The Royal College of General Practitioners is the largest membership organisation solely for GPs in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1952, it has over 55,000 members, including 5000 in Scotland, who are committed to improving patient care, developing their own skills and promoting general practice as a discipline. General practice is the largest branch of the medical profession. It provides some 1 million consultations for patients in the UK every working day and deals with 86% of the health problems experienced by the UK population.

We are currently recruiting a Policy and Public Relations Officer to support our communications, policy and public affairs activity in Scotland, and we are looking for someone who has demonstrable experience in a communications, policy or public affairs role.

You will work closely with the Policy & Public Affairs Manager to ensure that the priorities of RCGP and issues impacting general practice are recognised by policy makers, the press and the public. You will support RCGP work to influencing decision making at the highest level which will have a direct impact on general practice and its patients by drafting RCGP policy consultation responses, representing RCGP policy at high-level external stakeholder meetings and providing comprehensive briefings to our GP representatives ahead of these meetings.

You will also help to deliver our internal and external communications across Scotland, ensuring that our key messages reach the intended audiences to maximise impact. This will require you to develop and maintain links with media contacts across Scotland, draft key internal communications to our members and produce proactive and reactive media statements. You will take a lead role in maintaining our social media presence.

Our small, friendly team plays a key role in supporting general practice in Scotland. You’ll be helping communicate to stakeholders the views of the RCGP, and to do that effectively, knowledge and experience of the health agenda, patient issues and political context of Scotland would be highly advantageous.

You’ll have degree level education or have requisite experience, be an excellent team player and be able to work across a varied organisation and take a corporate viewpoint.

The successful candidate will share our corporate values. In return, the College offers excellent terms and conditions and great working environment. This role will be hybrid with two days a week in our office in Edinburgh city centre. We offer flexible working hours Monday to Friday.

Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems (SHAAP) is seeking to appoint an experienced Policy and Public Affairs Officer who is educated to degree level, ideally with a relevant postgraduate qualification, with a keen interest in reducing harms from alcohol.

The Role

The Policy and Public Affairs Officer will help guide SHAAP advocacy activities through identifying and analysing relevant policy, providing advice and developing evidence-based positions, carrying out research, monitoring media and policy activity, dealing with the media, responding to consultations, organising events and providing administrative support.

SHAAP is a partnership of the Medical Royal Colleges and the Faculty of Public Health in Scotland and is based at the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh (RCPE).

Using the best available evidence, SHAAP provides the authoritative clinical voice on how policy makers and clinicians can reduce alcohol-related harms in Scotland. We work in close collaboration with key organisations in the alcohol field in Scotland, the rest of the UK and worldwide.

The Person

The Policy and Public Affairs Officer will be an excellent communicator with internal and external stakeholders at all levels of seniority, with the ability to self-manage and prioritise in a dynamic context and within a small team. They must have the ability to advise on and communicate SHAAP policy positions, with experience of researching and drafting briefings, and/or policy papers and/or consultation responses. They must also be able to represent SHAAP at internal and external meetings, seminars and conferences.

Please refer to the Job Description for the role and person full details.

Remuneration Package

The salary for this role will be £34,711 per annum plus benefits. Additional benefits include:

• Pension: with employer contributions of 9%.
• Holidays: 23 days annual leave (with incremental increase over five years to 28 days) and 11 days public holiday/College close downs.
• Life assurance scheme.
• Long-term income protection scheme for those unable to work due to illness.
• Cycle to Work scheme.
• Discounted rates for use of the venue for personal events.

*Based at the College in Queen Street, Edinburgh, with flexibility for a form of hybrid working to be agreed.

Around since 1923, SAMH is Scotland’s national mental health charity. SAMH has represented the voice of people most affected by mental health problems in Scotland for 100 years. Today, in over 60 communities we work with adults and young people providing mental health social care support, services in primary care, schools and further education, among others.

These services together with our national programme work in See Me, Respectme, suicide prevention and active living; inform our policy and campaign work to influence positive social change. SAMH is dedicated to mental health and wellbeing for all: with a vision of a society where people are able to live their lives fully, regardless of present or past circumstances.

For Scotland’s Mental Health

About the Role

SAMH aims to improve the mental health and wellbeing of children, young people and the adults around them, through a range of mental health targeted supports, as well as capacity building work, information and other resources.

We are entering a new and exciting phase in our Children and Young People offering and seek an experienced Service Manager to support our projects and staff.

Working alongside the Children and Young People Development Manager the Service Manager will ensure the smooth delivery of our projects, consolidating and developing systems, structures and practice, to ensure the best outcomes for those we support and engage with.

They will manage a staff team of practitioners supporting a range of projects across Scottish localities.

The successful candidate will have excellent knowledge and experience of children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing, and have worked with schools, youth groups, health including CAMHS.

The service manager will have excellent people, leadership and communication skills, with experience in staff management, service development and young person-centred support work. They will have an understanding of the challenges that children, young people and their families’ experience, which impacts on mental health and wellbeing, along with the barriers they face getting the support that they require.

With experience in project funding, contracts and partnership working they will work alongside SAMH colleagues, funders, local authorities, health boards and other partners to support and review existing projects and delivery models, along with the development of new and innovative approaches, in line with our strategy in supporting children and young people’s mental health.

A full drivers licence and access to a vehicle is essential.

What we will provide for you

You will work in a supportive environment and will be provided with a full induction and training opportunities. You will be given the chance to develop your knowledge and skills, as well as develop professionally. Some of our benefits include;

• Reimbursement of PVG, Disclosure.
• Funded continuous learning and development opportunities, access to over 100 courses online in addition to classroom and virtual training sessions
• 30 days annual leave rising to 33 after 5 years’ service
• 4 public holidays
• 2 paid wellbeing days off per year to use on what matters to you
• Team wellbeing budgets
• Workplace pension scheme
• Life Assurance policy
• Employee Assistance Programme