Job Description
The Head of Advocacy and Policy will be responsible for developing an excellent Advice Service and Retention Team to support and advise students effectively to enable excellent student experience and satisfaction.
This role will lead on the development of effective insights, representation and support initiatives/campaigns for students, across our three campuses at Greenwich, Avery Hill and Medway.
This role will enhance work with the diverse student population of the University of Greenwich and lead a dynamic team to ensure students have consistent and accessible services that contribute to positive student experience.
This role sits within the wider Membership Services department, together with other key areas consisting of; Activities, Sport, Academic Communities, Representation and Democracy, we provide a high-quality service for students, that they can shape, steer and be at the heart of.
This postholder will be part of the GSU Senior Leadership Team and will be expected to contribute to department and organisation wide strategic development.
The post holder will:
- Have expert knowledge in areas of in relation to Advice and Retention and policies and legislation relating to such activity
- Support and develop strong student-led communities and campaigns in areas of: Advice, wellbeing and retention so that members can thrive
- Provide line management support to staff so that the team have up to date, specialist advice skills, knowledge and understanding of University regulations, policies and procedures that may affect the work of the Advice service and oversee engagement across Greenwich’s 3 campuses
- Undertake casework and provide expert advice for the team on all aspects of Advice
- Lead on the project management of wellbeing/health promotion campaigns and initiatives throughout the year, as well as any external bids through bodies such as OfS
- Oversee the Retention and Wellbeing Project work, and other relevant projects with external partners
- Lead on insights work relating to retention, wellbeing and support
- Lead on responses to external consultation and enquiry responses, including but not limited to OfS, Department for Education, OIA and Universities UK
- Support elected officers to deliver on campaigning priorities
- Ensure the Advice service has the skills and is equipped to support the diverse needs of students at Greenwich and Kent at Medway.
- Provide regular insights and reports on the GSU Membership to inform our strategy and service provision
- Work with other Heads to develop relevant and modern Front of House services for each GSU campus ensuring ease of access and consistency for all members.
Key Areas
- Be an engaged and active member of the Senior Leadership team, contributing regularly and working collaboratively with peers
- Provide leadership, strategic direction and day to day operational management to the Advocacy and Policy: recruiting and inducting members of staff, motivating, supporting and developing team members to ensure they have the necessary skills and knowledge for their roles as well as manage performance
- Develop a proactive results driven culture within the team, ensuring agreed objectives and targets are delivered, whilst promoting a collaborative approach to working with internal departments
- Develop succession plans and identify training and development opportunities within the team
- Be accountable for the quality of outputs of the team
- Provide support to the Officer team helping and equipping them, particularly in their roles as representatives and providing pastoral support and guidance.
- Ensure the whole organisation is aware of and understands the work of the Advocacy and Policy Team and its contribution to our strategic objectives
- To maintain expert and up-to-date knowledge on sector policies and regulations relating to advice, retention and student success, providing relevant guidance to officers and staff as required.
- Develop and promote a culture of continuous improvement across the team to ensure we can adapt to changing students’ needs and priorities, as well as building on successes and preparing for the future.
Strategic Development
- Contribute to the strategic objectives of GSU, with a particular focus on advice, support and wellbeing in relation to the student experience
- Develop and oversee a new and innovative approach to proactive health and wellbeing campaigns that empower students to look after themselves and each other, as well as seeking support
- Lead on Access and Participation Plan Engagement, acting as the key contact on this area with the University.
- Build and maintain strong working relationships with relevant senior UoG staff and departments including Student Academic Services, Faculties and our partners at Kent Unio
- Develop and oversee the Advice service to support advocacy initiatives at multiple levels within the University, ensuring both students and University stakeholders view GSU as a credible and reliable source of information on the needs of students.
Monitoring and Evaluation
- Develop and oversee a structured approach to gathering, analysing and reporting on data relating to engagement of students with our services and to student views on key issues relating to retention and success
- Develop and oversee processes of collecting quantitative and qualitative data from casework to analyse trends and inform feedback for the SU and university
- Ensure evaluation mechanism are embedded in the teams working practises and that findings are shared and used to implement learnings with the goal of improving services
- Support Officers by preparing information, statistics and trends about key services to be shared within the University committee cycle
- Be responsible for the implementation of service standards for the Advocacy and Policy Team and to monitor and report on adherence to these standards
- Prepare materials to apply for any relevant quality mark accreditations for the service.
Budget and Financial Management
- Manage a budget relating to Advocacy and Policy including any restricted funds.
- Be responsible for the teams resources, ensuring these are effectively allocated, managed and controlled
- Review and establish processes, systems, polices and where appropriate standard procedures to maximise efficiency ensure deadlines are met and a positive return on investment
- Review and provide narrative for scrutiny at monthly management meetings with the Finance Team
Stakeholder management
- Collaborate with GSU colleagues, particularly the Student Voice and Engagement Teams to ensure we have a consistent approach to how we work with and support students
- Work with students through our representative structures and forums to ensure we shape services students want and need, taking into consideration the varying campus priorities
- Maintain strong relationships with key university staff to develop, deliver and evaluate collaborative projects and interventions supporting advice and retention
- Attend meetings relating to Advocacy and Policy as well as associated areas at both GSU, the University and externally, included, but not limited to regional networks
- Identify opportunities to share best practice and represent the work of GSU and your team to the wider HE community, through conferences and publication.
Personal Specification
Essential Experience
- Line management experience
- Relevant experience working in the youth, education, students’ union or other membership or advisory organisation
- Experience of leading a multi-functional team
- Experience of mentoring coaching staff/elected officers
- Experience of developing operational policies and procedures
- Experience of budget management, project management, and operational management
- Experience of working with a range of stakeholders and partnership working or strategic networking
Essential Skills and Abilities
- Ability to work with and lead a high performing team
- Ability to troubleshoot difficult situations, and deal with them calmly, efficiently and effectively
- Ability to produce confident, clear written reports and be able to write succinct documents on complex areas
- IT skills at a level that supports membership CRM systems, Advice Pro and other platforms
- Excellent time management and organisational skills with the ability to manage others to reach deadlines, within agreed budgets and to a consistently high standard
- Ability to write strategies and be able to effectively communicate vision and mission
- Ability to stay focused and efficient in the face on changing priorities
- Track record of successfully developing and implementing projects and operational change
- Able to draft policies and procures with an eye for detail and accuracy
Essential Knowledge
- Awareness of current issues within the higher education sector
- Knowledge of relevant external bodies and organisations including Advice UK, NUS, Citizens Advice, OIA, Ofs, Student Minds
- Knowledge of relevant health and safety legislation
- Knowledge of Safeguarding, advice legislation, risk assessments and GDPR
- Knowledge of providing 121 support
Education/Training
- No one specific qualification is required, but evidence of recent continuing professional development in a professional area relevant to the post is required. For example: ILM, City &Guilds etc.
Personal Attributes and other requirements
- Able to travel within the Borough and Region.
- Able to work some evenings and weekends and stay overnight where necessary.
- Works well in a team with a flexible approach to work
- Be eligible for a DBS check if needed
- A commitment to the principles and practices of equality and diversity
- An ability to apply awareness of diversity issues to all areas of work.
- Commitment to the values and ethos of GSU.
Desirable other requirements
- Visionary, creative, and innovative strategist
- A positive, solution focused leader – able to make ‘tough’ decisions; determined and resilient in order to cope with the demands of the role
- Empowering, authentic leader with high levels of emotional intelligence
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
WHAT IS START NETWORK?
Our purpose is to be a catalyst for system-level change that improves the efficiency, effectiveness and ethics of humanitarian action. We do this by working as a network to develop, test & spread new ways of collaborating and resourcing locally-led crisis response and anticipation.
Our current membership is made up of nearly 100 local, national and international NGOs based all around the world. We also support 10 national and regional hubs made up of civil society organisations and NGOs as our vehicle for devolving power, resources and accountability.
OUR SOLUTIONS
DECENTRAISLING & LOCALLY-LED ACTION: Shifting power and resources and decentralising decision-making to locally led networks and organisations.
EARLY & RAPID FINANCING: Building a global financing system that reduces risk, anticipates, and acts ahead of predictable crises.
COMMUNITY-LED INNOVATION: Incentivising innovative, locally led, and contextual solutions and learning from them together with people affected by crises.
For more information about Start Network and what we do, please visit our website.
OUR VALUES
WE PUT PEOPLE FIRST: Communities come first in our decision-making and programming.
WE ARE BRAVE: We have great ambition and are willing to explore new things and take risks to achieve it
WE OPERATE COLLECTIVELY: We leverage the value of working as a network, sharing risk and resources, and learning together.
WE ARE INCLUSIVE: We see the value in diverse perspectives and work to remove the barriers that prevent voices from being heard.
WE ARE OPEN: We work transparently and with integrity, building mutual trust in all levels of our work, from governance to programming.
WE ARE ETHICAL: We behave and operate based on key principles of anti-racism, non-discrimination, and anti-colonialism. This is a work in progress.
JOB PURPOSE
The role will support the research activities of Start Network and its programmes and initiatives.
Working within the Evidence & Learning team, the Research Officer will conduct research, interpret data and communicate findings across of a range of programmes and initiatives which support evidencing the impact and learning of Start Network activities. These could involve supporting in the design and administration of data collection projects; as well as cleaning, processing, and analysing primary data and literature and desk reviews. The successful applicant will require basic research skills and additional skills will be learned on the job through guidance provided by the other members of the Evidence & Learning team.
KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES
Research
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Lead and support with undertaking research, including desk reviews, conducting landscape analyses and literature reviews using a range of materials and sources, including online platforms.
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Support with the design and implementation of data collection tools for primary data (e.g., surveys, focus group discussions, and in-depth interviews) and secondary data collection.
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Work with both qualitative and quantitative data, including interview transcription, data cleaning, processing, and analysis.
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Support key teams with research and analysis for their programme and initiative areas.
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Work with a range of staff across key initiatives to formulate and test research ideas.
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Assist with managing and supporting external consultants
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Support with Presenting Research Findings
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Develop, and co-develop, technical reports, PowerPoint presentations, and other written pieces for a range of audiences and platforms, both internally and externally.
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Create relevant graphics and visualisations to present qualitative and quantitative information.
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Present, and work alongside others to present, information to a range of key stakeholders including donors, Start Network member organisations and academics in formal and informal settings.
Information Management
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Work alongside others in the team to establish and maintain libraries of relevant information related to stakeholders and partners.
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Create tools related to information management (e.g., informed consent forms) and in obtaining consent and permissions for various research projects and products from member representatives and other key stakeholders.
START NETWORK CULTURE
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To carry out the responsibilities of the role in line with the Start Network Code of Conduct and with a commitment to safeguarding adults and children
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A commitment to the Start Network vision, principles, values, and approach
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The Start Network team is an agile group of individuals who use their experience and skills across the network, so flexibility to work in and with different teams and functions is a part of our culture.
PERSON PROFILE
SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE
ESSENTIAL
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Experience in research skills including literature reviews and data analysis.
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Working knowledge of Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint necessary, experience with standard data analysis, graphics, and presentation tools and packages preferred
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Familiar with best practices and practical application of both quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis
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Some experience in questionnaire and survey design and basic statistics
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Strong communication skills, including being able to communicate ideas clearly across a range of mediums and professionally to a range of stakeholders.
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Strong interpersonal skills, being able to work across the Start Network team, with members, consultants, and other stakeholders.
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Strong attention to detail
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Good organisational skills, being able to handle and manage multiple projects and datasets while working to deadlines.
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Degree in a quantitative or social science field
DESIRABLE
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Experience in social research (desirable).
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Experience using Salesforce (desirable).
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Relevant language skills, particularly in French and/or Spanish (desirable).…
KEY COMPETENCIES
Communication:
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Promote different ways to engage different audiences, working with others on how to maximise impact.
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Build trust by doing what you say you will do and admitting when you don’t know something or when you have made a mistake.
Strategic Thinking:
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Actively seeking to understand how your role fits into the work of the team and network by asking questions and working on cross-team initiatives.
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Able to plan and deliver flexibly to take account of changing internal and/or external factors by reprioritising and asking for help.
Collaboration:
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Actively promote collaboration by spotting and breaking down barriers to siloed working, connecting colleagues, teams and initiatives
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Build networks internally and externally by showing curiosity and learning from others.
Leadership of self and others:
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Understand own strengths and shadows and how these interrelated with others through review and reflection.
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Open and responsive to feedback
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Seek to understand and act upon own areas for growth, reflecting and learning from things that have not gone so well by showing vulnerability and openness to change
Ability to adapt and learn:
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Seek to learn lessons and apply the learning to future work by actively asking questions, being honest, curious, and brave to abandon things that are not working.
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Able to reprioritise and shift focus in response to changing needs of the organisation or network by being aware of how your role sits in the system.
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Balance the need to follow systems and processes with the courage, identifying when systems and processes do not align with the mission, suggesting alternatives
Getting things done the Start Network way:
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Overcome obstacles by taking initiatives to identify issues, seeking help to address them and escalating appropriately.