Policy and Influencing Lead

The job description is a broad picture of the post at the time of preparation. It is not an exhaustive list of all possible duties, as jobs change and evolve over time. Specific duties Policy Work

• Acting as a source of expertise on the issues affecting single parents, lead work on specific policy projects, maintain up to date knowledge on research relating to single parent families.
• Build and maintain up to date knowledge of policy, parliamentary and other legislative developments affecting the lives of single parents.
• Work effectively and regularly with OPFS services and communications team to ensure a two-way dialogue of emerging issues and changes to policy and practice.
Policy development and influencing
• Produce briefings, reports and consultation responses for Government, public bodies and other organisations and stakeholders.
• Manage relevant research projects and budgets where required to inform policy development.
• Identify and build strong relationships with single parents, key stakeholders, including civil servants, Parliamentarians, and policy colleagues to maximise OPFS impact and influence.
• Develop influencing strategies to achieves a tangible and identifiable change in policy and practice for single parents.
• Contribute to the development and delivery of OPFS's organisational strategy.
Media and campaigning
• Contribute to media work, maintaining and building OPFS public profile in interviews and media planning across key policy areas.
• Take an active role in supporting OPFS's campaigns, including working with Communications colleagues to support the development of campaigning strategies and maximise the contribution of single parents to OPFS campaigning work.
Service Development
• Work with the Communications, Policy & Public Affairs Manager and OPFS Business Development team to contribute to funding bids in key priority areas of policy work.
• Take an active approach to managing and planning work in line with OPFS strategic priorities and communicating effectively with colleagues throughout.
Managing work and contributing to the team
• Work constructively with the policy, comm's and digital services teams and OPFS support for families services respecting and supporting colleagues and sharing policy and research expertise.
• Work collaboratively with colleagues, external stakeholders, and networks, to maximise dissemination opportunities for OPFS policy and research.
Corporate responsibilities
• To actively contribute to OPFS organisational cohesion, supporting cross-team working, and a problem-solving approach.
• To work in line with OPFS values and Code of Conduct.
• To take personal responsibility and ensure compliance with corporate policies, including safeguarding, confidentiality, health and safety and data protection.
• To champion equal opportunities and diversity both in your area of work and the wider organisation.
• To ensure single parent voice and experience informs the design and development of OPFS policy & influencing work where appropriate.
Personal specifications Please ensure you identify how you meet these within your personal statement.


• Creative, strategic and experienced in delivering impactful campaigns.
• Knowledge of and previous experience working on the main policy areas affecting single parent families such as social security, employment, child poverty, child or family policy.
• A sound understanding of the policy environment, political institutions, and process of government.
• Experience in combining research and policy project work with reactive activities.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to communicate and represent OPFS with a variety of audiences, including single parents, civil servants, MSPs, MPs and other senior charity stakeholders.
• Strong planning and project management experience, overseeing the delivery of multiple projects to deadline and within resources.
• Ability to plan and manage own workload, which delivers quality outputs and outcomes towards the overall organisational strategy.
• Ability to work under pressure.
• Proven ability to develop strong, effective relationships internally and externally and work effectively as a team member and contribute to cross-team working.
• Knowledge and understanding of single parent issues and the impact on children, young people and adults.
• Able to work confidentially in a digital office, including standard Microsoft office software packages, CRM databases and social media and identifying opportunities to use digital to improve efficiency.
• Highly developed understanding of equality and diversity and how it affects the organisation.
Desirable
• Experience in drafting press statements and giving media interviews.
• Experience of working with single parents.
  
  OPFS was founded in 1940 and since then we have been at the forefront of shaping policy and services in Scotland, that support single parents and their children. Today, there are over 144,000 single parent families in Scotland, 25% of all families. We involve parents, champion their voices and keep their needs at the heart of everything we do.
We want a society in which single parent families are treated equally and fairly. To help achieve this we provide a range of single parent tailored services. We do this through our advice channels, self-help pages on our website and our local community-based services. To create lasting change we involve single parents, experts by experience, to influence policies which challenge discrimination and judgmental attitudes, which will reduce child poverty and make services more accessible to all families. The Policy and Influencing Lead will play a key role in supporting OPFS to achieve its mission - to amplify the voices of single parent families in their unique role as sole carers and providers and together challenge judgemental attitudes, poverty and inequality to achieve change. You will have a central role leading OPFS policy and influencing work, including:
• Leading on government and parliamentary focused engagement work - and to support single parent led and developed campaigns.
• Developing strong policy recommendations co-produced with single parents across the range of issues affecting single parent families.
• Utilising existing research of relevance to single parent families to support OPFS's external messaging and forward planning.
• Developing impactful policy influencing strategies to improve the lives of single parents, by influencing the Scottish and UK Governments as well as local authorities and the general public to achieve change.
• Working collaboratively with OPFS Comms team and colleagues and stakeholders to disseminate OPFS policy and research activities.
All roles at OPFS contribute to our mission of working with and for single parent families, providing support that enables them to achieve their potential and helping to create lasting solutions to poverty and barriers facing single parents and their children. Our core values of Justice, Equity, Trust, Collaboration and Compassion are at the heart of everything we do and underpin all aspects of our work.

2. Salary: OPFS Scale points 19 - 23 £30.962 - £37.843 dependant on experience 3. Hours of Work: 35 hours per week. 4. Holidays: Holiday entitlement of 5.6 weeks per annum will accrue pro rata to the hours worked and be paid with your monthly salary. This will include an additional 5 days per year after 5 years' service. (This will be pro-rated from your start date in the fifth year of service). 5. Pension: You will be auto enrolled from your start date. Your contribution will be 3% and OPFS will contribute 7%. 6. Training and support and supervision:You will receive induction training and frequent support in the first three months. Thereafter you will receive monthly individual support and supervision and annual appraisals. Regular team meetings will be held, and staff have access to internal and external training. 7. Equal Opportunities and Family Friendly Employment: OPFS aims to be an equal opportunity and family friendly employer. OPFS has Investors In People status and Living Wage accreditation.