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Are you looking for an exciting, demanding and unique challenge? We are recruiting to a rarely available permanent post, vacant due to retirement.

Kent County Council is the biggest local authority by population in the country. There are a third of a million children and young people, with approximately 28,000 attending funded early years education provision and almost 250,000 pupils attending 591 state-funded schools. Over 91% of education providers are judged Good or better by Ofsted. The county encompasses both areas of affluence and deprivation, with almost 24% of our pupils now eligible for free school meals. There are significant housing developments across the county requiring school expansions and new schools, but 19% of Kent primary schools have 150 pupils or fewer.

The ILACs inspection in 2022 judged Children’s Services Outstanding, but later that year the SEND area revisit judged Kent to have made insufficient progress and the DfE issued an Improvement Notice. It is a complex context! This means you have opportunities to work with a range of services with varying priorities and you will be making an important contribution to the SEN improvement journey.

This senior level role reports to the Director of Education and SEN and manages a small team. The post holder has responsibility for a broad range of education duties in the East of the county, working closely with 3 peers who have responsibility for North, West and South Kent. Leading big capital projects from an initial feasibility study, through political decision making and to delivery is an important part of the job, so outstanding management, influencing and writing skills are a must.

As first point of contact for schools and academies, you will need excellent interpersonal and communication skills, as well as resilience and stamina. Headteachers and Governors are key stakeholders, as are DfE, Ofsted, Academy Chief Executives and elected members. You will work closely with colleagues from Divisions across Kent County Council and local District and Borough Councils within the geographical area.

If you are committed to providing the very best educational opportunities for children and young people and you thrive in a fast-paced environment where you have to think on your feet as well as plan years in advance, why not find out more. Please contact Lorraine Medwin on 03000 422660 or Email: [email protected] to arrange an informal chat with the current post holder.

Kent has its own pay scale, more information here https://jobs.kent.gov.uk/working-here/benefits-and-rewards/pay This post is a KR15 and the current salary range is £ 73,336 to £82,996.

About You

In an area as large and as complex as Kent, you have to be a team player to deliver, as well as being clear about your own personal accountability. The Education and SEN Division is collegiate and supportive, with opportunities to plan and problem-solve in collaboration with a range of colleagues; investing in professional development is strongly encouraged.

The Assistant Director Education team come from a range of professional backgrounds, but all have significant experience of working at a senior level in education. The role is very wide-ranging for example, multi-faceted data analysis, planning new schools, advising individual Governing Bodies on complex HR matters and crisis response. You will need a good understanding of education-related legislation at both a strategic and operational level, as the role incudes leading school interventions on behalf of the LA on occasion. Effective delivery is dependent on robust planning, meeting deadlines and productive partnerships across a wide range of agencies and individuals, as well the ability to navigate a politically sensitive environment to secure decisions. Excellent communication skills are critical, from writing evidence-based business cases to political reports, to making that end of the day phone call to invest in relationship building.

Solid experience of effective risk management and mitigation, as well as budget management are needed to deliver the duties of the post.

This post is subject to an Enhanced Disclosure Application to the Disclosure and Barring Service.

This post is considered by KCC to be a customer-facing position. The Council therefore has a statutory duty under Part 7 of the Immigration Act (2016) to ensure that post holders have a command of spoken English/Welsh sufficient for the effective performance of the job requirements. The appropriate standards are set out in the Job Description/Person Specification.

As part of the interview process for this role you may be required to complete additional testing.

Interviews are scheduled for 31st August 2023.

For further information regarding this post, please contact:

Lorraine Medwin

Tel: 03000 422660 or Email: [email protected]

KCC is committed to building a workforce which reflects the diversity of the county's working residents, encouraging applications from people of all ages, abilities, genders, sexual orientations, ethnic backgrounds and faiths, and aspires to create an inclusive workplace where everyone can be themselves at work.

Please note – if you are interested, please apply as soon as possible as the closing date for this advert may be earlier than stated should a number of suitably qualified candidates apply.