Chief Education Officer

Academy Transformation Trust; Maney; On-site; GBP 115,000 - 155,000; Full time

Job summary

Academy Transformation Trust is seeking a Chief Education Officer to lead the education strategy across 22 academies. You will drive evidence-based improvement and oversee the team responsible for policy and practice across the trust.

You will guide senior leaders, partner with principals, and translate ATT2030 into daily improvements in pupil experiences and outcomes. This is a high-visibility executive role with broad accountability.

Qualifications

• Must have deep educational expertise and intellectual curiosity.
• Ability to lead high-performing people without needing to be the expert in every room.
• Builds authority through evidence, judgement and strong relationships.
• Ability to connect ideas, people and functions across a complex organisation.

Responsibilities

• Lead ATT's education team and the C-Suite to translate ATT2030 into practical improvements across 22 academies.
• Provide counsel, challenge and support to principals and Continuous Improvement Partners.
• Ensure an evidence-based, sustainable approach to school improvement and student outcomes.

Skills

Educational leadership

People leadership

Evidence-based practice

Strategic thinking

Cross-functional collaboration

Job description

Chief Education Officer

Academy Transformation Trust | £135,000 | Full time, permanent

Academy Transformation Trust is looking for an exceptional educationalist to join our C-Suite as Chief Education Officer.

This is not a conventional CEdO role, and we are not looking for a glorified executive headteacher.

ATT serves 22 academies across 10 local authority areas, many in communities experiencing significant disadvantage. Through ATT2030, we have set an ambitious direction for our future: we want every pupil to become capable, competent and confident, able to take their rightful place in the community of educated people.

We already have a highly capable education team. Our Continuous Improvement Partners work directly with principals, providing counsel, challenge and support. The CEdO will lead the people who lead that work, bringing greater coherence to our educational thinking and helping us translate ATT2030 into something increasingly visible in the daily experience of every child.

We are looking for someone who:

• possesses deep educational expertise and is intellectually curious;
• can lead highly capable people without needing to be the expert in every room;
• builds authority through expertise, judgement, relationships and the quality of their argument;
• can connect ideas, people and functions across a complex organisation;
• is comfortable with evidence, challenge and changing their mind when persuaded;
• can translate ambitious educational thinking into sustainable organisational improvement; and
• wants to contribute not only to ATT, but to thinking and practice across the wider education sector.

We are not interested in educational fads and fashions. We want evidence, scholarship, professional expertise and careful thought to inform our work. Nor are we seeking someone with a fixed model to impose across 22 academies. We want strong principals with genuine agency while realising the enormous potential of working together as one trust.

As a member of our C-Suite, you will also share responsibility for the success of ATT as a whole. Education will be your principal executive responsibility, but you will think seriously about people, finance, technology, estates, organisational design, risk and growth as part of our educational mission.

There is a great deal still to build. That is precisely what makes this role interesting.

We strongly encourage you to read the full applicant pack before deciding whether this unusual role might be for you. Prospective candidates are also encouraged to have a confidential conversation with Mark McCourt, Chief Executive Officer, before applying.

Closing date: 10am, Monday 19 October 2026
Interviews: Wednesday 21 and Thursday 22 October 2026

We are a Disability Confident Employer

The successful applicant will undertake an enhanced DBS criminal record check, and online searches will be carried out in line with KCSIE 2026. We are committed to Diversity, Equality and Inclusion and welcome all applications. We are open to Flexible Working.