Committee Specialist (Education Policy)

House of Commons

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Staff Benefits

In addition to your salary, we offer an attractive range of benefits including:

• 30 days’ annual leave (increasing to 35 days after first full leave year).
• Civil Service pension with an average employer contribution of 27%.

• Access to training and development.
• Flexible working.
• Interest free season ticket loan and bicycle loan.

Introduction

You will be working in the Select Committee Team (SCT) supporting the work of the Education Select Committee. Select Committees are cross-party committees of MPs who examine government policy and spending. You can find out what Select Committees are on this website. You will be part of a small team supporting the Committee in its work.

The Role

As a Committee Specialist, you will work collaboratively with colleagues to provide policy advice and analysis for the Committee. You will be asked to build on your existing knowledge of Education policy to develop expertise in the Committee’s area of work. You will advise on, arrange and lead Committee inquiries. You will provide written and oral briefing to support Committee hearings and produce reports to communicate Committee findings. You will also support their media and public engagement work.

It is crucial for this role that you can act, and be seen to act, in a politically impartial way. You are not likely to have line management responsibilities, but there may be opportunities to develop line management skills by mentoring and supervising other team members.

Early on, you are likely to be asked to:

• identify suitable people to speak to the Committee or Committees, prepare briefing material and questions for witnesses;
• attend Committee events and meetings, and events relevant to its area of work;
• conduct analysis of evidence, produce drafts of Committee outputs, including correspondence, media and social media materials and, in particular, Committee reports.

As you develop your skills and experience, you will take on more responsibilities. These are likely to include:

• advising on possible subjects for the Committee or Committees to examine, including terms of reference and calls for evidence for inquiries,
• providing advice during Committee meetings,
• proposing, designing and organising Committee events, public engagement and visits (possibly including overseas), and
• maintaining up-to-date knowledge about the Committee’s subject area through research and by building on relevant external contacts and networks.

Skills and Experience

To be successful in this role you will demonstrate:

• A detailed knowledge and understanding of education policy, with recent relevant policy, research, practical or scrutiny experience and knowledge of the roles of the key individuals and organisations in the field.
• An ability to research unfamiliar topics and rapidly acquire specialist knowledge using a range of sources, analysing this information and using it to develop evidence-based conclusions or take evidence-based decisions.
• An ability to explain complex information clearly, impartially, and succinctly to non-specialist audiences, orally and in writing.

Next Steps

• Application Form - If you would like to apply for this role, please submit an application providing evidence against the criteria in the Job Description.

More information on the role and the full criteria can be found in the Job Description.

Please note that most job offers will be made at the minimum of the salary range, other than in exceptional circumstances.