Programme Officer

Reports to: Chief Executive Officer, Martingale Postgraduate Foundation

Location: West London – currently operating an agile working policy with two core days (Mon and Weds) in the office

Contract: Permanent

Pattern: Full-time – 37.5 hours per week

Closing date: 16/06/2023 at 10am

Interviews: 28/06/2023

Salary: £28,000 to £33,000 per annum (depending on experience)

About the role:

This is an exciting time to join Martingale: from Autumn 2023 we will welcome the inaugural cohort of Martingale Postgraduate Scholars and launch recruitment for the second cohort of scholars.

As Programme Officer (PO), you will work collaboratively with the CEO and delivery team (Programme Manager and Communications Manager), as well as university partners, applicants, and enrolled scholars. You will be responsible for programme delivery for enrolled scholars, be a key point of contact for them, and work closely with university and delivery partners to ensure scholars have the best support possible. You will support in the assessment and admissions of prospective future scholars, including supporting in the coordination of an end-to-end admissions process. You will bring your creative ideas to help develop new initiatives that support low-income background people to pursue, and succeed in, postgraduate study.

The Programme Officer will have a real impact on scholars’ outcomes and can develop professionally with support from the CEO and external learning opportunities.

Key Responsibilities: 

• Coordinate sector-leading events and training programmes, including arranging prestigious venues, world-class speakers and sector-leading providers
• Produce relevant programme materials, working closely with the Programme Manager
• Ensure a best practice, end-to-end assessment process: including supporting in the development and coordination of application forms, assessment guidance, interviews, and events
• Deliver high quality events, including Assessment Centres and a high-profile showcase event
• Co-development of regular updates for key stakeholders including partner universities
• Build professional, trusting relationships with enrolled students, support them to find and access relevant opportunities, and check in with them on their progress
• Support in the management of strong relationships with University Partners, including Graduate Tutors and admissions teams. Ensure they are consulted and pleased with progress, while also delivering on their commitments
• Maintain collaborative relationships with social mobility experts, postgraduate research experts, training providers and organisations hiring postgraduate students or graduates
• Work with the Communications Manager to assess and evidence the impact of the Martingale Scholarship for funders, and develop case studies to aid marketing and recruitment

Key Requirements:

• Experience delivering leading programmes including event management
• Experience managing multiple projects/workstream and priorities simultaneously, while maintaining attention to detail and meeting deadlines 
• Experience working in a fast-paced working environment and/or a growing organisation
• Experience implementing systems and processes
• Experience in a student-facing role
• Comfortable working in a rapidly growing and changing organisation with a degree of ambiguity – confident to create processes and ways forwards where they might not yet exist
• Inquisitive and curious, someone who wants to understand their colleagues’ work, learn from those around them, and develop themselves professionally

View the full job description and person specification here

About Martingale:

Martingale Postgraduate Foundation (Martingale) exists to fund and support the next generation of STEM leaders. We believe that family income should not be a barrier to the pursuit of excellence, so our programmes focus on supporting students from low family income backgrounds.

Martingale’s flagship programme is the Martingale Postgraduate Scholarship, which supports students from low-income backgrounds to pursue postgraduate degrees and excel in them by providing:

• Full funding (fees, stipend and research expenses) to study for a Master’s degree at a partner university.
• Access to the Martingale Development Programme, which will deliver cohort-building, leadership, and career development activities.
• Exclusive opportunity to apply for Martingale PhD funding: full fees, stipend and research expenses for a 4 year PhD at one of our partner universities

The Martingale Scholarship in Mathematics launched in September 2022, with 23 applicants awarded Martingale Scholarships. The scholars will commence their postgraduate studies in autumn 2023 at one of our five partner universities: University of Cambridge, King’s College London, Imperial College London, University College London, and the University of Oxford. The programme is now looking to expand to more subjects and universities in the near future and devise new interventions to improve social mobility in postgraduate education longer term.

Martingale is well funded by leading philanthropists, and is currently being incubated by Ark Ventures, a leading charity that develops and supports organisations that tackle some of the most challenging problems facing young people in the UK.

Benefits

• 27 days annual leave plus bank holidays, rising with each year of service up to 30 days after 3-years’ service. This entitlement is pro rata for part time employees. This entitlement excludes bank holidays
• Full office closure between Christmas and New Year
• Hybrid working, with currently two days a week in our state-of-the-art office in West London working alongside colleagues
• Regular social events, monthly free breakfast, and daily fruit
• A flexible approach to working with understanding and consideration for work life balance and personal commitments
• As an Ark employee, you will have the opportunity to be part of the TPT (The Pension Trust) scheme, our workplace pension scheme where we make an 11% contribution; you are not required to contribute towards this scheme unless you choose to
• Access to high-quality professional learning throughout your career, offering both face-to-face sessions and a bespoke online learning platform
• Access to Ark Rewards scheme offering savings from over 3,000 major retailers, interest-free loans available for season tickets or a bike, gym discounts offering up to 40% off your local gym and free eye tests

How to Apply:

Apply with a CV and cover letter on our online recruitment portal. Applications to be submitted by Friday 16^th June 2023 at 10am but please note: we will be reviewing applications on an on-going basis and this advert may close earlier than advertised depending on the level of response.

This ATS application form should take no longer 20 minutes to complete. At any time, you can pause, save, and log back in. If you have any difficulty with meeting the deadline for application, please contact recruitment@arkonline.org

Interviews will be arranged as suitable candidates are identified, so early application is strongly advised.

Ark is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people in its academies. In order to meet this responsibility, its academies follow a rigorous selection process to discourage and screen out unsuitable applicants.  

Ark requires all employees to undertake an enhanced DBS check. You are required, before appointment, to disclose any unspent conviction, cautions, reprimands or warnings under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975. Non-disclosure may lead to termination of employment. However, disclosure of a criminal background will not necessarily debar you from employment - this will depend upon the nature of the offence(s) and when they occurred. To read more about Ark’s safer recruitment process, please click this link.