Who are we?

Independent Higher Education is the UK membership organisation and national representative body for independent providers of higher education, professional training and pathways. Our members include some of the best education providers from the creative industries and professional world as well as highly specialist institutions. We work to support them through lobbying for reform at government level, and raising standards across the sector through sharing good practice, running relevant events, and through our in house expertise. We offer great benefits to staff and we strive to provide a flexible, office-politics-free and learning working environment.

The role

We are looking for someone to help us drive IHE’s policy work. You will be involved at every level, and on every policy area, attending high level meetings and a wide range of key movers and shakers in the national HE policy world. You can expect to meet with MPs and government ministers, senior civil servants at the DfE and OfS as well as senior staff other sector bodies including QAA, HESA, AoC, UUK, Jisc and the British Council.

You will also support our members on regulatory matters through one to one guidance, organising and delivering networks, events and webinars, and writing newsletters and updates on developments that they should be aware of. You’ll build excellent relationships with members’ principals and use feedback from members to inform your policy writing and positioning.

This role is a fantastic opportunity for you to explore new areas of policy as well as gain in-depth knowledge in key areas you may not be exposed to working at other HE sector bodies or in institutions themselves.

Who are you?

You will need in-depth understanding of HE policy at a national level (but we will bring you up to speed on areas you are less expert on!). You’ll be excellent at writing for varied audiences as this role demands everything from formal government consultation responses to blogs and updates to members. You will be personable and able to build friendly professional relationships with senior staff such as principals of institutions, and senior government figures. There’s plenty to do so you will need to show you can manage and prioritise your work to meet tight deadlines and be flexible and agile as priorities change.