Senior Policy Manager

Social Work England; Sheffield; Hybrid; GBP 55,000 - 58,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid working

25 days annual leave increasing to 30

Option to buy up to 5 extra days

TIDE inclusive culture

NEST pension and life insurance

Employee recognition scheme

Cycle to work scheme

Job summary

Social Work England is seeking an experienced policy professional to lead strategic policy priorities, including children’s social care reform. You will work with the head of policy to provide expert guidance to the executive team and board, coordinating with government departments and external stakeholders.

You will drive multiple policy projects, manage risks, and lead a matrix-based team to deliver evidence-based proposals, with a strong emphasis on inclusion and regulatory insight.

Qualifications

• Experience of leading high-quality policy advice and publications from conception to implementation, with demonstrable public impact.
• Strong stakeholder management skills, with the ability to build and sustain trusting, cooperative relationships, and approach problem-solving with a calm and collaborative manner.
• Ability to take a lead role in coordinating our approach to proposals put forward by government departments.
• Ability to use project management approaches to plan and deliver projects at pace, lead matrix structures, and liaise confidently with senior leaders.
• Effective leadership skills with an ability to set clear objectives for team members and motivate them to deliver to a high standard, at times under pressure.
• Highly attuned to the public policy and regulatory environment with the initiative to spot links between public developments and our work, with an ability to direct team members to respond effectively and develop timely, expert advice.
• Excellent organisation and time management skills and the ability to manage multiple tasks while maintaining a high degree of accuracy and attention to detail.
• Outstanding drafting skills and a keen editing eye with the ability to author, as well as oversee, multiple publications, papers and briefings, often produced through others.
• Exercise sound judgement to consider issues raised by colleagues and provide direction on how to support ideas, manage risks, and elevate them appropriately.
• A demonstrable commitment to inclusion, equality and diversity, working collaboratively across teams to assess the fairness of our work and advance our EDI commitments.
• Strong IT skills with good working knowledge of Microsoft Outlook and Word.

Responsibilities

• Provide expert and strategic policy advice to the executive leadership team, policy committee, and board.
• Make effective decisions based on the best available information, elevating risks when needed.
• Drive forward activity across multiple policy and project areas and deliver outputs to a high standard and on time.
• Lead and coordinate projects that assess benefits and risks across our regulation and reform agenda.
• Work effectively in matrix and project structures with clear objectives and responsibilities.
• Lead liaison with external stakeholders in the Department for Education, DHSC, and wider sectors.
• Provide leadership and management to direct reports and the wider team, building capability and ensuring alignment with objectives.
• Oversee briefing papers, publications and leadership papers, coordinating cross-team communications.
• Address equality, diversity and inclusion considerations in all work streams.
• Collaborate with senior leaders to deliver well-considered policy proposals.

Skills

Policy advice

Stakeholder management

Public policy

Proposals coordination

Project management

Leadership

Regulatory environment

Editing/drafting

Risk management

Equality & inclusion

Communication

IT skills

Tools

Microsoft Outlook

Microsoft Word

Job description

Social Work England are the specialist regulator for social work in England, focused on enabling positive change in social work. Every day, social workers support millions of people to improve their chances in life. We are taking a new approach to regulating social workers in their vital roles. We believe in the power of collaboration and share a common goal with those we regulate – to protect the public, enable positive change and ultimately improve people’s lives.

Working with the assistant director for strategy and policy and the head of policy, you will hold responsibility for leading the policy priorities around key reform agendas, such as children’s social care. Along with other members of the policy team, you will engage with key sector stakeholders and gather intelligence to make evidence-based recommendations. You will develop strong relationships with operational and senior leaders, exercising sound judgement based on an expert understanding of public policy to provide direction and specialist guidance to the team, executive leadership, board and external stakeholders.

What you will do

• Alongside the head of policy, provide expert and strategic policy advice to the executive leadership team, policy committee, and board.
• Make effective decisions based on the best available information, with an astute understanding of when to elevate risks, consult with colleagues from across the organisation, and involve executive leaders.
• Drive forward activity across multiple policy and project areas and deliver agreed outputs to a consistently high standard and in a timely manner.
• Lead and coordinate projects that support the organisation to assess the benefits and risks of proposals across all areas of our regulation, including those associated with the national social care reform agenda.
• Work effectively in matrix and project structures in a way that clarifies objectives, outputs and responsibilities for members, and contributes to clear, evidenced, legal, and strategically aligned organisational positions.
• Lead liaison with external stakeholders in the Department for Education, Department for Health and Social Care, and in the wider social work, social care and regulation sectors.
• Provide leadership and management to direct reports and the wider team supporting development and providing constructive challenge and feedback. Build capability and continuously improve ways of working, ensuring the work of the team is aligned to our strategic objectives.
• Lead the efficient handling of briefings, correspondence, publications and leadership papers and work across teams to consider external communications and engagement strategies.
• Reflect and act on matters relating to equality, diversity and inclusion, considering the potential for bias in our thinking or any unintended impact of our work and take active measures to address this.
• Work closely with key senior leaders and colleagues across the organisation to deliver well-considered proposals.
• Deputise for the head of policy where necessary, and act as an ambassador and advocate for our professional skills with internal stakeholders. Speak to the role of policy and undertake sound evaluative work to demonstrate our impact and performance.

Your skills, knowledge and experience

• Experience of leading high-quality policy advice and publications from conception to implementation, with demonstrable public impact.
• Strong stakeholder management skills, with the ability to build and sustain trusting, cooperative relationships, and approach problem-solving with a calm and collaborative manner.
• Ability to take a lead role in coordinating our approach to proposals put forward by government departments.
• Ability to use project management approaches to plan and deliver projects at pace, lead matrix structures, and liaise confidently with senior leaders.
• Effective leadership skills with an ability to set clear objectives for team members and motivate them to deliver to a high standard, at times under pressure.
• Highly attuned to the public policy and regulatory environment with the initiative to spot links between public developments and our work, with an ability to direct team members to respond effectively and develop timely, expert advice.
• Excellent organisation and time management skills and the ability to manage multiple tasks while maintaining a high degree of accuracy and attention to detail.
• Outstanding drafting skills and a keen editing eye with the ability to author, as well as oversee, multiple publications, papers and briefings, often produced through others.
• Exercise sound judgement to consider issues raised by colleagues and provide direction on how to support ideas, manage risks, and elevate them appropriately.
• A demonstrable commitment to inclusion, equality and diversity, working collaboratively across teams to assess the fairness of our work and advance our EDI commitments.
• Strong IT skills with good working knowledge of Microsoft Outlook and Word.

The Benefits

In addition to your salary, we also offer:

• Hybrid working
• 25 days annual leave, rising with service to 30 days per annum, plus bank holidays.
• The option to purchase up to an additional 5 days of annual leave per annum.
• A TIDE award-winning inclusive culture, with staff networks, social events and forums.
• A contributory NEST pension, life insurance, an employee recognition scheme and cycle to work scheme.

Details

• Job type: 12 month fixed-term contract
• Working pattern: Full time. We offer flexible working subject to business need.
• Salary:£55,242 per year, rising to £57,644 per year after successful completion of a 6-month probationary period.
• Location: Sheffield/Hybrid (1-2 days per week in office)