External Affairs Manager

Macmillan Cancer Support; Northern Ireland; Remote; GBP 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Macmillan Cancer Support in Northern Ireland is seeking an experienced External Affairs Manager to lead our external affairs and influencing work across the nation. You will build strategic relationships with the NI Assembly, health leaders and other partners to improve outcomes for people living with cancer.

This senior role requires political awareness, leadership across matrix teams and a track record of shaping policy and system change.

Qualifications

• Significant experience in a senior external affairs, public affairs, policy or influencing role.
• Experience leading proactive and reactive external affairs activity.
• Proven ability to develop influencing strategies driving system change.
• Strong understanding of the Northern Ireland political, policy and health landscape.
• Proven ability to translate complex issues into evidence-based arguments for diverse audiences.

Responsibilities

• Lead Macmillan's external affairs and influencing work in Northern Ireland.
• Shape and deliver influencing strategies for policy, public debate and system change.
• Represent Macmillan with NI Assembly, Health and Social Care leaders, elected representatives and other stakeholders.
• Coordinate matrix teams across influencing, services, partnerships, communications and engagement.

Skills

Senior external affairs

Stakeholder management

Strategic influencing

Political awareness

NI health policy

Leadership

Media spokesperson

Job description

External Affairs Manager - Northern Ireland

Contract type: Permanent

Full time: 34.5 hours, we are open to a conversation about how you work these hours

Location: Mobile worker in Northern Ireland - regular travel to external meetings and events required but not in-office attendance.

About us

At Macmillan you'll find talented people working together to do whatever it takes to support people living with cancer. We're going all out to find even better ways to help even more people who need our support. Our values are at the heart of who we are and everything we do, inspiring our thinking and guiding our actions.

About the role

Are you an experienced external affairs leader with a track record of influencing decision-makers and driving meaningful change? Do you thrive in complex environments, building strategic relationships and bringing people together behind a shared agenda?

As External Affairs Manager for Northern Ireland, you'll lead Macmillan's external affairs and influencing work across the nation, helping to improve outcomes and experiences for people living with cancer.

Working as part of the External Affairs UK leadership team, you will shape and deliver strategies that influence policy, public debate and system change, with a particular focus on the development and implementation of the Neighbourhood Model and wider health and care reform.

You will act as a senior external representative for Macmillan in Northern Ireland, ensuring the organisation is a trusted and influential partner with NI Assembly, Health and Social Care leaders, elected representatives, charities, clinicians and wider stakeholders.

In conjunction with key stakeholders, you will lead matrix teams across influencing, services, partnerships, communications and engagement to develop and deliver strategies that improve outcomes and experiences for people living with cancer. You will play a key role in shaping proactive and reactive external affairs activity, identifying opportunities to influence policy, decision-making and system leadership conversations.

This is a highly rewarding role that requires strategic thinking, political awareness and the ability to navigate complex devolved political and health systems. You'll thrive in fast-paced and often ambiguous environments – building partnerships, identifying opportunities and leading collaborative efforts that deliver meaningful change.

About you

• Significant experience in a senior external affairs, public affairs, policy or influencing role.
• Demonstrable experience of leading proactive and reactive external affairs activity.
• Experience in developing and delivering successful influencing strategies that have contributed to system change.
• Strong understanding of the Northern Ireland political, policy and health landscape, including devolution and health and social care structures.
• Experience building trusted relationships with senior stakeholders to drive impact.
• The ability to translate complex issues into compelling, evidence-based arguments for a range of audiences.
• Experience of working collaboratively across matrix teams and with internal and external partners, bringing people together to achieve shared goals.
• Strong leadership skills, including ability to motivate, support and develop high-performing individuals and teams.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills, with confidence representing an organisation at senior levels.
• The ability to work proactively and effectively in a fast-paced, evolving environment where priorities can change quickly.
• Experience acting as a media spokesperson is desirable.
• A strong commitment to improving the lives of people living with cancer and reducing inequity in access, experience and outcomes.

We welcome applications from everyone who meet the criteria and strongly encourage individuals to apply who have a disability, impairment or health condition or individuals who identify as Black, Asian or from another minority ethnic background, as these groups are currently under-represented at Macmillan. Our Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy here along with our internal employee representation body, ‘Our Voice’ and 8 Employee Network groups help us promote fairness and belonging, becoming an engaged and inclusive organisation for all our people.