We are seeking an experienced and influential Head of Government Relations to build Save the Children UK’s profile, credibility and influence with UK politicians, political parties and opinion-formers to bring about policies and practices that deliver immediate and lasting change to children’s lives in the UK and worldwide.

In this crucial role, you will be responsible for high level advocacy with key government ministers, officials, advisers and parliamentarians. You will lead on monitoring and mitigating political risk. Through direct contact with national decision makers you will impact policies affecting millions of children in the UK and worldwide. You will also:
• Provide strategic advice and support to our three centenary commitments (Protecting Children in Conflict, Pnuemonia and Early Childhood Development) as well as other emerging issues
• Maintain a strategic overview of political trends, deploying political intelligence to drive the political influencing of Save the Children’s campaigns
• Lead an engagement strategy with key UK and EU decision makers and priority international institutions; identifying and creating opportunities to influence policy and processes
• Lead and manage a high performing team, offering support and motivation as well as opportunities for staff development

To be successful you will have proven experience of lobbying at a senior level within the UK government. You will have excellent political judgment, with the ability to identify opportunities to influence the UK government successfully according to Save the Children priorities and to understand the political obstacles to achieving our objectives and how to overcome them. An excellent team leader, with the ability to work well under pressure and to tight deadlines, you will also have:
• Significant operational experience of UK political structures, processes and trends
• An ability to think and plan strategically, with evidence of securing policy change through successful design and execution of lobbying strategies
• An ability to think creatively, with a strong track record of innovation in influencing, with the potential to make Save the Children consistently stand out from the crowd