About the role

As the Senior Policy & Parliamentary Officer, you will work closely with colleagues in the central policy and public affairs team as well as Sustrans in the rest of the UK; focusing on supporting the building and delivery of our engagement with parliamentarians, decision makers and other key people primarily in UK Parliament and Government.

You will help deliver on Sustrans’ two strategic priorities of ‘Liveable Cities and Towns for Everyone’ and ‘Paths for Everyone’. This will be done through supporting the development of policy across Sustrans and using this to help key contacts understand the value of creating liveable, vibrant places where it is easy for everyone to access the majority of what they need through walking, wheeling and cycling.

You will build and manage internal and external relationships with key people such as elected MPs, Civil Servants in Whitehall, Peers and others within government, helping to both promote and draft policies such as coordinating our spatial planning work.
As part of this role, you will be a representative for Sustrans at events with parliamentarians, engage with Select Committees and All Party Parliamentary Groups. In addition, you will write blogs and articles for internal and external publications to raise awareness of our work.
This role will require travel and work at locations as necessary to undertake projects on behalf of Sustrans. Candidates should be based within or close to London with regular travel expected to a nominated hub/office base in London.

About you

You should have exceptional communication skills, with the ability to build relationships with ease across a wide range of people; using these skills, you will engage and influence key people, particularly in Westminster and Whitehall, and across the UK.

You will be able to take complex information and be able to distil this into short briefings, in a compelling way to engage an audience. You will also have experience in researching and communicating public policy across a varied range of issues

We ask you to demonstrate your knowledge of political processes; and an understanding of current transport and planning issues to help you advocate for sustainable transport and better places in Government and Parliament.