Salary: £40,000 per annum - £50,000 per annum (depending on experience)

Come and join the Royal Pharmaceutical Society as a Head of External Relations (Wales). This role holds a pivotal role within the RPS Wales team, responsible for leading activities in public affairs, stakeholder engagement, and communications. This multifaceted role involves four core areas of focus: political engagement, stakeholder engagement, member engagement and public communications. You will work to identify and manage political opportunities and risks, maintain robust relationships with government and Senedd, raise the profile of pharmacy among politicians, engage with external stakeholders, foster collaborations, communicate RPS Wales's initiatives to members and enhance pharmacy's public visibility through media interactions and social media presence. Additionally, this role provides crucial strategic guidance to key RPS Wales stakeholders and represents RPS in external meetings and with the media, contributing significantly to advancing pharmacy's influence and reputation in Wales.

Requirements:

• Extensive senior experience in public affairs or government relations.

• Evidence of being able to develop and sustain strong relationships with key stakeholders in the political environment.

• A significant degree of political acumen and sensitivity.

• Evidence of being able to secure media coverage and develop effective relationships with the media.

• Proven experience and ability to research issues, analyse information, develop policy options, and make recommendations.

• Ability to network and influence.

• Ability to present information and arguments clearly and concisely, both orally and in writing, and communicate effectively with people from a range of backgrounds.

• Ability to organise, prioritise, and plan work to meet deadlines, combined with the ability to display balanced initiative and forward planning.

• Flexibility to adapt and react appropriately to rapidly changing priorities.

• Self-motivated and able to work without direction, utilising innovative approaches when necessary.

• Excellent teamwork approach, including integrating into a close-knit team and working with colleagues at a distance.

• Computer literacy, including the use of Microsoft Office and video meeting platforms.

The Directorate

The Chief Executive Officer Directorate comprises work teams form Governance, Legal, Chief Operations, PhP, Technology, Chief Education & Membership and the three country teams comprising England, Scotland, and Wales. We support, promote, and lead the pharmacy profession across all sectors of pharmacy across all countries.

The RPS is a GB-wide organisation, but there are significant differences in policy in Scotland, Wales, and England. That’s why each country has its own National Pharmacy board in Wales https://www.rpharms.com/about-us/who-we-are/national-boards/welsh-board and RPS to ensure we understand and support all of our members and the wider profession. Our boards work tirelessly to champion our members and our profession, to shape health and social care policy and to do the best we can for patients across the country. We also work closely with our Welsh RPS membership, helping to identify local issues and highlight good practice.

The Team

In Wales we are a small team, and we pride ourselves in supporting members and leading the profession in Wales, under the direction of the Welsh Pharmacy Board. We work very closely with key stakeholders, including the Welsh Government.

How we are currently working

RPS supports and works in a hybrid way, which means you will be able to work from home, however, there will be an expectation for collaborative face-to-face working – on average and typically this may be something between 4-8 working days per month at our Wales Office.

🗓️ Closing date: 9 October 2023

 If you would like to learn more about the role,  view our job description 👈

Please attach your CV and Cover Letter

We are passionate about creating a culture of belonging, inclusion, and diversity these are part of our core values at RPS and we are striving to have an organisation that represents the diversity of the profession. At RPS we do not discriminate on the basis of race, colour, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender, age, or disability and we encourage applications from all backgrounds.