Senior Policy Officer (FORUM)
Salary: Starting from £44340 + benefits
Role duration: Permanent (37.5 hrs/week)
Summary purpose - what you will be achieving
The Academy of Medical Sciences’ FORUM is a neutral, independent platform for bringing together leaders from research, industry, the health system, charities and Government to share insight, exchange evidence and explore solutions to complex challenges in health and life sciences. Relevant Academy priorities for this role include, but are not limited to:
- Improving health outcomes in the UK and internationally
- Mobilising the UK health research system to turn discovery into practice.
- Making the UK the best place in the world to have a career in medical sciences.
As Senior Policy Officer, you will help shape and deliver this high‑impact cross-sector programme — ensuring the Academy convenes the right people, on the right issues, at the right time. In the next year, policy areas you will work on may include (but are not limited to) prevention and early detection, using clinical evidence to speed up translation from discovery to patient impact, inclusion of underrepresented groups in research, and the use of AI and data across biomedical sciences.
You will lead delivery of a portfolio of policy meetings and workshops, produce influential outputs, and manage relationships across the FORUM network. You will use evidence, stakeholder insight and sound judgement to support decisions about where the Academy should focus its convening power, helping us maximise our impact while maintaining the high standards and values that underpin our work.
This role offers a unique opportunity to shape conversations across the life sciences and contribute to improving health through evidence-informed policy.
About the role – what you will be doing
Policy insight and cross-sector contribution
- Support the FORUM Policy Manager in shaping an annual programme of activity that aligns with organisational priorities and emerging health and life sciences challenges.
- Use evidence, horizon scanning and stakeholder insight to help identify where cross-sector convening can add the greatest value.
- Contribute to building the Academy’s reputation as a trusted, evidence‑driven convener on complex and system-wide health issues.
Programme oversight & delivery
- Lead the planning and delivery of FORUM policy meetings, workshops and events (in‑person, hybrid and digital), ensuring smooth delivery, high-quality content and a positive experience for speakers and participants.
- Produce briefing materials, agendas and meeting reports that synthesise evidence and stakeholder views clearly and concisely.
- Anticipate and manage risks, ensuring events are inclusive, accessible and delivered to a consistently high standard.
Stakeholder engagement & network management
- Build and maintain strong relationships with FORUM members and wider stakeholders, managing member communications activities and ensuring their perspectives inform planning and delivery.
- Work with Fellows, external experts and policy colleagues to bring diverse voices into FORUM activities.
- Represent the Academy professionally in external interactions and help strengthen its networks across the life sciences.
Insight, analysis & continuous improvement
- Monitor developments across UK health and life sciences policy to identify opportunities for future work.
- Synthesize insight from meetings, research and stakeholder conversations into clear, actionable outputs.
- Contribute to evaluating the impact of FORUM activities and identifying improvements to planning, delivery and engagement.
Governance, planning & quality assurance
- Provide secretariat support for the FORUM Advisory Group, including coordinating meetings, preparing papers, documenting discussions and tracking agreed actions.
- Use and maintain organisational systems (e.g., Salesforce, website updates) to ensure accurate record-keeping and communication.
- Support forward planning, scheduling and coordination across the policy team.
Cross‑Academy collaboration
- Contribute to policy projects beyond FORUM where needed, supporting organisational priorities and strengthening alignment across teams.
- Represent the FORUM programme across the Academy, supporting cross-team collaboration.
- Occasionally supervise policy interns
Closing date for completed applications is 9am on Tuesday 14 April.
Interviews will likely be held online on Tuesday 28 April.
Requirements
FORUM is a cross-sectoral programme and we welcome applications from people with a variety of professional backgrounds. You might have experience in healthcare (including allied health profession such as nursing), medical research, Government, regulation, humanities, economics, community engagement, and/or industry. (This list is not exhaustive, please do contact us if you would like to discuss the relevance of your experience.)
Essential:
- Strong understanding of opportunities and challenges in UK health and life sciences policy, and the roles played by different sectors.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to produce concise, influential policy outputs.
- Analytical and problem-solving skills, able to synthesise evidence and stakeholder insight into clear, robust advice.
- Experience delivering events (in-person, hybrid or virtual) and managing multiple projects in parallel.
- Ability to build and maintain relationships with senior stakeholders across academia, industry, Government, regulation, healthcare, funders, charities, and people with lived experience.
- Good IT skills and willingness to learn new tools.
- Commitment to inclusive, accessible and evidence‑based policy work.
- Collaborative working style and attention to detail.
- Willingness to travel occasionally within the UK.
Desirable:
- Experience engaging with people with lived experience or applying PPI principles.
- Experience applying risk management approaches to policy or event delivery.
- An established network or experience across life sciences sectors.
Benefits
We provide our staff with a comprehensive benefits package outlined as follows.
Competitive rewards
- Generous pension scheme with flexible contributions – we contribute between 8% - 13% of your gross salary (with employee contributions of 3% - 8%)
- Life assurance at three times your salary
Work-life balance
- Hybrid and agile working. 50% office attendance.
- 26 days annual leave, plus Christmas closure days and bank holidays
- Buying and selling leave
- Family-friendly policies including enhanced maternity and paternity leave (subject to a qualifying period)
Wellbeing and development
- Complimentary subscriptions to Headspace and Classpass to support your physical and mental wellbeing
- Support through tailored learning and development
Additional benefits
- A range of enhanced benefits become available once you’ve completed your probation period.