About us

We aim to ensure that every student, whatever their background, has a fulfilling experience of higher education that enriches their lives and careers. We work with higher education providers to make sure that students succeed in higher education. The Office for Students is an independent public body. We are not part of central Government, but we report to Parliament through the Department for Education (DfE). We were established by the Higher Education and Research Act 2017, which also sets out our powers and general duties.

Working in collaborative partnership with the business, the IT team is an integral part of the OfS - highly valued and respected by the organisation.  The team offers a full spectrum of service to the OfS, covering all elements of the IT lifecycle, from requirements identification and development through to operational delivery and security – and it’s an exciting and challenging time for us as we get fully onboard with Azure and Office 365.  We’ve recently restructured to take full advantage of this tech stack, embracing Agile and DevOps at the heart of all we do, and our ambitious ‘Cloud First’ strategy - digitising how the OfS works and bringing next level IT with it - is starting to ramp up.  

Career development

We care about supporting and developing our staff. We're a new, developing organisation where life is never dull and opportunities are immeasurable. We have high ambitions, and we offer big opportunities for our people to get involved in bringing those dreams to life. We want to see students and graduates across England develop and succeed - and we want the same for our people too. We'll make sure you have the skills and knowledge to do your job right now and in the future. We believe the way to do that is to provide opportunity, varied work and a stimulating environment. Here’s how we make that happen: 

• Paid training. We'll happily fund professional and academic courses that are of benefit to your work and career - for example an NVQ, or even a master’s degree.
• Sharing knowledge. To stimulate your intellectual curiosity (and ours), you can attend briefings and contribute to projects that aren’t necessarily related to your current role.
• Secondments. If you have a passion you are desperate to explore, we’ll try to make it happen.
• Career development. We’ll make sure you get the opportunities you need to develop within your directorate, but a career with us is never confined to the team you join. If you’re keen to explore other areas and get involved in different projects, we'll help you make those moves too.

It all goes into creating a highly motivated and happy workforce.

Our employees

Culturally, the team has a great ethos, balancing teamwork, personal accomplishment and job satisfaction with life outside work. The team is hugely supportive of one another, fostering collective success whilst inspiring one another to innovate and run with their ideas – we’re on a journey to provide exceptional IT and everyone has a valuable part to play.

Office culture

We are ready and willing to help ensure that every student has a fulfilling experience of higher education that enriches their lives and careers. We're a young organisation and when it comes to our culture, we're led by our people. What they believe in, how they act right now and what they want for the future. The result is an ethos that guides our work as a team, without being heavy-handed or stale.

Our values

Our values drive our behaviours and decision-making - how we operate and engage with students and the higher education sector, as well as within our organisation. In summary, our values should guide everything we do.

Benefits

Inside and outside of work, we all have different passions, responsibilities and motivations. And life can change rapidly. That’s why we’ve designed a benefits package that works for everyone. Here are some of the things our people love: 

• Holiday allowance: Our holiday entitlement starts at 25 days per year and rises to 30 after five years’ service, plus public holidays.
• Maternity/adoption/paternity leave: Occupational maternity pay in excess of statutory, and generous paternity and adoption leave.
• Pension scheme: Your future will be in safe hands with the highly regarded Civil Service pension scheme.
• Flexible working: We do our best to find an arrangement that works for everyone including working flexibly, part-time, and job shares.
• Hybrid working: We are developing and trialing a new hybrid working framework. Currently, staff can work up to 60 percent of their contracted time remotely, and up to 30 per cent of their working hours outside core hours (9am-5pm).
• Equipment for working at home: We ensure we provide employees with the right equipment in the right location so they can carry out their role effectively, and to ensure that our legal responsibilities are met.

We also have other benefits, including free eye tests and flu jabs, and a staff social club who subsidises activities such as theatre trips and days out.