Vacancies

Job Title: Constituency and Parliamentary Assistant  

Working For: Yuan Yang MP (Earley and Woodley) 

Location: Earley and Woodley Constituency 

Salary: £30,000 

Length of Contract: Permanent  

Working Pattern: Full time (1.0) or Part time (0.8 or 0.9) available.   

Hybrid and flexible working can be discussed. We would require around 3-4 days in the office per week, with 1-2 days working from home.  At least 2 days in the week should be spent in the constituency office. 

About the role 

Labour MP Yuan Yang MP seeks an organised and versatile candidate who will support important work across the MP’s office in her constituency of Earley and Woodley. Yuan seeks a new member of staff who is local to the area she represents, lives within a commutable distance, or would be willing to relocate.  

Yuan aims to rebuild trust in politics and increase democratic engagement locally.  The new member of staff will be integral to this, helping Yuan lead on local campaigns, responding to constituent queries about government policy, and supporting Yuan’s team with other parliamentary and constituency work.  

Yuan recently won the Patchwork Foundation’s New Labour MP of the Year Award – a testament to the quality of her staff. Her staff team is friendly, fast-paced, high-performing, and mutually supportive. 

This is a unique opportunity to join Yuan’s team in a role that can offer you exposure across the whole range of an MP’s work, both in the constituency and in Parliament. 

Previous political experience is not necessary; we are more interested in your emotional intelligence, strategic thinking, and your ability to take initiative and responsibility for your own projects. We are particularly keen to solicit applications from those from underrepresented backgrounds in politics such as women, people of colour, and those with current or previous caring responsibilities. 

Yuan is particularly keen for staff to help her office innovate, by developing better ways of tracking impact and changing old-fashioned ways of doing things in politics. 

Yuan’s current team have come from a wide variety of professional backgrounds, and we value diverse experiences and perspectives.  We are open to applicants looking for a change in career, a return to work, or who are beginning their careers. We are looking for the right person rather than the right CV. 

The exact responsibilities of the role will partially depend on the skillset and expertise of the successful applicant.  There are many different tasks within an MP’s office, and we try to divide them up based on the needs of the team.  The successful applicant will have a high level of responsibility; they are likely to manage processes involving several staff members, as well as organising events and visits. 

A day in the life of our new team member might look like this: 

• Review incoming policy and campaign emails from constituents, spend time correctly tagging and filing them.  

• Identify issues that you would like to write specific tailored updates about; delegate these amongst the team, and write one on a critical, politically sensitive issue yourself for Yuan to edit and approve. You will then send this update to 200 people.  

• Take a call from a constituent who is very distressed and confused about their benefits being stopped unexpectedly; empathetically hand this case across to a caseworker in Yuan’s team.  

• Just before lunch, visit a local community venue to check whether it is suitable for an upcoming event that you are organising, and build relationships with the staff working at the venue.  

• Get in touch with local charities to ensure that they can attend the aforementioned event, potentially calling a contact you met at a previous event to get her thoughts on the format. 

• After reviewing emails coming in from constituents, noticing one issue that is affecting people across a specific neighbourhood, and coming up with a plan for a local campaign for Yuan to run on this issue. 

• Accompany Yuan to a local ‘Supermarket Surgery’, which you have previously organised. At the surgery, you will approach residents coming into the store in a friendly way, offering a conversation with Yuan. While Yuan is speaking to residents, you will approach the other residents waiting to speak to her, writing down and prioritising any casework. 

 

Potential responsibilities 

Depending on their capacities, the successful candidate will be expected to take on some, but not necessarily all of these responsibilities: 

 

Constituency 

• Coordinate constituency meetings, surgeries and events 

• Support with other general administrative tasks in the MP’s office, with guidance from the Constituency Support Manager 

• Plan constituency campaigns and projects to make positive change for Yuan’s constituents 

• Attend events, visits and meetings with Yuan; take notes, prepare media materials and complete follow up actions 

 

Parliament 

• Manage the process for responding to a high volume of policy queries from residents  

• Craft responses to policy enquiries and draft letters to government ministers 

• Organise events with Yuan in Parliament 

• Taking on occasional economic policy research work, such as supporting Yuan’s preparation for the Treasury Select Committee 

 

 

Essential criteria 

• Based in or near to the constituency of Earley and Woodley (in Reading, Wokingham, or the surrounding area) OR good working knowledge of the constituency 

• Has access to a car and is able to use it for work purposes, or is actively learning to drive 

• People-facing and/or office experience, whether professionally or in a committed voluntary role 

• Organised and independent working style; able to manage a busy workload without anything being missed 

• Good knowledge of UK current affairs and government policy 

• Excellent written and verbal communication; professional phone manner and good interpersonal skills 

• Proven ability to draft letters and emails to a high standard with strong attention to detail 

• Confident, empathetic approach to constituents; able to handle difficult or emotive situations sensitively 

• Proficient IT skills (Microsoft 365/Outlook); comfortable with databases and quick to learn 

• Discretion, sound judgement and strict adherence to GDPR/data protection 

• Commitment to Labour values 

 

We’re committed to creating a supportive and flexible working environment. If you have specific access needs, we’ll work with you to ensure you can thrive in this role. 

 

Upon appointment you will be required to comply with the Baseline Personnel Security Standard, undertaken by the Members’ Staff Verification Office (MSVO). See Members’ Staff Verification Office (MSVO) page for further info. 

 

Application Process

Please complete the short application form below.

Successful applicants at the first stage will be invited to complete a one-hour application task, and then invitations to interview will be sent out once these tasks have been reviewed.  Interviews will be held in person, in the Earley and Woodley constituency. Below is a timeline of the process: 

• Application deadline: Thursday 9th April – 12:00 (midday) 

• Application task deadline: Thursday 16th April – 12:00 (midday) 

• Interviews held: Thursday 23rd & Friday 24th April 

• Ideal start date: Monday 13th July 2026