Service Director Education and Partnerships

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Why you should work for us | West Northamptonshire Council

At West Northamptonshire Council, we're committed to making West Northants a great place to live, work, visit and thrive. We're looking for an exceptional leader to shape the future of education across the area, ensuring every child and young person has access to the opportunities they need to succeed. As part of our Senior Management Team, you will play a pivotal role in delivering our ambitions for children, families and communities across West Northamptonshire.

As Service Director for Education and Partnerships, you will provide visible and influential strategic leadership across education, inclusion, partnerships, and sufficiency planning, ensuring that services are responsive, sustainable, and deliver improved outcomes for children, young people, and families.

Working closely with schools, academy trusts, early years providers, health partners and wider stakeholders, you will strengthen the local education system and ensure that children and young people receive high-quality support throughout their educational journey.

This is a highly influential role with responsibility for developing long-term strategies, leading significant transformation programmes and ensuring statutory education functions are delivered effectively. You will help shape the future of education across West Northamptonshire, ensuring services are innovative, financially sustainable and focused on improving outcomes for children and young people.

This role is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and therefore subject to an enhanced DBS certificate. It is also a regulated activity and will be subject to a Children's Barred List check. West Northamptonshire Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

You will lead the development and delivery of the Council's education strategy, bringing together partners from across the education sector to drive continuous improvement and raise aspirations for all children and young people. You'll oversee school improvement, education place planning, statutory education services and system-wide partnerships, ensuring services are responsive to local need and deliver positive outcomes.

As a member of the Senior Management Team, you will provide strong organisational leadership, using data, insight and evidence to inform decision-making, drive performance and ensure value for money. You will also lead and inspire high-performing teams, fostering a culture of innovation, accountability and collaboration while representing West Northamptonshire Council at a local, regional and national level.

You will be an experienced and inspirational leader with a strong track record of delivering improvement within education, children's services or a comparable system leadership environment. You'll be comfortable operating in complex and politically sensitive settings, with the ability to build trusted relationships, influence senior stakeholders and drive meaningful change.

To be successful, you will bring:

• Significant senior leadership experience within education, children's services or a related sector.
• A strong understanding of education systems, statutory education responsibilities, school improvement and governance.
• Experience of leading large-scale change, managing complex budgets and delivering sustainable service improvements.
• Excellent partnership-building and communication skills, with the ability to work effectively with schools, academy trusts, elected members,…