Office of the Children’s Commissioner Hiring for Head of Education Job at London, England , UK Full Time

We are looking for a wide variety of people to take on our roles, however we would particularly welcome applications from care leavers or individuals with experience of being ‘looked after’ by the state. We are also actively encouraging applicants from Black, Asian and other minority ethnic backgrounds to join our team.

Do you want to make a tangible difference to the lives of children across England? Can you use your skills to be a catalyst for creating meaningful change? Are you ready to join a committed team dedicated to giving children and young people a voice on the issues affecting them?

Now is the perfect time to join the Children’s Commissioner’s office (CCo) as the team builds on the insight gained from the largest-ever survey of children and young people ‘The Big Ask’.

The Children’s Commissioner, Dame Rachel de Souza, started her tenure in 2021 with ‘The Big Ask’, a survey that more than 560,000 children and young people responded to.

They told us how the pandemic changed their lives, about their aspirations and the barriers to reaching them, how things are at home, how their communities and local environment could be improved, and how they feel about the future and the challenges facing the world.

What children want and need underpins all the work we do, with the Children’s Commissioner working across sectors, Government, and the civil service to deliver for their needs.

Joining the team is a chance to be involved in shaping children’s policy, making sure children’s voices are heard and being part of an exciting environment which puts children’s needs at the heart of everything they do.

We are working to make the changes children said mattered to them. And we’re looking for dedicated, highly skilled people to join the team.

Please note this post is office based for at least 3 days per week (Central London). We welcome applications from both within and outside of the Civil Service.

The Children’s Commissioner’s role is to promote and protect the rights of children. She has an ambitious strategy to bring children’s voice into the heart of Government and deliver positive change for children. We are seeking talented and passionate professionals with policy expertise on education, health or children’s social care, to support the organisation to make a real impact on outcomes for children, by leading or delivering policy projects, influencing ministers and civil servants or working with regulators to put changes into practice.

The Head of Education will drive the delivery of evidence-based projects; lead in briefing the Children’s Commissioner ahead of meetings or Select Committees; produce concise and clear policy notes on emerging issues; and support other teams across the office in delivering the Children’s Commissioner’s Business Plan.

You will be expected to contribute to the Commissioner’s strategy and identify opportunities for the Children’s Commissioner to effect change across Whitehall on behalf of children, and to represent the Children’s Commissioner at external meetings, including with highly vulnerable children.

We are particularly keen to hear from applicants with experience of working in an educational setting.

Duties

Key responsibilities will include:

• Work directly with other senior staff across the office to shape and represent the work of the evidence team
• Together with the Head of Families and Care, lead and support a small team of policy advisors, helping to shape their work, set priorities in consultation with the Director of Policy, Planning and Delivery and identify opportunities for Children’s Commissioner interventions in policy and public debate
• Deputise for the Director of Policy, Planning and Delivery where necessary
• Monitor the policy landscape relating to children to identify opportunities to influence Government and other stakeholders, contributing to the Commissioner’s policy strategy with ideas on new projects and pieces of work based on rigorous analysis of evidence
• Analyse existing policy and formulate reasoned and evidence-based arguments for change
• Lead policy-based projects as the project manager for multiple pieces of work, coordinating project roles, tasks and use of resources, and developing proposals for efficient delivery
• Work with colleagues to inform the commissioning of research and gathering of evidence, using the Commissioner’s statutory powers, to develop a robust evidence base which supports the Commissioner’s policy work
• Develop and maintain networks of stakeholders of relevance to the Commissioner’s ongoing work and strategic priorities, ensuring that the Commissioner has high quality relationships with key stakeholders, and developing partnerships with stakeholders for the delivery of projects as appropriate
• Produce fluently argued, highly credible external facing products and briefings, ensuring that outputs are of a high quality and meet the standards expected by the Senior Leadership Team
• Achieve recognition for our agenda throughout Whitehall and turn policy propositions into real legislative and regulatory change

Essential Criteria

Knowledge and Experience

• Educated to Degree level or equivalent professional experience in a relevant field
• Knowledge of policy-making process
• Understanding of the United Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child
• Understanding of research methodologies
• Experience of working in an education setting
• Experience of working in a demanding, intellectually rigorous environment
• Experience of working collaboratively

Skills and Abilities

• Excellent interpersonal and negotiating skills
• Excellent written and verbal skills
• Willingness to present at meetings and seminars
• Ability to think ‘outside the box’ and balance strategic and pragmatic issues
• Excellent analytical skills. Able to interpret complex information to inform decisions.
• Ability to balance diverse work to tight deadlines under pressure
• A team player
• Proactive and able to use own initiative

Personal Qualities

• Personal integrity and honesty
• Firm commitment to advocating for children
• Ability to travel within the UK, including occasionally at weekends and evenings
• Understanding of and willingness to abide by the 7 Standards of Public Office, including political impartiality

Desirable Criteria

• Masters degree in relevant subject
• Qualitative and/or quantitative research training
• Experience of working in a children’s policy field
• Experience of writing and developing policy or legislation
• Project management training
• Demonstrable experience of writing public-facing documents or articles at speed
• Experience of making public presentations

• Learning and development tailored to your role
• An environment with flexible working options [Please note that all CCo staff are dividing their time between our offices in Westminster and home working]
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
• A Civil Service pension
• 25 days annual leave in your first year, increasing by one day for each year of service to a maximum of 30 days, plus 8 bank and public holidays and 1 day of privilege leave for the Queen’s birthday
• Employee wellbeing initiatives
• Enhanced maternity/paternity pay

Please note that the successful candidate will be expected to join at the base of the salary band unless joining on a level move from another government department at a higher salary.

Job contact :

Name :
OCC Recruitment
Email :
[email protected]

Recruitment team :

Email :
[email protected]