Head of External Affairs

Guardian Jobs; London; Hybrid; GBP 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading charitable organisation in the UK seeks a Head of External Affairs to enhance public and media engagement. This pivotal role involves leading a communications team and shaping policy through effective stakeholder relationships to support health improvement initiatives across the UK.

Qualifications

• Proven experience leading high-performing communications teams.
• Excellent public affairs and stakeholder management skills.
• Strong understanding of the UK media landscape.

Responsibilities

• Lead the external affairs team, providing direction and motivation.
• Oversee media relations and public affairs work.
• Provide expert advice to senior leaders across the Foundation.

Skills

Public Affairs

Media Relations

Stakeholder Management

Strategic Thinking

Leadership

Job description

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Salary: Up to £79,484 plus excellent benefits

Contract Type: Permanent.

Hours per week: 37.5 hours per week , you will work in - person a minimum of two days per week in line with our hybrid working model.

Our Foundation

We are an independent charitable organisation working to build a healthier UK. Health is our most precious asset. Good health enables us to live happy, fulfilling lives, fuels our prosperity, and helps build a stronger society.

Yet good health remains out of reach for too many people in the UK and services are struggling to provide access to timely, high-quality care.

It doesn't have to be like this. Our mission is to help build a healthier UK by:

• Improving people's health and reducing inequalities
• Supporting radical innovation and improvement in health and care services
• Providing evidence and analysis to improve health and care policy.
  
  

We aim for excellence across our work and will achieve this by producing research and analysis, shaping policy and practice, building skills, knowledge, and capacity, and acting as a catalyst for change. Everyone has a stake and a part to play in improving our health. By working together, we can build a healthier UK.

About The Role

As Head of External Affairs, you will lead a team of seven and set the strategic direction for our external affairs function. Your leadership will be instrumental in ensuring our media relations, public affairs, and stakeholder engagement activities enhance the Health Foundation’s reputation, support our strategic objectives, and position us as a leading voice in health and care policy.

Responsibilities

As a senior member of the Communications team, you will be responsible for contributing to the leadership and smooth running of the Communications team, as well as providing advice to senior staff and colleagues across the Foundation. In this role, you will:

• Lead the external affairs team, providing direction, motivation, performance management and development for team members and working with them to develop a vision for first class external affairs at the Foundation.
• Lead our public affairs work, ensuring that our work is seen, our voice is heard, and we are influential at the highest levels in Westminster and Whitehall.
• Oversee the effective management of the Foundation’s media relations by overseeing proactive and reactive media work, building relationships with journalists and providing robust media relations advice to senior staff and other colleagues
• Provide expert advice to the Chief Executive, other senior leaders and colleagues across the Foundation.
  
  

We are looking for a confident and strategic leader with a strong track record in media and public affairs , ideally within the health, public policy, or not-for-profit sectors. You will bring:

• Proven experience in leading high-performing communications or external affairs teams.
• Excellent public affairs and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to influence at senior levels.
• A strong understanding of the UK media, with experience of leading proactive and reactive media work
• Strong strategic thinking and the ability to translate complex issues into compelling narrative
• Ability to write high quality briefings and other written materials for external and internal audiences.
• A deep commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion, and to embedding these values in your work.
• A collaborative approach and the ability to work effectively across teams and disciplines.
  
  

How to apply

Job Description

Our priority is to find the right individual for each opportunity. We are dedicated to building an inclusive workplace that values diversity and invite you to find out more. You can find the job description for this role Here. If you would like to apply, please submit your CV, and using no more than 1000 words answer the following application questions:

• Set out how you have successfully influenced senior stakeholders and/or policymakers to support a policy or organisational objective. What public affairs strategies did you use, and what was the outcome?
• Describe how you have successfully developed and led a high performing team – how did you get the best out of your colleagues? What impact did you achieve and how did it contribute to the organisation’s objectives?
• Give an example of how you have led a successful media campaign or initiative to influence on a key policy issue? What strategies and tactics did you deploy?
  
  

Our commitment to Inclusion and Diversity

We are committed to an inclusive hiring process, where every candidate has the chance to showcase their unique skills and experience in an accessible, and supported environment, to ensure that we can make the best appointment for each job on merit. We welcome applicants from all backgrounds and encourage those from underrepresented groups in this field to apply to us.

We have identified three diverse groups, In particular, we want to achieve a better balance across our organisation between men and women, increase representation of people from black and ethnic minority backgrounds and recruit more people with disabilities. As part of this commitment, we particularly welcome applications from these groups. Apply to join our team and let's work towards building a diverse and inclusive workplace together.

If you require any support through this process, please contact [e-mail] Help us work together to make the recruitment process and potential future employment more accessible and enjoyable for you.

Closing date: 24 June , 23:45.

Interview date: July 2025.

Seniority level

• Seniority level

  Executive

Employment type

• Employment type

  Full-time

Job function

• Job function

  Marketing, Public Relations, and Writing/Editing

• Industries

  Advertising Services

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