Senior Early Years Policy Manager

Senior Early Years Policy Manager

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London (with hybrid working – a minimum of one day per week in the London office)

The Organisation

Our client is focused on supporting education to break down barriers between student success and finance.

They support the education sector through research and working within schools to drive initiatives that directly support learners.

They are now looking for a Senior Early Years Policy Manager to join them on a full-time, permanent basis, working 40 hours per week.

The Benefits

- Salary of £53,050 per annum

- Flexible working opportunities

- 27 days’ holiday a year (plus 8 bank holidays, including 3 which can be taken flexibly)

- 2 festive season closure days

- 6% employer pension contributions, minimum 3% employee contribution

- Life insurance cover

- Interest-free season ticket loan and cycle scheme

- Enhanced maternity, paternity, adoption and shared parental leave pay (conditions apply)

- Confidential Employee Assistance Programme to help you deal with any personal and professional problems

This is a rewarding opportunity for an educational policy professional with expertise in the early years landscape to join a mission-led organisation.

You will have the chance to lead high-impact initiatives that influence how education is delivered, helping to improve outcomes for young children and the professionals who support them.

What’s more, you will be enabled and supported to develop your expertise, gaining valuable insight and exposure to position yourself as an expert within the education sector.

So, if you want to play a leading role in shaping evidence-informed policy across education, apply now and help our client drive meaningful change.

The Role

As a Senior Early Years Policy Manager, you will lead the development of policies to support our client’s work in the early years education sector.

Seeking to influence national education policy, you will play a vital role in the creation of a programme of support for educational policymakers. Your overall aim will be to ensure that focus is placed on disadvantaged children, quality of practice and the use of evidence in early years settings.

You will work with the Programme Lead and Head of Policy to identify priorities, establish the policy position and build the relationships that will deliver them. Communicating the policy position to relevant and varied audiences, you will also support data to improve evaluation and enable the end-to-end delivery of strategic projects.

Additionally, you will:

- Support work on professional development in early years education

- Lead projects to improve training and support for teachers and leaders

- Ensure our client’s wider activity reflects their policies

- Maintain your understanding of early years policy developments

- Support and update the senior team on policy-related work

About You

To be considered as a Senior Early Years Policy Manager, you will need:

- Experience working in education policy or a related field

- An excellent understanding of the early years English education landscape and relevant government policies

- The ability to analyse complex policy problems and identify opportunities for research to inform policy solutions

- The ability to build relationships with policymakers and other stakeholders

- Strong project management skills and the ability to work in complex and changing delivery environments

- Strong attention to detail and a curiosity to engage deeply with evidence and research

- Exceptional written and verbal communication skills

- A collaborative and pragmatic approach, coupled with the ability to build relationships

- Strong advocacy for equity, diversity and inclusion

- A degree level qualification in a relevant field

All staff are subject to a check by the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). The level of this check will be “Basic”.

The closing date for this role is 25th May 2026.

Other organisations may call this role Early Years Education Policy Manager, Education Policy Manager, Senior Education Policy Advisor, Education Policy Consultant, or Education Policy Lead.

Webrecruit and our clients are equal opportunities employers, value diversity and are strongly committed to providing equal employment opportunities for all employees and all applicants for employment. Equal opportunities are the only acceptable way to conduct business and we believe that the more inclusive our environments are, the better our work will be.

So, if you want to contribute to our client’s mission as a Senior Early Years Policy Manager, please apply via the button shown. This vacancy is being advertised by Webrecruit. xwzovoh The services advertised by Webrecruit are those of an Employment Agency.