EDUCATION AT PUBLIC FIRST

Education is one of the major areas of specialism for Public First. Many of the most senior team at the company have worked in and around government or the opposition in education policy for the last twenty years or more. Between us, we have advised Prime Ministers, Leaders of the Opposition, Education Secretaries and their Shadows, and numerous junior Ministers.

We work across all phases of education. Our clients include universities and multi academy trusts, national and local government, charities, foundations, trade associations, and businesses large and small who work in education. Across the practice, we have worked with some of the most well recognised names in education in the past five years.

We organise the practice into three main areas: 

• Schools: We work with individual schools, multi academy trusts, education charities, and foundations, with projects across the schools policy landscape. Examples of previous projects include our Commission into Countering Online Conspiracies in Schools, research into attitudes to the attendance crisis, exclusions and our work on the National Tutoring Programme.

• Higher education: We work with many UK universities and mission groups, covering most aspects of post-18 education, as well as research and innovation policy, in UK HE. Previous projects include our work on public attitudes to tuition fees, public understanding of R&D, polling on international students, and our evaluation of the Office for Students Uni-Connect programme.

• Skills: We work across the broader skills landscape, for large corporates or regional and national bodies, across a broad range of sector areas. Previous examples include our work for Phoenix Insights on tackling economic inactivity; the Yorkshire Financial Services Commission; and our report for the Prince’sTrust on Green Skills.

We are looking for someone with an interest specifically in schools policy to join our team.  

THE ROLE

We are looking for someone to join our team as a Policy Manager or a Senior Policy Manager. This means you would have some experience (2-4 years) in education policy, either in government, schools or the third sector.

Our ideal candidate would be someone who has:

• Experience in government, policymaking and politics. You should be able to demonstrate interest and ideally experience in politics and government. Could include political or policy campaigns.

• Strong written and verbal communication skills. We are looking for someone who can communicate clearly and compellingly about schools and education policy. This includes the ability to translate complex policy topics into accessible language, as well as being able to vary your style to suit different audiences and purposes. You need the skills and confidence to present conclusions of your work to senior stakeholders such as clients, policy-makers or other experts.

• The ability to manage complex projects. This role will involve you working with colleagues and clients to deliver multifaceted research projects on time, and to a high standard. You should be able to demonstrate that they have successfully worked as part of a team to deliver complex projects and/or campaigns.

• An interest in research and public opinion. At Public First we believe that understanding the public (or subsections of it) is critical to making good policy. You should have an interest and ideally experience in undertaking research.

Examples of responsibilities include:

• Project management and delivery: Support across multiple projects, under the direction of an Associate Director or Director, to help deliver high-quality work to clients.

• High quality analysis and research: Provide quality research, case studies, and other administrative support on projects, including taking increasing responsibility project management.

• Support with clients and projects: Work with clients in a professional manner, with the support of senior colleagues, and start to build strong client relationships.

• Work flexibly with colleagues: Work efficiently and effectively with wider team members and communicate regularly – including asking for support where required.

LOCATION AND SALARY

We work both in the office and from home, with core office days on Monday and Thursday. Our main office is based in Westminster. Many of us, including the founders, have young children and we work hard to be family friendly.

Salary will depend on experience. For this role we expect salary to range from £32,000-40,000 for a Policy Manager or £38,000-£50,000 for a Senior Policy Manager, depending on candidate experience.

APPLYING

Please submit your application at the bottom of this page to submit your CV and cover letter. In your cover letter, please tell us why you want the role, why you think you are the ideal candidate, and what you think you could bring to the team.

Interviews will either be online or in person at our offices in Westminster, London.

We are committed to equality, diversity and inclusion in employment and we would particularly like to encourage applications from women, disabled and ethnic minority candidates.

If you require any reasonable adjustments for the recruitment process please do speak to us. 

Closing date is the 27th of June 2025.