Senior Officer - Higher Education Regulation

Senior Officer - Higher Education Regulation

Location: Bristol

Salary: £44,102 - £46,359

Plus generous civil service defined benefit pension

Who we are:

The Office for Students (OfS) is the independent regulator of higher education in England – we regulate higher education on behalf of all students. Our mission is to ensure that every student, whatever their background, has a fulfilling experience of higher education that enriches their lives and careers.

These roles are based in the Regulation directorate. Information about our Regulation directorate can be found here.

We’re looking for skilled, committed people to deliver our work both to ensure higher education providers meet our minimum regulatory expectations, and to influence and incentivise even better performance, in order to achieve our objectives.

As we embark on our ambitious new strategy, focusing on quality and standards, and equality of opportunity, this is an exciting time to join the OfS. We are looking for aspiring regulators who want to use their skills to support the next phase of regulation in these areas.

What you’ll do:

The primary function of the Regulation directorate is to develop and implement the OfS’s regulatory framework. We design and deliver high quality services for market entry, degree awarding powers and university title, and are responsible for the ongoing monitoring of registered providers. We also implement the OfS’s new approach to regulating quality and standards, including the Teaching Excellence and Student Outcomes Framework (TEF).

In addition, we work to promote fair access to, and participation in, English higher education for students, no matter what their background. We regulate access and participation plans, and deliver funded programmes such as Uni Connect.

Once appointed, you’ll be expected to initially work on the external quality assurance of end-point assessment for integrated higher and degree apprenticeships. This may change over time and you could be involved in:

• Registering new higher education providers wanting to enter the sector
• Assessing providers’ plans to improve access and participation among underrepresented groups
• Delivering funded programmes such as Uni Connect
• Investigating and assessing compliance with our conditions of registration and intervening in the interest of students
• Developing and implementing policy reforms to improve quality and standards and equality of opportunity
• Improving the systems within the OfS that deliver services to providers

We’ll take your preferences, skills and experience into account when determining which areas of work you are allocated to, but over time you’ll gain experience across a range of directorate work areas.

What you’ll need – person specification:

While previous regulatory experience would be welcome, it is not essential as comprehensive training is available. Our team members have joined the OfS with previous experience of working in regulators and higher education providers, as well as in the civil service, broader education roles, and other public sector organisations. Above all, we’re looking for people who share our commitment to working rigorously to protect students’ interests.

These are the areas we think are really important in being able to do this role well, and we will ask you to demonstrate these in your application:

• You can maintain a comprehensive knowledge of the regulatory context for the OfS’s work, including the OfS’s current goals around quality & standards and equality of opportunity.
• You can demonstrate an understanding of regulatory decision-making processes which enable credible, evidence-based decisions to be reached.
• You can write complex strategic and operational details in a clear and concise manner, using appropriate grammar, style and language.
• You can plan and manage your own workload, resolving competing demands and coping with changing priorities in a flexible and proactive way.
• You can demonstrate a confident and co-operative style and deal credibly with people at all levels, including with external stakeholders, to build positive working relationships.

Career Opportunities:

Our flexible resourcing model enables us to be responsive and agile in how we resource our work, allocating people to priorities. You will have the flexibility to move between areas of responsibility, as you develop your regulatory knowledge, experience and expertise.

Benefits:

Our Total Reward Framework offers a range of benefits to suit your way of life:

• 25 days’ annual leave plus bank holidays
• Comprehensive learning and development – we’re invested in your future
• Generous Civil Service pension scheme
• Health benefits

Diversity and inclusion:

We value diversity and the wealth of perspectives, experience and ideas that it brings to our work, and we strive to embed equality of opportunity in everything we do. We recruit based on fair and open competition and welcome applications from candidates regardless of age, disability, race and ethnicity, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation and socio-economic background.

Working arrangements:

We love working flexibly because we know that it helps us all to do our best work. We’ve created a set of principles to shape our approach to flexible and hybrid working, which our teams then use as guidance on how they deliver their business goals. This would usually mean working from the office for two or three days in a typical week.

To attract the widest possible field of qualified applicants, flexible working, for example job share and part-time working, apply to these roles.

Next steps:

If you are short-listed for the role, we’ll ask you to complete pre-interview tasks.

At interview we will be looking for you to demonstrate:

• Your understanding of the operation of regulatory processes
• You can reach reliable judgements on the basis of complex evidence
• You have experience in delivering projects
• You can communicate complex regulatory information effectively, orally and in writing
• Your experience in implementing and improving systems and processes
• You are resilient and able to work effectively as part of a team

Closing date for applications: 12 noon on Monday 3 March 2025

Interviews from 31 March 2025