Regional Director for North West

SilverShoots; Manchester; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

The Department for Education seeks a Regional Director for North West, overseeing delivery across schools, SEND and children’s social care. Leading ~88 staff, the role drives targeted improvement and ensures delivery aligns with national policy and regional needs.

The post partners with local authorities, academy trusts, and dioceses to identify priorities, broker strong support, and deliver rapid improvements in education outcomes across the region.

Qualifications

• Excellent system leadership skills in education or care sectors, local or national government, ability to lead action, manage performance and promote inclusive teamwork in a large operation.
• Proven ability to galvanise influential stakeholder relationships to deliver delivery improvements regionally.
• Ability to make evidence-based decisions, manage change and respond promptly to events.
• Strong communication to advocate delivery and policy with senior colleagues and external partners.
• Experience in leading change and transformation across a large team.

Responsibilities

• School improvement and intervention - Driving the new regional school improvement model and targeted support reach.
• Schools and trust system - Lead decisions on academy growth, transfers and changes, and oversee trust performance and compliance.
• SEND and children’s social care - Leading improvement activity, SEND reform and Families First Partnerships.
• Policy and ministerial support - Provide advice and briefings to ministers reflecting regional realities.
• Stakeholder relationships - Build relationships with local authorities and trusts to improve outcomes.
• National leadership - Support delivery consistency across Regions Group and shape policy to reflect local needs.

Job description

Locations

Manchester, North West England, M1 2WD

Advertised working pattern

Full-time, Job share

Job summary

The Regional Director for North West, one of nine Regional Directors, will lead DfE delivery across the region. Leading a team of circa 88 colleagues, they will improve outcomes for children, families and learners across schools, SEND and children’s social care by:

Key responsibilities include

• School improvement and intervention - Driving the new regional school improvement model and ensuring targeted RISE support and intervention reach schools where standards are weak.
• Schools and trust system - Leading decisions on academy trust growth, academy transfers and rebrokering, voluntary academy conversions and significant changes to academies. The Regional Director will also oversee trust performance and compliance with the Academies Trust Handbook.
• SEND and children’s social care - Leading improvement and intervention activity, including SEND inspection follow-up, area partnership improvement plans, SEND reform and the implementation of Families First Partnerships.
• Policy and ministerial support - Strengthening the connection between national policy and local delivery by providing advice, briefings and recommendations to ministers. This includes escalating sensitive or high-profile matters and ensuring advice reflects regional evidence and realities.
• Stakeholder relationships - Building effective relationships with local authorities, academy trusts, dioceses and strategic partners to improve outcomes through influence rather than direct control. This includes working with local authorities on pupil place planning.
• National leadership - Leading an assigned national cross-cutting responsibility within Regions Group, supporting consistent delivery across regions and helping shape policy that reflects local needs and regional variation.

Job description

• Providing local leadership where appropriate for programmes and activities in support of the Government’s Opportunity Mission
• Leading the new regional approach to school improvement ensure schools that most need it receive targeted intervention to deliver high and rising standards
• Work in partnership with local authorities, academy trusts, and dioceses to identify and respond to local and thematic school improvement priorities and to work with the school's sector to promote knowledge of and access to wider school improvement support.
• Leading intervention in schools where needed, generating rapid improvement by brokering strong support.
• Leading improvement and intervention in children’s social care functions in local authorities, working in partnership with the sector to identify solutions to deliver rapid improvement
• Leading follow up to area wide SEND inspections, ensuring effective challenge and support in partnership with the sector to enable areas of weakness to be remedied quickly
• Taking decisions relating to our oversight of the academy trust system, including those linked to: trust growth, academy transfer, voluntary academy conversions and significant changes to academies; underperformance and compliance with the Academies Trust Handbook; and shaping school system provision
• Working with local authorities to ensure every local area has sufficient places for pupils
• Working effectively with Ministers: providing advice, briefing and support
• Leading on a cross-cutting priority area on behalf of Regions Group
• Leading a strong inclusive and effective culture of delivery, effective line management and people development and wellbeing across a diverse team

Person specification

Applicants will be assessed against the following Essential Criteria. If there is a high volume of applicants, preliminary sifting will be done using only the first criterion - *Excellent system leadership skills gained within the education or care sector, local or national government; able to take a leading role in initiating action, making decisions, managing performance and promoting inclusive team working in a large-scale operation, and being part of collective leadership success.*

Essential Criteria

• Excellent system leadership skills gained within the education or care sector, local or national government; able to take a leading role in initiating action, making decisions, managing performance and promoting inclusive team working in a large-scale operation, and being part of collective leadership success.
• An exceptional understanding and ability to galvanise influential stakeholder relationships that can deliver impact, bringing impetus to enable delivery of improvement through others at a regional level. Including an ability to understand and absorb the implications of policy for delivery and have a mature dialogue with policy colleagues in order to blend policy into implementation with a system wide focus.
• Proven ability to make decisions based on evidence and analysis in order to manage change positively and respond promptly to critical events.
• Effective communication skills to be an advocate of delivery and policy development with senior colleagues, ensuring that delivery impact and user need are at the core of our policy-making. With external stakeholders, be able to convert complex policy into a simple and meaningful message.
• Demonstrable experience of leading change inclusively with your team, including delivering system improvement and transformation