School Organisation Strategy Manager

London Borough of Hackney; Greater London; On-site; GBP 65,000 - 82,000; Full time

Job summary

Hackney Council in London is seeking a School Organisation Strategy Manager to lead the long-term provision of high-quality school places. You will shape strategy, oversee place planning, and work with partners to deliver changes in a complex public sector environment.

The role demands senior-level experience in delivering large programmes, strong governance and excellent communication with staff and stakeholders; the post holder will manage 1 team member.

Qualifications

• Degree-level education or equivalent experience.
• Experience in school organisation or public consultation preferred.
• Understanding of equalities legislation and governance.
• Proven ability to lead large, strategic change programmes.

Responsibilities

• Lead development and implementation of long-term school provision strategy.
• Oversee strategic planning and delivery of school places.
• Coordinate with stakeholders to implement changes.
• Manage a small team and ensure governance and partnership working.

Skills

Strategic leadership

Public sector experience

Governance

Stakeholder engagement

Analytical skills

Communication

Education

Degree level or equivalent

Job description

Hackney is one of the most dynamic and progressive local authorities in the UK. We are a resilient, vibrant, and creative borough in the heart of London, with strong, diverse communities and a powerful set of shared values.

Over the past twenty years, the Council has built up first-class services, outstanding public infrastructure, and a reputation for excellence, innovation, and ambition. We are leading the way on essential work such as our fight for equity in Hackney with a particular focus on becoming an actively anti-racist borough. But the work doesn’t stop there, we are proactive in our approach to bringing fairness to all aspects of life including gender, neurodiversity and across the poverty divide.

Hackney Council is recognised as one of the UK’s highest-performing local authorities, serving a vibrant and dynamic community in one of London’s most desirable locations. Over the past twenty years, we have built a reputation for excellence, innovation, and ambition.

Hackney Education is committed to being the UK’s most forward-looking education system. We aim to enhance the life chances of every learner by creating an inspiring environment that guarantees inclusion and success for everyone. We are leading the way in our fight for equity, with a specific focus on becoming an actively anti-racist borough. As we rank among the 10% most deprived areas in England, our key priority is providing strong support for underserved families and communities.

The School Organisation and Place Planning Team is crucial to Hackney’s overarching education strategy. This strategy aims to provide high-quality education for every child by developing an agile and sustainable school system. This system will build on existing collaborative models while addressing challenges such as fluctuating pupil numbers, limited resources, and the growing needs of children requiring significant support.

Are you a strategic leader passionate about educational excellence and organisational efficiency? Do you have a proven track record in planning, consultation, and delivering large-scale strategic change within a complex public sector environment, ideally in education?

We are seeking an ambitious and experienced School Organisation Strategy Manager to lead the development and implementation of our long-term vision for school provision. The School Organisation Strategy Manager is responsible for the strategic planning and delivery of school places, ensuring there are enough high-quality sustainable school places. This involves supporting the work that leads to proposals on school organisation changes and working with stakeholders to implement decisions.

This role provides strategic leadership on the school organisation and place planning strategy, with direct accountability for delivering complex and politically sensitive change programmes, including school closures, mergers, and asset optimisation. The post holder manages 1 team member, ensuring operational excellence, effective governance, and partnership working.

Education: Educated to degree level, equivalent professional qualification or relevant experience

DBS: This post is not subject to a DBS requirement.

Flexibility: All workers are expected to operate flexibly to support the delivery of services and from time to time will be required to undertake responsibilities outside the normal remit of role description as required,

AboutWe are looking for a strategic leader passionate about educational excellence, organisational efficiency, and delivering long‑term vision for school provision. You should demonstrate:

– Experience: Significant senior‑level experience in delivering complex programmes in a public sector setting, ideally involving school reorganisation or public consultation

– Knowledge: Strong understanding of public consultation, equalities legislation and governance

– Strategic Ability: Extensive experience in school organisation and pupil place planning, strategic planning, and managing school re‑organisation projects.

– Communication: Strong communication skills, excellent rapport building and ability to establish and maintain positive working relationships with staff, managers and stakeholders.

– Analytical Skills: Confidence in presenting highly accurate and relevant quality data in a variety of formats and to use strategic trends, issues and insight to provide advice and recommendations.

As a Council, our most outstanding asset is our staff, who are highly dedicated to serving our residents and committed to our goals as an organisation.

We operate a fair and open anonymous selection process. Therefore, we do not accept supporting statements or CV’s.

Closing date for applications: 05 October 2026 (22.59)

Interview date: TBC

We are also working towards our vision, which is to be a place for everyone; where residents and staff can be proud; a place that celebrates diversity and where everyone can feel valued, included and involved. In order to achieve this, we look for people who are: Proud; Ambitious; Pioneering; Open; Proactive; Inclusive.

Hackney Council works to eradicate discrimination on the basis of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation. We also recognise that people can be disadvantaged by their social and economic circumstances, so we will also work to eliminate discrimination and disadvantage caused by social class. We also welcome those interested in flexible working. We particularly welcome applications from disabled people, as this group is currently under represented in our workforce.

The Council has a dedicated employment support service (Hackney Works), which offers Hackney residents guidance in relation to applying for jobs. If you are thinking about applying for a job, please contact the Hackney Works team to find out what support is available: [e-mail]