Policy Adviser (Public)

The British Academy

Location Central London, with hybrid-working available
Salary Starting salary - £31,350 plus excellent benefits (including 34 days' annual leave plus bank holidays and excellent pension)
Team Public Policy
  • Closing: 12:00pm, 12th Apr 2023 BST

Job Description

The British Academy – the UK’s national body for the humanities and social sciences - is seeking a Policy Adviser to join our Public Policy team, providing key support in the delivery of our Net Zero, and Science, Trust and Policy programmes.

You can find out more about the British Academy here, including our Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Statement.

ROLE PURPOSE / OVERVIEW

The Policy Adviser role offers a great opportunity for someone who enjoys a mix of self-driven and collaborative work and is keen to deliver impactful and relevant policy insights to a broad audience. The nature of the work is varied, and we encourage team members to bring their ideas to the table and take a lead.

This is a generalist role working on a range of topics and would suit someone with a strong interest in improving the quality of policy making by making the most of SHAPE (social science, humanities and arts for people and economy) insights and evidence.  The growing Public Policy Team (currently nine people) is made up of friendly and supportive people working across four themes - governance, trust and voice, social infrastructure, digital societies and sustainable futures.  The primary focus of this role will be within the sustainable futures and governance, trust and voice themes, and there will be opportunities to contribute to other themes and support the development of new areas of work in the future.

The role would suit someone with a range of interests and the ability and desire to learn rapidly about our work and the issues we focus on.  The main skills needed for the job include communication, project management and stakeholder engagement skills. If you are a creative thinker and a clear communicator this could be the job for you.

The Academy has a great working culture, work-life balance and employee wellbeing is important. Plus, we have a stunning office close to lots of green space and major landmarks.


OFFICE LOCATION - 10-11 Carlton House Terrace, St James Park, London, SW1Y 5AH

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

The role may include a wide range of duties that will vary according to the needs of specific projects, programmes and the team and Directorate, including:

Manage and deliver specific projects or workstreams within a larger programme

  • Oversee the development and delivery (including organisation) of activities (including events) and other initiatives which form part of the project.

  • Manage any associated budgets, including allocation, payments and financial monitoring.

  • Undertake policy analysis and synthesis (including at times drafting work for publication) and to draw up briefings, statements, speeches, promotional material, project web pages and other internal and external communications.

  • Contribute to published reports and other outputs as relevant, and monitoring project impacts.

Create and maintain stakeholder relationships

  • Oversee, and provide support for, partners, researchers and consultants as part of the project or wider programme.

  • Contribute to developing links, networks and collaborations with appropriate organisations and stakeholders, including individuals and projects funded by the programme.

  • Represent the Academy and present its work externally at meetings with stakeholders and other key audiences.

 Contribute to policy development and scoping

  • Support the Head of Policy (Public), the Senior Futures Lead, and Senior Policy Advisors working on the development of new programmes, including the shaping and prioritising of the programme of activity, supporting the wider project team where necessary.

  • Support relevant Academy committees and groups, drafting agendas, papers and minutes.

  • Provide support for Academy activities including Council, Section meetings, etc, as requested from time to time.

  • Work with other Academy departments (including research awards, international, communications and other policy teams) to ensure:

    • Joined up activity, where appropriate; and

    • Relevant and timely communication and messaging of the programme’s activities.

KEY STAKEHOLDERS

External

This is an external-facing role.  External stakeholders range from senior leaders to those at the coal-face, with each relationship being important.  They fall into three main groups:

  • Policymakers (politicians, officials, regulators, local authorities)

  • Practitioners from all sectors – business, civil society, public sector

  • Academics, researchers and experts, including British Academy Fellows, funded researchers and the other national academies.

Internal

The role also requires close collaboration with colleagues in the Public Policy team, as well as in higher education policy, press and public affairs, research funding and international. 

ROLE REQUIREMENTS

QUALIFICATIONS

Educated to bachelor’s degree level or equivalent

WORKING RELATIONSHIPS

Works and communicates effectively

  • Excellent written and oral communication skills – Includes giving presentations and writing policy reports and materials in both an analytically rigorous and engaging style for policy audiences.

  • Inclusive and values-driven; our values are: collaboration, creativity, empathy, excellence, integrity, resilience and respect.

  • Positive attitude to challenges and co-operation with colleagues

  • Excellent ability to communicate diplomatically and sensitively as situations require and to handle confidential information.

  • Experience of building and maintaining relationships with internal and external stakeholders.

  • A professional and confident approach when dealing with a variety of people

  • Willing to work flexibly within changing priorities

KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS

Demonstrates and develops appropriate knowledge and skills.

  • Demonstrable understanding and knowledge of the UK public policy landscape and a desire to apply it to our work.

  • A working knowledge of salient public policy issues.

  • Knowledge of relevant areas of research, as well as policy research methods suitable for our programmes (net zero and other environmental sustainability issues being desirable).

  • Experience of producing short policy briefings and/or longer in-depth reports.

  • Experience of event organisation.

  • Experience of managing expenditure effectively.

  • Confidence to learn from mistakes, seek and accept feedback and continuously improve.

  • A strong desire to develop new skills and knowledge and apply them to strengthen our work.

  • Strong IT skills and the capability to learn new IT skills and apply IT to solve problems and deliver more effectively.

  • Experience of working with committees/working groups - desirable.

  • Experience in policy development - desirable.

PROACTIVITY AND PLANNING

Manages time and resources effectively in order to achieve own and organisational objectives

  • Experience in project management, including designing, leading, monitoring and reviewing project activities.

  • Good organisational and project management skills.

  • Ability to meet deadlines under pressure, often balancing conflicting priorities

  • Comfortable with a mixture of independent, self-directed and collaborative team work.

PROBLEM SOLVING AND DECISION MAKING

Ensures good decisions are made through a rational and methodical approach.

  • Strategic thinking – a combination of creativity, curiosity, adaptability, being forward-thinking, having good judgement and ambition, while understanding how to get things done.

  • Excellent research, analytical and problem-solving skills

  • Able to take on a varied set of responsibilities and flexible to work on all parts of the project/programme delivery.

OTHER REQUIREMENTS

Must have the right to work in the UK.

  • Willing to travel occasionally within the UK on British Academy business

  • Able to be flexible about working hours on occasions

BRITISH ACADEMY WORKPLACE VALUES

The Academy’s workplace values and supporting text are set out below. We share these core values with each other. They guide how we work together and with others. We demonstrate them through our behaviours.

COLLABORATION- We consistently work together to a common purpose, supporting each other, communicating openly and sharing knowledge. We are flexible and adaptable, receiving feedback constructively

CREATIVITY - We bring imagination and curiosity to our work, valuing learning, diverse thinking, and innovation. We are open-minded, receptive, and responsive, taking account of alternative perspectives

EMPATHY-We are understanding, sensitive, compassionate, and considerate, mindful of our own wellbeing alongside that of others

EXCELLENCE - We always do our best, without striving to be perfect, applying our expertise and experience to develop and grow

INTEGRITY - We are open and honest with each other, accepting personal responsibility and demonstrating loyalty. We are reliable and dependable, having belief that we will be transparent and clear

RESILIENCE - We are confident, bold, and tenacious, knowing when to listen as well as when to speak up. We respond positively to challenges and overcome problems

RESPECT - We are inclusive in our regard for each other, showing courtesy and appreciation. We treat people fairly and equally, welcoming everyone’s contribution and difference

Removing bias from the hiring process

Applications closed Wed 12th Apr 2023

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Removing bias from the hiring process

  • Your application will be anonymously reviewed by our hiring team to ensure fairness
  • You’ll need a CV/résumé, but it’ll only be considered if you score well on the anonymous review

Applications closed Wed 12th Apr 2023