Political Affairs Officer - Scotland in Edinburgh

£41,450 per annum
Fixed Term Contract until July 2027
Minimum 2 days per week in the UNICEF Scotland office, Edinburgh

UNICEF ensures more of the world’s children are vaccinated, educated and protected than any other organisation. We have done more to influence laws and policies to help protect children than anyone else. We get things done. And we’re not going to stop until the world is a safe place for all our children.

This is a great opportunity to join the UK Committee for UNICEF (UNICEF UK) as the Scotland Political Affairs Officer. This role supports the design and delivery of influencing strategies, builds relationships with MSPs, and monitors political developments to ensure children’s rights are prioritised in Scottish decision-making. The role is part of the Scotland team within UNICEF UK’s Impact and Influence team to champion children’s rights both in Scotland and around the world.

Key responsibilities include:

• Engaging MSPs and political stakeholders
• Providing briefings
• Managing correspondence
• Collaborating with civil society networks to advance advocacy priorities

Skills and experience required include:

• Understanding Scottish politics
• Experience in advocacy or campaigns
• Strong communication skills
• A collaborative approach
• Knowledge of children’s issues in Scotland and the UNCRC

In return, we offer excellent pay and benefits (including flexible working, generous annual leave and pension, big brand discounts and wellbeing tools), outstanding training and learning opportunities, and the support to flourish in your role. We provide impressive open plan office space and facilities on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, an open culture and workplace with colleagues who share our values, enjoy their work and are motivated to do their utmost for children.

The opportunity to work in a leading children’s organisation making a difference to children around the world.

Our application process: We use a system called "Applied" that anonymises your responses and focuses on your actual skills that are relevant to this role. This benefits you by giving you a greater chance of expressing your skills in this objective selection process. We anticipate most colleagues will work one or two days a week in the office in Central Edinburgh and the rest of the time from home. We will happily discuss other flexible options to suit your circumstances.

We particularly welcome applications from black, Asian and minority ethnic candidates, LGBTQ+ candidates, disabled candidates, and from men, because we would like to increase the representation of these groups at this level at UNICEF UK. We want to do this because we know greater diversity will lead to even greater results for children. UNICEF UK promotes equality, diversity and inclusion in our workplace. We make employment decisions by matching business needs with skills and experience of candidates, irrespective of age, disability (including hidden disabilities), gender, gender identity or gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, or sexual orientation.

We welcome a conversation about your flexible working requirements, personal growth, and promoting a workplace where you can be yourself and achieve success based only on your merit.

The successful candidate will be required to apply for a criminal records check. A criminal record will not necessarily bar you from working with us. This will depend on the nature of the role and the circumstances of your offences.

We only accept online applications as this saves us money, making more funds available for us to help ensure children’s rights. If you require support in completing the online form or an application form in an alternative format, please contact Supporter Care during office hours. If you do not hear from us within 14 days of the closing date, please assume your application has been unsuccessful on this occasion. Please note that we only provide feedback to shortlisted candidates.