Education Director

Massey University; London; On-site; GBP 50,000 - 55,000; Full time

Job summary

An established industry player is seeking an Education Director to spearhead innovative educational programs for young people. This role is pivotal in shaping the future of education in urban environments, focusing on empowering youth to engage with their communities and consider careers in design and the built environment. The successful candidate will lead a dedicated team, develop strategies for sustainable growth, and collaborate with various stakeholders to ensure impactful delivery. If you are passionate about education and want to make a difference, this opportunity offers a platform to drive meaningful change in young people's lives.

Qualifications

• Strong understanding of UK education sector and its dynamics.
• Experience in leading educational programs and teams.

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop educational programs for young people.
• Manage and support a team of program managers and educators.

Skills

Education Sector Knowledge

Leadership

Project Management

Fundraising

Communication

Team Management

Strategic Planning

Advocacy

Education

Degree in Education or Related Field

Experience in Built Environment Education

Tools

Project Management Software

Social Media Platforms

Job description

About The Role

Open City is seeking an Education Director to lead its young people’s programmes supporting children and teenagers to learn about and advocate for better city-making as well as to consider careers in design and the built environment.

The Education Director will lead and develop our educational programmes: Young City Makers (KS2), It’s My City Too! (SEN), Accelerate Studios (12-16), Accelerate (16-18) and Accelerate Alumni (18+) as well as our Youth Engagement Training, ensuring they align with our mission and effectively address the needs of the communities we serve.

This role involves strategic planning as part of the Leadership Team, programme development, team leadership and staff management, and collaboration with internal and external stakeholders.

We are seeking an ambitious, organised and detail-oriented person with excellent knowledge of the UK education sector to drive the evolution of our work with and for young people to ensure they have agency to shape their built environment.

Salary: £50,000 to 55,000 per annum pro rata

Contract: Permanent

Location: London

Hours: 4–5 days a week; 0.8–1.0 FTE, 30 or 37.5 hours – flexible, with availability to work some evenings and weekends.

Reports to: Chief Executive Officer, Open City

Line manage: Programme Heads of Accelerate, Accelerate Studios, Young City Makers and It’s My City Too! Plus a network of freelance educators and facilitators. The wider Open City staff team includes 14 people, with a mix of part and full time working.

Starting Date: As soon as possible

Job Purpose:

The Education Director will join the charity at a time where we are starting to expand our successful programmes across different levels of primary and secondary education, which were established in London, to other cities.

The first of these is Birmingham where we have launched Accelerate Studios (12-16) this autumn and will launch Young City Makers (KS2) in the Spring with preparations underway to run Accelerate (16-18) in the 2025–26 academic year. In this role, you will drive the charity’s work supporting young people by leading a small team of creative and dedicated education programme managers and a network of freelance educators and facilitators.

You will work closely with Open City’s CEO as part of the Leadership Team to strategise on what effective and sustainable growth and resourcing should look like, and with the Development Manager to secure fundraising.

As part of a small organisation, the role will require a hands-on approach to planning and evaluation of our education programmes in a creative and collaborative environment while maintaining an overview of the delivery of the different programmes in London and Birmingham as well as future locations.

Key Responsibilities:

Planning and Project Delivery

• Developing and driving an expansive vision for Open City’s education and youth engagement work that puts young people at the heart of ambitious and socially purposeful projects.
• Ensuring consistent quality and excellence in the delivery of the existing education programmes in London, Birmingham and beyond.
• Working closely with the CEO to develop a strategy for sustainable growth of the education programmes.

People Management

• Leading and managing the Education Team of programme managers and relevant freelance educators and facilitators to ensure clear communication and opportunities for staff development.
• Recruiting and managing tutors, guest practitioners and speakers, workshop assistants and volunteers to ensure effective resourcing across programmes and activities.

Fundraising and Evaluation

• Working in collaboration with the CEO and Development Manager to strategise, secure and steward funding from a range of sources to support Open City’s work with young people.
• Working with the Development Manager to regularly review and evaluate programmes to ensure continuous improvement and alignment with charitable objectives.

Compliance and Operations

• Ensuring compliance with the requirements of working with schools, safeguarding and the development of pathways to higher education.
• Being a member of the Leadership Team to inform the overall strategy and business plan of the charity through our education programmes as well as opportunities to collaborate across the organisation to maximise the charity’s impact and sustainability.
• Managing and reviewing the membership of Open City’s Education Advisory Panel (currently Accelerate Advisory Board).
• Planning and delivering educational events throughout the year including built environment careers fairs.

Communications and Advocacy

• Promoting and advocating for our work in education through social media and other communication channels as well as at industry events.
• Actively engaging with and demonstrating an interest in the work and mission of Open City.
• Supporting and collaborating with the wider Open City team across various programmes and live events where necessary.

You do not need to have experience in every aspect of the areas below, but if you believe your career and lived experience has prepared you well for this role, we encourage you to apply, and demonstrate your transferable skills.

Experience, Qualifications and Attributes for the Role Include:

• Education and Empowerment: A commitment and passion for young people’s education through the design of creative and dynamic forms of teaching and learning.
• Schools and Built Environment Experience: A developed understanding of primary and secondary school education through work in schools and/or learning programmes as well as pathways to education and careers in the built environment.
• Imagination: Strong imagination and vision to develop programmes and spaces for young peoples’ voices to be centred.
• Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An in-depth understanding of the issues and impact of systemic discrimination for/on young people.
• Advocacy and Stewardship: Experience of being a strong advocate for programmes among senior funders and stakeholders including securing and stewarding fundraising and partnerships.
• Leadership: Ability to manage and lead a team effectively to ensure clear communication, consistent delivery, effective resourcing of our programmes as well as coaching, mentoring and identifying opportunities for staff development to help individuals develop and achieve their career goals.
• Strategy and Planning: A strong understanding of budgeting, resource allocation and funding opportunities and constraints.
• People Management: Ability to work collaboratively with a very wide range of people from young people with Special Educational Needs to teenagers to large multinational corporations and supporters.
• Detail-oriented: Excellent organisation skills, patience, reliability and attention to detail.
• Charitable Purpose: Evidence of a commitment to the Open City mission to make cities more ‘open, accessible and equitable’.

Our Commitment to Diversity

As part of our ambitions to improve equality and diversity, we welcome applications for this role from those who identify under any of the protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010, which include race, age, disability, gender, religion or belief, and sexual orientation; and, from those who identify as being working class.

Application Process

How to Apply

If you are inspired by the work of Open City and would like to be considered for the role of Education Director, we would love to hear from you.

Please Note: The successful candidate must have permission to work in the UK by the start of their employment.

Applicants are asked to submit a CV and cover letter, saved as a single .pdf with the title Open City Education Director application_your initials.

Your CV should be no more than 2 sides of A4 and should include any notice period that you may have, and the cover letter should be a maximum of 500 words. The cover letter should briefly describe how your experience and achievements to date would make you a suitable candidate for this role – aligning specifically with the organisation’s mission and existing education programmes as well as opportunities for how they could develop.

It should also set out your motivation in applying for the role, and the contribution that you see Open City making to addressing opportunities and challenges facing young people as they consider their agency in shaping the built environment and/or careers in architecture and its related disciplines.

Applications should be submitted to [e-mail].

The closing date for applications is Monday 13 January 2025 at 12.00.

Please note: We do not wish to receive any contact from recruitment agencies regarding this vacancy.

Selection Process

The recruitment process will be led by CEO Manijeh Verghese and Trustee Selina Mason who, along with Open City staff representatives, will assess all applications received against the selection criteria, and agree a shortlist of up to five candidates to be invited to interview. Coordination support will be provided by Open City staff, who will acknowledge applications and provide updates and responses on behalf of the panel.

There will be two stages to the interview process with the first stage comprising of questions structured around the person specification from the job description. The second stage will provide the opportunity for successful candidates to give a presentation on their ideas for how the different programmes within Open City Education could evolve over the next 3-5 years. Both stages will be held in person at the Design District in North Greenwich.

Prior to appointment, the panel’s preferred candidate will be invited to meet with members of the staff team.

Advertisement Published: 9 December 2024

Closing Date for Applications: 13 January 2025 at 12 noon Shortlisting for interview by: 17 January 2025

First Stage Interviews: 23 January 2025 in person Second Stage Interviews: 06 February 2025 in person

Please hold the interview dates above in your diary. Let us know in your application if these dates are not possible, and we will contact you to arrange an alternative if your application is shortlisted.

Selection Criteria

The person specification included in the job description will be used as the selection criteria by the panel taking part in the recruitment process. You do not need to have experience in every area of the person specification, and transferable skills from your career and lived experience will be taken into account.

Scoring will be: 3 – exceeds criteria; 2 meets criteria; 1 partially meets criteria; 0 does not meet criteria.

References

Where an applicant is considered for appointment to the role, references will be taken up.

This will help to establish personal qualities such as ability to motivate, inspire and lead a team, and develop relationships with a range of stakeholders. An applicant will not be appointed where these qualities are not confirmed.

Open City Policies and Procedures

Open City is a charity registered with the Charities Commission for England and Wales. The trustee board is responsible for the governance of the charity to comply with our charity’s governing document and the law. As part of this process, trustees regularly review and update policies and procedures, for example on external communications and conflicts of interest. The successful candidate will be provided with these policies and procedures which will apply to their employment.

Data Protection Statement

The personal information (data) collected as part of your application, (which includes the collection of sensitive personal data, such as your postcode) is collected by Open City for the purposes of the recruitment process. It is the policy of Open City to protect, and keep secure, all personal data collected. All personal data is processed for the purpose of recruitment, and, in the case of successful applications, for the satisfactory administration of their appointment, and for no other purpose, in accordance with GDPR, May 2018.