Communications Apprentice
| Reports to: | Communications Manager |
|---|---|
| Operational area: | Communications Team |
| Location: | Minimum two days per week in the Reading office. During the probation period more days are likely to be required. Some travel for work might be required, and expenses will be paid. |
| Hours of work: | Full-time or part time (minimum four days per week) |
| Salary: | Grade 2: Starting salary of £30,283 |
Role Purpose
To support the OIA in delivering effective, interesting and accessible communications. You will help us to connect with colleagues, students, students’ unions, and people working in universities and colleges.
You will be part of a communications team delivering internal and external communications activity. You will help and support members of the team as well as having your own projects to work on which support the team’s overall mission. The team’s role is to show the outside world what we do and making it as easy as possible for students to use our complaints scheme.
As well as working within the communications team, there may also be opportunities to work with or be seconded to other teams. This will help you build a wider experience of higher education, external and internal engagement and case-handling.
Apprenticeship Overview
This Apprenticeship, which typically takes around 14 months, plus an endpoint assessment (typically an additional 5 months), will provide training in all aspects of Communications, with a particular focus on supporting the planning, creation and delivery of effective communications across a range of channels and audiences. The apprentice will be employed in the role while completing structured learning and development with an apprenticeship provider.
Completion of the apprenticeship will result in a Level 4 qualification in Public Relations and Communications, aligning with professional accreditation by the Public Relations and Communication Association.
Much of the learning will be role and project based within the workplace, with approximately one day per week spent studying or developing a portfolio, which can be carried out at home or as an extra day at work.
Who we are
We are the independent body set up to review unresolved student complaints about higher education providers in England and Wales. We are passionate about fairness, and we believe that complaints provide important learning to improve the experience for all students. We value diverse life experiences and perspectives, and welcome applications from candidates from all backgrounds.
What we do
We review unresolved complaints from students about their provider and make recommendations for providers to put things right if they have gone wrong. We share learning from complaints to help improve policies and practices across the sector, and we contribute to the development of policy, both in the regulatory framework for higher/tertiary education and in the ombuds sector.
Contact us
If you would like to discuss the role before applying, please contact recruitment@oiahe.org.uk.
Next steps
Please find further information, included in our candidate job description. You can also find more detail about our organisation on our website.
The role will be recruited by the Public Relations Communications Association (PRCA) through the the Government Apprenticeship website.
The closing date for applications is on Sunday 23 August 2026 at 23:59.
Applications will be reviewed regularly and we reserve the right to close the advert earlier than the closing date.