Policy Specialist

IPSA is an independent body that regulates and administers the business costs and decides the pay and pensions of the 650 elected Members of Parliament and their staff in the UK.  In fact, we were the first independent regulator of its kind in any of the world’s democracies.

Our mission is simple: we want to enable MPs to do what really matters by providing an exemplary, seamless regulatory service. We’re guided by our values and our brilliant, inclusive culture ensures we’re not only a great place to work but that we can also constantly adapt, evolve and improve everything we do so that we can meet our customers’ needs.

Take a look at some of our videos to find out more about who we are, what we do and how we do it:

We’re looking for a Policy Specialist to join our brilliant team here at IPSA. As a Policy Specialist you’ll be researching information, analysing data and considering best practice from across IPSA and beyond to help us shape, create and advise on our policy and processes.  You’ll need to be to organising meetings, making contacts, handling sensitive situations and then combining everything you have learned into workable recommendations with clear implications for any decisions made. You will need to think about the impact of changes because we want to evolve and simplify our policy to align with IPSA’s overall strategic objectives.

You’ll also need to understand Scheme of MP’s Staffing and Business Costs and the nuances of our customers and be able to provide expert advice on existing policy. You’ll work with our MP Services team to make sure that our advice is a consistent and we provide a seamless, exemplary service. You may find yourself having to look at disputed claims or considering requests for additional funding.

Policy Specialist’s responsibilities include:

• Leading on policy development projects and policy reviews.
• Providing advice and policy interpretation to support colleagues and other stakeholders.
• Producing and presenting papers, guidance and reports to internal and stakeholders.
• Representing IPSA and communicating policy positions to external stakeholders.
• Implementing end-to-end policy and process changes.
• Applying the Scheme rules consistently and if needed, conducting reviews of claims.
• Supporting requests for additional financial assistance.

Our ideal colleague will have demonstrable policy (or related) experience which you’ll have gained from within a regulatory or a political setting.  You’ll understand how a consultation process works, what good evidence and data looks like and how you can use this information to improve and simplify policy and processes. Through your experience you will know how to manage sensitive situations and data and how to communicate this internally and externally.  At the same time, you’ll have a solid understanding of, and sensitivity to, the external political, economic and social environment. 

You’ll be in your element when identifying key themes and trends and be able to convey issues, recommendations, and solutions to different audiences. Your organisational and time-management skills will be first rate and you’ll be able to effectively manage your workload, prioritise tasks and be comfortable working to deadlines.

You’ll be joining a diverse and knowledgeable bunch of people, passionate about making IPSA brilliant and so you’ll need to be really collaborative in the way that you work so that you fit right in.

Above all, you’ll live and breathe IPSA’s values and be able to demonstrable how your experience and ways of working align with these.  

A full job description and person specification is available on the ‘current vacancies’ section on our website.

Location 

We’re a hybrid organisation with employees working in all corners of the UK. We have an office in central London which you can work from, although we welcome applications from all across the UK, offering flexible homeworking on UK mainland locations (which includes Northern Ireland).

• A competitive salary which is regularly benchmarked against industry.
• Hybrid and flexible working, with occasional travel to our London office for team meetings
• Generous contributions into a ‘Civil Service’ pension.
• 25 days holiday entitlement (+ bank holidays), increasing by 1 day each year up to 30 days.
• Option to purchase additional holiday days each year.
• Access to learning and development tailored to your role with coaching opportunities.
• Working in a high-performing organisation which supports democracy with a great team ethic.
• A culture encouraging equity, diversity and inclusion.
• Time in your work to time to participate in our inclusive workplace networks.
• Mental Health First Aid network and access to our EAP
• Enhanced family leave provisions
• Workplace awards programme for living IPSA’s values and innovative ideas.
• Season ticket/rent deposit loans.
• Cycle to work scheme.
• Volunteering days and ‘you’ time.

Our commitment and values

We’re committed to making IPSA a brilliant place to work and at the heart of our people philosophy is our promise to engage, enable and empower every member of our team to deliver excellence, learn and develop each day. Through a diversity of backgrounds, experience and thought IPSA will continue to be a high-performing organisation with a truly diverse and inclusive culture.  We’re guided by our values and live and breathe them through all the work that we do. These are Staying Connected, Seeing the Bigger Picture, Being Open, Doing the Right Thing and Making a Difference.  As a values-based organisation you can expect these to feature throughout the recruitment process and beyond.

Job contact :

• Name : The People Team
• Email : people@theipsa.org.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : people@theipsa.org.uk