Head of Education Excellence

We Manage Jobs(WMJobs); Wolverhampton; Hybrid; GBP 89,000 - 94,000; Full time

Job summary

Wolverhampton City Council seeks a transformative leader to become Head of Education Excellence. You will drive city-wide educational improvement, working with schools, academies, early years providers and key partners to raise standards and life chances for every child.

You will provide strategic leadership for school improvement and governance, collaborate with Ofsted and the Department for Education, and shape an ambitious agenda across the city and region.

Qualifications

• Significant experience of leading educational improvement and raising standards.
• Extensive knowledge of education policy, legislation and local authority responsibilities.
• Proven expertise in school improvement, governance and early years provision.
• Strong leadership, communication, influencing and partnership-building skills.
• Experience of leading change, transformation and service improvement.
• Commitment to inclusion, equality and improving outcomes for all children and young people.
• Politically aware, strategically focused and passionate about improving life chances through education.

Responsibilities

• Lead the city's education improvement strategy and drive outcomes for children and young people.
• Promote educational excellence and challenge underperformance across the system.
• Provide strategic leadership for school improvement, governance and early years provision.
• Develop strong partnerships across education, health and wider public sector.
• Act as ambassador for education across the city, regionally and nationally.
• Deputise for the Deputy Director (Education) as required.

Skills

Educational leadership

Education policy

School improvement

Governance

Change management

Inclusion & equality

Strategic planning

Job description

Head of Education Excellence

Salary - £89,348- £93,506 (Soulbury 35-38)

Hours -37

Contract type - full time permanent

Work Style - Flexible: working from home and a council location

This post requires an Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check for regulated activity with children

Lead Educational Excellence. Make a Difference Across an Entire City.

At Wolverhampton City Council, we are ambitious for our children, young people and families. We are seeking an exceptional leader to join our Children's Services leadership team as our new Head of Education Excellence.

This is a fantastic opportunity for an experienced education professional to shape and drive educational improvement across Wolverhampton, leading our work with schools, academies, early years providers and key partners to ensure every child and young person can achieve their full potential.

About the Role

As Head of Education Excellence, you will provide strategic leadership and accountability for educational improvement across the city, including school improvement and early years provision. You will work collaboratively with schools, governors, academy trusts, dioceses, the Department for Education, Ofsted and a wide range of partners to champion high standards and excellence in education.

Key responsibilities include:

• Leading the city's education improvement strategy and driving improved outcomes for children and young people.
• Promoting educational excellence and challenging underperformance across the education system.
• Providing strategic leadership for school improvement, governance, assessment and moderation, and early years provision.
• Developing strong partnerships across education, health and the wider public sector.
• Acting as an ambassador for education across the city, regionally and nationally.
• Deputising for the Deputy Director (Education) as required.

About You

• Significant experience of successfully leading educational improvement and raising standards.
• Extensive knowledge of education policy, legislation and local authority responsibilities.
• Proven expertise in school improvement, school governance and early years provision.
• Strong leadership, communication, influencing and partnership-building skills.
• Experience of leading change, transformation and service improvement.
• A commitment to inclusion, equality and improving outcomes for all children and young people.
• You will be politically aware, strategically focused and passionate about improving life chances through education.

Why Wolverhampton?

This is an opportunity to join a forward-thinking local authority with a clear ambition to deliver the very best outcomes for children, young people and families. You will play a pivotal role in shaping education across the city and making a lasting impact on future generations.

Interview Details

First stage Interviews will take place W/C28 September 2026 and consist of the following:

• Stakeholder Interview
• Technical Panel Interview
• Presentation

Successful candidates following first stage interviews, will be invited to participate in a Children’s Panel on W/C 5th October 2026

For full details of the responsibilities and requirements of this role please see the attached Job Description and Person Specification.

Wolverhampton City Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people

Our working arrangements

All council roles are allocated to either a fixed, field or flexible work style. Some roles are agile which enable and empower employees to maximise their performance and productivity, whilst maintaining a healthy work life balance. Roles with a fixed workstyle work in a fixed permanent council location. Roles with a field workstyle are usually allocated where employees are required to be out working in the community with a minimum requirement for 'touch down' space at any council location. Roles with a flexible workstyle have a flexible base location to meet the needs of the business and employees can work from a mixture of home or any council office, partner/client, or external location, as required to meet service requirements.

Please refer to the Job Description for further information on the workstyle assigned to the role you are applying for.

Diversity

We are committed to building a workforce that is reflective of the diverse community we serve. We want to attract the best applications from people of all backgrounds and underrepresented groups because we strongly believe in adding value through diversity, inclusion, and equality. Our employees enable us to deliver services that are accessible, inclusive, and reflective of Wolverhampton residents.

Our status as a Disability Confident Employer showcases our commitment to people with disabilities or health conditions, advocating for their opportunities and potential.

We've received the Stonewall Gold Award, emphasising our dedication to the LGBT+ community by nurturing an inspiring, inclusive, and equal workplace.

As part of our commitment as a Disability Confident employer, a Gold Award Armed Forces employer and our commitment to supporting care leavers - we offer a guaranteed interview as long as your application meets the essential criteria for the post.

We encourage, inspire and value an inclusive culture here at the council where employees can flourish, thrive and be themselves. We have four staff equality forums for employees to join. These help to ensure our employees have a voice, they feel empowered to speak up and where everyone is treated with respect - Learn more about the staff equality forums

Recruitment of Ex-Offenders

We arecommittedto the fair treatment of all our employees, potential employees, or users of our service regardless of offending background. The Council uses the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) for any vacancies that require a DBS check to obtain information about applicants to assess their suitability for employment in positions of trust. We do not discriminate unfairly against anyindividualon the basis of a conviction or any other information revealed as a result of a DBS disclosure - Learn more here

Attached documents

2020.07.01 Head of Education Excellence JD_PS.doc