Political Affairs Manager

The Policy and External Relations Team sits at the very centre of the organisation, working closely with the Chair, Chief Executive, and senior managers to set the agenda for our stakeholder activity. They act as the champions and leads of the British Council's policy and external relations objectives. The team liaises with the Strategic Business Units, Global Network, and managers across the organisation, advising on and coordinate external stakeholder activities., If you are someone who has had an experience managing relationships with the UK Parliament and political stakeholders, this role might be of interest to you.

The incumbent will deliver independent engagement with the British Council's top UK stakeholders across Parliament and the wider political space, build an effective external advocacy network across the UK and support colleagues with effective political advice and insight. This role will include:

Leading on the delivery of the British Council's strategic political engagement plan in Parliament

Co-designing political engagement plans for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland with respective Country Directors and delivering Westminster-based elements of those plans.

Establishing yourself as a credible external representative for the organisation, capable of leading effective engagement opportunities

Supporting senior British Council staff in the UK and overseas in their engagement with stakeholders.

Drafting of policy briefings, articles, and other content for internal and external publication, including parliamentary enquiries

Ensuring robust systems and processes for stakeholder management are followed and maintained.

Working as a central part of a high-performing team under the leadership of the Head of Political Engagement., Objectives of the Role:

Delivering a comprehensive parliamentary and political engagement strategy ahead of an anticipated General Election and an upcoming Spending Review

Projecting the British Council's work and value into the UK's vibrant network of think tanks and research institutes and thereby gaining future friends, advocates and collaborators

Upskilling the wider organisation, including colleagues in the UK and overseas, with relevant political insight, so that they can help support the organisation's corporate objectives, wherever they are and whatever role they play

Main Accountabilities:

Deliver effective, innovative, and insightful political engagement across the UK Parliament, with the aim of building a broad network of engaged advocates

Strengthen the British Council's reach into the wider political space, including think tanks and the wider commentariat

Co-design and support the delivery of political engagement strategies in the Devolved Administrations

Upskill senior colleagues across the organisation with relevant and topical political knowledge and insight

Support colleagues in the UK and overseas to engage with high level political stakeholders effectively and appropriately

Work closely with the office of the Chief Executive and Chair to deliver their own engagement with key political figures.

Support the development and implementation of the Policy and External Relations strategic forward planning tools and processes to drive stakeholder engagement and coordinate associated communications activity across the organisation.

Make effective use of information systems and communications tools, to ensure that stakeholder engagement is recorded, analysed, and appropriately shared, in order to inform future approaches.

Provide support for the delivery of top-level stakeholder engagement events by managing guest lists, providing logistical support, and arranging speakers.

Contribute to the Policy and External Relations Team's social media platforms including the @InsightBritish twitter account.

Drafting of policy briefings and articles for internal and external publication and contributing to parliamentary inquiries.

Key relationships:

The role works closely with Policy & External Relations team members to support the external engagement of the Chair, Chief Executive and Executive Board. It requires good networking and team-working skills right across the organisation.

The post holder will need to develop a wide range of relationships internally at every level, from the most senior to the more junior. The post-holder will work particularly closely with colleagues in the Global Network Team but will need to be able to cover the full breadth of British Council activities and engage with colleagues from across our different functions.

Minimum Essential:

Educated to degree level or equivalent experience

First-hand experience of working in and/or with a political, policymaking and/or government environment.

Demonstrable experience of working successfully with senior internal and external stakeholders.

Analysis of politics and policy and ability to verbally advise and write briefs on relevant issues.

Events organisation and coordination.

A connected and trusted UK in a more connected and trusted world.

Equality , Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) Statement

The British Council is committed to policies and practices of equality, diversity and inclusion across everything we do. We support all staff to make sure their behaviour is consistent with this commitment. We want to address under representation and encourage applicants from under-represented groups, in particular, but not exclusively, on grounds of ethnicity and disability. All disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria are guaranteed an interview and we have Disability Confident Employer Status. We welcome discussions about specific requirements or adjustments to enable participation and engagement in our work and activities.

The British Council is committed to safeguarding children, young people and adults who we work with.

We believe that all children and adults everywhere in the world deserve to live in safe environments and have the right to be protected from all forms of abuse, maltreatment and exploitation as set out in article 19, UNCRC (United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child) 1989.

Appointment to positions where there is direct involvement with vulnerable groups will be dependent on thorough checks being completed; these will include qualification checks, reference checks, identity & criminal record checks in line with legal requirements and with the British Council's Safeguarding policies for Adults and Children.

Applicants must have the pre existing right to work in the UK. British Council will not sponsor visas or assist in securing right to work.

We support peace and prosperity by building connections, understanding and trust between people in the UK and countries worldwide.

We work directly with individuals to help them gain the skills, confidence and connections to transform their lives and shape a better world in partnership with the UK. We support them to build networks and explore creative ideas, to learn English, to get a high-quality education and to gain internationally recognised qualifications.

Working with people in over 200 countries and territories, we are on the ground in more than 100 countries. In 2021-22 we reached 650 million people.

32 days holiday

up to 3 days of volunteering leave

attractive civil service pension scheme