Schools Data Policy Officer

**Details**:
**Reference number**:

- 268479**Salary**:

- £30,332**Job grade**:

- Higher Executive Officer**Contract type**:

- Permanent**Business area**:

- DFE - Operations Group**Type of role**:

- Policy
- Project Delivery**Working pattern**:

- Flexible working, Full-time, Job share, Part-time**Number of jobs available**:

- 1Contents

Location

About the job

**Benefits**:
Things you need to know

Location
- Coventry CV1 2WT, Manchester M1 2WDAbout the job

**Job summary**:
At DfE, we are proud of the commitment we make to diversity and inclusion and of the progress we have made. We have active & vibrant staff networks, special leave policies and workplace adjustments put in place for those who need them. We are continuing to build a diverse DfE, in an inclusive environment which nurtures and realises potential in all, at all levels. Equality and Diversity - Department for Education

**About the Team**

**About the role**

Technology is fundamental to how our education system operates. It presents both significant benefits now and future opportunities. When used well, technology can lead to improved pupil outcomes, cost savings and workload reductions.

However, many schools and colleges struggle to get the basics in place or make the best use of the technology they have available. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted these issues. The Department for Education invested over £400m to support to the sector to enable children to get online and to give schools and teachers the tools to deliver high-quality remote education.

The Digital Strategy for Education Division is building on this investment to build a more digitally mature education system.

To deliver the government’s commitments set out in the schools white paper Opportunity for all, we are fixing the basics and investing to make sure all schools have the infrastructure they need, while supporting schools to plan, implement and use technology effectively.

**Job description**:
We want to see data flowing through the schools system, minimising data-related burdens on the schools workforce and supporting better processes and tools for effective planning, decision making and monitoring at all levels. We are developing insight and policy options to help the schools sector use and manage data effectively and to get better value from use of data to support educational improvement.

We are looking to recruit a strong Higher Executive Officer to support development and delivery of policy focused on reducing data-related burdens on schools and multi academy trusts (MATs). This will include leading on internal and external stakeholder engagement and managing projects that will test ways of achieving the policy aims.

**As the Data Capability officer, your responsibilities will include**:

- Development and delivery of Digital Strategy for Education Division (DSD) data strategy activities, including activities relating to policy proposals, sector/market research and insight and testing of sector implementation options.
- Lead on planning and delivery co-ordination of DSD activities with other relevant projects and programmes, principally with Data Directorate colleagues in the Department for Education and with teams that lead on relevant sector-facing policy areas.
- Maintain oversight of delivery and reporting on progress to relevant governance boards.
- Work with the data strategy policy lead in DSD to identify and build relationships with a range of external 'critical friends'. Ensure that contact is co-ordinated with Department for Education stakeholders including Data Directorate and Schools Commercial Operations teams.
- Provide secretariat for sector and market engagement groups that may be developed to support policy and delivery insight and to leverage sector/market support for data transformation in the schools sector.
- Manage business of state including correspondence alongside colleagues in the wider Division.

**Person specification**:
The post holder will be helping to shape and deliver a strategy for a digitally mature education system. The role includes regular Ministerial, SCS and external engagement, and has a strong focus on user-centred policy design.

**Essential Criteria**
- ** Internal and external stakeholder engagement**: You can navigate complex relationships and sustain constructive relationships between key groups and organisations. You understand and help to mitigate risks in stakeholder engagement, such as commercial tensions or conflicting priorities. You design and run effective approaches for engaging stakeholders which attracts high quality input from stakeholders and supports business objectives.
- ** Strategic understanding**: You have experience of working in complex policy and delivery environments, ideally at a national level. You can explore and understand the needs and perspectives of important groups including end users, policy or strategy decision-makers and operational delivery. You can identify how the work