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Vacancies

Updated : January 15, 2026

Policy and Campaigns Officer

Updated : January 15, 2026

Submission deadline: February 6, 2026 11:59 pm

Join our team as a Policy and Campaigns Officer.

How to apply
Download job/person specification
  • Salary: £30,160, increasing to £31,500 after probation period
  • Hours: Full-time, 35 hours per week
  • Term: Permanent
  • Location: Remote

The Policy and Campaigns Officer will play a key role in delivering the ambitions of the Forces Children’s Rights Charter, driving change to improve the lives of babies, children and young people from Armed Forces and veteran families.

You will plan and deliver policy influencing, public affairs and public-facing campaigns, helping decision-makers better understand the unique experiences of forces children and why these must be reflected in law, policy and practice. Grounded in strong evidence and co-production, the role ensures children’s lived experience directly shapes influencing activity.

Working closely with colleagues across learning and development, communications and participation, you will research, write and represent Forces Children Scotland externally, while managing competing priorities and contributing positively to a small, collaborative team.

Please see the Recruitment Pack to learn more about the role and what it’s like working with us:
Open the Recruitment Pack

To arrange an informal chat about the role, please contact Meg Thomas, Deputy CEO: meg.thomas@forceschildrenscotland.org.uk

Job description

Key Responsibilities

  • Monitor devolved, reserved and local policy developments to identify influencing opportunities.
  • Research, analyse and synthesise evidence to inform policy positions and campaigns.
  • Draft high-quality policy and campaign outputs, including consultation responses, parliamentary briefings, reports and articles.
  • Develop and deliver lobbying and campaigning activity aligned to the Forces Children’s Rights Charter.
  • Ensure meaningful participation of forces children in policy and campaigns work, supporting co-production throughout.
  • Build and maintain effective relationships with parliamentarians, government, national bodies and other stakeholders.
  • Represent Forces Children Scotland at meetings, working groups and events.
  • Share learning and updates with colleagues and contribute to team development.

Person Specification

Essential

  • Experience in a public-facing policy, research or influencing role.
  • Strong analytical skills, with experience producing evidence-based briefings or reports.
  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills, able to convey complex information clearly.
  • Graduate-level qualification (or equivalent experience) in a relevant discipline.
  • Ability to work autonomously, manage priorities and meet deadlines within a small team.
  • A collaborative, proactive and problem-solving approach.

Desirable

  • Understanding of issues affecting children from Armed Forces families.
  • Knowledge of social policy, legislative or political processes.
  • Media relations experience
  • Experience of participatory or co-produced policymaking.
  • Social research experience
  • Lived experience of forces family life.

Employee benefits

We are proud of our healthy, happy, energised, rights-respecting work culture at Forces Children Scotland. In recognition of this, our Board of Trustees have approved a range of actions to further enhance our employee offer, which will be fully implemented by 1 April 2026:

  • Work from home: Forces Children Scotland is a remote-first team. You will be expected to travel to monthly team meetings and other occasional meetings with colleagues and partners across Scotland.
  • Annual leave: Full-time employees are entitled to 36 days of annual leave (including public holidays). We also close in between Christmas and New Year, gifting the days off as a thank you to the staff team for their efforts throughout the year.
  • Pension plan: Forces Children Scotland offers a Pension Plan, with Smart Pension. The Plan is a money purchase arrangement. You can choose at what rate you wish to contribute (subject to statutory minimums) with Forces Children Scotland contributing up to 6% of gross salary.
  • Flexible working: As a flexibly enabled workplace, we practice, encourage and welcome conversations around flexible start and finish times, part-time working, informal and ad hoc adjustments, reliable, predictable work patterns, paid time off for appointments, compressed hours, and the removal of unnecessary travel.
  • Other benefits: We also offer Life Assurance Cover, inclusive and enhanced forces-friendly policies, compassionate leave, the ability to buy and Sell annual leave, and pre-tax deductible offers.

How to apply

Please submit your Application Form, Regulated Work Declaration, and Child-Friendly Application via email to: admin@forceschildrenscotland.org.uk

Application Form Regulated Work Declaration

Child-friendly application

Children and young people are deeply involved in our recruitment process. We ask all candidates to create a child-friendly version of their application setting out the values, skills and experience that make you suitable for this role. The format could be a written statement, graphic, short film or picture and must be suitable for review by a 14-17 year old.

Interviews will be held in Edinburgh on 16-17 February 2026.

If you have any questions about our recruitment process, please contact us.