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Why membership organisations should use a recruitment partner for Policy & Public Affairs talent (and why a membership specialist wins)
Policy and Public Affairs hires are rarely “just another vacancy” for membership organisations. They shape credibility with government, protect reputation with members, and directly influence your ability to win policy change. And right now, it’s a tough market to hire well-qualified people.
The CIPD’s recent resourcing research found 69% of employers say competition for well-qualified talent has increased, and 64% of those trying to fill vacancies experienced difficulties attracting candidates, senior and skilled roles are the most challenging.
Competition for experienced, high-quality talent is no longer cyclical, it’s structural. Recent research shows that employers, including membership-focused, are facing intensified competition for well-qualified candidates.
At the same time, hiring timelines are lengthening, with UK time-to-hire now stretching to around eight weeks. Despite sustained recruitment activity, the majority of membership employers continue to report skills shortages, underscoring a market where demand for expertise consistently outpaces supply.
That combination is why many membership bodies get better outcomes when they partner with a recruiter - especially one that genuinely understands the membership model, not just Westminster!
The hidden complexity of Policy & Public Affairs roles in membership organisations
In a membership organisation, Policy & Public Affairs sits at the intersection of:
- Member value (what your members pay for and expect to see)
- Evidence & insight (policy positions that must be defensible)
- Reputation & trust (your authority with government and stakeholders)
- Governance (boards, committees, policy forums, consultative processes)
- Commercial reality (sponsorship, partnerships, events, CPD, campaigns)
- Comms & campaigns (narrative, media, digital mobilisation)
That means you often aren’t hiring a “pure policy” profile. You’re hiring someone who can do policy and manage competing priorities, align internal stakeholders, communicate clearly, and keep members bought-in even when the policy line is nuanced.
This is exactly where recruitment tends to go wrong when it’s treated like a standard “post-and-hope” vacancy.
The cons of not using an agency for this talent
1) You can miss passive candidates
The strongest Public Affairs professionals are often not actively applying. They’re busy, doing sensitive work, and selective about moves. A good recruiter can reach them discreetly and credibly.
If you rely on inbound applicants alone, you often end up with:
- Candidates who are “available” rather than “excellent”
- Lots of interest that isn’t aligned to your stakeholder environment
- Time-consuming shortlists with weak conversion
This matters more when hiring cycles are already stretching UK time-to-hire averaging eight weeks makes delays expensive.
2) Slower hiring = real policy and reputational risk
Unfilled senior policy roles don’t just create workload gaps. They can mean:
- Slower consultation responses
- Inconsistent messaging to members
- Weaker government engagement at critical moments
- Missed opportunities to influence outcomes
And because senior/specialist roles are hardest to fill, delaying the search usually doesn’t make it easier, CIPD data specifically flags senior and skilled roles as most challenging to recruit for.
3) “Good on paper” hires can fail fast
Policy hires can look great on a CV, right logos and right titles, yet struggle in membership contexts where influence is earned through committee rooms, member politics, and careful internal alignment.
CIPD also highlights early attrition and offer-drop issues: 41% say new recruits resigned within the first 12 weeks; 27% say candidates sometimes fail to show up on day one.
That’s not only a recruitment issue - but it’s a strong signal that selection, expectation-setting, and candidate engagement matter.
4) You can’t benchmark properly
Policy & Public Affairs salaries vary wildly depending on:
- Sector sensitivity (regulated vs unregulated)
- Media exposure
- Scope (UK / devolved / EU / global)
- Leadership expectations (team leadership, strategy, crisis work)
Without market mapping and real-time benchmarking, you risk:
- Under-paying and losing the right people
- Over-paying and creating internal inequity
- Misunderstanding notice periods, counteroffers, and realistic timelines
When 76% of member-focused employers report difficulty filling skilled roles, pay and proposition need to be sharp.
5) You burn internal time (and goodwill)
Policy hiring can quietly consume:
- CEO/Director time
- SLT time
- committee chair time
- HR time
- Stakeholder time (briefings, panels, approvals)
If the process isn’t tightly run, you lose momentum and candidate confidence - especially in a market where candidates have options.
What a specialist recruitment partner really changes
A specialist partner doesn’t just “send CVs”. Our best practice for top Policy & Public Affairs talent, includes:
- Map the market (who is doing what, where, and why they might move)
- Access passive candidates with discreet outreach
- Sharpen the brief into a credible proposition (mission + remit + influence)
- Screen for membership reality: governance, stakeholder management, ambiguity tolerance
- Protect the process: pacing, comms, feedback, offer management, counteroffers
- Advise on structure: whether you need one hire, a split role, or interim cover
In other words: we reduce risk, reduce time wastage, and increase the chance you hire someone who can deliver impact - not just “do policy”.
Why a broader membership agency often beats a pure-play Policy/Public Affairs specialist
This is the bit most organisations only realise after a painful hire, unfortunately.
1) Membership organisations hire for “policy +”
In our experience, many pure-play public affairs firms are brilliant at placing people into:
- Consultancies
- Corporates
- Political environments
- Comms agencies
But membership organisations frequently need hybrid strengths:
- Policy development and member consultation
- Advocacy and member engagement
- Stakeholder management and internal governance navigation
A membership-specialist recruiter is naturally better at spotting the “policy + membership” skill set - and pressure-testing it.
2) Your stakeholder map is different (and needs different instincts)
In a membership body, your “clients” aren’t only external. They’re also:
- Your members (often diverse)
- Boards and committees
- Regional groups
- Sponsors/partners
- Internal teams (commercial, events, comms, insight)
Specialist membership firms see this ecosystem every day, so they can assess candidates for the realities that break hires:
- Consensus-building
- Internal diplomacy
- "Telling the member story” without losing policy rigour
- Handling governance pace vs political urgency
3) Broader candidate pools = better, faster shortlists
A membership recruiter can credibly approach adjacent but highly relevant talent, such as:
- Policy leads in professional bodies, regulators, charities, NFPs and institutes
- Heads of membership and external affairs with strong advocacy exposure
- Public sector stakeholder managers who can transition into membership contexts
- Comms/campaigns leaders who’ve owned policy narratives
This matters when competition is high, recent research found 69% reported increased competition for well-qualified talent. The more intelligently you widen the pool, the better your odds.
4) They understand “why someone would join you”
Pure public affairs recruiters can over-index on the policy mechanics and under-sell the membership proposition (purpose, influence, platform, member community).
Membership-focused partners tend to be stronger at:
- Positioning the role in a way that resonates with values-driven candidates
- Articulating the impact pathway (how policy becomes member value)
- Explaining governance positively, not as red tape
That improves candidate engagement, crucial when processes are longer and candidates are choosier.
5) They can also hire the roles around policy (which affect success)
Policy impact in membership organisations is rarely achieved by one person alone. You often need connected roles:
- Member engagement / communities
- Marketing / campaigns
- Insights / research
- Corporate partnerships
- Events / thought leadership
- Senior leadership roles that sponsor policy strategy
A membership-focused agency can build teams and succession pipelines, not just single placements, so your policy function is supported, not stranded.
The takeaway
If Policy & Public Affairs is mission-critical to your membership organisation (and it usually is), the cost of “DIY hiring” isn’t just a recruitment fee - it’s the risk of:
- Slow hiring cycles
- Weak shortlists
- Mis-hires that fail fast
- Missed advocacy moments
- Reduced member confidence
A recruitment partner like Membership Bespoke, helps you move faster and hire better. And a membership specialist partner is often the best fit because they understand the governance, stakeholder complexity, and “policy +” reality that define success inside membership organisations.