Policy and Public Affairs Manager (England)

Reporting to: Head of Policy and Public Affairs

Line Management: 1 Policy and Public Affairs Officer England

Location of work: Remote but role holder will ideally be London-based to be able to frequently commute for meetings/ events at Westminster. The role may involve also some infrequent travel across the UK.

Contract type: Full-time, 35 hours per week, although flexible/ compressed hours will be considered. The role will require occasional evening and weekend work.

Contract Length: Permanent

Salary: £42,000

BACKGROUND

Magic Breakfast is the UK’s leading school breakfast charity and makes a difference to over 350,000 children and young people every day by offering breakfasts and expert advice to tackle child morning hunger in schools across England and Scotland.

This is an exciting time for Magic Breakfast as the benefits of school breakfast provision are increasingly recognised by policymakers, educators and the public. The Policy and Public Affairs (PPA) Team is central to this work. And through our new organisational strategy, Nourishing Futures, the work of the PPA Team is growing to meet our advocacy ambition to expand school breakfast provision and deliver our vision which would see every child in the UK nourished, empowered and thriving.

JOB PURPOSE

The role of the Policy and Public Affairs Manager is a high-impact role, central to designing and delivering Magic Breakfast’s national policy and public affairs strategy in England. The role holder will lead the development of evidence-based policy positions and work collaboratively to drive forward strategic, integrated and impactful advocacy campaigns to successfully influence decision-makers, policy change, and funding frameworks aligned with our key objectives. Specifically, you will also lead the design and implementation of our new workstream to expand school breakfast provision to secondary schools and early years settings, alongside our work to ensure the effective implementation of the Free Breakfast Club Programme.

More broadly, you will keep abreast of political developments relevant to Magic Breakfast - proactively identifying opportunities to respond, influence and shape the debate across the school food system and provide strategic, analytical and timely advice to the Senior Leadership Team.

Using your excellent communication skills, you will be able to translate complex policy into tailored and effective communications, policy briefings, positions and submissions, and will play a lead role in confidently engaging external stakeholders including UK Government Ministers, Parliamentarians, special advisers, officials and sector partners.

We are looking for someone who enjoys collaboration, who shares our passion for driving systematic change, and who can use their experience to navigate, respond to, and influence the fast-moving political environment to deliver lasting and meaningful change. You’ll be part of a collaborative and ambitious organisation, working at the intersection of policy, practice and impact – putting children and young people at the heart of everything we do and helping to ensure every child starts their day nourished, empowered and ready to thrive.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Design and deliver a national influencing strategy for England with strategic objectives and measurable outcomes aligned to Magic Breakfast’s advocacy strategy and organisational priorities.

• Lead the policy development process in consultation with cross-organisational teams and external organisations to develop clear, evidence-based policy recommendations and positions.

• Produce high-quality consultation responses, policy submissions and ministerial briefings that effectively influence decision-making, policy and funding frameworks.

• Design, lead and implement integrated advocacy campaigns to deliver maximum impact in collaboration with cross-organisational teams.

• Build and maintain strong relationships with UK Government Ministers, Parliamentarians, Special Advisers, officials and sector organisations, including conducting stakeholder mapping and power analysis to identify key routes to influence.

• Represent Magic Breakfast in high-level external forums, coalitions and meetings, and lead engagement with Westminster and regional decision-makers.

• Proactively monitor and identify opportunities to influence aligned with organisational priorities, ensuring internal understanding and alignment on issues and opportunities.

• Monitor political and policy developments, providing timely analysis and strategic insight for colleagues and the Senior Leadership Team.

• Work closely with colleagues to share expertise and intelligence, inform and shape research areas, support campaign activities aligned with advocacy objectives, and respond proactively to live developments across the organisation.

• Line manage and support the development of the Public Affairs Officer.

PERSONAL SPECIFICATION

• At least two years’ experience in a UK policy, public affairs, or a similar role (ideally in the education or child policy space) with a demonstrable track record of influencing policy in Westminster.

• Experience of designing and delivering strategic, integrated advocacy campaigns and developing impactful policy and public affairs strategies aligned with organisational priorities.

• Outstanding written and verbal communication skills with experience of drafting high-quality, evidence-based, and influential policy outputs including consultation responses, policy positions, parliamentary briefings and ministerial submissions.

• Strong ability to translate complex policy into clear, persuasive communications tailored to specific audiences to deliver maximum impact.

• Strong analytical skills, including ability to interpret evidence and policy developments and their relevance to Magic Breakfast.  

• Proven ability to build and maintain strong and influential stakeholder relationships across Government, Parliament and the wider policy ecosystem. Experience influencing decision-makers and policy at a regional level is also desirable.

• Proven ability to monitor political and policy developments and demonstrate critical analysis and political judgement to identify strategic opportunities to influence.

• Strong collaboration skills, able to proactively engage colleagues to share knowledge and expertise to achieve shared goals and shape strategy and delivery.

• Proven ability to work at pace, take the initiative and prioritise workstreams to respond to a changing political environment.

• Experience of line management.

GENERAL

• Passion and commitment to Magic Breakfast’s mission and values.

• Contribute to team meetings, sharing best practice and supporting team members where necessary to maintain a positive working environment.

• Uphold a culture that encourages curiosity, continuous improvement, optimism, and a steadfast commitment to social impact.

• Work collaboratively across the organisation to build good working relationships and provide ad-hoc support and intelligence to other teams and colleagues.

• Adhere to all Magic Breakfast policies and procedures.

• Ensure that all activity is compliant with current legislation, GDPR and child safeguarding requirements.

• Participate in occasional work-related events at external venues and be willing to undertake occasional work outside of regular office hours and UK travel.

• Undertake any other duties commensurate with the role.

WHAT WE OFFER

At Magic Breakfast we value our employees and work hard to develop offer a supportive, respectful culture which enables everyone to thrive.

Please click here for our job pack

Please click here for our website

APPLICATION PROCCESS

Should you wish to discuss the role before applying please email our People and Culture Team, HR@magicbreakfast.com

Shortlisting: w/c 25th and 26th May

Interview 1: w/c 1st and 2nd June

Interview 2: w/c 8th and 11th June

We reserve the right to close the vacancy early if a high volume of applications are received. This is to ensure that we can manage application levels whilst maintaining a positive candidate experience. Unfortunately, once a vacancy has closed, we are unable to consider further applications.