Leadership Development Officer Salary: £31,908 Plus generous Civil Service defined benefit pension Based in Bristol
The challenge – Help shape the future of higher education
The Office for Students (OfS) is the independent regulator of higher education in England.
A high-performing higher education sector has never been more important. Universities and colleges are engines of growth and drivers of opportunity, powering our economy and enriching local communities. Our mission is to ensure that students from all backgrounds benefit from high quality higher education, delivered by a diverse and sustainable sector that continues to improve.
Our proposed strategy for 2025 to 2030 prioritises quality, the wider student interest, and sector resilience. Equality of opportunity underpins each of these priorities. It sets out the role that the OfS will play in helping the sector to deliver the diverse and far-reaching benefits of high-quality higher education.
We are looking for aspiring leaders who are looking for a career in policy development and regulation. We need creative, curious, ambitious problem solvers who want to learn quickly and work hard in a fast-paced environment to join our Leadership Development Scheme and develop the skills required to make a difference for higher education students.
The role
Our two-year Leadership Development Scheme which runs from September 2025 to August 2027, is designed to provide you with a broad range of skills and experiences in different roles at a regulator.
In your first year you will complete two six-month placements in different roles across the organisation. You will work on areas that are critical to our success including developing strategies to support students through our regulation and working with teams across the organisation to deliver our business plan.
You will then spend your second year in our core regulation team, dealing with individual universities or colleges, delivering casework and supporting regulatory policy development.
By the end of two years, you will be equipped to successfully apply to a full-time regulatory role whether in the OfS or beyond.
Throughout your placements, you will be working collaboratively to support colleagues at all levels. The role is dynamic, demanding and varied, and you are likely to be working on several different projects at any one time. We will encourage you to focus on developing your own skills and will assign a mentor to help you with this.
About you – person specification
This is an entry level role, so no prior experience is necessary. We are looking for people who can:
* See the big picture – Understand how your role fits with and supports organisational objectives. Recognise the wider context of the organisation’s work, enabling better decision-making.
* Make effective decisions – Make well-reasoned, impartial decisions that stand up to scrutiny. Evaluate the impact and implications of decisions, ensuring that plans take these into account.
* Communicate and influence – Communicate, verbally and in writing, with clarity, conviction and enthusiasm. Respect the needs, responses and opinions of others, and anticipate concerns.
* Collaborate and partner with others – Work effectively as part of a team. Build inclusive, responsive relationships with colleagues across the organisation to deliver collective goals.
* Change and improve – Adapt and innovate in response to challenges. Act decisively in the face of ambiguity or uncertainty.
* Develop self and others – Focus on professional development and learning. Seek to develop knowledge and skills by reflecting on, and learning from, success and failure.
Further details about the Leadership Development Scheme and the assessment process are available on our website.
Application process
Please submit your online application form by 12 Noon on 10 March 2025.
We will assess candidates over three progressive rounds. Round 1 - application form and questions, round 2 - written task, round 3 - interview. We will aim to make offers of employment in late April.
Newly appointed Leadership Development Officers will be expected to start at the OfS on 15 September 2025.
If you have any questions about the scheme, we are running informal online drop-in sessions at 1400-1500 on 24 February, 1230-1330 on 26 February and 1630-1730 on 5 March. To register for these sessions, or ask any questions about the scheme, please email Gail Kendell at LDSRecruitment@officeforstudents.org.uk.
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 for us
This role is based in Bristol. Flexibility is important to the OfS, as we recognise that this can enable people to work more effectively. To attract the widest possible field of qualified applicants we have a flexible and hybrid working approach which applies to this role. Typically, you will be in the office in Bristol two or three days a week.
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