UK Business Growth & Entrepreneurship Policy Development

Location: London/ Hybrid

Length: 6 Months (Maternity Cover)

PAYE only

Overall purpose of the role

We are seeking an experienced Director of UK Business Growth and Entrepreneurship Policy Development to lead high-level public policy research and provide strategic recommendations on issues related to UK business growth. This includes working on policies around SMEs, entrepreneurship, business investment, exports, and trade. The role will focus on creating public policy thought leadership content to support business growth across the UK, aligning with Barclays’ strategic priorities.

This is an intellectually stimulating role where you will independently manage projects from ideation to completion, producing long-form research reports that will guide both government and media discourse on critical business policies.

Key Accountabilities:

• Policy Development: Lead the initiation and development of UK public policy, focusing on areas such as SMEs, entrepreneurship, regional economic policy, and industrial strategy.

• Research & Insight Gathering: Conduct and oversee primary research through market research, data collection, polling, focus groups, and guided interviews to generate actionable insights.

• Project & Stakeholder Management: Independently manage projects from concept to completion, collaborating with internal stakeholders and external trade bodies.

• Reporting & Presentation: Produce and present long-form documents with clear recommendations on what government policies should be enacted to foster business growth. These reports will inform Barclays public positioning and be shared with media outlets to shape public opinion.

Required Skills & Experience:

• Demonstrable experience in developing UK public policy, particularly around business and industrial policy, with a focus on SMEs, entrepreneurship, investment, and trade.

• Proven experience in conducting and analysing primary research, including market research, polling, focus groups, and interviews.

• High-level writing skills, particularly in long-form documents, and the ability to present findings to diverse audiences including government and media.

• Proven ability to manage projects independently, delivering high-quality work across a 6–12-month period, and ensuring timely and impactful results.

• Experience working in public policy roles within a corporate environment, business trade bodies, think tanks, consultancies, or UK government departments.

• Strong understanding of economic and industrial policy, and the broader determinants of regional economic growth.

About Barclays

Barclays is a British universal bank. It is diversified by business, by different types of customers and clients, and by geography. Barclays businesses include consumer banking and payments operations around the world, as well as a top-tier, full service, global corporate and investment bank, all of which are supported by its service company which provides technology, operations and functional services across the Group.

Values

Everything Barclays does is shaped by its five values of Respect, Integrity, Service, Excellence and Stewardship. The Barclays values inform the foundations of its relationships with customers and clients, but they also shape how Barclays measures and rewards the performance of colleagues. Simply put, success is not just about what you achieve, but about how you achieve it.

Diversity

Barclays aims to foster a culture where individuals of all backgrounds feel confident in bringing their whole selves to work, feel included and their talents are nurtured, empowering them to contribute fully to Barclays vision and goals.

Hybrid Working

Barclays is currently in the early stages of implementing a hybrid working environment, which means that many colleagues spend part of their working hours at home and part in the office, depending on the nature of the role they are in. Barclays is flexible on how this works and it may continue to change and evolve. Depending on your team, typically this means that colleagues spend a minimum of between 20% to 60% of their time in the office, which could be over a week, a month or a quarter. However, some colleagues may choose to spend more time in the office over a typical period than their role type requires. Barclays also has a flexible working process where, subject to business needs, all colleagues globally are able to request work patterns to reflect their personal circumstances

 Your Benefits

As a contract employee of Randstad Sourceright, you’ll receive a wide range of financial and personal benefits. There’s enrolment in a pension plan (after 12 weeks on assignment) and holiday pay. You’ll also get 24/7 access to an Employee Assistance Programme, designed to help you deal with any problems that could be affecting your home or work life. Plus, there’s discounts at heaps of high street shops, restaurants and entertainment - from Asda to Zizzi Italian restaurants.