Job Title: Public Affairs Officer

Reporting to: Campaign Manager

Contract: Permanent, Full-time

The B Corp Movement & The Better Business Act

B Lab UK is part of the global B Corp movement with the mission to inspire and enable people to use business as a force for good. The Better Business Act is B Lab UK’s flagship policy campaign, pushing for a change to UK legislation to make sure all businesses align the interests of people and the planet with profit. The campaign has the support of a coalition of over 3000 businesses and non-profits and is chaired by Mary Portas OBE and Douglas Lamont, CEO of Tony’s Chocolonely.

Why this role?

It’s an exciting time to join B Lab UK. With a new government and a fast-growing B Corp community, business as a force for good is making its way up the UK’s political agenda. 

A key ingredient to us achieving our goals? Great relationships with political stakeholders. We’re looking for a Public Affairs Officer to join our team and play a central role in building relationships with politicians and policymakers, to ensure we're maximising the opportunities that the new government presents. 

As Public Affairs Officer, you will work closely with B Lab UK’s Marketing, Communications and Campaigns team to ensure effective communications which enable you to build solid foundational relationships across Westminster, enabling us to advance the goals of the Better Business Act.

In this role you will:

• Assist the Campaigns Manager to plan and deliver the campaign strategy for the Better Business Act.

• Keep abreast of external media and highlight political moments which might present risks and opportunities for the Better Business Act.

• Research, identify and prioritise strategic relationship building opportunities with policymakers, Members of Parliament and their offices.

• Prepare and brief the Campaign Director and Campaign Manager for meetings with key stakeholders.

• Maximise the Better Business Act (BBA) coalition of businesses to engage with their MPs, organising political visits regionally.

• Maintain a stakeholder database of Members of Parliament and policymakers, tracking relationships and progress.

• Work with the Campaign & Events Coordinator to engage political stakeholders in key events including the BBA’s programme of activity at Party Conferences.

Please refer to the job description for full requirements for this role by clicking HERE.

What we're looking for:

Remember no one has every skill or experience needed for this role and you’ll have the opportunity to learn a lot from the team. We believe someone who has a few of these is well suited to exceed in this role:

• Deep understanding of the levers involved in policy-change and parliamentary processes.

• A keen interest in politics and UK public affairs.

• Able to work on campaigns driving social change.

• Highly skilled in communication, relationship building and stakeholder management and confidence in dealing with stakeholders at all levels.

• Excellent written skills, with proven ability to commission/deliver policy reports, research, draft opinion pieces and to input to consultations.

• Ability to project manage and monitor work of external providers, in order to achieve objectives.

• A keen collaborator who values the ability to go further together with their colleagues and stakeholders.

• Passionate about sustainability, and specifically about the role that business can play in creating the future that benefits all people and the planet.

  Candidates must be able to demonstrate their eligibility to work in the UK (we are not able to provide visa sponsorship).

What we give you:

• Purpose driven work enabling B Lab UK’s mission of redefining the role of business as a force for good

• Hybrid and flexible working, we have a high trust environment and are advocates for right place working

• Hybrid working (min 1/2 days per week in office)

• Flexible working hours (based around core working hours)

• Opportunity to work 4 days a week 

• 25 days holiday plus bank holidays (pro rata for part-time staff)

• 1 additional annual leave day (pro-rata for part-time staff) for each complete annual year of service, up to a maximum of 30 days

• Our office is closed between Christmas and New Year, no need to take extra holiday!

• Private Medical and Dental cover

• £200 per annum tax free Annual Wellbeing allowance and Employee Assistance Programme

• 2 paid volunteer days per year

• Enhanced Parental Leave and family friendly policies, including carers leave

• Learning and Development opportunities

• Enhanced Pension and Life Assurance

• Cycle to Work Scheme

• Income Protection policy

• Working in a flexible office workspace

How to apply:

If you share our passion for sustainability and are excited about the opportunity to shape this growing political agenda, we would love to hear from you!

Please note that all applications must be made through Be Applied.

We are happy to support candidates with any adjustments that would make their recruitment experience at each stage more comfortable, please contact hiring@bcorporations.uk.

We welcome everyone to apply for our positions. We understand that some candidates hesitate to apply unless they meet 100% of the criteria. However, we strongly encourage you to apply if you meet some of the key criteria for our roles.

To apply for this role, we ask that you provide your responses to 3 key questions, as well as uploading your CV. It is important that you ensure your answers to the questions are specific and that you provide examples which fully demonstrate your skills and experience relevant to the role.

At B Lab UK, we understand the benefits of using open AI tools (e.g. ChatGPT), however for the purpose of this application we prefer to see answers that are tailored by candidates themselves, without relying much on these tools. This enables us to make a clear assessment of your ability to meet the requirements of the role.

Please note that we use the system Beapplied to enable us to run a blind recruitment process, therefore reducing the risk of bias. The initial selection is based on applicant’s responses to the 3 key questions, which are scored independently by a panel against predefined criteria relevant to the role. The hiring panel does not see the applicant's CV or any other information about them until the interview stage. 

All candidates will be contacted after the initial screening process with an update on the status of their application. Candidates selected to proceed to the next stage, may be asked to prepare and present a task. Interviews will likely be remote, and at least one conversational in-person interview.

B Lab believes an equitable and inclusive work environment and a diverse, empowered team are key to achieving our mission. We’re not looking for candidates who are “culture fits.” We’re looking for candidates who can expand our culture and challenge business as usual. We strive to foster an environment where all staff can bring themselves to work by their own definition, and we strive to provide all candidates with an equitable and accessible recruitment process.