed to engagement plans and campaigns that are designed to influence Government and Parliament;
  • Strong organisational skills and experience of working in a busy environment where you have had to juggle proactive and reactive workloads simultaneously and to a high standard;
  • A commitment to teamwork, integrated communications, and continuous improvement.

About Us

The NHS Confederation is committed to promoting a diverse and inclusive environment for our staff. A place where we can all be ourselves and succeed on merit. We offer a range of inclusive employment policies including family friendly policies and flexible working and we have range of channels to support staff from different backgrounds including our staff networks and a staff forum.

The NHS Confederation is committed to being a flexible employer. We understand the value and benefit to our employees being able to work flexibly and our agile working principles are designed to empower our people to work with optimal flexibility and minimal constraints to support a work life balance and take care of employee health and wellbeing.

You will receive an excellent benefits package, including 30 days annual leave (plus bank holidays), pension scheme, cycle to work scheme, salary sacrifice schemes and travel season ticket loans. 

Closing date

Applications for this post closed 11:59pm on Sunday 24th October 2021