Head of External Affairs

Web Recruit Ltd; Greater London; Remote; GBP 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Web Recruit Ltd is seeking a senior public affairs leader to direct external affairs across the four UK nations, driving policy influence to improve the health of UK seas. The role is remote with regular UK travel and involves Westminster, Holyrood, the Senedd and Stormont.

You will shape strategy, lead the Parliamentary Affairs team, and steer cross‑organisational campaigns with measurable outcomes while engaging senior stakeholders and business leaders.

Qualifications

• Have led senior political or parliamentary engagement achieving a policy outcome.
• Understand devolution and environmental or marine policy across four nations.
• Designed and evaluated advocacy campaigns with clear objectives and measures of success.
• Built trusted relationships with parliamentarians, senior officials or business leaders that changed a position or practice.
• Explain complex policy in plain English and represent the organisation confidently with the media.

Responsibilities

• Set the four-nation external affairs strategy with the Director of Conservation & Policy, and track impact.
• Decide how to influence: parliamentary work, coalitions, public campaigns or legal routes.
• Lead engagement with all four parliaments and governments to advocate for legislative change.
• Lead business engagement and speak for us in media and public forums.
• Oversee legal interventions and manage associated risks with legal advisers.
• Lead and develop a remote Parliamentary Affairs team and manage the external affairs budget.
• Contribute to strategic direction and promote cross-team collaboration.

Skills

Senior stakeholder engagement

Parliamentary engagement

Policy influence

Public affairs strategy

Job description

Remote working within the UK (with regular travel across the UK to external meetings, events and in-person team gatherings)

The Role

Are you an experienced senior public affairs leader with a track record of influencing policy and legislative change? This is a rare chance to lead our external affairs work across all four UK nations, on a mission with real urgency.

From Westminster to Holyrood, the Senedd and Stormont, you'll build the relationships and run the campaigns that secure political, legislative and business change. The aim is simple: change that measurably improves the health of UK seas.

You'll lead our Parliamentary Affairs team and be one of our senior external voices. As a member of our Leadership Team, you'll also help shape how we deliver our Ocean Goals across the whole organisation. You'll work closely with our Head of UK Policy & Advocacy, so our policy positions and influencing work pull in the same direction.

What you'll do

• Set the strategy. Shape our four-nation external affairs strategy with the Director of Conservation & Policy, set clear measures of success and track impact.
• Choose the right route. Decide where, when and how we influence: parliamentary work, coalitions, public campaigns or legal routes.
• Lead on parliaments and governments. Run our engagement with all four parliaments and governments, including campaigns for legislative change.
• Build business partnerships. Be our lead with business leaders on agreed priorities, and speak for us in the media and in public.
• Oversee legal interventions. Work with legal advisers on challenges and other legal routes where they're the right approach, managing the risks.
• Lead the team and budget. Line manage and develop a remote Parliamentary Affairs team and manage the external affairs budget.
• Help lead the organisation. Contribute to our strategic direction and champion joined-up working across teams.

About You

We're looking for an experienced leader who can turn ambition into change. You'll be able to show us that you:

• have led senior political or parliamentary engagement that achieved a clear policy or legislative outcome.
• understand how devolution shapes environmental or marine policy across the four nations, and adapt your influencing to match – however you gained that understanding.
• have designed, led and evaluated advocacy campaigns with clear objectives and measures of success.
• have built trusted relationships with parliamentarians, senior officials or business leaders that changed a position or practice.
• use sound political judgement to spot opportunities and risks, and pick the right tactic.
• explain complex policy in plain English and represent an organisation confidently with the media.
• have led and developed a team, including remote colleagues, and managed a budget.
• can identify and manage legal, financial and reputational risk in high-profile work.

It would be great if you've also worked on strategic legal interventions, engaged business or industry bodies, or know coastal and marine conservation issues. You don't need all of these to apply.

Most of all, you'll share our commitment to ocean conservation and to equity, diversity and inclusion. You'll need to travel regular across the UK.

The full job description and person specification are in the information pack.

The environmental and charity sectors don't yet reflect the diversity of our communities, and we want to change that. We welcome applications from all walks of life. If you'd like an adjustment at any stage of the process, please get in touch – we want to help you shine.

• have led senior political or parliamentary engagement that achieved a clear policy or legislative outcome.
• understand how devolution shapes environmental or marine policy across the four nations, and adapt your influencing to match – however you gained that understanding.
• have designed, led and evaluated advocacy campaigns with clear objectives and measures of success.
• have built trusted relationships with parliamentarians, senior officials or business leaders that changed a position or practice.
• use sound political judgement to spot opportunities and risks, and pick the right tactic.
• explain complex policy in plain English and represent an organisation confidently with the media.
• have led and developed a team, including remote colleagues, and managed a budget.
• can identify and manage legal, financial and reputational risk in high-profile work.