Policy Influencing Placement

Deadline: 27 October 2025
Remote/Hybrid

 

#Parkinsons #research #health #wellbeing #policy 

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Photo by Mehdi Sepehri on Unsplash

 

Parkinson's UK

Placement Practicalities

Duration: 3 months

Working pattern: Full-time 

Proposed Dates: 

  • January-March 2026
  • April-June 2026
  • July-September 2026
  • October-December 2026

Mode: Remote/Hybrid

Office space: 50 Broadway, London, SW1H 0DB.

 

Policy Influencing Placement with Parkinson's UK

About the placement
Parkinson’s UK’s internship scheme provides an opportunity for PhD students to spend three months working in its ambitious policy team. As part of the team, you will work to secure improvements to policies that impact people affected by this devastating condition. This will include undertaking research and collating evidence to inform influencing activities, monitoring policy changes, and building relationships with policymakers and Parliamentarians.
Parkinson’s UK is looking for PhD students keen to gain experience in: 
  • policy analysis and influencing
  • communicating evidence to a range of stakeholders
  • collaborative working
  • engaging people with lived experience
  • working in the voluntary sector
What you’ll do
You will work as part of Parkinson’s UK’s close knit policy team and help advance their health and social security policy work to improve the lives of people with Parkinson’s and their care partners.
You will be involved in at least two of the following activities:
  • Undertaking research, collating evidence and drafting policy briefings, reports and consultation responses.
  • Monitoring policy changes and providing in-depth policy analysis, research, and reports for internal stakeholders.
  • Relationship building and engagement with sector stakeholders, including attendance at internal and external stakeholder meetings.
  • Engaging with members of the Parkinson’s community, external stakeholders and internal colleagues to shape our policy positions.
  • Supporting the organisation of events and engagement with policy makers within Whitehall, Westminster, and other public bodies.
  • Scoping new areas of policy work that are relevant to people with Parkinson’s.
What you can expect from Parkinson’s UK
By taking part in this internship, we expect candidates to gain valuable experience in:
  • Policy analysis and influencing
  • Communicating evidence to a range of stakeholders
  • Collaborative working
  • Engaging people with lived experience
  • Working in the voluntary sector
  • Developing networks
Supervision and support

You will be supervised by Sue Christoforou, Policy Manager (Financial Health), and will receive regular feedback and guidance. You will receive additional support from the relevant policy team member responsible for leading the project(s) that you will be working on. You will also have the opportunity to connect with and gain insight from relevant colleagues across the organisation, including in the campaigns, public affairs and communication teams

Internship timeframes
Four internship placements are available and will run from January-March 2026, April-June 2026, July-September 2026 and October-December 2026. 
The internships will run on a full-time basis for three months. Full-time hours are 35 hours a week, with core hours of 10am-4pm. We will consider condensed working hours.  

This placement will be hybrid or remote, with any in person activities such as attending the Parkinson's UK office (50 Broadway, London, SW1H 0DB) to be agreed with the Policy Manager. Travel expenses will not be covered by the charity.

Eligibility requirements
This internship is open to Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)-funded PhD students enrolled in one of the following participating Doctoral Training Partnerships (DTPs): 
  • South Coast (SC) DTP
  • CAM-DTP
  • Grand Union DTP
  • South East Doctoral Training Arc (SEDarc) DTP
  • Northern Ireland and North East (NINE) DTP
  • Welsh Graduate School for the Social Sciences (WGSSS) DTP
  • LSE ESRC DTP
  • London Interdisciplinary Social Science (LISS) DTP

Confirmation from the relevant office or budget holder that the candidate is in receipt of an ESRC doctoral award and is eligible to undertake the internship as part of their studentship is required on application.

Selection criteria
  • An interest in influencing policy and a willingness to develop specialist policy knowledge to improve the lives of people affected by Parkinson’s (A,I)
  • A desire to work with people with lived experience of Parkinson’s to help shape policy activities (I)
  • Excellent analytical and communication skills, with the ability to collate complex information from varied sources into understandable reports for a range of stakeholders (A,I) 1
  • The ability to work as part of a team and with a range of internal and external stakeholders (A,I)
  • The ability to manage and meet deadlines and competing priorities (A,I)
  • The ability to work accurately with a good eye for detail (I)
  • An interest in developing political acumen to spot trends and opportunities to engage with policymakers, especially on issues that affect people with Parkinson’s (A,I)
(A) indicates that this criteria will be assessed at the Application stage

(I) indicates that this criteria will be assessed at the Interview stage

How to apply
Please apply via this page by sharing your CV, together with a detailed supporting statement of no more than two pages. Your statement should set out how you meet the criteria of the placement as stated in the ‘What you'll bring’ section of the role profile.

As part of the interview, we would be happy to discuss your professional development goals, and explore if and how the internship can be reasonably tailored to meet these professional development goals within the requirements of the role.

This vacancy will close on 27 October 2025. Interviews will take place online on 6 and 7 November 2025.

Anyone can get Parkinson’s. It’s vital that the people who work for Parkinson’s UK are representative of our diverse community. We actively encourage people from all sections of the community to apply, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender identity, age, disability, sexual orientation, or religion.

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