Education Officer

A £312 tax-free working from home allowance is also payable annually. London-based employees receive an additional £3,217 London weighting.

About the Electoral Commission

The Electoral Commission is the UK’s independent body overseeing elections and regulating political finance. Everything we do is about ensuring trust, participation, and integrity in the democratic process. As we continue to deliver our five-year Corporate Plan, the Commission is building on a period of growth and change, expanding our workforce and modernising how we deliver our services to better support the needs of a changing democracy.

As our organisation develops and adapts to meet future challenges, this post will play a vital part in supporting that progress and helping ensure we remain responsive to the democratic needs of voters, campaigners, parties and electoral administrators across the UK. We believe people do their best work when they have the flexibility, support and recognition they need to thrive. That's why we offer flexible and hybrid working arrangements that help colleagues balance work and personal commitments, supported by a flexi-time scheme that gives greater autonomy over the working day. With generous leave allowances, a highly competitive Civil Service pension and performance-related pay, our benefits package is designed to support your wellbeing, reward your contribution and provide security for the future.

About the role

As an Education Officer, you will play a key role in helping the Electoral Commission increase young people’s understanding of democracy and participation in elections. Working as part of the Voter Engagement team, you will develop and deliver education projects, resources and learning activities that help young people build the knowledge and confidence needed to participate in the democratic process. You will work closely with schools, colleges, universities, youth organisations, charities and community partners to deliver impactful voter engagement activity. This will include developing educational content, facilitating workshops and training sessions, supporting stakeholder engagement and gathering insights to evaluate and improve our work. The role makes an important contribution to the Commission's objective of increasing participation in democracy by ensuring that voters have access to accessible, engaging and evidence-based information that supports informed democratic engagement.

Key responsibilities include:

• Delivering education and engagement projects for young people and community audiences.
• Building and maintaining relationships with education and community sector partners.
• Developing and maintaining educational resources and voter engagement materials.
• Supporting training sessions, webinars, workshops and events.
• Gathering feedback and evaluating project effectiveness to inform continuous improvement.
• Supporting wider voter engagement campaigns and partnership activity.

About the team

The Education Officer will join the Voter Engagement team, which is responsible for helping voters understand how to participate in elections and encouraging engagement in the democratic process. The team works with a diverse range of partners, including schools, colleges, universities, youth organisations, charities and community groups, to develop and deliver voter education and engagement initiatives. Through these partnerships, the team helps ensure that democratic participation is accessible and relevant to audiences across the UK. You will become part of a supportive, collaborative and highly engaged team that values knowledge-sharing, continuous improvement and innovation. The team works flexibly and collaboratively, providing colleagues with opportunities to contribute ideas, influence projects and take ownership of meaningful work that has a direct impact on democratic participation. This is an exciting opportunity to join a close-knit team and contribute to nationally significant work that helps ensure more people understand and engage with democracy.

Who we’re looking for

This role would suit candidates with experience in education, youth engagement, community engagement, participation, outreach or stakeholder engagement roles. We welcome applications from individuals who have experience working with young people and communities and who are passionate about creating accessible and engaging learning opportunities. We are particularly interested in candidates who can demonstrate experience developing educational content, delivering engagement activities and building productive relationships with external partners.

Successful candidates are likely to have:

• Experience delivering education, engagement or participation projects.
• Experience developing resources or content for young people, learners or community audiences.
• Experience working collaboratively with external stakeholders, including schools, colleges, charities, community organisations or youth groups.
• Experience delivering workshops, presentations, training sessions or events.
• Experience working directly with young people, building and maintaining relationship with schools and Multi Academy Trusts.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to explain complex information clearly and accessibly.
• Good organisational and project management skills and the ability to manage competing priorities effectively.
• An understanding of effective approaches to education, participation and engagement.
• Knowledge of the English education system and experience working directly with young people would be advantageous.

Why work for us?

This is an opportunity to contribute to work that has a meaningful impact on democracy and society. You will gain exposure to a wide range of education, engagement and partnership activities while working with national and local stakeholders across the education and youth sectors. The role offers opportunities to develop expertise in voter education, public engagement, partnership working and project delivery. You will work on high-profile initiatives that support democratic participation and help shape how young people engage with democracy across the UK. Whether you are currently working in education, youth services, local government, community engagement or the charity sector, this role provides an opportunity to apply your skills in a unique and nationally important environment.

The Office

Our offices provide welcoming, collaborative spaces where colleagues can connect, share ideas and work together across teams. Whether based in London, Belfast, Cardiff, Edinburgh, or even remotely you will be part of a supportive working environment that balances the benefits of in-person collaboration with the flexibility of hybrid working.

The Benefits

In addition to making a meaningful contribution to democracy in the UK, you'll benefit from a supportive working environment that encourages professional development, flexible working and wellbeing. We are committed to helping colleagues develop their careers and achieve their full potential through learning opportunities, varied work and exposure to a wide range of stakeholders and projects. We offer a strong total reward package, including:

• Flexible working and hybrid model for office-based staff, with a minimum of 40% of working time spent in the office.
• Flexi-time scheme, allowing flexible hours with the option to accrue and take flexi leave.
• 28 rising to 30 days annual leave + bank holidays.
• Civil Service Alpha Pension Scheme - a valuable defined benefit pension providing a guaranteed, inflation-adjusted income in retirement, based on your pensionable earnings and years of membership.
• Performance-related pay.

How to apply

We are committed to fair and inclusive recruitment. To help reduce unconscious bias and ensure all applicants are assessed solely on their skills, knowledge and experience, we use an anonymous recruitment process. When applying, please provide an anonymised CV which omits your protected characteristics and any personally identifiable information:

• Your name, address, phone number, email or other contact details.
• Your date of birth or age.
• Gender, ethnicity, nationality or other personal identifiers.
• A photo of yourself.
• Remove educational dates as these are a clear indication of your age.
• There is no requirement to include your primary education details.

Do include:

• Your employment history including employers and dates of employment.
• Explanation for gaps in your history.
• Your duties, responsibilities and achievements.

If your CV contains personal details (such as your name or contact information), we will be unable to consider your application. Please double-check your documents before submitting, including the file name you use to save and upload your CV.

Supporting disabled applicants

The Electoral Commission is proud to be a Level 2 Disability Confident Employer. As part of this commitment, we aim to prioritise interviews for disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria listed in the job description. There may, however, be occasions where it is not practicable or appropriate to interview all disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria. For example, during periods of exceptionally high application volumes or seasonal recruitment activity, the Commission may need to limit the overall number of interviews offered to both disabled and non-disabled applicants. If you have a disability and would like to be considered under this commitment, please indicate this when you apply. We also welcome requests for reasonable adjustments at any stage of the recruitment process or within the workplace.

Key dates

Application deadline: 20th November (23:59)

Interviews (1st stage): Week commencing 30th November

Interviews (2nd stage): Week commencing 14th December

Anticipated start date: 1st February

Applicants applying for a London-based role should expect to attend interviews in person. For applicants in other locations, interviews may be conducted virtually via Microsoft Teams.