Director of Public Affairs and Policy

Ellwood Atfield; London; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading company in the UK pension sector seeks a Director of Public Affairs and Policy to develop strategic proposals, manage public affairs initiatives, and influence government policy. This influential role aims to eradicate inequalities in the pension system and improve member outcomes across the industry.

Qualifications

• Deep knowledge of the pension landscape and legislation.
• Broadcast media experience including live appearances.

Responsibilities

• Create strategic policy proposals and high-quality outputs.
• Maintain a detailed stakeholder map and develop a personal network.
• Monitor political and policy developments and adapt policy material.

Skills

Communication

Collaboration

Stakeholder Management

Political Awareness

Job description

The opportunity:
NOW: Pensions is an award-winning UK workplace pension provider. We look after the pension savings of millions of members on behalf of tens of thousands of companies from a wide range of industries. We provide a workplace pension with independent governance to employers of all sizes across the UK and help payroll bureaus, and financial advisers support their clients.

As a sustainable and responsible investor and pension provider, we believe that getting positive investment outcomes and investing for a better world go together. For some years now we’ve been increasing our focus on investing in companies that have stronger sustainability characteristics, lower carbon footprints, and achieve good standards on environmental, social, and governance (ESG).

Working at NOW: Pensions isn’t like anywhere else. We’re a little different from other financial services firms, and we like it that way. We are looking for an experienced Director of Public Affairs and Policy with an excellent track record to join the commercial team.

As part of your role, you will be responsible for creating our strategic policy proposals, developing high-quality policy outputs, and responding to Government initiatives on a range of policy issues. These include playing a leading role in our work to eradicate inequalities in the pension system such as the gender pensions gap, influencing changes to improve member outcomes, and making our business more sustainable, as well as developing leading commercial public affairs strategies.

Main responsibilities include:

• Maintain a detailed stakeholder map of national decision makers and their influencers in Government and seek to develop and maintain a personal network of key decision makers to build awareness of NOW: positions.
• Manage the work of public affairs agencies/consultants brought in by the business for specialist projects, ensuring timely delivery to a high standard, compliance with agreed KPIs, and to budget.
• Monitor political and policy developments, adapt policy material, and write briefings, as well as build relationships with relevant stakeholders including parliamentarians and policymakers.
• Ensure a focus on proactively increasing the organisation’s profile across external affairs; building trust and deepening relationships with government officials, advisors, MPs, think tanks, NGOs, academia, senior industry leaders, and other key influencers.
• Work closely with NOW’s senior leadership team and Trustee directors to ensure they are involved and informed as appropriate.

Required skills, experience, and competencies include:

• Deep knowledge of the pension landscape, understanding of pension legislation, and how it relates to the firm’s commercial agenda.
• Excellent communicator, able to think on your feet in live situations.
• Broadcast media experience including live appearances on both television and radio.
• Ability to work within a committee, gathering support for your key initiatives and securing appropriate priority for them.
• Highly collaborative style able to interact with colleagues at all levels across the organisation.

This important and influential position offers an opportunity to affect the lives of millions, genuinely and positively.