Policy Coordinator
Who are we?
We are Manchester Students’ Union, the biggest SU in the country, supporting over 48,000 students throughout their time at university. We help to make student life the best it can be by supporting students to campaign for change, creating opportunities to meet new people, providing employment opportunities, providing advice and support and being a safe place on campus.
We are a values-centred organisation that employs around 100 permanent, full-time members of staff. We recruit a wide range of roles throughout the year within all our departments from our Commercial team operating Manchester Academy Venues, 13 Media, Bar 532 & Kitchen and Corridor Coffee to our Student Activities, Student Engagement, Marketing and Communications, Finance, HR and Facilities teams. Our team of around 400 part-time, studying staff are instrumental in providing to support to all departments as well as leading major projects like Student Angels. When you join UMSU, you’ll be immersed in an environment that empowers staff to make great things happen and we're always on the lookout for innovative, passionate, and proactive people to join us.
Our values are really important to us and shape the work that we do every day. As part of our recruitment process, we want you to demonstrate how your experiences, behaviours and skills align with our values. You can find more detailed explanations of our values on our website.
About the role
Policy and public affairs are increasingly crucial aspects of the work of Students’ Unions. As a charity that represents the welfare and educational interests of students, our work aims to secure the best material conditions possible for our members.
Policy Coordinator you will play a key role in strengthening student voice and influence for students both within Manchester and nationally. This role is vital to our growing Student Influence Team, within which you will sit.
In this role you will:
Work closely with the Head of Policy to develop and deliver bold, evidence-based policy work that reflects the lived experiences of students and aligns with the political approach of elected Executive Officers.
Work on a wide range of issues and at a variety of levels. Covering issues of housing, nighttime safety, higher education funding, transport and many more, candidates’ passion for civic engagement is crucial.
Create issue-based briefings on research/concepts for student leaders and staff as and when required.
Monitor and communicate policy developments on issues affecting students and students’ unions. Ensure the organisation is aware of and responsive to future developments via a monthly Policy Roundup email to all staff in the organisation.
Work closely with the Greater Manchester Students’ Partnership (GMSP), wherein students’ unions across the city region lobby local and regional stakeholders for meaningful change for students here in Greater Manchester.
Support executive officers in policy work that relates to achieving their electorally mandated priorities.
Please read the full role profile before applying, as well as our guide to recruitment.
Details
Salary: £24,863- £27,013 per year
Contract: Full-time, Fixed-Term 12 months
Hours: 35 hours per week
Eligibility: Open to recent University of Manchester graduates with relevant skills and experience who are eligible to work in the UK (graduated in 2025 or set to graduate 2026)
Our Reward Package
You'll get access to our reward package which you can see here.
Recruitment Guide
We have a guide that explains our full recruitment process. We recommend reading through this before beginning an application.
If you are invited to interview with us, we will share our interview questions in advance so you can prepare your responses. We’re more interested in hearing about your experiences and ideas than in testing your memory, and so we want you to feel as prepared as possible.
AI Use
GenAI tools, like ChatGPT, are revolutionising how we approach a whole host of tasks at work. As a future-focused employer, we believe in embracing, not banning, these tools. However, as with all tech, some ways of using it are better than others. You can use GenAI to refine and articulate your ideas. It’s a tool to help structure your thoughts and improve clarity, not to replace your unique voice and experiences. Please don’t just copy and paste what AI tells you to write.
We recommend you read our guide on how to approach the use of AI within our recruitment process:
Inclusivity and Accessibility
We are committed to equality of opportunity, and we work hard to ensure we appoint based on skill and values.
We particularly encourage applications from Disabled or Black, Black British, Black Welsh, Caribbean or African candidates as these groups are currently underrepresented in our staff team.
If you have any accessibility requirements or require adjustments to support you to apply to work with us, please get in touch. We can offer reasonable adjustments at all stages of our recruitment process.
We are proud to be a Disability Confident employer. Under this scheme, we aim to offer an interview to candidates who declare a disability and meet the minimum essential criteria for the role. Minimum criteria are marked with an asterisk on the person specification. However, during periods of exceptionally high application volumes or peak recruitment times (i.e. July, August and September), it may not always be possible to guarantee an interview for every eligible candidate. In such cases, we will take steps to ensure that the process remains fair, consistent, and inclusive.
Recruitment Timeline
Applications opened: 01/04/2026
Applications close: 20/04/2026 23:59 pm
Interviews: 8th May
Role commencing: June 2026
We may close applications early if we receive a high volume of applications. We recommend that you apply as soon as possible to avoid disappointment. Once the vacancy has closed, we’re unable to accept late applications to ensure a fair process for all candidates.
Contact
People Team:
You can contact the People Team with any questions regarding this vacancy or our recruitment process.
Email: jobs.su@manchester.ac.uk
Phone: 0161 306 3279
Hiring Manager: Georgia Green
You can contact the hiring manager with any questions regarding this vacancy or our recruitment process.
Email: georgia.green@manchester.ac.uk