HESA Website Service Owner - Data Operations

Job Type:  Fixed Term Contract – 24 months ‘ We welcome compressed hours working arrangements for this role’

Hours: 35 hours per week

Reports into: Director of HESA Statutory Operations

Working style: Hybrid - A blend of working from home and your nominated hub office. We have hubs located in London, Bristol, Manchester and Oxford.

About Jisc:

For 30 years Jisc has pioneered digital solutions for UK education and research, transforming how knowledge is created, shared and used.

We are uniquely positioned to protect, promote and lead the sector in digital and data transformation, making a difference to students, communities and society. Together, we are

working to build a better digital future for education and research.

Raise your potential at Jisc through our culture of lifelong learning. At Jisc, we're all about growth, so embrace new challenges, sharpen your skills and shape a career that excites you.

About HESA 

Join HESA at Jisc – the UK’s trusted authority on higher education data. 

The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) sits within Jisc’s Data Collections & Statistics Directorate and plays a vital national role in collecting, assuring and sharing high‑quality data about UK higher education. 

As the Designated Data Body (DDB), HESA provides the trusted insights that public authorities, policymakers and the higher education sector rely on to carry out statutory and public functions. Our work strengthens decision-making, boosts sector performance, improves outcomes, and builds public trust. 

You’ll work collaboratively with higher education providers across all four UK nations, helping to curate and maintain one of the world’s leading higher education data sources. The data you help deliver directly supports a more transparent, competitive and high performing sector. 

The role:

We’re looking for an experienced Website Service Owner to take end‑to‑end responsibility for HESA’s public facing website(s), ensuring they deliver a high-quality, accessible and user‑centred digital experience. 

This is a key role combining strategic ownership and hands-on operational leadership, with responsibility for performance, governance, and continuous improvement across a critical national platform. 

You will  

• Own the strategic direction and day-to-day operation of the HESA website(s) 
• Lead content governance, website performance and analytics (including GA4) 
• Champion excellent user experience, accessibility compliance and secure design 
• Manage digital risks, suppliers and ongoing service improvement 
• Oversee the migration of the HESA website to the Jisc Central Web Platform (CWP), helping to create a modern, unified web experience across Jisc 
• Support the Data Publication Modernisation (DPM) programme, transforming how HESA data outputs are presented to make them more engaging, relevant and user-friendly 

Why this role matters 

You’ll play a central part in delivering a website that supports HESA’s statutory responsibilities, organisational objectives and stakeholder needs, while also contributing to Jisc’s wider strategy to be the vital strategic partner for the UK higher education sector.

What you’ll be doing:

Service Owner & Strategy

As Website Service Owner, you’ll be the driving force behind the vision and strategic direction of the HESA website. You’ll ensure the site aligns with organisational strategy, brand and digital standards, while consistently meeting the needs of its users. 

You’ll take full ownership of the website roadmap and backlog, balancing strategic priorities with continuous improvement and operational excellence. Acting as the primary point of contact for the HESA web estate, you’ll work closely with internal teams and partners to manage performance, risks, issues and enhancements. 

A key part of the role involves leading regular service reviews and embedding a strong culture of continuous improvement. You’ll also manage website‑related communications, working confidently with external users, senior stakeholders and governance boards. 

Governance, Compliance & Standards 

You’ll develop and embed robust content governance frameworks, clear workflows and strong editorial standards to ensure all published content is accurate, relevant and fit for purpose. 

You’ll be responsible for ensuring the website meets accessibility and data protection standards, coordinating audits where required and working proactively to address any issues. You’ll also lead and deliver training for colleagues using the Central Web Platform (CWP), enabling teams to manage their own content confidently while adhering to agreed governance standards and guidelines. 

Why this role matters 

Your work will help safeguard trust in nationally important data, ensure legal and accessibility compliance, and empower teams across the organisation to publish high‑quality, consistent content. 

User Experience (UX), Research & Insights 

You’ll lead the development and ongoing refinement of website navigation, information architecture and house style standards to deliver a consistently strong user experience. 

A key focus of the role is ensuring the website is intuitive, inclusive and accessible, meeting the needs of diverse user groups. You’ll actively monitor user behaviour and performance metrics, using data to set priorities, demonstrate impact and continuously improve outcomes. 

Project & Change Management (including Migration) 

You’ll take the lead on delivering website migration activity on behalf of the Jisc Data Collections & Statistics (DCS) directorate, ensuring change is well-planned, thoroughly tested and delivered with minimal disruption to users. 

Working closely with the Central Web Platform (CWP) team, you’ll coordinate updates, new features, redesigns and content or data migrations, aligning activity with agreed processes and timelines. You’ll play a critical role in onboarding content to the platform and ensuring changes are introduced smoothly and safely. 

You’ll also define clear acceptance criteria, oversee testing approaches (including accessibility testing), and manage cutover and release processes. Strong change and release control will be central to your role, ensuring updates are robust, compliant and well governed. 

Data Products & Publishing (DPM project support) 

You’ll lead and oversee the migration of HESA website content on behalf of the Jisc Data Collections & Statistics directorate, ensuring activity is carefully planned, well governed and delivered with minimal disruption to users. 

You’ll coordinate updates, new features, redesigns and content and data migrations, supporting smooth onboarding and consistent ways of working. You’ll define clear acceptance criteria, manage testing (including accessibility testing), and put robust cutover and release controls in place. 

You’ll also oversee the curation, design and build of the new HESA shopfront, ensuring it meets user needs and organisational standards. Alongside this, you’ll support the publication of open data outputs — helping to build and publish statistics tables, charts and interactive dashboards that meet high standards for accessibility, performance and quality. You’ll contribute to official statistics publication workflows, ensuring pre-release governance and timing requirements are met. 

What we are looking for:

Need to have 

• We’re seeking an experienced digital professional with a strong track record of owning and improving websites or digital services from end to end.  
• You’ll bring a solid understanding of modern web platforms and content management systems, alongside the governance needed to keep services compliant, trusted and effective. 
• You’ll be confident applying accessibility standards, usability principles and user centred design, and able to turn analytics, performance data and user insight into meaningful improvements.  
• Strong communication and stakeholder management skills are essential, as you’ll work with a wide range of internal teams, senior leaders and external partners. 

You’ll also have a good grasp of SEO, digital analytics (such as GA4) and website performance optimisation, using evidence to prioritise work and demonstrate impact. 

Nice to have 

• Experience in higher education, the public sector or data driven organisations would be an advantage, as would experience managing external suppliers or digital agencies.  
• Familiarity with agile delivery methods and a degree of commercial awareness would also be beneficial. 

Skills & personal qualities 

• You’re a user‑focused, evidence driven digital professional with a strong commitment to accessibility, inclusivity and ethical design. You naturally put users first and use insight, data and research to guide decisions and improve outcomes. 
• You’re collaborative and influential, able to build trusted relationships and clearly communicate complex ideas to both technical and nontechnical audiences. Confident facilitating discussions and workshops, you bring people with you through change. 
• Highly organised and proactive, you thrive in complex environments, juggle competing priorities and deliver at pace without losing attention to detail. You take ownership, make sound decisions under pressure and lead by example. 
• You bring a solid understanding of web standards, usability, accessibility (WCAG) and digital governance, and you’re comfortable working with analytics, developers, IT teams and suppliers to deliver reliable, high performing digital services. 

Don’t meet every single requirement?

We know that sometimes people can be put off applying for a job if they think they can’t tick every box, so we encourage you to apply even if you do not meet 100% of the requirements, but if you feel this role is perfect for you. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles!

Hybrid working:

Specific patterns for working in the office are not mandated, and the frequency of time worked in the office is agreed with your manager. Meeting in person is something we value, so you may need to travel on occasion to any of our hub offices.

 ‘ We welcome compressed hours working arrangements for this role’

Why work for us?

At Jisc, every role is meaningful, and every individual is valued. We foster a culture of continuous learning and personal growth, offering opportunities to develop new skills and make a real impact in education and research. With a strong focus on work-life balance, we embrace flexible working that prioritises outcomes over hours, empowering you to create a rhythm that energises both your professional and personal life.

Our Guiding Principles:

Jisc’s culture is powered by our four guiding principles: putting customers first, driving innovation, creating impact, and championing inclusive collaboration to deliver sustainable outcomes and shape a better future.

Discover the amazing benefits we provide! Here’s what you can look forward to:

• Flexible work pattern, which can adapt to suit your schedules and personal commitments
• 31 days annual leave (plus bank holidays) that includes three closure days over Christmas
• Buy up to an additional 5 days leave during the flexible benefits window
• Generous flexible pension schemes
• A range of wellbeing lifestyle benefits including company paid health care cash plan, mental health first aiders and support
• A company culture of continuous learning with access to thousands of LinkedIn Learning courses, and lots of resources and opportunities to support your development
• Allocated allowance of up to £250 to equip your home office
• Financial well-being support including access to preferential loan and savings plans, mortgage advice, will writing tools and support and resources to help you make the most of your money
• A wide range of discounts and cashback from retailers and big-name high-street stores
• Family friendly policies including enhanced parental, maternity and paternity and co-parental leave as well as opportunity for career breaks
• Support your volunteering with up to 3 days volunteer leave

Equity, diversity and inclusion:

Jisc believe our people make all the difference in cultivating an inclusive culture that welcomes ideas, encourages innovation, and values belonging.

We work hard to create an equitable experience for our candidates and workforce which embraces all aspects of their identity including race and ethnicity, religion and belief, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, trans identities, age, class, disability, neurodivergence, or veteran status.

Application process:

Please apply via the ‘Apply’ button above.

Please let us know how we can best accommodate you throughout the recruitment process. We’re committed to making our process accessible and comfortable for everyone - just tell us what works best for you.

Just so you know, we review CVs as soon as we can and aim to provide an update on your application within 4 weeks of receiving it.  However, you may hear from us a lot sooner, so please keep an eye out for our emails or calls! 

We’re really looking forward to getting to know the real you. While we encourage the use of AI tools to help you get started on your CV or cover letter, we encourage you to review your application before submitting. Make sure it truly reflects your own voice, experiences, and personality.

If you are currently a Jisc employee, please apply through your Dayforce Employee profile.

We have a thorough background screening process that verifies the details you share with us in your CV and your application. Any inaccurate information supplied during the application stages can lead to a job offer being withdrawn. 

Sponsorship:

Jisc has an active sponsor licence to recruit on a Skilled worker visa basis. Candidates wishing to apply who require sponsorship should determine the likelihood of obtaining a Certificate of Sponsorship for the role by assessing their circumstances against the relevant Home Office criteria. Jisc does not offer any financial re-imbursement towards the applicant costs, such as re-location, skilled worker visa and dependant costs or the immigration health charge.

No agencies please.