Senior Stakeholder Relationship Manager

We are looking for an exceptional Senior Stakeholder Relationship Manager to help us make a difference to our planet. The job may be suitable for hybrid working, which is where an employee works part of the week in the office and part of the week from home. This is a voluntary, non-contractual arrangement and the location advertised will be your contractual place of work. Our opportunity is full time, 37 hours per week, but we would also consider applicants wishing to work a minimum of 30 hours per week and we will also try our best to consider those intending to work a job share. Our people are at the heart of what we do and we will do our best to agree a working pattern that works for everyone. Whilst this is a temporary position until 31st March 2027, there is potential for it to develop into a permanent position.

World changing work: From science to technology, from meteorology to management, and from planning to communication, our expertise helps us stand out as the authority on weather accuracy and climate prediction. We help individuals, industries and government to make better decisions to stay safe and thrive. This is the Met Office. This is who we are.

• We are a force for good - focusing on our environmental and social impact.
• We are experts by nature - always learning and developing to do things better.
• We live and breathe it - putting our purpose at the heart of decision-making.
• We are better together - understanding partnerships and inclusivity make us greater.
• We keep evolving - pushing boundaries to make tomorrow better for our customers.

Your world of expertise: The job sits within the Met Office's Stakeholders team. We are a small, friendly and very well regarded team delivering important corporate functions for the Met Office. These include handling ministerial and parliamentary business, managing relationships with key stakeholders and raising awareness of the Met Office across government to ensure the greatest benefit can be drawn from its capabilities and services. The team also plays an important role in providing insights on external developments to inform decision making and help the Met Office support key government priorities.

The job holder is a key part of the Met Office's relationship with our owning department, the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), and works closely with colleagues in our sponsor team there - a strong and positive relationship for both organisations. They will be a key participant in responding to enquiries from Ministers and Members of Parliament, along with other activities relating to the Met Office's duties as a public body. This requires working with colleagues from across the Met Office. The team's work looks across the full breadth of what the Met Office does and so offers unparalleled opportunity to get involved in a fascinating range of topics and develop valuable experience in a positive working environment.

Key responsibilities include:

• Proactively building and maintaining relationships with the DSIT sponsor team and other relevant DSIT teams on matters relating to Met Office ownership and ministerial interest.
• Preparing ministerial submissions and responses to briefing requests from DSIT ministers and other senior stakeholders, working with subject matter experts and the Executive Board as required.
• Playing a leading role on Parliamentary Business, drafting responses to Parliamentary Questions and correspondence and providing advice and guidance on handling.
• Acting as focal point for co-ordinating and responding to important cross-cutting government commissions and briefing requests.
• Holding a leading role in preparing for visits by Parliamentarians and other key senior stakeholders, working with other areas of the organisation to deliver the objectives of the visit.
• Using sound judgement to operate as a trusted, expert advisor on matters of propriety and ethics, providing guidance to enable Met Office staff to carry out their work objectively and impartially, in accordance with the standards of behaviour set out in the civil service code.
• Providing flexible support on urgent activities, corporate priorities or particular topics of in-year focus.

As our Senior Stakeholder Relationship Manager, your total reward package will be up to £75,857 annually, which includes:

• An outstanding Civil Service pension, with an average employer contribution of 28.97%.
• Annual Leave starting at 27.5 days (plus Bank Holidays) rising to 32.5 days (plus Bank Holidays) after 5 years and option to buy or sell up to 5 days per year of annual leave.

Essential Criteria, skills and experience:

• Highly organised: enjoys a fast-moving environment and has an ability to rapidly prioritise and deliver short notice tasks while keeping track of wider deliverables.
• Government knowledge: Good understanding of how departments work, for example the submissions process and how parliamentary business is delivered.
• Strong written and oral communications skills: will help a candidate to thrive in this role, preferably with experience of writing briefing for ministers or other parliamentary business.
• Excellent relationship management skills: experienced in building and maintaining successful working relationships with a network of senior internal and external stakeholders.
• Sound judgement: strong analytical skills and the ability to understand issues, implications and sensitivities, and to develop clear recommendations based on these.

We understand that great minds don’t always think alike and as an equal opportunities employer we welcome applications from those with all protected characteristics. We recruit on merit, fairness, and open competition in line with the Civil Service Code. We can only accept applications from those eligible to live and work in the UK - please refer to GOV.UK for information. We require Security clearance, for which you need to have resided in the UK for at least 3 of the last 5 years to be eligible, 2 of these years must be immediately preceding the point of your application. You will need to achieve full security clearance within your first 6 months with us.