Faculty Director

Harris Federation; Greater London; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual Loyalty Bonus

Pension scheme with employer contribs

Wellbeing Cash Plan

26 days’ annual leave

Job summary

Harris Academy Clapham is seeking an exceptional Faculty Director to join our leadership team from January 2027. You will lead a high‑performing faculty to drive excellence in teaching, learning and student outcomes across the curriculum.

Join a collaborative culture within Harris Clapham, applying a research‑informed pedagogy and our Clapham Way to develop powerful knowledge and strong values in students.

Qualifications

• QTS (or equivalent) and a good undergraduate degree.
• Extensive teaching experience.
• Outstanding teaching practice.
• Leadership experience as Head of Department or member of SLT.
• Experience of writing department SEF.
• Experience of lesson observations and giving feedback.
• Experience of improvement planning.
• Experience of implementing range of strategies to raise student achievement.
• Proven ability to build relationships with students, parents and staff.

Responsibilities

• Lead rigorous self-evaluation, performance review and improvement planning across the subject area.
• Develop and implement subject improvement plans aligned to academy priorities.
• Lead the quality of teaching and learning through reviews and deep dives.
• Develop innovative curricula, schemes of work and assessment approaches.
• Monitor and evaluate impact of teaching, learning and curriculum provision.
• Use data to drive achievement and targeted intervention.
• Embed the academy's values and high expectations across the subject area.
• Deliver an inclusive and ambitious curriculum improving outcomes for all students.
• Oversee examination specifications, entries and assessment requirements.
• Promote literacy and wider curriculum initiatives.
• Collaborate with curriculum leaders to raise standards across the academy.

Skills

Teaching experience

Outstanding teaching

Head of Department leadership

SLT experience

Lesson observations

Improvement planning

Stakeholder relationships

Change leadership

Education

QTS or equivalent

Undergraduate degree

Job description

Are you an exceptional and ambitious leader looking to make a significant impact in a thriving academy? We are seeking to appoint an outstanding Faculty Director to join our leadership team from January 2027.

This is an exciting opportunity for an experienced and inspirational educator to lead and develop a high-performing faculty, driving excellence in teaching, learning and student outcomes across the curriculum. At Harris Academy Clapham, you will work alongside dedicated colleagues who are committed to ensuring every student achieves their full potential.

About Us

The vision of Harris Academy Clapham is a simple one. From our opening in September 2020, our academy is a place where ‘everything is possible'.

The Clapham curriculum is designed to meet the needs, aspirations and abilities of every one of our students. Our aim is to improve their life chances and enable them to make a positive contribution to the city and world in which they live.

At Harris Clapham, the curriculum is delivered through high-quality teaching. This is codified in our research-informed approach to pedagogy, which we call the Clapham Way. The following principles apply in our curriculum:

• Subject specific knowledge and skills come first
• Embedding and building on the basics – ensuring that every student acquires the vocabulary, literacy and numeracy skills to enable them to fully participate in society
• The curriculum must be rigorous and relevant by engaging with the best of what has been thought and said and acknowledging that knowledge is fluid and can be contested
• The curriculum must prepare for life in modern Britain and beyond, and enable Clapham students to understand their rights and fulfil their responsibilities under the Equality Act.

Through the Clapham academic, enrichment and pastoral curriculum we expect our students to develop powerful knowledge and the following values and character attributes that will enable them to achieve our vision that ‘Everything is Possible'.

• Learning to work hard and relish challenge.
• Learning to never give up.
• Learning to take sensible risks.
• Learning to always strive for the best for themselves and each other.

Integrity and honesty

• Always acting with kindness.
• Treating others the way they would like to be treated.

Self-belief with a global view

• Growing to have the agency to achieve their ambitions for themselves and the wider world.

Our staff are supported in their work and in developing their future careers via:

• A centralised behaviour system, with each year group supported by non-teaching pastoral leaders
• A programme of instructional coaching, supported by the Step Lab platform
• Access to a wide range of National Professional Qualifications delivered by the Institute of Teaching
• Federation subject consultant support
• Harris Federation professional development training days and networking support.

Main Areas of Responsibility

Your responsibilities will include:

• Leading rigorous self-evaluation, performance review and improvement planning across the subject area
• Developing and implementing subject improvement plans aligned to academy priorities
• Leading the quality of teaching and learning through reviews, learning walks and deep dives
• Developing innovative curricula, schemes of work, assessment approaches and teaching strategies
• Monitoring and evaluating the impact of teaching, learning and curriculum provision
• Using assessment data and student information to drive achievement and targeted intervention
• Embedding the academy's values, ethos and high expectations across the subject area
• Delivering a high-quality, inclusive and ambitious curriculum that supports excellent outcomes for all students
• Leading the strategic development of the subject area in line with academy and national priorities
• Overseeing examination specifications, entries and assessment requirements
• Promoting CORE learning, literacy, employability and wider curriculum initiatives
• Collaborating with curriculum leaders to embed effective cross-curricular literacy and raise standards across the academy

Qualifications & Experience

We would like to hear from you if you have:

• QTS (or equivalent) and a good undergraduate degree
• Extensive teaching experience
• Outstanding teaching practice
• Successful management experience as Head of Department or member of the SLT
• Experience of writing department SEF
• Experience of lesson observations and giving feedback
• Experience of improvement planning
• Experience of implementing a range of strategies to raise student achievement, with evidence of success
• Contribution to impact on the quality of learning and teaching and curriculum
• Experience of developing and sustaining positive relationships with students, parents, staff and the Governing Body to build consensus support and capacity
• Proven track record of managing and implementing change in relation to teaching practices and standards
• A track record of success in leadership and management

Our people are at the heart of our success. We have developed a strong culture of collaboration and best practice, with professional development and career planning at its centre. We invest in our staff with support, coaching, mentoring, and a wide range of top-quality training programmes delivered at every level.

In addition to the opportunities for career development and progression, we also offer a competitive rewards and benefits package which includes an Annual Loyalty Bonus, Pension Scheme with generous employer contributions, a Wellbeing Cash Plan, 26 days' annual leave (plus bank holidays) for staff who work across the full year, and many other benefits. Learn more about our benefits on our website.

Safeguarding Notice

The Harris Federation and all our academies are committed to ensuring the highest levels of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people, and we expect all our staff and volunteers to share this commitment. All offers of employment are subject to an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check, references, an online search, and where applicable, a prohibition from teaching check will be completed.

The Harris Federation is an equal opportunities employer and welcomes applications from all suitably qualified candidates.

We value the diversity of our staff and students, and everyone at the Harris Federation is equally valued and respected. We aim to be an inclusive employer that reflects the communities we serve. We are committed to providing a fair, equitable and mutually supportive learning and working environment.