Policy Manager (Sector Support)

Job Title: Policy Manager (Sector Support)

Salary: £34,000 (pro-rata, 4 days per week)

Benefits: Flexible working; parental leave; 7% pension contribution; generous training and development budget; 25 days paid annual leave (pro rata) plus public and bank holidays and additional time off in December when office is closed; company-provided Macbook.

Location: Nationwide (home-based/remote). Candidates must be eligible to work in the UK. Candidates from the EEA will be considered.

Duration: Permanent

Deadline for Applications: 9am on 8 December

Interview Dates: 15 and 17 December

Start Date: ASAP

Role

You are an experienced advocate who understands the impact of data and technology on the lives of vulnerable, marginalised and minority communities. You are passionate about fighting for real policy change, and ensuring that the voice of individuals and communities with lived experience and at greatest risk are heard by key audiences.

You want to help shape a growing organisation that is changing how it works with partners from outside of the digital rights community. You are keen to learn and grow across new multidisciplinary ways of securing change.

You will develop and implement ORG’s policy strategies in relation to our Sector Support programme. You will work alongside ORG staff and civil society partners on research and investigation, advocacy, litigation and public campaigning in order to develop our policy positions, build relationships with key national decision makers and strategic partners, monitor relevant policy developments and debates and identify opportunities to shape them. You will organise and implement sector-specific roundtables and workshops to develop collaborative advocacy and campaign strategies alongside our partners. You will represent ORG at external events as required.

You will play a leading role in our new collaborative advocacy and litigation strategies to challenge data exploitation and misuse, and advocate for necessary safeguards in new policy and practice. You will have a particular focus on migration sector policy but will also support expansion of our sector support programme.

ORG is an equal opportunity employer, but we strongly welcome applications from disadvantaged and under-represented groups.

About the Open Rights Group

ORG is the UK’s premier data and digital rights campaigning organisation. Founded in 2005, we have over 20,000 members and supporters and 10 local groups across the UK. Our remote team is spread across the UK with a small office in Scotland.

We uphold human rights like free expression and privacy. We condemn and work against repressive laws or systems that deny people these rights.

We DEFINE emerging harms and abuses through our research and investigation
We MOBILISE our members and supporters across the UK through our public campaigns
We PERSUADE allies and adversaries through our policy advocacy
We CONFRONT threats to our fundamental rights through our litigation

We campaign, lobby, go to court – whatever it takes to build and support a movement for freedom in the digital age. We work across three main areas:

Combating Big Tech and Platform Power
Combating State Intrusion into Rights Online
Promoting the Rights of Vulnerable, Marginalised and Minority Communities against Digital Threats

How to Apply

To apply, please submit a CV and covering letter (no longer than 2 sides of A4) setting out how you are suited to the role by emailing recruitment@openrightsgroup.org by 9am on 8 December

Please ensure that your email has the subject heading ‘Policy Manager (Sector Support)’ and that all attachments are sent in PDF format.

Interviews for short-listed candidates will be held online.

Key Responsibilities

Research

Conduct research in relevant policy areas.
Monitor the policy landscape against strategic aims and identify areas to contribute and respond to in line with ORG’s strategy.

Engagement

Organise policy roundtables on relevant areas of work.
Liaise with members of Parliament and their staff on relevant policy initiatives.
Assist the Head of Policy and Litigation and Executive Director in preparing for evidence sessions at relevant parliamentary committees and Government groups that ORG is a part of.
Collaborate with civil society partners to design and implement collaborative policy strategies

Campaigns

Help with implementing campaigns alongside Campaigns Manager overseen and supported by Executive Director and COO.

Communications and Outputs

Assist in developing public-facing documents on policy areas such as responding to consultations, reports, and preparation for evidence sessions at Parliament.
Contribute to ORG’s website with blog posts summarising policy submissions and producing campaign materials.

Organisational Growth

Contribute to development of fundraising opportunities and support the delivery of grant projects.

Person Specification

CRITERIA	Essential	Desirable
Degree in human rights, law, political science or international relations, or equivalent experience.	x
Extensive experience in policy development and advocacy related to technology and/or human rights.	x
Detailed understanding of national policy processes related to technology and human rights.	x
Experience in designing and implementing creative outreach and communications strategies targeting policymakers, regulators, government departments, civil society partners as well as the public.	x
Experience of strategically engaging with and mobilising diverse groups of stakeholders including governmental, inter-governmental, industry and civil society actors.	x
Experience working in and/or with NGO coalitions or networks	x
Experience managing projects, and monitoring and evaluating impact	x
Experience managing and supporting the work of others.	x
Experience working with and in small teams.	x
Strong interpersonal skills in liaising, communicating and engaging with colleagues and external audiences from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.	x
Proactive and self-motivated individual capable of working unsupervised and taking responsibility for managing relationships with key partners, stakeholders and policy-makers.	x
Exceptional communications and presentation skills, both written and oral, with a proven track record of communicating complex issues to diverse audiences	x
Experience of working with the immigration sector		x
Existing contacts/network within the immigration sector		x
Demonstrable knowledge of privacy and/or data protection, and/or the concerns raised by techniques such as automated decision-making and profiling.		x
Passion for technology and its interaction with human rights.		x
Strategic thinking and ability to see the ‘big picture’ in respect of the UK post-Brexit digital policy		x

Key Contacts

The Policy Manager will be directly managed by the Head of Policy and Litigation.

They will work within our Sector Support programme alongside our Immigration Policy Manager and Investigator.

Length and Salary

The Policy Manager will be employed on a permanent basis following successful completion of a six-month probation period.

The annual salary is £34,000 pro-rata for 4 days per week less any required deductions for income tax and national insurance. The position will be home-based, though regular travel into London will be required.

Candidates must be eligible to work in the UK. Candidates from the EEA will be considered.

ORG is an equal opportunity employer. We believe that a diverse and inclusive team working in a supportive environment is vital to the success of our work. We particularly welcome applications from disabled and Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) candidates as well as from LGB, Trans and non binary candidates.