Arbor Education
Head of Policy & Insights
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Location: London (Hybrid)
Salary: £90,000 - £100,000
About us
At Arbor, we’re on a mission to transform the way schools work for the better.
We believe in a future of work in schools where being challenged doesn’t mean being burnt out and overworked. Where data guides progress without overwhelming staff. And where everyone working in a school is reminded why they got into education every day.
Our MIS and school management tools are already making a difference in over 12,000 schools and trusts. Giving time and power back to staff, turning data into clear, actionable insights, and supporting happier working days.
At the heart of our brand is a recognition that the challenges schools face today aren’t just about efficiency, outputs, and productivity - but about creating happier working lives for the people who drive education every day: the staff. We want to make schools more joyful places to work, as well as learn.
About the role
We are looking for an experienced and highly knowledgeable Head of Policy & Insights to join our Strategic Marketing team and help us to drive our understanding of the education landscape, and to manage our engagement with the sector as a whole. The remit and focus of the role is to take responsibility for the full insights value chain: from analysing our unique internal dataset (now covering ~13,000 schools), to managing market, competitor, and customer insight generation, and using that evidence to influence our internal planning - as well as national policy discussions with the DfE and think tanks. It’s a broad and exciting role, so we’re looking for someone up for a challenge - if you’re a strategic thinker and have a deep knowledge of the UK’s Education sector, this is the role for you.
Core responsibilities
Market Strategy and Intelligence
- Strategic planning: Lead the research and analysis that will help us refine Arbor’s 5-year strategic plan. You will generate insights to help us assess new market adjacencies, potential acquisitions, and long-term growth levers.
- Competitor analysis: Maintain a live view of the competitive landscape, producing regular briefings on competitor strategy and market shifts to inform Product and Sales.
- Briefing and advice: Regularly brief the Management Team on external risks and opportunities, acting as a trusted advisor on "what’s next" for the sector.
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Data Analysis and Evidence
- Direct analysis: You will be the primary analyst for strategic insights. You will interrogate our dataset to uncover national trends (e.g., the link between attendance and attainment) to create proprietary value.
- Thought leadership content: In partnership with Brand and Content, author high-quality white papers, blogs, and reports. You will turn your raw data analysis into compelling narratives that press and policymakers want to read.
Policy and external relations
- Stakeholder management: Represent Arbor in the sector. You will cultivate relationships with the DfE, policymakers, and influencers, using our data to support and evidence national policy.
- Horizon scanning: Monitor the DfE policy pipeline and legislative changes. You will interpret what changes (like a new government or White Paper) mean for Arbor’s product roadmap and commercial strategy.
- PR and brand support: Partner with the Brand team to feed data-led stories into our PR machine, ensuring Arbor is consistently cited in the national press.
About you
- Hybrid skill set: You sit at the intersection of strategy, public affairs, and analytics. You are as comfortable presenting a slide deck to Management as you are analysing a dataset in Excel.
- Sector authority: Deep understanding of the UK education sector, government policy, and the EdTech market. You can hold your own in a room with policy experts.
- Analytical rigour: Proven experience in a research, strategy, or think-tank role where you were responsible for the end-to-end delivery of data projects.
- Communication: Exceptional writing and speaking skills. You can distill complex policy and data into clear, persuasive arguments.
- Autonomy: As a standalone lead, you are self-sufficient and proactive. Comfortable scoping, executing, and delivering projects independently.
What we offer
- The chance to work alongside a team of hard-working, passionate people in a role where you’ll see the impact of your work every day. We also offer:
- A dedicated wellbeing team who champion initiatives such as mindfulness, lunch n learns, manager training, mental health first aid training, and much more!
- 32 days holiday (plus Bank Holidays). This is made up of 25 days annual leave plus 7 extra company-wide days given over Easter, Summer & Christmas.
- Life Assurance paid out at 3x annual salary.
- Comprehensive wellness benefit provided by AIG Smart Health, which provides a 24/7 virtual GP service, Mental health support, Counselling, and personalised Health Checks.
- Private Dental Insurance with Bupa.
- Salary sacrifice Pension provided by Scottish Widows.
- Enhanced maternity and adoption leave (20 weeks full pay) and paternity (6 weeks full pay) pay.
- 5 free return to work maternity coaching sessions, helping you adapt to this new exciting time of life!
- Access to services such as Calm and Bippit (financial wellbeing coaching).
- All of our roles champion flexible working, and we are happy to discuss what this means to you.
- Social committees that plan team, office, and company-wide events to bring people together and celebrate success.
- Dedicated professional development training budget (CPD courses, upskilling resources, professional memberships, etc.).
- Volunteer with a charity of your choice for a day each year.
- Dog-friendly offices!
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Interview process
- Phone screen
- 1st stage
- 2nd stage
We are committed to a fair and comfortable recruitment process, so if you require any reasonable adjustments during your application or interview process, please reach out to a member of the team at careers@arbor-education.com.
Our commitment is also backed by our partnership with Neurodiversity Consultancy, Lexxic, who provide us with training, support, and advice.
Arbor Education is an equal opportunities organisation
Our goal is for Arbor to be a workplace which represents, celebrates, and supports people from all backgrounds, and which gives them the tools they need to thrive - whatever their ambitions may be, so we support and promote diversity and equality, and actively encourage applications from people of all backgrounds.
Refer a friend
Know someone else who would be good for this role? You can refer a friend, family member, or colleague. If they are offered a role with Arbor, we will say thank you with a voucher valued up to £200! Simply email: careers@arbor-education.com.
Please note: We are unable to provide visa sponsorship at this time.
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