Chief of Staff & Assistant Director of Policy & Strategy

Are you a senior policy professional who can bring new thinking to our regulation of charities? Can you win the confidence of the CEO and Board and influence through others to deliver their agenda? Are you a big picture thinker who can turn data, evidence and insights into actionable change? This is an opportunity to work right at the heart of the regulator of one of the country’s most vital sectors. Combining the leadership of our Policy function with acting as Chief of Staff to our CEO, you will be at the centre of the action in overseeing England & Wales’ charity sector. Reporting to the Director of Communications & Policy, and with a direct line to the CEO as his Chief of Staff, you will occupy a key leadership role for the Charity Commission, helping ensure we achieve our strategic mission to be an expert regulator that is fair, balanced and independent. You will have diverse and impactful areas of responsibility, leading and shaping the work of our strategic policy, trustee guidance and corporate office teams. You will ensure we develop an ambitious policy agenda helping us to be an effective, proactive regulator and to positively influence how the charities we regulate are governed; and you will support the CEO and Board to achieve our strategic goals through the leadership and influence of others. To succeed in this role, you will be an expert policymaker who knows who to achieve a positive impact within an organisation, across Whitehall and with wider stakeholders. You will be an established leader of high performing teams, with strong analytical skills and used to delivering high quality written work for internal and external audiences. You will also be a proven advisor to senior leaders, used to building trust and credibility quickly. The successful candidate will be Leading the Strategic Policy, Trustee Guidance and Corporate Office team, ensuring that clear direction is set, excellent service standards are maintained and that team members invest in their development Overseeing the Commission’s policy and research programme, including providing high quality advice to senior leaders and influencing the development of policy and legislation across government Overseeing our online guidance and advice to the charities we regulate, including a programme of improvements to its relevance and readability Holding others to account on behalf of the CEO for the completion of actions and activity, influencing and negotiating as required, and ensuring appropriate governance arrangements are in place for the Commission Leading on some of our key relationships with stakeholders and partners, including other charity regulators and government departments Person specification Ability: Ability to research, investigate and analyse facts and numerical data to inform and support effective decision making Ability to plan and prioritise competing demands to ensure performance targets and deadlines are met Ability to explain complex information, in a variety of media, including excellent written communications skills and ensure that the information is understood by the recipient Excellent written and oral communication skills Strong analytical skills Strong project management skills Experience: Proven successful track record in leading highly motivated, results driven team Proven ability to effectively communicate complex issues in a compelling way to different audiences Proven track record of delivering high quality policy and research work Proven advisor to senior leaders and used to building trust and credibility quickly Experience of operating at a senior level Experience of drafting high quality papers for Executive and/or Board level meetings Experience of leading teams through change to achieve results and managing multi-disciplinary teams Experience of project management including budgets, procurement processes and suppliers Effectively manage a workload/task throughout its lifecycle Maintaining a professional approach when presented with a challenging discussion /interview by using techniques to understand need(s); manage expectations and provide a constructive and proportionate outcome Technical: Knowledge and understanding of the workings of Westminster and Whitehall and the different approaches to developing public policy Knowledge of qualitative and quantitative research methodologies and their application to evaluating organisational performance and public policy making Understanding of how a private office supports senior leaders to achieve outcomes Handling data and information sensitively in accordance with the business procedures and/or law Working knowledge of Microsoft Office Applications