Public Affairs Officer

This is a rare opportunity to join a high-performing advocacy team, working with 24 leading UK universities. We’re looking for an outstanding Public Affairs Officer to provide direct support to the Head of Public Affairs on all aspects of the Russell Group’s public affairs activity.

Through collaboration and advocacy, the Russell Group works to advance and champion the positive economic, societal and cultural contributions of our universities. The Russell Group represents the interests of our 24 university members at the highest level of government, as well as with key research and innovation funders, with business, third-sector partners, regulators, and internationally with like-minded bodies.

• Have a firm grasp of government, parliament and working with political parties in a changing political environment, as well as recognising the importance of the Russell Group’s wider community, which encompasses a broad variety of stakeholders, including business.
• Develop a good understanding of the Russell Group’s policy priorities and higher education policy in general so they are able to communicate confidently to a variety of audiences on a range of topics or contribute to projects when required.
• Support the Head of Public Affairs in maintaining and building on the Russell Group’s existing network of political and stakeholder relationships, strengthening our ability to engage and influence and ensuring the Russell Group is seen as a trusted organisation. This includes coordinating meetings and supporting with briefings and de-briefs before and after meetings or events.
• Develop new networks that can help deliver Russell Group objectives.
• Provide support in preparing the Russell Group’s response to new parliamentary legislation or bills that impact our universities, lobbying MPs and Peers across all political parties, civil servants, political advisers and influential third parties as appropriate.
• Prepare draft briefings for meetings with external stakeholders and supporting policy colleagues to ensure consistent use of key messages in their outward facing roles.
• Support the Russell Group’s parliamentary activity, including tracking parliamentary debates, select committee inquiries and government consultations, drafting parliamentary questions and supporting the mapping of key parliamentary stakeholders.
• Support the Head of Public Affairs in developing advocacy positions that show how Russell Group universities can help to deliver on political stakeholders’ priorities while making the case for the positive impact of high-quality higher education and research.
• Develop relationships with public affairs teams in member institutions and other organisations, providing support to our members and engaging in collaborations where appropriate.
• Demonstrate sound project management skills, including planning and prioritisation.
• Undertake core tasks which apply to all members of the External Relations team, including attending relevant events, being part of an out-of-hours on-call rota, and engaging with social media.
• Finally, they will be responsible for delivering any additional tasks, at the request of the Head of Public Affairs and/or Director of External Relations, in accordance with their experience and the broad purpose of this role.

• Ability to grasp complex policy issues quickly and translate them into clear, persuasive messages for political and stakeholder audiences.
• A good understanding of UK politics, policy making and the workings of Parliament, including how to…