Neaco Lead

Would you like to lead a large-scale educational outreach programme which is making a positive difference to the lives of young people? The Student Admissions and Access Office at the University of Cambridge is looking for an enthusiastic and committed professional to join its Widening Participation (WP) team as _NEACO Lead_.

The _NEACO Lead_ leads a partnership of five Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and eight Further Education Colleges (FECs) across East Anglia. Since 2017 the partnership has successfully worked together with secondary schools and sixth forms/colleges, to support students who live in areas with low rates of progression to higher education and students who are from groups that are underrepresented in higher education.

The _NEACO Lead_ plays the leading role in all aspects of the realisation of the Project and has a key advisory role in its ongoing development. They will be required to develop an understanding of approaches being developed by partners across the region and have ultimate responsibility for the effectiveness of strategies implemented across the partnership. They are responsible for monitoring progress against the Project Plan, ensuring agreed milestones are met, and activities are delivered within budget (c£2mp/a). They are required to provide regular management reports detailing progress to the project's governance groups and must ensure the partnership is compliant with all requirements of the OfS as regulator.

The successful applicant will be highly organised and have a strong background in managing large-scale, multi-partner projects, ideally within the UK education sector. They will have an understanding of issues that affect underrepresented groups in higher education and the role of widening participation activities and evaluation in tackling these issues. We're looking for someone who is a confident communicator and has excellent relationship building skills, with the ability to effectively engage a wide range of stakeholders. The successful applicant will be self-sufficient, enthusiastic and confident leading and motivating a team.

The _NEACO Lead_ will be part of the Widening Participation team at the University of Cambridge (c.20 people) and managed by the Head of Widening Participation and Collaborative Outreach.

The Student Admissions and Access Office have agile working practices, which means there is a degree of flexibility in where and how people work, in agreement with their line manager. This generally means a mix of remote and in-office (central Cambridge) working.

This post is fixed term until 31 October 2025 in the first instance, due to limited funding.

**Applications for this post close on Sunday 18 February 2024**

**Interviews for the role will be held in central Cambridge during w/c 26 February 2024**

The University has a responsibility to ensure that all employees are eligible to live and work in the UK.