Head of Policy and Campaigns

Job description

We are seeking an experienced Head of Policy to lead our policy and campaigning on issues affecting the legal rights and health and wellbeing of pregnant women, new mothers and their families.

**About Maternity Action**

Established in 2008, Maternity Action protects and strengthens the rights of pregnant women and new parents to employment, social security and healthcare, irrespective of migration status.

We employ specialist employment and asylum/immigration lawyers who represent women who experience maternity discrimination at work, difficulties in accessing maternity pay and benefits or are wrongly charged for their NHS maternity care. We provide second tier advice to NGOs and support strategic litigation within our areas of expertise. Our policy and campaigning work is driven by the injustice we see from our advice services. We prioritise issues affecting low income and marginalised women, including migrant and asylum seeking women. Sharing our expertise is key to our ethos, and we run a national programme of conferences and training.

Maternity Action has grown over the past four years and we are now a team of 26 We are passionate about our work, but we are committed to our staff having a genuine work life balance. The majority of our employees have some form of caring responsibilities and Maternity Action is a genuinely flexible employer. 22 of our 26 staff work part time and staff are located across the UK. We have recently expanded our operations and have developed two Health Justice Partnerships with NHS Trusts. We are funded by a variety of large charitable funders, smaller grant making organisations and unions.

**About the role**

Having recently gone through a rapid period of growth and increased funding, we are looking for a Head of Policy to actively contribute to the development and implementation of our strategy as a member of the organisation’s Senior Management Team.

You will lead our policy and campaigning on issues affecting the legal rights and health and wellbeing of pregnant women, new mothers and their families. We have current policy projects in the areas of maternity discrimination at work, new mothers and the cost of living crisis, reform of the maternity and parental leave framework, charging migrant women for NHS care, and asylum support.

The role will predict and keep up to date with developments in policy, maintain and develop strategic partnerships and relationships, prepare research reports, briefings and responses to Government consultations, plan and deliver campaigns for change and lead our media and public affairs. This role will also manage our Policy Team, consisting of Senior Policy Officers, Communications and Public Affairs Officer, and occasional volunteers.

**About you**

We are looking for an experienced policy analyst and manager with a thorough knowledge of either_ _(a) employment policy, including maternity and parental rights, or (b) immigration and asylum policy, including access to housing, subsistence and healthcare. You will have a commitment to women’s rights and knowledge of how to embed Lived Experience in policy and campaigning.

The successful applicant will have UK public policy experience in a relevant field and experience of building and maintaining effective coalitions in support of policy or campaigning goals. You will have excellent research and analytical skills and excellent communication skills, including preparation of reports and briefings. You will be a confident public speaker. You will also have experience in managing a small team.

**Working arrangements**

The post is part time. We would ideally like the role to be 28 hours per week, however we are open to 21-27 hours per week. There is a core day (Thursday) and we are otherwise flexible about start/finish time and days worked, within normal business hours.

The post can be delivered through a mix of home and office based working. Our head office is in Finsbury Park, London.

Salary is £54,539 pro rata plus 8% pension.

This is a permanent post.