Senior Policy Researcher (Statutory Advocacy and Rights Based Advice)

Job reference: 003049

Salary: £42,717 base salary per annum (plus £3,612 London weighting if applicable)

Closing date: 05/08/2026

Department: Policy

Location: Blended between office and home (England and Wales)

Employment type: Fixed Term

Hours Per Week 36 hours and 15 minutes

Job posted date: 23/07/2026

Contract Duration: Up to 1 year

Job Description

Location: Blended between office and home (England and Wales). Time in office negotiable
We are hiring for a Senior Policy Researcher to join Citizens Advice on a time limited project (and fixed budget) for up to 12 months. In this role you’ll be part of our Consumer and Public Services Team, which covers an impactful policy brief spanning consumer rights, housing, and debt.

Citizens Advice offers confidential advice online, over the phone, and in person, for free. Through our national network of charities, we give people the knowledge and the confidence they need to find their way forward – whoever they are, and whatever their problem.

The role
In this role, you will step outside the typical Senior Policy Researcher remit to join an agile, fast-paced project team drawn from across the organisation, including Public Affairs and Business Development, to help secure legislative change that expands our statutory energy advocacy model into all essential markets.

Citizens Advice has statutory duties regarding energy advice and advocacy. Not only do we provide front-line help to consumers, particularly those in vulnerable circumstances, but we also translate real lived experience into system insight to argue for an energy market that works better for consumers. We see the value in extending this model to all essential markets—the markets that provide the services people cannot do without or meaningfully opt out of - including financial services, telecoms, and housing.

The Senior Policy Researcher role offers the opportunity to translate real, lived experiences into powerful insights and compelling propositions.You’ll lead research into the consumer experience of these markets and how statutory advocacy and advice could transform them for the better. You’ll also write compelling and persuasive outputs like reports and briefings which make the case to decision makers including Ministers, civil servants and regulators. Finally you’ll play a central role in the design and execution of an extensive stakeholder engagement plan encompassing third sector partners, industry, regulators and Government.

To apply

Please provide details in your anonymous CV and anonymous cover letter details of how you meet the following essential criteria:

• Proven ability to think creatively and pragmatically about policy at both big picture and detailed implementation levels to identify authentic, empowering solutions, including the ability to adapt flexibly to working in new policy areas and constructively challenge policy and service delivery approaches in unfamiliar areas.
• Ability to contribute to the development of an influential policy research programme, under a broad work theme, in which equality and diversity is appropriately integrated.
• Strong understanding of what really makes senior decision makers change policy and practice, using both formal and informal routes.

Do you want to work for an organisation that makes a difference, every single day, to people from all walks of life? The people that turn to Citizens Advice need help overcoming an obstacle in their lives – from debt to evictions to trouble at work – and you can be key to them getting the support they need in the quickest, easiest, and most effective way.

Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) is of strategic importance within the organisation and recognised as integral to all we do as a service.

Central to pursuing our EDI mission is building diverse and inclusive teams in which everyone has a sense of belonging. We believe inclusion is a social justice issue - a principle that underpins our all EDI work. To that end, we particularly welcome applications from people we would like to see better represented in our organisation and sector - people of colour, LGBTQ+ people and disabled people. We follow the social model of disability. We will offer an interview to disabled candidates who indicate they wish their application to be considered under our Disability Confident Interview Commitment where they meet our selection criteria in their application. Some of our roles attract a high volume of applications and in some circumstances where it is not practicable or appropriate, we may limit the number of interviews offered to disabled and non-disabled candidates. We will provide reasonable adjustments as needed.

We’re a flexible employer, so this role may suit anyone who’d prefer a flexible arrangement to help their work/life balance, many of our colleagues spend most of their time working remotely. Whilst we prefer a blended approach between a local office, if one is near you, and home we’re open to being flexible on location, occasionally a role may require you to be based in a certain location if that's the case it will be detailed in the advert or job description. This can be discussed in more detail during your interview.

The National Citizens Advice operates from offices in England and Wales, with 4 regional offices based in Cardiff, London, Birmingham and Leeds, therefore all successful applicants must be based within England or Wales.
Please be aware that Citizens Advice is not a sponsoring organisation. Therefore the successful applicant must already possess the right to work in the UK or be able to secure the right to work in the UK independently.We have been awarded the top charity in Third sectors' employer index, where it's recognised that Citizens Advice is an organization that not only prioritizes the people we serve but also values the wellbeing of its employees.
Citizens Advice seeks to redeploy internal staff who are at risk or under notice of redundancy and will prioritise them in the recruitment process where necessary. If you have been confirmed as at risk or under notice of redundancy please ensure you indicate this in the at-risk box in your application.
Please note, in the event of a high number of applications, we reserve the right to close the application early.
This vacancy closes at 23.59 on the closing date.

For more information about the organisation, our values and benefits please see the following link - Information, values and benefits

Need help with your application, see our useful how to guides on the following page - Guidance notes for applicants