Senior Manager Education Improvement| Permanent| Full-Time

Lancashire County Council; Preston; Hybrid; GBP 65,000 - 72,000; Full time

Job summary

Lancashire County Council is seeking a Senior Manager to lead a diverse Education Improvement portfolio across Lancashire, including early years, educational visits and outdoor education traded services, with a focus on safeguarding partnership work.

You will work with the Head of Education Improvement to set strategic priorities, influence policy, manage budgets, and drive service transformation through partnerships with schools, academies and government agencies.

Qualifications

• Education leadership
• Strategic planning
• Partnership development
• Budget oversight

Responsibilities

• Lead a portfolio of education services across Lancashire.
• Influence policy and investment decisions at senior level.
• Drive service transformation and cross‑agency collaboration.

Job description

Job Description

Salary £66,336 - £72,150 | Permanent| Full Time - 37 hours per week

International Sponsorship - this role is not open to international sponsorship

Senior Manager, Education Improvement | Location: County Hall, Preston / Hybrid Working

Are you an ambitious and visionary education leader looking to make a lasting difference for children and families across Lancashire? We are seeking an experienced Senior Manager to lead a diverse portfolio of education services, including early years, educational visits and outdoor education traded services, and supporting innovation through our project officers as well as supporting with our safeguarding partnership work. Working alongside the Head of Education Improvement, you will provide strategic leadership, influence policy and investment decisions, and drive innovation across one of the country's largest local authorities.

This is an exciting opportunity for a senior leader with a strong track record of partnership working, service improvement and delivering change across complex education systems. If you are passionate about improving outcomes for children, we'd love to hear from you.

Lancashire County Council is proud to serve one of the largest and most diverse education systems in England. We are seeking an exceptional leader to join our Education Improvement Service as Senior Manager, providing strategic leadership across a broad and influential portfolio that includes early years sufficiency, early years quality assurance, educational visits, outdoor education, education management digital systems and Family First social care reforms, alongside supporting our safeguarding partnership work across the whole service.

This is a high-profile leadership role where you will work closely with the Head of Education Improvement to shape and deliver strategic priorities, influence senior decision-making and ensure that Lancashire continues to meet its statutory responsibilities while providing the highest quality education services for children, young people and families.

You will lead complex programmes of work, oversee significant budgets, drive service transformation and build strong partnerships with schools, academies, early years providers, government agencies and a wide range of stakeholders. Your leadership will help ensure that services are aligned to demographic need, support inclusion, respond to changing educational priorities and deliver sustainable improvements across the county.

We are looking for a dynamic and credible senior leader with substantial experience within education, a strong understanding of early years legislation and educational policy, and a proven record of delivering strategic change. You will be confident working with elected members, senior officers and external partners, using evidence, insight and professional expertise to influence decisions and secure positive outcomes.

In return, you will have the opportunity to make a genuine difference at scale, leading talented teams and helping shape the future of education across Lancashire. You will join an ambitious organisation that values innovation, collaboration, respect and continuous improvement, while providing the flexibility of hybrid working and the opportunity to contribute to some of the most significant education challenges and opportunities facing the sector today.

If you are an inspiring leader with the vision, expertise and determination to improve outcomes for children and young people, we would be delighted to hear from you.

The post you are applying for is covered by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (as amended in 2013). If successful you will be required to apply to the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) for a 'disclosure'. Further information can be found on the 'Our Recruitment Process' tab.

In return Lancashire County Council offers a range of benefits, which can be found on LCC Vacancies website.

We reserve the right to close down a vacancy early, before the closing date, if we receive sufficient applications.

Job Description/Person Specification

Local Government Reorganisation

The Government has confirmed that local government across Lancashire will be reorganised, with the current 15 councils being replaced by four new unitary councils covering North, South, East and West Lancashire from April 2029.

If you are successful in your application, you will initially join Lancashire County Council. However, as part of the planned transition, your employment will transfer to one of the new unitary councils from April 2029, subject to the implementation of the reorganisation and relevant employment legislation.

Throughout this period, our focus remains on delivering excellent services to our communities. By joining us now, you'll play an important role in shaping the future of local government and helping to build a strong new organisation that will serve residents for years to come.