Provider Relations Manager Office for Students

Job summary

Provider Relations Manager

Location: Bristol

Salary: £56,209 - £58,820

Generous Civil Service defined benefit pension

About us

We are the independent regulator of higher education in England. We aim to ensure that every student, whatever their background, has a fulfilling experience of higher education that enriches their lives and careers.

We’re proud of our people, our culture and the benefits we offer. We care about supporting and developing our staff. At the OfS we want to create a welcoming and engaging working environment which is free from discrimination. We’re looking for skilled, committed people who care about students and their experience of higher education. Join us and you’ll be part of an energetic, forward-looking organisation with high ambitions and big opportunities for our people.

Job description

About the role

We are seeking a Provider Relations Manager to lead and drive forward our communications and engagement with providers we regulate. You will lead the OfS’s programme of provider engagement – managing our hugely important visits programme as well as delivering high-profile events and webinars aimed directly at senior leaders in universities and colleges – and oversee our annual stakeholder survey, which will form how we communicate with our diverse range of regulated providers.

You will help develop processes to gather intelligence on the sector, programme strategic engagement activity direct to providers, and ensure that the insights gathered from providers are acted on and shared effectively across the organisation.

Sitting within the Strategy, Delivery and Communications (SDC) Directorate, the communications team drives the OfS’s external and internal communications, including public affairs, media relations, digital publishing, stakeholder engagement, events and public information. Communications is essential for the organisation to drive progress towards our strategic goals.

This is an exciting opportunity for someone with strong project management and communications skills who wants to work at the heart of higher education regulation.

Person specification

What you’ll do

As Provider Relations Manager, you will:

• Lead the OfS’s provider visits programme, ensuring visits run smoothly and to a high standard, including managing briefings, matching visitors and shaping future phases of the programme.
• Develop and oversee the chair and chief executive visit programme, acting as liaison with board and committee members.
• Manage how feedback from provider visits is used internally, shared back with providers and used to improve ways of working.
• Lead the operational delivery of the OfS’s annual stakeholder survey, analyse findings and develop strategic improvements to provider engagement.
• Lead programming for OfS accountable officer and chair events, including quarterly webinars, new accountable officer and chair induction events and mailings, which involved developing content, agendas, speeches and briefing notes.
• Develop and implement a provider engagement strategy, identifying key audiences and creating proactive engagement opportunities such as policy roundtables and regional meetings.
• Write briefing papers and discussion points for the chair and members of the OfS’s Provider Panel.
• Advise on and implement provider engagement activity for strategic communications plans and launches.
• Activity manage the Stakeholder Engagement Officer, Events and Communications Co-ordinator, and Administrative Resource Unit colleagues who support visit delivery.

What you’ll need

These are the skills and experience you’ll already have:

• Demonstrable project management skills, including the ability to plan, manage and deliver complex projects to time, coordinating resources and tracking progress.
• A track record of successfully working across teams and organisational levels, collaborating with a wide range of colleagues and stakeholders to achieve shared goals.
• Outstanding written communication skills, including the ability to present complex policy and technical information in a clear, accessible way tailored to specific audiences – from briefings and speeches to event content.
• Excellent organisational skills, strong attention to detail and the ability to work proactively and autonomously without close supervision.
• The ability to make sound judgements and give strategic advice.
• Experience of working in or with the higher education sector.

Benefits

Our Total Reward Framework offers a range of benefits to suit your way of life. These include:

• Comprehensive learning and development – we’re invested in your future.
• Annual leave starting at 25 days per year, plus public holidays.
• Access to the highly regarded Civil Service defined benefit pension scheme.
• A variety of health-related benefits.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £56,209, Office for Students contributes £16,283 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

• Learning and development tailored to your role
• An environment with flexible working options
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
• A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%

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

Working for us

The OfS regulates the higher education sector on behalf of all students. We value diversity and the wealth of perspectives, experience and ideas that it brings to our work, and we strive to embed equality of opportunity in everything we do.

We recruit based on fair and open competition and welcome applications from candidates regardless of age, disability, race and ethnicity, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation.

Flexibility is important to the OfS, as we recognise that it can enable people to work more effectively. A set of organisation-wide principles shape our approach to flexible and hybrid working, which our teams then use as guidance on how they deliver their business goals. This would usually mean working from the office for two days in a typical week.

To attract the widest possible field of qualified applicants, flexible working – for example job share and part-time working – apply to this role.

We are committed to ensuring our recruitment process is accessible to everyone. If you require any reasonable adjustments to support you through the application stage, please contact us at recruitmentteam@officeforstudents.org.uk and we will be happy to help.

Closing date for applications: Noon, Monday 8 June

For information: the OfS does not hold a UK Visa & Immigration (UKVI) Skilled Worker Sponsor Licence.

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

Please note this Post is NOT regulated by the Civil Service Commission.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 : Recruitment Team
• Email : RecruitmentTeam@officeforstudents.org.uk
• Telephone : 01179317444

Recruitment team

• Email : RecruitmentTeam@officeforstudents.org.uk

Further information

Office For Students

Attachments

Why work for the OfS Feb 2026 Opens in new window (pdf, 425kB)