Job Title: Executive Director of Programmes
Reporting to: Chief Executive Officer
Salary: c. £100,000
The Executive Director of Programmes will be accountable for the design, development, and delivery of the ‘golden thread’ programmes. Every programme should be of the highest quality, using the best research and practice insights to drive professional development and impact upon the pupils the programme members serve. They will oversee significant academic processes including the validation of qualifications with partners and the process for becoming a university, alongside the regional campuses of the Institute. Once university status is granted, this role will ensure that the university is vibrant, thriving and unique in terms of its quality, student experience and innovation for the benefit of the school sector.
They will be responsible for creating programmes which are coherent and producing high quality learning which impacts upon pupil and school achievement as well as developing the individual. They will also ensure that the school-led and evidence-informed approach flows through all programmes at every level, and that research and evidence are embedded in our work.
They will have a commitment to supporting robust research and evaluation of the Institute’s delivery, and sharing insight and learning with the sector to ensure that the professional development of all teachers and leaders benefits from the work of the National Institute of Teaching.
Main duties and responsibilities:
- Design, develop and deliver the suite of programmes including Initial Teacher Training, Early Career Framework, National Professional Qualifications and National Leaders of Education.
- Oversee the four regional Campus Principals and the delivery of the campuses work;
- Ensure the programmes align to the principles of the National Institute of Teaching and to the principles for design and delivery that sit across all programmes.
- Ensure a high quality and frictionless experience for programme members and that all programmes can be accessed and delivered in any school and especially in areas where there is low availability of quality programmes.
- Ensure impact of programmes is demonstrable on the programme member and their school.
- Ensure that the cumulative impact of the programmes on programme members has an impact on school improvement and is respectful of the time of programme members and the challenges of schools.
- Oversee an improvement cycle for each programme and for the suite which leads to rapid iteration and improvement, marries the best research from the National Institute of Teaching with insights from practice to ensure that programmes are research informed, practice-led and implementable in classrooms every day.
- Work closely with Institute’s Research and Best Practice function to support the Institute’s work in this area and create a tight relationship with programme delivery that flows in both directions.
- Oversee the process of validation of ITT programmes in the first years and the process for OfS registration and Degree Awarding Powers in order to become a university.
- Ensure that the systems, policies and processes are in place for successful validation of programmes and for success in becoming the nation’s leading university in development for teachers and leaders.
- Oversee the recruitment of programme members to programmes in collaboration with Campus Principals and the Director of Partnerships.
- Lead the work of specialist partners to ensure that their expertise is harnessed effectively and coherently for the benefit of programme members.
- Develop the recruitment, training and quality assurance of Excellence Fellows, working closely with Campus Principals.
Additional Responsibilities
- Report to the Academic Council and Trustee Board.
- Manage and plan the budget of Programmes division.
- Set the strategy for the Programmes division to ensure the National Institute of Teaching programmes are at the forefront of professional development nationally and internationally.
- Be accountable for the Programmes annual workplan both in its design and delivery to ensure that all aspects of the plan are delivered on time, in full to the highest quality.
- Manage and review the risk register to ensure that the Programme Division predicts, manages and mitigates all risks related to programme design and delivery.
- Support research and best practice work and share learning from the programmes in order to contribute to the development of teachers and leaders across England.
- Ensure that programmes embody research and practice to lead to rapid development of programme members.
- Manage the programme division, ensuring a high-performance culture exists amongst all staff in the division, that is reflective of the best schools and other organisations worldwide.
- Works closely with DfE to ensure programmes have high fidelity with frameworks, supports DfE to change policy as it relates to the ‘golden thread’ programmes and responds and predicts those changes for the benefit of the programmes and to inform the sector more widely.
- Set the strategy to ensure that programme members feel a sense of cohesion and form a professional network that reaches beyond the programme for the benefit of alumni themselves, the NIoT and the wider sector.
Your team
There will be four main teams in the programme division that this role will be accountable for
- Curriculum Development and Evaluation team
- Academic team including validation and degree awarding powers activity
- Delivery operations team
- Campus Principals
What we are looking for
- A commitment to the aims of the National Institute of Teaching, with a focus on improving schools and communities to raise standards for children;
- A proven track record in a large-scale multi-programme development and delivery role in the education sector;
- A deep understanding of the legal and regulatory frameworks around programmes, especially ITT, and how to robustly meet them whilst also being innovative and responsive to programme member need;
- A highly developed network with high quality education development providers nationally and internationally;
- Deep understanding of what makes great professional development for teachers and leaders and their schools, including the research that underpins it and an ability to articulate this in programmes for teachers and leaders;
- Outstanding track record in development and delivery against tight timelines;
- Exceptional interpersonal and written communication skills;
- Excellent organisational skills and attention to detail;
- The ability to quality-assure the delivery and programme member experience across multiple programmes at scale;
- The ability to manage and motivate a high-performing team, and to deliver results through matrixed teams.
- A pro-active, entrepreneurial approach.
Personal Contacts
External: Institute specialist and delivery partners, Department for Education at all levels, the Office for Students, Ofsted, decision makers across the sector including school trust CEOs, heads, high quality providers of teacher and leader development nationally and internationally
Internal: Fellow Executive members, Campus Principals, Academic Council
Working at the National Institute of Teaching
Location: Flexible
Contract: Permanent
Key benefits available to all Institute of Teaching staff:
- Flexible start and end working times (core hours between 10am and 4pm);
- Flexible working opportunities;
- 27 days’ holiday a year (plus 8 bank holidays).
Diversity and inclusion
The National Institute of Teaching is committed to creating a diverse environment and ensuring that all qualified applicants receive equal consideration for employment. We are committed to fair and inclusive recruitment practices and are open to job shares, secondments, part-time, and flexible working schedules.
Things to know
- All National Institute of Teaching staff are subject to a check by the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). The level of check which will apply shall be an “Enhanced” level check.
- We regret that we are currently unable to sponsor visas.
How to apply
Key Dates
- Closing date: 21 August 2022
- Shortlisting: w/c 22 August 2022
- First round interviews: w/c 29 August 2022
- Final interviews: w/c 5 and/or 11th September 2022
We reserve the right to change the closing date depending on the number of responses received. Please submit your application as soon as possible to ensure that it is considered in the selection.
If you have a disability and can demonstrate that closing this post early would impact on your ability to submit an application in time, please contact our Human Resources team to request arrangement for an application to be submitted within the original time-frame.
Further Information
For further information or an informal conversation about this role, please contact info@niot.org.uk.
Completed applications should be submitted to info@niot.org.uk.