Public Affairs Manager

Looking for a wide-ranging public affairs role in an ambitious organisation with a track record for shaping the success of its home city and communities of which it is part? Looking to use your experience of building and sustaining major stakeholder relationships and delivering high-quality insight in a diverse and stimulating environment? Looking to develop and grow, while shaping the future of your team?

Our Public Affairs and Community Engagement team is ambitious to enhance Manchester Metropolitan University's reputation with its strategic stakeholders and their influencers.

It is an exciting time to join Manchester Metropolitan University. As well as gearing up to celebrate our bicentenary next year, we are looking ahead with an exciting new strategy.

As key contact for external stakeholders and colleagues, you will work across many areas simultaneously, making connections between activities at pace. Your role will be integral to strengthening relationships with local, regional and national stakeholders who share our aspirations and values, supporting senior leaders to develop and maximise engagement opportunities.

You would join a thriving university community that:

• Delivers excellent education for all. One of the country's largest universities by student population, last year we were also among the most popular for UK undergraduate applications. Our students enjoy innovative teaching and learning in state-of-the-art facilities in the heart of Manchester. As well as striving to provide an outstanding student experience, we work hard to build their employability skills from day one. We are proud to champion non-traditional routes into higher education that drive social mobility and ~50% of our students are first in their family to go to university.
• Delivers research to address the major challenges of our time. Our research in diverse areas from hydrogen fuel cells to sport science is helping to shape a healthier, fairer, more sustainable society, bringing real world benefits to communities in Manchester, the North West of England and far beyond. In recognition of this, we were cited as one of the best UK universities for ‘research power' for art and design, sport, English and education (Research Excellence Framework).

You will be a valued member of the team and we will develop our Public Affairs team and strategy together.

You will lead on:

• supporting senior colleagues to engage with external stakeholders, ensuring they understand the connections between Manchester Met's work and the values and priorities of our partners.
• planning our Public Affairs engagement (for example regular meetings with MPs and civic leaders) by carrying out research, preparing briefings and identifying preferred outcomes.
• leading and preparing key documents, policy papers, speeches, presentations, and facilitation notes for meetings / roundtables. This will include pulling research themes into accessible narratives for stakeholders and working closely with our Community Engagement, Communications and Business Engagement colleagues.
• representing Manchester Met on relevant external panels/groups.
• monitoring the regional and national policy landscape to identify opportunities and risks that could support, or adversely affect, the delivery of our long-term strategy.
• responding to requests for information (such as those from Parliament, Local Authorities and public bodies) and generating pro-active submissions (such as to Select Committee inquiries) on important issues for Manchester Metropolitan University.
• organising and hosting stakeholder visits to showcase Manchester Metropolitan University's strengths, tailored to the needs and priorities of visiting organisation/s.

To be successful, you will:

• understand government policy trends at national, regional and local level.
• produce high-quality Public Affairs insight and analysis in either a Government, business or higher education setting.
• absorb, evaluate and interpret complex information, draw conclusions and make recommendations at pace.
• write well and summarise complex information succinctly and in clear language.
• develop and maintain relationships with senior leaders and stakeholders, using emotional intelligence and political acumen.
• deliver high-quality work within tight deadlines and while balancing competing demands and expectations.
• enjoy working in teams and co-operating with colleagues with different backgrounds and skill sets.

A good working knowledge of Government, Parliament and/or Higher Education is preferrable, but not essential for the right candidate with energy and enthusiasm to learn.

Applications will close at 9am on Tuesday 9 May. We will hold interviews in person at Manchester Met campus later in May (likely end of week commencing 15 May or beginning of the week commencing 22 May).

Want to know more?

For an informal chat about the role, our Director of Public Affairs (line manager to this post), Eve Darker, will be happy to discuss it with you. You can email her at e.darker@mmu.ac.uk to arrange this.

Manchester Metropolitan University is committed to supporting the rights, responsibilities, dignity, health and wellbeing of staff and students through our commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion.

We promote applications from all sections of the community, irrespective of background, belief or identity, recognising the benefits that a diverse organisation can bring and particularly encourage applications from groups which are underrepresented in the University workforce.