Quick Overview
Job Description
About PF Global
PF Global give advice built on deep sector expertise, underpinned by global opinion and economic research, so clients can win the arguments that will decide their future.
We are oriented around the debates that will matter most to the future, where the intersection of policy, politics, and regulation will decide what happens. We will tell clients honestly what is politically possible (and what is not) and then help make their case by building the research, the story and the campaign that goes with it.
You’ll work alongside colleagues with diverse skills, gain exposure to senior clients, and have real opportunities to develop your career as part of our ambitious and supportive team.
Education at PF Global
Education is one of PF Global’s core areas of specialism. Many of our senior team have spent the past two decades working in and around education policy in government and opposition. Between us, we have advised Prime Ministers, Leaders of the Opposition, Education Secretaries and their Shadow teams, as well as numerous Ministers across the Department for Education.
We work across the full education and skills lifecycle and with a wide range of clients, including schools and multi-academy trusts, colleges and training providers, universities, charities and foundations, local and national government, trade associations and businesses.
Our education work is organised into three broad areas:
Schools: Working with schools, multi-academy trusts, charities and foundations on issues across the schools policy landscape. Recent projects include the Commission into Countering Online Conspiracies in Schools, the Inquiry into White Working Class Educational Outcomes, the Parent Voice Project, research into attitudes to the attendance crisis, exclusions and our work on the National Tutoring Programme.
Higher education: Working with universities and mission groups on post-18 education, research and innovation policy. Recent work includes public attitudes to tuition fees, public understanding of R&D, polling on international students, and evaluation of the Office for Students Uni-Connect programme.
Skills: Working across the skills system with large corporates, regional bodies and national organisations. Recent projects include exploring attitudes of young people Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET) towards employment support; UK employer polling on young people’s work-readiness, and the impact of AI on work and education.
This role will sit in the Skills Team, with scope to work across a variety of projects and teams as the candidate develops.
The role
We are looking for someone with an interest in skills policy to join our new Skills Team as a Policy Analyst. Working closely with our skills lead, Holly Papworth, you will help deliver our projects and retained accounts to a high standard, bring new ideas to expand our portfolio, and keep us ahead of developments across the sector.
This is an exciting time to work in skills policy. Skills are central to many of today’s greatest economic and social challenges: driving prosperity, spreading opportunity, delivering the transition to net zero and responding to the ways AI is reshaping how we work and learn.
You will work on varied projects for a wide range of clients, from charities and foundations to businesses and education and training providers, in the UK and internationally.
Specifically, in the role, you will:
Support project management and delivery across a busy portfolio of retained accounts and ongoing projects.
Proactively keep up to date with emerging skills policy developments, trends and the media landscape.
Work with teams across the business to ensure our research is grounded in deep understanding of the client’s needs, skills policy and the political landscape.
Conduct rapid desk research on specific policies, programmes and projects.
Convey thoughtful, interesting analysis of your findings in clear, compelling prose for policy reports, briefings, press releases and comment articles.
Liaise with senior clients in a professional and organised manner, and begin to develop your own voice and profile on topics of interest.
What we are looking for
You will have a keen interest in skills as a policy area, and enthusiasm to learn more – this is the most important thing we are looking for.
This role sits in the Skills Team within PF Global’s established Education practice. Ideally, you will be interested both in skills within the education system (such as vocational pathways, apprenticeships and work-based training) and in how skills shape the labour market and other policy areas (such as devolution, tech, energy, housing, defence and transport).
Ideally, you are someone who has some workplace experience that gives you an understanding of how policy is made and shaped in Whitehall/Westminster; clear communication skills – including developing interesting media angles from complex research and constructing compelling arguments; and project management skills. That said, please do not overly worry about if you have the ‘right’ level of experience or background. We recruit for skill and fit within the organisation – and will work with the people we make offers to, to ensure that they are supported within the company in a way that suits everyone.
You are comfortable using Excel and PowerPoint and enjoy working collaboratively. Above all, we value someone who likes enthusiastic problem-solving, has a political nous, is data literate, and can take initiative. We are looking for both an ideas person and a delivery person: someone who can spot a new angle or opportunity, then see it through with close attention to detail.
What the role offers
No two days are the same. You will work on interesting, high-profile projects across a wide range of issues and clients. As one of the first members of a new team, you will work directly with the skills lead, who will support you to develop your skills and give you experience across the full range of our work, from research and analysis to client meetings and media.
You will also be part of a wider team that is experienced, hard-working, bright and supportive, working on front-page stories that touch lives across the country. You will have direct contact with senior colleagues, clients and policymakers, opportunities to lead high-profile work, and support from colleagues with deep and varied research, policy and political expertise.
You will have the opportunity to bring your own ideas, challenge our thinking, and meaningfully shape the future of our work on skills across PF Global.
Location and salary
We are committed to equality, diversity and inclusion, and particularly encourage applications from candidates with disabilities and candidates from ethnic minority backgrounds.
We operate a hybrid working model, with a mix of home and office working. Our main office is based near Embankment. Many of us, including the founders, have young children and we work hard to be genuinely family-friendly.
For this role we expect the starting salary to be £31,000-£34,000 for an analyst depending on candidate experience.
We also offer a 5% pension contribution, 25 days annual leave, and private healthcare.
How to apply
Please apply below by submitting your CV and a covering letter (of no more than 600 words) setting out how you meet the criteria for the role.
Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, and we encourage early applications.
Interviews will either be online or in person at our office in Embankment, London.
Closing date: Friday 30 October 2026