Senior Campaigns & Public Affairs Manager (x2)

Permanent, Full Time (35 hours per week)

JRF works to speed up and support the transition to a more equitable and just future, free from poverty, in which people and planet can flourish. We are a UK-wide foundation, with a focus on all four nations.

From 2025, we are embarking on an exciting new strategy aimed at securing bold, stretching policy goals across six key areas: housing, energy/climate, social security, communities & place, work and families & care.

We are looking for two talented, energetic and passionate campaigners to lead our influencing work in support of these goals, playing an instrumental role in JRF’s success.

About the role

Our Senior Campaigns and Public Affairs Managers play three important roles. Firstly, they collaborate closely with their equivalents in our policy and analytical teams to ensure that our major policy ideas are designed from the outset to attract the highest possible levels of public and political support.

Second, they are responsible for identifying the best fit influencing strategies and tactics (ranging from insider approaches to more overt campaigning) for securing tangible progress towards these policy objectives and developing powerful narratives to build support from key stakeholders.

Thirdly, they are responsible for securing (on an ongoing basis) the resources the strategies need, mobilising colleagues, partner organisations and external contractors to put them into effect, growing a powerful network of influential external supporters and ensuring that plans respond effectively to the ever-evolving external context.

About you

As our Senior Campaigns & Public Affairs Manager, we’d like you to have an in-depth understanding of the ways in which UK public policies are formed and reformed, of the challenges associated with delivering policy in the real world and of how civil society organisations like JRF can successfully influence policy change.

You will have an understanding of the structural nature of poverty and how policy may alleviate structural harms and substantial experience of working at progressively senior levels at the intersection of policy development, politics and strategic communications/ campaigns.

You’ll have substantial experience of working in multidisciplinary teams using a range of insider and outsider tactics and compelling examples of developing and implementing influencing strategies that have demonstrably affected the climate of opinion around an issue and ideally, achieved concrete change.

With a proven track record of successfully building relationships with decision makers and influencing their thinking, you’ll have clear examples of writing effectively for a wide range of audiences and of commissioning, understanding and using public attitudinal insights to inform your influencing strategies and/or narrative development.

How to apply

If you share our passion and this role sounds like you, then we’re looking forward to hearing from you.

Please submit your CV and supporting information via our online application platform.

The closing date for applications is 29th May 2025.

Interviews will take place week commencing 16th June 2025.

Additional Information

Applications are welcome from all, regardless of age, disability, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy or maternity, religion or belief, race, sex, sexual orientation, trans status or socioeconomic background.

We positively encourage applications from people from marginalised backgrounds, including but not limited to those with experience of living in poverty.

We are committed to being an anti-racist organisation and operate an anonymised recruitment process so that bias is eliminated from the shortlisting process.

In support of our approach to flexible working, we are happy to receive applications from those seeking full-time employment, as well as those who may want to share the role on a part-time basis. When making your application, please state whether you want to be considered for either full or part-time work and, if part-time, the number of hours per week you would be looking for.

At JRF we’re at our best when we’re continually building on trust, showing we care and making a difference – and hope others will do the same. So, for those roles which allow it, we’re developing a more blended approach to how and where you work. This means you can expect to work flexibly between the office and home (with an expectation of two days a week in your home office).

We are a Disability Confident Employer. This means that we are committed to the recruitment, progression and retention of disabled individuals. We shall also offer interviews to disabled candidates who meet the minimum criteria for the job. If you have a disability, please tell us if you would like to be considered for an interview under the Disability Confident Scheme.

If you have any additional needs and need reasonable adjustments to be made to the interview process, please let us know.