Job Description and Person Specification of the Education Policy Associate Officer

Job role duties

Contribute to taking an evidence-based approach to the education review, including within the core project activities of information-gathering, calls for evidence, consultation, and synthesising and analysing feedback to inform the project’s outputs.
Support the review’s strong focus on equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) issues within all project components and how activity is undertaken.
Contribute to stakeholder communications activity across the review stages, including generating content and managing the use of two-way communication channels with stakeholders.
Input to designing and delivering stakeholder engagement activities, including via project-specific events (online and in-person) and optimising use of channels and networks in the sector.
Contribute to drafting components of the project’s intended outputs, informed by all the above.
Manage the creation and maintenance of robust project records in support of the review’s progression and production of its outputs.
Uphold project management arrangements within the review, including through preparing and maintaining project management materials in line with agreed protocols and tools and with a focus on ensuring rigour, clarity and transparency.
Support progress reporting and monitoring within the review’s governance arrangements, including by preparing regular update reports and maintaining the project risk register (with input from the wider team).
Co-ordinate the project-specific groups, ensuring meetings are scheduled to fit the project timeline and maintain the progression of activity.
Contribute to arrangements to secure and optimise external expertise and additional capacity to meet the project’s defined needs, ensuring compliance with IPReg’s procurement policy.
Contribute to enacting IPReg’s current education requirements relating to accreditation, re-accreditation and annual review, including by distilling learning from this to inform the review.
Contribute to activity to plan, manage and evaluate the implementation of the project outputs and outcomes, including to manage the run-out of existing IPReg accreditation requirements and processes and the lead-in to new ones being introduced.
Undertake specific activities on a defined, time-limited basis to support IPReg executive team colleagues in ways that align with the nature and demands of the role and that contribute to enacting IPReg’s wider regulatory functions.

Essential knowledge, skills and experience

An understanding of education policy from a regulatory perspective, including in relation to high-stakes assessment processes.
Experience of contributing to the development and implementation of education policies.
Experience of supporting stakeholder engagement activity, using a mix of channels, networks and media.
An understanding and experience of quality assurance and enhancement processes within professional regulation and/or the higher education sector.
A commitment to promoting equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) within professional and higher education.
Involvement in initiatives to widen access to and participation in professional/higher education.
Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including to produce clear, succinct project reports and briefing materials and to contribute to stakeholder communications and engagement activities.
Analytical, research and data management skills and using these to produce summary documents and evidence-based materials.
Project management skills, including to co-ordinate operational activities and contribute to progress reporting, monitoring, review and risk management within governance processes.
Excellent organisational and time management skills, including to manage concurrent components of activity, work to deadlines, and deliver against a defined timeline, paying close attention to detail.
Effective teamworking skills, as well as the ability to work independently in line with defined briefs and schedules.

Desirable knowledge, skills and experience

Engaging with and using impact equality assessments.
Contributing to the delivery of a substantial, time-limited, high-stakes project.