Head of External Affairs (maternity cover)

The Centre for Ageing Better is looking for an experienced, politically astute and ambitious Head of External Affairs to join us on a maternity cover contract. This is a unique opportunity to lead one of the UK's most influential voices on ageing at a time of significant social, economic and political change. As Head of External Affairs, you will lead our communications, public affairs and campaigning work, helping us secure greater government attention, commitment and action on the opportunities and challenges of our ageing society. Alongside leading a high-performing team, you will personally drive some of our most strategically important influencing priorities. Working closely with senior leaders across the organisation, you will lead high-profile programmes of work across our action areas of Work, Homes & Communities and Ageism & Inequality, helping to ensure that government, parliamentarians, local leaders and other decision-makers take meaningful action to improve the experience of ageing. These programmes will sit at the heart of our efforts to make ageing a mainstream political priority and secure practical policy change. This is an ideal role for someone who combines outstanding strategic leadership with a track record of delivering high-impact public affairs, policy and communications programmes that have achieved real-world change., Please note we're not responsible for the content of job ads, as they're posted by the recruiter. We'll aim to resolve the reported issue and we'll use your feedback to improve the quality of our ads.

We're looking for someone who brings a blend of strategic leadership, political awareness and hands-on delivery experience.,

• Significant experience in public affairs, strategic communications, campaigning and policy influencing.
• A strong track record of securing policy, political or systems change through effective influencing and stakeholder engagement.
• Experience of working successfully with Westminster, Whitehall and other senior decision-makers.
• Demonstrable experience of developing policy positions and translating evidence, research and evaluation into compelling content and influencing narratives.
• Experience of leading high-profile programmes, campaigns or initiatives that have attracted government attention and resulted in action from decision-makers.
• A track record of developing and delivering integrated communications and influencing strategies that achieve measurable impact.
• Excellent writing, stakeholder management and political influencing skills.
• Strong leadership and people management experience, with the ability to motivate and develop high-performing teams.
• The ability to think strategically while also delivering complex projects and responding to a fast-changing external environment.
  
  The Centre for Ageing Better is an independent centre of excellence on ageing and demographic change. We work with national and local government, industries, businesses and community organisations to improve how people experience ageing. Our work focuses on creating better workplaces, homes and communities, while tackling ageism and addressing inequality in later life.
The Centre for Ageing Better is a charitable foundation funded by The National Lottery Community Fund (NLCF) and part of the government's What Works Network. We are fortunate to have monies remaining from our endowment from the NLCF to fully fund us until 2029, and we will be looking for new funding opportunities to sustain activity beyond 2029. We are striving to create an organisation that reflects our society and the communities we serve with a workplace where everyone feels empowered and where diversity of background and thought is celebrated. We know there is more work to be done and are committed to continuing to improve our practice around Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion.

We offer a pension scheme with employer contribution up to 10%, in addition you'll receive 28 days holiday plus bank holidays, 24-hour access to a comprehensive employee assistance programme, cycle to work scheme and season ticket loan scheme and other benefits.