Senior Policy Manager - Education

About Public First, an SHGH Company

Public First is a specialist consultancy that helps charities, philanthropists, public sector bodies and global brands to improve public policy. Based in London, we have worked in more than thirty international markets.

We are part think tank, part strategic consultancy, part research company, and part communications agency. In practice, we bring together the disciplines that make policy change happen: research and analysis, political insight, strategy and communications.

Our team includes former senior civil servants, political advisers, campaigners, researchers and journalists. Many of us have worked at the most senior levels of government, Parliament and political campaigns, and we continue to be active across the political spectrum.

Public First is part of SHGH, a Group of cross-border advisory firms, guiding clients through an unprecedented period of change in policy, politics, regulation, and sustainable growth.

Education is one of Public First’s core areas of specialism. Many of our senior team have spent the past two decades working in and around education policy in government and opposition. Between us, we have advised Prime Ministers, Leaders of the Opposition, Education Secretaries and their Shadow teams, as well as numerous Ministers across the Department for Education.

We work across the full education lifecycle and with a wide range of clients, including schools and multi‑academy trusts, universities, charities and foundations, local and national government, trade associations, and education‑facing businesses.

Our education work is organised into three broad areas:

• Schools: Working with schools, multi‑academy trusts, charities and foundations on issues across the schools policy landscape. Recent projects include the Commission into Countering Online Conspiracies in Schools, the Inquiry into White Working Class Educational Outcomes, the Parent Voice Project, research into attitudes to the attendance crisis, exclusions and our work on the National Tutoring Programme.

• Higher education: Working with universities and mission groups on post‑18 education, research and innovation policy. Recent work includes public attitudes to tuition fees, public understanding of R&D, polling on international students, and evaluation of the Office for Students Uni‑Connect programme.

• Skills: Working across the skills system with large corporates, regional bodies and national organisations.

We are now looking for an experienced professional to take on a senior role within our Higher Education Team.

We are recruiting a Senior Policy Manager to play a leading role in delivering and shaping our higher education policy work, both in the UK and internationally.

This role is suited to someone with substantial experience (typically 3‑5 years) in policy, research, consultancy or a closely‑related field, who is ready to take ownership of projects and act as a trusted adviser to clients.

Senior Policy Managers at Public First lead projects day‑to‑day, manage and support more junior colleagues, and make a strong intellectual contribution to Public First’s work. You will work closely with Associate Directors and Directors to design projects, develop insights and arguments, and support the growth and profile of our universities' practice.

We are looking for someone who:

• Has a keen interest in higher education as a public policy area
  , and an enthusiasm to learn more - this is the most important thing we are looking for. While this role will cover education and skills more broadly, our preference is for someone that wants to learn more about how universities work, and how policy decisions impact them; including across some broader topics, such as devolution; research and development; widening participation;
  
  and science, innovation and growth.

• Is an outstanding communicator
  . You will have a strong track record of producing clear, persuasive written work for senior audiences, and be confident presenting and discussing complex issues with clients, policymakers and sector leaders.

• Brings credibility in higher education policy or a closely‑related…