Northern Ireland Policy Advisor

at  Speakers for Schools

PLEASE ONLY APPLY IF YOU ARE BASED IN NORTHERN IRELAND

Location: Remote – based in Northern Ireland
Contract: 12-months fixed-term, Temporary, Part-time (2.5 Days per week/Flexible)
Department: Northern Ireland Work Experience Team
Responsible to: Head of Northern Ireland
Salary: £36500 per annum (£18,250 pro rata)

WHO WE ARE?

Speakers for Schools is the largest social mobility charity in the UK. We help to level the playing field between state and independent schools by giving all young people access to the same prestigious networks available to the top fee-paying schools.
We believe that by inspiring young people to explore their ambitions through our speaker programme, facilitating access to multi-day experiences of the world of work, and supporting young people to successfully seize opportunities available to them, then we can make a profound difference to the lives of young people, their future happiness and prosperity.
By 2028, our ambition is that every young person in the UK has access to high quality work experience. Yet today, less than half of young people leave secondary school having had any work experience whatsoever.

DELIVERY:

• Generate and appraise policy options, proposing practical and innovative solutions while considering risks and opportunities for implementation
• Work collaboratively with the Communications Team to hone policy messages and enhance the charity’s external profile across various audiences, ensuring it becomes a trusted source of analysis and ideas
• Utilise excellent communication skills to make a compelling case for change, writing and presenting persuasively for external audiences
• Use research outputs to shape the political agenda and foster public debate on critical issues related to social mobility, youth development, and education
  Note: This job description is intended to convey information essential to understanding the scope of the role. It is not intended to be an exhaustive list of responsibilities and duties required.

STRATEGIC PURPOSE:

• Develop and implement an advocacy strategy (policy goals and related actions) to address Work Experience system-level barriers to social mobility and youth employment within Northern Ireland
• Develop and implement a communication and social media strategy to give voice to the above advocacy strategy
• Review and update the charity’s policy positions in Northern Ireland, ensuring our external messaging is clear, evidenced, consistent and compelling
• Identify areas where evidence and/or understanding is weak and work with Head of Research to address gaps in knowledge through a research project
• Generate innovative ideas and insights through ideas-led projects, fostering purposeful public conversations to drive positive change
• Stay up to date with relevant research and policy activity