Regional Director – School Improvement (South)
Are you a proven Head Teacher/Principal who’s as passionate about improving educational provision as you are about delivering against purpose?
Would you relish the opportunity to perform a strategically focused role with the scope to impact across a whole region of secondaries to lead an agenda of school improvement and enhancing subject expertise?
If so, perhaps these newly created roles within our National Education leadership team could be worth exploring as we seek to appoint 2 new Regional Directors for School Improvement in the North and South of England.
The role
This is a newly created role within our leadership team, with a core focus upon school improvement within your region, including leading a newly formed team of Regional Subject Experts.
The role acts as a senior leadership bridge between national secondary strategy, regional leadership, academy practice and wider OCL service delivery. It carries delegated responsibility for ensuring that strategic priorities are translated into integrated regional and academy-level plans, with clear alignment between education priorities and the enabling support through National Services. This includes providing flexible Regional Director-level capacity where required by the National Director of Secondary, acting as the escalation point for nominated priority academies, leading intensive support and challenge, and ensuring wider academy improvement is aligned, resourced and effective.
Curriculum implementation is delivered through a differentiated model: English and Mathematics are organised through clusters under Regional Directors, while other EBacc subjects are coordinated through the Regional Director of North/South structure. The postholder will work collaboratively with English and Mathematics Regional Leads, Regional Directors and relevant National Trust Subject Leads to ensure that curriculum support, academy-facing activity and improvement priorities at an academy and regional level are aligned across all subject areas. National curriculum leadership maintains Trust-wide coherence by setting expectations, resources and quality assurance frameworks across both delivery models.
This is a newly created role within our leadership team, with a core focus upon school improvement within your region, including leading a newly formed team of Regional Subject Experts.
The role acts as a senior leadership bridge between national secondary strategy, regional leadership, academy practice and wider OCL service delivery. It carries delegated responsibility for ensuring that strategic priorities are translated into integrated regional and academy-level plans, with clear alignment between education priorities and the enabling support through National Services. This includes providing flexible Regional Director-level capacity where required by the National Director of Secondary, acting as the escalation point for nominated priority academies, leading intensive support and challenge, and ensuring wider academy improvement is aligned, resourced and effective.
Curriculum implementation is delivered through a differentiated model: English and Mathematics are organised through clusters under Regional Directors, while other EBacc subjects are coordinated through the Regional Director of North/South structure. The postholder will work collaboratively with English and Mathematics Regional Leads, Regional Directors and relevant National Trust Subject Leads to ensure that curriculum support, academy-facing activity and improvement priorities at an academy and regional level are aligned across all subject areas. National curriculum leadership maintains Trust-wide coherence by setting expectations, resources and quality assurance frameworks across both delivery models.
The postholder will also deputise for the National Director of Secondary (South) as required.
You’ll be able to view the full job description on our careers site.
The person
We’re looking for exceptional performers to join in these two key roles, who’ll not only be able to demonstrate a proven record of success at Principal/Head level or above in a secondary school or academy, but also show the ability to develop and implement strategies for positively impacting quality standards, culture, leadership and student outcomes across multiple operations. You will be a creative and strategic thinker with a pragmatic and practical mindset, highly effective in your ability to forge effective collaborations and partnerships and a strong desire to make a difference. Core evidence we’ll be seeking will include:
- Significant senior leadership experience within the secondary phase, including leading curriculum implementation, teaching and learning, inclusion, attendance or behaviour priorities.
- Experience of providing senior leadership, support and challenge beyond one academy/school, including leading improvement activity, managing risk and influencing Principals or senior leaders across a cluster, region or equivalent system.
- Ability to act as a senior escalation point for priority schools requiring intensive support, using evidence, professional judgement and Principal-level credibility to diagnose need, mobilise support, challenge practice and secure rapid improvement.
- Ability to translate strategic priorities into integrated implementation plans that are understood and acted upon by academy, regional and central service teams, including planning across inclusion, safeguarding, SEND, behaviour, attendance, curriculum, workforce, finance, performance intelligence and operational delivery.
- Credibility and experience to coach, support and constructively challenge Principals, senior leaders and specialist colleagues in a values-led and evidence-informed way, including diagnosing priorities, agreeing action plans, strengthening leadership capacity and securing measurable improvement.
- Strong knowledge of effective curriculum implementation, pedagogy, SEND and inclusion, attendance and behaviour practice within the secondary phase.
- Emotional resilience in working with challenging behaviours and attitudes to use of authority and maintaining discipline.
- Ability to travel between trust academies
Reasons to apply:
- You will have the opportunity to continue your learning and further develop your educational expertise
- This is true opportunity to make your mark in a newly created role that you’ll help shape and drive meaningful impact
- You will be part of the wide and varied Oasis peer group of educational leaders committed to delivering against our collective purpose
- You will expand your network and accelerate your career prospects in a role that combines leadership and mentoring with influence and knowledge sharing. A rewarding combination that directly transforms the life chances for our students.
- This is a unique opportunity to ensure that all our students have a world class education provision.
- We do not expect you to do this alone. You will enjoy the support and challenge of National leadership and the wider OCL education team. By being part of a family of Oasis academies, you will work alongside expert leaders in their field and benefit from a strong support network and partnership.
Oasis Community Learning is committed to making a difference to the lives of the communities it works in, and as such you must show a willingness to demonstrate commitment to the values and behaviours, which flow from the Oasis ethos. We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people. We expect all staff to share this commitment and to undergo appropriate checks, including enhanced DBS checks.
Take the next step in your career and apply now by clicking on the link which will include the full job description & person specification.
Note: Role closes on 23rd September at 9.00am. Interviews will take place on 28th September
Oasis Community Learning is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. All appointments will be subject to an enhanced DBS check and receipt of a fully supportive reference.
We particularly welcome applications from under represented groups including ethnicity, gender, transgender, age, disability, sexual orientation or religion.