Head of Skills Strategy –
London and South England
Home based
£53,000 + benefits
The role:
Working at the leading edge of our regional operations, this role acts as the interface
between national policy and strategic engagement in the South and London region across a
broad range of industry stakeholders. Stakeholders will range from SMEs to large, global
engineering and design companies, regional policymakers to engineering institutions. It is
key to developing and implementing our operational skills strategy, taking account of the
policy context, and applying advocacy and stakeholder engagement to drive regional
success.
The person:
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Educated to degree level in a relevant discipline or possessing an occupationally related
professional qualification.
Minimum 5 years’ experience of working effectively in relationship/business
management and/or policy and advocacy capacity
Detailed knowledge of engineering or the engineering construction industry.
Knowledge and understanding of Government and policy formulation, including at a
regional and local level.
Experience of assimilating the political and policy context into decision-making and
applying this understanding within the context of the required area of responsibility
Experience of advocacy and stakeholder engagement within a defined area of
responsibility
Some experience of risk management processes
Experience of applying reason to situations and forming sound judgements and
decisions
Project management of non-technical projects with demonstrable ability to manage
stakeholders.
Experience of procuring services and setting and managing contracts up to £50,000
Understanding of basic qualitative and quantitative research methods.
The package:
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1
£53,000pa
Company car or car allowance (£7.5k+)
25 days holiday per year
Contributory Defined Contribution pension scheme via salary sacrifice
The ECITB:
The Engineering Construction Industry Training Board (ECITB) provides professional advice,
information, skills development and qualifications to support the employers and skilled
people working in the engineering construction industry. This industry is multifaceted and
comprises: oil and gas, power generation, nuclear energy, renewable energy, chemicals,
pharmaceuticals, water treatment, food and drink, steel, glass and paper manufacture and
other commodities.
We work with and on behalf of the industry and government to attract, develop and qualify
personnel in a wide variety of skills and disciplines. We also set training standards, monitor
training providers, and award competence and safety qualifications. We provide the means
to deliver high quality training via an extensive regionally-based network of over 200
specialist ECITB-accredited course providers. Our training programmes range from practical
craft occupations right through to management and project management skills, and centre
around the skills to design, project-manage, construct, install, test, commission, operate and
maintain critical plant and infrastructure.
To apply for this position, candidates must be eligible to live and work in the UK
indefinitely.
Account Management | B2B | Business to Business | Advocacy | Policy | Government |
Relationship Building | Relationship Management | Engineering Construction | Training
Needs | Training Products and Services | Strategic | Strategy
Role:
Reporting to:
Head of Skills Strategy
– Engineering Design & Procurement and South England
Operations Director
Role Purpose:
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To implement the ECITB strategy and act as the interface between national policy
and strategic engagement in the South and London region.
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To lead and develop the ECITB’s skills strategy for the engineering construction
industry in the South and London, with a particular focus on companies in the
engineering design and procurement (EDP) sector.
Business Outcomes:
To be successful in this role the Head of Sector Strategy must:
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Ensure the ECITB and the engineering construction industry is integrated into
appropriate policy development at a regional level.
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Ensure that the ECITB is embedded in skills activity to support employers across the
South and Southern region.
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Ensure that the in-scope employers perceive value for the levy paid.
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Ensure that ECITB understands the skills and labour market requirements of industry
in the region.
Key Responsibilities:
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Lead the design and delivery of ECITB skills strategy in the South and London region
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Employer engagement objectives
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Provider engagement objectives
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Commercial income generation objectives
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Science Technology Engineering & Maths (STEM) objectives
Maintaining an overview of the sector and keeping a long-term view on areas
of development within the sector
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Emerging project and site activity
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Technological changes
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Identification of potential levy growth opportunities within the sector
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Support policy development and advocacy, feeding regional specific issues into
national policy formation through the ECITB Head of Policy and ensuring national
policy priorities are supported and enhanced through the regional strategy.
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Lead engagement with policy stakeholders at a regional level, including local
authorities, Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) and professional institutions.
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Ensure regional labour market information is being gathered and reflects the region.
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Setting the operational objectives to deliver the strategy
Providing regional labour market information to the Policy Department,
including by conducting qualitative research with employers and contributing
to the ECITB’s annual labour market intelligence report.
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Engagement with senior employer representatives to inform the skills strategy and
direct operational objectives.
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Ensuring, through face to face engagement, that senior employer representatives in
the region perceive value for the levy investment.
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Through effective engagement with industry stakeholders at a regional level, monitor
the medium to long-term growth forecasts and changes within the ECI in the region
and ensure these are reflected in the strategy and fed into the overall policy view.
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Engage with regional skills organisations to maximise collaborative opportunities
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Ensure the uptake of the ECITB products and services is maximised to generate
value across the sector.
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Identification and progression of regional and EDP establishment reviews
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Managing specific projects as identified in the Operating Plan
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Managing the strategic risks for the region
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Develop and manage the regional training plan and budget.
Role Parameters:
The role has no line management responsibility but close working with and support to the
regionally based account management team is required. The role requires close working with
the other regional strategy leads, Head of Policy and Director Regional Operations to ensure
coherence of overall regional operations.
This role will require significant travel to engage with the key regional stakeholders as
identified in a stakeholder engagement plan. The Head of Skills Strategy, South and EDP
will also liaise extensively with the Head of R&D and the Communications team.
The role will have operational KPI and strategic and operational risk reporting requirements
The geographical region of responsibility will cover:
From North Thames Estuary across to Gloucestershire and the Severn Estuary including all of
the Engineering, Design and Procurement employers
The geographical area does not include core nuclear sites.
This role will be home-based and is required to be full-time
Experience & Qualifications
4
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Educated to degree level in a relevant discipline or possessing an occupationally
related professional qualification.

Minimum 5 years’ experience of working effectively in relationship/business
management and/or policy and advocacy capacity

Detailed knowledge of engineering or the engineering construction industry.

Knowledge and understanding of Government and policy formulation, including at a
regional and local level.

Experience of assimilating the political and policy context into decision-making and
applying this understanding within the context of the required area of responsibility

Experience of advocacy and stakeholder engagement within a defined area of
responsibility

Some experience of risk management processes

Experience of applying reason to situations and forming sound judgements and
decisions

Project management of non-technical projects with demonstrable ability to manage
stakeholders.

Experience of procuring services and setting and managing contracts up to £50,000

Understanding of basic qualitative and quantitative research methods.
Competences:
These are required to be successful in this role. A measurement system to determine the extent
to which these exist for any individual is available as part of the overall personal development
process.
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Strategic Focus
Recognises and articulates strategic needs through effective analysis of the long-term skills
requirement in the region. Assimilates analysis with the ECITB’s strategic objectives to
develop and deliver an effective regional strategy and associated plan. Builds and maintains
relationships at a senior level.. Actively promotes the fulfilment of individual customer needs
within his/her region, while retaining a strategic focus on longer-term industry-wide solutions..
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Political and Policy Insight
Understands the political and policy-making context, nationally and in the region. Can place
it in context with the industry and the ECITB’s strategic objectives through effective analysis
and makes sound judgements based on that analysis. Able to assimilate central policy and
apply it within the region. Understands the requirements of working for a Non-Departmental
Public Body (NDBP) and exercises appropriate professional judgement at all times.
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Influencing and Persuading
Convinces others to adopt a course of action, particularly if it is to the longer term benefit of
the industry over the short term benefit to an individual customer. Able to understand the
audience and modify the method of persuasion accordingly; backed up with a sound
business case.
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Communication Skills
Communicates effectively to wide ranging audiences in formal and informal settings, from
senior employer executives to decision makers in local government and allied skills bodies.
Able to tailor communication to different audiences and settings. Excellent written and
presentation skills, alongside an ability to converse confidently with senior personnel.
Messages are clear and unambiguous
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Planning and Organising
Effectively organises and plans work according to organisational needs by defining
objectives and anticipating needs and priorities. Delegates tasks efficiently within and
outside the immediate team using available resource effectively to be able to handle several
projects simultaneously. Sets and achieves realistic goals and effectively anticipates
deadlines and delivers required results
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Business Acumen
Understands general business and financial concepts; particularly as they apply within the
engineering construction industry. Understands an individual company’s business and their
labour requirements, and uses both general and specific knowledge to make effective
judgements
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Leadership
Leads all relevant stakeholders to achieve regional objectives. Inspires colleagues and
others to buy into and support the delivery of strategic goals. Fosters and promotes an
environment of collaboration including coaching and mentoring.
2017 Operational Objectives
Head of Skills Strategy, South and EDP
Business as Usual
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Maintain relevant Stakeholder Maps and Engagement Plans
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Include Professional Engineering Institutes (PEIs), Engineering Council
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Ensure effective communications with senior employers in the region
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Ensure a newsletter is developed and issued by end of Q2
Strategic Themes
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Engage with those employers who are developing engineering solutions as
part of Front End Engineering Design (FEED) activities
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Liaison with PEIs to establish emergent relevant technologies and the skills
issues relating to these technologies
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Deliver South/EDP element of Labour Market Intelligence (LMI) to support wider ECI
LMI programme
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Establish and engage with relevant policy interfaces which will support the employers
in the ECI as identified in the Operational Plan
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Identify emerging technological developments that will improve the ECI engineering
capability
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Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs)
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Combined Authorities (CAs)
Identify effective ways for ECI employers in the region to maximise their use of
apprenticeship levy through relevant programmes
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Graduate schemes
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Higher Engineering Institute (HEI) engagement
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Bursary opportunities
Maintain presence on the London H&S Directors forum
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Provide advice and guidance on transferability of skills
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Seek support and input into skills policy issues through this forum
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Embed leadership at an industry level into the career development of selected ECI
personnel
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Scope the ECITB Future Leaders Programme and present findings to Exec in
Oct 2017 ensuring:
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Embed appropriate leadership interventions for new apprentices and
graduates
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Identify leadership potential at an appropriate early career stage
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Identify and develop the ECITB leadership development continuum
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Deliver the work strands identified through the ECITB/ECI Project
leadership workshop