Policy Officer (Research and Innovation)

GuildHE

London, Greater London (Hybrid)

£35,159 - £36,935 per year

Full-time

Permanent

Education

Using Anonymous Recruitment

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Job description

Salary: £35,159 to £36,935 (starting salary range)

Working pattern: Full-time, Permanent (35 hours per week)

Pension: USS

Annual leave: 25 days plus 8 bank holidays, 3 well-being days, and a Christmas office closure

Location: Hybrid, flexible working model with an office located in central London. Occasional UK-wide travel for GHE and relevant events.

Reports to: Policy Manager (Skills, Innovation, International)

Purpose

GuildHE is seeking an ambitious Policy Officer to play a pivotal role in the next phase of our organisation’s growth. Working directly with the Head of Research Policy and the Policy Manager (Skills, Innovation, International), you will help monitor, analyse, and respond to policy initiatives within the research and innovation space. You will support a range of member-focused events and activities to ensure staff in our member institutions are well-informed and supported. This includes supporting the management of the GuildHE Research Consortium and leading on the organising and delivery of our flagship annual PGR Doctoral Festival, helping our members develop, share best practices, and maximise their research impact.

Key Responsibilities

Policy Analysis & Communication

Horizon Scanning: Monitor government departments (e.g., DSIT, DfE), funding and regulatory bodies (UKRI, Research England, OfS, Innovate UK), and other stakeholders for policy updates, funding calls, and consultation launches in relation to Research and Innovation policy.
Briefings: Produce concise policy briefings, data summaries, and position papers for GuildHE members and leadership on key Research and Innovation issues (e.g., REF, knowledge exchange, KEF, commercialisation, research culture, open research). Develop high-quality external reports, consultations, blogs and other materials articulating member challenges and opportunities.
Consultation Drafts: Assist senior policy colleagues in gathering evidence, analysing member feedback, collaborating with sector stakeholders, and drafting compelling arguments that articulate the unique perspectives of GuildHE institutions.
Share Best Practice: Identify case studies across the GHE membership to share best practice internally and externally and drive national conversations about new ways of working and operating in the sector.
Policy issues: Maintain up-to-date knowledge of national and institutional research and innovation policies indicated by the Head of Research Policy or Policy Manager (Research, Innovation, International).

Member Support & Consortium Coordination

Member Engagement: Maintain regular, positive communication with research and innovation leads across member institutions, fostering a collaborative network. Support relevant GuildHE member networks, including the Knowledge Exchange, Innovation and Place network, promoting communication, collaboration, and best practice exchange to inform evidence-based policy development.
Member development: Provide support for timely implementation of good practice guidelines and associated resources, within agreed budgets. This includes assisting with members' business development initiatives, such as Research Degree Awarding Powers.
Event Delivery: Develop and deliver content for events including the GuildHE Research Consortium meetings, the Research and Knowledge Exchange Symposium, PGR Doctoral Festival, the PGR Network for global majority students and sandpits/match events, workshops and roundtables.
Shared Services: Collaborate with other GHE teammates to maintain and deliver our shared services (i.e. research outputs repository, shared postgraduate online training, research impact tracking and researcher development tools) and explore new services in response to members’ needs
PGR Students: Develop and deliver initiatives for postgraduate students and early career researchers (e.g., our PGR Support Programme and associated student networks), working closely with the Policy Manager (Student Experience) to ensure postgraduate students are reflected in broader student support policies.

The postholder will also be expected to:

Actively support the delivery of the GuildHE strategy.
To contribute positively to a small, professional team focused on delivering excellence in their members’ interests.
Support GuildHE events and communication activities as appropriate - including campaigns, writing articles, blogs and press releases.
Build strong relationships with key stakeholders at HE institutions and sector agencies, including senior leaders, academics, and policy staff.
Gather feedback from HE institutions and use this to inform the continuous improvement of our services.
Demonstrate a proactive approach to embedding EDI principles within all policy development and advocacy efforts.
Represent GuildHE externally on a range of HE sector groups and projects and deputise for the Head of Research Policy or the Policy Manager (Skills, Innovation and International) as appropriate.
Undertake any other reasonable duties as may be required.

Person Specification

Core Skills

Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to build and maintain strong relationships
Clear, concise writing skills for drafting policy responses, reports, and emails to senior stakeholders with excellent attention to detail.
Problem-solving, Influencing and advocacy skills
Ability to digest complex, lengthy policy documents and extract key themes relevant to GuildHE members.
Confident digital skills and highly proficient user of computer packages including MS Office and G Suite
Ability to manage multiple tasks effectively, adhere deadlines, and maintain project momentum. This includes the capacity to monitor progress, identify and mitigate potential risks, and proactively address challenges.
Experience in using data and evidence to enhance and impact assess activities.
Facilitation and convening skills would be advantageous

Core Attributes

Ability to build professional relationships quickly and sustainably with members and a wide range of stakeholders
Able to meet deadlines, to prioritise work and to anticipate issues and problems with strong attention to detail
A collaborative, communicative and flexible team player who is also comfortable working independently.
An individual who shares our values of equity and inclusion and can translate these values into day to day work and impactful outcomes.
An understanding of, or a keen interest in, the UK higher education sector, research funding landscape, or public policy.
To be willing to travel across the UK for meetings with members, stakeholders and events and to work flexibly, when and where necessary.

Ideal Experience

Knowledge and understanding of higher education policy, working in research and innovation and/or supporting a research environment.
Experience of developing policy positions and responses
Experience in synthesising complex data and/or ideas
Experience in supporting training and development

Job Advert

GuildHE is a formal representative body, representing diversity in the higher education sector and the widest variety of institution types across the UK. We are undergoing an exciting period of transformation, evolving our policy approach and member-focused services to significantly increase our impact within the sector and ensure we’re providing timely, proactive support to our members as they address emerging 21st century challenges.

If you think you can bring bold, creative and proactive energy to our small-and-mighty team to help take us to the next level, we want to hear from you!

Application closing date: Monday 12th July

Interviews: Tuesday 21st July

Curious about the role? Please contact DanaGamble, Policy Manager for more information