Senior External Affairs Manager


Company:	Government Recruitment Service
Salary:	£44,913 to £53,230 a year
Hours:	Full-time
Location:	London
Job type:	Permanent
Posting date:	2 Oct 2026
Closing date:	11 Oct 2026

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Summary

The Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade sits at the heart of the government's number one priority: kickstarting economic growth to deliver the highest sustained growth in the G7. Our mission is clear – to drive more people into good jobs, raise living standards, and deliver productivity growth in every part of the United Kingdom.

We achieve this by making the UK the best place in the world to do business, making the UK the most connected economy, and delivering great services to business.

Through our Industrial Strategy, Trade Strategy, Small Business Plan, and Plan to Make Work Pay, we're working in partnership with business to create the conditions for investment, innovation, and job creation that will put more money in working people's pockets.

BIST's Communications and Marketing function is undergoing a bold transformation to meet the demands of the modern media landscape and deliver on our ambitious growth mission. We're moving from traditional discipline-based communications to an integrated, outcome-focused model that positions communications as a critical delivery enabler, not just a service function.

By joining BIST Communications and Marketing, you'll be part of a team that's redefining how government communicates about economic growth – working collaboratively across disciplines, using evidence and insight to drive impact, and demonstrating how government partnership with business is creating jobs, driving investment, and improving living standards across the UK.

Role Summary

Partnership and advocacy are central to our communications, collaborating with stakeholders on campaigns and engagement that have real impact. From businesses and trade bodies, to exporters and investors, to research institutes and universities, to trade unions and campaigners, we work with diverse organisations to ensure our messages are reaching the right audiences.

As Senior External Affairs Manager, you’ll deliver external affairs campaigns, focusing on partnership-driven, story-led communications and showcasing stories of businesses, workers and communities who benefit from our policies. You will build relationships with influential external partners to generate compelling content and powerful advocacy for our communications priorities.

You’ll play a key part in our campaign teams promoting the Industrial Strategy, international trade deals, small business support, workplace rights, and innovative science and research, and you will help ensure our campaigns are building confidence and trust in the UK’s vision for growth.

Collaborating across BIST, including with press, digital, marketing, Ministerial visits, policy and business engagement colleagues, you will be at the heart of an integrated approach to stakeholder engagement, delivering high-quality communications that align with departmental priorities.

Key Accountabilities

As a vital part of the External Affairs team, you will support the Head of External Affairs and Visits and lead projects to:

Devise and deliver strategic stakeholder engagement that promotes advocacy, supports our communications campaigns, and enhances the reputation of the Department
Lead stakeholder insight and mapping activity to deepen the Department’s understanding of the issues and campaigns of key stakeholders and identifying emerging opportunities and risks to inform strategic communications
Build trusted relationships and manage a network of professional contacts to find and amplify compelling stories about the impact of the Department. You will collaborate in particular with external stakeholders’ communications and external affairs teams.
Generate creative content with and for external stakeholders to bring the Department’s messages to life, and secure opportunities that spread our messages through stakeholder channels and networks.
Work with policy, press, digital and marketing teams to embed stakeholder content across multiple BIST channels.
Support and advise on high profile Ministerial and Senior Official events, forums and roundtables.
Develop and improve systems and processes to capture, share and embed stakeholder intelligence across the Department’s communications campaigns.
Monitor, evaluate and report on the effectiveness of external affairs activities.
Contribute to the Government Communications Service and spread best practice across the department, raising understanding of External Affairs.

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