Policy Communications

Milltown Partners is a global advisory firm working with influential organisations and individuals on the public policy and communications challenges that define their reputations. We are looking for a policy communications advisor who brings at least 4 years of experience working at the intersection of policy and communications for technology companies.

The Consultant Role

Consultants are the driving force behind our work. They are trusted advisors who are able to shift the reputation of our clients, in line with agreed strategy and priorities. They apply their knowledge and insights to commercial challenges, and will help Milltown Partners continue to expand and innovate in the policy communications offer we can provide to our clients. They drive work across the whole team in a way that makes the most of everyone’s skills and experience, supporting more junior colleagues to develop and deputising for Directors and Partners.

A successful candidate in this role will have the ambition, expertise and network that enables them to provide specialist policy communications advice to our technology client base across the UK and European landscape.

Responsibilities of the Consultant Role

• Policy communications strategy: crafting and executing communications strategies that shape understanding of policy issues.
• Working with client team leads to set the strategy and priorities for client work.
• Creating integrated policy communications plans to guide the execution of the agreed strategy.
• Translating technical and policy concepts into compelling narratives that resonate with different stakeholders (e.g. media, policymakers, regulators, general public).
• Drawing on deep knowledge of channels and audiences to identify how best to position clients and tell their story.
• Designing and interrogating client asks and designing briefs that ensure all advice is underpinned by insights.
• Tailoring the style and content of advice to meet the needs and expectations of individual clients.
• Confidently and transparently discussing AI-enhanced work with clients and explaining value-add.
• Going above and beyond the brief to suggest the most creative solutions.
• Advising: earning the trust of a variety of clients and providing recommendations that are understood and accepted.
• Advising in a variety of formats (written or verbal) and choosing the most effective format for the client, at the right time.
• Producing compelling written content and driving the execution of significant communications moments for clients (e.g. media briefings, speeches, owned channels and events).
• Reading a wide breadth of materials, from government consultations to research papers and broader news to understand the issues clients are facing in order to inform our advice.
• Using research and AI tools (including Factiva, Meltwater, Claude and Gemini) to conduct insight generation, support complex deliverables and enable innovation.
• Drawing on a deep knowledge of audiences and channels to identify how best to position clients and achieve their communications goals.
• People Management: supporting the wellbeing of the team and encouraging everyone to perform, learn and develop.
• Developing project plans for client teams and ensuring work is delivered in a timely and high quality manner.
• Managing the work of junior colleagues, and supporting their professional development through coaching and mentoring.
• Encouraging continuous learning and development, including the delegation of tasks and the provision of constructive feedback.
• Contributing to the business: applying knowledge of how the firm and clients generate revenue to improve the quality of our advice and analysis.
• Applying knowledge of the commercial context in which clients operate to ensure our advice furthers their business objectives.
• Understanding how Milltown operates as a business (e.g. team profitability) and beginning to contribute to internal projects.
• Demonstrating restlessness about spotting growth and development opportunities for the business (e.g. finding new ways to help clients, ways to run teams efficiently or share knowledge internally).
• Using personal interests and/or former experience to contribute to the continued growth of the business, both potential new business opportunities and development opportunities for the team.
• Experimenting with, and implementing AI-powered workflows that improve team efficiency and can be shared more widely.
• Contributing to a collaborative and inclusive work environment.
• Giving and receiving regular feedback to individuals at all levels in the firm.
• Actively seeking input or assistance from others and reflecting their contributions in the work.
• Demonstrating allyship to all colleagues.
• Supporting the wellbeing of everyone on the team.

Must-have skills and experience

• Excellent command of written and verbal English language.
• At least 4 years of advisory experience in policy communications with a focus on technology clients - ideally in consultancy, Government or a technology company.
• Demonstrable ability to take a strategic approach to assessing communications challenges and opportunities, including an understanding of how communications can support and advance policy objectives.
• Experience communicating complex topics to non-technical audiences.
• Understanding of different audiences and channels that make up the political and policy landscape.
• Experience building advisory relationships with different stakeholders in order to deliver strategic counsel and insight.
• Experience of project management, including planning and delivering work against agreed goals, timetable and budget.
• Experience managing a team and pushing work to the appropriate level.
• Intellectual curiosity to develop subject matter expertise in new topics, and share that with colleagues.
• A highly motivated team member who values collaboration and has a desire to seek out feedback in order to learn and develop.
• Commitment to contributing to a supportive and inclusive culture.

Desirable skills and experience

• Experience working on integrated creative campaigns designed to change perceptions or achieve specific policy outcomes.
• Experience advising organisations working at the frontier of technology.

What we offer in return

• Competitive and fair base salary determined through annual industry benchmarking.
• Discretionary twice-yearly bonuses.
• Professional development opportunities.
• iPhone and Apple MacBook.
• 26 days annual leave, plus English Public Holidays and Christmas closure.
• 4% employer pension contribution.
• Private healthcare insurance with Bupa for yourself and children.
• Enhanced paid time off for new parents.
• An Employee Assistance Programme with 24/7 access to online, phone or face-to-face counselling.
• Annual eye test and annual flu jab.
• ClassPass membership.
• Income Protection insurance.
• Death in Service insurance.
• 3-day week in the office hybrid policy.
• Variety of team events, such as charity socials, external speakers and firm celebrations.

About us

Milltown Partners is a global advisory firm working with influential organisations and individuals on the communications and public policy challenges that define their reputations. We are an Employee Ownership Trust which means that we’re fully independent and will remain so; the people who work here own the company and share in its success.

Diversity, Equality & Inclusion at Milltown: Creating a diverse, equitable and inclusive environment is core to our values, culture and success as an employee owned business. We want to empower everyone in the team to share their best thinking and ideas, feel valued and know they are having an impact and belong in the business, regardless of their background, age, gender, race, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation or disability.