Government Affairs Manager

In this role, you will sit at the heart of Nest’s relationship with government, shaping how we engage with our sponsor department and supporting delivery of our long‑term strategy. Day to day, you will lead key interactions with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), acting as a trusted focal point for both internal teams and government counterparts. You will build effective, influential relationships with key strategic stakeholders and work with internal stakeholders at Nest to connect policy, strategy and operations, helping colleagues navigate government frameworks and respond to emerging policy or regulatory developments. This includes identifying risks and issues in the government relationship and supporting effective responses when they arise. Alongside this, you will build deep expertise in Nest’s stewardship arrangements with government, advising colleagues on how to operate within these frameworks and helping to evolve the organisation’s approach over time. You may also assist with other work in policy and public affairs relevant to the role.

Role highlights:

• Responsible for managing Nest’s day-to-day relationship with DWP and shaping how the partnership develops.
• Owning major set‑piece engagements with senior officials and ministers.
• Acting as a strategic bridge between government policy and Nest’s corporate priorities.
• Working across strategy, policy and public affairs, with scope to contribute beyond core government relations.

Minimum criteria:

• Ability to build strong impactful relationships with a range of stakeholders.
• Experience working with Central Government departments, either from an external perspective or from within Government.
• Excellent organisational and project management skills and ability to anticipate needs and mitigate risks.
• A genuine enthusiasm for the subject matter and for helping NEST to deliver effectively for its members.
• An ability to work autonomously with limited input from line manager.
• An ability to work flexibly and at pace to accommodate changing priorities and external environment.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to understand technical and complex issues and translate to non-technical audiences.

At Nest, you’ll have access to a range of learning opportunities to learn, grow and build the skills you need to be successful in your role and career.

Flexible and agile working:

Everyone's personal situation is different. To make the most out of hybrid working, we've introduced different ways of working, which include (subject to role requirements): Hybrid of office (Canary Wharf, London) and home working (there will be an expectation to attend the office, once-twice a week, or more, as required).

Directorate / Department Overview:

With one in three UK workers saving with Nest and over £40 billion invested on behalf of the UK workforce, Nest is one of the largest pension schemes in the UK. Established in 2010, Nest was set up as a critical pillar of the government’s automatic enrolment pension programme, with a public service obligation to accept any employer wishing to use the scheme. Nest exists to deliver better financial outcomes for our members, with a focus on delivering for the low to median earning population we were set up to serve and a commitment to invest responsibly and to return any profit we make to our members.

Now that NEST is operating in the market at scale, we are facing a series of new challenges and opportunities: how can we evolve the business to best serve our membership, taking into account the obligations placed on the scheme due to the nature of our funding arrangements with Government? How should our strategies evolve and how can we best hold ourselves to account for delivering on those strategies? What does external change – in public policy, technology, regulation or consumer behaviour – tell us about how the scheme may need to adapt in future? And how can we influence that change to the benefit of our membership?

The Strategy, Impact and Transformation Directorate sits at the heart of Nest. It is responsible for defining and overseeing Nest’s overarching strategy including our corporate purpose, vision and business priorities, and for helping the business ensure it is delivering in line with that strategic framework. The Directorate helps Nest engage with the outside world, in particular our key partners in government in order that we are best placed to understand and manage the risks and opportunities stemming from external change, including policy change.

Organisational Overview:

Nest is an award‑winning workplace pension scheme, the largest in the country. Set up by the government to give every worker in the UK somewhere to save, our first‑class responsible investment practice and governance are the backbone of what we do, supported by all the functions you’d expect to find in a thriving business. We’re committed to creating a workplace where you can be your authentic self and offer an inclusive and flexible working environment.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion:

Everyone is welcome to apply for our roles, and we are determined to ensure that no applicant or employee receives less favourable treatment because of their age, disability, gender identity, marital status, national origin, pregnancy or caring responsibilities, race, religion/belief, sex, sexual orientation or socio‑economic background. We also recognise the importance of diversity of thought and other forms of neurocognitive variation. Nest is a Disability Confident Leader, which is the highest level of the Disability Confident Scheme. If you have a disability, please declare that you’re applying through the scheme. We aim to offer an interview to those applicants who apply through the Disability Confident Scheme and best meet the minimum criteria. However, there may be some circumstances where this is not possible due to the volume of applications.

Please note that this advert may close early if we receive a sufficient number of satisfactory applications. If you have any difficulty in sending your application or need the application pack in an alternative format, or you require any reasonable adjustments please contact: careers@nestcorporation.org.uk.