Senior Government Relations Manager
Salary: Competitive Plus Benefits
Location: London Store Support Centre and Home, London, EC1M 6HA
Contract type: Fixed-Term Assignment
Business area: Corporate Affairs
Closing date: 09 January 2026
Requisition ID: 400043639
We’d all like amazing work to do, and real work-life balance. That’s waiting for you at Sainsbury’s. This is where you’ll enjoy a broad range of projects, no matter what your level, because our Corporate Affairs team is non-hierarchical and truly plugged in to the rest of the business. Whether it’s internal, external or government relations, you’ll have the chance to collaborate with everyone from food waste to health, or general merchandising to Nectar, in order to support some amazing campaigns. You’ll help build trust around Sainsbury’s with customers, senior stakeholders, media and more. And if non-linear progression is what you’re after, you’ll find opportunities are all around.
Fixed Term Contract – 12 months
Hybrid – London (on average 3 days per week) and Home
About the team
The Government Relations team is part of Sainsbury’s Corporate Affairs division and plays a critical role in shaping the company’s engagement with political and policy stakeholders. We work collaboratively across internal and external communications to support strategic priorities and advise senior leaders on key political, regulatory, and policy developments. Our mission includes showcasing the positive impact Sainsbury’s makes in communities across the UK and delivering on our brand purpose: making good food joyful, accessible, and affordable for everyone, every day.
More about the role
As a Senior Government Relations Manager, you will lead on building and maintaining relationships with a wide range of external stakeholders, including ministers, parliamentarians, trade associations, and NGOs. You will act as an ambassador for Sainsbury’s, representing the business at external meetings and events, and ensuring our voice is heard on critical policy issues.
Day-to-day, you will coordinate political monitoring, lead on agreed policy areas, and work with internal experts to assess the impact of policy changes on our business. You will also prepare briefings for senior colleagues, respond to consultations, and oversee engagement programmes such as store visits with MPs. Additionally, you will support and guide a Government Relations Manager to ensure smooth delivery of team priorities.
More about you
You will have demonstrable experience in government relations, including acting as a representative for high-profile organisations. A background working as a Civil Servant, with direct experience in healthcare policy development or implementation is highly desirable. Your ability to quickly understand complex policy issues and translate them into clear, actionable insights will be essential. Strong written and verbal communication skills, combined with excellent organisational and project management capabilities, will enable you to thrive in this fast-paced environment.
We are looking for someone proactive, collaborative, and confident with established networks across politics and industry. You should be comfortable managing competing priorities, bringing creative ideas to life, and maintaining a focus on external developments to provide valuable external insights to the business.
Essential criteria
- Proven experience representing major organisations in external political or policy forums, or experience working as a Civil Servant.
- Demonstrable ability to develop and deliver stakeholder engagement programmes and events.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including preparing briefings and responses to consultations.
- Strong organisational and project management skills to manage multiple priorities effectively.
- Ability to build and maintain existing and new relationships with political stakeholders and industry bodies.
#LI-UH1
We are committed to being a truly inclusive retailer, so you’ll be welcomed whoever you are and wherever you work. Around here, there’s always the chance to try something new - whether that’s as part of an evolving team or somewhere else across the business - and we take development seriously and promise to support you. We also recognise and celebrate colleagues when they go the extra mile and, where possible, offer flexible working. When you join our team, we’ll also offer you an amazing range of benefits. Here are some of them: Moments that matter are as important to us as they are to you which is why we give up to 26 weeks’ pay for maternity or adoption leave and up to 4 weeks’ pay for paternity leave.
Starting off with colleague discount, you'll be able to get 10% off at Sainsbury's, Argos, TU and Habitat after 4 weeks. This increases to 15% off at Sainsbury’s every Friday and Saturday and 15% off at Argos every pay day. We've also got you covered for your future with our pensions scheme and life cover. You'll also be able to share in our success as you may be eligible for a performance-related bonus of up to 20% of salary, depending on how we perform.
Your wellbeing is important to us too. You'll receive an annual holiday allowance, and you can buy additional holiday. We also offer other benefits that will help your money go further such as season ticket loans, interest free car loan of up to £10k, cycle to work scheme, health cash plans, pay advance (where you can access some of your pay before pay day) as well access to a great range of discounts from hundreds of other retailers. And if you ever need it there is also an Employee Assistance Programme, you will also be eligible for private healthcare too.
Please see www.sainsburys.jobs for a range of our benefits (note, length of service and eligibility criteria may apply).
