We are seeking an exceptional advocate with a policy, legal or related digital rights campaigning background to work with us furthering privacy and civil liberties in the UK at one of the UK’s leading rights NGOs. Initially, this role will be principally challenging facial recognition surveillance and scrutinising police surveillance/AI powers.

The Senior Advocacy Officer will help us to lobby UK Parliament to further privacy and wider rights at a critical time – when a legal framework on police use of facial recognition is very soon to be introduced, and police are expanding their use of AI and new surveillance technologies. You’ll build on your strong experience to be a credible and proactive lobbyist in Parliament, write expert briefings and be confident meeting parliamentarians, take a leading role liaising with policy stakeholders, be a leading advocate in the press and the public forum, develop policy positions on key issues, and help drive our public campaigns for change.

Senior Advocacy Officer job description

Policy

• Produce policy analysis, research, briefings and reports for dissemination
• Develop strategic policy recommendations informed by expertise
• Identify and explore new and emerging policy issues in our key work areas
• Communicate complex policy issues to varied audiences, whether Parliament, the press or the public
• Build strong relationships with parliamentarians and advisors across all parties
• Identify opportunities to further our strategic aims in Parliament, through committees, parliamentary questions and other activities; as well as regional assemblies and on occasion local government
• Work with stakeholders and pursue collaborative campaigns/coalitions on key issues
• Develop Big Brother Watch’s relationships with allies across Government, legislative bodies, international organisations, and NGOs
• Draft formal correspondence, blog posts, presentations, and other documents articulating Big Brother Watch’s policy positions

Advocacy

• Identify campaigns and advocacy opportunities, and feed into campaign plans and materials
• Write articles and give quotes to press
• Give pre-recorded and live interviews for TV and radio
• Uphold Big Brother Watch’s reputational excellence in public fora
• Help manage media enquiries (our 24/7 media phone is handled on a staff rota system)