Policy Adviser

On the market now

Manchester based – open to hybrid/remote £30k+ Highly experienced and successful in research roles, policy adviser roles ideally permanent full time from September 2026.

My candidate brings a versatile mix of policy advisory expertise and academic rigour, evident in their experience with complex policy analyses and evidenced-based recommendations for governmental departments. With a PhD in History and several renowned publications, they excel in transforming intricate ideas into clear and influential presentations and reports for both specialists and broad audiences. Committed to fostering analytical skills in others, they’ve also contributed to academic growth as a supervisor and seminar leader.

They have adeptly navigated roles requiring robust stakeholder engagement, project management across multiple workstreams, and have delivered high-quality results within tight deadlines. Their research credentials are highlighted by prestigious fellowships and publications, showcasing their ability to produce innovative, publishable work. This candidate’s unique combination of policy and academic experience makes them exceptionally skilled in delivering practical, evidence-driven solutions to complex challenges.

Profile

My candidate is an accomplished researcher and policy analyst with a strong background in history and a focus on American history. They have been recognised with prestigious fellowships and have a proven track record of conducting innovative research and producing high-quality publications. The candidate excels in policy analysis, communication, stakeholder engagement, and workstream management, consistently delivering high-standard results under tight deadlines. They hold a PhD in History and have published extensively in peer-reviewed journals.

Skills

Policy analysis and advice, Communication and delivery, Stakeholder engagement, Workstream management, Research

Experience

Policy Advisor (Contractor) December 2025 – March 2026

• Supporting the delivery of policy projects by analysing complex evidence and producing original research to generate recommendations for government clients.

• Delivering a policy project with high ministerial interest at Cabinet Office, producing succinct, informative briefings for the client and setting out policy recommendations.

• Designing an original research project on Employment Tribunal judgments that included reasonable adjustment complaints, utilising a novel coding framework to review 66 cases that informed policy recommendations.

• Delivering a workshop with key stakeholders at the Advisory, Conciliation, and Arbitration Service (ACAS), addressing practical considerations for policy design in the reasonable adjustment process.

• Leading drafting on several sections of the final report on reasonable adjustments, translating key insights from academic literature, interviews, and original research into concise, direct, practical policy advice that is now being considered by Cabinet Office.

• Trialling new quality assurance methods, liaising with senior leadership to ensure final reports met internal standards and that original, quantitative and qualitative research passed strict replication criteria.

• Supporting the delivery of partner benefits for academics at the University of Surrey working on AI adoption and Blockchain by producing an Impact Assessment of their work’s policy engagement and delivering a bespoke workshop to improve their policy impact.

Policy Advisor – Open Innovation Team October 2025 – December 2025

• Completing a thorough review of academic and policy literature, available guidance, best practice documents, and the law to scope the evidence base on reasonable adjustments at work and identify new avenues of research.

• Creating a detailed user journey using LucidSpark to develop understanding of the policy area, visualise the reasonable adjustment process, identify problem points, and provide a foundation for the team’s analysis.

• Leading interviews with key stakeholders from across the public and private sectors, including charities, business leaders, union policy leads, and Employment Tribunal judges, to ensure policy recommendations were rooted in a variety of evidence and perspectives.

• Facilitating a policy masterclass for the University of York, improving attendees’ awareness of the policymaking process, of the OIT’s business offering, and of how to translate their academic work into practical policy advice.

Academic Supervisor and Seminar Lead October 2023 – 2055

• Conducting supervisions on courses in American history, managing students’ progress in small-group and one-to-one settings, delivering bespoke feedback tailored to individual requirements.

• Delivering lectures on original research and course content, communicating complex, evolving ideas clearly and succinctly.

• Facilitating seminars on consumerism and labour relations in American history, producing a coherent and engaging course of study.

• Assessing students’ written work, developing their editorial and written communication skills.

• Providing feedback to course convenors, shaping the future content of the course.

Undergraduate Admissions Interview Coordinator 2022 – 2024

• Coordinating interview schedules for academics, support staff, and interviewees, ensuring that all parties received the correct information and managed their timings efficiently.

• Managing timetables for a large interviewer and observer team using Microsoft Excel

• Leading recruitment drives for interview observers, bringing together effective teams at a quick turnaround.

• Solving problems that arose across busy interview schedules, both online and in-person, developing trouble-shooting skills and operating under strict time pressures.

Qualifications

PhD in History

2022-2026

MPhil in American History

2021-2022

1st Class History Degree

2018-2021

To find out more about my candidate please reach out to me on 0161 320 3793