Senior Communications & Stakeholder Engagement Officer

Yolk Recruitment Ltd; Bristol; Hybrid; GBP 41,000 - 50,000; Full time

Job summary

Yolk Recruitment Ltd is seeking a Senior Communications & Stakeholder Engagement Officer in Bristol with hybrid working. The role supports external relations for a national public sector organisation, coordinating visits and engagement with senior stakeholders.

You will help plan events, develop briefings, and monitor parliamentary activity, collaborating with the Head of Public Affairs and policy colleagues to align stakeholder work with organisational goals.

Qualifications

• Experience in communications, public affairs or stakeholder engagement.
• Strong ability to build trusted relationships with senior stakeholders.
• Proven planning, organisation and multitasking skills.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills for briefings and blogs.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate visits and engagement activity with external organisations and senior stakeholders.
• Plan and deliver online and in-person events with events and policy colleagues.
• Build and maintain relationships with external stakeholder organisations and attend meetings.
• Prepare stakeholder briefings for senior leaders and colleagues.
• Monitor parliamentary developments and provide summaries for colleagues.
• Assist in preparing briefing materials for senior leaders for inquiries and hearings.
• Develop systems to record and share stakeholder and parliamentary information.
• Produce external and internal communications related to stakeholder engagement.
• Work with the organisation to embed effective stakeholder engagement.
• Identify opportunities to improve processes and ways of working across the team.
• Deputise for the Head of Public Affairs when required.

Skills

Communications

Public affairs

Stakeholder engagement

Event coordination

Job description

Senior Communications & Stakeholder Engagement Officer

Location: Bristol, hybrid working

Contract: Temporary 6 months (possibility of extension)
Salary: Based on salary of £45,536 (hourly pay)

About the Role

We are looking for an experienced Senior Communications & Stakeholder Engagement Officer to join the External Relations team of a national public sector organisation.

This is an exciting opportunity for a confident communications and stakeholder engagement professional to play a key role in developing relationships with senior external stakeholders, supporting high-profile events and visits, and providing insight into parliamentary and political activity.

Working closely with the Head of Public Affairs and colleagues across the organisation, you will help ensure that stakeholder engagement is coordinated effectively and contributes to wider organisational objectives.

Key Responsibilities

• Coordinate an ongoing programme of visits and engagement activity with external organisations and senior stakeholders.
• Work closely with the events team and policy colleagues to plan and deliver online and in-person events.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with external stakeholder organisations, including preparing for and attending regular stakeholder meetings.
• Prepare and maintain stakeholder briefings for senior leaders and other colleagues.
• Monitor parliamentary developments, including inquiries, debates and committee hearings, and provide clear summaries and updates to colleagues.
• Support the preparation of written and oral briefing materials for senior leaders attending parliamentary inquiries, committee hearings and evidence sessions.
• Develop and maintain effective systems and processes for recording and sharing stakeholder and parliamentary engagement information.
• Produce clear external and internal communications relating to stakeholder engagement, including blogs, briefings and staff updates.
• Work collaboratively across the organisation to embed an effective approach to stakeholder and provider engagement.
• Identify opportunities to improve processes, systems and ways of working across the team and wider organisation.
• Deputise for the Head of Public Affairs when required.

About You

We are looking for someone with strong experience in communications, public affairs, stakeholder engagement or a related field, who is confident working with a wide range of internal and external audiences.

You will have:

• Excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to quickly build rapport and trusted relationships with senior stakeholders.
• Strong planning and organisational skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities and competing deadlines.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to produce high-quality briefings, blogs, reports and summaries.
• Confidence communicating about complex issues with both internal and external audiences.
• Strong influencing and relationship-management skills.
• Experience of developing and improving systems and processes and embedding new ways of working.
• The ability to understand the wider organisational context and ensure stakeholder activity supports strategic objectives.

What the Role Offers

This is a great opportunity to join a purpose-driven organisation where you will have genuine exposure to senior stakeholders, public affairs, events and strategic communications.

You will play an important role in supporting high-profile engagement activity and helping shape how the organisation develops and maintains its external relationships.

If you are an experienced communications or stakeholder engagement professional looking for a role where you can make a visible contribution, we would be keen to hear from you.