Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) | Lead Policy Engagement Officer in London

Location: London or Wilmslow, Cheshire (Hybrid)

Salary: £33,273 – £37,692 per annum with potential for further progression to £42,439 per annum with our pay progression scheme

Term: 12-month Fixed Term (Full-time)

About Us

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is the independent regulator of information rights. In a data-driven world, we provide advice, guidance, and support to organisations enabling compliance with their obligations, as well as protecting individuals and their personal data.

As an employer, we are passionate about making a positive difference to the lives and careers of our people, and we empower you to be curious, impactful, collaborative and respectful.

The Public Affairs Team

The Public Affairs (Sectors) team is the front door into the ICO for strategic external stakeholders in our priority sectors of policing & justice, health, education and local government. We provide strategic regulatory advice that helps bring clarity and certainty on information rights issues, and we support our regulatory activity to have greater impact.

As sector experts, the team provides colleagues with early warning of emerging issues and risks, sharing intelligence throughout the ICO to continuously improve our empathy with those we regulate. As trusted advisers to the Commissioner and Executive Team, we drive and support strategic, proactive external stakeholder engagement and help resolve reactive issues. We build understanding of the ICO by driving awareness of priority campaigns.

As the Lead Policy Engagement Officer, you will support the work of the Senior Policy Engagement Officers in the policing, justice and immigration sectors. You will work across the organisation and with a range of stakeholders including government departments, sector bodies and civil society. The role will involve identifying current and emerging sector-specific issues, pulling together complex information to provide timely advice and producing concise, impactful briefings. You will be motivated by providing an excellent service to external and internal stakeholders alike, underpinned by great organisational skills.

Role Location

Contracted to our Wilmslow or London office, however, we offer flexible home and office-based working opportunities. There will be times when you will be expected to attend the office to collaborate with colleagues or travel due to business need. Please note, from Autumn 2026 our head office will move from Wilmslow to Manchester city centre.

Key Responsibilities

• To support the team in building and maintaining relationships with high-profile external stakeholders.
• To identify risks for the ICO on data protection issues by developing knowledge and understanding of both data protection legislation and assigned sectors, including through active engagement on emerging legislation and technological developments.
• Delivery of effective and impactful stakeholder engagement by producing briefing documents, consultation responses and other reports, coordinating cross-office input.
• To coordinate and deliver strategic stakeholder engagement in support of proactive ICO campaigns.
• To promote effective cross-team collaboration including by chairing cross-office forums and proactively sharing intelligence with colleagues.
• To represent ICO at events and support senior staff in stakeholder engagement.
• To promote compliance with data protection and where concerns arise, escalate these to ICO colleagues to support appropriate regulatory action.
• To empower responsible innovation by providing advice to Government on emerging legislation, part of our statutory responsibilities under Article 36(4) GDPR.
• To raise the ICO’s profile by coordinating external stakeholder engagement and speaking requests for the organisation as a whole.
• To provide policy, engagement and some administrative support to the team and wider department.
• Comply with ICO Policies and Procedures.

Person Specification

Essential criteria assessed at the application stage:

• Experience relevant to the role requirements, as described in the role responsibilities and person specification, and accumulated through any combination of academic or vocational qualifications or experience.
• Experience of building and managing senior level stakeholder relationships, and/or significant experience of developing and providing policy advice.
• Experience of applying Data Protection, Freedom of Information or associated legislation or similarly complex legislation.
• Experience of analysing complex legislation and information to make recommendations.
• An understanding of the wider parliamentary, democratic, political and organisational framework in the UK.
• Ability to travel to meetings and events in the UK and occasionally overseas (possibly outside office hours).

Essential criteria assessed during interview:

• Experience of building and managing senior level stakeholder relationships, and/or significant experience of developing and providing policy advice.
• Experience of analysing complex legislation and information to make recommendations.
• Strong communication skills, including excellent written, verbal and presentation skills.
• Strong interpersonal skills, including the ability to negotiate and maintain good relationships with senior internal and external stakeholders.
• Strong organisational and coordination skills.
• Self-motivated, able to work under pressure, working independently and as a member of a team.
• An understanding of the wider parliamentary, democratic, political and organisational framework in the UK.

Why work for the ICO?

• Hybrid and flexible working options.
• 25 days paid holiday per year, plus privilege and public holidays.
• Flexi leave (up to 26 additional days leave per year).
• Pension (employer contribution around 28.9%).
• Online discount scheme to save money at major supermarkets, retailers, gyms, restaurants, insurance providers and many more.
• Health Cash Plan.
• Fantastic development opportunities to learn and progress.

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

The ICO is committed to promoting and enhancing equality, diversity, and inclusion. We are focused on developing a workforce that is representative of the communities we serve and together we are building an inclusive workplace where all of our colleagues have the opportunity to make a real difference. We are championing this through our Equality Diversity and Inclusion Board together with a number of staff networks.

Candidates with a disability who meet the minimum criteria for this vacancy will be invited to interview as part of the ICO’s commitment to the Disability Confident Scheme.

How to apply

To apply for this role (and read the full role description), please click here and submit a tailored CV. Applications will close on July 28th (23:59). We reserve the right to close this vacancy before this date should we receive sufficient applications. Please apply as soon as possible to ensure your application is considered.