External Affairs and Strategy Advisor

External Affairs and Strategy Manager
Location: Walsall, West Midlands
Salary: £36,965 - £39,053
The Vacancy
Contract: Full Time, Permanent, 37 hours per week
Closing Date: 10 June
Interview Date: Monday 20 June, in person in Walsall
Do you have an analytical mind, excellent research skills, are interested in current affairs, and policy development and looking to apply your skills in the real world? We want to hear from you!
We have a brilliant opportunity to join our Strategy and Transformation team as an External Affairs and Strategy Advisor. The successful candidate will play a key role in embedding Our 2030 Plan, which sets out our vision and ambitions for the next six years.
You will be our ‘eyes and ears’, keeping on top of what’s going on in the housing, policy and political world. You’ll research the latest trends and innovations and produce high quality briefings on a wide range of topics. This is a varied role supporting our external affairs, stakeholder engagement and strategy work. You will provide support on a variety of projects and events, working with colleagues from across the business.
You’ll need to be a true team player - someone who can get stuck in and help with team-wide projects. This is a rewarding and varied role which will make an impact in and outside the organisation.
Main job responsibilities:
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Horizon scanning of the external operating environment.
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Provide political monitoring and intelligence gathering across national, regional, and local government, with a focus on policy and strategic issues most relevant to the housing sector.
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Provide research and information to support the development and delivery of key activities.
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Develop biographical and policy briefings on key industry and policy developments for senior internal stakeholders, including conducting research to inform these documents.
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Assist with stakeholder management, including research, mapping and engagement strategies.
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Help organise external stakeholder events and external stakeholder visits.
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Contribute to the content and the drafting of responses to public consultations on behalf of whg.
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Support the External Affairs and Strategy Manager to co-ordinate and prepare regular strategic big thinking sessions with senior leaders and support other ad hoc events and activity as required.
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Support the External Affairs and Strategy Manager to work with senior leaders to embed Our 2030 Plan, key business strategies, and operational planning.
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Support the preparation of reports as required.
We are looking for someone who has:
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Excellent research skills and the ability to translate research into high-quality, clear and concise briefings for senior managers.
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Experience in stakeholder management including maintenance of stakeholder database
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Strong communication and organisational skills, with keen attention to detail.
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Hardworking, flexible, and a good team player.
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Ability to prioritise a demanding workload under pressure, and work to tight deadlines.
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Travel to external events and conferences as required.
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A good understanding of Microsoft Office and Outlook
You will have a confident and positive approach with the ability to remain calm under pressure and deal with difficult situations in an effective, professional and respectful manner. You will also be self-motivated and accountable with the ability to work across teams.
What’s in it for you?
In return, you will receive a competitive salary, 27 days annual leave (plus Christmas shut down), a defined benefit pension scheme, health cash plan, a range of shopping and leisure discounts.
We are output focused and flexible and believe in giving colleagues the right balance of autonomy and support to enable them to work to their full potential. Despite the high expectation for performance and delivery, we are committed to ensuring colleagues have a healthy work-life balance and able to work in agile ways which support them.
About us
Our People Strategy presents a clear picture of how we will achieve our Corporate Plan aim, ‘Be an exceptional place to work that attracts, develops and retains talent’. The Strategy focuses on three key themes that help us support our colleagues to make a difference to our customers, the communities we serve and to themselves.
It is important to us that we have a diverse workforce, representative of the communities we serve. Equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) to us means colleagues living our values, dedicated to doing the right thing and exercising good judgement. This will encourage a culture where all can thrive, acknowledging that everyone is different; what matters to us is that everyone can come to work and feel comfortable to be themselves.
We are proud to be accredited as a Disability Confident Employer and ensure that disabled people and those with long term health conditions have the opportunity to fulfil their potential and realise their aspirations while working with us. We want to make it clear that we welcome disabled applicants for all our roles. If in doubt look out for the Disability Confident logo.
We will ensure that our recruitment process is inclusive and accessible, and we will interview applicants with a disability if they meet the essential criteria for a role. We will also support existing colleagues with a disability or long-term health condition enabling them to stay in work, making reasonable adjustments if necessary