External Affairs Coordinator

AQA Recruiting; Greater London; Ibrido; GBP 35.000 - 40.000; Tempo pieno

Vantaggi offerti da questo lavoro

Bupa Health Insurance

Health Care Cash Plan

Life Assurance

Electric Vehicle Leasing scheme

Pension contributions up to 18.5%

25 days annual leave + holidays + Xmas

Descrizione del lavoro

AQA is seeking a proactive External Affairs professional to coordinate policy, public affairs and communications activity from its central team in London or Manchester. You will align workstreams with strategic objectives, support governance, planning and reporting, and build strong stakeholder relationships to inform education policy debates.

This hybrid role requires experience in public affairs or education sector organisations, excellent communication skills, and a track record of delivering

Competenze

• Experience in public affairs, policy, membership organisations, charities, think tanks or the education sector.
• Ability to develop and maintain effective relationships with a diverse range of stakeholders.
• Excellent communication skills and the ability to adapt writing style for different audiences.

Mansioni

• Coordinate and oversee the delivery of External Affairs priorities, ensuring activity aligns with strategic objectives and is delivered effectively.
• Support business planning, risk management and performance reporting, providing oversight of key workstreams and emerging priorities.
• Assist the Head of External Affairs with governance activity, strategic updates, business planning and cross-functional collaboration.
• Monitor policy developments and announcements to identify engagement or response opportunities.
• Build and maintain relationships with internal and external stakeholders to strengthen AQA's influence.
• Produce briefings, reports and insights for senior leaders to inform decision-making.

Descrizione del lavoro

At AQA, we’re committed to advancing education and we’re committed to our people. As the largest provider of academic qualifications in the UK, we mark over 10 million exam papers each year and it’s our people who make this happen.

Contract type: Permanent

Location: Manchester or London

Salary: Manchester £35,000 - £38,000 | London £36,000 - £39,500

Working arrangements: Hybrid, with a minimum of 2 days per week in the office

Purpose of the role

Help shape how AQA engages with government, policymakers and the wider education sector. This is an opportunity to work at the centre of AQA's influencing activity, helping to coordinate the work that informs education policy debates and supports better outcomes for learners. You'll work across policy, public affairs and communications, ensuring priorities stay on track, senior stakeholders remain informed and key projects are delivered effectively. This role gives you the opportunity to develop your career in public affairs, policy and communications while contributing to work that influences important education debates and priorities.

Key responsibilities

• Coordinate and oversee the delivery of the External Affairs team's priorities, ensuring activity is aligned to strategic objectives and delivered effectively.
• Support business planning, risk management and performance reporting, providing oversight of key workstreams and emerging priorities.
• Supporting the Head of External Affairs with governance activity, strategic updates, business planning and cross-functional collaboration.
• Monitoring policy developments and announcements, identifying areas where AQA may wish to engage or respond.
• Build and maintain effective relationships with internal and external stakeholders, supporting AQA's influence across the education sector.
• Produce high-quality briefings, reports and insight for senior leaders, helping inform decision-making and strategic discussions.
• Support the coordination of stakeholder engagement activity, events and forums that strengthen AQA's external relationships and reputation.

What’s in it for you

Career development and professional growth in a leading education charity

• Hybrid working and flexibility to support work-life balance
• Comprehensive benefits including Bupa Health Insurance, Health Care Cash Plan, Life Assurance and an Electric Vehicle Leasing scheme, generous combined pension contributions up to 18.5% and 25 days annual leave plus bank holidays and extra closure days at Christmas
• An inclusive culture that welcomes new perspectives, values collaboration and encourages innovative thinking to improve how we support teachers and students

You’ll thrive in this role if you have:

• If you enjoy bringing structure, clarity and energy to a busy and fast‑moving environment
• Experience within public affairs, policy, membership organisations, charities, think tanks or the education sector
• A track record of developing and maintaining strong relationships with a diverse range of stakeholders.
• Excellent communication skills and the ability to adapt your style for different audiences.
• Experience coordinating projects, programmes or business activity across multiple stakeholders
• Experience using CRM systems, planning tools or reporting systems to track activity and engagement
• A proactive and adaptable approach, with the confidence to take ownership, drive continuous improvement and build effective relationships across a range of stakeholders.

Diversity and inclusion

At AQA, we're committed to creating a workplace where everyone feels they belong and can do their best work. We value the different perspectives, experiences and backgrounds our people bring, knowing they strengthen our culture, decision-making and impact. We foster an inclusive environment where everyone is treated with respect, has access to opportunities to grow and contribute, and feels able to be themselves. We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds and lived experiences.

Reasonable Adjustments

If you require any reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process or in the role, please contact the recruiter named in the vacancy advert or your interview correspondence. They will work with you to ensure the appropriate support is in place and that the process is as accessible and equitable as possible. If you're unsure who your recruiter is, or can't reach them, contact Faye Harrison (she/her) at [e-mail] or 07813 724161, and she'll direct you to the right person. Please note that Faye cannot assist with temporary vacancy enquiries or non-recruitment matters. For temporary vacancies, contact [e-mail].

Smart Working

We’re operating a smart working model. This allows for our colleagues to work from two days a week in one of our offices across England.

Conflict of Interest

Please note that due to the confidential nature of our work, we are unable to employ people for our temporary roles who are currently a candidate for Key Stage 4 and 5 public examinations.

Safeguarding

AQA is committed to the safeguarding of children and adults at risk. We’re dedicated to reducing the risk of employing or contracting any person intent on abusing their position of trust, along with identifying and responding to any incident of alleged abuse from its employees or associates fairly and swiftly. For more information on safeguarding at AQA please visit the AQA website here.

Full Job Description Summary

Purpose: To lead on the planning and delivery of external affairs plans, working collaboratively across the business with multiple stakeholders, with the goal of increasing AQA’s impact within our influencing work. The post holder will facilitate the smooth and effective operation of the External Affairs business area by providing administrative and planning support to the team, particularly through managing a live grid of proposed external activities such as report publications and events. The post holder is also responsible for reporting on the progress and milestones across AQA’s influencing strategy.

Landscape

It is important that attention is paid to the sequencing of policy reports, events and planned communications activities, to maximise the impact AQA has externally. The postholder will be key in making that vision a reality – planning and coordinating activities, as well as providing administrative support as necessary for individual teams during high workload periods.

The External Affairs business area is at the heart of the Influencing strategy, so the postholder will play an important role in ensuring it’s implemented, reviewed and reported on for senior internal stakeholders.

Activities

• Responsible for planning and monitoring progress to ensure key deliverables and milestones are achieved within workstreams related to the Influencing strategy
• Responsible for organising and chairing regular cross-department working groups and team meetings
• Working collaboratively with senior leaders across AQA departments, holding them to account to ensure key Influencing strategy deliverables are delivered
• Managing the comparison of quotes and business cases for key Influencing strategy project spend to prove value and justify spend
• Managing and updating overarching planning documents to keep on track of when key events and reports are happening
• Supporting the Head of External Affairs in complying with AQA reporting, strategy updates, and assurance processes, and with organising any large and/or regular meetings
• Produce briefings for events and provide updates for elsewhere in AQA, for example for the Chief Executive Officer
• Working with public affairs colleagues in managing events, such as booking venues, procure name tags, request dietary information from attendees, etc
• Working with public affairs colleagues to manage AQA’s strategic stakeholder management system
• Supporting policy colleagues in publishing reports, for example analysing data, researching policy areas and with proof reading
• Supporting media colleagues during busy times, for example by proofreading communications and helping to keep track of external media interest
• Working with the Head of External Affairs to help foster a joined‑up approach to working across comms, policy and public affairs
• Conducting specialist research into external events and stakeholders to inform strategy

Need to know (to be successful in this role, you will need to know)

• Experience in the implementation and tracking of projects, including across departments
• An understanding of the context within which the External Affairs business area and AQA operate, including good knowledge of the political landscape and the education policy arena
• Ability to develop and maintain effective working relationships with a range of stakeholders
• Experience of delivering, reviewing and reporting on a preferably politically influential strategy
• Good analytical skills, for example summarising stakeholder insight research
• Good working knowledge and understanding of administrative procedures, processes and relevant IT applications
• How to develop and maintain high quality planning documents, in particular timelines and grids
• Good writing skills, for example experience of drafting briefings and/or proofreading documents for publication
• Excellent attention to detail, for example spotting errors in a document or when something is missing in preparing for an event
• A good general level of education including Maths and English GCSE or equivalent (A-C grades)

Reference code

#MCRE