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Public Affairs Officer (Built Environment Futures Assembly)
University of the Built Environment
Reading
Remote
GBP 35,000
Full time
Job summary
A higher education institution in Reading is seeking a Public Affairs Officer to support its influencing strategy. The role involves planning engagement activities, developing policy materials, and enhancing relationships with stakeholders. The ideal candidate will have a degree and experience in public affairs or related fields, along with strong communication skills. Salary is circa £35,000 per annum with flexible working arrangements.
Benefits
Qualifications
- Degree level qualification (E, A).
- Experience in supporting policy or public affairs (E, A, I).
- Skills in written and verbal communication (E, A, I).
Responsibilities
- Support the delivery of public affairs activities.
- Develop evidence-based materials for policy briefings.
- Plan and deliver engagement activities.
Skills
Education
Tools
Permanent, full time.
Full time hours at the University are 35 per week with the standard working pattern Monday to Friday from 09:00 to 17:00.
Vice Chancellor’s Office, Built Environment Futures Assembly.
Your line manager will be Aled Williams, Pro Vice Chancellor, Innovation & Partnerships and Executive Director Built Environment Futures Assembly.
You will normally spend your total working time at home*, which must be within the UK. You may, on occasions, be expected to attend the Horizons, Reading office to attend meetings or training events. *Working from home is only possible if your environment is suitable.
As Public Affairs Officer, you will support the delivery of the University’s influencing strategy and contribute to the implementation of the Built Environment Futures Assembly (BEFA) — a collaborative initiative focused on professionalism, education, future skills, sustainability, inclusion, and placemaking.
You will assist in planning and coordinating engagement activities, events, and communications designed to strengthen our profile and relationships with Government, employers, professional bodies, policy organisations, and education partners. Working with colleagues across the University, you will help prepare briefings, evidence-based materials, and policy insights that inform decision makers and support BEFA’s workstreams and priorities.
By enabling collaboration and contributing to the generation of evidence and knowledge, you will help to engage effectively with stakeholders, influence policy and practice, and make a meaningful contribution to creating a better built environment.
Your key responsibilities will be to:
- Support the delivery of the University’s public affairs and influencing activities, including coordination of the Built Environment Futures Assembly (BEFA).
- Develop and produce clear, evidence-based materials including policy briefings, consultation responses, and position papers to inform and influence key decision makers.
- Plan and deliver engagement activities and events that showcase our expertise, promote collaboration, and contribute to positive sector change.
- Support the development of the University’s influencing strategy and Built Environment Futures Assembly (BEFA) and report against its progress.
- Assist in the delivery of an annual programme of engagement activities based on key themes and topics from within the University’s influencing strategy.
- Contribute to the planning and organisation of external engagement events, ensuring alignment with influencing priorities and effective stakeholder participation.
- Help to maintain and strengthen networks in key decision-making forums with advocacy targets and collaborators.
- Support work to enhance external reputation, ensuring that all our expertise is recognised by Government, professional bodies, and other external stakeholders.
- Contribute to positioning the University/BEFA as a trusted adviser to policymakers on issues relating to the built environment.
- Plan, co‑ordinate, and support the delivery of face‑to‑face and/or virtual workshops, round tables, and stakeholder meetings to explore key themes and topics, managing logistics, materials, invitations, and follow‑up actions.
- Assist in developing and producing a range of influencing materials across a range of formats (such as reports, papers, video, or podcast) to reach and engage our identified target audiences.
- Contribute to developing an evidence base through qualitative and quantitative research (including data analysis for reports and publications).
- Monitor activities of Government, industry, and other stakeholders, identifying opportunities to engage on relevant policy matters.
- Prepare draft briefings on key announcements, policy consultations, and legislative developments that impact the built environment and education sectors.
- Support communication of policy work by proactively contributing content for internal and external channels.
- Provide related public affairs expertise and advice across the University, participating in cross‑organisational events and initiatives to align efforts and share insights.
Line management responsibilities: None.
Budget responsibility: Yes, you will need to act within an assigned budget.
In this role you will liaise with the following: Internal stakeholders such as the Academic team and Marketing team, and external stakeholders such as Government departments and agencies, professional bodies, and industry representatives.
E = Essential person requirement; D = Desirable person requirement
How the person requirement will be assessed:
A = Application; I = Interview; T = Test or other assessment
Please be aware that as part of onboarding processes, we will seek original documentary evidence of the relevant academic and/or professional qualifications which you include within your job application. This is all part of our comprehensive pre‑employment screening which also includes checking your identity, right to work, criminal record history (basic disclosure), and three years employment history.
Degree level qualification (E, A).
Qualification in politics, public affairs, communications, or similar subject (D, A).
Supporting policy, public affairs, or influencing activities within an organisation (E, A, I).
Engaging and liaising with external stakeholders such as government departments, regulators, or professional bodies (E, A, I).
Supporting or coordinating events, workshops, or stakeholder engagement activities (E, A, I).
Working within the Built Environment, Higher Education, or related sectors (D, A, I).
Public relations experience (D, A, I).
Digital skills confidence: We use MS Office which includes Teams, Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint and several other systems/technology (E, I, T).
Strong relationship building and management skills (E, I).
Ability to research, analyse, and accurately interpret data from various sources to inform and challenge policy positions (E, A, I).
An understanding of the dynamics between Government, regulators, professional bodies, and industry (E, A, I).
Written and verbal communication skills (with the ability to adapt messages for different audiences) (E, A, I).
Ability to work collaboratively in a high performing team and in a complex and widely spread organisation (E, I).
Ability to plan and achieve agreed deliverables against objectives (E, I).
Self‑motivated and proactive (E, I).
Awareness of Government processes (D, A, I).
Alignment to the University’s core values of Passion, Integrity, Excellence and Support; all employees are expected to demonstrate our values at work (E, I).
Commitment to delivering positive outcomes for our students; we want our students to be successful (E, I).
You must be prepared to undertake mandatory online training should you be appointed including Data Protection, Health and Safety, Safeguarding, Prevent, and EDI (E, I).
Able to undertake business travel as necessary (E, I).
Salary: Salary circa £35,000 per annum.
Holiday: 26 days paid holiday (rising to 28 with service) plus paid bank/public holidays plus up to five paid closure days (typically between Christmas and New Year); all per holiday year Full Time Equivalent. Our holiday year runs from 1 August to 31 July. We also have a holiday buy and sell scheme in place. Sometimes the University does not need to close for five days per year and any balance (for example one day), can be used as a paid Wellbeing Day to take time out for your own physical or mental health.
Pension and life assurance: Pensions auto‑enrolment to the People’s Pension which is a default salary sacrifice scheme. You may opt out of salary sacrifice but remain in the scheme, or you may choose to opt out altogether. We provide (death in service) cover as standard to all employees.
Family‑friendly policies: Policies in place for all types of family‑friendly statutory leave with enhanced pay available from day one of employment for some leave types. Access to Tax‑Free Childcare (Government scheme).
Wellbeing: Full access to the Employee Assistance Programme as well as the Thrive Mental Wellbeing app. Several employees are trained Mental Health First Aiders and can support staff. We have a wellbeing policy and we focus on five pillars of wellbeing.
Sustainable travel: Cycle to Work and Electric Vehicle salary sacrifice schemes.
Parking: We have locked sheds for bicycles. For cars, for Horizons based roles, we may in the future be able to offer parking on site however you must not assume this will be possible. Every now and then we may have a spare parking space become available and you can ask to join the waiting list. The University is keen wherever possible, to encourage staff to commute as sustainably as possible.
Other health related benefits: Employer‑funded Health Cash Plan (Simplyhealth) and voluntary dental insurance (Unum).
Other valuable benefits:
- Charity giving options available including one voluntary paid day, per annum.
- You will have access to Microsoft Office 365 applications for personal use.
- You will have access to range of lifestyle discounts and everydaysavings.
- We offerlearning platforms including LinkedIn learning.
On the Join the team page of our website, you will find the full list of employee benefits.
For an informal discussion about the role please contact Aled Williams on 0118 921 4763 or email a.williams@ube.ac.uk. For any other enquiries please contact HR on 0118 467 2454 / 2433 or email recruitment@ube.ac.uk
Did one of our employees recommend you? If you apply on the recommendation of an existing employee, please make sure to mention their name within your application.
We're passionate about sustainability and we have a five‑year strategic plan: We expect job seekers to be curious about who we are and what we do. We point you towards a couple of resources about who we are and sustainability.
We will receive applications until the advert closes on Monday 24 November 2025 at 17:00. We will not consider late applications. Our ATS does not screen applications, we humans do. Applications may be reviewed prior to the closing date and occasionally, you may be invited to interview ahead of the closing date.
Dates for interview will be advised to you later in the process. We'll ask youto tell us aboutany dates you cannot make, up to 4 weeks from the closing date; this helps us to plan interviews should you be shortlisted, prior to contacting you.
Interviews are normally carried out over Microsoft Teams or Zoom. Depending on the job role and place of work, your interview may be at our Reading or London office. Please be prepared for a two‑stage interview process, held on different dates. As part of the interview process, you will likely meet a member of the Senior Leadership Team.
If you are an existing employee, we request you inform your current line manager of your intention to apply for this role.
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