Senior Public Affairs Adviser in London

Location: Blended between office and home (England and Wales). Time in office negotiable.

We are looking for a Senior Public Affairs Adviser to join our Public Affairs team at Citizens Advice, working with colleagues to execute an organisational-wide political influencing and engagement strategy. This role would specialise in helping our energy debt and affordability work. This is an exciting opportunity to work on the big issues facing people across England and Wales today, joining a team with a track record of achieving change.

You’ll work across a range of policy areas, contributing to the creation, development and execution of influencing strategies that will help us engage and persuade decision makers. You’ll help us deliver an organisation-wide strategy to influence MPs and civil servants, regulators and industry bodies. You’ll help ensure that as well as being a household name, Citizens Advice is a powerful advocate for the people who rely on our services.

You’ll have an understanding of campaigning in Parliament and engaging with MPs. You’ll have experience of influencing and communicating with stakeholders at all levels and of executing strategies that promote and enhance our reputation. You’ll be constantly keeping abreast of the current political climate and breaking news, providing tactical and strategic advice to the organisation.

This is an exciting opportunity to join a team to deliver change at a time when our work has never been more needed.

Please provide details in your cover letter to evidence the following essential criteria:

• A solid understanding of the political, economic and social context in England and Wales, and of the workings of Parliament and government - both locally and nationally.
• A proven track record of delivering national public/political affairs projects which have delivered policy change.
• Demonstrable evidence of making sound political judgements, and a clear understanding of how to persuade senior decision-makers to change policy.

Citizens Advice offers confidential advice online, over the phone, and in person, for free. Through our national network of charities, we give people the knowledge and the confidence they need to find their way forward – whoever they are, and whatever their problem.

Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) is of strategic importance within the organisation and recognised as integral to all we do as a service. Central to pursuing our EDI mission is building diverse and inclusive teams in which everyone has a sense of belonging. We believe inclusion is a social justice issue - a principle that underpins our all EDI work. To that end, we particularly welcome applications from people we would like to see better represented in our organisation and sector - people of colour, LGBTQ+ people and disabled people.

We follow the social model of disability. We will offer an interview to disabled candidates who indicate they wish their application to be considered under our Disability Confident Interview Commitment where they meet our selection criteria in their application. Some of our roles attract a high volume of applications and in some circumstances where it is not practicable or appropriate, we may limit the number of interviews offered to disabled and non-disabled candidates. We will provide reasonable adjustments as needed.

We’re a flexible employer, so this role may suit anyone who’d prefer a flexible arrangement to help their work/life balance; many of our colleagues spend most of their time working remotely. Whilst we prefer a blended approach between a local office, if one is near you, and home, we’re open to being flexible on location. Occasionally a role may require you to be based in a certain location; if that's the case it will be detailed in the advert or job description. This can be discussed in more detail during your interview.

The National Citizens Advice operates from offices in England and Wales, with 4 regional offices based in Cardiff, London, Birmingham and Leeds; therefore all successful applicants must be based within England or Wales.

Please be aware that Citizens Advice is not a sponsoring organisation. Therefore the successful applicant must already possess the right to work in the UK or be able to secure the right to work in the UK independently.

We have been awarded the top charity in Third sectors' employer index, where it's recognised that Citizens Advice is an organization that not only prioritises the people we serve but also values the wellbeing of its employees.

Citizens Advice seeks to redeploy internal staff who are at risk or under notice of redundancy and will prioritise them in the recruitment process where necessary. If you have been confirmed as at risk or under notice of redundancy please ensure you indicate this in the at‑risk box in your application.

Please note, in the event of a high number of applications, we reserve the right to close the application early. This vacancy closes at 23.59 on the closing date.

For more information about the organisation, our values and benefits please see the following link - Information, values and benefits.

Need help with your application? See our useful how to guides on the following page - Guidance notes for applicants.