Leaner Voice Manager

Job summary

About Us

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

• further education
• higher education including research and innovation;
• apprenticeships
• adult community learning; and local authority maintained school sixth forms.

We 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.

We are proud to be a Disability Confident employer and accredited as a Living Wage employer.

Location

Our headquarters is in 2, Capital Quarter, Cardiff.

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

Main Purpose of the job

You will be responsible for managing programmes and projects to help ensure a comprehensive approach to learner voice across the tertiary education sector in Wales, ensuring that learners’ views inform all aspects of policy making.

This will include undertaking analysis of learner feedback and co-ordinating work to ensure that learners’ views are used to inform continuous improvement, both at the level of individual providers and across the Welsh tertiary sector as a whole. This will include working on established programmes such as the UK-wide National Student Survey for Higher Education undergraduate students, as well as supporting the development and analyses of other emerging learner surveys and projects across the sector with external partners. Your role will be essential in ensuring that Medr has access to clear, reliable information on learner views to help drive continuous improvement in their experiences.

Job description

What you’ll be doing

Learner Voice Surveys

• To coordinate the development of an integrated approach to learner voice surveys across the tertiary education sector, including:
  o Working as part of a team to project manage elements of Medr’s new Learner Voice Survey for learners in Further Education, Adult Community Learning, Apprenticeships and Sixth Forms
  o Leading the launch, data analysis and follow up processes of the existing National Student Survey (NSS). Acting as the key liaison for contacts with Welsh institutions and the Office for Students.
  o Working with teams across Medr, learner representatives and the sector to scope future learner survey activity.

Learner Voice Structures for Medr

• Coordinate the development and implementation of learner voice structures across Medr, working with partners to create sustainable ways for Medr to engage with learners and ensure its priorities reflect their views.
• Work with teams across Medr to find opportunities for meaningful learner input and help colleagues deliver them.
• Work with Medr colleagues and education providers to ensure that themes arising from learner surveys and other learner voice structures are identified and addressed, through collaborative work, projects and professional learning where appropriate.
• Co-ordinate Medr’s liaison with key partners, including NUS Wales and the Office for Students.
• Develop, manage and evaluate projects to support learner engagement and learner voice in the tertiary education sector, including National Union of Students activities funded by Medr.
• Preparing papers and reports for a range of audiences, including Medr’s Quality Committee, Medr internal groups, and content for Medr’s website

It is anticipated that your role will involve some travel across Wales, on approximately a monthly basis, to visit tertiary education providers, meet with learner representatives, and attend meetings and events. You will be part of a dispersed team, with opportunities to work flexibly across Medr’s headquarters, regional hubs and remotely.

Key challenges you will face

• Balancing the needs and expectations of competing stakeholders while keeping technical projects on track, ensuring Medr’s emerging learner survey work remains coherent, purposeful, and methodologically sound.
• Ensuring that contractors and partners funded by Medr to undertake learner voice activities deliver to the agreed standards and deadlines, and handing any issues with performance.
• Working in a new and evolving organisation, you’ll play an active role in shaping systems and processes and be comfortable with change and a degree of ambiguity.

About your team

You will be part of the Learner & Workforce Engagement Team, located in Medr’s Learner Experience Directorate. The team comprises nine people and is responsible for learner engagement, learner voice, workforce development, professional learning, and digital learning, working across the tertiary education sector.

Your line Manager

Isabella Fairclough- Senior Learner Voice Manager

Isabella joined Medr in January 2025 having worked in higher education for over 10 years. During that time, she has worked across universities in Wales and England leading and supporting student voice, engagement and peer learning projects. She predominantly works from Medr’s headquarters in Cardiff as her local office.

Person specification

What you will bring

Attributes

• Drive: You demonstrate strategic thinking and a results-oriented approach.
• Empathetic: You promote a culture of empathy and inclusivity, where every voice is heard and respected.
• Resilient – you create a culture of adaptability and resourcefulness within your team, offering support and encouragement.
• Agile: You drive forward improvements, through collaboration, embracing new technologies and nurturing a culture of continuous learning.

Experience

• Experience of working in a policy, project management or similar context, including engagement with multiple stakeholders to deliver complex projects or programmes.
• Experience in both quantitative and qualitative data analysis is essential, in order to interpret complex information and present insights clearly for a range of audiences, including senior stakeholders, learners, and external partners.

Welsh language requirements

We have evaluated that the Welsh language requirements for this post are desirable.

Welsh desirable means that while 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.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £39,457, Medr 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.

Your Perks and Benefits

We recognise the importance of looking after ourselves in work and in life, so in recognition of this we provide:

• 34 days annual leave a year (pro rata)
• An environment that embraces work life balance.
• A culture that celebrates diversity and welcomes everyone.
• Dedicated well-being time to all our people each week.
• A Cycle to Work Scheme to make owning a bicycle more affordable.

Additional Support when you need it

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.

More than just a workplace

• You will be entitled to take 5 days paid leave per year to undertake voluntary work to support the communities we serve.
• We will encourage you to grow your networks across Wales, the UK and internationally.
• We have an active social committee who offer a range of activities for our people to come together outside the work setting. You can participate as much or as little as you want.

Personal and professional development

• Once you’re offered a post, we will get to know you and work with you to develop a personalised onboarding plan which considers your experience, skills, learning style and knowledge.

• We’ll help you shape your development plans with personalised career conversations and objectives, taking account of delivery goals alongside your career aspirations and helping you own your career.

• We support all our staff to learn or improve their Welsh language skills.

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

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

Our 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.

If you are interested in working with us, please send us your application and personal statement through Civil Service Jobs.

The following attributes/experience will be assessed at sift stage:

Attributes

• Drive: You demonstrate strategic thinking and a results-oriented approach.
• Empathetic: You promote a culture of empathy and inclusivity, where every voice is heard and respected

Experience

• Experience of working in a policy, project management or similar context, including engagement with multiple stakeholders to deliver complex projects or programmes.
• Experience in both quantitative and qualitative data analysis is essential. Candidates must be able to interpret complex information and present insights clearly for a range of audiences, including senior stakeholders, learners, and external partners.

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 deadline for application submission is Wednesday 20 May.

Applications are welcome in Welsh and will not be treated less favourably than those submitted in English.

All applications will be notified of their outcomes via Civil Service Jobs at sift and interview stage.

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 scenario based task both of which will be conducted on Thursday 11 June.

In addition to the attributes assessed at sift stage, the remaining attributes will also be assessed at interview:

• Resilient – you create a culture of adaptability and resourcefulness within your team, offering support and encouragement.
• Agile: You drive forward improvements, through collaboration, embracing new technologies and nurturing a culture of continuous learning.

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 headquarters in 2, 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 Thursday 7 May at 11.30am on Microsoft Teams. This session will not be recorded.

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.

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

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 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.

Contact point for applicants

Job contact :

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

Recruitment team

• Email : swyddi@medr.cymru

Attachments

Swydd Ddisgrifiad- Rheolwr Llais y Dysgwr Opens in new window (pdf, 315kB)Job description- Learner Voice Manager Opens in new window (pdf, 313kB)Canllaw i Ymgeiswyr ar Lunio Datganiad Personol Opens in new window (pdf, 112kB)A Candidate's guide to crafting a personal statement Opens in new window (pdf, 113kB)