External Affairs Advisor

Are you a proactive External Affairs Advisor who has a passion for public affairs? If so, you might be interested in joining the growing Corporate Affairs Team at the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS). You will report to the Strategic Engagement Manager and promote the work of the MaPS and MoneyHelper services to influential audience groups. This will include conducting proactive public affairs engagement, as well as positioning MaPS to respond quickly and efficiently to relevant activity across Westminster and Whitehall.

This is a fantastic opportunity to work in a flexible, collaborative and supportive environment, where you will have access to continuous professional development and career progression opportunities. You will also enjoy a range of benefits, including generous annual leave, pension scheme, flexible working arrangements and employee assistance programme.”

In this role you will be responsible for the following;

• Delivering an effective and proactive External Affairs function, supporting the Strategic Engagement Manager and wider business.
• Working with the Strategic Engagement Manager to promote the work of MaPS and the services provided by MoneyHelper to key audience groups, including parliamentarians.
• Providing timely and considered reporting on relevant activity across Westminster and Whitehall that may impact MaPS, MoneyHelper and the UK Strategy for Financial Wellbeing.
• Supporting MaPS’ executive-level external engagement, providing briefings and speeches for senior colleagues and attending meetings where required.
• Building and maintaining effective working relationships with key parliamentarians, maintaining stakeholder maps and databases, and coordinating effective delivery of our engagement plans.
• Providing a single point of contact for MaPS when responding to external queries from Westminster, for example urgent responses to parliamentary correspondence, Parliamentary Questions, and enquiries from Select Committee officials.
• Working closely with the rest of the Corporate Affairs team and other colleagues to support the delivery of engaging, multi-channel and multi-stakeholder campaigns, focusing on consumer outcomes.

You will need to demonstrate the following skills and experience;

• Solid understanding of public affairs, parliamentary procedures, and experience of working in, or with, Westminster and/or Whitehall.
• Expertise in developing and delivering successful public affairs engagement strategies and plans.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with experience of developing compelling content for a range of audiences and channels, ensuring consistency of messaging.
• Experience of engaging with stakeholders, including subject matter experts, to distil complex information into concise content with clear calls to action.
• Excellent interpersonal skills with the ability to build strong relationships with external and internal stakeholders.
• The ability to work cross-functionally with other teams and disciplines within and outside the organisation, and in fast-paced environments with a strong customer focus.
• Experience of organising events, preferably in Parliament.
• Commitment to inclusive and collaborative working practices, communications, and engagement.

Desirable Experience

• An understanding of the financial services and/or third sector.
• Experience of working in an MP’s office or similar.
• An understanding of the financial wellbeing, money guidance, debt advice or pensions sectors
• Highly developed critical thinking, interpretative, analytical and problem-solving skills.

The Money and Pensions Service is establishing a new head office in Bedford, where we will be a key employer in the town. Whilst it will be some time before our new offices are fully open, we are keen and excited to be recruiting for a variety of roles as we build our new team(s) over the coming months.

We are already forging great relationships with Bedford Borough Council and other local organisations to ensure that we are an active part of the community and fully integrated to play our part in the Government’s “levelling-up” strategy. This is a wonderful opportunity for you to be one of the first colleagues to join us in Bedford and to be an integral part of helping us establish ourselves in the town.

At the heart of the Money and Pensions Service are our values – caring, connecting and transforming, which are the foundation of our success. They permeate every area of our work and define all our business relationships and the way we work with each other. We’re not only looking for the best people in and around Bedford to come and work for us, but we need people who align themselves to our values: –

• Caring
  We care about our colleagues and people whose lives we are here to transform.
• Connecting
  We will transform lives through our ability to make positive connections.
• Transforming
  We are committed to transforming lives and make a positive societal impact.

About MaPS

At MaPS, we help people – particularly those most in need – to improve their financial wellbeing and build a better, more confident future. Working collaboratively across the UK, we make sure customers can access high-quality money and pensions guidance and debt advice throughout their lives, however and whenever they need it.

About our people 

In our move to Bedford, we aim to attract and retain the absolute best talent, so we can achieve our objectives and continue to make a difference to millions of people’s lives.  We are keen to encourage applications from individuals across the whole community with the skills, knowledge, and behaviours for the job, and who show a strong commitment to MaPS’ objectives, values, and vision.  It is important to us that we continue our ambition to be a genuinely diverse and inclusive organisation, so that we reflect the people we are here to help.

Our inclusive working environment

By fostering our values, we are immensely proud of the inclusive working environment that we have created. The diversity of our people is a strength that we embrace and wish to build upon, so we are committed to attracting people of all backgrounds.

We work hard to ensure that we have a progressive approach to inclusion, equity and belonging.  We really do want our colleagues to “bring their whole selves to work.”

By way of brief example, we have an enviable ethnic diversity mix, equal gender balance with a zero mean gender pay gap and thriving colleague and ally networks, including LGBTQ+, neurodiversity, women’s health, men’s health, ethnicity, and diversity.

What Money and Pensions Service can offer you?

• Generous Annual Leave – 30 days plus Bank Holidays
• Pension scheme – contributions matched 2 to 1 (up to 10% of your salary)
• Interest-free loan to help you buy season tickets for buses and trains
• Cycle to work Scheme
• Subsidised eye test & flu jabs
• Life assurance scheme
• Give as you earn scheme
• Employee assistance programme (EAP)
• PAM Assist and PAM Life scheme (Wellbeing)
• Enhanced family and sick pay
• Paid volunteering (2 days a year)
• Recognition Scheme
• Discounts portal to numerous retailers

At MaPS, we take pride in our flexible approach to work.  Most of our roles can operate on a hybrid basis with a minimum of 2 days in the office per week. Hybrid working is a voluntary, noncontractual arrangement and your office will be your contractual place of work. The number of days that anyone will be able to work at home will be determined primarily by business needs, but personal and other relevant circumstances will also be considered. If you are successful, any opportunities for hybrid working, including whether a hybrid working arrangement is suitable for you, will be discussed with you prior to you taking up your post.

Job contact :

• Name : Nick Heron
• Email : nicholas.heron@reed.com

Recruitment team

• Email : nicholas.heron@reed.com