Director of Secondary Education

Overview

This is a high-impact leadership role for an experienced, values driven educational leader who places education at the heart of their work and recognises the transformative power of a great education. The Director of Secondary Education will provide strategic direction, professional challenge and practical support across the Trust's secondary provision, with a particular focus on:

• Sustaining and strengthening the quality of education at Rudheath Senior Academy.
• Embedding consistency and excellence across teaching, curriculum, behaviour, assessment and inclusion.
• Developing confident, reflective and resilient leaders at all levels.
• Ensuring the Trust is inspection ready at all times, including preparation for evolving MAT inspection frameworks.
• Supporting NWAT's ambition to be sector leading, not merely compliant, in a changing national education context.

This role blends strategic oversight with hands on school improvement, requiring credibility, empathy, rigour and the ability to lead through influence.

• Shape and lead the Trust's strategy for secondary education, ensuring alignment with NWAT's vision, values and long-term ambitions.
• Work in partnership with the CEO, Headteachers and school leaders to set clear, measurable and ambitious improvement priorities.
• Champion a culture of continuous improvement, equity and professional learning, ensuring no group of students is left behind.
• Respond proactively to national and local policy developments, inspection changes and sector challenges.

• Provide high quality coaching, challenge, accountability and support.
• Support the development of the Senior Leadership Team and middle leaders, building leadership capacity and succession.
• Strengthen self-evaluation and improvement planning so they are accurate, evidence-informed and impact-driven.

• Champion an ambitious and inclusive curriculum that reflects best practice and the needs of the community.
• Lead and support curriculum evaluation, using outcomes, work scrutiny and pupil experience to identify strengths and priorities.
• Promote evidence informed teaching, effective assessment and responsive intervention that secures strong progress for all learners.

• Provide strategic leadership to ensure pastoral systems are fully integrated with the curriculum, so that behaviour, attendance, inclusion and wellbeing directly support strong academic outcomes.
• Champion a safeguarding culture that goes beyond compliance, placing professional curiosity, staff confidence and pupil voice at the centre of school improvement and leadership evaluation.
• Ensure pastoral and safeguarding intelligence is effectively triangulated with qualitative evidence to inform improvement planning, targeted interventions, curriculum design and staff deployment.
• Promote inclusive practice by ensuring the needs of vulnerable pupils are clearly visible in strategic decision-making, with a sustained focus on narrowing gaps in attainment, engagement and opportunity.
• Support leaders to establish strong routines, high expectations and purposeful relationships that reflect the Trust's values of excellence and kindness, creating calm, safe and focused learning environments where students achieve highly.

• Lead preparation for inspection and external review, including Trust-level and regulatory frameworks.
• Support the development of high-quality self-evaluation documentation grounded in evidence and impact.
• Strengthen internal quality assurance processes to ensure consistency and clarity across secondary provision.

• Contribute to Trust-wide strategy groups, leadership forums and professional networks.
• Facilitate collaboration and sharing of best practice across secondary settings.

Diversity in the Workplace:
The North West Academies trust values diversity in the workforce and is committed to ensuring that throughout the recruitment and selection processes no applicant is disadvantaged or discriminated against because of the protected characteristics of age, disability, gender re-assignment, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy or maternity, race, religion or belief and sexual orientation.

• Enrolment to the Medicash Proactive Health Plan to help with costs of everyday healthcare.
• Bespoke professional development opportunities.
• Access to 24/7 Employee Assistance Programme.
• Accredited counsellor to offer wellbeing support for all staff. Positive recognition culture.
• Open door policy for communication across the Trust.
• Opportunity to contribute to the growth and development of NWAT.
• Significant senior leadership experience in secondary education (e.g. Headteacher, or Trust-level role).
• A proven track record of school improvement and raising educational outcomes.
• Strong experience of coaching, developing and holding leaders to account.
• Deep understanding of…