The role

Reports to: Executive Director of Engagement and Communications

About the opportunity: This is an exciting time to join the HVM Catapult as we transform our organisation to support key strategic priorities of national importance: clean energy transition, net zero manufacturing processes, national security and health tech. If you would like to be part of a passionate and enterprising team driving transformation of the UK’s industrial landscape as part of a collaborative partnership with government, research organisations and industry, this could be the role for you.

About the role: This position plays a key leadership role in enhancing our partnerships with central and regional government, parliament and external bodies as part of a network of experts across the HVM Catapult. The role holder will work collaboratively with multiple internal and external stakeholders to support the drafting of government policy while fostering a strong unity of purpose across our community.

About you: You will be an experienced policy specialist, able to operate collaboratively, think strategically and operate at board level. Your background may be in government or public affairs.  You will have strong political nous, impeccable verbal and written communications skills and an ability to quickly gain the confidence of senior colleagues and stakeholders. As a custodian of our reputation, you will be adept at translating technical information and data into compelling evidence to support organisational goals and using your insights, network and knowhow to anticipate and mitigate risks.

Location: Hybrid working with an expectation of being present in the London office three or four times a week. In addition, there will be a requirement to travel to other sites for internal team meetings and/or external events/panels/roundtables.

Job Specification / Role Purpose

To lead all government and parliamentary activity and position the HVM Catapult as a key partner to optimize the policy environment for key industries and priorities in support of strategic programme objectives.

Reporting to the Executive Director of Engagement and Communications and working closely with senior leadership teams across our network, you will represent the HVM Catapult HQ Team to a group of diverse external stakeholders, including membership and specialist organisations, universities and industry groups, as appropriate.

Main Responsibilities / Key Deliverables:

• To lead policy and partner engagement with government, its agencies and parliament in support of HVM Catapult’s strategic programmes.
• Proactively position HVM Catapult as a key delivery partner in shaping a positive policy, regulatory and funding environment for key industry sectors.
• Continually identify, cultivate and maintain strong links at appropriate levels of government, with a focus on key departments, their Ministers and senior civil servants.
• Lead collaborations with the HVM Catapult and wider Catapult network (as chair of the Government Relations and Public Affairs Special Purpose Group) to design and implement a co-ordinated external engagement plan to support strategic programmes, identifying common themes and opportunities to work together, including clear success criteria.
• Work closely with professional teams across the HVM Catapult to maximise impact of engagement and communications activity and support development of a brand family strategy (as a member of the Brand and Engagement Executive Team).
• Lead in identifying and drafting key advice to government on policy development, eg white papers, consultations and calls for evidence.
• Lead development of mechanisms with colleagues to ensure that external messaging is consistent and activity is properly co-ordinated when engaging with government and partners.
• Work closely with the Director of Communications to manage relationship with integrated public affairs and public relations agency to support campaigns and mitigate business risks.
• Work closely with the Director of Communications to establish and embed a data and insight driven approach to planning and implementing integrated external campaigns and provide input to communications materials where relevant, eg briefs, speeches, articles, press notices and lines to take.
• Provide insights and review of policy developments and political landscape to monitor, analyse, advise and make key recommendations to HVM Catapult colleagues and board members.
• Represent HVM Catapult at external stakeholder meetings and events, deputising for the CEO and ELT as appropriate.
• Commission and manage a contacts database of HVM Catapult partners based on audience mapping to support co-ordinated activity and engagement.
• Manage public affairs budget and monitor spend, ensuring value for money.

Key Skills:

• Knowledge of UK government policy making process and how to inform policy outcomes effectively.
• Well-developed understanding of the working of government and parliament at all levels in with good political instincts.
• Authoritative, credible and able to develop innovative solutions for reputation management and public relations challenges.
• Political awareness and diplomacy, ability to negotiate and collaborate for shared success.
• Demonstrable experience of building and maintaining relationships with key decision makers in parliament and across Whitehall.
• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal, with the ability to articulate sometimes complex ideas clearly and persuasively. Able to spot risks and opportunities and frame relevant actions.
• Strong interpersonal skills to build and maintain relationships with diverse stakeholders. Very strong representational skills.
• Strong leadership and team management abilities, with the capability to motivate and inspire others to collaborate to achieve goals.
• Good organisational skills, with the ability to prioritize and manage multiple initiatives simultaneously.
• Flexibility and adaptability to work in a fast-paced and dynamic environment, manage competing priorities and deadlines and deliver high quality outputs at pace.
• (Desirable) Understanding of the manufacturing and industrial landscape in the UK and commercial awareness.

Measures of success:

• Design, implementation and measurement of annual government and partner relations plan in support of the Engagement and Communications strategy.
• Input and review of annual Engagement and Communications strategy.
• Preparation of regular government and public affairs update.
• Management of monthly Special Purpose Group (Public Affairs) meetings and workstream delivery.
• Ongoing identification of key external stakeholders with clear, consistent and co-ordinated engagement.
• Leadership role and contribution within wider engagement and communications team.