COM248 - Public Affairs and Campaigns Advisor

Job title: Public Affairs and Campaigns Advisor

Contract type:  Full time (35 hours per week), permanent contract

Location: London 

Salary: Grade 4. £30,142 - £31,460. Please note, for internal applicants the salary will be reflected by pay and award policy

Working arrangements:  35 hours per week between 8am and 6pm. Hybrid working - you will be required to work in the office a minimum of 6 days per month. The team tends to come into the office on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

This is an exciting opportunity to join the Royal College of Physicians at a crucial time. The RCP is the oldest medical royal college representing doctors in over 30 specialties from cardiology and gastroenterology to geriatric and respiratory medicine.

The public affairs and campaigns adviser supports the development of the RCP’s influence and networks, particularly in government and Parliament, identifying opportunities to involve RCP fellows and members in our influencing work.

Working closely with the senior public affairs and policy manager, you will help support our influencing work, proactively identifying opportunities to ensure the organisation is influencing the health agenda effectively on a range of topics including the NHS workforce, health inequality, sustainability and climate change and clinical research.

You will support the senior public affairs and policy manager to make sure that the RCP is effectively engaging with key decision makers in government and Parliament, and health sector organisations.

You will support the president, senior officers and senior staff to engage with external stakeholders within UK government, Parliament and the wider health and care sector.

The policy and campaigns team is a fast paced, collaborative and innovative environment. Working with the team, you will contribute to setting our objectives and improving the ways we work.

Purpose and scope

Key responsibilities

• Helping the RCP meet its objectives by contributing to the development and implementation of strategies to engage with and influence decision makers.
• Maintaining a keen awareness and understanding of issues within health and care to help identify opportunities for parliamentary influencing and policy development.
• Helping to deliver a robust horizon scanning service to ensure that the RCP and its senior officers are up to date with health policy and political news.
• Proactively identifying opportunities for engagement, working with colleagues so relevant issues are highlighted to stakeholders, parliamentarians and the media.
• Maintaining and developing relationships with Parliamentarians, their staff and civil servants.
• Maintaining and developing relationships with other health organisations and bodies involved in the delivery of care.
• Working flexibly and proactively, undertaking a range of work such as writing letters, briefings, policy positions, statements, parliamentary briefings, internal newsletters and consultation responses.
• Preparing senior officers and staff for stakeholder meetings, and yourself representing the RCP at meetings and events.
• Any other duties commensurate with your post, including deputising for team members as appropriate.

About you

Essential

You will

• have a background in public affairs, politics or government and understand how the UK political system works and how to effectively influence it
• be able to quickly develop positive and effective working relationships with a diverse range of people
• have excellent writing skills and be able to draft letters, briefings, parliamentary consultation responses and other communications on behalf of an organisation or senior people
• have contributed to developing and delivering successful influencing campaigns, including tailoring communications to a variety of audiences
• be able to act on your own initiative and work flexibly and proactively, proposing reasonable and realistic solutions 
• understand the importance of and be committed to involving a diverse range of organisations and people in developing and delivering campaigns.

Desirable

You may have experience of

• managing events
• health and/or social care policy
• policy development and/or communications
• working directly with draft legislation
• working in a membership organisation and involving members in advocacy.

For more information about the role please view the Job Description and Person Specification.  

Our benefits

Working at the RCP comes with lots of benefits designed to ensure that you feel valued and supported in your role. The benefits we offer include:

• 27 days holiday per annum, plus bank holidays
• group personal pension plan with 7% employer contribution
• interest-free season ticket loan 
• life assurance
• annual pay award
• flexible working hours
• employee assistance programme – 24/7 advice and support for any work-related issues as well as any problems affecting your home life
• occupational health team – includes employment and work-related health assessments, health checks and work station assessments
• cycle to work scheme 
• corporate eye care scheme
• professional training and development opportunities
• enhanced maternity and paternity pay
• staff discounts platform – including discounts on cinema tickets and a range of high street brands.

About the RCP

The Royal College of Physicians is a rewarding and friendly place to work with an incredible history, dating back to our foundation in 1518. We are a professional membership body for physicians – doctors who work in hospitals – with over 40,000 members in the UK and around the world working to improve patient care and reduce illness. Our activities focus on educating, improving and influencing for better health and care.

How to apply

To apply, please submit your CV and a cover letter outlining how your skills and experience meet the job description. Please note that applications received without a cover letter will not be shortlisted.

For more information about the role, please view the job description and person specification. If you would like to talk to us about it, please email Jacob Hayes (jacob.hayes@rcp.ac.uk).   

Closing date: 19 July 2024

Interview date: 24 July 2024

The RCP positively encourages applications for suitably qualified and eligible candidates regardless of sex, race, disability, age, sexual orientation, transgender status, religion or belief, marital status or pregnancy and maternity.

The RCP is all about our people - our members, our staff, our volunteers and leaders. We educate, influence and collaborate to improve health and healthcare for everyone and know we can only do this by being inclusive, encouraging and celebrating diverse perspectives. that's why welcoming and having people who represent the 21st century medical workforce and the diverse population of patients we serve is so important to us.

Last updated on Jul 8, 2024