Head of Policy & Public Affairs

Head of Policy & Public Affairs

Reports to: CEO & Founder of The Difference, Kiran Gill
Start date: As soon as possible
Location: Hybrid with 50% office presence in London (Bethnal Green)
Contract:  Permanent
Salary: £55,000 - £65,000 depending on experience (+6% employer pension contribution and
sector-leading parental leave policy shared with all applicants)
Closing date for applications: 9am Monday 16th February 2026
First round interviews will be held: w/c 23rd February 2026

Our Organisation: The Difference

Every day, the equivalent of 5,500 children are suspended from Englandʼs schools. Their
likelihood of being NEET (not in education, employment or training) by 24 will then double.
Lost learning like this is happening to those children facing the most crisis in their lives:
children facing mental health challenges, living in poverty, with threats to their safety,
neurodiverse or already falling behind in learning, facing discrimination inside and outside
the school gates. These are the children who need school the most. Today, theyʼre getting
the least.

The Difference is a young education charity, founded to change this story on lost learning
through whole school inclusion.  Six years later, The Difference has shifted national
inclusion through its three levers:

●  People - The Difference has trained 1,000 headteachers, deputy and assistant heads,
and begun working with MATs and LAs to measurably reduce lost learning. Through
programmes we are changing how schools capture data to measure and reduce lost
learning, and how everyday staff and student interactions change childrenʼs
belonging and engagement.

●  Practice - Having won a competitive research tender from Education Endowment
Foundation and Youth Endowment Trust, The Difference is known as an expert in
the growing area of internal Alternative Provision: an upstream approach to
reducing lost learning. This year we have been sharing this via training with schools
and local authorities across the country, and advising the Department and Ofsted on
how to define good practice and inspect against it.

●  Policy - Last year our IPPR report Who is Losing Learning convened a Council drawn
from across civil society to define inclusion. This has already influenced the sector,
with 60 organisations signing up to this definition, and Founder Kiran advising on
Ofstedʼs approach to inclusion. We are now hoping to shape definitions within the
white paper through Kiranʼs position on Minister Gouldʼs SEND Development Group.

The Differenceʼs Vision is to see lost learning falling nationally by 2030.

It feels schools are at a national tipping point. With changes in Ofsted and the biggest
special needs reforms for decades, this could be the moment that Englandʼs schools become
more inclusive. But the path ahead is challenging:

●  As policy direction turns to practicalities, government plans must avoid perverse

incentives.

●  As the firing pistol sounds for multi academy trusts and local authorities to change

the ways they operate, a new generation of middle-tier leaders must be supported to
become sector-leaders.

●  And with new expectations but few exemplars, school practice which truly changes
pupilsʼ outcomes (rather than hiding vulnerable children away) must be researched
and codified.

The Difference is now looking for a new Head of Policy, working directly with our CEO, to
lead this work.

The Opportunity: Head of Policy & Public Affairs

Leading national policy strategy
As Head of Policy you will work closely with the CEO to develop and execute a four-year
influencing plan.  Together weʼll aim to shift local and national incentives on inclusion by
2030, which see the national trend of rising suspension and absence begin to fall.

You will hold relationships with the Department for Education and Ofsted and advise on
policy priorities ahead, such as:

●  Widening the definition of inclusion beyond special needs, recognising the needs of

those young people historically or currently interacting with social services

●  Reducing perverse incentives for schools to alter their school roll through

admissions and pupil exits

●  Expectations for multi-academy trusts in capturing and analysing data on lost

●

learning, including how it disproportionately affects different groups
Improving local alternative provision eco-systems, to improve outcomes for young
people

●  National standards for inclusive school practice, at a universal and targeted level
●  Professional development standards for school inclusion

Developing implementation expertise in the middle tier
In your first six months, you will advise on the internal development of a new programme
for middle tier policy actors: multi-academy trust and local authority leaders.  You will
support the Programme team in its design, to plan strategically for the recruitment of trusts
and local authorities, and you will plan the research and influencing work which will seek to
share their success nationally.

Building the evidence base
In your second six months, you will work with the CEO to build out our research function.
Your influencing plan will include how The Difference can learn from the work across our
multi-academy trust, local authority and internal AP pioneer partners over the next four
years, to develop influential publications. Research work ahead will include publishing
sector-facing publications of The Differenceʼs own research, carried out by our research lead
and associates; alongside managing external contractors and internal colleagues to bid for
and deliver aligned research disseminating our ideas.

Raising your voice
This is an exciting opportunity for someone committed to inclusive policy change. The
Difference has always punched above our weight in national and sector press reach. In post,
you will publish blogs and comment pieces, disseminating our shared ideas.  You will be a
prominent voice on inclusion.

The Difference is still a small and growing charity. This means that our work is fast-paced,
our roles are broad, and there is a culture of being highly autonomous, reactive and flexible,
as the needs of the organisation evolve. If this sounds exciting rather than daunting, then
this could be the role and team for you!

Key Areas of Responsibility

Design and execute an impactful influencing plan

●  Design an influencing plan - Identify via horizon scanning opportunities to

influence national policy using open policy windows, or by nudging/creating new
ones. Work collaboratively with the senior leadership to design a programme of
activities that is ambitious, but achievable within limited resources, and is in line
with the wider organisational strategy. The plan should be shared and understood
across the organisation and iterated as necessary.

●  Execute an influencing plan - Utilise own assets and assets across the organisation,
including the Director team, to deliver against the influencing plan. Activities are to
be designed based on policy and political windows, but likely to include a mixture of
private and public influencing activities such as briefings, meetings, roundtables,
press, publications (e.g. research reports, blogs, policy briefs), school visits and
building deep personal relationships with change-makers. Raise awareness of The
Differences brand and programmes alongside influencing work.

●  Relationship building - Build highly credible and impactful relationships with a

variety of stakeholders who hold power. This will include policy makers in national
governments, local government officials, politicians, other third sector organisations
and think tanks. Leveraging these relationships for impactful influencing, including
public facing work e.g. on blogs and policy briefs.

●  Leadership - Play a significant role internally and externally in communicating the
organisationʼs policy position, raising organisational and own brand. Line manage
the policy and research officer to deliver key influencing activities. Upskill wider
team on policy making process and what works to create change.

Build policy capacity and credibility across the organisation

●  Policy positions and solutions- Use the concepts, work and experience of The
Differenceʼs programmes to develop new, and refine existing, national policy
positions to shift incentives.

●  Thought leadership - Be the organisationʼs education policy and political expert.
Share knowledge and information with the wider organisation on the open and
upcoming policy windows and changing political nuances around inclusion. Create
two way feedback loops between policy and programmes to maximise impact.

●  Generating income - Use own and teamʼs expertise and credibility to generate

income via speaking engagements, consultancy and research contracts to support
the organisationʼs financial sustainability.

Person Specification

Essential – We are looking for someone with the following knowledge, experience
and skills, though you may be stronger in some areas than others:

●  Deep expertise in education policy, particularly on the topic of lost learning and the
various policy and political debates, including areas of controversy, surrounding this
policy topic.

●  Strategic thinker with a proven track record in identifying policy windows and

designing activities that lead to meaningful national policy change.

●  Excellent relationship builder, who brings with them their own network of

influential stakeholders and has a plan for building new relationships. Adept at
navigating tricky situations and explaining complex, sometimes difficult, messages.
●  Expert convener with a strong knowledge of the education sector, including which
schools, trusts and local authorities are influential and experience in bringing a
variety of perspectives together to generate consensus.

●  Persuasive and clear writing style for publication, including reports, press, blogs
and ghost writing for members of the senior leadership team, often based on
consensus positions, and designed to communicate key messages for impact.
●  Confidence and credibility in communicating nuanced messages in a contentious
landscape, in writing, verbally and in public (e.g. on panels), to raise the profile of
The Difference.

●  Strong project manager who can design systems and processes to keep self, team

and other stakeholders on task and on time. Experience of designing programmes of
work and monitoring their effectiveness. Flexible project management style that can
adapt to a changing environment. Confidence in managing a variety of stakeholders
and supporting them to deliver on time.

Desired – You are more likely to be successful in your application if you have one or
more of the following:

●  Familiarity with The Differenceʼs programmatic work, theory and practice.
●  Lived experience or insight into the school experiences of marginalised young
people (e.g. those with experience of the care system, mental ill health, special
educational needs, exclusion, and racism).

We know that some people, especially those from marginalised backgrounds, may hesitate
to apply unless they meet every listed requirement. If this role excites you and you believe
you could make a strong contribution, we warmly encourage you to apply.

We actively welcome applications from people whose backgrounds are under-represented
in the charity sector, including but not limited to: people from black, Asian and minority
ethnic backgrounds, LGBTQ+ people, people with disabilities, people with experience in the
case system, non-graduates and first-in-family graduates.

The Difference Values

●  Relationships underpin success - Strong relationships and the safety they bring are the
foundation of achievement - for children, for school staff, in our workplace and in our
collaborations. They enable higher trust, challenging feedback, bolder work and
stronger impact.

●  We build stronger from assets  - Every child, family, school and community has

strengths and successes. We avoid deficit-labels about teachers, children and families,
and instead focus on building from whatʼs strong.

●  Systems shape opportunities - Actions always take place within systems. These can help
or hinder individuals. We recognise the role of policy and structural inequalities and
address them directly in our work.

●  Agency makes the difference - Bold leadership by individuals can create significant and
lasting change. We are proactive in addressing problems and seeking out opportunities.

Recommended Reading

If youʼd like to understand more about The Difference and what we are trying to achieve, we
would recommend the following:

●  Our research on the scale of the problem Who is Losing Learning? (Sept 2024) and
our recommendations, Finding Solutions to the School Engagement Crisis (March
2025)

●  Our 2025-2030 Strategy to reach our goal of lost learning, falling nationally
●  🎧The Spark - Kiran Gill and Excluded Pupils (2020) - our founder Kiran Gilll

explores the genesis and mission of The Difference in conversation with Helen
Lewis, BBC Radio 4

●  Our recent research on Internal Alternative Provision

●  Our latest Impact Report, sharing our work in 2023

How To Apply

Please click this link to access the application form.

Applications close at 9.00am on Monday 16th February.

For an informal and confidential discussion about the role prior to application, please
contact Rebecca Onumah (rebecca.o@the-difference.com), with a brief summary of your
experience and questions that you have.

We are committed to building a diverse team and strongly encourage applications from
under-represented groups in the charity sector such as people from black, Asian and
minority ethnic backgrounds, LGBTQ+ people, people with disabilities and people with
experience in the care system.

As part of our commitment to fairer recruitment, all applications will be assessed with
names and any protected characteristics redacted.