Public Affairs Manager (Wales)

PUBLIC AFFAIRS MANAGER (WALES) Salary: £36,000 - £37,000 per annum Reports to: Senior External Affairs Manager (Devolved Nations) Department: Policy, Information and Communications Location: Cardiff office w/ high-flex (1st Floor Clockwise, Brunel House, 2 Fitzalan Road, Cardiff, CF24 0EB) Employment type: Fixed-term contract until end of March 2024 (please note that we are open to both internal and external secondments) Working hours: Full time 35 hours per week Closing date: Wednesday 22 March 2023, 23:55 *

• Please note that we may close this role earlier than stated, therefore early application is encouraged to avoid disappointment.

At Cancer Research UK, we exist to beat cancer. We are professionals with purpose, beating cancer every day. But we need to go much further and much faster. That’s why we we’re looking for someone talented, someone who shares our vision, someone like you. We are looking for a Public Affairs Manager to join us in our Cardiff office. We need you to drive Cancer Research UK’s public affairs work in Wales, leading our work with the Senedd and key NHS bodies to influence along our policy priority areas. This role will be an important member of the Devolved Nations Public Affairs team and the wider Policy Department, ensuring opportunities to influence are taken up to achieve change and impact for people affected by cancer in Wales. What will I be doing?

• Building our profile among ministers, officials, MSs and other key opinion leaders to ensure our policy messages are heard at every level
• Influencing the Senedd and NHS Wales’ national policy on cancer, health and science, including legislation through the Senedd
• Using knowledge and understanding of the Welsh political and policy environment to proactively seek opportunities to grow the charity’s profile and drive forward our policy priorities
• Overseeing the delivery of impactful communications and engagement with Welsh stakeholders, including briefings, speeches, blogs, events, visits, social media content, reports, letters, emails and consultation responses
• Oversee our work as secretariat of the Cross Party Group on Cancer in the Senedd
• Feed into the work of the Wales Cancer Alliance coalition of charities
• Acting as a media spokesperson for policy matters in Wales
• Managing the Wales Public Affairs team to ensure agreed priorities are achieved
• Leading Welsh public affairs planning and work closely with the central Policy Development, Public Affairs and Campaigns, Communications, Strategic Evidence, and Health Service Engagement teams.

What skills are you looking for?

• Excellent understanding of the political environment and experience in successfully influencing for change in Wales
• Excellent political judgement, with commitment to neutrality, and ability to work across the political spectrum
• Excellent interpersonal and negotiating skills
• Excellent communications skills (written and oral), including the ability to adapt complex information for different audiences
• Excellent team management skills
• Good understanding of health, cancer and/or science policy
• Experience of working in coalition or in partnership with other organisations
• Experience of acting as a media spokesperson
• Good problem solver and strategic thinker.

Please click here for a full candidate pack. What will I gain? Each and every one of our employees contributes to our progress and is supporting our work to beat cancer. We think that’s impressive. In return, we make sure you are supported by a generous benefits package, a wide range of career and personal development opportunities and high-quality tools, policies and processes to enable you to do your job well. Our benefits package includes a substantial retirement plan, a generous and flexible leave allowance, discounts on anything from travel to technology, gym membership, and much more. We review pay annually and aim to recognise individual performance and achievements. We don’t forget people have lives outside of work too and so we actively encourage a flexible working culture. Our work – from funding cutting-edge research to developing public policy – will change the world. It’s exciting to be part of our team. How do I apply? We operate an anonymised shortlisting process in our commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion. CVs are required for all applications; but we won’t be able to view them until we invite you for an interview. Instead, we ask you to complete the work history section of the online application form for us to be able to assess you quickly, fairly and objectively. For more information on this career opportunity please visit our website or contact us at recruitment@cancer.org.uk. . Should you wish to take this role on as a secondment opportunity and have any queries around this, please contact us at recruitment@cancer.org.uk. There’s a place for everyone at Cancer Research UK. Our vision is to create a charity where everyone feels like they belong, benefits from and participates in, the work we do. We're committed to creating an inclusive culture where everyone can be themselves and reach their full potential. We actively encourage applications from people of all backgrounds and cultures, in particular those from ethnic minority backgrounds who are currently under-represented, and believe that a diverse workforce will help us to beat cancer sooner. If you’re interested in applying and excited about working with us but are unsure if you have the right skills and experience we’d still love to hear from you. We don’t expect everyone to meet all of the criteria listed. We want to see every candidate performing at their best throughout the job application process, interview process and whilst at work. We therefore ask you to inform us of any concerns you have or any adjustments you might need to enable this to happen by emailing us at recruitment@cancer.org.uk. Unfortunately, we are unable to recruit anyone below the age of 18, so that we can protect young people from health & safety and safeguarding risks.