Campaigns and External Influencing Officer 

When cancer shows up, so do we. Together, we help children, young people and families through every hard reality – not just the medical ones.   

Salary:   £32,963
Hours:   35
Contract type:  Permanent
Location:  Hybrid - part home-based, part London office
Closing date:  8th November 2026
Week Commencing interview date:  16th November 2026

Change lives in a life-changing career  

When cancer shows up for children and young people, life gets hard, fast.  

It’s not just the thunderbolt of diagnosis. Hard is an 80-mile journey to get chemo when you‘re already exhausted. Mates who treat you differently. Parents lying awake worrying about money. Future dreams grinding to a halt. Fear that gets into everything, even the good days.  

And while everyone’s ‘hard’ looks different, one thing is true. Doing all this without support? That‘s proper hard.  

That‘s why when cancer shows up, so do we. 

We’re the only UK charity that makes sure families have specialist social workers by their side. In hospital, at home, at the end of the phone, wherever they‘re needed. From day one. 

We help families navigate everything cancer throws at them – whether that‘s finding a wig after chemo, working out what you can eat if treatment has affected your appetite, or figuring out how to get to hospital without breaking the bank. 

We’re there for every child, young person and family facing it. Championing. Problem–solving. And speaking up for better care for every single family. 

About the role

We’re looking for a Campaigns and External Influencing Officer with experience in social change, policy or campaigning to join our Policy and Influencing Team.

This role is central to strengthening how we are seen by external audiences, translating evidence-based policy positions into compelling public-facing activity, and coordinating influencing opportunities that raise our profile as a trusted partner, system influencer, convener and leading authority on issues affecting children and young people with cancer.

As an expert communicator with a strong understanding of politics, the NHS, the charity sector and social change campaigning, you will help deliver the Innovation, Policy and Systems Change Directorate’s External Influence and Engagement Approach. You will help ensure external influencing activity is coordinated across the directorate and wider organisation, grounded in lived experience, evidence and learning, and focused on shaping the wider system affecting children and young people with cancer and their families. A key and part of this approach are our Policy & Influencing campaigns which this role delivers.

Building relationships is a crucial part of the role. You will support the directorate to deliver online and offline influencing activity, including public mobilisation, campaign communications, collaborative work with sector colleagues, partners and coalitions, and attendance at external positioning meetings where organisational profile, influence, partnership opportunities and thought leadership ideas are developed. This work will be co-created with children, young people and their families wherever appropriate and will help Young Lives vs Cancer actively shape conversations, relationships and decisions across the wider system in each nation of the UK.

The role reports to the Policy & Public Affairs Manager and is a key part of the Policy and Public Affairs team. It has an important cross-directorate enabling function, helping connect activity, insight and opportunities across the Innovation, Policy and Systems Change Directorate and the wider organisation so the External Influence and Engagement Approach is delivered in a coordinated and organisation-wide way. The role will receive close direction from the Director and Associate Director on system influencing priorities.

This role is subject to a criminal record check. In the event of a successful application a basic criminal record check will be completed. A previous conviction is not necessarily a barrier to employment. We encourage qualified applicants to apply, and we will consider each case individually.

What will I be doing?

No two days are the same at Young Lives vs Cancer. So, summarising your ‘day to day’ isn’t easy. Here are some of the main things you’ll be doing, but you’ll find more details in the job description.

• Identify, suggest and help develop opportunities, and shape persuasive communications, for thought leadership, stakeholder engagement and external influence, including briefings, blogs, opinion pieces, public responses, roundtables and external events that strengthen Young Lives vs Cancer’s profile and authority.
• Maintain oversight of relevant external influencing activity across the directorate, supporting clear communication, alignment and follow-through so opportunities are acted on in a timely and joined-up way.
• Develop engaging, accessible campaigns, and public mobilisation activity, that translate evidence-based policy positions into clear public-facing activity to influence decision-makers, including online actions, supporter journeys, digital and social content, website copy, events, stunts and other offline moments. 
• Work with children, young people and families, and with colleagues across the directorate, to ensure lived experience shapes our influencing campaigns, supports the co-design of policy solutions and is heard by decision makers.
• Working closely with the Programme Development Officer, you will keep work moving across the Directorate and support the planning and project management of campaigning and external positioning activity, including coordinating delivery, managing timelines, setting clear goals, monitoring impact and applying learning to future activity.
• Work closely with the Policy and Public Affairs Manager, Policy and Public Affairs Officers and Head of Research & Evidence to ensure communications and campaigning is evidence-based, politically informed, sustained over time and tailored across each nation of the UK.
• Collaborate with communications, social media, Media and PR, brand and other internal teams to develop campaigning content, messaging and influencing activity that is joined up, timely and effective across channels, audiences and organisational priorities.

What do I need? 

The key skills we’re looking for in this role are:

• Experience working in a social change, policy or campaigning role/environment to deliver social change campaigning activity
• Experience working with people with lived experience to design and deliver policy, campaigning or communications. 
• Ability to work responsively in a fast-paced environment which adapts to external opportunities.
• Understanding of the political and external landscape, the NHS and the charity sector.
• Communications expertise; including how to translate policy and research into messaging for different audiences across digital and other channels, including social media.
• Building sustainable internal and external working relationships, communicating across teams, with peers and senior colleagues, and coordinating activity across directorates so influencing and communications opportunities are joined up.
• Managing projects end to end, utilising the expertise and collaboration of other colleagues.

What will I gain?

For people to reach their full potential, they need the right environment. As a member of Team Young Lives, you’ll be made to feel supported, valued and appreciated. Here’s how we do it:

• Flexible working: we’re open to working hours outside of 9 - 5 and we can talk through your flexibility requirements at interview stage
• Wellbeing, Thinking & Growth Days: four days a year to to step back from the day-to-day and focus on your own learning and development
• 27 days of annual leave plus Bank Holidays
• Generous paid and unpaid leave allowance
• Great family/caring leave entitlements
• 8% Employer pension contribution
• Access to our employee savings scheme

To find out more about our benefits package, have a look on our website: https://www.younglivesvscancer.org.uk/careers/our-benefits/  

Our commitment to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging

At Young Lives vs Cancer, we recognise that opportunities for too many people remain a condition of their sex, ethnicity, class, gender identity, disability, sexual orientation – or a combination. This has never been acceptable to us as an organisation. We don’t just accept difference, we value it, celebrate it, nurture it and we thrive because of it.

We’re on a journey to be reflective of the diverse children, young people and families we support. We know we aren’t there yet, and we’re passionately committed to taking actions and making changes to be a truly diverse, inclusive and equitable organisation. This includes taking anti-oppressive action and removing barriers in our recruitment practices. We particularly welcome applications from members of minoritised communities. Our Diversity, Inclusion, Equity and Belonging strategy will tell you more.

We are committed to a fair and inclusive recruitment process. All applications are shortlisted by people, not AI or automated screening tools. To help reduce unconscious bias, applications are anonymised before shortlisting and assessed against the experience, skills and behaviours outlined in the job description.

We recognise the benefits of AI, but for this role, we ask that you do not use AI in your application. AI tools often lack the personal touch and authenticity that set candidates apart. We want to hear your unique perspective, experiences, and skills, so we encourage you to tell us about your skills and experiences in your own voice.

Accessibility

We’re committed to providing reasonable adjustments throughout our recruitment process and we’ll always aim to be as accommodating as possible.  Please let us know in your application form of any adjustments or access requirements we could make to help you with the application process and interview.

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