Public Affairs Manager

Unit : 
Strategy Office
Salary : 
£37,099 to £44,263
Location : 
Milton Keynes
Please quote reference : 
21427
Full Time, Permanent
Closing Date : 
8 February, 2024 – 12:00

This role offers flexible and remote working, but with an expectation of on-campus attendance in Milton Keynes, 1 day per week (currently Wednesday), with London and other locations ad hoc as required.  

Change your career, change lives

The Open University is the UK’s largest university, a world leader in flexible part-time education combining a mission to widen access to higher education with research excellence, transforming lives through education.

The role 

The Public Affairs Manager will support The Open University’s (OU) engagement with stakeholders across Westminster and Whitehall as well as umbrella bodies to assist in influencing public policy and funding priorities set by the UK Government.

You will play a key part in providing effective parliamentary monitoring, briefing internal and external leads, delivering political stakeholder visits, and coordinating the Government and External Affairs (GEA) team’s work with academic research and insights.

The role will report to the Senior Public Affairs Manager and will work closely with other members of the GEA team, the wider Strategy Office, and relevant departments across the University including our OU colleagues in Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales.

Skills and experience 

• Excellent organisational and project management skills.
• Direct Westminster parliamentary experience or relevant experience working in the public affairs or think tank sector.
• Strong understanding of the political landscape across the UK, in particular the workings of Westminster and Whitehall.
• Excellent inter-personal skills and an ability to establish strong working relationships with figures outside and within the University.
• Strong communication skills, including an ability to write clearly and succinctly, and to speak engagingly.
• Good analytical skills, including an ability to gather, analyse, interpret, and present information effectively.
• A willingness to work flexible hours (some evening and weekends).
• A degree, equivalent qualification, or experience.

The full summary of duties and skills required for the role can be found within the Job Description.

If you would like to discuss the application or recruitment process before making an application, please contact Emma Jones at Resourcing Hub on 01908 655544 or [email protected] quoting the reference VRF 21427.

What you get in return

We have a strong commitment to providing training and development in and beyond your current role. This includes thorough induction into the organisation and regular reviews of your training and development needs.

We also offer a great range of benefits that support our employees and their families for the long term. Staff Benefits include an attractive pension proposition and 33 days holiday per annum pro rata, plus Bank Holidays and Christmas closure days.

How to apply

Unless otherwise stated in the advert, all applications are completed online via the instructions on The OU Job’s page. Applications submitted via 3rd party websites will not be received.

Access details for disabled applicants are available from the Resourcing Hub, telephone: 01908 655544, quoting the vacancy reference above.

To apply for this role please submit the following as one document;

• CV
• Personal statement, up to 1,000 words, you should set out in your statement why you’re interested in this role and provide examples of where your skills and experience meet the required competencies for this role as detailed in the job and person specification.

Please save your document with the following file name as appropriate to the vacancy you are applying for: reference, surname, forename.

You will need to have your documents ready ahead of submitting the electronic application. Please click on the APPLY NOW button below to be redirected to our application page.

APPLY NOW

You will receive updates regarding your application from [email protected] . Please ensure this email address is added to your list of trusted senders so it does not go to your junk folder.

You can view your application communications on the Candidate portal .

Find out more about us and our mission by watching this short video (you will be taken to YouTube by clicking this link).

The Open University is committed to equality, diversity and inclusion which is reflected in our mission to be open to people, places, methods and ideas. We aim to foster a diverse and inclusive environment so that all in our OU community can reach their potential.  We recognise that different people bring different perspectives, ideas, knowledge, and culture, and that this difference brings great strength.  We strive to recruit, retain and develop the careers of a diverse pool of students and staff, and particularly encourage applications from all underrepresented groups. We also aspire to make The Open University a supportive workplace for all through our policies, services and staff networks.

Job related information : 

• Terms and Conditions – Academic Related Staff  (PDF)

• Terms and Conditions – Academic Related Staff  (Word document)

Posting Date : 
17 January, 2024 – 12:00