Policy and Public Affairs Manager

Internet Matters

Internet Matters is a not-for-profit committed to keeping children safe online. We are one of the leading online safety organisations in the UK, working with major global brands including founding members BT/EE, Sky and Virgin Media O2 as well as partners such as TikTok, Samsung and Roblox.

We're here to offer the best advice and information available to help parents, carers and professionals engage in the online lives of children and young people, empowering them to manage the risks they may face online.

We conduct regular research on families' online experiences and use these insights to influence policymakers, regulators and government, helping to drive positive outcomes for children's online safety and media literacy.

We exist to:

• Give parents and teachers the advice and support they need to help all children embrace the internet with confidence, and to protect them from online harms.
• Build understanding and raise awareness of families' online experiences through research, campaigns, events and partnerships, helping children and young people to be happy, healthy and safe online.
• Ensure the views of parents and children are consistently heard by industry, policymakers and government.

Our website hosts comprehensive advice, information and practical tips & tools for parents, alongside our research and insights.

About the role

It is an exciting time to be working in children's online safety. New measures restricting popular social media platforms' access to children, alongside existing requirements under the Online Safety Act, are reshaping the role of technology companies in keeping children safe online. At the same time, curriculum reform, votes at 16 and the Government's mission to halve violence against women and girls (VAWG) create real opportunities to shape online safety and media literacy policy, and improve outcomes for children and young people.

Yet the challenges families face online are evolving at pace, from mis- and disinformation to the rapid adoption of AI. There is cross-party consensus on the importance of tackling these issues, and now is the moment to harness this momentum to drive lasting change for children.

Against this backdrop, Internet Matters is recruiting a Policy and Public Affairs Manager to help ensure online safety policy works in practice and improves outcomes for families. This wide-ranging role will include:

• Stakeholder engagement, public affairs and influencing, including maintaining and developing a network of contacts across Government, Parliament, regulators, civil society and industry. Identifying opportunities to push forward our agenda with decision-makers, including through convening meetings and events and actively contributing to events held by others.
• Supporting the development of Internet Matters' policy positions, ensuring they are underpinned by the latest research and informed by the sector and political landscape. Key policy areas the role will lead on are media literacy, safeguarding girls online and supporting children with SEND online.
• Monitoring UK parliamentary business and proactively finding opportunities to influence.
• Writing policy outputs for a range of audiences including social copy, blogs, briefings, reports and responses to consultations and calls for evidence.
• Presenting and sharing policy and research in a range of settings, including at external meetings and events, tailoring messages to different audiences.
• Acting as secretariat for Internet Matters' Vulnerable User Working Group and Expert Advisory Panel.
• Contributing your ideas to team discussions about the overarching strategy for our policy and research work.

This role sits within the Policy and Research team and a core aspect of the role will be the ability to shape research and insights for policy and sector audiences. You will also support with the analysis of research in relation to policy related tasks.

About you

The successful candidate will have professional experience of working in policy, public affairs or a closely related field. They may have gained this experience from another charity/not-for-profit, a regulator, government, parliament or industry. Although not required, experience of one of the following sector or policy areas would be an advantage: tech, online safety, education, tech-facilitated VAWG or SEND.

We are particularly keen to hear from candidates that have experience writing outputs for a range of audiences and translating primary research into engaging policy insights. You will also have experience building and maintaining relationships with sector, policy and parliamentary stakeholders.

The ideal candidate will have a strong eye for detail and take pride in producing high-quality work. We are seeking someone excited by the opportunity of working in a small organisation, where everyone lends a hand to deliver key priorities, and where you can contribute actively to our wider thinking and strategy.

Please see the attached job description for skills, knowledge and experience.

Further details, including how to apply, can be found in the attached job description.