Policy and External Affairs Assistant

Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health

Hours
35 hours per week

About the Organisation

RCPCH has more than 25,000 members and fellows and employs around 200 staff, most of whom work in our London office in Holborn. We have a Devolved Nations team operating from Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. Our College values: Include, Influence, Innovate, and Inspire are important to us. These values ensure we bring out the best in each other and strive forward together to make the College a positive and dynamic place to work.

About the role

As Policy and External Affairs Assistant, you will assist with the administration and support of the policy and external affairs work of the College by providing administrative and project support to three teams across the Policy and External Affairs department. This includes Health Policy (your home team), Policy and Public Affairs (Devolved Nations), and Media and Public Affairs. The role includes managing the business and outputs of several committees and contributing to the wider activities of the teams and division. You will play a key role within the Policy and External Affairs department by assisting in project work across the whole policy and external affairs portfolio at the College.

You will support the coordination of enquiries and the dissemination of communications to stakeholders, and provide administrative support to the three teams. You will also provide guidance and advice on all policy matters to the Chairs, Officers and members of the committees as well as administrative support to Senior Officers as required. You will be able to work collaboratively while managing a detailed workload and form good working relationships across the College.

Responsibilities

Key Tasks & Responsibilities:

• To provide administrative support to several committees across the Health Policy and Policy and Public Affairs (Devolved Nations) teams, including the preparation and distribution of agendas, papers and minutes, prompt delivery of decisions and actions, and maintenance of terms of reference and work plans.
• Provide guidance and advice on all policy matters to the Chairs, Officers and members of the committees.
• Respond to member correspondence and enquiries on behalf of the Health Policy and Devolved Nations teams, relevant Chairs of committees and related groups through desk-based policy research and liaising with the Health Policy Team, Devolved Nations team, other RCPCH staff, Officers and members as necessary.
• Provide support to policy and external affairs projects or task and finish groups associated with the committees, including organising events as required.
• Coordinate and lead the administration of our member insights network for Policy and External Affairs, including network communications, database management and event support.
• Assist with the development of College policy documents by providing support to develop, review and regularly update policy position statements, including carrying out desk-based research as necessary.
• Assist with the administration and drafting of responses to relevant policy consultations and development of regular policy updates.
• Prepare, as necessary, the reports of the committees and for the Executive Committee.
• Provide administrative support, where required, to relevant College Officers.
• Coordinate and lead the development of eBulletins and other member communications.
• Lead uploading policy and public affairs content onto the RCPCH website and review content of the web pages to identify out-of-date material.
• To be a lead on volunteer coordination activity within the Policy and External Affairs Department, working with the Divisional Volunteer Lead to ensure health policy team volunteers are operating well under the College volunteer policy.
• Provide administrative support to the Policy and External Affairs teams, as required.
• Organise and provide administrative support to other meetings as required by the department.

Skills, Competencies, Experience & Attributes

Essential Skills & Experience:

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including strong report-writing abilities
• Strong research skills with the ability to analyse, summarise and present complex information clearly
• Experience working collaboratively with a wide range of stakeholders and teams
• Excellent organisational skills with strong attention to detail and the ability to manage competing priorities
• Ability to maintain high levels of accuracy when handling information, data and documentation
• Strong IT skills, including Microsoft Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint and Teams
• Excellent interpersonal skills, with the ability to build positive working relationships and communicate effectively at all levels
• Ability to handle sensitive and confidential information with discretion and professionalism
• Strong administrative skills and a proactive, solutions-focused approach to work

Desirable:

• Experience working within child health, healthcare, membership organisations or professional bodies
• Formal project management training or experience supporting projects
• Experience using customer relationship management (CRM) databases and/or finance systems

Required Qualifications

• Degree-level qualification or equivalent relevant professional experience

Compensation & Benefits

• 27 days of annual leave. 2 years of completed service, one additional day of leave of 29 days. Christmas and New Year, and these days are in addition to annual leave.
• Contributory Pension Scheme with an employer’s contribution of up to 10%
• Eye care vouchers
• 6-month probationary period.
• Employee Discount Scheme
• Comprehensive Learning & Development provision
• Enhanced maternity, adoption, surrogacy, and paternity leave
• Enhanced redundancy pay
• 21 hours volunteering leave per annum (pro rata for part-time staff)
• SMARTech up to £1000 once the probationary period has been successfully passed
• Cycle2Work up to £1000 once the probationary period has been successfully passed
• Occupational health, including counselling and neurodiversity assessments
• Paid IVF Leave
• Pregnancy and Infant Loss leave and pay

Working locations

• Hybrid model, working in the London office and remotely

How to apply

• If you are interested in this opportunity, please apply online. You will need to register on the applicant portal and complete the application form including your CV and supporting statement. 
• The supporting statement should set out how your qualifications, experience and training meet each of the selection criteria. The supporting statement is an essential part of the selection process, and thus a failure to provide this information will mean that the application will not be considered. An answer to any of the criteria such as "Please see attached CV" will not be considered acceptable.
• If you have questions about the role or would like to apply using a different format, please email [email protected]

Interviews

• The interviews in w/c 1st September 2026.

Policies

The RCPCH champions Equality, Diversity and Inclusion. Our workplace is inclusive, offering a supportive environment where staff can thrive. The College is keen to accept applications from people with protected characteristics. We believe that our staff should represent all of the diverse communities we serve. Join us to help realise our vision of a world where every child is well.

The RCPCH is committed to safeguarding the children, young people, and adults it has contact with in the exercise of its functions and responsibilities. The RCPCH expects all staff to share this commitment. We place a high priority on ensuring only those who do so are recruited to work for us.

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