Policy & Engagement Executive

  • Salary: £25,000 - £28,000
  • Contract: Permanent
  • Hours: Full time or 0.8 FTE
  • Start date: ASAP.
  • Location: London / Hybrid / Remote
    • People can work flexibly as per Bite Back 2030’s hybrid working policy noting that office based employees are expected to be in the office 2 days per week; remote staff are required to travel to our London HQ at least once a month.
    • NB This is a UK based role; you must have the right to work in the UK to be considered.
  • Reporting to: Senior Policy and Special Projects Manager

Do you want to work with a vibrant, dynamic and youth driven organisation that is committed to creating healthy futures for British children by improving the food system?

Be part of the creative, agile and growing team behind Bite Back 2030’s exceptional teenage activists. Join us as our Policy & Engagement Executive and contribute to our journey to help make the food system healthier and fairer. See below for more details about the role and how to apply.

At Bite Back 2030 we are committed to ensuring our staff is representative of the diverse world around us and therefore encourage candidates from diverse backgrounds to apply. At Bite Back we are inclusive and want to ensure we uphold our multicultural environment.

About Bite Back 2030

We’re surrounded by junk food. From the moment we're born, every second of every day, children are being targeted. Giant companies manipulate them with colourful, cuddly, clever marketing, deceive them with packaging claims and pump products at them that are full of junk. It's become the cultural wallpaper. Now, it risks destroying the health of a generation.

In the UK, nearly a third of children aged 2-15 are now at risk of developing food-related conditions like type 2 diabetes and heart disease in their futures.

The good news is, it's totally preventable. And we're biting back.

Bite Back is a youth activist movement challenging a food system that's been set up to fool us all by:

  1. Calling out the manipulation of junk food giants.
  2. Demanding higher standards from food marketing and from everyday food itself.
  3. Mobilising and equipping young people in the fight for better food.

We do all this so we can bite back against a global epidemic of food-related ill health.

Role Description

We are looking for a Policy & Engagement Executive, to support our work influencing the government to help deliver evidence-based policies that will make a real difference to children’s health. This is an exciting opportunity to work at the forefront of an urgent and politically salient policy area while also collaborating with young people to ensure their voices and lived experiences are heard by policymakers.

The Policy & Engagement Executive will report to our Senior Policy and Special Projects Manager and will play a key role supporting our public affairs, research and policy projects. Our Policy & Engagement team works closely with the Campaigns team, and you will get stuck into existing campaign priorities including restricting expanding eligibility of free school meals, junk food advertising and an exciting new campaign that is currently in development. You will also support the team with monitoring and evaluation, to help us understand the impact of Bite Back’s work. This is a great entry-level opportunity to join a team of 27 and learn all about policy development and influencing public health.

Responsibilities

Key responsibilities include:

  • Carry out desk research (grey literature, academic studies) and support with other research tasks as required.
  • Support our evidence-based policy development work to influence and inform local and national government decisions.
  • Monitor activities and outputs across Bite Back and evaluate their return on investment, and draft reports for the Leadership Team and Board.
  • Set up in-person and virtual meetings with stakeholders (including businesses, other organisations and MPs) and organise logistics.
  • Work with our youth team to engage and support our youth activists to speak with policymakers including development of briefing materials.
  • Conduct stakeholder mapping and contact tracking to inform strategic political engagement plans and evaluation.
  • Translate young people’s insights and policy context into campaign messaging for policymakers and distil policy detail into key points for young people to engage with and campaign on.
  • Draft letters, consultation submissions, briefing notes, reports and other campaign materials to engage policymakers and manage dissemination and follow up. There may also be opportunities to arrange in-person and virtual events e.g. in Parliament or at our HQ.
  • Work closely with other organisations via established coalitions and more informal coordination around key issues, working collaboratively at the highest levels with values-aligned organisations to achieve our goals.
  • Ensure the staff team and Youth Boards are up-to-date on the shifting political landscape.

Skills / experience

As this in an executive role we do not specify any particular academic background or training. Rather than having in-depth knowledge or experience that you will rely on, you will be able to master and quickly move between a variety of tasks. The role is likely to suit a person with the following skills:

  • A keen interest and practical understanding of how the national government works.
  • The ability to work collaboratively in a fast-paced environment and respond flexibly to changing priorities.
  • Strong writing and communication skills, with the ability to adapt messages and language to resonate with different audiences.
  • Critical analysis and the ability to interrogate a variety of research findings, from policy reports to academic studies.
  • Strong ability to manage multiple and conflicting priorities, manage and report on projects effectively and identify and act on priorities independently.
  • Organised, action-oriented and results-driven.
  • Passion for young people’s health, nutrition and social justice.
  • Brings a positive, can-do attitude to the team and applies it to identify new opportunities to advance our organisational purpose.

You will be able to show the following qualities:

  • A bold and open mind - you will be prepared to think differently about issues.
  • A level head - you will be comfortable working both reactively and proactively.
  • A sense of humour - we believe work should be fun and that we all perform at our very best when we enjoy what we do.
  • Creativity - you will come at issues from new and unusual angles and be prepared to work hard on finding fresh and surprising angles.
  • Resilience - you will be prepared to keep going or as our values say, set back won't set you back.
  • A passion for our mission.

How To Apply

Please apply with a CV and a statement answering the following questions:

  1. Why are you applying for the role?
  2. Can you describe your experience of conducting research?
  3. What do you think are some barriers and opportunities Bite Back faces when engaging politicians on our key issues?

Please send your application to recruitment@biteback2030.com

We kindly ask you to complete our Equal Opportunities Form to make sure we can continue to be as fair and inclusive as possible. Your answers will be anonymous and will solely be used for internal purposes as we strive to be better in our representation of diversity. Applications will be handled in line with our Recruitment Privacy Policy.

Timelines

  • Applications close on Sunday 3rd December 2023
  • Initial interviews are expected to take place week commencing Monday 11th December

If you would like to speak to someone about the role, please contact Nika Pajda nika.pajda@biteback2030.comfor any more information.