About Public First 

Public First is a specialist consultancy, helping charities, philanthropists, public sector bodies and global brands improve public policy. Based in London, we have worked in more than two dozen international markets. We are part think tank, part strategic consultancy, part polling company, and part communications agency. In other words, we bring together the different disciplines that make policy happen and work. 

Our Team

Our team has been recruited from the most senior levels of government, the civil service, Parliament, political campaigns, think thanks, opinion research and the media. Our staff have been, and continue to be, active in each of the main political parties. We are divided politically, but united by a desire to do rigorous work that has a real world impact on policy and its implementation. We believe our differences make our work better. 

Technology 

Technology is one of the major areas of specialism for Public First, and we work with some of the best-known businesses in the sector – including Google, AWS, Meta,  Intel, Uber, Sky and others. We are looking for the right person/people to join our growing technology practice. 

Digital technologies are shaping the way we live, work and connect – disrupting entire sectors of the economy and creating new opportunities and challenges. Technology organisations and companies have a key role to play in shaping the global regulatory environment and we’ve helped many of them as they navigate emerging policy thinking. 

Here is some of our recent work that is publicly available:

• Google’s Impact in the UK (2023)
• The Hybrid Work Commission with Zoom, Vodafone and others (2023)
• Uber’s Impact in the UK (2022)
• Uber’s Impact in Canada (2022)
• Doordash’s Impact in the US (2022)
• Unlocking the UK’s Digital Potential with AWS (2022)

The role

We are open to the level of seniority that this role might cover but we expect you will come from some type of policy background and have a specialism in tech policy. The role will include some or all the following key responsibilities: 

• Leading or supporting individual projects within the technology practice. This would be  under the supervision of the Head of Practice, with significant day to day autonomy and responsibility for execution and delivery of work. 
• Providing expertise in particular areas of technology policy. We are knowledge junkies! We want a culture of expertise within the organisation, and to learn from each other about all elements of policy within our practice (and other areas, as well).
• Maintaining and further building strong networks across the technology sector. This includes relationships across government, technology companies and the wider tech network such as think tanks  and third sector organisations. 

The role will require the following skills and experience:

• Experience working in technology policy. The single most important thing we will be looking for is someone who understands, and can write about, technology policy. We are relaxed about where this expertise may have come from, or how many years’ experience you have. 
• Familiarity with government, policymaking and politics. This could similarly have been gained through direct experience in politics and government or through working alongside them; regardless of the route, successful candidates will need to demonstrate above all that they understand how government and policymaking works. 
• Ability to write clearly, incisively and precisely about policy issues. Including the ability to translate complex policy topics into language accessible to educated laypeople, and to draft thoughtful research reports for our clients. 
• Ability to handle quantitative data. Public First employs economists and expert data modellers but all staff expected to be able to work with large datasets and raw numbers, or have the enthusiasm and motivation to learn how to do so. 
• Ability to verbally present conclusions from our work. This could be to clients (including very senior individuals), prospective clients, MPs and policymakers, or to an expert technology audience. 
• A willingness to work flexibly across a small organisation. Including getting involved in different types of role within a project (for example, running focus groups, helping out on polling questions or psychological profiling or helping craft press releases) as well as policy analysis, and, where needed, contributing to projects running in other subject areas. 

Working Arrangements & Salary 

We value diversity and encourage applications from all groups. We are a politically diverse organisation that has worked right across the political spectrum and want to continue that tradition as we grow. 

We work in a mix of in the office and at home, with our main office based in Westminster. Many of us, including the founders, have young children and we work hard to be family friendly.  

Salary will depend on experience and skill, but Senior Policy Manager salaries typically range from £38,000 – £50,000. 

Please submit a copy of your CV and a short statement (approx. 300 words) outlining how you fit the criteria via this application form.

We are welcoming applications until midnight on Monday 23rd October.  

This application will involve a short test prior to the interview which should take no longer than one hour. We will be interviewing on an ongoing basis, and looking for successful candidates to start as soon as possible.