This is a high responsibility role in a busy Westminster office. The successful candidate will:

• Work with the Head of Communications to renew the Russell Group’s external relations operation to reflect and deliver the Chief Executive’s overarching strategy for the organisation; they will directly manage the Russell Group’s external relations activity.
• Provide counsel to the Chief Executive and senior team, draft briefings for the Russell Group Board of Vice Chancellors and support colleagues in their outward-facing roles.
• Work with communications and policy colleagues to develop advocacy positions and deliver their successful communication.
• Keep oversight of stakeholder relationships held across the organisation, including to ensure that we are maximising opportunities for coordinated activity with our partners.
• Develop strong relationships with external relations teams in member institutions and other organisations, providing support to our members and leading collaborations where appropriate.
• Demonstrate excellent project management skills, including planning and prioritisation.
• Attend relevant events and/or represent the organisation as required.
• Undertake core tasks, including being part of an out-of-hours on-call rota.

We are looking for a motivated and confident individual to fill this role. The successful candidate will have previous experience as a communicator and influencer and will have the emotional intelligence to develop strong relationships among diverse stakeholders. They will understand UK politics, policy development and advocacy and be able to work under pressure and think strategically, while getting stuck in to the day-to-day.

The successful candidate will have experience of working in external affairs. You will need to demonstrate that you can manage and prioritise a challenging and varied portfolio of work, meet tight deadlines as well as managing longer term work, and work co-operatively as part of a small team.

This appointment is permanent and will be based in London. We welcome applications from people whatever their race, gender, disability, sexual orientation, religion and belief, or age.

A full Vacancy Description is available from: http://russellgroup.ac.uk/about/vacancies