Statutory Returns Specialist in London

Application Deadline: 21 May 2026

Department: Operations

Location: London Office

Compensation: £60,000 pro rata per annum

Type of Contract: Fixed term (6 months)

Working Hours: Part-time (24 hours per week)

Location: Remote/UK

Job purpose

We are seeking a Statutory Returns Specialist with strong experience in HESA statutory returns to support delivery during this critical set‑up period. The role involves designing and implementing efficient business processes, ensuring the timely and accurate submission of HESA returns, managing data validations, and supporting the validation and testing of any system or solution built to support statutory returns ahead of live submission. The immediate priority will be to bring practical HESA expertise into the organisation to set up Student reporting as part of a dedicated project. Working across Quality, Data, Technology and Enrolment teams, the successful candidate will establish the data definitions, collection points, mapping rules and validation approach needed for the first return. The role will also support clear documentation, practical knowledge share and broader readiness for future statutory returns. Experience of other regulatory or statutory returns, such as HESA Staff return, would be desirable. The ideal candidate will bring a mix of experience in HESA Student Returns and strong technical knowledge of the subject matter. If you are a data‑driven professional with expertise in student data returns and a passion for process improvement, capability building and practical delivery, we invite you to apply for this exciting opportunity.

Main Duties and Responsibilities

• First return set‑up: Bring hands‑on expertise to help OIEG set up and run its first HESA Student return from a blank starting point, including the initial return for late‑arriving 2025/26 students and the practical steps needed to make that first cycle workable.
• Data mapping and collection design: Work with internal stakeholders to understand what data already exists, what still needs to be collected, how it should map to HESA requirements, and how provider‑defined identifiers and coding decisions should be set up to support an effective and repeatable return process.
• Validation and submission support: Coordinate preparation, validation and correction activity for the return, investigating issues, supporting resolution with relevant teams, and helping ensure compliant outputs are ready for submission within external deadlines. Support the validation and testing of any system or solution developed to underpin statutory returns ahead of live submission.
• Internal lead and HESA liaison: Act as the organisation’s specialist point of contact for HESA Student reporting during the contract period, providing clear guidance internally and, where appropriate, liaising with HESA/Jisc to clarify requirements, validations and submission issues. Support clear handover into internal teams at the end of the contract.
• Future readiness: Set up workable framework for future cycles by maintaining clear process documentation, agreed data definitions and practical guidance, and by supporting knowledge.