Senior Public Affairs and Policy Manager
London
£50,956 to £53,000
Working hours – full time (35 hours a week) - you’ll agree your working pattern with your manager (core working hours are 10:00 - 16:00).
Location – London and homeworking (minimum 6 days a month in the London office, anchor day in the office every Wednesday)


Purpose and scope
Are you looking for a policy role where you can make a difference? We’re looking for a senior public affairs and policy manager at the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) to grow the RCP’s influence with government and in UK parliament to ensure the voice of physicians effectively influences the national policy agenda.
You’ll be part of the policy and campaigns team, responsible for ensuring the RCP maintains its position as a credible, influential stakeholder in the eyes of government, NHS systems and our physician members.
You will lead and manage the organisation’s stakeholder engagement. You will ensure we have the right relationships at the right level to achieve our influencing aims and maintain a network of contacts across the sector, in parliament, including political advisers, and the civil service.
You will be as comfortable speaking to parliamentarians and briefing senior leaders for meetings as you are writing consultation responses and policy briefings. You will be able to engage with the policy detail, while appreciating the bigger political picture and our place in it.
You’ll need a sharp eye for detail and be able to quickly and accurately interpret and communicate complex information. You will provide the president, senior officers and senior staff with public affairs advice, brief them for meetings and play an active role in engaging external stakeholders in NHS systems and the wider sector yourself.
Responsibilities
*Maintaining a proactive awareness of issues within the UK health sector, politics and the media and identifying opportunities for influencing and policy development
*Working proactively to identify opportunities for parliamentary engagement to grow the profile of the RCP.
*Building and owning relationships with Ministers Parliamentarians, their staff and civil servants, arms-length bodies and other sector stakeholders organisations relevant to the RCP’s policy and campaigns aims.
*Providing public affairs advice to senior officers and staff, as well as RCP boards, committees and other RCP activities as appropriate
*Managing a robust horizon scanning and political intelligence monitoring service to the senior officers, senior staff and the RCP as a whole.
*Owning a policy portfolio and developing proactive and reactive policy positions, working in partnership with senior officers, RCP members, communications colleagues and other staff and organisations.
*Working flexibly and proactively without close supervision, undertaking a range of work such as writing briefings, letters, policy positions and consultation responses.
*Working with the media team to develop our voice with communications approaches that ensure high impact for our influencing and campaigns work.
*Preparing senior officers and staff for stakeholder meetings, supporting them in those meetings and yourself representing the RCP at meetings and events.
*Managing an adviser and developing them to the best of their ability.
*Any other duties commensurate with your post, including deputising for the head of policy and campaigns and executive/deputy directors of communications, policy and research, and managing budgets.


Experience
You will
*a strong background in public affairs, policy development and effective influencing in Westminster and UK government
*significant experience of developing and delivering successful influencing campaigns and having used a range of public affairs tactics, including the media, to achieve policy change
*significant experience of the policy development process and understanding of how to influence national and/or arms-length body policy processes.
*excellent writing skills and experience of producing briefings, consultation responses and other communications on behalf of an organisation and senior people
*strong experience of giving advice to senior people, getting buy-in for your ideas and influencing opinion internally
*strong experience of successfully managing competing views, priorities and interests to achieve your aims.
*be able to quickly develop positive and effective working relationships with a diverse range of people, including those at senior level
*experience of successfully managing high profile issues, relationships and events
*acting on your own initiative to develop new work, proposing reasonable and realistic solutions
*understand the importance of and be committed to involving a diverse range of organisations and people in developing and delivering campaigns.


You may have experience of
*health and/or social care policy
*influencing the Senedd
*communications management
*working in a membership organisation and involving members in advocacy
*budget management


Closing date: 05 May 2026
Interviewing date: 18 May 2026


The RCP positively encourages applications from suitably qualified and eligible candidates regardless of sex, race, disability, age, sexual orientation, transgender status, religion or belief, marital status or pregnancy and maternity.
The RCP is all about our people – our members, staff, volunteers and leaders. We educate, influence and collaborate to improve health and healthcare for everyone and know we can only do this by being inclusive, encouraging and celebrating diverse perspectives. Welcoming into our community people who represent the 21st-century medical workforce and the diverse population of patients we serve is a priority for us.