Policy and Public Affairs Manager

Marie Curie UK; City of Edinburgh; Hybrid; GBP 36,900 - 41,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible working

25 days annual leave

Pension scheme with employer matching

Loan schemes for bikes and computers

Continuous professional development opportunities

Wellbeing and Employee Assistance Programmes

Enhanced bereavement and family friendly benefits

Access to Blue Light Card membership

Subsidised Eye Care

Job summary

A leading healthcare charity is seeking a Policy and Public Affairs Manager to influence health and social care policy in Scotland. The role involves building relationships with key stakeholders and delivering campaigns to raise awareness of end-of-life issues. Ideal candidates will have substantial experience in policy work and excellent communication skills. This is a mid-senior level position with a flexible working environment.

Qualifications

• Significant experience in policy and public affairs with proven success influencing change.
• Strong knowledge of the Scottish Parliament, Government structures, and health/social care policy context.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills, including experience drafting various policy documents.

Responsibilities

• Influence Scottish Parliament and Government policy, responding to consultations.
• Build relationships with key stakeholders to ensure policy messages are heard.
• Deliver campaigns and events to raise awareness of end-of-life issues.

Skills

Policy influencing

Public affairs expertise

Strong communication skills

Organizational skills

Partnership building

Job description

Overview

Join to apply for the Policy and Public Affairs Manager role at Marie Curie UK.

This range is provided by Marie Curie UK. Your actual pay will be based on your skills and experience — talk with your recruiter to learn more.

Base pay range

Salary: £36,900-£41,000 depending on experience.

About the team and role

You’ll join Marie Curie’s Policy & Public Affairs Scotland team, part of the award-winning Policy & Research Directorate. We are a collaborative, passionate, and evidence-led team working across the UK to secure better end-of-life experiences for everyone. In Scotland, we focus on addressing inequalities in access to care and ensuring that people affected by terminal illness have their voices heard by decision makers.

As Policy and Public Affairs Manager, you will build and maintain relationships with MSPs, ministers, officials, and sector leaders to influence health and social care policy in Scotland. By bringing together evidence, lived experience, and political insight, you will help shape reforms that improve services and support for people at the end of life and their families.

Key responsibilities

• Influence Scottish Parliament and Government policy, responding to legislation, consultations, and committee inquiries.
• Build relationships with ministers, MSPs, officials, and key stakeholders to ensure Marie Curie’s policy messages are heard.
• Deliver impactful campaigns, events, and external engagement to raise awareness of end-of-life issues.
• Write high-quality briefings, consultation responses, reports, and content for a range of audiences.
• Support party conference activity and high-profile events to grow Marie Curie’s influence.
• Work with research colleagues to analyse and translate evidence into practical policy recommendations.

Key Criteria

• Significant experience in policy and public affairs with proven success influencing change.
• Strong knowledge of the Scottish Parliament, Government structures, and health/social care policy context (or ability to develop this quickly).
• Excellent written and oral communication skills, including experience drafting consultation responses, briefings, and media content.
• Political astuteness, with the ability to navigate complex environments and build trust at senior levels.
• Strong organisational skills and ability to manage multiple priorities under pressure.
• Experience building partnerships with external organisations and working collaboratively within a large organisation.

Please see the full job description HERE.

Application & Interview Process

• As part of your online application, you will be asked for a CV and supplementary details. Please review both the advert and job description and outline your most relevant skills, experience and knowledge for the role.
• Close date for applications: 12 October 2025. We encourage early applications as we may close the application process sooner after receiving a sufficient number of qualified applications.

Salary: £36,900-41,000

Contract: Fixed-term (12 months), full-time (35 hours per week). We are open to considering a part-time contract.

Based: Home-based with occasional travel across Scotland and visits to our Links Place office in Edinburgh.

Benefits you’ll LOVE:

• Flexible working. We’re happy to discuss flexible working at the interview stage.
• 25 days annual leave (exclusive of Bank Holidays)
• Marie Curie Group Personal Pension Scheme (we will match your contribution up to 7.5%)
• Loan schemes for bikes; computers and season tickets
• Continuous professional development opportunities.
• Industry-leading training programmes
• Wellbeing and Employee Assistance Programmes
• Enhanced bereavement, family friendly and sickness benefits
• Access to Blue Light Card membership
• Subsidised Eye Care

Marie Curie is committed to its values, which underpin our work. We take stringent steps to ensure that the people who join our organisation through employment or volunteering, are suitable for their roles and are committed to safeguarding all our people from harm. This includes our staff, volunteers and all those who use or come into contact with our services. We are dedicated to creating not just a safe place to work but also a supportive and rewarding one.

We are committed to a world where everyone can thrive and fulfil their potential. We are devoted to the social justice imperatives and organisational benefits of full diversity, inclusion and equity in the workplace, and are a Stonewall champion. We actively encourage and welcome applications from candidates of diverse cultures, perspectives and lived experiences.

We\'re happy to accommodate any requests for reasonable adjustments. Please email any requests to [e-mail]

Seniority level

• Mid-Senior level

Employment type

• Temporary

Job function

• Research, Health Care Provider, and Strategy/Planning
• Industries
• Non-profit Organizations, Research Services, and Health and Human Services

Referrals increase your chances of interviewing at Marie Curie UK by 2x

We’re unlocking community knowledge in a new way. Experts add insights directly into each article, started with the help of AI.