Senior Policy Adviser role

About the role

The successful candidate will provide the strategic and operational lead for ECU’s policy work on race. The role will seek to stimulate and bring about change in sector level thinking on how we address major issues in respect to promoting race equality in higher education (HE) and colleges in Scotland. The post holder will work cross functionally and in partnership with the equality charters team, the training and learning team and the research team to raise capacity in the sector to implement effective solutions to address race inequalities. Key issues will include the BME attainment gap and the underrepresentation of BME staff at senior levels. The overall aim of the role will be to raise sector level understanding of effective approaches to addressing racial inequalities.

The role holder will do this by a variety of means including

  • Contributing ECU’s response to government and sector agencies consultations
  • Consolidation and review of existing ECU policy and publications on race equality
  • Writing and developing new policy guidance
  • Speaking and presenting at conferences and other relevant events
  • Developing and managing specific projects
  • Developing and maintaining key relationships across the sector including with the Higher Education Race Action Group and the Scottish Race Equality Network

The successful post holder is likely to have an appropriate academic background, experience of actively promoting race equality in addition to other relevant work experience. The post is available as a secondment and a range of flexible working options will be considered.

Working for ECU’s policy team (London)

ECU currently employs 38 people and has offices in Edinburgh and London. Its policy team comprises staff in Scotland and London. 34 staff are employed in London, of which 5 are policy staff – Head of Policy and Deputy CEO, Policy Programme Manager, three Senior Policy Advisers and a Policy Adviser.

Staff working in the policy team work with the HE sector across the UK and with colleges in Scotland. London based staff focus on policy issues across England, Wales and Northern Ireland. We also cover Scottish issues and work with the Scotland team to ensure we effectively influence UK wide policy issues.

How do we work within ECU?

Each member of the policy team has responsibility for an area of work within ECU’s policy programme, in the case of this role it is race but the post holder will be expected to cover other equality areas and to work collaboratively with colleagues to deliver a range of projects. The policy programme is approved by ECU’s board and to deliver the programme we work closely with ECU’s training and learning, research, communications and charters teams. Members of the policy team have over the years been closely involved in the development and evolution of ECU’s Race Equality Charter and Athena SWAN and continue to give input into them as appropriate.

How do we influence?

  • We work to proactively share understanding of existing equality issues in the education sector and to identify new equality issues. ECU prides itself in being a critical friend of the HE sector. This means that we do not name and shame. We work closely and confidentially with HE’s to help them address the equality issues they face.
  • We run a number of policy projects. The outcomes vary but the output is usually in the form of a briefing, guidance, research report, events or training. We work across teams to develop the projects and will sometimes work with specialist organisations and use external consultants but the majority of outputs are developed in house.

  • We represent ECU and its views within other sector agencies and within government through participation in committees, roundtables and through consultations
  • We monitor for sector and national developments that have implications for equality and diversity or developments in equality that have implications for the HE sector. Daily media updates support us in this work but staff are expected to keep up to date and brief team members on their specific areas of focus.
  • We provide advice to other teams within ECU to ensure that their work is reflective of the current legislative and sector leading practice.
  • All members of the policy team are responsible for at least one regional network and we’re all account managers. As an account manager you will have the opportunity to develop individual relationships with several higher education institutions in England.
  • The policy team provides support to all account managers in responding to policy related queries.

A week in the life of a Senior Policy Adviser

While the table below is presented as a five day week, members of the policy team can and may do work part-time, from home and at times that suit their caring commitments.

Monday / Meetings with sector agency and a couple of colleagues on proposals for a new project. Research preparation conducted over past month. 1-2-1 meeting with line manager.
Tuesday / Travel to Birmingham. Deliver consultancy to individual institution.
Wednesday / Develop consultation response and circulate to colleagues for input. Continue research into new project.
Thursday / Respond to a media query. Plan and start to write series of blogs on race equality in HE for black history month.
Friday / Meeting with a sector agency on an initiative they are planning to tackle the under representation of BME staff at senior levels. Continue work on blogs.

Over the course of the week policy team members will be responding to queries, emails and expected to keep abreast of policy developments.

The Bell Review

ECU welcomes the recommendations of the review into HE sector agencies led by Sir David Bell. While proposing a merger with other sector agencies, the recommendations place significant emphasis on the need to retain ECU’s focus on equality and diversity issues.

ECU is currently in the process of merging with the Leadership Foundation for Higher Education and the Higher Education Academy. The new organisation will support institutions to meet strategic challenges as they relate to equality and diversity, learning and teaching and leadership and governance. A transition group has been established which comprises representatives from the boards of the three organisations.

For further information see:

ECU staff are being given frequent updates on the progress of the merger and a communications and consultation plan is being developed.