External Affairs Officer Intro We have a great opportunity for an External Affairs Officer to join our Corporate Affairs team, on a permanent basis in either our London or Darlington office (hybrid based). Who we are Railpen is responsible for the safekeeping and investment of around £34 billion in assets and the administration of several pension schemes, including the Railways Pension Scheme, one of the UK's largest and longest established pension funds. Our heritage of looking after the pension needs of the rail industry and its employees gives us our name and our unique outlook on how we serve our members. Railpen takes a holistic view, focusing on how we serve members today and how we can positively impact the communities and the world they will retire into. To learn more about Railpen including our values, culture and purpose, visit our LinkedIn Life page The role Within this role, you’ll support the coordination, implementation and delivery of Railpen’s External Relations activity, towards the goal of influencing the future of the UK pensions landscape. This is a newly created role and will be central to Railpen’s wider public affairs activity. You’ll work with colleagues across Corporate Affairs and subject matter experts (SMEs) across the business to help develop and support stakeholder engagement activity, increasing our capacity for proactive engagement on behalf of our members. Alongside the external focus, this role will also involve maintaining internal governance and supporting policy development work. The person Your previous roles have given you a sound understanding of the Parliamentary environment and knowledge of the UK political landscape, including current core parliamentary activity. With exemplary written communication skills, you’re adept at translating complex, technical concepts into concise and clear material. You have experience at drafting initial documents and working with subject matter experts to develop and finalise the outputs. You’re also accustomed to producing varied formal written communications, including briefing notes, speeches, correspondence and materials for events such as panels and roundtables. Prior experience of internal policy development, producing stakeholder engagement plans and maintaining and developing governance around internal stakeholder management would be highly beneficial. Previous experience within Financial Services or other regulated industry would be helpful, but isn’t essential. We’ll be looking for you to work effectively as part of a team, while also taking ownership of your own workload with a proactive mindset. Highly organised and effective at prioritising, you are calm, pragmatic and solutions-focused, and quick to respond to requests or changing needs. You’re also able to build collaborative working relationships with colleagues, internal and external stakeholders, and external suppliers. Reporting into the Policy Development Manager, this role will also enable you to support activity in the wider External Relations team, and further develop your passion for the importance of pensions, policy and communications. Sounds like you? We’d love to receive your application! Our values of integrity, community and alignment are the guiding principles that influence our behaviour. They help us make decisions and shape our relationships with others. They’re what we stand for. You will actively demonstrate our values, helping to create a safe environment, to place the needs of the community above oneself and, through a culture of ‘fair challenge’, align to the best interests of our members. What we can offer you Rewarding you A competitive salary (depending on experience) 28 days annual leave plus bank holidays Generous annual bonus plan We provide membership of the Railways Pension Scheme, a Defined Benefit arrangement under which you get a pension for life and a lump sum when you retire, based on your length of service and pay 4x Life Assurance cover Colleague referral scheme Heath & Wellbeing Private Medical Insurance Employee assistance programme Health cash plan Eye care vouchers Flu vaccination Lifestyle We support hybrid and flexible working along with very generous family leave including 12 months full pay maternity leave and 6 months full pay paternity leave Buy and sell holidays Give as you earn scheme Paid volunteering days Flexible half days leave Electric vehicle leasing Cycle to work scheme Next Steps Please apply via the apply button or visit Careers Page by May 5th Railpen is committed to creating an inclusive and diverse environment, we value diversity and welcome people from all backgrounds and walks of life