Policy and Practice Officer

Women's Aid Federation of England; Remote; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A national charity supporting women and children is seeking a Policy and Practice Officer to engage stakeholders and support the implementation of the Domestic Abuse Act. The role involves leading communications, event planning, and policy development to ensure effective service delivery. Candidates should have experience in stakeholder engagement, strong communication skills, and knowledge of domestic abuse issues. Flexible working, generous leave, and pension benefits are offered.

Benefits

Generous Annual Leave

Valuable Pension Benefits

Flexible Working

Qualifications

• Experience in policy engagement and working with local authorities.
• Strong communication and organizational skills.
• Understanding of the Domestic Abuse Act.

Responsibilities

• Engage with local stakeholders and manage the Domestic Abuse Councillor Network.
• Support the implementation of the Domestic Abuse Act.
• Monitor local politics and update the Policy & Survivor Services team.

Skills

Stakeholder engagement

Policy writing

Event planning

Communication skills

Understanding of domestic abuse issues

Job description

Location: Remote - with regular travel to London

Salary: £29,450 (Grade 3) per year (plus Inner London Weighting of £3,483.94, if eligible)

Length of contract: Permanent

Hours per week: 37.4

Closing date: We reserve the right to adapt the advert at any time per organisational circumstances and to close this vacancy early for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible.

Interviews: Interviews will be scheduled on a rolling basis

Who are Women’s Aid

Women’s Aid is the national charity working to end domestic abuse against women and children. We are a federation of just under 180 organisations which provide over 300 local lifesaving services to women and children across England. For 50 years we have campaigned on behalf of our members and survivors to shape policy and practice, and to raise awareness of domestic abuse.

Our support services, which include the Survivors’ Forum, the No Woman Turned Away Project, the Survivor’s Handbook, Love Respect (our dedicated website for young people), the national Women’s Aid Directory and our advocacy projects, help thousands of women and children every year.

Purpose of the Policy and Practice Officer role

As a Policy and Practise Officer, the successful candidate will play an integral role in engaging with local stakeholders, local authorities and commissioners as well as on high profile national policy issues. Working closely with the Policy and Practice Manager the successful appointee will support Women’s Aid’s busy and dynamic Policy team with its work. You will also support the implementation of the Domestic Abuse Act and identify how Women’s Aid can engage with Integrated Care Systems. This role is expansive and will see to local stakeholder engagement and co-ordination. Including and not limited to planning events, reactive and proactive communications, supporting briefings and policy work. In this role, you will have the ability to work on high-profile domestic abuse issues, a dedicated line manager who will support you and oversee your work, an experienced Policy team to work alongside and learn from, and the chance to work with people from across Women’s Aid and the violence against women and girls (VAWG) sector, hear from experts, and attend workshops, training and webinars.

Key duties and responsibilities of the Policy and Practice Officer

• Policy – Lead on designing and delivering a programme of engagement with key local stakeholders such as councillors, police and crime commissioners, managing our Domestic Abuse Councillor Network, drafting regular newsletters and regularly meeting with relevant stakeholders.
• Support the Policy Manager to identify important influencing, training and funding opportunities for member services and the organisation.
• Monitor and stay up to date on local politics, ensuring a good understanding of local government is maintained and keeping the Policy & Survivor Services team updated on key developments.
• Ensure Women’s Aid member services have up to date and accurate information on the Domestic Abuse Act and other relevant legislation, supporting their front-line responses to survivors. This would include writing briefings for a range of audiences, delivering policy related events and attending meetings on behalf of Women’s Aid.
• Support the Policy Manager in responding to a range of policy requests from local and national government and Parliament where appropriate.
• Contribute to the team’s policy development through supporting with responses to policy requests (e.g. Government consultation responses, evidence submissions) from local and national government, and Parliament where appropriate.
• Practice
• Lead on the delivery of written communication, including writing newsletters, resources, correspondence, and other content for stakeholders, ensuring effective and responsive engagement with local and regional stakeholders across the policy and practice team.
• Organise and support the Policy Manager to convene a range of events, including workshops for members, commissioners and local authorities on relevant policy developments or pieces of legislation.
• Support the Policy and Survivor Services team to respond to reactive communications, including from local authorities, commissioners and member services, leading on this directly where appropriate.

What we are looking for in our Policy and Practice Officer

• Attend relevant meetings and events, as required.
• Provide general administrative support to the Policy team as required, including attending meetings and taking minutes, deputising for the Senior Policy and Practice Officer where required.
• Abide by all organisational policies, codes of conduct and practice, and to work within a framework of equal opportunities and anti-discriminatory practice.
• Contribute to team meetings and organisational priorities, and to participate in supervision and appraisal meetings.

Benefits of joining us as our Policy and Practice Officer

• Generous Annual Leave: 25 days + 2 Company Holidays + 8 UK Bank Holidays, with an extra 1 day per year after 1 year of service, up to a maximum of 5 additional days.
• Valuable Pension Benefits: a generous 7% employer contribution.
• Flexible Working: remote working, a generous TOIL scheme, and family-friendly policies.

NB

• Women only need apply under schedule 9 (Part 1) of the Equality Act 2010
• All posts, including remote posts, must be based in the UK.
• Women’s Aid is committed to quality, equality, and valuing diversity. Applications are particularly welcome from Black and minoritised women.
• Please read our Single Sex Statement on the Women’s Aid Website
• Please note that applications will be reviewed, and interviews arranged, on a rolling basis, so for the best chance of success, please apply ASAP.