Job Description

Details

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Reference number

436474

Salary

56,209 - 58,820
Generous Civil Service defined benefit pension


(plus London allowance of 3,566 where appropriate)
A Civil Service Pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%
GBP

Job grade

Other

Contract type

Permanent

Business area

.

Type of role

Other

Working pattern

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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Lime Kiln Close, Stoke Gifford Filton Abbey Wood Bristol


10 South Colonnade Canary Wharf London

About the job

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Job summary

Stakeholder Engagement Manager

Location: Bristol or London

Generous Civil Service defined benefit pension

Salary:

56,209 - 58,820 (

plus London allowance of 3,566 where appropriate)

Who we are

The Office for Students (OfS) is the independent regulator of higher education in England - we regulate higher education on behalf of all students. Our mission is to ensure that every student, whatever their background, has a fulfilling higher education experience that enriches their life and career.

What we do

Sitting within the Strategy, Delivery and Communications (SDC) Directorate, the communications team drives the OfS's external and internal communications, including public affairs, media relations, digital publishing, stakeholder engagement, events and public information. Communications is essential for the organisation to drive progress towards our strategic goals.

Job description

What you'll do

We're looking for someone with existing knowledge of the higher education sector, strong interpersonal skills and a proven ability to drive, deliver and implement stakeholder engagement and / or public affairs strategies to join our busy team.


Working with the Head of Stakeholder Engagement, you'll work to drive forward and co-ordinate stakeholder engagement around key strategic projects.

As Stakeholder Engagement Manager, you will:

Write briefings, speeches and talking points for a range of audiences, ranging from senior OfS staff to parliamentarians Work across policy, media, digital, strategic and internal communications colleagues to ensure stakeholder engagement is planned and delivered effectively Develop and implement stakeholder engagement plans and advise on and implement stakeholder engagement for strategic communications plans and launches Track stakeholder engagement across OfS Undertake proactive political and sector monitoring and manage timely internal updates and maintain the OfS stakeholder mapping process, ensuring it is up to date Draft correspondence and undertake networking and attending external meetings, to support senior leaders and staff in representing the views of the OfS as a regulator. To note you will be required to work some early mornings and evenings to attend external meetings. supporting the management of the programme of visits to universities and colleges and the anticipated engagement interventions, drawing up plans and initiating lines of enquiry where required

Person specification

What you'll need

These are the skills you'll already have:

Excellent knowledge of the higher education sector excellent organisational skills, attention to detail and ability to use own initiative to pick up work proactively and work autonomously without close supervision Strategic thinking, political awareness and an interest in public affairs Ability to make sound judgements and give strategic advice Outstanding written communication skills, in particular the ability to present complex policy and technical information in a clear, accessible way tailored to specific audiences Exceptional networking and influencing skills, with the ability to build trusted, effective working relationships with both internal and external stakeholders, including senior OfS leaders and parliamentarians A track record in developing and delivering high-quality and impactful public affairs and / or stakeholder engagement strategies

Benefits

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Alongside your salary of 56,209, Office for Students contributes 16,283 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.Learning and development tailored to your role An environment with flexible working options A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%

Things you need to know

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Selection process details

Benefits

Our Total Reward Framework offers a range of benefits to suit your way of life:

25 days' annual leave plus bank holidays Comprehensive learning and development - we're invested in your future Generous Civil Service pension scheme Health-related benefits

Working for us

The OfS regulates the higher education sector on behalf of all students. We value diversity and the wealth of perspectives, experience and ideas that it brings to our work, and we strive to embed equality of opportunity in everything we do.


We recruit based on fair and open competition and welcome applications from candidates regardless of age, disability, race and ethnicity, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation


To attract the widest possible field of qualified applicants, flexible working - for example job share and part time working - apply to this role.

Working arrangements

We love working flexibly because we know that it helps us all to do our best work. We've created a set of principles to shape our approach to flexible and hybrid working, which our teams then use as guidance on how they deliver their business goals. This would usually mean working from the office for two to three days in a typical week.


To note, if your primary location is London there will be occasional travel to the Bristol office. This role will also require some morning and evening work to attend meetings, receptions and network events.

Closing date for applications: 1200 24 November 2025

Interviews from 15 December 2025

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

Working for the Civil Service

Please note this Post is NOT regulated by the Civil Service Commission.
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 : Recruitment Team Email : RecruitmentTeam@officeforstudents.org.uk Telephone : 0117 931 7444
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Recruitment team

Email : RecruitmentTeam@officeforstudents.org.uk

Further information

Careers - Office for Students