Programme Quality And Policy Manager

Job Title: Programme Quality and Policy Manager

Function: Strategy & Impact Team

Reporting to: Head of Process Improvement and Programme Quality

Contract: Permanent

Hours: Full-Time (37.5 hours per week)

Salary: £29,500 (plus £3,000 London Weighting where applicable)

Location: Remote (with regular travel to London Office as required)

Closing Date: Monday 27th May

About the organisation

We support students from disadvantaged backgrounds to access top universities, through a unique combination of tuition and in-school mentoring. We work with them to make good applications, get the grades and transition to university. Our volunteers are trained and supported to be effective tutors who work with our students for an hour a week to raise their grades. In addition, a dedicated school-based staff member mentors the students so they have the knowledge and support to make strong university applications. Our results show this approach works. 

The Access Project Values

Empowerment: We support students and our people to develop the skills and knowledge to accomplish their goals.

Courage: We encourage our students and our people to be authentic, innovative, and ambitious in order to reach their full potential and deliver our mission.

Impact: We evolve our programmes through an evidence-led approach, supporting our students to achieve their best outcomes.

Inclusion: We respect and value individuality and engage diverse voices to achieve our mission.

Ownership: We hold ourselves accountable in all our actions and efforts. We ask, “What can I do to improve my results?”

About the role

This role is available at an important time for The Access Project as we expand our mission, seek to pilot a new programme model, and move into new school contexts. This is an exciting opportunity for someone with the skills for programme improvement, a strong interest in research, and a deep passion for our mission to support students to place and succeed at selective universities.

The ideal candidate will be an excellent leader who is comfortable working across teams to make change. You’ll be the lead and expert on The Access Project’s in-school university readiness work with responsibility for designing and quality assuring the provision, supporting the learning and development for our school-based staff to effectively deliver the programme content. This position is integral to ensuring The Access Project is delivering a high-quality programme that supports the needs of our students and drives the outcomes of the programme across all regions and schools. The postholder will also be responsible for amplifying The Access Project’s voice in the sector and responding to policy updates; with a focus on bringing their knowledge of the Higher Education sector and the experiences of our students to decisions about the direction of our own programme. They will also support further development of our programme-level Diversity and Inclusion work, to ensure that the programme is tailored where feasible to the needs of all students.

Duties and responsibilities

1. Design & Development

• Act as a senior collaborator to the annual programme design process. Work with the Head of Process Improvement & Programme Quality to incorporate University Access Officer, Programme Leadership, school, and student feedback on how best to drive our short term and long-term outcomes across our programmes.
• Project manage the implementation of changes driven out of programme design. This includes the creation of or changes to delivery resources and training materials, as well as to our university readiness framework and the Salesforce system that supports delivery.
• Work with Programme Managers to understand their delivery challenges, develop solutions and answer questions around university admissions, widening access and The Access Project’s own University Readiness Programme.
• Act as a senior contributor to the development of The Access Project’s programmatic Diversity and Inclusion work, working closely with the University Access Officer D&I Lead. This includes strong engagement with the D&I working group and designing and implementing systems and support to better serve our students with inclusion needs.

2. Research and Policy

• remain critically engaged with the widening participation/social mobility sector, and able to synthesise key changes/challenges and ensure that they are applicable/actionable by the organisation.

• Ensure that any relevant widening participation sector developments and trends are fed into The Access Project’s way of working. For example, this might be changes to resources for the programme or working with colleagues to communicate with students (e.g. on plans for A Level Results Day).

• To be an ambassador of The Access Project’s work and impact externally in the widening participation sector, including speaking at conferences, writing articles on our work, and engaging in external relations.

• Holding responsibility for The Access Project’s policy and research workstream, including contributing to the strategic direction of this work and undertaking research to drive the delivery of this workstream to promote The Access Project’s voice in the widening participation sector.

• Liaising closely with the Communications team to ensure that The Access Project’s responses to sector information and updates are timely and relevant to our Mission.

• Provide nuanced insight about the widening participation/Higher Education sector, with a clear take / coherent view on the landscape and how it’s changing, which would then enable us to make informed choices about our programme.

3. Quality Assurance

• Take responsibility for the operational implementation of the university readiness strand of the quality assurance strategy, to drive the quality of the activities The Access Project delivers to young people in schools.
• Participate in The Access Project’s quality assurance processes, including performing drop-ins on University Access Officers’ programme delivery, and coordinating with other members of the team to perform drop-ins in an efficient and effective manner.
• Embed learning from The Access Project’s quality assurance process into our standard practice. This will include delivering training and development sessions for University Access Officers, updates to resources and guidance for what best practice looks like.
• Contribute research on wider pedagogical best practice into our quality assurance work to ensure the highest quality in our delivery of educational programmes.

4. Student Voice

• Maximising student voice within programme design through the organisation and facilitation of student Delivery Review Meetings.
• Lead the development and administration of The Access Project’s annual student survey, considering the needs of key stakeholders across the organisation.
• Hold and contribute to The Access Project’s overarching Student Voice strategy.
• Continue to drive improvements in The Access Project’s student voice work through research and engagement with sector leaders.

5. Any other duties as required

Person specification

Essential

• Confident leader and collaborator: ability to work positively and collaboratively across functions to drive continuous improvement.

• Clear communicator: demonstrable success at giving feedback and clearly communicating your perspective.

• Clear facilitation skills: an experienced and engaging meeting, training, and workshop facilitator.

• Excellent time management and organisational skills: and a proactive and creative approach to problem solving.

• Experience of programme design and development: committed to and confident in using data to make evidence-based decisions.

• Project management skills and experience, particularly in planning and monitoring.

• Deep knowledge of and passion for youth mentoring.

• Thorough understanding of the UK education system and the challenges facing learners from widening participation backgrounds.

• Excellent research skills in sector analysis and writing

Desirable

• Experience of using Salesforce (or another Client Relationship Management system) as a case/student management system.

• Knowledge of Diversity & Inclusion issues related to education and motivation to adapt The Access Project programme to make it more inclusive.

• Experience of project/programme evaluation.

• Line management experience.

Benefits:

• 25 days annual leave p.a. (pro rata) plus Bank Holidays and Christmas closure.

• PerkBox – offering nationwide shopping discounts, gym memberships, holidays, learning and much more.

• Employee Assistance Programme, a 24-hour helpline for staff

• Online Medical assistance – access 24/7 to a qualified GP within minutes, with referrals and prescriptions available same-day.

• Interest-free travelcard loans

• Cyclescheme loans

• 3 paid Volunteering Days

• Employer’s pensions contributions (3%)

• CPD options

• The Access Project welcomes requests for flexible working arrangements

Safeguarding Statement

The Access Project is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

Equal Opportunities Statement

The Access Project aspires to represent the diversity of communities across the UK at all levels of the organisation and proactively takes steps to support this. We are committed to creating a culture where the experiences and voices of people from marginalised backgrounds are listened to and valued; where their skills are appreciated; and where their talents are nurtured and encouraged.   

The Access Project is an equal opportunities employer and we welcome applications from people from all backgrounds. If you believe you have most of the skills to fulfil the role we encourage you to apply. Amongst staff at our organisation, there is under-representation of people who are Black, Asian or people from ethnic minority backgrounds, disabled, care-experienced, from low socio-economic backgrounds, and who are LGBTQIA+ . We particularly welcome applications from people with lived experience in reference to our mission.    

We are proud to be a Level 1 Disability Confident employer. If you require any reasonable adjustments please contact us. 

Disclosure of a Criminal Record

The Rehabilitation of Offenders 1974 (Exceptions) (Amendment) Order 1986 applies to posts where there is access to children. This means that applicants for employment that involves working with children and young people must disclose anything listed in their criminal record, with the exception of protected cautions and convictions. All Disclosures are carried out in the strictest confidence and are made only in connection with your application for employment and for no other purpose. The application for a DBS check at a level appropriate to the job role will be activated before your first day of work. Members of staff who are not eligible for a standard or enhanced DBS check are required to undertake a basic DBS check only in line with legal requirements. If you are selected for appointment to the role, you will be subject to this procedure.

Present or most recent employment

It is important to give full information, including the organisation you work in, or most recent employment if not currently working, full dates, address and explanation of any gaps in employment.

References

All appointments are subject to verification of employment and suitability of the candidate for the post applied for. We reserve the right to approach any previous employer for a reference and to verify their identity but will request your permission before doing so. If you have experience of working with children, please include this as one of your references.

Education, Qualifications and Training:

● Ensure you give all the information requested, including dates, establishment where you studied and make clear the level of any examinations e.g., GCSE, GCE 'O' Level or 'A' Level or equivalents etc. and the grades you obtained. Also include any skills training you have had. You will be required to produce original documentary evidence of any qualifications relevant to the job, and these will be detailed on the person specification.

● Proof of qualification is required before the appointment is confirmed.

Contact information

Please direct any queries to our email via: info@theaccessproject.org.uk

For further information about The Access Project, please see our website via: www.theaccessproject.org.uk or contact The Access Project on 020 4513 5999.

Please ensure that you complete all of the questions in the application form to enable us to shortlist your application for an interview, otherwise it will be disqualified automatically. Resumes and CVs will not be considered.