AMS PSR

Policy Manager

1 X Permanent: Full time 36 hours per week

1x Fixed Term Contract Full time 36 hours per week (until end of October 2026)

Salary: £52,403 – £55,041 per annum.

London-based employees receive an additional £3,217 London weighting. 
 A £312 tax-free working from home allowance is also payable annually.

Location: London, Cardiff, Belfast or Edinburgh (Hybrid – min. 2 days in office) or Remote (UK)

Benefits: Outstanding benefits including Civil Service Pension Scheme, flexible working, 28+ days holiday, and more.

About the Electoral Commission

The Electoral Commission is the UK’s independent body overseeing elections and regulating political finance. Everything we do is about ensuring trust, participation, and integrity in the democratic process.

As we enter a bold new chapter under our five-year corporate plan, we are increasing our workforce and transforming how we plan and deliver core services. You will play a central role in that journey.

About the role

As Policy Manager, you’ll play a pivotal role in shaping electoral policy across the UK. You’ll lead your team of experts to develop policy advice on electoral administration and political finance, ensuring the Commission can lead an informed debate about the future of elections and inform decision-making at the highest levels of the UK’s governments and legislative bodies.

Day to day, you will:

• Oversee complex policy projects, planning and coordinating delivery across multiple workstreams, which could include reporting on elections, responding to policy consultations, scrutinising draft legislation, or carrying out our own programme of proactive policy reviews.
• Provide advice and guidance to your team to enable them to deliver high-quality analysis of legislation, research and evidence to develop clear, practical and impactful policy recommendations.
• Support colleagues across the Commission by sharing information, providing advice and ensuring effective cross-team collaboration.
• Build and maintain relationships with key members of the electoral community and act as the Commission’s expert point of contact for external partners, including government officials, political parties, electoral administrators, other regulators and academics.

 This role has significant influence, both internally and externally. Your work will directly shape the advice and guidance we provide to the UK’s governments and parliaments, local authorities, political parties and other stakeholders. You will enable the Commission to ensure that medium- and long-term challenges and opportunities for elections in the UK are recognised, well-understood and rapidly acted upon by policymakers and the wider electoral community.

About the team

You’ll join our Policy, Research and Voter Engagement directorate, a team dedicated to strengthening democracy through evidence-based policy that has a real impact for voters, campaigners and those who run elections. We collaborate with colleagues across the Electoral Commission – including our research, legal, operational and public affairs functions and our teams in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland – to ensure our work is rigorous, practical and communicated effectively across the UK.

The Policy Team is a supportive, collaborative group that values integrity, creativity and impact. We work in a fast-paced environment where ideas are shared openly, and where everyone contributes to improving how elections are run. It’s a place where your leadership will make a visible difference and your expertise will be recognised.

Who we’re looking for

We’re looking for a proactive and credible leader who is confident operating in a complex and politically sensitive environment. You’ll need to balance strategic thinking with attention to detail, while managing competing priorities and supporting your team to deliver.

You will bring:

Experience in policy development, ideally within the public sector. (Government or Local Government)

Experience of policy research techniques

Experience of analysis and advising senior level stakeholders

Strong leadership skills, with a track record of managing people, capacity, projects and budgets.

Excellent communication skills – able to present complex ideas clearly to different audiences.

Strong influencing and relationship-building skills, with the ability to navigate political sensitivities.

Creativity, resilience and a flexible approach to change.

This role would suit someone with a background in policy, regulation, law, or public affairs who is looking to develop their management experience by stepping into a leadership position with national impact.

Why work for us?

This is an excellent opportunity to shape a newly created leadership role and influence both the Commission’s internal operations and the delivery of electoral services across Great Britain. You will gain exposure to senior stakeholders across the public sector and Whitehall and play a visible part in shaping electoral delivery in the UK.

We offer a strong total reward package, including:

• 28 rising to 30 days annual leave + bank holidays
• Civil Service pension scheme (28.97% employer contribution)
• Study support for professional qualifications
• Ongoing learning and development opportunities
• Ride2Work, eye care vouchers and more

How to apply

We are committed to fair and inclusive recruitment. To reduce unconscious bias and ensure all applicants are assessed solely on their skills, knowledge and experience, we use an anonymous recruitment process.

Please submit:

An anonymised CV, which must not include:

• Your name, address, contact details, date of birth, gender, ethnicity, or any other personal identifiers
• Names of educational institutions or dates of education
• Employment history older than 10 years (unless directly relevant and explicitly required in the person specification)

An anonymised supporting statement, clearly outlining how you meet the essential criteria listed in the job description.

If a specific qualification is required (e.g. a chartered status), you may include its title (e.g. “CIPFA-qualified accountant”) but not the awarding body or dates.

If the role only asks for general education (e.g. “educated to degree level or equivalent”), simply state this—no further detail is needed.

Failure to comply with these anonymisation instructions may result in your application being withdrawn.

Supporting disabled applicants

The Electoral Commission is proud to be a Disability Confident Employer. As part of our commitment, we offer a guaranteed interview scheme for disabled applicants. If you have a disability and meet the minimum essential criteria listed in the job description, you will be offered an interview.

To be considered under this scheme, please indicate this when you apply. We also welcome requests for reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process or in the workplace.

Key dates

• Application deadline: 13^th October 2025 (23:59)
• Interviews (1st stage): Week commencing 20th October 2025
• Interviews (2nd stage): Week commencing 27th October 2025

Applicants applying for a London-based role should expect to attend interviews in person. For applicants in devolved nations, interviews may be conducted virtually via Microsoft Teams.