Policy Officer

Location(UK): Office Hybrid* - London / Chesterfield
Hours: Full-time, 35 hours per week
Salary: £31,918 per annum (London office-based) £29,016 per annum (Rest of UK)
Benefits: Read more about the excellent benefits we offer
Contract type: Permanent
Travel: Some travel in London and within UK
Closing date: 23:59, Sunday 15 December 2024

Join us and use your skills, knowledge, passion and energy to help us achieve a future free from arthritis.

Within the Chief Executive’s Office, the UK Advocacy and Health Intelligence Department are focused on creating lasting change. We identify creative policy solutions in response to the challenges people with arthritis face. We influence decision-makers through stakeholder engagement, public affairs activity and by campaigning alongside people with arthritis. We have expertise across health and care services, public health, and employment policy. We also work in collaboration to influence medical research and data policy and play an active role in several cross-sector groups. We’re looking for a Policy Officer who will make a difference to health and social care policy for people with arthritis.

About the role

The purpose of this role is to drive policy development across our policy priority areas. The Policy Officer will lead on specific policy projects, commissioning research, developing policy positions, and producing reports and consultation responses.

This role will cover a broad range of issues across one of our strategic goals – prevention and diagnosis; access to treatment; and living well with arthritis. Our approach considers the needs of people of all ages who have arthritis.

The Policy Officer will also contribute to the wider work of the team, working closely with colleagues in the Nations Teams, the Research Directorate and the wider charity, including by representing us on cross-sector policy groups, drafting briefings, and participating in events and conferences.

We’ll give you autonomy, variety and challenge with opportunities to work with inspirational campaigners, attend events in Parliament and meet senior stakeholders in Government. We’re a supportive team who will value your well-being and professional development.

About you

If your knowledge, skills and experience include the following then we’d love to hear from you:

Understanding of policy issues relevant to people with long-term conditions or disability.
Experience of working in a policy team.
Experience of developing and influencing health and social care policy.
An ability to think creatively and communicate effectively.
An enthusiastic, adaptive and flexible approach.

*As a hybrid worker the expectation is that you will spend around 40% of your working time in our office spaces or working in community settings. As an inclusive employer we will consider home-based working for anyone where office-based hybrid working would be a barrier to being able to work for us, for example for someone living with a long-term health condition or disability.

Download the job description and person specification for the Policy Officer role (PDF 108 KB).

Benefits

Your excellent benefits include:

Flexible hours, environments and working practices to promote a healthy work/life balance.
Health and wellbeing support – including the Employee Assistance Programme (free confidential 24/7 support with mental health, legal and financial queries).
Simplyhealth cash plan.
Supportive and inclusive culture, with a wide range of employee networks and support groups available to join.
Learning and personal development opportunities.
Competitive annual leave, with the option to buy/sell up to five days per year.
Generous pension plan, with employer contribution of up to 10%.
Life Assurance plan (4 x salary).

How to apply

You must be based, and hold the right to work, in the UK to apply for this position.

To apply you MUST submit:

a concise, up-to-date CV
along with a completed Application form (Word 41.2KB) demonstrating how you meet the key requirements set out in the job description and person specification for the Policy Officer role (PDF 108 KB). All sections must be completed.

Email both documents as Word or PDF attachments by 23:59, Sunday 15 December 2024 to recruitment@versusarthritis.org. If you have a health condition that prevents you from following the steps above, please email us regarding alternative ways to apply. 

Application deadline and shortlisting 

We advise candidates to apply early as we reserve the right to close applications ahead of this date.  
Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

We do not wish to receive contact from agencies or media sales. 

Interview

Interviews expected during week commencing Monday 13 January 2025.

As a Disability Confident Employer, we guarantee you will be offered an interview if you disclose a disability and demonstrate sufficient evidence within your application that you meet the essential criteria for this role. We will also make any reasonable adjustments you may require for your interview.

About us

We have made a commitment in our Diversity and Inclusion Strategy to increase the diversity of our charity and we welcome candidates from a wide variety of backgrounds and experiences. We want our employees, volunteers and trustees to represent the broad diversity of the communities of which we are a part.

There are over 10 million people living with arthritis. That’s one in six, with over half of those living in pain every single day. The impact is huge as the condition slowly intrudes on everyday life – affecting the ability to work, care for a family, to move free from pain and to live independently. Yet arthritis is often dismissed as an inevitable part of ageing or shrugged off as ‘just a bit of arthritis’. We don’t think that this is OK. Versus Arthritis is here to change that.

Versus Arthritis is committed to keeping children, young people and vulnerable adults safe from harm. During the recruitment process we will undertake safer recruitment practices and relevant checks to ensure applicants are suitable to work with children, young people and vulnerable adults.