Assistant Director – Schools

Job title:

Assistant Director – Schools

Company:

London Borough of Waltham Forest

Job description

JOB DESCRIPTIONOrganisation: London Borough of Waltham ForestSalary: Assistant Director (AD) 3-5 £91,871 – £103,848 (Subject to Job Evaluation)Contract Type: Full Time – Permanent
Working hours per week: 36 hoursWeeks per year: 52 weeksApplication Deadline: 05/02/2025Proposed Interview Date(s): To be confirmed
Reference:1557About Us:Bursting with culture, energy, and opportunity, the London Borough of Waltham Forest is a fantastic and exciting place to work.We are a highly ambitious borough. Driven by culture and the innate creativity of our residents, we have developed new and innovative ways to build our communities. Our Council is relentlessly resident-focused, insight-led, digitally driven and commercially minded; a Council focused on meeting the needs of our existing and future residents.London Borough of Waltham Forest is one of the employers. This accreditation is a proof of our commitment to creating a healthy, fair and inclusive workplace. This includes fair pay and conditions, workplace well-being, skills and progression and diversity and recruitment.The Council’s preference is for online application. However, if you have a disability and are unable to complete an online application, please email so we can arrange an alternative application method.Click here for further information on the .About the role:To provide professional leadership of school effectiveness in Waltham Forest, lead projects to raise standards of attainment ensuring statutory requirements, government guidelines and the Council’s objectives are met. The post holder will have managerial and professional responsibilities for key services within educational improvement.The post holder will work under the leadership of the Corporate Director – Education to ensure that school effectiveness is correctly interfaced with and prioritised alongside other key Council priorities. The post holder will also deputise for the Corporate Director – Education when required.

• Make a contribution to the corporate work of the council and its statutory and strategic functions.
• Work with our statutory partners, schools and other education providers to raise standards and improve outcomes of all children and young people and narrow gaps.
• Uphold and comply with the statutory provisions of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and any other associated legislation or Council Policies and procedures.
• Understand and comply with the Council’s Equal Opportunities Policy.
• The above mentioned duties, are neither exclusive or exhaustive and the post holder may be required to carry out other duties as required by the Executive Director.

To act as lead officer providing strategic policy direction, leadership operational management and financial control in delivering the Local Authorities statutory duties.To act as lead officer providing strategic policy direction, leadership operational management and financial control in delivering the Local Authorities statutory duties with regard to education.To act as the lead officer and key contact with Ofsted in order to work in partnership and deliver LA statutory requirements in line with Ofsted protocols.Contribute to the strategic direction of the Council, translating strategy into performance goals and strong improvement outcomes.Support the Director of Education, deputising when require, and working collaboratively with colleagues and external partners.Support the Cabinet, Chief Executive and Management Board to achieve the aims and desired outcomes of the Council.Key Responsibilities:To lead the service in delivering the Local Authorities statutory duties related to education services and outcomes..

• Raise standards of attainment for children and young people through providing appropriate challenge to the work of al education providers (schools, children’s centres, private, voluntary and independent education providers) to improve the quality of teaching and learning, governance, management and leadership.
• Be the operational lead for the Council’s work in relation to school effectiveness, specifically the statutory and regulatory functions in relation to schools causing concern.
• Be a champion for Learning, Innovation and Achievement within the Council and with schools and settings.
• Work with the Corporate Director – Education to develop and implement a compelling vision for system wide improvement underpinned by a strong culture of school to school support.
• Lead the Council engagement with the local Teaching Schools Alliance to ensure it becomes a powerful vehicles for system wide improvement
• Lead on projects to enhance collaborative approaches to school improvement – particularly peer review and action research in priority areas
• Lead on the improvement and challenge with regard to Waltham Forest Education standards, across all phases.
• Lead and manage the interface between Improvement Consultants services, monitoring and quality assuring; holding agencies to account for the challenge and improvement they deliver.
• Work with the Corporate Director – Education to re-engineer key services in line with the local authority’s role including oversight of traded services, where appropriate.
• Work with partner agencies to ensure that Waltham Forest’s interests are promoted in policy, resource and planning decisions at London and national levels.
• Maintain regular and positive relationships with Elected Members working closely with the Corporate Director – Education to provide professional guidance, advice and recommendations on education improvement.
• Undertake strategic functions on behalf of the Corporate Director – Education
• Writing and presenting high level/complex reports to Cabinet, Scrutiny, Members, Senior Leadership Team, Peoples Leadership Team, Schools Forum and Councillors

To lead professional partnerships

• Create effective and positive working relationships with head teachers, principals and governing bodies, including Academies, in order to influence and secure high quality service provision.
• Maintain an effective working relationship with the department for education.

Lead the development and oversee the implementation of policy, systems, contracts, processes, performance criteria, standards, governance frameworks, and procedures within area of responsibility.
Policies, procedures and controls ensure that the area of responsibility is compliant with all relevant legislation, codes, regulations, guidelines, standards and best practice.Communication and Information

• Advise, consult and communicate with Portfolio Lead Member and chief officers on education issues.
• Manage or contribute to Ofsted, peer reviews and value for money processes.
• Ensure that complaints received are investigated and resolved according to the Council’s policy and procedures.
• Represent the Council at local and national levels acting as an ambassador for Waltham Forest and enhancing the Council’s performance, reputation and image.

Direct line management of a Senior Management Team.Qualifications and Requirements:To be considered for this position, you should meet the following requirements:Indicative QualificationsEducated to degree level or equivalent standard.Substantial Continuing Professional DevelopmentRelevant professional qualification.Terms and conditions:The below terms and conditions apply to this role:Satisfactory employment references and CIFAS identity checks;Satisfactory declaration of interest;This role is subject to safer recruitment practices as it involves work with children and/ or vulnerable adults;Satisfactory DBS check;This post is politically restricted therefore the post holder is disqualified from undertaking certain political activities under the Local Government Officers (Political Restrictions) Regulations 1990.As a public authority, we must ensure that members of staff in public-facing roles are able to speak fluent English. This means that they must have a command of spoken English, with confidence and accuracy, sufficient for the effective performance of their role. This requirement does not refer to any particular English language qualifications, regional or international accents, dialects, speech impediments or the tone of conversations. It does not require staff to speak only in English.How to Apply:Interested candidates are invited to submit their applications online by pressing the ‘Apply’ button below. This includes a supporting statement that outlines to us how your skills and experience make you a good candidate for this vacancy.We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible.Equal Opportunity Employer:Waltham Forest is a diverse borough where diversity is valued and is integral to both, service delivery and employment of its staff. The Council is proud of its rich mix of communities and as the largest employer in the area, it works hard to respond to the changing needs of its population. We use our statutory duties on race, gender and disability equality and best practice in respect of age, faith and sexual orientation to ensure equality of opportunity in the workplace. The Council is committed to meeting its 4 equality objectives: – Promoting equality of opportunity – Opposing all forms of discrimination, intolerance and disadvantage – Ensuring our workforce reflects the diverse communities of Waltham Forest at all levels. – Providing fair, appropriate, accessible and excellent Services to all. Respecting Diversity is a core Council value.To support the above and reduce the risk of bias in its recruitment activities, the council is operating an anonymous shortlisting process, which hides personal information that can identify individuals until their application has been considered for shortlisting. The council also operates a scheme whereby, for jobs graded up to and including scale SO2, internal candidates are considered first. This includes those candidates who self-identify as having a disability for the purposes of the Disability Confident scheme. For more information, please refer to our recruitment and selection policy.We are keen to support employees to balance their working life with other commitments. Therefore, wherever possible, we will consider working arrangements that suit an individual’s personal circumstances whilst still meeting the needs of the Council. If you would like to discuss the possible flexible working options that might be applicable to this role, please contact the person named below or feel free to discuss this during your interview.For more information on the benefits of working for the Council, please visit .Contact Information:If you have any questions about this vacancy or the application process, please contact [Contact Name, Title] at [Contact Email Address] or [Contact Phone Number].If you have any technical issues when trying to apply for this post, please contact our Recruitment Team via email at .

Expected salary

£91871 – 103848 per year

Location

Waltham Forest, East London

Job date

Sat, 25 Jan 2025 07:55:14 GMT

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