Chief Data Officer – Office for Students

Overview

The Office for Students (OfS) is the statutory regulator for higher education in England. Our aim is to ensure that every student, whatever their background, has a fulfilling experience of higher education that enriches their lives and careers. We do so by regulating the universities and colleges that register with us to make sure they deliver high quality courses and positive outcomes for their students; where they do not, we take action. The higher education sector in England is complex and diverse and the OfS’s approach to regulation takes this into account.

Role summary

We’re looking for a Chief Data Officer to play a pivotal leadership role that will oversee how data drives our regulatory efforts to benefit students. The successful candidate will lead the implementation of our ambitious data strategy, helping us leverage data to maximise our impact in the interests of   students and taxpayers. The role is a unique opportunity for an experienced data leader to help shape the data landscape at the OfS and the across the sector.

Key responsibilities

• Lead the strategic use of data within a regulatory context.
• Ensure data is harnessed to advance regulatory outcomes in the best interest of students.
• Engage proactively with stakeholders and navigate complex regulatory landscapes.
• Inspire innovation, foster collaboration, and drive meaningful change within the organisation.
• Lead a multifaceted data capability through a period of exciting transformation, creating impactful results and solutions.

Candidate profile

• Technical expertise: Significant experience in data management, analytics, and governance. Leadership of technology deployment, such as Databricks, SQL and Python.
• Leadership: Exceptional leadership qualities with a proven track record of inspiring innovation and driving change.
• Stakeholder engagement: Proactive approach to engaging with stakeholders and navigating complex regulatory environments.

Why this role is attractive

• Impact: Opportunity to lead the strategic use of data in a regulatory context, directly influencing the quality of higher education in England.
• Innovation: Be at the forefront of data-driven regulatory practices, fostering a culture of innovation and collaboration.
• Mission-driven: Join an organisation dedicated to the student interest.

Benefits 

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

• 25 days annual leave, plus bank holidays, rising to 30 days after five years
• comprehensive learning and development – we’re invested in your future
• generous Civil Service pension scheme
• health benefits.

Diversity and inclusion 

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, sexual orientation and socio-economic background.

Working arrangements 

We love working flexibly because we know that it helps us all to do our best work. We’ve created a set of principles to 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 at least two or three days in a typical week.