The best regulatory decisions are robust.

At the Office for Students, your data-led approach will ensure they always are.

The Office for Students (OfS) is on an exciting path of development. Having recently undergone a widespread restructure, we are now putting the measures in place to ensure that English higher education (HE) students are receiving the best possible academic experience. Ensuring that students from all backgrounds are able to access, succeed in and progress from higher education, our independent regulatory functions have the scope to transform the quality of education. With our work impacting on all groups including full-time, part-time and mature students, we are instrumental in upholding standards for undergraduate, postgraduate, remote, on-campus, national and international learning options.

Over the last few months, we have been building a department of more than 30 Senior Officers within the Competition and Registration (CAR) directorate, and we are now looking for a number of proactive individuals to join them in their work. As a member of this team, you will benefit from a dynamic working environment, in which you will be supported to conduct comprehensive assessments of HE providers, develop policies and processes that support our strategic objectives, and evaluate the impact of your regulatory interventions. The role offers a great learning curve, as you will benefit from on-the-job learning plus training in how to make robust and evidence-based decisions that are legally defensible. This training is something that is being rolled out across the whole team, and will allow us to make regulatory decisions and not just recommendations – so your verdicts will have immediate and tangible impacts on learning establishments, and the students who attend them.

As a member of our agile and flexible team, you will benefit from working within our matrix structure – ensuring that every day will present you with new and stimulating challenges. To excel with us, you will therefore be keen to learn and to support colleagues in their individual projects. Ideally you will have experience in the regulatory sector, though specific experience in the HE sector is not necessary. Crucially, you will appreciate the value of HE, and you will be able to make reliable judgements based on your assessments. With experience of using a systems approach to the design and delivery of services, you will have excellent verbal and written communication skills, and the capacity to form close working relationships with a wide range of stakeholders.

This is a unique opportunity to embed yourself in the OfS at a key moment in our development. Supported by friendly colleagues in a dynamic workplace, you are sure to excel if you have an analytical approach to work, with the confidence to ask challenging questions and defend your decisions. With a great work/life balance and a competitive package on offer, this is an opportunity that could take your career to the next level.

Closing date: 8 July 2019