Director of Education – Driver Youth Trust 

• Reports to: Chief Executive
• Start date: Flexible for the right candidate
• Contract term: Permanent
• Location: Based at DYT’s central office (London, SE1) with frequent travel across England
• Salary: £60,0000 – £70,000 (dependent on experience) and 10% employers pension contribution
• Leave: 25 days annual leave (excluding bank holidays)

What is the role?

At Driver Youth Trust we are looking for an engaged, driven and committed Director of Education to provide:

1. Strategic leadership of Driver Youth Trust’s education department, including managing educational services, our network of partner schools, events and courses;
2. Oversight and development of all of the operational aspects of managing the Education Team;
3. Expertise to support our policy work.

To succeed in this pivotal role, our successful candidate will have substantial experience of effective management in schools or other settings, be used to working across different sites within a multi-disciplinary team and manage multiple and competing priorities. You will have the experience to approach this role with vision and the expertise to deliver through the management and development of your growing team.

What are your responsibilities?

In line with DYT’s strategy, the Director of Education will:

Lead the education department

• Be a credible and effective leader who embodies DYT’s values;
• Be accountable for education as a discrete department with an annual plan, budget, targets for outputs and income generation;
• Manage, motivate and develop the education team to ensure practices are in line with DYT’s expectations;
• Oversee the work of DYT’s employed consultant teachers and freelance facilitators deployed across multiple sites and working on a variety of projects;
• Lead on the development and delivery of our facilitator core competency framework.
• Act as the organisational lead on safeguarding and compliance ensuring that the team are supervised and monitored to ensure appropriate working practices are adhered to, in line with relevant legislation and internal policies;
• Build and maintain positive relationships across the SEND and wider education sector which enhance the reputation and activities of the organisation;
• Act as a representative for DYT and its Trustees with integrity and professionalism;
• Other duties as directed by the Chief Executive.

Develop our education offer

• Design and expand our professional development offer (including initial teacher training and education and continuing professional learning);
• Ensure methods and approaches to professional development are effective and evidence-based;
• Systematically quality assure the design and delivery of our education services
• Oversee the continuous development and improvement of materials and resources;
• Stay abreast of developments in policy and research as required to broaden our knowledge and contributes to our wider success.

Support the management of the wider organisation

• Report and actively contribute to the wider management of the organisation as an active member of the senior leadership team,
• Represent the educational department and provide expertise to the Board of Trustees;
• Participate in setting the strategic direction of the organisation and building the necessary structures and processes required;
• Contribute to the creation of project proposals, including funding applications, in line with organisational capabilities and client requirements;

What will the team look like?

You will be working at the centre of DYT as part of the Trust’s Senior Leadership Team, leading the Education Team and providing expertise to our core team of Executives when required.

You will regularly work alongside Chief Executive, Christopher Rossiter (who is a Work and Organisational Psychologist, Fellow of the Royal Society of Art and Chair of Governors) as well as our Director of Operations, Karen Wespieser (an experienced educational researcher and School Governor and Fellow of the Royal Society of Art). In addition, you will be supported by our Senior Consultant Teacher, Kenny Wheeler (an experienced practitioner and leader of SEND and school Governor).

What is our context?

DYT is a growing organisation. This means that:

• You will be aligned to our vision and mission;
• The team will grow steadily over the next three years;
• There will be change;
• You will need to prioritise your time because resources will be limited;
• You will have to work flexibly because this is not a nine-to-five job and everyone will need to pitch in.

What will be required of you?

• Regular travel across England to visit your team in the field and manage our relationships with partner schools;
• Some evening and weekend work as required to support and facilitate our programmes;
• A commitment to support our growing team to improve individually as well as across the organisation.

Person Specification

Qualifications

• Qualified to degree level (2:1 equivalent or above);
• Postgraduate qualification in education or a related field, for example psychology;
• Right to work in the UK.

Knowledge, skills and experience

Essential

• Lead the education department
• Be an effective strategic leader with at least five years of direct leadership;
• Have extensive knowledge of the education system in England;
• Ability to manage people, with different expertise, at a distance, with the aim of creating an engaged team committed to our vision;
• Able to set and monitor complex programme plans across several projects hosted in different organisations and locations;
• Project and programme management and problem-solving skills;
• Developed and delivered creative teacher training using a variety of approaches on an initial and ongoing basis;
• Demonstrable engagement with research and other forms of evidence and the ability to communicate these succinctly;
• Ability to lead innovation and implement successful change;
• Collecting and analysing management and performance data;
• Understanding of handling confidential and personal data;
• Creating and implementing plans that are routinely reviewed and reported on to Trustees;
• Be responsive to changing business needs;
• Able to create, manage and monitor budgets across a whole department as well as for specific projects.

Desirable

• Substantial expertise in relation to our core focus area of literacy for disadvantaged pupils; which includes curriculum, assessment and relevant legislation, regulation and public policy;
• Able to chair and contribute to meetings with high level participants;
• Organisational management experience including risk management;
• Have presented publicly or written about literacy and or SEND issues in trade or national press;
• Able to negotiate and influence key stakeholders;
• Have an existing network of contacts across the education sector;
• Writing and winning proposals for new funded work;
• Creating educational products and/or services.

Values

The successful candidate will have a strong belief in, and enthusiasm for, the vision and mission of DYT, and consistently demonstrate the following values:

• Rigour
  • Complete all work to a high standard;
  • Articulate what you are and are not trying to do;
  • Discover practical solutions to complex problems.
• Kindness
  • Be known for your courtesy and candour;
  • Be true to your word;
  • Treat people with respect independent of their status or disagreement with you.
• Curiosity
  • Learn rapidly and eagerly;
  • Seek to understand your impact;
  • Get beyond symptoms and identify root causes.
• Collaboration
  • Skilfully give, receive and use feedback;
  • Make time to help colleagues;
  • Demonstrate consistently strong performance so colleagues feel they can rely on you.
• Challenge
  • Make wise decisions despite ambiguity;
  • Challenge prevailing assumptions when warranted and suggest better approaches;
  • Question actions inconsistent with our values.

Recruitment process

Safe Recruitment Procedure

DYT is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people. In order to meet this responsibility, we follow a selection process to identify and assess candidate suitability.

Disclosure

The Director of Education role involves substantial access to children, and therefore is subject to an enhanced check of previous criminal convictions (DBS). Candidates are required to disclose any conviction, caution or binding over including ‘spent convictions’ under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exemptions). Failing to disclose may result in termination of employment. Disclosure will not necessarily prohibit individuals from employment, however this will depend upon the nature of the offence(s) and when they occurred.

Probation

This post is subject to a probation period of six months. The probation period is a trial period, to enable the assessment of an employee’s suitability for the job for which they have been employed.

Shortlisting, interviews and reference checking

Only those candidates who meet the criteria above and who submit a full and complete application will be shortlisted for interview. References from the previous and current employer may be taken up for shortlisted candidates prior to interview.

The application process has three stages:

1. Application – email a current CV and covering letter, clearly and explicitly detailing how your application meets the criteria above to chris.rossiter@driveryouthtrust.com before 1700 on Friday 15th February 2019.

2. Interview and presentation– shortlisted candidates will be invited to a formal interview with Chris Rossiter and two other senior leaders, on 6th March 2019. The interview will focus on your experience, knowledge and skills.

3. Second Interview – candidates who progress to round two will be invited back to meet our team followed up a separate interview with trustees to assess your fit with DYT’s vision and values. Full details of this will be made available on 6th March 2019.

Questions or further information

If you require more information or would like an informal discussion about this role, please contact Chris Rossiter on chris.rossiter@driveryouthtrust.com