Policy Engagement Manager

The Institute for Policy Research (IPR) at the University of Bath, aims to further the public good through research into issues of significant relevance to policy debate and decision-making, building networks with the worlds of policy and practice, and increasing public understanding of policy research through our public events and publications.

We deliver activities for policymakers, researchers and practitioners to enable dual learning and original contributions to both research and practice.

We wish to appoint a Policy Engagement Manager and the purpose of the role is threefold:

• To recruit senior level policymakers and decision-makers from central and local government and the third sector to the IPR Policy Fellowship Programme to facilitate a tailored programme of meetings with select Bath academics;
• To support the IPR's policy engagement activities;
• And to build capacity in Bath’s internal policy engagement training capacity and delivery, to enable greater and more effective and impactful policy engagement across the University of Bath’s research portfolio.

About the role

This role manages the process of recruiting new senior Policy Fellows each year, drawn from the UK Civil Service, devolved and local government and the third sector. 

You will:

• Manage the programme for in-person and online visits for between 25 and 30 Policy Fellows each academic year, including researching relevant academics for visits, liaising with relevant stakeholders, planning and scheduling the agenda and running the programme;
• Lead the design and roll out of new communications materials to support the Policy Fellowship Programme, including, but not exclusively, web content, case studies and resources; and work with the IPR Events, Publications and Communications Officer on managing and rolling our policy engagement social media channels and IPR blog;
• Be responsible for overseeing the collection and reporting on impact and evaluation data for wider IPR activities, related to policy engagement, working with the IPR Co-ordinator on delivery. In addition, you will manage the IPR Database;
• Play a key role in supporting the Head of Policy Programmes and Communications in researching, aligning, designing, and delivering new internal policy training, coaching and development activities with the university’s REF and KEF strategies, select large grant applications and for the Bath Beacons;
• Support the Head of Policy Programmes and Communications with designing and delivering broader policy engagement activities across the academic year. This includes monitoring and sharing opportunities with academics, engaging with relevant policy engagement networks and managing the fellowship alumni programme. In addition, the role will help with the development of new internal policy engagement coaching and training activities that support University of Bath research strategies. 

Additional information

This is a fixed-term role until December 2026. 

For an informal discussion about the role please contact Ashley Lait, Head of Policy Programmes and Communications (ajl232@bath.ac.uk) or Peter Allen, Professor in Comparative Politics (paa32@bath.ac.uk).

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