Policy and Public Affairs Manager, Wales

Job summary

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. This post plays a central role in that journey.

Job description

About the role

This is a high-profile, strategic role at the heart of Welsh democratic policymaking. As Policy and Public Affairs Manager for Wales, you’ll lead the Commission’s policy development and public affairs activity relating to devolved elections and electoral reform. Working closely with the Head of the Electoral Commission Wales, you will provide expert advice to Welsh Government officials, Members of the Senedd, ministers, committees and other senior stakeholders.

You will:

• Lead the development and delivery of policy work relating to devolved electoral matters.
• Build and maintain relationships with Welsh Government officials, ministers, MSs, parliamentary staff and cross-party groups.
• Coordinate the Commission’s work with the Llywydd’s Committee.
• Prepare consultation responses, policy briefings, reports and legislative analysis.
• Represent the Commission at high-level meetings, delivery boards, working groups and parliamentary events.
• Lead a comprehensive public affairs programme for Wales, including seminars, drop-in sessions, party conference engagement, and briefing activity.
• Support delivery of Wales regulatory functions and provide leadership within the Cardiff based management team.
• Contribute to UK-wide policy and public affairs coordination, ensuring consistency across nations.

This is a pivotal role with wide exposure across government, the Senedd, civil society and electoral administration. It is ideal for someone looking to take a senior policy leadership position in a respected public body with national influence.

Person specification

Who we’re looking for

This role is well suited to a confident, politically aware policy professional who enjoys building relationships at the most senior levels.

You will bring:

• Substantial experience leading policy development in a complex or fast-moving environment.
• Proven experience influencing decision-makers, particularly ministers, parliamentarians or senior officials.
• Strong knowledge of public sector policy‑making and legislative processes.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to explain complex issues clearly.
• Ability to interpret legislation and present clear advice.
• Strong political judgement and deep understanding of Welsh and UK political systems (essential).
• Experience in public affairs, stakeholder engagement, project management and planning (essential).
• Experience working in a regulatory environment (desirable).
• Welsh language skills (desirable).

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £52,420, The Electoral Commission contributes £15,186 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

• Why work for us?

  In this role, you will directly influence how electoral policy in Wales is shaped, understood and delivered. You will gain exposure at ministerial, parliamentary and government levels, while building leadership experience in a high impact national role. You will have opportunities to contribute to UK-wide policy development, shape public affairs work across the nation, and support Wales-focused electoral reform programmes

  We offer a strong total reward package, including:

  • Flexible working and hybrid model (40% office minimum)
  • 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

Things you need to know

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

How to apply

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

When applying, please provide an anonymised CV which omits your protected characteristics and any personally identifiable information:

Do not include:

• Your name, address, phone number, email or other contact details
• Your date of birth or age
• Gender, ethnicity, nationality or other personal identifiers
• A photo of yourself
• Remove educational dates as these are a clear indication of your age
• There is no requirement to include your primary education details.

Do include:

• Your employment history including employers and dates of employment
• Explanation for gaps in your history
• Your duties, responsibilities and achievements

If your CV contains personal details (such as your name or contact information), we will be unable to consider your application. Please double-check your documents before submitting, including the file name you use to save and upload your CV.

Supporting disabled applicants

The Electoral Commission is proud to be a Level 2 Disability Confident Employer. As part of this commitment, we aim to prioritise interviews for disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria listed in the job description.

There may, however, be occasions where it is not practicable or appropriate to interview all disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria. For example, during periods of exceptionally high application volumes or seasonal recruitment activity, the Commission may need to limit the overall number of interviews offered to both disabled and non-disabled applicants.

If you have a disability and would like to be considered under this commitment, please indicate this when you apply. We also welcome requests for reasonable adjustments at any stage of the recruitment process or within the workplace.

Key dates

• Application deadline: Monday 13th April 2026 (23:59)
• Interviews (1st stage): Week commencing 20th April 2026

Interviews are expected to be in person at our office in Cardiff.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

Please note this Post is NOT regulated by the Civil Service Commission.The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see theCivil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

Apply and further information

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Job contact :

• Name : Talent Acquisition Team
• Email : recruitment@electoralcommission.org.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : recruitment@electoralcommission.org.uk

Further information

Raising a Concern About the Recruitment Process

At the Electoral Commission, we are committed to delivering fair, inclusive, and transparent recruitment. Our recruitment practices are guided by Civil Service values and comply with the Equality Act 2010 and other relevant legislation.

If you have concerns about the way a recruitment process has been conducted, we encourage you to raise them with us.

How to Make a Complaint

If you are dissatisfied with any aspect of our recruitment process, you can contact us directly by email:

recruitment@electoralcommission.org.uk

Please include the following information:

The job title or reference number

A clear explanation of your concern

Any relevant supporting information

Your preferred contact details

We aim to respond to all complaints within two working days.

Our Commitment

All complaints are treated seriously and in confidence. They are handled in line with our Recruitment Policy and the relevant provisions of the Equality Act 2010, Employment Rights Act 1996, and the Data Protection Act 2018.

If you require this information in an alternative format, or need additional support, please contact us at recruitment@electoralcommission.org.uk

https://ce1002li.webitrent.com/ce1002li_webrecruitment/wrd/run/ETREC179GF.open?WVID=933737003x