About EngineeringUK

EngineeringUK is a not-for-profit organisation, which works in partnership across the engineering community with a wide range of organisations from business and industry, education, professional institutions and the third sector, to understand the engineering sector and the skills it needs and to develop, deliver and promote effective initiatives and programmes to inspire young people to consider a career in engineering. Together we’re working hard to improve the diversity of the young people we inform and inspire into engineering, helping to create a diverse and inclusive engineering workforce that reflects the UK population. And we’re growing our collective understanding of how to inspire young people into engineering to meet the workforce needs for environmental sustainability.

We guided by a series of values that we apply to all our activity.

We are insightful and open and honest with our insight so that everything we to inspire young people into engineering is based on clear and up-to-date evidence, gained by listening to and learning from our community.

We are courageous and dynamic in the development, piloting and promotion of ideas and activities which can help us all to inspire tomorrow’s engineers and increase the talent pipeline for engineering. 

We are passionate about inspiring a new generation on engineers and a positive difference to young people’s lives.

We are inclusive, with partnership and collaboration at the heart of what we do. We are determined to reach those people who are under-represented in modern engineering.

About the role            

We are looking for an experienced Policy Manager who will help us drive forward our understanding of education and skills policy in the devolved nations and in the regions, as well as support and manage our policy work in specific priority areas, such as T Levels.

Reporting to the Head of Policy and Public Affairs and working closely with the Policy and Voice Manager and the Policy and Parliamentary Advisor you will support the delivery of EngineeringUK’s policy and public affairs programme. You will be developing the organisation’s knowledge of, and advise the organisation on, the education and skills policy landscape in the devolved nations and the regions, as well as keep the organisation abreast of policy developments across the UK in relation to the further education landscape.

You will lead on policy projects and work with others in the team to develop organisational policy positions, produce reports and responses to government consultations, and you will lead on the work with stakeholders, internally and externally to achieve this. You will also work closely with the Parliamentary Adviser and others in the Policy and Public Affairs team to communicate these messages to government and government departments with the view to guide their thinking. You will therefore need to be an excellent team player and collaborator, able to work independently, and adept at managing multiple tasks in a deadline driven environment.

The role is London based at the EngineeringUK offices at 10 Lower Thames Street, London EC3R 6EN and will involve frequent / may involve some travel in the UK (amend as required).  We believe that hybrid working has many benefits and are pleased to offer flexible working with a baseline of 2 days (or 40%) a week in the office and core hours of 10am to 4pm.

We are happy to discuss your preferred working pattern for this role, which is 0.8 FTE to FT or 28 hours to 35 hours per week (excl. lunch breaks).

Role responsibilities

·      To develop EngineeringUK’s knowledge and understanding of the education and skills policy landscape across the devolved nations and the regions..

·      To develop EngineeringUK organisational policy positions and to support ongoing policy work on T Levels, apprenticeships and the wider skills environment, with the view to drive forward change in those areas.

·      To work collaboratively with colleagues across the organisation, particularly the research, business & industry and comms teams.  

·      To work with the Parliamentary and Policy Adviser to communicate policy messages to government and beyond.

·      To lead on high-profile policy projects and coordinating policy activities across the organisation, including reports and responses to government consultations.

·      To engage with key stakeholders across the engineering and technology and education sectors to identify and drive forward collaborative projects.

·      To represent EngineeringUK in meetings, working groups and on collaborative projects as appropriate.

·        Work in line with EngineeringUK values and support achievement of our organisational objectives.

·        Undertake any training and development as required for the role.

·        Any other duties and tasks as directed and required by your line manager.

Person specification

Essential Skills / Competencies

·      Experience in developing organisational policy positions, policy responses and report writing.

·      Excellent stakeholder management skills and experience in engaging a range of different sectors and organisations in public policy development.

·      Good understanding of the education and skills landscape in England, as well as the political environment surrounding it.

·      Proven ability to lead a project and take people with you.

·      Proven ability to work independently and prioritise in response to many competing demands and time, but also take direction, be flexible and work collaboratively with others, contributing to team decisions and facilitating cross-organisational working.

·      Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including a proven ability to write confidently and concisely for a variety of audiences, including demonstrable. experience in simplifying complex policy messages for a wider audience.

·      Commitment to our mission and values and to working in a way that supports our commitment to Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (see below).

Desirable Skills / Competencies

·      Knowledge of education and skills policy in the devolved nations.

·      Knowledge of local and regional government structures.

·      A network of contacts across the education, skills and/ or the engineering sector.

Education / level of experience

·         Educated to degree level or equivalent, or similar ability gained through work experience relevant to the role.

EngineeringUK is committed to being an inclusive workplace, where everyone feels they belong.  This is supported by the dedicated work we are doing to ensure our policies and practices are inclusive and that our staff are trained to be able to fulfil this commitment.