Head of Tertiary Investment and Monitoring

Aberystwyth, Cardiff, Llandudno Junction, Merthyr Tydfil, Swansea

Job Summary

About us

We are a new arm’s length body of the Welsh Government, responsible for the strategy, funding and oversight of:

• further education including colleges and school sixth-forms;
• higher education including research and innovation;
• adult education and adult community learning; and
• apprenticeships and training.
  
  

Operational on 1 August 2024, we will work in close collaboration with our partners to enable a tertiary education and research system which is centred around the needs of learners; society; and economy with excellence, equality and engagement at its heart.

Our values really matter to us, they help shape the culture of our organisation:

• Dysgu (to learn; to teach; to educate) - learning is at the heart of everything we do. We believe curiosity fuels innovation and helps expand our horizons.
• Cydweithio (to work together; to collaborate; to co-operate) - we can achieve far more together than we ever could alone.
• Cynnwys Pawb (to include everyone; to involve everyone) - we are passionate about inclusion, seeking to create the right conditions for everyone to achieve their full potential.
• Rhagori (to exceed; to excel) - we have high aspirations for tertiary education and research in Wales and always set high standards for ourselves to be the best we can be.
  
  

Our headquarters is a newly refurbished office in Capital Quarter, Cardiff, specifically designed to meet our needs. We expect this to be the place that most colleagues will use to collaborate, both with each other and with stakeholders.

As we operate across Wales, we also have collaboration and limited office space in Welsh Government offices in Llandudno Junction, Aberystwyth, Swansea and Merthyr Tydfil.

Effective investment and monitoring of our budget for tertiary education in Wales is fundamental to successful outcomes for our learners, our society and economy. As well as leading on the budget for providers, you will lead on the investment and monitoring of degree apprenticeships and higher education budgets for teaching, research and innovation. You will be key to ensuring we achieve best value for money.

As a strategic leader and a key member of our leadership team you will embrace and lead change; live our values and develop others to be their best selves.

• Providing oversight and strategic leadership to your team to ensure they deliver; managing the team’s budget and people resource to enable effective delivery of their activities.
• Leading a change programme to develop, implement, integrate funding approaches across the tertiary education sector wherever possible and ongoing management of the programme.
• Managing the accountability and financial controls and process for the annual budget of circa £900m including identifying trends, under/overspends in-year and evidence based re-allocation as required.
• Ensuring the right balance between stability of funding streams with a responsibility to be agile – responding to emerging priorities and opportunities.
• Navigating the complex tertiary education environment, effectively managing competing demands and priorities to ensure the best outcomes for learners, our economy and society.
• Contributing to a number of key workstreams relating to the planning and organisation of adult education in Wales; basic skill provision and improvement; opportunities and barriers related to credit transfer and how these can be addressed and enabling informed decision making by learners on pathways including academic and vocational routes and flexible forms of learning.
• Build and maintain constructive relationships with internal and external partners including Welsh Government, providers across the post-16 sector and internally including facilitating sharing of effective practice and enhancing the impact of investment and monitoring across Wales.
• Represent Medr at a senior level, working in collaboration with partners and colleagues to ensure effective investment and monitoring of the tertiary education budget.
  
  

• Getting to grips with a large budget at pace and making difficult decisions in response to budgetary constraints that will have a direct impact on provision, learners and individuals.
• Operationalising new legislation (Section 94 of the Tertiary Education and Research Act 2022) and securing buy in for new, practical application of the legislation that works for Wales.
• Leading a geographically dispersed team whilst developing and supporting them to reach their potential.
• Securing credibility and trust with a range of partners including our Board, partners and colleagues.
  
  

You will lead a geographically dispersed team of around 11 people within the Development, Investment and Performance Directorate. This team is made up of some experienced people and you will also lead on the recruitment of additional team members, so building and developing your team will be crucial.

The team plays an important role in the investment and monitoring of a £900m budget. They work across Medr with policy, data and analysis, finance and performance teams to ensure our strategic priorities are funded and offer the very best values for money. They have developed credible and strong working relationships with partners and keep abreast of emerging priorities such as net zero and Welsh language provision.

Geoff is the Director for Development, Investment and Performance and started his role on August 1st 2024.

Prior to joining Medr, Geoff has 20 years’ experience of working in the Further Education and Apprenticeship Division at Welsh Government, most recently as the Head of Funding and Monitoring. The role was responsible for the funding of FE College, School Sixth Form and Local Authority ACL provision, ensuring accountability for c£570m and overseeing monitoring and compliance of delivery.

Geoff graduated from University of Wales, Lampeter in 1997.

• Giving and Receiving Constructive Feedback - You seek and provide strategic guidance and feedback which is used to drive improvements.
• Inspire People - You empower teams to innovate and take calculated risks, inspiring through breakthrough results and driving the organisation forward.
• Honest - You maintain transparency and accountability in decision-making processes.
• Agile - You can pre-empt issues and respond swiftly to changing circumstances, by leveraging data and insights to inform decision making.
• Resilient - You navigate challenges and uncertainties with determination and optimism.
  
  

• Experience of developing and delivering large scale interventions and funding methodologies, to meet policy expectations, comply with financial rules at pace and in social partnership. Effectively monitoring the investments, identifying trends and issues and taking remedial action as required.
• Current knowledge of the post 16 funding landscape in Wales and how it currently operates.
  
  

We have undertaken an evaluation of the Welsh language requirements of this post to ensure we are living our values in relation to our Welsh Language.

For this post the Welsh language requirements are - Desirable

Welsh desirable means that whilst having Welsh language skills is useful for the role, it is not an assessment criterion, so it won’t disadvantage you during recruitment if you don’t currently possess these skills.

We recognise the importance of looking after ourselves in work and in life. Your wellbeing is fundamental to you being your best self so in recognition of this we provide:

• 33 days annual leave a year (pro rata) to give you time to reboot; top up your energy banks and spend time doing the activities you love.
• An environment that embraces work life balance.
• A culture that celebrates diversity and welcomes everyone.
• Dedicated wellbeing time to all our people each week.
• A Cycle to Work Scheme to make owning a bicycle more affordable.
  
  

We know that sometimes you may face challenges or life events that mean you need additional support.

• We provide a comprehensive employee assistance programme with remote access to resources and in person support whenever required.
• We have a special leave policy ensuring everyone in the organisation receives the support they need during difficult times.
  
  

We are really interested in you as an individual and what you will bring to our organisation.

Our blended assessment process is designed to help us get to know you better enabling us to appoint someone who will thrive in the role and who shares our organisational values.

There will be two assessment stages for this recruitment campaign. A sift and an interview, which will include a presentation.

If you are interested in working with us, please send us your application through Civil Service Jobs. The deadline for application submission is Thursday, 1 May 2025.

You will need to include a personal statement demonstrating how you meet the following attributes:

• Giving and Receiving Constructive Feedback - You seek and provide strategic guidance and feedback which is used to drive improvements.
• Inspire People - You empower teams to innovate and take calculated risks, inspiring through breakthrough results and driving the organisation forward.
• Honest - You maintain transparency and accountability in decision-making processes.
• Agile - You can pre-empt issues and respond swiftly to changing circumstances, by leveraging data and insights to inform decision making.
• Resilient - You navigate challenges and uncertainties with determination and optimism.
  
  

To be fair to everyone who applies, we won’t accept:

• Late applications
• Applications with missing or incomplete information
• Personal statements over 1,250 words
  
  

The initial sift will take place on 14 May 2025.

Candidates who successfully navigate the sift stage will be required to complete an online exercise to enable us to determine their behavioural and personality preferences. Immediately on completion you will be given a report which highlights your strengths plus some development tips to help you prepare for interview. Candidates should note that the online exercise is not intended to eliminate anyone from consideration. Instead, it serves as a tool to aid in the decision-making process.

Following this, you will be required to participate in an interview and a presentation, both of which will be conducted on 29 May 2025.

We strive for a diverse and inclusive workplace and we want to help you demonstrate your full potential whatever type of assessment is used. We are happy to discuss any person-centred adjustments required to the recruitment process. Please contact swyddi@medr.cymru.

We're looking forward to meeting everyone invited to interview at our new headquarters in Capital Quarter, Cardiff. We don’t usually pay travel expenses, but if this presents a real barrier to your attendance in person or if you require a reasonable adjustment, please let us know in advance by emailing swyddi@medr.cymru so we can discuss and agree arrangements prior to your interview.

Following interview we are committed to offering constructive and actionable feedback to support you on your future career journey.

Next Steps

Interested…? Want to find out more?

We know how important it is for you to find out more about us so we will be holding a virtual information session for candidates on 22 April 2025 at 1pm on Microsoft Teams.

This will be an opportunity for you to hear more about our organisation; the role and how we invest in our people.

If you would like to attend, register by emailing swyddi@medr.cymru

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.

People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

This Job Is Broadly Open To The Following Groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service
  
  

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window).

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment (opens in a new window).

Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Job Contact :

• Name : People and Culture Team
• Email : swyddi@medr.cymru
  
  

• Email : swyddi@medr.cymru