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Policy Officer - Citizens Advice Scotland

Job Details

Job title
Policy Officer
Closing date
Friday 21 April 2017
Interviews
Friday 5 May 2017
Location
Edinburgh
Hours per week
35
Type of contract
Permanent
Salary
£24,000 - £27,000 (commensurate with experience)

More about the job

About the job

Citizens Advice Scotland (CAS), based in Edinburgh, is the umbrella organisation providing support to Citizens Advice Bureaux (CAB) across Scotland.

Citizens Advice Scotland (CAS), our 61 member Citizen Advice Bureaux (CAB), the Citizen Advice consumer service, and the Extra Help Unit, form Scotland’s largest independent advice network. Advice provided by our service is free, independent, confidential, impartial and available to everyone. We are champions for both citizens and consumers and in 2015/16 the Citizens Advice Service in Scotland helped over 310,000 clients in Scotland deal with over one million issues overall.

The role of the Policy team is to effect changes which benefit CAB clients and consumers across Scotland by influencing policy and decision makers in government, the public and private sectors, and the media to ensure legislation and policy is framed in the best interests of CAB clients and consumers.  This post will be part of the consumer policy team, influencing policy on a wide and diverse range of issues, such as consumer credit, public transport and funeral poverty..

The successful candidate will have demonstrable experience in policy and research, have at least two years’ experience in a similar role and relevant qualifications or equivalent professional experience.  Specifically, they will be able to analyse documents and statistics; produce effective submissions, reports and briefings; and communicate confidently with a variety of individuals and groups.

The successful candidate will build an understanding of the issues through analysing evidence, conducting research and monitoring policy developments and use this evidence to influence policy in the interests of CAB clients or consumers.

Finally, they will have an understanding of the policy-making process at local, Scottish and UK government level, and experience of working in partnership with other organisations with common concerns.  

We offer excellent terms and conditions of employment including 30 days annual leave and 10 public holidays, flexitime and a pension scheme.

For more information please refer to the Job Description and Person Specification which can be downloaded using the links below.

How to apply

To apply for this role, please send completed copies of the Personal Details Form, Equal Opportunities Monitoring Form, along with your current CV to: recruitment@cas.org.uk 

In addition, please refer to the person specification which can be downloaded at the bottom of this page, and provide a written statement that addresses how you meet the requirements of the role. Your statement should specifically address the following essential criteria:

  1. Demonstrable experience of influencing external policy/decision making
  2. Experience of analysing policy documents and writing research reports out with academic studies
  3. Experience of liaising with parliamentarians in both private and public meetings
  4. Knowledge of data analysis (quantitative and qualitative) methods
  5. Thorough knowledge of policy making spaces at UK and Scottish level.

For each of the criteria above, please provide at least one example demonstrating how you meet the requirement, giving a description of the situation and the context, what skills and knowledge you deployed, your personal contribution and a summary of the outcome.

Closing date: Friday 21 April 2017

Interview date: Friday 5 May 2017

About the employer

Citizens Advice Scotland is an Equal Opportunity Employer

The Scottish Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux – Citizens Advice Scotland (Scottish Charity Number SC016637).