Benefits: £33,000-38,000 per annum (full time equivalent), full or part time, super flexible employer, home working, 29 days annual leave plus bank holidays, 10% employer pension contribution.
Who we are: Independent Higher Education (IHE) is the UK membership organisation and formal representative body which exists to support, develop and promote independent providers of higher education, professional training and pathways.
IHE’s 75 members include household names such as the Royal Academy and Le Cordon Bleu, long established independent colleges Spurgeon’s College and City & Guilds of London Art School, industry leading technical institutes Futureworks and Met Film School, new providers the Dyson Institute and TEDI-London and global education pathway providers Kaplan and Study Group.
The role: We are looking for a Senior Policy and Engagement Officer who will support our members on matters of policy and regulation, through one to one assistance, communications and events and presentations. You will also help to formulate and deliver IHE policy positions and become our in-house expert on specific policy areas. You’ll maintain excellent working relationships with sector bodies and Government agencies.
The Candidate: You will be a natural communicator, able to build relationships with senior staff at our institutions, and gain their trust and confidence. You’ll also be independent and organised. You’ll have experience and understanding of the Further and/or Higher Education sectors, as well an enthusiasm for policy. As part of our policy team, you will become an expert in a range of key policy areas, and you’ll bring experience of writing briefings and summaries of complex documents. Above all, you’ll be an enthusiastic team player and willing to pick up and run with whatever is thrown at you.
Working for IHE: IHE is small but powerful – we currently have 10 full and part time roles which means that we are all flexible and helpful to one another. Sometimes things come up that nobody is “responsible” for but we are all ready to jump in – even if we it’s something we don’t know much about. We’ve found that we learn a lot, really fast that way!
We also understand that while work is important, it’s not your whole life so you might need to take time off, work part time permanently, or temporarily work from your friend’s house in Mallorca. We are very open to part time working but this particular role will need to have some working time each day (Monday to Friday). We also have an employee assistance programme to support you when things are difficult.
We don’t have an office so we all work from home. We like to meet up periodically, so you’ll need to be able to travel to London around one to two times per month on average (IHE will pay travel expenses).
How to apply: To apply, please download the job description from our website and submit your CV, cover letter and the work examples requested (via the ‘Apply’ button above).
Don’t meet every single requirement?
Studies have shown that women and people of colour are less likely to apply to jobs unless they meet every single qualification. We want to build a diverse, inclusive workplace, so if you’re excited about this role but your experience doesn’t align perfectly with everything in our person specification, please do apply anyway.