School Improvement Senior Advisor

WMJobs; Wolverhampton; Hybrid; GBP 79,000 - 83,000; Full time

Job summary

Wolverhampton City Council is seeking an exceptional educational leader to join its Education Excellence Team as a School Improvement Senior Advisor. This influential strategic role offers the opportunity to shape the future of education across the city by working closely with senior leaders, schools, academy trusts and regional partners to drive school improvement, inclusion and educational excellence.

The successful candidate will bring a proven track record of school and system leadership,

Qualifications

• Qualified Teacher Status and a degree-level qualification.
• Proven track record of senior leadership and school improvement.
• Extensive experience across schools, trusts or local authority systems to secure improved outcomes.
• Deep understanding of current educational policy, school accountability and inspection frameworks.
• Strong ability to analyse performance information and identify priorities for improvement.
• Experience of supporting schools through change, challenge and improvement journeys.
• Credibility to influence senior leaders, governors and key stakeholders.
• Outstanding communication, leadership and relationship-building skills.
• A passionate commitment to inclusion, safeguarding and improving outcomes for all children and young people.
• Vision, resilience and strategic thinking required to lead improvement at system level.

Responsibilities

• Lead the delivery and development of school improvement services across Wolverhampton.
• Provide strategic leadership for school performance, inclusion and educational standards.
• Monitor, challenge and support schools to secure continuous improvement and excellence.
• Lead the Local Authority's work with schools requiring additional challenge, intervention and support.
• Chair key strategic meetings, including Autumn Conversations and Team Around the School meetings.
• Drive collaborative approaches to school improvement across maintained schools, academies and trusts.
• Support schools through Ofsted preparation and post-inspection improvement activity.
• Lead the development and delivery of professional development programmes for leaders across the city.
• Work across directorates and with external partners to ensure a coordinated approach to improving outcomes.
• Represent Wolverhampton locally, regionally and nationally, promoting the city's strong reputation for educational improvement and innovation.

Skills

Senior leadership

School improvement

Strategic thinking

Data analysis

Stakeholder engagement

Communication

Education policy

Education

Qualified Teacher Status

Degree-level qualification

Job description

School Improvement Senior Advisor

City of Wolverhampton Council,

Salary – £78,872 - £82,904 (Soulbury points 25-28)

Hours – 37 hours per week

Contract type – Full time, Permanent

Work Style – Flexible: working from home and council location

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

Wolverhampton City Council is seeking an exceptional educational leader to join its highly regarded Education Excellence Team as a School Improvement Senior Advisor. This influential strategic role offers the opportunity to shape the future of education across the city by working closely with senior leaders, schools, academy trusts and regional partners to drive school improvement, inclusion and educational excellence.

The successful candidate will bring a proven track record of school and system leadership, providing expert support, challenge and strategic direction to schools. Joining a forward-thinking and collaborative team, you will play a key role in delivering Wolverhampton’s ambitious vision of ensuring every child and young person has access to a high-quality education and the opportunity to achieve their full potential.

About the Role

As a School Improvement Senior Advisor, you will play a leading role in delivering Wolverhampton's ambitious Education Excellence Strategy and securing the best possible outcomes for children and young people across the city.

Working closely with the Deputy Director of Education, Head of Service and key educational leaders, you will:

• Lead the delivery and development of school improvement services across Wolverhampton.
• Provide strategic leadership for school performance, inclusion and educational standards.
• Monitor, challenge and support schools to secure continuous improvement and excellence.
• Lead the Local Authority's work with schools requiring additional challenge, intervention and support.
• Chair key strategic meetings, including Autumn Conversations and Team Around the School meetings.
• Drive collaborative approaches to school improvement across maintained schools, academies and trusts.
• Support schools through Ofsted preparation and post-inspection improvement activity.
• Lead the development and delivery of professional development programmes for leaders across the city.
• Work across directorates and with external partners to ensure a coordinated approach to improving outcomes for all children and young people.
• Represent Wolverhampton locally, regionally and nationally, promoting the city's strong reputation for educational improvement and innovation.
• This is a role with significant influence and reach, offering the opportunity to help shape educational strategy and policy, build leadership capacity across the city and contribute directly to improving outcomes for thousands of children and young people.

About you

To be successful in this role, you will demonstrate:

• Qualified Teacher Status and a degree-level qualification.
• A proven track record of successful senior leadership and school improvement.
• Extensive experience of working across schools, trusts or local authority systems to secure improved outcomes.
• A deep understanding of current educational policy, school accountability and inspection frameworks.
• Strong expertise in analysing performance information and identifying strategic priorities for improvement.
• Experience of supporting schools through change, challenge and improvement journeys.
• The credibility, confidence and professional presence to influence senior leaders, governors and key stakeholders.
• Outstanding communication, leadership and relationship-building skills.
• A passionate commitment to inclusion, safeguarding and improving outcomes for all children and young people.
• The vision, resilience and strategic thinking required to lead improvement at system

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.

If you have the vision, determination and leadership skills to drive educational excellence and inspire improvement at scale, we would love to hear from you.

Interview process

Interviews will take place on the 5th October 2026 and consist of the following:

• Stakeholder Interview
• Technical Panel Interview
• Assessment

For an informal discussion about the role, please contact Phil Leivers [e-mail].

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

Important information

• An online search will be carried out for all shortlisted candidates.
• You will be expected to travel to schools and settings across the City of Wolverhampton.
• This is an essential car user post. Applicants must be able to drive and have access to a suitable vehicle. Reasonable adjustments will be made for disabled applicants where required.
• Wolverhampton City Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff to share this commitment.
• This post is subject to the Fluency Duty, in line with the Code of Practice on English language requirements for public sector workers.

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.

Recruitment of Ex-Offenders

We are committed to 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 any individual on the basis of a conviction or any other information revealed as a result of a DBS disclosure.

Employment Information & Support

We provide a range of support and information for those interested in joining the council. For more information please see the attached documents.

Attached documents

School Improvement Senior Advisor July 2026.pdf