Job description and Person specification
Job title:
Public and Parliamentary Engagement Officer
Salary:
£23,000 – £26,000
Reports to:
Public and Parliamentary Engagement Manager
Hours:
35 hours a week
Job summary:
The Public and Parliamentary Engagement Officer is a key role in the Public and
Parliamentary Engagement team, helping us to communicate our work both face to
face and in writing; supporting us in building and maintaining relationships; and
being well organised administratively. You’ll represent us externally, as well as
analyse and monitor policy developments. There’s a lot of potential in this role for
your development over time, and as a smaller organisation we can offer you
various opportunities, depending on your interests.
With the whole Public and Parliamentary Engagement team, you will work closely
with the volunteer members of our expert working groups, helping to support
group meetings through preparation of agendas, papers and minutes, and ensuring
work plans are completed to deadline. This is a key task to support the
development of our policy work. You’ll work with our people in partnership
(people with personal experience of palliative and end of life care) involvement
team; as well as across the whole NCPC and Dying Matters team when necessary.
The role will include representing NCPC and/or Dying Matters at external meetings
and events as required. The ability to build and maintain strong relationships is a
key requirement. You are likely to take a lead on particular work strands/projects,
and policy areas, depending on your interests, and workload.
We hold the secretariat to the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Hospice
and Palliative Care, which meets three times a year. Your role will include
providing administrative support towards our work and meetings, working with the
Public and Parliamentary Engagement Manager, and the Executive
Support/Regional Coordinator.
Your role will also include monitoring relevant policy developments and drafting
articles, consultation responses and updates as required. You will also support the
team in the production of publications from the Public and Parliamentary
Engagement team, which will include taking a lead on particular publications as
required. The ability to write in a clear, concise, engaging, jargon-free and
accessible way will be very important.
Page 1 of 6
Key relationships:
Internal:
Chief Executive; Director of Public and Parliamentary Engagement; Public and
Parliamentary Engagement Manager; Data and Intelligence Manager; Information
Analyst; Senior Management Team (Director of Communications; Director of
Stakeholder Relations); Executive Support/Regional Coordinator; Community
Involvement Manager; Events Manager.
External:
Members of NCPC’s working groups; other external partners in the voluntary and
public sectors, including NCPC’s Strategic and System Partners within the
Voluntary Sector Health and Care Strategic Partner Programme (SPP).
The organisation:
The National Council for Palliative Care (NCPC) is the umbrella charity for all those
involved in palliative, end of life and hospice care in England, Wales and Northern
Ireland. We believe that everyone approaching the end of life has the right to the
highest quality care and support, wherever they live, and whatever their
condition. We work with government, health and social care staff and people with
personal experience to improve end of life care for all.
We lead the national Dying Matters coalition, which currently has over 30,000
members, to change knowledge, attitudes and behaviours towards dying, death
and bereavement, and through this to make ‘living and dying well’ the norm.
The NCPC is also a strategic partner within the Voluntary Sector Health and Care
Strategic Partner Programme (run by the Department of Health, NHS England and
Public Health England (DH/NHSE/PHE)), as the lead partner in a consortium which
includes Help the Hospices and Marie Curie Cancer Care.
The team:
The Public and Parliamentary Engagement team works to influence policy that
underpins our key objective of ensuring that end of life care is seen as a core
priority by decision-makers at every level. In the reformed health and care
environment this requires a greater emphasis on working with our partners, NCPC
subscribers and Dying Matters members, and people with personal experience to
campaign, inform and influence decision-makers and change attitudes and
behaviour towards death dying and bereavement. We are building on our existing
work, which will include working with partners on projects to deliver practical
change and improved outcomes for people at the end of life and those close to
them.
Page 2 of 6
Job description:
Main duties and responsibilities

Working with the Public and Parliamentary Engagement Manager, to provide
committee support for NCPC’s policy working groups, to assist in ensuring that
the groups’ work plans are met, and members are supported to complete their
agreed actions. This will include contributing to the groups’ work between
meetings as agreed. You will be responsible for arranging meetings, circulating
agendas, papers and action notes, taking and producing minutes, and being the
first point of contact with working group members, responding efficiently to all
enquiries

Produce written material to inform NCPC’s and Dying Matters’ work and
publications, including summarising and critically analysing national and local
policy developments, responding to public consultations, monitoring public
policy developments that affect palliative and end of life care, analysing survey
data and proposing recommendations

Produce a monthly e-mail newsletter for NCPC subscribers

Take a lead on particular policy areas, and work strands/projects, to be agreed

Support the administration of the APPG, by helping to arrange meetings and
speakers, supporting the group’s work and meetings (including taking notes),
working with the Public and Parliamentary Engagement Manager, and Executive
Support/Regional Coordinator

Write content for the sections of NCPC’s website which relate to the Public and
Parliamentary Engagement team’s work, and be responsible for ensuring pages
are kept up to date and accurate

Develop online surveys of stakeholders as required, and analyse and report on
the results, working with other members of NCPC and Dying Matters when
necessary

To provide diary and administrative support to the Director of Public and
Parliamentary Engagement

Represent NCPC and Dying Matters externally, as required. You will have lead
responsibility to represent NCPC and Dying Matters at some regular meetings by
agreement

Work as part of the small HQ team on all aspects of NCPC's work including
helping at events and preparing for events, helping with large orders for
publications and subscriptions

Following NCPC’s organisational policies and procedures
Page 3 of 6

Any other duties which may reasonably be required of the postholder
NCPC has an Equal Opportunities Policy and has a flexible approach to working
arrangements. The office base is in central London, but occasional working from
other locations is an option. Appointees must be able and willing to travel within
London and to other locations around the country, as well as to occasionally work
outside office hours.
This is an outline job description which is subject to change as the work of NCPC
and Dying Matters develops.
Page 4 of 6
PERSON SPECIFICATION
Requirements
Essential/
Desirable
How assessed
Desirable
CV
Understanding of voluntary sector and
palliative and end of life care sector
Desirable
Interview
Understanding of the health and social care
system
Skills and abilities:
Desirable
Interview
Excellent written and verbal communication
skills with the ability to write appropriately
and clearly for different audiences and in
different styles
Essential
CV/interview/test
Able to build and maintain good working
relationships both internally and externally
Essential
CV/interview/references
Experience of working effectively in
collaboration with multiple external partners
and stakeholders
Essential
CV/Interview/references
Close attention to detail
Essential
Interview/references
Excellent organisational and project
management skills
Essential
CV/interview
Ability to prioritise and meet deadlines
Essential
Interview/references
Ability to work on own initiative to a high
standard
Essential
Interview/references
Ability to work as part of a small team
Essential
CV/interview/references
Proficient with all main Microsoft Office
packages
Essential
CV/Interview
Experience of web content management
systems
Desirable
CV/Interview
Experience of using the thankQ database
system (or similar)
Desirable
CV/Interview
Educational/Professional Qualifications:
Degree level education or equivalent
Knowledge/Understanding:
Page 5 of 6
Other:
Good attendance and punctuality record
Essential
References
Willingness to travel and work flexible hours
Essential
Interview
Occasional need to stay overnight
Essential
Interview
Page 6 of 6