Senior Policy and Public Affairs Officer (Northern Ireland)

Hospice UK; United Kingdom; Hybrid; GBP 23,000; Part time

Job summary

A national charity supporting hospices is seeking a new role in the External Affairs department to focus on policy and public affairs in Northern Ireland. This position involves direct engagement with decision-makers and the opportunity to build strong relationships within the hospice sector. The successful candidate will need experience in relevant fields and excellent communication skills. The role is part-time, with a hybrid working arrangement.

Benefits

25 days holiday plus holidays increasing with service

Matched pension scheme up to 7%

Enhanced leave benefits

Family-friendly culture

Learning and development opportunities

Qualifications

• Experience in policy, public affairs, or related field in Northern Ireland.
• Good understanding of policy development and parliamentary processes.
• Ability to quickly read and interpret complex information.

Responsibilities

• Conduct policy research and impact analysis.
• Plan and deliver public affairs activities.
• Build relationships with key partners.
• Act as a media spokesperson.
• Engage with hospices to understand their challenges.

Skills

Policy research skills

Public affairs and campaigning

Communication skills

Influencing skills

Relationship building

Job description

Details

Salary: £22,800 per annum based on 3 days/21 hours per week (FTE: £38,000 per annum).

Contract: Fixed term contract for two years. Part time role working 3 days (21 hours) per week.

Location: The position will be based in Northern Ireland and will have a desk at Northern Ireland Hospice, Belfast. This role is eligible for the Hospice UK Hybrid Working Arrangement from the start of employment.

Hybrid Working: Hospice UK’s head office is based in London. This role will have full web‑based connectivity to the central office, with regular opportunities to engage with the line manager and colleagues via email, face‑to‑face meetings, video calls and telephone.

Travel: Whilst we work flexibly, because we work with decision makers in Stormont, there will be an expectation that you can travel to Belfast at short notice if required. There will be occasional travel to London for department and/or organisational wide events, such as our in‑person quarterly events.

Benefits

• 25 days pro rata in the first year, increasing to 27.5 days pro rata in the second year of service and 30 days pro rata in the third.
• Matched pension scheme up to 7% of salary
• Enhanced carers and compassionate leave
• Family‑friendly culture
• Learning and development opportunities

How to apply

CV and supporting statement – using Hospice UK’s supporting statement document – see below.

Closing date for applications: Midnight on Sunday 30 November 2025.

Interview dates: We expect to hold interviews over Teams on Wednesday 10 and Thursday 11 December 2025.

We’ll send assessments and some questions to you in advance so that you can prepare. Let us know if you have any specific needs to be able to fully engage with the process.

Job Information

This exciting new role in our award‑winning External Affairs department will work on policy and public affairs in Northern Ireland. You will fight for the hospice sector and people who need their care and support, helping us to create a nation where no one misses out on the care they need at the end of their lives.

This will be our first on‑the‑ground role in Northern Ireland, providing the post‑holder with the opportunity to build our influencing work from the ground up. You will have the chance to build on our work over the last three years and the strong relationships we have with hospices. You will be working closely with our Policy and Public Affairs Manager (Scotland and NI) to expand our impact in Northern Ireland.

Key aspects of this role will include

• Policy research, development and analysis – keep track of policy and political developments in Stormont, analyse their impact on hospices and people who need palliative care and brief colleagues and hospices on this. We would also expect you to prepare succinct and influential reports, consultation responses and briefings on policy issues for a range of audiences.
• Public affairs and campaigning – plan and deliver public affairs activity to achieve Hospice UK’s strategic aims and react to opportunities to influence the political debate in Northern Ireland, engaging with civil servants, parliamentarians and other external stakeholders in Northern Ireland.
• Develop and maintain effective working relationships with key partners and stakeholders.
• Act as a media spokesperson and represent Hospice UK at external events, meetings and conferences.
• Build relationships with hospices in Northern Ireland to understand the challenges they face and the context they operate within.

It is essential that you have experience in policy, public affairs, campaigns or a related field in Northern Ireland and a good understanding of policy development and/or parliamentary processes in Northern Ireland.

We would also expect you to have excellent communication, influencing and relationship building skills and an ability to quickly read, understand and respond to complex information.

More information about the role and team is available in the candidate information pack (available on our website to download).

How to apply (Documents)

To apply for this role, please send us the following documents by midnight on Sunday 30 November 2025:

• Your CV. Ideally in Microsoft Word format and less than 3 pages of A4.
• A completed supporting statement form (where you can demonstrate how you meet the person specification) – available on our website to download.
• A completed equalities monitoring form – available on our website to download.

We will shortlist candidates based on their CV and supporting statements. A briefing of what to expect will be sent in advance to shortlisted candidates.

We believe in fair recruitment and working to remove bias, so all applications will have identifying indicators removed before being submitted to the shortlisting panel.

Please make sure you provide your contact details in your email. Please note the interview dates above and let us know if there are any accommodations you might need to participate fully in the process. We will try to be flexible.

To be considered for this role you must have the right to live and work in the UK for your application to be progressed. Hospice UK is an equal opportunities employer and welcomes applications from all sections of the community.