Public Affairs Manager

Motability Foundation; Harlow; Hybrid; GBP 45,000; Full time

Job description

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Salary: £45,000 per annum
Location: Harlow Essex, 2 days per week in the office, flexible working available.

About the role:

In a time of moving political landscapes, we are looking for a Public Affairs Manager to play a critical role in promoting and enhancing awareness of the Motability Foundation among key political stakeholders.

Our vision is to fund, support, research, and innovate, so all disabled people can make the journeys they choose. There are an estimated 16 million disabled people in the UK, and this role will play a crucial part in our work to raise awareness of the work of the Motability Foundation, amplify the voices of disabled people and to influence policy.

We are looking for a Public Affairs Manager who will work closely with our Evidence and Policy Manager, other colleagues across the organization and with key partners such as Motability Operations, to monitor the political landscape, advise colleagues on policy opportunities, support with briefings and engagements with key stakeholders, oversee the development and implementation of our Public Affairs and Government Engagement Strategy, and to proactively identify opportunities to influence and shape policy where it may have a positive impact for disabled people. Part of this role will include day-to-day management of our newly appointed public affairs agency.

With a new mission-led government elected on a platform of change and with potential welfare reform on the horizon, this role is especially important at this time, therefore experience in crafting and implementing post-election public affairs strategies is highly desirable.

What you will be doing:

1. Develop and implement public affairs activities aligned with the Motability Foundation's vision and overall strategy.
2. Amplify the Motability Foundation's voice in Parliament, across the devolved nations, and in political spheres, fostering relationships with parliamentarians, decision-makers and stakeholders.
3. Monitor the political, legislative and regulatory landscape in relation to the work of the Motability Foundation.
4. Provide sharp political intelligence, insight, advice and briefings for Governors, Directors, senior management and a variety of audiences across the organisation.
5. Support the establishment of the Motability Foundation's policy positions and delivering our influencing objectives.
6. Manage a contact program for Parliamentarians, raising awareness of the work of the Motability Foundation, establishing regular meetings for senior leaders where relevant, and facilitating dialogue on issues relevant to our work.
7. Work closely with the Evidence and Policy Manager to package up any policy output for presentation to the external world, learning from their political and stakeholder knowledge to develop thinking around policy.
8. Build subject-specific expertise in areas of interest, for example public transport, wheelchairs, or active travel.

About you:

Must haves:

1. Strong grasp of parliamentary processes in Westminster, Scotland and the other devolved nations.
2. Ability to initiate and manage projects independently while contributing effectively to team efforts.
3. Experience in proactively identifying opportunities to influence.
4. Strong communication skills, with an ability to grasp complex issues quickly and share information in an accessible way across a variety of audiences.
5. Ability to facilitate sensitive internal and stakeholder conversations to reach a point of consensus.
6. Ability to engage effectively with stakeholders in Government, industry, and other charities and foundations.
7. Experience of operating effectively in a complex environment with multiple agendas and stakeholders.
8. Highly IT literate with extensive experience of Microsoft Office, particularly Excel and PowerPoint.

Nice to haves:

1. Understanding of key disability and transport issues, such as the social model of disability, inclusive micro mobility, or the transition to electric vehicles.

Reporting lines and relationships:

Reports to: Senior Press and PR Manager.

Key relationships: All colleagues in the Communications Team, CEO, Directors and Senior Managers, Evidence and Policy Manager, Motability Operations, Government.

Direct reports: There may be potential line management responsibility in the future as the role evolves.

Extra Information:

1. The role is based in Harlow, Essex, at Motability's offices. They are easily commutable from London, just 30 minutes from Liverpool Street station or 18 minutes from Tottenham Hale station. There is a free minibus which brings staff from Harlow Town station to the office at specific times each day.
2. We offer blended working within this role - with two days a week in the office or at key stakeholder meetings externally required.

About us:

At Motability Foundation we fund, support, research and innovate so that all disabled people can make the journeys they choose. We oversee the Motability Foundation Scheme and provide grants to help people use it, providing access to transport to hundreds of thousands of people a year.

We award grants to other charities and organisations who provide different types of transport, or work towards making transport accessible. We also carry out ongoing research, in partnership with disabled people and key stakeholders in the industry, to inspire innovations that continue to champion accessible transport for all.

Benefits:

WHAT MOTABILITY CAN OFFER YOU

1. Holiday - 26 Days + 8 Bank Holidays, increasing to 28 days after 5 years' service.
2. Health and Wellbeing - We offer private health care with BUPA alongside an Employee Assistance Programme, eye tests, flu vaccinations, enhanced sick pay and discounted corporate gym membership. We take your physical AND Mental Health seriously, with our dedicated mental health first aiders you will have support and understanding from your colleagues.
3. Family Friendly - We offer enhanced Parental Leave inclusive of Adoption Pay and we understand that families require flexibility, we provide time off for dependants, flexible working hours and the option to work from home. Life Assurance is 4 x your salary.
4. Diversity and Inclusion - We value everyone's unique qualities and celebrate having a diverse and inclusive culture where everyone feels safe to be their authentic selves, no matter their age, ethnicity, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability status, neurodiversity or otherwise. This is embedded in to our values and we celebrate our differences and create awareness throughout the year.
5. Celebrating Success - We love to recognise people that go above and beyond with our Spotlight Award as well as having team celebrations and social events throughout the year.
6. Our culture - In the Motability office we "dress for our day", it's an incredibly welcoming and inclusive environment where we look to support your career, we offer a mini bus service from Harlow Town centre and station for those using public transport to reach us and there are plenty of free hot beverages for when you arrive.
7. Pension - Up to 15%, inclusive of a 10% non-contributory addition and Motability matching your contributions up to 5%.

How to find out more?

To find out more regarding the vacancy and for the full job description, please contact our Talent Team at: [e-mail]

Here at Motability Foundation, we embrace and value Equity, Diversity and Inclusion which means bringing your full self to work. We encourage and welcome all applications, regardless of age, gender identity, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation or disability.

We are a disability confident employer, so please do make us aware of any reasonable adjustments you might need throughout both the recruitment process and to work with us.

We are committed to offering to interview every applicant with a disability who meets the minimum criteria for the role. Please tick the relevant box when filling out your application.