Policy Manager

The Policy Manager will play a pivotal role in shaping and advancing our policy agenda to ensure people affected by dementia benefit from progress in research. By leveraging expertise in policy analysis, advocacy, and stakeholder engagement, the Policy Manager will be responsible for developing and implementing strategic policy initiatives that influence government decisions, public health priorities and research funding.

The post-holder will collaborate with a variety of stakeholders, including policymakers, researchers, clinicians, and people with lived experience of dementia to help make the case for increased investment in dementia research, advocate for more accessible routes to diagnosing and treating dementia and prepare health systems to be ready for future dementia treatments.

Main duties and responsibilities of the role:

Policy development

· Develop and manage programmes of work on key strategic policy areas that position ARUK as a key influencer both nationally and internationally.  This may include the commissioning of external evidence generation.

· Provide expertise on the relevant evidence, insight, and policy context to enable the development of new innovative policy ideas and solutions that deliver on our strategic priorities.

· Manage the development of substantial and credible policy outputs, including briefings, reports, submissions to government departments and their agencies, parliamentary committees, and other UK and international organisations as appropriate.

· Work with the communications team to ensure our policy work is disseminated to our key audiences via a range of appropriate channels to maximise our reach and impact.

· Develop and maintain mechanisms to keep abreast of the policy environment.

· Analyse, interpret and make judgements on complex project activities, delegating and managing the policy advisors to achieve set deliverables through their management of day-to-day activities. As Policy and Public Affairs works in a matrix structure this may include managing deliverables with policy advisors across the team.

· Support the join-up between projects and across the wider team to ensure shared knowledge and the opportunity to maximise influence and impact.

Stakeholder engagement and management

· Develop and manage stakeholder engagement of key policy contacts.

· Actively promote patient and public involvement in the development and delivery of projects.

· Work with Public Affairs colleagues to strengthen existing and emerging relationships with political and other parliamentary stakeholders to maximise the impact of our policy work.

· Attend external working groups and help develop partnerships beneficial to ARUK.

· Work with other charities to ensure ARUK is playing a leadership role in shaping government medical research policy.

Research and data analysis

· Oversee the analysis of necessary data and understanding, working with other ARUK colleagues, to produce accurate, timely and insightful policy materials, briefings and media stories.

Line Management Responsibilities

· Line manage and develop a Policy Advisor, providing coaching, mentoring and performance management as appropriate.

· Work with Senior Policy Manager and other Managers to support our team mission, wider team development and our commitment to excellence.

What we are looking for:

· Experience and success in policy development and influencing change.

· Experience of building constructive relationships with stakeholders across multiple organisations, especially within a biomedical research or health setting.

· Experience of writing and reviewing complex policy reports.

· Understanding of range of channels for communicating policy work.

· Experience of line management

· Experience of delivering consultation responses and working with government teams to embed ideas.

· Confidence working with computers – good knowledge of Word, Excel and Outlook.

· A passionate, proactive and curious policy professional.

· Strong negotiation skills.

· Excellent personal communication skills, with the ability to communicate with people at all levels both face to face and remotely.

· Ability to manage a broad programme or work with good organisational and prioritisation skills.

· Ability to work with a high level of accuracy and attention to detail.

· Ability to manage and develop people.

· Ability to write professionally, with an ability to adapt communication style for different audiences to maximise impact.

· Ability to analyse and interpret complex data to identify key messages.

· Professional and hard-working team player.

· Able to remain calm under pressure.

· Ability to show initiative and adaptability in a complex and changing policy environment.

· Strategic outlook with a clear focus on impact.

Additional Information:

Ways of working: As part of our Agile ways of working you will be required to work approximately 2 days a week from the office, which is subject to the requirements of the role and the business needs. Flexibility on where you work can be split between working from home and our office.

Roles that are classed as part of the Agile ways of working are not able to claim any costs for Mileage/Travel on Public Transport, Accommodation and/or Meals.  This includes when attending the office for various meetings/events.

Our Office: Our office is at 3 Riverside, Granta Park, Great Abington, Cambridge, CB21 6AD. 

Salary: Circa £44,000 per annum, plus benefits.

Please download the Vacancy Pack for more information.

The closing date for applications is the 16th June 2024, with interviews likely to be held week commencing the 1st July 2024. We would encourage you to submit your application at the earliest opportunity as the closing date may be brought forward at any time. Please indicate in your covering letter if you are unable to attend an interview on a certain date.

We value diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive culture where everyone can be themselves and reach their full potential.  We actively encourage applications from people of all backgrounds and cultures, in particular those from ethnic minority backgrounds who are currently under-represented.  Any offer of employment is however subject to you having the right to work in the UK.

As part of our commitment to be an inclusive employer and ensure fairness and consistency in selecting the best candidate for this role, your CV will be anonymised as part of the selection process.  Should you need any adjustments at either the application or interview stage, then please do contact us via our website.

How to apply: Please create an online account using our Online Recruitment Platform which can be accessed through our Job Vacancies page. You will be able to attach your CV to your application and track the status of your application.

About Alzheimer’s Research UK:

Alzheimer's Research UK is the UK's leading dementia research charity. Our mission is to accelerate progress towards a cure.  Today 1 in 2 people will be impacted by dementia, either through caring for a loved one, developing it themselves or tragically both. But there is hope. 

There has never been a more important and exciting time in dementia research. With promising new drugs in clinical trials that slow the progression of the diseases that cause it, and revolutionary new ways to diagnose them on the horizon, we are now at a tipping point. Working with the smartest minds globally and across the UK, with industry and academia, Alzheimer’s Research UK is uniquely placed to invest in the very best research identifying barriers to a cure and knocking them down so that there are more and better treatments for everyone with dementia. For the first time in history, we can see a future where people with dementia can get a swift and accurate diagnosis, and effective treatments that could slow or even stop their disease. We stand for everyone affected by dementia. We stand for a cure. 

In 2022, we were incredibly proud to be awarded a 3-star accreditation by Best Companies which recognises ‘World Class’ levels of workplace engagement and were also listed in the prestigious Best Companies lists:

• 48th in the 100 Best Large Companies to Work For in the UK.

• 19th in the 100 Best Companies to Work For in the East of England.

• 3rd in the 50 Best Companies to Work For in the Charity Sector.

In addition, we were also shortlisted for a special award recognising the work undertaken on reducing our environmental impact.

In 2021, we were awarded the HR Management award by The Charity Times for our Wellbeing initiatives throughout the pandemic.

In 2020, we demonstrated our commitment to changing the way we think and act about mental health in the workplace and signed the Time to Change Employer Pledge. 

ARUK really does look after its people, where you will be able to add value and make a difference. 

To view further details about working for us and the benefits we offer, please visit Alzheimer’s Research UK