Professional Documents
Culture Documents
BACKGROUND
The Policy, Education and Influencing Department is responsible for leading and delivering
Breakthrough’s key influencing, campaigning, education and policy programmes as well as
managing and developing the Campaigns and Advocacy Network (Breakthrough CAN)
representing the views of a significant stakeholder group, which underpins all our activities.
This developing department is a hive of reactive, as well as planned activity, where projects
stretch across teams to create an informed and powerful voice on breast cancer. It is made up of
two teams; Policy & Education and Health Services Improvement and Influencing.
Your Team
The Policy and Education team strives to develop a timely, accurate and expert evidence base,
which underpins all of Breakthrough’s work, helps to secure our reputation for high quality and
reliability and earns the organisation the respect and admiration of other voluntary agencies and
key stakeholders including the Department of Health. The team is also responsible for
Breakthrough’s health promotion projects and breast cancer information which are designed to
promote awareness, knowledge and understanding of breast cancer.
You will also work closely with the Health Services Improvement & Influencing team which
influences change by employing dynamic and innovative strategies which maximise the
engagement and participation of key stakeholders and advocates. The team ensures that by
effective engagement with healthcare professionals at all levels of the health service,
Breakthrough is able to influence quality improvements in access, delivery and experience of
services of benefit to people affected by breast cancer. The team is responsible for driving
forward Breakthrough’s integrated campaigning across the UK at all levels of influence utilising
the 1,200 plus members of the Campaigns & Advocacy Network (Breakthrough CAN) and our
contacts with key influencers including parliamentarians, both locally and nationally.
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• To provide effective line management and actively think and work cross-departmentally,
building cohesion between policy, education and health service improvement activities,
including those applicable to Scotland
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DIMENSIONS
Number of Staff:
• Department Total: 20
• Team Total: 8
• Direct Reports: (1)
o Senior Policy & Information Officer
KEY INTERFACES
Internal:
External:
Essential:
• Advanced postgraduate degree (Ph.D.) in relevant scientific or medical discipline.
• Good knowledge of research principles and understanding of the systems by which
information about research and policy can be obtained.
• Good understanding of how external agents (e.g. government, media, public opinion)
shape public policy.
• Proven experience of developing public policy recommendations based on scientific and
clinical evidence.
• Demonstrable experience of managing staff including setting SMART objectives and
undertaking annual appraisals.
• Some experience of preparing operational plans within the context of an organisational
strategic plan.
• Proven experience of working effectively and on a cross-functional basis at meetings and
events with internal and external stakeholders, including volunteers.
• Excellent communication skills (written and verbal) including the ability to translate
complex/scientific information into language suitable/accessible for non scientific
audiences e.g. public policy-makers, the media, the public and people affected by breast
cancer
• Excellent critical appraisal skills
• Ability to think and work cross-departmentally, building cohesion between policy,
education and health service improvement activities, including those applicable to
Scotland
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• Project management skills which satisfy the need to create and implement sound plans,
achieve key milestones and evaluate the impact of our work on breast cancer services
and treatments
• Demonstrable experience of networking / developing professional contacts
• Excellent computer skills - proficiency in Word, Outlook, Explorer, Excel and Access.
• The skills to be an effective participant in the manager’s forum. Taking forward processes
and solutions within the department in a consistent and synchronised manner, working
with the other managers
• Recognising and maximising new opportunities for Breakthrough to make a positive
impact on breast cancer services through our policy, education and influencing work.
• Able to represent and explain the benefits and value of Breakthrough’s policy, education
and influencing work both internally and externally, in a convincing manner.
Desirable:
• Good understanding of the principles of patient and public involvement (in health policy
making).
Annual Leave: 25 days per year plus 3 days between Christmas and New Year in
addition to bank and public holidays
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