Sightsavers is looking for an experienced international development, policy or education professional to help us influence the development of inclusive education and international development policy.
Salary: £29,123.00 - £34,262.00
Location: UK, remote
Contract: Permanent
Hours: Full-time (35 hours) or part time (28 hours) with some flexibility around hours worked
About the role
We are looking for an experienced international development, policy or education professional to help influence the development of inclusive education and international development policy.
We believe quality, inclusive education is a human right and should be available to all children, irrespective of gender, disability, learning requirements, socio-economic background, geographical location, ethnicity and any other distinguishing characteristics.
As Policy Officer- Inclusive Education, you will Conduct Sightsavers' policy analysis and work with the Senior Policy Adviser on global influencing on education, with a particular focus on the inclusion of people with disabilities in line with Sightsavers thematic strategies. You will support engagement with key external stakeholders and influence the development of inclusive education and international development policy.
You will support Sightsavers work to ensure children with disabilities can access equitable and inclusive, quality education by:
- Conducting high quality policy analysis and generating evidence to support Sightsavers' policy objectives in education
- Contributing to the delivery of Sightsavers' education policy objectives, including through engagement with relevant national and international policies and processes
- Engaging with different networks and representing Sightsavers at relevant external forums to disseminate evidenced based analysis that influence target audiences
Whilst prior experience of education policy is not essential for this role, an understanding or background in International Development and an awareness of inclusion for marginalised groups is needed, as well as the ability to represent Sightsavers to external bodies.
This is an ideal opportunity to utilise your knowledge of education, international development, advocacy and / or policy to influence education and international development policy and champion every child's right to an inclusive and quality education.
There may be some travel required for this role but there is flexibility around this.
Requirements
To succeed in this role you will have:
Essential
- Experience of conducting policy analysis
- Working experience or educational understanding and awareness of the international development sector, including issues relating to education, inclusion and human rights
- Experience of supporting policy and influencing work at national or international levels
- Understanding of issues relating to education, inclusion, human rights, or social development
- Ability to represent the organisation to external bodies
- Strong analytical skills and ability to think strategically
- Effective English language communication skills, both written and verbal
- Ability to deal with complex ideas and concepts
- Relationship building skills with internal and external stakeholders
Desirable
- Experience of conducting education policy analysis would be highly beneficial.
- Awareness of the challenges faced by learners with disabilities
This is a varied role, please read the full for further details.
Benefits
Sightsavers offers some fantastic benefits. Our comprehensive benefits package includes generous annual leave allowance, pension, season ticket loan, cycle to work scheme, discounted gym memberships and wellness discounts. If you choose to work in or are visiting our collaborative, modern office space, you will find it an easy 20-minute train journey from Brighton or 45 minutes from London.
To apply for this exciting opportunity, please complete an application via our recruitment portal. We are particularly interested in learning of your motivations for applying.
We anticipate that the evaluation process will include a two-stage verbal interview and a written task
As an equal opportunity employer, we actively encourage applications from all sections of the community. Sightsavers is a Disability Confident Leader and qualified people with a disability are particularly encouraged to apply.
Sightsavers is an employer that does not tolerate any form of harassment and has zero tolerance for sexual exploitation and abuse. All potential candidates will be subjected to rigorous background checks and controls.
In line with its commitment to safe programming and recruitment, Sightsavers participates in the inter-agency (MDS) administered by the . Through collaboration with other MDS members, Sightsavers aims to ensure that there are no sexual exploitation, abuse or harassment issues relating to potential new hires and that we can respond systematically to checks from fellow MDS members. This ensures our work is accountable, delivered to a high standard and supports safeguarding across the development and humanitarian fields.
The National Youth Agency is looking for a new Associate Tutor/Assessor to join our Academy Team.
Hours: As and when required
Salary: £120 per day
Remote: This role is homebased/remote working
What we do
As the national body for youth work, the NYA has a dual function. We are the professional statutory and regulatory body (PSRB) responsible for qualifications, quality standards, and safeguarding for youth work and services in England. In line with our charity mission and aims, we also champion youth work through research, advocacy, campaigns, and programmes.
We work in partnership and believe in collaborative leadership, listening to youth workers and the youth work sector so that we can understand their needs and respond to the challenges they face. We are ambitious for youth work and for young people and integrate youth voice and influence across our work
About the Role
As the National Body for Youth Work in England, we are ambitious for youth work and for young people and are determined that all young people should have the opportunity to benefit from the life-changing impact of qualified youth workers and trained volunteers.
To support our mission we are seeking enthusiastic, skilled and JNC qualified professionals to join us as Academy Tutor/Assessor Associates.
Our Academy Tutor/Assessor Associates will deliver inspiring training, develop and review resources and ensure all activities are in line with both NYA and external expectations of quality and expertise.
The post will require a commitment to continuing engagement across the sector and beyond to ensure the NYA Academy’s work is rooted in the needs of young people and youth work.
The Academy Team are reflective expert trainers and facilitators. They support the development of knowledge and skills; deliver innovative and engaging training that benefits youth work and young people; and work with colleagues from the NYA and the wider field to ensure that youth work is promoted and protected, for the benefit of all young people.
The Academy Tutor will ensure the NYA is at the forefront of developing its products and services.
You will work alongside a committed, lively team working together to transform the lives of young people through the power of youth work.
Key responsibilities for this role will include:
- Developing and delivering training along with the development of programmes (including accredited training).
- Supporting learners and monitoring their progress through regular reviews and assessments.
- Contributing to the ongoing development and improvement of resources and processes.
- Building positive relationships with learners to promote their engagement and to achieve successful outcomes.
- Ensure all learners have a supportive and positive learning experience
- The post holder should promote the NYA’s extensive offer and maintaining its reputation in the fields of expertise.
- Ensuring the voice of young people is heard loudly across the NYA and in all aspects of our work.
- Ensure the NYA follows best safeguarding best practice.
- Ensure all operational activity and youth work content is to the highest quality, representing the position of NYA as the National Body for Youth Work in England.
- Participating in team meetings, session planning and evaluation meetings.
- Compliance with all NYA policies and procedures.
- Compliance with all safeguarding policies and health and safety requirements.
- Undertaking any identified training in line with the role including safeguarding and undergoing a DBS check.
Please refer to our Candidate Pack for more information on the role and the requirements.
How to Apply:
Please download our applicant pack to find out more about the role and requirements.
To apply, please submit the following via our online application platform.
A detailed CV setting out your career history, with responsibilities and achievements in line with the person specification in the About You section.
A covering letter (maximum two sides) highlighting your suitability for the role and how you meet the requirements in the About You section.
We will request data for our EEDI monitoring purposes, providing this is optional.
Please note: the covering letter is an essential part of the application process and will be assessed as part of your full application. We use AI detector software, so cover letters or CV’s with over 30% AI generated content with be disregarded. We understand that AI tools can offer support to candidates who have learning differences, which is why we will accept applications with some AI assistance. CV’s will not be accepted without a cover letter.
The National Youth Agency is an equal opportunities employer.
At NYA our inclusive culture means that we embrace individual differences and understand that we need a diverse team to achieve our organisations mission.
We wish to recruit candidates from all backgrounds to ensure our team reflects the rich diversity of the communities we serve. We encourage applications from anyone regardless of disability, ethnicity, heritage, gender, sexuality, religion, socio-economic background and political beliefs but we particularly welcome applications from global majority candidates and those from other minoritised ethnic groups in the UK as they are currently underrepresented in our team.
Youth Work changes lives
Which is why we’re committed to ensuring that as many young people as possible get to benefit from it.As the national body for youth work in England, the National Youth Agency (NYA) exists to champion its transformative power. We believe all young people should have the opportunity to benefit from the life-changing impact of extraordinary youth workers and trained volunteers.
We help to grow youth work provision in ways that keep it effective, relevant, safe and engaging, to help millions of young people reach their potential and thrive. We do this by providing guidance, support, advice, training and staff development opportunities for youth workers and youth work organisations. At the heart of everything we do are young people themselves. We work hard to ensure their voices are integrated into all our work, to develop provision that truly meets their needs.
REF-221839
Role Purpose
The Head of Research, Policy and Insights will join the Senior Leadership Team (SLT) alongside the Head of Operations, Head of Programmes and Engagement and Head of Marketing and Communications. This role is pivotal in guiding OKRE’s strategic direction, leveraging research to inform programme and policy development, and advocacy efforts.
You will lead the expansion and application of OKRE’s distinctive research activities (see Playing with Videogame Culture, and Entertainment Industries Taskforce), developing and delivering an ambitious programme of work that helps transform understanding of entertainment media, its impacts, and the ways different communities work with it.
A key focus will be development of an “Entertainment Impact Index”, a key recommendation from OKRE’s report ‘Delivering social impact in entertainment content – priorities, approaches & challenges.’ This new framework will complement existing impact measurements, supporting cross-sector collaboration and shared learning.
Engaging with trends in entertainment, including technological developments such as AI and machine learning, and approaches to charity and social impact, your role will involve identifying challenges and opportunities. You’ll develop strategies to measure and assess the impact of OKRE’s work, ensuring data informs both annual planning and growth opportunities.
Key Responsibilities:
Leadership and Strategy
- Work with fellow SLT members to develop and implement organisational strategies that embed a research and insights-led culture within the charity.
- Craft and execute strategies for OKRE’s research and policy work, broadening the organisation’s reach and impact.
- Lead OKRE’s work with research consultants and work with other senior team members to develop and support colleagues across our staff and associate team working on insights and policy activities.
- Keep abreast of developments in entertainment and media (including tv, film, video games, creator content) as well as social impact, behaviour change and narrative change sectors, to support the dissemination and use of that knowledge across the organisation and beyond.
Programme design and delivery
- Lead on the development and delivery of a high impact programme of research and policy projects, spearheading major initiatives, such as the Entertainment Impact Index, and running regular convenings with key industry figures to develop actionable tools.
- Manage research materials, ensure regulatory compliance, and provide quality assurance on research, data and insight-related work in service of the charity’s goals and objectives.
- Provide insights to the wider OKRE team on key sector trends and opportunities relevant to programmes such as the OKRE Summit and OKRE Fund.
- Evolve evaluation strategies and provide practical support to team members to assess OKRE’s work, understanding what difference the charity has made, and synthesise learning to inform future activity.
Communication and Impact:
- Commission research through internal panels or external agencies and produce tailored briefings and reports.
- Turn research findings into sharp insights, impactful policy narratives, guides, tools, and training resources for the sectors we work with.
- Represent the organisation at industry events, advocating on policy matters and advancing the organisation’s thought leadership.
Stakeholder Management
- Seek out, build and maintain strong relationships with key organisations, funders and partners working in entertainment, charity, research and policy fields.
- Be a passionate advocate for and support the whole team to adopt an insights and evidence-based approach to their work.
- Define and advance a clear learning agenda based on the needs of key stakeholders in the business.
Skills & Experience
- Proven experience in strategic planning and delivery within research and policy environments.
- Demonstrable success in identifying emerging policy opportunities and applying research-led approaches to boosting organisational influence.
- Senior level experience managing research and policy portfolios, with budget accountability in commercial or charity sectors.
- Expertise in deploying quantitative and qualitative research methodologies, tools, with a track record in informed policy advocacy.
- Proven ability to translate complex data into actionable insights for a range of stakeholders.
- Excellent written and verbal communication.
Ideally you will be:
- Resourceful with ability to think laterally to problem solve, tracking and reviewing progress to adjust accordingly.
- Happy to take ownership of projects, managing your own time while communicating clearly with others where deliverables are interdependent.
- Passionate about entertainment and its potential to shift perceptions.
- Confident with putting forward ideas, asking for and responding to feedback and coming up with actionable plans to make things happen.
- Able to establish rapport and build positive working relationships with a variety of people.
- Delivery focused with excellent attention to detail.
- Enjoys a fast-paced and evolving environment [complex/start up]
- Excited about hybrid working as part of a small but growing team, where you can play a positive part in shaping the organisation’s work and its working culture.
If you believe you have the skills and passion to succeed, we encourage you to apply. We are eager to hear from individuals who are enthusiastic about learning and growing with us.
What you will receive on top of your salary:
- Optional enrolment into OKRE’s workplace pension scheme.
- Free access to Wellcome’s onsite Nuffield Gym.
- Access to Employee Assistance Programme.
- Access to a varied menu of hot and cold food options at Wellcome’s staff food outlets, at prices substantially lower than Central London averages.
- Great views over the city from our 6th floor central London office opposite Euston station. We are based in the building that houses the Wellcome Collection, a museum and library connecting science, medicine, life and art.
How to apply for this role:
To apply please send a CV and cover letter. Together, these should clearly set out how you meet the skills and experience required and why you are applying for this role at OKRE. Candidates will be shortlisted for interview on this basis. Please send them to officemanager{@}okre{dot}org by Monday 9th June
Diversity and Inclusion
Diversity and inclusion are at the heart of everything we do and we actively encourage applications from those at different life stages.
We are committed to creating an environment where all employees, workers and job applicants can thrive.
We work to make our recruitment processes as inclusive as possible. If you would like us to make adjustments during the application process, please contact us by emailing officemanager{@}okre{dot}org with the subject line ‘Application Process’.
We expect our team to treat others on their merits and challenge any form of direct or indirect discrimination, victimisation, or sexual, racial or any other type of harassment.
Feedback & process
We receive a high volume of applications to our open positions and consequently can’t provide feedback to every application. We will confirm receipt of your application via email.
We will invite shortlisted applicants to online interviews on 16th or 17th June.
Final interviews will be held in person at our central London office on 24th or 26th June.
All candidates selected for interviews will receive feedback if requested.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.