We are recruiting for a Policy Communications Lead, Early Years

About Nesta

We are Nesta, the UK’s innovation agency for social good. We design, test and scale solutions to society’s biggest problems. Our three missions are to give every child a fair start, help people live healthy lives, and create a sustainable future where the economy works for both people and the planet. 

For over 20 years, we have worked to support, encourage and inspire innovation. We work in three roles: as an innovation partner working with frontline organisations to design and test new solutions, as a venture builder supporting new and early stage businesses, and as a system shaper creating the conditions for innovation. 

Harnessing the rigour of science and the creativity of design, we work relentlessly to change millions of lives for the better. Find out more at nesta.org.uk. 

Whatever it takes

Everyone works at Nesta because we are driven by a deep commitment to our missions. A guiding principle of our culture is that we do whatever it takes to achieve them, bringing our best to all our work.

Summary

The purpose of this role is to plan, co-author, edit and deliver policy communications content (see below for detail) for early years and education, seeking and securing opportunities for Nesta and BIT to build profile, reputation, relationships and influence.

This role works at the intersection of policy and communications, It will see the postholder translating Nesta’s policy priorities into content and activity that targets and engages policy makers within governments and people and groups who have influence over their attitudes and actions.

The role

• Write and edit a variety of communications content which will be largely but not exclusively domain-specific. This includes first drafts of everything from policy explainers and written briefings to video scripts 

• Edit and publish reports and other policy-related content drafted by colleagues across both Nesta and BIT.

• Plan and deliver a regular schedule of public facing blogs, think pieces and other long-form content, co-authoring with colleagues in the fairer start, BIT and/or the Policy & Partnership teams 

• Publish, jointly, outputs (often under time pressure and in response to political developments) - working in tandem with senior fairer start colleagues to build a pipeline of external interventions targeted at a policy and stakeholder audience

• Work closely with the media team to turn around rapid responses from within the fairer start team on issues, developments, policy announcements relevant to our mission goals

• Programme events that fall within the early years domain, as required by colleagues 

• Build Nesta group’s profile in niche or specialised domains, communities, groups, outlets as they relate to early years and education, with specific responsibility for networks, trade orgs, podcasts and non traditional media 

• Support policy and advocacy campaigns and activity where these relate to early years and education

• Work with the senior team to develop and build their own profile through a regular series of outputs

• Actively develop and build your network both through a pipeline of published content and attendance at events, networking opportunities, briefings etc.

This role will work in particularly close collaboration and partnership with the fairer start and policy and partnerships team at Nesta, as well as with BIT colleagues. While this role is focused on early years and education, the postholder will be required to flex across all domains covered by Nesta and BIT’s work, when and if required.

The person

• An understanding of and interest in domestic policy which you will have gained in a professional context

• Demonstrable experience of working on early years / education policy is strongly preferred

• Experience of working at the intersection of communications and policy - your primary discipline may be either one of those two

• A strong and experienced writer with experience of writing a variety of communications outputs. You will also have the ability to programme simple events, using domain and sector knowledge to suggest speakers, topics and event formats.

• Experience of working at speed with multiple stakeholders with an end goal in mind - ideally gained within a busy policy or communications role in a relevant organisation or inside government.

• Knowledge of political systems and government in the UK. You will have a strong understanding of how policy is made and developed, and of the wider political system, including central government and Parliament, ideally gained in a professional context.

• Project delivery skills. You will have proven experience of delivering high-impact written content at pace and to a schedule. You can proactively plan and drive delivery of work at pace and on time, and identify and act on risks and find solutions.

• Strong interpersonal and networking skills. You will have experience of applying these effectively to collaborate well with colleagues, build stakeholder relationships and develop partnerships. 

As with all members of the Nesta Group communications team, the postholder will also be at their best working in a collaborative, fast-paced environment, have a flexible approach and an appetite for taking on new tasks and challenges. They will also have excellent written and verbal communication skills and a proven ability to write for a range of different audiences.

What we offer

Salary: circa £57,000 plus array of benefits, including private medical insurance, dental insurance, the ability to buy and sell annual leave, eyecare vouchers and more  

Location: This role is based in London, Blackfriars, hybrid working arrangement with a minimum of two days in the office

Term:   Permanent

Hours: This is a full-time role but we offer a range of flexible working arrangements and encourage our people to take advantage of them. Many do. 

Reports to: Deputy Director Communications

Making an application 

To apply for this role, please submit your application before 8:00am on the 29th of May 2025.

Interviews will take place w/c the 9th of June 2025.

At Nesta, we believe that a diverse workforce leads to an organisation that is more innovative, more creative and gets better results. 

We want our workforce to represent the diversity of the people and communities we serve. We also want our workplace to be one where different experiences, expertise and perspectives are valued, and where everyone is encouraged to grow and develop. 

This means that when we are recruiting, we actively seek to reach a diverse pool of candidates. It also means that we are happy to consider any reasonable adjustments that potential employees may need to in order to be successful. 

We recognise the importance of a good balance between work and home life, so we do everything we can to accommodate flexible working, including working from home, compressed or part-time hours, job shares and other arrangements.  

Please just let us know in your application or at any stage throughout the process (and beyond) if these are options you’d like to explore.