Policy Fellow

We are an independent charity committed to bringing about better health and health care for people in the UK.  The Healthy Lives directorate has an ambitious strategy to improve people’s health and reduce inequalities. To achieve this we are continuing to build our expertise in the economic and social factors that influence people’s health.

Health is our most precious asset. It is shaped by the work we do, the income we earn, the education we receive and the places and communities we live in. The context of the pandemic, the cost-of-living crisis and rising demand for services make improving – or even sustaining – healthy life expectancy a real challenge.

Improving health and reducing inequalities requires a whole-society approach – we can’t do this alone. Our ambition is to create more favourable conditions that enable others to act. We want decision-makers across all parts of society to understand and fulfil their potential contribution to building a healthy nation.

About the role:

One of our key objectives is to improve understanding of how businesses and investors influence health and catalyse action in the private sector. We do this by providing evidence and recommendations to influence policymakers, employers, and businesses. This is supported by funding activity by other organisations to build evidence or take action to improve health and reduce inequalities.

The Policy Fellow is a key role in the Healthy Lives team. They will work closely with the Policy Manager supporting our work to develop the policies and approaches needed to ensure that the activity of employers, business and investors supports good health. Existing programmes are seeking to understand how investors can help to improve health and reduce inequalities, improve health through economic development, inform business and employer action to improve health, and support effective action by anchor institutions through the Health Anchors Learning Network.

The role will also deliver a new policy research contracting framework to commission rapid policy research and analysis on key live policy issues such as employment, welfare and local economic development.

The post holder will have experience developing economic policies and engaging and influencing policymakers. They will have an interest and expertise in economic development and inclusive economies and build an understanding of how they can support good health and reduce inequalities. They will also be effective at engaging with a range of stakeholders, including business leaders and employers.

They will be able to develop and lead projects, work as part of a team, have a proactive approach, being comfortable working with high levels of delegated responsibility. The Policy Fellow is expected to have excellent writing skills and to be able to draft for a range of audiences, including succinct internal briefings and external outputs, including blogs, briefings and reports. They are expected to have a versatile skill set, including research skills, to enable them to contribute to and lead pieces of analysis. This might include synthesising qualitative and quantitative research evidence and analysing a mix of qualitative data such as policy documents, grey literature, and official reports.

Please note this is a full-time role and hybrid working with a minimum of 2 days in our London office

To find out more about the role and what we are looking for, please read the job description.

How to apply:

To apply for this role, please submit your CV and a supporting statement that addresses all the person specification criteria flagged as Essential. Applications without a supporting statement will not be considered.

If you have any queries about this role or require support with your application, please email us on humanresources@health.org.uk

Application deadline:              23:59, Sunday 2nd June 2024

Interview date:                         Scheduled to take place w/c 24th June 2024

We value equality, diversity and inclusion, and welcome applications from different backgrounds.  We are also committed to making reasonable adjustments for candidates who have accessibility requirements.