Overview and context

IPSA has an ambitious plan centred around its core role of regulating through service. Our plans focus on making it easier for MPs and their staff to access funding, services and support, and delivering meaningful change efficiently and effectively to ensure value for money for the taxpayer. The MP Staff Working Lives Adviser role focuses on delivering projects which improve MP staff terms and conditions, and working lives, recognising the critical role MP staff play in democracy. 

Through a combination of specialist advice, experience and insight and delivery of specific projects, the role works with colleagues across IPSA to deliver meaningful change as outlined in IPSA’s 5 Year Plan. Using their experience of office management and parliament, they provide early assessment of how proposals for change may impact MPs and their offices, ensuring that policy and standards development is grounded in real world implications. The role also plays a key part in shaping and delivering ongoing engagement with MPs and their staff, including representative bodies.  In addition, they strengthen organisational awareness by advising IPSA colleagues on the day-to-day realities of running an MP’s office and how IPSA’s policies and operations impact them.

They’ll live IPSA’s values, lead by example and collaborate with, support and challenge others to ensure IPSA is a high performing organisation and MPs and MP staff satisfaction remains high.

Key responsibilities

• Advising colleagues across IPSA (including the IPSA Leadership Team and the Board) on the real-world impacts of our regulatory approach, budget flexibility and other IPSA improvement projects.

• Working with the Remuneration Policy Specialist on improvements to MP staff terms and conditions, and working lives, leading on specific projects including developing a model office, MP staff pension arrangements and the early identification of measures to improve working conditions that IPSA can influence.

• Working closely with colleagues in the House of Commons Service to ensure seamless support for MP staff, and early identification of issues impacting on them, such as increased workload, and propose options.

• Providing guidance to IPSA on how to address MP staff training needs and support, including access to the Staffing Support Fund.

• Advising on engagement and consultation with MPs and their staff on issues such as budgets, ensuring that the perspectives of MPs and their staff contribute to the shape of IPSA’s support.

• Raise the awareness of IPSA’s people on the day-to-day running of MP offices and how IPSA’s policy and operations impact this.

• Undertaking autonomous projects and other ad-hoc pieces of work as well as contributing to wider IPSA projects, as required.

• Reflecting IPSA’s values of staying connected, seeing the bigger picture, being open, doing the right thing and making a difference through all that you do.

IPSA is a learning organisation. We constantly review our work against our strategic objectives, actively seek views from our stakeholders and assess the environment in which we operate so that we can continuously improve. Therefore, the list of key responsibilities may adapt and change over time within the spirit and nature of organisational change and the development of the role.

What we’re looking for

You’ll bring extensive experience in leading an MP’s office, bringing deep insight into the pressures and opportunities facing MP staff. You’ll be able to translate real-world operational understanding into strategic advice that informs IPSA’s policy and standards development, ensuring our work remains grounded in the realities of constituency office and parliamentary life.

You’ll be confident in project leadership, able to deliver meaningful improvements to processes, support and working conditions in a complex political environment. With excellent parliamentary awareness and a strong network across the MP staff community, you’ll use your judgement to influence senior parliamentarians, representative bodies and colleagues, identifying practical and creative solutions to emerging issues.

As an engaging communicator and collaborative partner, you’ll help IPSA’s people understand the day-to-day challenges of MP offices and how IPSA’s policies and operations can support them.

You’ll champion IPSA’s values through all your work and contribute to a positive, inclusive and high performing culture.

The experience and technical level required for the role, along with personal qualities, skills, attributes, and qualifications are listed below.

Essential

• Extensive and demonstrable experience at leadership level in an MP office, including responsibility for managing people, budgets, workload and productivity.

• Highly developed project management skills and strong delivery experience in a political environment.

• Excellent parliamentary awareness, including experience of influencing senior parliamentarians and other stakeholders.

• Proven ability to manage multiple workstreams simultaneously and work collaboratively with a range of stakeholders.

• Detailed understanding of issues facing the MP staff community and a highly developed network of contacts.

• A thorough understanding of employment legislation and best practice in the context of MP offices.

• Proven ability to anticipate emerging issues and provide early, evidence-based insights to inform policy decisions.

• Skilled in policy and standards development and demonstrable experience of providing creative solutions to issues which contribute to good working practices.

• Proven ability to influence the development of healthy, positive workplace cultures.

• Excellent communication and engagement skills, with a proven ability to build trusted partnerships within in a political environment.

• Demonstrable experience of managing IPSA budgets and excellent working knowledge of IPSA’s customer systems.

Desirable

•  Research and data analysis skills and experience.

Our commitment and values

We’re committed to creating an inclusive, vibrant community and to making IPSA a brilliant place to be.

At the heart of our people philosophy is our promise to engage, enable, and empower every team member to deliver excellence, learn, and develop every day.

Ensuring equality of opportunity is central to this.

With diversity of backgrounds, experiences, and thinking IPSA will continue to operate as a high-performing organisation with a truly diverse and inclusive culture.

That’s why we encourage applications from all backgrounds and communities, such as returning parents or carers who are returning from a career break, people who are LGBTQIA+, from Black, Asian, and other ethnic backgrounds, with a disability, impairment, learning differences or long-term condition, with caring responsibilities, from different geographic regions and people from all socio-economic backgrounds, and any other under-represented groups in our workforce.

As well as our Inclusion Panel we have several workplace networks that promote and celebrate diversity, equity, inclusion, and sustainability.

Our values guide us and we demonstrate them in all our work. These are Staying Connected, Seeing the Bigger Picture, Being Open, and Doing the Right Thing. and Making a Difference. As a values-based organisation, you can expect them throughout the recruitment process and beyond.

Interview timeline

If you're selected for interview this will be virtual and will take place on Microsoft Teams, so you’ll need access to a secure WIFI network and a private space. 

Interview

Our interviews are competency and values-based. We’ll ask you a series of questions designed to help assess your suitability for the role and for IPSA.

The closing date for this role will be 30 April 2026, so we encourage you to submit your application without delay. Shortlisting will take place in w/c 04 May 2026. Interviews will take place 21 and 22 May 2026 - please make a note of these dates in your diary as we will be operating a tight interview schedule and we will be unable to reschedule interviews.

Job description

Please find a downloadable version of the Job Description here.

Ready to apply?

Great! Just scroll to the top of this page and you can start your application in the top right-hand corner. Please note: in addition to answering the 3 application questions, you'll need to provide with a CV and a cover letter. It's important to note that your CV and cover letter must be combined into the same document as you will be unable to add more than one attachment/document to your application.

We also ask you to keep your cover letter to around 500 words.