Location: Blended between Cardiff office and home. Time in office negotiable As a Senior Policy and Public Affairs Officer (Wales) you will lead influential research projects which in turn help the people Citizens Advice supports across Wales. This is an exciting opportunity to work on the big issues facing people across Wales - the cost of living, council tax reform, housing and protections for renters, access to public services. Our organisation is unique. From 2,700 locations, we directly help 2.7 million people to solve their problems each year. Through these interactions we see first hand, and in real time, the problems faced by people across England and Wales. We spot emerging issues quickly, often even before the government. This makes us uniquely placed to develop effective solutions and influence government, regulators and industry. Here in Wales, we work to tell the stories of our clients to policymakers, and build the case for strengthened support for low-income households. In the last few years, our policy research has achieved an expansion in support for low income households, shone a light on inequalities in our communities, and secured commitments to reform council tax debt collection rules. As a senior member of the team you will work across different policy areas, designing and delivering major research and influencing projects from start to finish, while supporting junior members of the team to reach their potential. Our strong, respected brand means that you will have unique opportunities to engage directly with the people and organisations who have the power to make the changes we want to see - from parliamentarians and the civil service to regulators and industry. You will have a strong track record of designing and delivering influential policy research projects. Alongside strong research skills, you will have the drive and ability to turn our research into influential policy outputs which make a compelling case for change and work with our world class campaigns and public affairs teams to make these changes happen. We are looking for excellent individuals with strong research and communication skills, curiosity, and ambition to achieve real change on behalf of our clients and consumers. You will already be able to demonstrate a track record of achieving impact in a policy and/or research environment. Please provide details in your cover letter to evidence the following essential criteria. Please make sure your cover letter provides evidence for the essential criteria succinctly. Good understanding of the linguistic, cultural and devolved political context in Wales. Ability to shape a strategic and impactful policy research programme Ability to lead diverse project teams to deliver high quality, impactful outputs to challenging deadlines Ability to design robust, inventive research projects, supported by strong technical understanding of quantitative and qualitative methods Citizens Advice offers confidential advice online, over the phone, and in person, for free. Through our national network of charities, we give people the knowledge and the confidence they need to find their way forward whoever they are, and whatever their problem. Do you want to work for an organisation that makes a difference, every single day, to people from all walks of life? The people that turn to Citizens Advice need help overcoming an obstacle in their lives from debt to evictions to trouble at work and you can be key to them getting the support they need in the quickest, easiest, and most effective way. Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) is of strategic importance within the organisation and recognised as integral to all we do as a service. Central to pursuing our EDI mission is building diverse and inclusive teams in which everyone has a sense of belonging. We believe inclusion is a social justice issue - a principle that underpins our all EDI work. To that end, we particularly welcome applications from people we would like to see better represented in our organisation and sector - people of colour, LGBTQ people and disabled people. We follow the social model of disability. We will offer an interview to disabled candidates who indicate they wish their application to be considered under our Disability Confident Interview Commitment where they meet our selection criteria in their application. Some of our roles attract a high volume of applications and in some circumstances where it is not practicable or appropriate, we may limit the number of interviews offered to disabled and non-disabled candidates. We will provide reasonable adjustments as needed. We re a flexible employer, so this role may suit anyone who d prefer a flexible arrangement to help their work/life balance, many of our colleagues spend most of their time working remotely. Whilst we prefer a blended approach between a local office, if one is near you, and home we re open to being flexible on location, occasionally a role may require you to be based in a certain location if that's the case it will be detailed in the advert or job description. This can be discussed in more detail during your interview. The National Citizens Advice operates from offices in England and Wales, with 4 regional offices based in Cardiff, London, Birmingham and Leeds, therefore all successful applicants must be based within England or Wales. Please be aware that Citizens Advice is not a sponsoring organisation. Therefore the successful applicant must already possess the right to work in the UK or be able to secure the right to work in the UK independently. We have been awarded the top charity in Third sectors' employer index, where it's recognised that Citizens Advice is an organization that not only prioritizes the people we serve but also values the wellbeing of its employees. Citizens Advice seeks to redeploy internal staff who are at risk or under notice of redundancy and will prioritise them in the recruitment process where necessary. If you have been confirmed as at risk or under notice of redundancy please ensure you indicate this in the at-risk box in your application. Please note, in the event of a high number of applications, we reserve the right to close the application early. This vacancy closes at 23.59 on the closing date. For more information about the organisation, our values and benefits please see the following link - Information, values and benefits Need help with your application, see our useful how to guides on the following page - Guidance notes for applicants