Culture and Engagement Specialist

Job summary

This full‑time, permanent role offers a rewarding balance of insight and action, turning colleague feedback into tangible improvements that make a real difference to people and business outcomes.

Job description

As a Culture & Engagement Specialist, you will lead organisation‑wide listening and engagement activity, using curiosity, creativity and analysis to design interventions that genuinely improve the colleague experience. There is real scope to explore new ways of doing things and continuously improve, working in a team that values professional curiosity supported by insightful data. You will partner with stakeholders across all SLC directorates, building a strong internal network and enhancing your personal profile as a trusted culture and engagement expert. This is a meaningful opportunity for someone passionate about making things better for people, while strengthening organisational performance.

All candidates must submit a CV and a personal statement of no more than 300 words outlining their suitability for the role.

Person specification

• Demonstrable skill in gathering, interpreting and using qualitative and quantitative colleague sentiments and insight to inform culture and engagement interventions, practical opportunities for improvement and support evidence‑based programme decision‑making

• Excellent communication and storytelling skills, able to convey cultural insight, complex data and strategic priorities in an engaging, compelling way to diverse audiences

• Strong stakeholder management skills, with the ability to work collaboratively across People teams and wider organisation

• Ability to plan, prioritise and deliver multiple initiatives simultaneously with minimal supervision, meeting agreed timescales and quality standards

• Sound judgement and professionalism when handling sensitive colleague feedback, ensuring confidentiality, integrity and appropriate escalation where required

• Ability to adapt approach and messaging to suit different audiences, organisational contexts and levels of change readiness

• Practical experience delivering culture, engagement or colleague listening activities within a complex organisation

• Experience gathering, analysing and interpreting colleague feedback from multiple sources, such as surveys, focus groups or qualitative insight

• Proven experience working with a wide range of stakeholders, building effective relationships and influencing without formal authority

• Experience translating insight and feedback into practical recommendations and actions that support organisational priorities

• Experience contributing to cross‑functional projects or programmes, balancing business‑as‑usual delivery with improvement activity

• CIPD qualification (Level 3 or working towards Level 5) or relevant experience

• Relevant CPD in engagement, culture, inclusion or wellbeing or demonstrable interest and engagement in engagement, culture, inclusion or wellbeing

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £39,458, Student Loans Company contributes £11,430 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

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Some of the benefits you can expect when you join SLC are:

• Competitive salary
• Civil service pension
• Digitally enabled blended working – typically, 3 days at home with 2 days in the office – if this doesn’t suit your home life you can work from the office full time.
• 28 days annual leave plus 8 public holidays, and extra day’s leave if you are moving home
• Opportunity to buy or sell holidays
• Option to use flexi time to earn two extra days holiday per month
• Flexible working contracts
• Family friendly leave - including 52 weeks maternity/adoption leave with six months at full pay and the option to share leave with a partner
• Life insurance cover providing protection equivalent to four times basic salary
• Recognition of success through performance related pay awards
• Opportunity to give back to the community through annual volunteering day
• Bespoke contributory SLC Reward+ lifestyle benefits package, including retail discounts
• Structured career development using SLC’s Career Pathways programme.

Things you need to know

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

Shortlisted candidates will be contacted

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

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

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)

Working for the Civil Service

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.

Diversity and Inclusion

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

Apply and further information

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

Contact point for applicants

Job contact :

• Name : ask_recruitment@slc.co.uk
• Email : ask_recruitment@slc.co.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : ask_recruitment@slc.co.uk

Further information

If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the Civil Service Commission’s Recruitment Principles and you wish to make a complaint, you should contact ask_recruitment@slc.co.uk in the first instance.