Head of Policy (7 month sabbatical cover, secondment considered), WEBRECRUIT (London)

Central London (Hybrid - minimum one day per week in the office)

The Organisation

Our client is an independent charity working towards better education. They achieve this by supporting educators and institutions to enable better practices and generate research that supports their efforts with results that close the educational gap and benefit children of all ages. They are now looking for a Head of Policy to join them on a full-time basis for a seven-month fixed-term contract. A secondment will also be considered.

The Benefits

• Salary of £72,250 per annum (pro rata)
• Flexible start and end working times (core hours between 10am and 4pm)
• Flexible working opportunities
• 27 days’ holiday a year (plus 8 bank holidays including 3 which can be taken flexibly and 2 festive season closure days) (pro rata)
• 6% employer pension contributions, minimum 3% employee contribution
• Life insurance cover
• Interest-free season ticket loan and cycle scheme
• Enhanced maternity, paternity, adoption and shared parental leave pay (conditions apply)
• Confidential access to Employee Assistance Programme

This is a high-impact opportunity for a talented, high-calibre education or research policy professional to join a mission-driven organisation. In this career-defining role, you will have the chance to elevate the voice of evidence within policymaking, championing the role of research in tackling educational inequality. What’s more, you will be enabled to enhance your professional network, collaborating with key stakeholders, expanding your influence and positioning yourself as a trusted leader in national education reform. So, if you’re ready to lead change where it matters most, our client would love to hear from you.

The Role

As Head of Policy, you will lead our client’s work to promote evidence-informed education policy, whilst managing their relationship with the Department for Education. In this pivotal role, you will work with policymakers ensuring national policy is informed by robust evidence across the early years, schools and post-16 sectors. You’ll proactively identify opportunities to influence emerging policy and ensure our client’s insights help drive strategic decisions that improve outcomes for disadvantaged students. Leading the development of policy positions, you will ensure they provide clear, authoritative perspectives on key issues. Alongside this, you will lead work on professional development policy, overseeing contributions to national frameworks and ensuring reforms are grounded in the best available research. Additionally, you will:

• Represent the organisation externally through presentations, events and public engagements with senior stakeholders
• Monitor and respond to relevant policy developments
• Provide policy briefings to the CEO and executive team

About You

To be considered as a Head of Policy, you will need:

• A minimum of three years’ experience in a senior education policy or research-related role
• Experience of delivering collaborative, multi-disciplinary projects to tight deadlines
• Proven ability to lead, manage and develop high-performing teams
• The ability to manage multiple high-priority projects simultaneously
• Excellent organisational skills and attention to detail
• A strong commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion in all areas of work

The closing date for this role is 8th June 2025.

Webrecruit and our clients are equal opportunities employers, value diversity and are strongly committed to providing equal employment opportunities for all employees and all applicants for employment. Equal opportunities are the only acceptable way to conduct business and we believe that the more inclusive our environments are, the better our work will be. So, if you want to become our client’s next Head of Policy and help shape evidence-informed national education policy, please apply via the button shown.