Virtual School Operations Lead Officer

Peterborough City Council; Peterborough; Hybrid; GBP 40,000 - 55,000; Full time

Job summary

A local authority in Peterborough is seeking an experienced Operations Manager to lead the Virtual School initiative aimed at enhancing the educational outcomes for vulnerable students. This role requires strong operational leadership skills, excellent communication abilities, and a proactive approach to problem-solving. You will coordinate workloads, develop effective business systems, and establish positive relationships with educational partners. This position supports hybrid working to accommodate service needs.

Benefits

25 days annual leave plus bank holidays

Employee Benefits Platform with discounts

Car lease scheme

Access to development opportunities

Paid volunteering hours

Qualifications

• Experience in operational leadership at a senior level.
• Passionate about improving educational experiences of vulnerable young people.
• Ability to drive and manage workloads efficiently.

Responsibilities

• Provide operational management for Peterborough Virtual School.
• Develop and implement business systems and processes.
• Act as the first point of contact for Virtual School operations.

Skills

Operational leadership

Problem solving

Effective communication

Organisational skills

Relationship building

Job description

All about the Role

Are you an experienced operations manager, passionate about improving outcomes for the most vulnerable students?

Peterborough Virtual School is looking for a highly motivated and innovative individual to join our aspirational team to support the delivery of high-quality, flexible, efficient, and effective service.

This will include working within established processes and procedures to manage and support all aspects of Virtual School operations including the management of systems, administration functions, financial support, communication and team organisation.

All about our Team

All local authorities in England have a statutory duty to promote the educational outcomes of children in care and children previously in care. Additionally, the Virtual School has a non-statutory strategic leadership role for children who have or have had a social worker (Ever-CiN) and children living in kinship care (from September 2024).

To find out more about the Virtual School please visit our website: Welcome to Peterborough Virtual School

This is a great opportunity to join a successful team and to have a significant impact on the lives of young people across a wide range of settings.

What will you be doing?

Provide proactive, efficient, and professional operational management and leadership for Peterborough Virtual School, co‑ordinating and prioritising workloads as required to meet service demands.

Develop, implement and keep under review effective business systems, operating procedures and processes to ensure the smooth running of the service. This will include the provision of training, guidance, and instruction accordingly of business systems, operating procedures and processes.

Act as the first point of contact for Peterborough Virtual School and work in partnership with the networks of professionals around children and schools including colleagues within the education and social care directorates, carers and partners beyond the local authority.

Contribute to the City Council's effective delivery of its statutory and associated obligations in relation to care‑experienced children.

All about You

The successful candidate must have experience of operational leadership at a senior level and be passionate about improving the educational experiences of vulnerable young people.

You will be a confident communicator who takes a flexible and creative approach to problem solving; you will have a proactive and can‑do approach. You will have the ability to form and maintain positive working relationships with a range of professionals. You will be efficient, organised and be able to work using your own initiative within a wider team.

You will organise your own workload and set your own priorities within short, e.g. day‑to‑day, timescales. It will be necessary that you develop a robust understanding of the work of the Virtual School to handle and respond to enquiries.

Appointment to this post will be subject to the outcome of an Enhanced Disclosure obtained through the Disclosure and Barring Service. The Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

This role is hybrid working - office and home working are supported in line with the needs of the service.

You must be able to drive.

For further information and an informal conversation please contact: [e-mail]

The closing date for this post is Monday 5th January and it is anticipated that interviews will take place WC 12th January.

All about our Benefits

We value our colleagues and have developed a number of benefits in addition to our generous annual leave starting at 25 days + bank holidays, sick pay and local government pension scheme.

• Access to a range of benefits via our Employee Benefits Platform, including in-store and online discounts as well as our Cycle to Work and Home & Electronics schemes
• Buy up to 10 days additional annual leave (pro‑rata)
• Access to car lease scheme
• Take your bank holidays flexibly to better suit your personal circumstances
• Make Additional Voluntary Contributions (Shared Cost AVCs) to your pension with tax and National Insurance savings
• Access to development opportunities including apprenticeships to support your personal and professional growth
• Paid volunteering hours each year so you can make a positive impact on our community during your normal working day
• Access to our equality, diversity and inclusion network
• Opportunities to receive Employee Recognition Awards

All about our Commitments

We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer, dedicated to fostering diversity, advancing equity, and building an inclusive workplace for everyone. We welcome applications from individuals of all backgrounds and particularly encourage those from under‑represented groups, including disabled people, care leavers, and individuals from minority ethnic communities. Your unique perspectives and experiences are encouraged and valued and will play a vital role in our success.

We are committed to making our recruitment process as accessible as possible. If you are disabled and require any reasonable adjustments during the application or interview process, please contact [e-mail] we will work with you to meet your needs.

Appointment to this post will be subject to the outcome of an Enhanced Disclosure obtained through the Disclosure and Barring Service. The Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

If you've already applied and completed the recruitment process for this position within the last three months, there's no need to reapply. We really appreciate your interest and thank you for considering us.