Contract Policy/Research Jobs in Greater London
We are seeking an interim Senior Manager to oversee our programmes and activities, engaging the engineering industry on diversity & inclusion, on a fixed term basis (up to 15 months).
The role
As interim Senior Manager, Diversity and Inclusion (D&I), you’ll join our dedicated team of diversity professionals at an exciting time, with the opportunity to build momentum across a broad portfolio of impactful diversity and inclusion programmes. Reporting to the Head of Diversity and Inclusion, you will provide oversight and support on the Academy’s work, engaging engineering companies and engineers in industry to increase diversity and embed inclusive cultures.
Leading a team of thee three Programme Managers, you will oversee the successful delivery of exciting, externally facing D&I initiatives, including:
- The Graduate Engineering Engagement Programme (GEEP): Supporting students from underrepresented backgrounds in engineering to transition into engineering employment.
- The Inclusive Leadership Programme (ILP): Empowering leaders at different career stages to embed inclusive practices within their organisations.
- The online EDI Platform Culture+: supporting small and medium engineering organisations to develop behaviours and processes which foster an inclusive culture.
- Our wider programme of industry engagement events raising awareness, building understanding and inspiring action to implement D&I good practice within engineering settings.
Who are we looking for?
We are looking for talented people who want to make a difference, to join our team – is this you?
You’ll be an experienced diversity and inclusion professional with strong relationship management and strategic thinking skills who can contribute effectively to the Academy’s D&I initiatives.
You will need strong knowledge of project management methodologies and demonstrable experience of delivering large scale cultural change and/or organisation development programmes aimed at increasing diversity and inclusion. Experience of line management with the ability to provide support and empathy to your direct reports while empowering them to maximise their potential is also essential for this role.
Who are we?
Engineering matters. It shapes our everyday lives, from our ability to turn the lights on, have a hot shower and commute into work, to the mobile phones we rely on to keep connected. It also plays a vital role in addressing some of the biggest challenges facing society today, from climate change to global health pandemics and cyber threats.
The Royal Academy of Engineering is a charity that harnesses the power of engineering to build a sustainable society and an inclusive economy that works for everyone. In collaboration with our Fellows and partners, we’re growing talent and developing skills for the future, driving innovation, and building global partnerships, and influencing policy and engaging the public. Together we’re working to tackle the greatest challenges of our age.
With a diverse workforce and an inclusive and supportive culture, we look to attract candidates from wide and different backgrounds who have a passion for the role engineering plays in society. Our aim is to make the Academy the best place to work for the staff we have and those we seek to attract.
Why work for the Royal Academy of Engineering?
We’re looking for people who are driven to make the world a better place. If you’re passionate about what you do and want to work collaboratively with talented colleagues to make change happen now and for future generations, we want you to get in touch.
This is the perfect time to join us. We have a dynamic, visionary CEO, a strong leadership team and an ambitious and exciting strategy. The value we bring as experts in our field and change agents is highly recognised and makes the Academy a motivating place to be. Our work today builds on a long, proud history with a focused and ambitious future which we’d love you to be part of.
Company Benefits
The Academy offers a fantastic package of additional benefits including:
- BUPA cash plan
- Private medical insurance
- Access to Employee Assistance Programme
- Independent Financial Advice
- Non-contributory pension scheme with 10% employer contribution
- Life Assurance, 4x annual salary
- Health and wellbeing programmes
- Generous holiday allowance
- Wellbeing days and office wide Christmas leave
- Significant investment into your personal and professional development
- Regular social activities
- Subsidised restaurant
Location
Our light, spacious head office is based in a fantastic location in central London with views over St James’s Park and close to the West End. We operate hybrid, flexible working practices with a baseline for office-based working of a mandatory weekly team day plus further days each week as required for the role and the Academy.
How to apply/Interview process
To find out more and to apply, please visit our website. As part of your application, you will be asked to upload a CV and a supporting statement explaining your interest in this role and how you fit the experience, knowledge, and skills profile.
Closing date: 25 April 2024.
Interview date: w/c 29 April 2024.
The Academy is committed to making reasonable adjustments to remove barriers that hinder applicants from applying or staff from working effectively and comfortably.
The Public Affairs Assistant will work with the Public Affairs Manager, Director of Policy and Evidence and the Policy and Campaigns Team to help influence decision makers and build stronger relationships with stakeholders, and ensure there is better understanding of the impact that challenges with talking and understanding words can have on a child and young person’s life.
We are Speech and Language UK (formerly I CAN) – we want every child to face the future with confidence. For 1.9 million children in the UK learning to talk and understand words feels like an impossible hurdle. We want to reach children earlier to make sure every child has the skills to face the future. We design innovative tools and training for staff in schools and settings, give families the confidence and skills to help their child and put pressure on politicians to prioritise support for children.
The post-holder will:
· Provide the administrative support to the Speech, Language and Communication Alliance playing a key role in support the charity to foster stronger relationships with key partners
· Support the Public Affairs Manager in dissemination of briefings and correspondence with parliamentarians and civil servants, including setting up meetings
· Attend meetings as required, both in person and online to facilitate record keeping and liaison
· Maintain the Microsoft Team and SharePoint sites so that documents and notes are securely stored and accessible and version control is maintained.
We are keen to hear from you if you have:
· Previous office/administrative experience (paid or unpaid).
· Proficiency in Microsoft Office products (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook).
· Excellent interpersonal and communication skills (verbal and written).
· Commitment to the overall aims of the charity.
· Flexible, positive attitude towards performing a variety of duties.
· Willingness to develop/learn in the role.
To apply, please submit your up-to-date CV and a covering letter of no more than two pages, addressing how you meet the criteria above by Monday 29th April, 9am. Interviews are due to take place on 7th May.
Please note that we will not close applications before this time and date as we recognise that candidates put in a lot of time and effort into making an application and we want to give each of you the time and space to put in an application you feel proud of.
Please note that we will not shortlist candidates who do not submit a CV and a supporting statement.
Due to the volume of applications we receive, unfortunately, we are not always able to respond to every applicant. If you have not received a response within one week after the closing date, you have not been successful on this occasion.
Speech and Language UK is passionate about promoting equality, valuing diversity and working inclusively. We welcome applications from all suitably qualified persons particularly Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic applicants, as these groups are currently under-represented in our workforce.
We are committed to safer recruitment practices and to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all children. We expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Our programme supporting Higher Technical Education has big ambitions. Known as the ‘missing middle’ of higher education in England, we want to see the declines in level 4 and 5 technical education reversed and more providers emerge who can offer high-quality education and training to help people access highskilled occupations. Key to this transformation is the role of Institutes of Technology (IoTs) – collaborations between further education colleges, universities and employers – and we have been working closely with the National Network of Institutes of Technology to support their success. We are looking for a Project Officer to play an integral part in the successful delivery of this programme, as well as becoming an advocate for Higher Technical Qualifications more broadly.
This role sits within the small Higher Education Team at Gatsby, and you will work closely with the Project Manager and Director of Programmes to: develop and deliver a range of projects to support our programme objectives; represent Gatsby at external meetings; organise meetings and events; and develop strong working relationships with key partners.
Key Role Responsibilities:
- Deliver projects to support Gatsby’s Higher Technical Education programme, with clear objectives and planning, delivering outputs on time and within budget.
- Research, create and write compelling communications that support programme objectives.
- Co-ordinate regular meetings and external events, including drafting agendas, writing minutes, liaising with and organising contributions from external stakeholders.
- Work effectively with other Gatsby programme teams to ensure higher technical education is appropriately represented within their areas of focus.
- Commission consultants/researchers to undertake pieces of work that will inform programme direction.
- Undertake project evaluations to measure success, analysing outputs/feedback and making informed recommendations to improve activity.
- Manage the National Network of Institutes of Technology website and LinkedIn pages, ensuring they remain a compelling national presence with engaging and relevant content.
- Provide administrative and budget support for beneficiary grants and contracts.
- Create and maintain data and contact information relevant to the Institutes of Technology and other key stakeholders in higher technical education.
- Maintain a secure understanding of all high-level Gatsby policy positions and able to communicate them effectively in written form and verbally.
About You:
Experience
- Managed projects to successful outcomes, including some budget responsibility.
- Organised meetings and external events.
- Managed external contracts or grants to deliver agreed objectives on time and within budget.
- Developed and maintained a network of external contacts.
- Have produced effective communication materials for different audiences.
Knowledge & Expertise
- Some knowledge and understanding of the UK post-18 education and skills landscape.
- Basic understanding of the ways in which policy decisions are influenced and enacted in England.
Skills & Abilities
- Comfortable working with partners in education and industry, able to initiate and develop positive relationships with a diverse range of people and organisations.
- Able to persuade, engage and build rapport quickly with new contacts, and maintain important working partnerships.
- Oral and written fluency in English and able to prepare and present accurate and readable briefings and reports from complex information.
- Constantly striving to improve own projects and processes. Open to new ideas and ways of doing things, enabling constructive contributions to organisational progress and innovation.
- Able to set and meet own deadlines under pressure, often balancing conflicting priorities, and dealing calmly with unforeseen issues.
- Diplomatic and politically sensitive, using good judgement and evidence to form opinions.
- An ability to apply an awareness of diversity issues to all areas of work.
Personal Attributes & Other Requirements
- Strong interest in the role of technical education and careers guidance in improving life chances.
- Highly self-motivated, setting high standards for themselves and those they work with.
- Commitment to anti-discriminatory practice and equal opportunities.
- Enjoys working as part of a small team.
- Able to be flexible about working hours and locations, including working remotely and travelling to meetings around the UK and potentially overseas (may include overnight stays).
For the full job pack and details of the application process, please click the How to Apply button.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
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Job Description: Fellowship Programme Assistant – Active Fellows
Line Manager: Team Leader (Active Fellows)
Objective: The programme assistant provides individualised support to Fellows and facilitates placements/extensions.
Experience: Bachelors’ degree or comparable experience
Duration: For an initial period of 12 months, subject to review.
Hours: Full-time. Eight hours each day Monday – Friday, with flexible working by arrangement around core hours of 10am – 4pm.
Location: Hybrid working - in London office in Elephant and Castle SE1 (2/3 set days per week) and working from home on the remaining days.
Start: 1 May 2024 or shortly thereafter.
Salary: £29,160.
Number of posts: One.
Application deadline: 25/04/2024.
Organisational Background
The Council for At-Risk Academics is a UK-registered charity founded in 1933 under the leadership of William Beveridge, to rescue academics suffering persecution under the rise of Nazism and facilitate their continued work in safety. Sixteen Cara Fellows from the 1930s and 1940s became Nobel Laureates, and many more innovators in their fields, including, Nikolaus Pevsner, Lise Meitner and Karl Popper. A number of Cara’s founders and Council members also personally provided places and/or funds to help individual academics; and Cara, known in the 1930s as the AAC, later the SPSL, was closely involved in the successful effort in 1933 to bring to London the Warburg Institute art library, which had been prohibited by the Nazis, and six of its staff. The Fellowship Programme is the continuation of the rescue mission operation started in 1933.
Cara has been a lifeline to academics at risk for just over 90 years, as and when world events have placed them in the line of fire: Hungarian Uprising, Cold War, Apartheid South Africa, Iran, Latin American Juntas, Vietnam, Kosovo, DRC, Rwanda, Sudan, Zimbabwe etc. and, more recently Iraq, Turkey, Yemen, Palestine, Syria, Afghanistan and Ukraine. Cara support is typically framed as temporary sanctuary offered at times of heightened risk.
Cara Objectives ‘To assist academics who have been, or are, or are at risk of being, subject to discrimination, persecution, suffering or violence on account of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion, to relieve needs among them and their dependants and ensure that their specialist knowledge and abilities can continue to be used for the benefit of the public.’
‘To advance education by supporting academics and their educational institutions in countries where their continuing work is at risk or compromised, to ensure that such academics and institutions can continue to fulfil their critical role as educators for the public benefit.’
This is a critical time to join our dedicated and friendly Fellowship Programme team as we expand our capacity to support at-risk academics from the Middle East, Myanmar, Afghanistan, Ukraine and Russia and many other countries.
Fellowship Programme Officer Role & Responsibilities
Casework
- Provide support for a caseload of at-risk academics (Cara Fellows) carrying out research placements at UK or international universities
- Assess Fellows’ suitability for academic placements/extensions
- Assess, arrange or signpost additional support for Fellows
- Develop relationships with universities and other partner organisations
- Secure fee waivers, bursaries & in-kind support from universities, research institutes and other funding bodies.
- Provide logistical support for visa processes, travel, etc.
- Write and send official documents to Fellows
- Request relevant invoices and produce documentation needed to make payments
- Attend weekly case meetings with the team
Administration
- Provide support to the drafting of reports to funders
- Present and collect data
- Ensure Fellows have submitted their quarterly reports
- Ensure safekeeping of confidential information
- Maintain excellent detailed records of correspondence, documents, and activities
Managerial Support
- Contributing to Fellowship Programme policy changes and decision-making
- Provide advice and guidance to colleagues
Responsibilities also include related activities that might arise in relation to the Fellowship Programme
as required by the Executive Director or Deputy Director/Fellowship Programme Manager.
Benefits of Role
· Challenging but rewarding work, always life-changing, sometimes life-saving
· Competitive salary
· Team and individual training opportunities
· Weekly case review meetings with line manager, plus quarterly 1-1 sessions with manager to discuss role and to plan individual professional development
· Hybrid working, home and office (usually 2 days each week in the office)
· Eight hours each day Monday – Friday, with flexible working by arrangement around core hours of 10am – 4pm
· 25 days plus Bank Holidays annual leave entitlement
· 8% employer pension contribution
· Convenient office location at Elephant and Castle, close to Tube (Bakerloo and Northern lines) and bus routes
Person Specification
Essential
- Bachelor's degree
- Proactive with a willingness to learn
- Great communication skills – internal and external stakeholders
- Ability to manage workload in a fast-paced environment
- Excellent record keeping and attention to detail
- Keen team player who is ready to support and help colleagues
- Ability to work independently and in a team
- Good time management with ability to prioritise and independently work to deadlines, and shift priorities when required
- Understanding of issues of confidentiality
- Interest in and commitment to the work of Cara
- Confident user of Microsoft package
- Ability to have difficult conversations
Desirable
- Confident user of Salesforce
- Experience in a supporting role with people with lived experience of forced migration
-Arabic language skills are desirable. Other foreign languages (such as Farsi/Dari, Pashto, Ukrainian and Russian) will also be considered.
Cara provides help to academics in immediate danger, those forced into exile, and those who remain and work in their home countries despite the risks.
About the Foundation:
The Avicenna Foundation was set up in 2023 to to support outstanding young British Muslims by providing them with scholarships for their undergraduate degree. The scholarships are mainly focused on awarding scholarships in the Social Sciences and Humanities for those interested in politics, policy-making and becoming agents of positive change.
Alongside the scholarship, the Avicenna Foundation runs a development programme for the scholars to expand their skills and abilities in various areas like leadership, communication and collaboration.
The Foundation has developed immensely in the first year with the launch of the charity; onboarding of it’s first cohort of 30 scholars and the development of a leadership programme. It now needs propelling into the next stage as the charity develops to ensure a robust charity structure and programme in place.
Key Responsibilities:
Operations:
- Manage the day-to-day operations of the charity, and manage changes required within programmes and activities as a result of changing external landscapes or contexts.
- Implement strategies for advertising the scholarships, receiving and reviewing applications, shortlisting candidates, conducting interviews, and making final selection decisions. Some of these things are already in place and may need reviewing and enhancing.
- Work with the Scholar Development Coordinator to oversee the leadership development programme, provide guidance and help the programme to grow.
- Maintain regular communication with the scholars, their progress, and address any issues or concerns that may arise.
- Ensure programme objectives and outcomes align with the overall strategy and aims of the Foundation, and are realistic and achievable within timeframes and budgets.
- Organise any events, programmes necessary to the scholars.
- Use data to track progress and drive improvement; proactively manage risks; and ensure effective use of the Foundation’s resources and budgets allocated to you.
Governance:
- Provide leadership and guidance to achieve consistency of governance across all of the Foundation’s activities, from development, delivery, measurement and evaluation and reporting perspectives.
- Regular communication and updates to the board, prepare board papers and contribute to Trustee meetings as required.
- Create, maintain and ensure continued adoption of governance frameworks, policies and templates.
- Ensure implementation and maintenance of risk registers for the charity and across all programmes.
- Manage finances, budgeting, reporting, and record-keeping
- Prepare the Foundation’s annual report.
External Engagement
- Lead on strategic communications by developing and implementing an integrated public affairs and communication plan that are consistent with the goals and values of the Foundation.
- Building and cultivating exceptional diverse reciprocal partnerships across a wide range of stakeholder groups, grounded in delivering impact through collaboration.
- Work with educational partners to enhance the quality and effectiveness of the scholarship programme
- Leverage messaging and networks to positively impact the growth and reputation of the Foundation.
- Strengthen our brand reputation to maximise our impact and reach.
- Help identify, create and develop meaningful opportunities for the young people the Foundation works with.
- Establish an alumni network and support continuous professional development for alumni.
- Produce briefings and critical information for internal and external stakeholders, and review reports, submissions, and letters where appropriate.
Experience and Skills
This is not a prescriptive list, and we do not expect applicants to meet every item outlined below. We recognise that it can be hard to find the ideal balance of knowledge and skills for this role. We are open to what this balance is, so if you are stronger in one or the other area but think you could do the job please still apply, and tell us why the role is right for you.
Required
- An appreciation and understanding of the Foundation’s values and vision.
- Outstanding communication skills, both verbal and written, combined with the ability to liaise with senior stakeholders.
- Experience in successful partnership working.
- Excellent interpersonal skills with the ability to build relationships, lead, influence and motivate others.
- Good financial acumen and experience of managing and working within set budgets.
- A proactive, flexible approach, and ability to progress work independently in a fast-paced environment.
- Diplomatic approach and highly self-motivated with a positive and energetic attitude.
- Focuses on what matters most, setting priorities and adapting them where required, with the right level of communication.
- Excellent attention to detail, accuracy and organisational skills.
- Takes satisfaction in delivering work to a consistently high standard, and programmes on time and on budget.
- Communicates clearly and confidently to senior team members, and presents information effectively, at the right time, with the right level of information.
- Plans ahead, anticipates and reacts to change and project needs, and remains flexible and adaptive in the face of change.
- Experience of working to tight deadlines without close supervision.
- The ability to identify personal strengths and weaknesses, and a willingness to develop, adapt and learn
- A passion and interest in developing work streams to support the development of young people.
- A high level of digital literacy to include MS Office, G Suite, social media and other online platforms.
Advantageous
- Knowledge and experience in effective charity governance, with experience working within the charity/non-profit space.
- Understanding of the policy and campaign landscape in the UK as it relates to issues impacting students, young people and Muslim communities.
- Expertise in project/programme management with proven ability to manage complex projects, including the ability to develop and manage budgets, timelines, and resources.
- Structured thinking when working through problems, overcoming hurdles, mitigating risks and dealing with issues.
- Confidence in, and experience in, liaising with a wide range of stakeholders and project participants
- Previous work within areas of young people, local communities, or further education is a plus.
- An understanding of effective safeguarding (training can be provided, but experience an advantage)
- An undergraduate or postgraduate degree in a relevant field.
Please note that this job description is a guide to the work you will initially be required to undertake, but does not cover all of the duties the post holder may have to perform. Responsibilities will evolve over time, in discussion with the post holder.