Job Description

Details

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Reference number

429819
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Salary

47,519 - 55,019
Please note, the starting salary will be offered at the minimum of the pay band.
A Civil Service Pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%
GBP
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Job grade

Other
Senior Manager grade equivalent to SEO###

Contract type

Permanent###

Type of role

Policy###

Working pattern

Flexible working, Full-time###

Number of jobs available

1

Contents

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Location About the job Benefits Things you need to know Apply and further information

Location

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Aberystwyth, Cardiff, Llandudno Junction, Merthyr Tydfil, Swansea

About the job

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Job summary

About Us

We are an arm's length body of the Welsh Government, responsible for the strategy, funding and oversight of:

further education higher education including research and innovation; apprenticeships adult community learning; and local authority maintained school sixth forms.

We work in close collaboration with our partners to enable a tertiary education and research system which is centred around the needs of learners; society; and economy with excellence, equality and engagement at its heart.


Our values really matter to us, they help shape the culture of our organisation:

Dysgu

(to learn; to teach; to educate) - learning is at the heart of everything we do. We believe curiosity fuels innovation and helps expand our horizons.

Cydweithio

(to work together; to collaborate; to co-operate) - we can achieve far more together than we ever could alone.

Cynnwys Pawb

(to include everyone; to involve everyone) - we are passionate about inclusion, seeking to create the right conditions for everyone to achieve their full potential.

Rhagori

(to exceed; to excel) - we have high aspirations for tertiary education and research in Wales and always set high standards for ourselves to be the best we can be.

We are proud to be a Disability Confident employer and accredited as a Living Wage employer.

Location

Our headquarters is in 2, Capital Quarter, Cardiff, which has been specifically designed to meet our needs. This is where most colleagues will meet to collaborate, both with each other and with stakeholders.


As we operate across Wales, we also have limited office and collaboration space in Welsh Government offices in Llandudno Junction, Aberystwyth, Swansea and Merthyr Tydfil.

Main Purpose of the job

The Investment and Monitoring team is responsible for the investment and monitoring of a budget in excess of 972m, of which 16.74m for Additional Learning Support. The role is also responsible for leading the management and development of the Financial Contingency fund and Period Dignity funding which are budgets of 6.7m and 0.5m respectively. This role will include the monitoring of the Independent Living Skills programme and the Additional Learning Support Grant for Further Education Colleges.


In addition, you will work with all tertiary providers and internal Medr directorates to ensure the best possible outcomes for all ALN learners.

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Job description

What you'll be doing

Providing support and guidance to providers across the tertiary sector on ALN investment. Monitoring and reviewing provider use of investment against agreed targets and the terms and conditions of funding. Building and maintaining relationships with tertiary education providers, local authorities, and third-sector organizations involved in ALN support. Supporting the development and implementation of ALN-focused elements within the Tertiary Provision Plan Contributing to the analysis of policy documents and ALN-specific data, including learner progress and transition outcomes. Collaborating with internal teams (quality, policy, funding) to share information and ensure alignment on ALN provision and support strategies. Assisting with the gathering of data for provider risk assessments related to ALN provision and transition, including safeguarding and support effectiveness.

Key Challenges

Effective Grant Allocation and Monitoring: Ensuring the Independent Living Skills Programme and Additional Learning Support Grant are allocated and utilised effectively to maximise learner impact. Data Collection and Analysis Complexity: Gathering and analysing complex data related to Additional learning needs (ALN) provision and transition outcomes, to drive evidence-based improvements. Policy Alignment: Ensuring that Medr's investment aligns with national ALN policies. Bridging the Transition Gap: Facilitating seamless transitions for learners with ALN from statutory education to post-16, overcoming potential information and support gaps. Balancing Diverse Stakeholder Needs: Navigating and balancing the needs of providers, local authorities, third-sector organisations, and learners with ALN.

About your team

The Investment and Monitoring team plays a pivotal role in ensuring the compliant and effective use of the budget made available to Medr. The team is responsible for deriving, allocating and monitoring funding across the entire tertiary education sector. They work across Medr with policy, data and analysis, finance and performance teams to ensure our strategic priorities are funded and offer the very best values for money. They have developed credible and strong working relationships with partners and keep abreast of emerging priorities such as net zero and Welsh language provision. The team will work with both internal and external stakeholders using a co-production approach to refine existing funding methodologies and to design and implement new funding approaches to achieve policy priorities.


The team includes 13 people who are geographically dispersed within the Development, Investment and Performance Directorate. This team is made up of some experienced people and with additional team members to be appointed.

Your Line Manager

Gareth is the Head of Tertiary Investment and Monitoring and has recently started his role on the 27th of August.


Prior to joining Medr, Gareth jointly led the school improvement team in Ceredigion Council. Prior to this he was a Programme Area Manager for General Education within the Further education sector. He was a lecturer at both further education and higher education in Mathematics.


Gareth received a doctorate, master's and undergraduate degrees in Mathematics from Aberystwyth University.

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Person specification

What you will bring

Attributes

Inspire People:

You set ambitious goals and inspire others to strive for excellence, driving a culture of continuous improvement.

Agile:

You drive forward improvements, through collaboration, embracing new technologies and nurturing a culture of continuous learning.

Giving and Receiving Constructive Feedback:

You address conflicts and challenges in a constructive manner, seeking to find mutually beneficial solutions.

Humility:

You listen to diverse perspectives and incorporate feedback into decision-making.

Experience

Current knowledge of Additional Learning Needs within the tertiary sector. Experience of gleaning information from complex, multi-source data, which can be incomplete to reach reasonable conclusions.

Welsh Language Requirements

We have evaluated that the Welsh language requirements for this post are:


Desirable


Welsh desirable means that while having Welsh language skills is useful for the role, it is not an assessment criterion, so it won't disadvantage you during recruitment if you don't currently possess these skills.

Benefits

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Alongside your salary of 47,519, Medr contributes 13,766 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

Your perks and benefits

We recognise the importance of looking after ourselves in work and in life, so in recognition of this we provide:

33 days annual leave a year (pro rata) An environment that embraces work life balance. A culture that celebrates diversity and welcomes everyone. Dedicated well-being time to all our people each week. A Cycle to Work Scheme to make owning a bicycle more affordable.

Additional Support when you need it

We know that sometimes you may face challenges or life events that mean you need additional support.

We provide a comprehensive employee assistance programme with remote access to resources and in person support whenever required. We have a special leave policy ensuring everyone in the organisation receives the support they need during difficult times.

More than just a workplace

You will be entitled to take 5 days paid leave per year to undertake voluntary work to support the communities we serve. We will encourage you to grow your networks across Wales, the UK and internationally. We have an active social committee who offer a range of activities for our people to come together outside the work setting. You can participate as much or as little as you want.

Personal and professional development

Once you're offered a post, we will get to know you and work with you to develop a personalised onboarding plan which considers your experience, skills, learning style and knowledge. We'll help you shape your development plans with personalised career conversations and objectives, taking account of delivery goals alongside your career aspirations and helping you own your career. We support all our staff to learn or improve their Welsh language skills.

Things you need to know

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Selection process details

We are really interested in you as an individual and what you will bring to our organisation.


Our assessment process is designed to help us get to know you better enabling us to appoint someone who will thrive in the role and who shares our organisational values.


If you are interested in working with us, please send us your application and personal statement through Civil Service Jobs.


The following attributes and experience will be assessed at sift stage:

Attributes:

Agile

: You drive forward improvements, through collaboration, embracing new technologies and nurturing a culture of continuous learning.

Giving and Receiving Constructive Feedback

: You address conflicts and challenges in a constructive manner, seeking to find mutually beneficial solutions.

Experience

Current knowledge of Additional Learning Needs within the tertiary sector. Experience of gleaning information from complex, multi-source data, which can be incomplete to reach reasonable conclusions.

To be fair to everyone who applies, we won't accept:

Late applications Applications with missing or incomplete information Personal statements over 1,250 words

The deadline for application submission is

Wednesday,

15 October

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Applications are welcome in Welsh and will not be treated less favourably than those submitted in English.


All applications will be notified of their outcomes via Civil Service Jobs at sift and interview stage.


Candidates who successfully navigate the sift stage will be required to complete an online exercise to enable us to determine their behavioural and personality preferences. Immediately on completion you will be given a report which highlights your strengths plus some development tips to help you prepare for interview. Candidates should note that the online exercise is not intended to eliminate anyone from consideration. Instead, it serves as a tool to aid in the decision-making process.


Following this, you will be required to participate in an interview and a presentation which will be conducted on

Thursday, 13 November.

In addition to the attributes and experience assessed at sift stage, the remaining attribute will also be assessed at interview:

Inspire People

: You set ambitious goals and inspire others to strive for excellence, driving a culture of continuous improvement.

Humility:

You listen to diverse perspectives and incorporate feedback into decision-making.

We strive for a diverse and inclusive workplace and we want to help you demonstrate your full potential whatever type of assessment is used. We are happy to discuss any person-centred adjustments required to the recruitment process. Please contact swyddi@medr.cymru


We're looking forward to meeting everyone invited to interview at our headquarters in 2, Capital Quarter, Cardiff. We don't usually pay travel expenses, but if this presents a real barrier to your attendance in person or if you require a reasonable adjustment, please let us know

in advance

by emailing swyddi@medr.cymru so we can discuss and agree arrangements prior to your interview.


Following interview we are committed to offering constructive and actionable feedback to support you on your future career journey.

Next Steps

Interested
? Want to find out more?


We know how important it is for you to find out more about us so we will be holding a

virtual information session

for candidates on

Monday 6 October at 13:30

on Microsoft Teams. This session will not be recorded.


This will be an opportunity for you to hear more about our organisation; the role and how we invest in our people.


If you would like to attend, register by emailing swyddi@medr.cymru.



Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.###

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.
People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.###

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:


UK nationals nationals of the Republic of Ireland nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020 Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service
Further information on nationality requirements
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Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.



We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles .
The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.###

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy .

Apply and further information

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The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment (opens in new window).
Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.###

Contact point for applicants

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Job contact :

Name : People and Culture Team Email : swyddi@medr.cymru
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Recruitment team

* Email : swyddi@medr.cymru