Head of Campus

Ashford College; Dover; On-site; GBP 45,000 - 55,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading educational institution in Dover is seeking a Head of Bench Street Arts Campus to lead and shape a vibrant creative learning environment. You will oversee operations, champion academic excellence, manage budgets, and engage with industry partners. The ideal candidate will have a degree-level education, a recognized teaching qualification, and proven leadership experience. This role offers generous annual leave, competitive pension, and development opportunities. Join us in inspiring the future of creative education!

Benefits

Generous annual leave – 38 days FTE

Competitive pension scheme

Learning and development opportunities

Health support and wellbeing initiatives

Exclusive discounts and perks

Flexible personal leave

Qualifications

• Proven track record of raising standards and delivering results.
• Genuine passion for creative education with up-to-date industry knowledge.
• Ability to inspire and motivate teams.

Responsibilities

• Oversee campus operations and ensure high standards.
• Drive student success and maintain program quality.
• Manage the campus budget and ensure effective operations.

Skills

Leadership

Financial management

Curriculum development

Community engagement

Teaching practice

Education

Degree-level qualification

Recognised teaching qualification (DET, PGCE or CertEd)

Job description

About The Role

Inspiring excellence at the heart of creativity.

• A brand-new state‑of‑the‑art campus in the heart of Dover's thriving creative industry.
• A hub for Creative programmes.
• A chance to develop the stars of the future in a supportive and aspirational environment.

Your Role

As Head of Bench Street Arts Campus, you'll be at the forefront of shaping a culture of innovation, creativity, and excellence. Your responsibilities will include:

• Leadership & Management: Overseeing campus operations, ensuring high standards, and fostering a positive learning environment.
• Academic Excellence: Maintaining the quality of program provision, championing outstanding teaching, and driving student success.
• Financial Stewardship: Managing the campus budget effectively and ensuring the smooth operation of the estate and buildings.
• Industry & Community Engagement: Liaising with partners to strengthen connections within the creative sector.

This is more than a leadership role—it’s a chance to leave a lasting legacy in creative education. If you're ready to shape the future at Bench Street Arts Campus, we’d love to hear from you!

Benefits

• Generous Annual Leave – 38 days FTE per annum
• Competitive Pension Scheme – generous employer contribution
• Learning and Development Opportunities – 3–4 annual paid group development days and bespoke programmes, e.g. Senior Leadership Development Programme and strong internal progression – 1 in 3 roles are filled internally.
• Culture and Recognition – Being part of Community Days, an Annual Staff Celebration Day, and an eco‑friendly organisation dedicated to reaching net‑zero by 2030.
• Wellbeing and Health Support – Generous sick pay, health checks, free flu jabs, free eye tests, glasses vouchers, flexible support for medical appointments and return‑to‑work support.
• Exclusive Discounts & Perks – Including restaurant, grocery, retail and holidays discounts as well as car leasing and tech purchasing schemes.
• Flexible Personal Leave – Time off for your child's first day at nursery or school, moving homes and for interviews.

About You

We are seeking an experienced, forward‑thinking and proactive leader to join our management team and play a key role in shaping the future of the Bench Street Arts Campus.

As Head of Campus, you will provide strong leadership to ensure an exceptional student experience within a dynamic creative learning environment.

You will be responsible for:

• Leading and sustaining high‑quality curriculum delivery across the campus.
• Ensuring effective learner support is in place so all students can thrive and achieve.
• Driving continuous improvement and maintaining high standards in teaching, learning and assessment.
• Creating a positive, inclusive and aspirational culture for both staff and learners.

You will bring:

• A proven track record of raising standards and delivering results.
• A genuine passion for creative education, with up‑to‑date industry knowledge and understanding of current practices within the Creative sector.
• A proactive, solutions‑focused approach and the ability to inspire and motivate teams.
• Strong strategic insight, with a clear focus on quality, delivery and excellence.

To be successful, you will have:

• A degree‑level qualification.
• A recognised teaching qualification (DET, PGCE or CertEd).
• Demonstrable good or outstanding teaching practice.
• Experience of curriculum planning and development.
• Proven leadership and management experience, with the ability to lead and support an experienced professional team.

How to Apply

No need to spend time updating your CV, just click apply and complete our short application form. You can save your progress as you go, and we’ll review all applications and get back to all candidates after the closing date.

For any queries, email us at [e-mail].

About Us

Outstanding Ofsted Provider

East Kent Colleges Group is an Ofsted Outstanding rated provider. It is proud to be the first General Further Education college organisation in the country to have received the Outstanding grade against each of the strands under the new Ofsted inspection framework. An inclusive provider, our colleagues place our students and the communities we serve at the heart of everything they do across EKC Group and this is illustrated in our ‘Strong’ skills grading by Ofsted.

Commitment to Safeguarding

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults and we ensure that all staff are aware of their responsibilities for upholding these principles.

As a designated establishment, we are exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and therefore have an obligation to carry out checks to ensure that staff are suitable to work with children and vulnerable adults. These checks include conviction/caution self‑declaration, Enhanced DBS check and obtaining sufficient referencing.

It is a criminal offence to apply for a post which involves engaging in regulated activity relevant to children if you are barred from doing so.

If you are successful in being shortlisted to interview, your suitability to work with children and vulnerable adults will be explored as part of the interview process.

Commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

East Kent Colleges Group is an equal opportunities employer and welcomes applications from all members of our communities. We are particularly keen to increase the diversity of our staff body and encourage applications from candidates where there is underrepresentation in our workforce.

We are proud to hold the Positive About Disability Award and are a Disability Confident Employer. This confirms our commitment to interviewing all applicants who declare that they have a disability and who meet the essential criteria outlined in the person specification. With any successful candidate, we will explore any reasonable adjustments to a role due to a health needs or disability.

Similarly, we have a commitment to Care Leavers (Care Covenant Pledge) and to current or previous Armed Forces personnel (Armed Forces Covenant Pledge) with a commitment to interview applicants who meet the positions essential criteria and have declared this on their application.

We welcome applications from anyone wishing to work flexibly and those considering a return to work from a career break.

We do not engage with agencies for permanent staff and have an in‑house recruitment team.