Policy Officer

Association of Medical Research Charities

About the Organisation

Association of Medical Research Charities (AMRC) is proud to represent over 150 leading medical research charities. They include household names such as Cancer Research UK and the British Heart Foundation, as well as smaller charities that invest in rare diseases and areas of unmet need. Our members have a laser focus on their disease areas and a deep understanding of their patient communities.

They fund where there’s an opportunity to accelerate progress; their research improves lives and offers hope. Despite being a small team, AMRC has a large and influential presence. We champion our charities and tell their collective story. We advocate for a thriving research environment that delivers for patients, representing our members on over 50 boards, committees and working groups. We support our charities to fund research as effectively as possible; we provide a kitemark of quality, and we help our members to navigate a changing landscape.

We also connect our charities so they can share learning and collaborate, and we open up opportunities for them to partner with others from across the research system. All AMRC staff have the chance to work directly with our members and external stakeholders, providing fantastic opportunities for career development and building a profile in the sector. 

About the role

AMRC is looking for a policy officer to join our small but highly influential policy and public affairs team, working at the heart of the medical research community. You will support our influencing and advocacy work, helping build a thriving research environment that facilitates innovation. We work with government and policymakers to ensure that our charities can invest in a healthy and sustainable research system across universities and the NHS. You will undertake analysis and horizon scanning to enable us to keep our members up-to-date, and you will support the development of AMRC’s policy activity.

You will support activities in many areas of work including improving the sustainability of charity-university research; enhancing research careers, translation and infrastructure; maintaining a facilitative legislative and regulatory environment; and enhancing charity-industry partnerships, helping research findings to be translated into treatments, policy and practice more quickly. There will also be a public affairs dimension to the role that includes work with the APPG for Life Sciences, for which AMRC is part of the secretariat. 

Responsibilities

Key Responsibilities and Duties:

• Support AMRC’s policy work on university financial sustainability and charity-university research partnerships.
• Support emerging work on translational research (defined as early translation and activities focused on turning lab discoveries into practical applications).
• Undertake policy development and analysis to contribute to the development of AMRC’s evidence-based policy positions.
• Prepare consultation responses on behalf of AMRC, presenting a united sector position.
• Support the development of AMRC’s policy publications and briefings.
• Provide briefings for the Senior Leadership Team for meetings with key stakeholders.
• Monitor developments in specific policy areas, analyse the implications for members, and provide updates to keep the AMRC team and charities informed
• Coordinate the delivery of policy support to member charities, and particularly their policy and public affairs teams through meetings and newsletters.
• Support public affairs activities to increase AMRC’s policy impact and to ensure the sector’s voice is heard.
• Identify and share good practice across members, including developing case studies to showcase best practice.
• Work closely with organisations from across the research sector and represent AMRC on external groups.
• Attend meetings, conferences, etc. as necessary, occasionally requiring some evening working.

Overall Objectives:

• Support AMRC’s influencing and advocacy work, to ensure a thriving research environment for charities to operate in
• Undertake analysis and policy development work to ensure AMRC takes an evidence-based approach
• Help member charities keep up-to-date about relevant policy developments

Key Relationships:

• Others in the AMRC team
• AMRC member charities
• Wider stakeholders including government, civil service, arm's length bodies, other research and membership organisations relevant to your topic area

General Responsibilities:

• Act as an account manager for AMRC member charities, and respond quickly and efficiently to queries from members.
• Deliver relevant member networks and communities.
• Help with AMRC events as required.
• Share intelligence across the AMRC team quickly and effectively.
• Identify case studies and evidence for use across AMRC activities.
• Write blogs, news articles and web content as needed. Help to keep our website up to date.
• Maintain AMRC’s customer relationship management (Salesforce) database as needed.
• Undertake cross-team project work and support as needed.

Skills, Competencies, Experience & Attributes

Education & Experience:

• Experience of working in policy
• Understanding of the academic or clinical research environment
• Experience working with diverse stakeholder groups and maintaining networks
• Science or research background

Skills:

• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills, able to work with others to develop and implement solutions
• Excellent written and oral communication skills
• Strong project management skills
• Ability to lead projects from beginning to end, and take responsibility for their smooth running
• Organised, with good time management skills and able to manage competing priorities
• Strong interpersonal skills, able to work well with colleagues and member charities
• Ability to work methodically and accurately with excellent attention to detail
• Positive proactive attitude to work, open to learning and new ways of working
• Willingness to work flexibly when required
• Good IT skills, and use of Microsoft products including Word, Excel and PowerPoint 

Required Qualifications

• Degree-level qualification

Compensation & Benefits

• Flexible working environment; staff have the option to work in our office and remotely, with a minimum of 20% in the office per calendar month
• Generous leave allowance.

Conditions of employment

• You must be eligible to work in the UK to apply for this vacancy. AMRC is not able to offer visa sponsorship.

Working locations

• Hybrid model, working in the London office and remotely

How to apply

• Please send your CV and a cover letter explaining what makes you a strong candidate for this role to [email protected]. Please quote ‘Policy Officer’ in the email subject. If you have any questions about the role, or wish to have an informal conversation, please email [email protected].
• Please note: We do not use Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools during our recruitment and selection processes. We ask that all applicants follow this same approach as much as possible to present an authentic impression of their views, skills and experience.

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