Vacancies - HEPI

***WE ARE CURRENTLY RECRUITING FOR A NEW POLICY MANAGER***

Policy Manager

Location: Oxford-based, with UK-wide travel (especially to London), but with flexibility on day-to-day working arrangements
Contract type: Permanent
Salary: £36,000-£40,000
Hours: Full-time, with some evening and breakfast events required
Deadline: Tuesday, 15 July 2025, with interviews in Oxford (probably on Tuesday, 22 July 2025)

HEPI are looking to appoint a new Policy Manager. The successful candidate will work with people from across UK higher education on projects aimed at improving policy. They will need to be able to work on their own and in a team, to have excellent writing / editing skills and to enjoy working on different projects simultaneously.

The successful candidate will contribute to HEPI’s policy-focused and evidence-based research, including writing publications, supporting events and managing HEPI’s daily blog. The role also includes working with the media. Reporting to HEPI’s Director, the Policy Manager will work closely with every member of the small HEPI staff team.

HEPI is funded by most universities and around 20 companies that work with UK universities. The role has a focus on partnership working, including developing publications collaboratively with other organisations.

This is a fast-paced and rewarding role as you will be joining a team of dynamic, dedicated and experienced colleagues, who constantly strive to have impact and influence in the higher education sector and among policymakers.

Key Responsibilities

Lead research projects on higher education, including with other organisations – such as the HEPI / Advance HE Student Academic Experience Survey and the HEPI / Kortext Student Generative AI Survey
Collaborate closely with the Director of Partnerships on stakeholder coordination
Maintain and edit HEPI’s high-profile daily blog
Give speeches / presentations and chair online and in-person events
Write press releases and speak to the media

Essential Skills

Clear communicator in writing and speaking
Experience of analysis / research
An ability to manage different projects simultaneously
A team player who is also happy to work independently much of the time
A strong desire to enhance UK higher education policy debates

Desirable existing experience

Knowledge of higher education and research policy
Working with the media
Managing a website / social media
Public speaking
Overseeing projects where more than one organisation is involved

Benefits of working at HEPI

8 per cent pension contributions into the NEST pension scheme (after 3 months)
We allow staff to work from home on a regular basis
We have a modest training budget and encourage staff to make use of it
We are currently developing a new Staff Handbook, which outlines all our staff policies and this will be available to the successful candidate before they start

Application process

Please submit a CV, a covering letter (setting out how you meet the person specification and why you want to work for HEPI) and a short piece of writing on a relevant topic (such a draft blog on a current higher education policy issue) to [email protected] by 5pm on Tuesday, 15 July 2025. Each of these three items should be no more than two pages long.

If you would like an informal discussion about this role, please contact Nick Hillman [email protected].

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We occasionally take on paid interns, generally for two to three months. If this might be of interest to you, please approach us a few months before the you are available and, ideally, with a specific idea for a project that:

fits within HEPI’s charitable objectives;
can be written in a way that keeps to our Style Guide; and
which might be of interest to us.

In the past, the topics that HEPI interns have written about include:

If you are interested in an internship at HEPI, please send your CV and a cover letter, which should focus primarily on your idea for a research project, to [email protected].