Public Affairs Advisor - Education & Skills

Location: City

We are a not-for-profit organisation committed to increasing the diversity and numbers of young people entering engineering and technology to meet the future workforce needs, as well as promoting roles that help us work towards net zero and drive environmental sustainability.

We are looking for a pro-active Public Affairs Advisor to be part of Engineering

UK's busy policy and public affairs team. If you are interested playing a part in enabling more young people from all backgrounds to be inspired, informed and progress into engineering and technology through driving forward Engineering

UK's engagement with politicians and enjoys collaborating with others to advocate for change, we want to hear from you. In this role as Public Affairs Advisor, you will work closely with the Head of Policy and Public Affairs to develop and enact Engineering

UK's public affairs strategy and engagement. You will represent the organisation externally in meetings with political and policy stakeholders and work with public affairs teams across the engineering sector and beyond to advocate for improvements in the education and skills sector.

About EngineeringUK

Our purpose is to drive change so more young people choose engineering and technology careers.

Our vision is that the UK has the workforce needed for engineering and technology to thrive, to improve sustainability and to achieve net zero.

Our mission is to enable more young people from all backgrounds to be informed, inspired and progress into engineering and technology.

In the UK, we don't have enough engineers and demand is going up. So, we need more young people to realise there could be a future for them in engineering and technology. To really thrive, we need a stronger, more diverse and representative workforce and for that we have to do things differently to make engineering more appealing.

We are a not-for-profit working with hundreds of organisations across business, education, professional institutions and the third sector so we can all grow the future talent pool together. We drive that collective effort through research and evidence, leadership, activities for schools and advocacy, with a focus on long-term sustainability.

We guided by a series of values that we apply to all our activity:

• We are inclusive and care about diversity. We understand that we have different needs and create opportunities for everyone's voice to be heard
• We are collaborative
  . We listen, share and work in partnership to achieve our vision
• We are curious and keen to learn. We challenge ourselves and others to innovate and experiment
• We are insightful
  . We evaluate what we do and draw on research to make decisions and to improve our collective understanding
• We are driven by a strong sense of purpose. We are determined to make an impact and achieve our goals

About the role

Working closely with colleagues in the policy and public affairs and the research teams you will drive forward Engineering

UK's engagement with politicians, policy makers and other political stakeholders, ensuring that Engineering

UK's policy views are heard across Westminster, Whitehall and in the regions. This will mean developing clear engagement strategies and plans with the support of the Head of Policy & Public Affairs focused on nurturing our relationships with MPs and Peers. You will monitor political and policy developments in Westminster and the regions, working closely with policy colleagues in the team, and brief MPs and Peers using Engineering

UK's research and policy reports and recommendations, ensuring that Engineering

UK's views are heard in debates in Westminster and across Whitehall. As the Public Affairs Advisor you will represent Engineering

UK in meetings with some of our key partners, including the public affairs group of the National Engineering Policy Centre, supporting them to take forward joint projects.

The role is London based at our office at 10 Lower Thames Street, London EC3R 6EN
and may involve some travel in the UK. We believe that hybrid working has many benefits and are pleased to offer flexible working with a baseline of 2 days (or 40%) a week in our vibrant central London office overlooking the Thames. We also offer core hours of 10am to 4pm. Further details on our flexible working practices can be discussed at interview or you can reach out to a member of our HR team.

Further details of the role can be found in the job description and person specification.

Role responsibilities:

• Together with the Head of Policy and Public Affairs, develop and keep up to date clear engagement plans focused on building trusting and fruitful relationships with political stakeholders and other key influencers across Westminster (with the possibility of expanding this into the regions and devolved nations).
• Monitor, share intelligence and respond to political developments in Westminster, Whitehall and the regions.
• Write and organise Parliamentary Questions; write and organise briefings for a range of stakeholders including…