Head of Policy

Job description

Location Westminster, London (with flexibility to work from home)

Contract type Full time, permanent

Salary £60,000 - £85,000

Closing date Rolling recruitment

How to apply Please send a CV and cover letter to [contact hidden]

About the role

We require a highly capable, motivated and public-service-orientated Head of Policy with a proven track record in at least one of local government, social security policy or quantitative research, with a desire to operate across all three.

Our goals are to improve and empower the lives of low income families. You will be accountable to the senior leadership team for driving our policy impact and ensuring our insights deliver practical impact on the frontline through our products.

You will oversee the delivery of our policy output to our core market sectors and ensure our products and our analytical insights meet the needs of central and local government professionals.

www.policyinpractice.co.uk

Job description

Policy and research duties

• Grow and develop a passionate team of policy and research professionals. You will grow their policy knowledge, research capabilities, and ability to apply that knowledge to drive both policy and commercial impact.
• Win, oversee and provide quality assurance over the delivery of our policy output, ensuring this meets the needs of our clients and internal stakeholders.
• Communicate our policy insights through blogs, presentations, webinars and in press and broadcast media.
• Win and oversee the delivery of revenue building policy projects, for example, through the successful submission of research and grant proposal.s
• Develop new and valued data science capabilities, secure access to new datasets, and deliver value through our data to the public, under appropriate governance practices.
• Represent the company at policy discussions with external organisations.
• Grow to oversee the accuracy of our policy engine and analytics in these and other social policy areas:
• Improve the quality of our core products and services, ensuring these reflect current client needs, regulation and practice
• Develop and maintain a deep knowledge of welfare policy and communicate this in a clear and simple way to others across the business
• Understand and apply this knowledge to the administrative data we get from clients, ensuring it drives impact and supports growth and retention
• Ensure our analytics and code management is quality assured, well maintained and communicated

Client management

• Encourage and support clients to take part in research projects. Understand how these projects can help overcome challenges for clients and deliver on opportunities.
• Create customer delight through our policy and research output.
• Support the on time and high-quality delivery of our analysis, research and software services.
• Demonstrate the ability to oversee the CTR projects.
• Work with marketing colleagues to raise awareness of our products and support client retention.
• Draw out high impact case studies (client stories, RoI, How to)

www.policyinpractice.co.uk

Team Management

You will support our team of policy and research analysts to deliver technically rigorous output; and to develop wider writing, presentation and stakeholder management skills to deliver impact.

You will have line management responsibilities and ensure a strong focus on core business priorities, a commercial focus, and professionalism internally and externally.

You will also support the senior team in the development and execution of business strategy.

The Ideal Candidate

We’re looking for a strategic and hands-on leader with a strong background in social policy, research, and people management. You will combine deep policy expertise with commercial acumen, a commitment to quality, and the ability to inspire and develop others. You’ll bring clarity to complex issues and ensure our products and services drive impact for clients and the people they support.

Essential skills and experience

• Strong understanding of UK welfare and social policy, with the ability to communicate insights clearly to technical and non-technical audiences.
• Demonstrated ability to lead and develop policy and research teams, building skills in policy analysis, research methods, and communication.
• Experience overseeing and quality-assuring a wide range of policy outputs, including reports, blogs, webinars, and presentations.
• Proven track record of managing and delivering impactful policy or research projects for government, think tanks, or social organisations.
• Excellent stakeholder management skills, with experience representing an organisation at roundtables, client meetings, and public forums.
• Skilled in line management, with a focus on professional development, strategic alignment, and delivery of business goals.
• Able to apply policy knowledge to data analysis and client datasets, ensuring accuracy, relevance, and value.
• Experience supporting business strategy and aligning team outputs to commercial and operational priorities.
• Comfortable supporting the delivery of technically rigorous work, including data analytics, research, and code management.

www.policyinpractice.co.uk

Desirable skills and experience

• Experience developing or improving products, particularly in a data-driven or tech-for-good environment.
• Successful track record in winning research grants or funding proposals from foundations or government.
• Familiarity with Mayoral Combined Authorities, central government procurement, or public sector bidding processes.
• An understanding of data governance, access, and innovation within social policy contexts.
• Background in using research to support client success, retention, or marketing activities (e.g., case studies, RoI stories).
• Media experience or confidence communicating in press and broadcast environments.
• Knowledge of agile project delivery and cross-functional collaboration with product, tech, or client services teams.

About [Employer hidden]

[Employer hidden] believes data and technology have the ability to empower people and change lives. Our goal is to be the single point of access for all people on means tested benefits and enable effective public services through citizen centred services.

We aim to reach as many households as possible across the UK. We will do this via the growth of existing products in public and private sector organisations and through expansion into new markets.

[Employer hidden] is at a pivotal point as we continue to move from start up to scale up. We have invested in our capability, and development has moved from ideas to prototypes and in some cases to production.

[Employer hidden]’s vision and mission

Vision

We believe data and technology have the ability to empower people and change lives.

Mission

Empower people via proactive, integrated support.

www.policyinpractice.co.uk

We will help more people to live better lives using our expertise in social policy, data and technology.

We are transforming the way society supports low income families through citizen centred approaches. We focus on improving how all policy areas, sectors and journeys combined can have an impact on people and their outcomes.

Values

Purposeful and passionate

• We push for opportunities to improve, not just for our clients or for ourselves, but also for the people who need our help.
• We take responsibility. Details Matter. We have a genuine passion to help people, with a willingness to take action.

Insightful and impactful

• We go beyond straightforward analysis to get to the ‘So What?’, driving our policy insight and services to deliver impact.
• We think deeply and communicate simply in a way that helps people make the right decisions.

Respectful and supportive

• We are willing to discuss and debate openly, listening to both sides and relying on evidence and strong relationships to reach shared positions.
• We have each other's back.

Why work here?

• Working in a thought-leading organisation where you can empower people and change lives.
• Flexible working arrangements with hybrid and remote working available
• Opportunities for quick career progression

[Employer hidden] colleagues say:

“Everyone is lovely and we do such impactful work. There is a very caring employee culture, and a drive to share expertise.”

www.policyinpractice.co.uk

“I appreciate how our work helps shape policies and the supportive team environment here encourages everyone to grow. Flexible working options make it easier to balance life and work and our inclusive culture makes this a welcoming place to be.”

“The work is extremely meaningful and translates directly into tangible benefits.”

How to apply

Please send your CV with a cover letter that clearly outlines your suitability and your interest in the post to [contact hidden] as soon as possible.

www.policyinpractice.co.uk