Medway Council Hiring for Strategic Head of Education – Quality and Inclusion Job at Remote Full Time

An exciting opportunity has opened up in Medway’s Education and Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Division, for the newly created role of Strategic Head of Education – Quality and Inclusion.

This role will drive forward Medway’s ambition to have a fully inclusive education system. The postholder will provide strategic leadership and management of Medway’s Education, SEND and Inclusion teams, including, Education Psychology, Sensory Services, School Effectiveness, Attendance, Inclusion, Early Years Sufficiency and SEND, and Governor Support.

The successful candidate will be instrumental in facilitating the development of system leadership in the education sector and ensuring the delivery of the Safety Valve Intervention Programme (SVIP) by driving inclusion in schools and ensuring high quality outcomes for children and young people with SEND.

We are looking for someone who is proactive and creative, with proven experience and abilities to build strong relationships across a number of stakeholder groups. The successful candidate will be involved in multiple projects across departments, requiring skills in collaboration and negotiation. The ability to manage multiple projects will be important in this role.

Experience and understanding of national and local policy changes and political priorities related to the service and organisation as a whole is fundamental to the success of this post.

In return we offer you:

• Generous annual leave entitlement
• Generous local government pension scheme package
• Access to wider training and development qualifications
• Flexible working scheme
• Travel plan discounts
• Car Benefit Scheme from Tusker
• Access to CAREFIRST advice & counselling service
• Employee discount scheme for national and local retailers
• The Government has introduced new ways of supporting parents with childcare costs. Further details are available here: – https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/

Our organisation:

Medway is a unitary authority in the South East of England, made up of the towns of Strood, Rochester, Chatham, Gillingham and Rainham and more rural areas, including the Hoo Peninsula.

Situated in Kent in the South-East of England, the area has plenty of green spaces, excellent facilities and easy access to the national motorway and rail networks, facilitating superb transport links to London.

We provide all local Government services for a quarter of a million people, looking after education, environment, social care, housing, planning, business and much more – everything from frontline services such as rubbish collection and events like the Dickens Festival to work that goes on behind the scenes to ensure services in Medway run smoothly and cost effectively.

Working at Medway Council means that you get to be part of this journey working alongside talented, professional colleagues to drive forward change to transform the lives of our residents and the communities they live in.

If you would like to have an informal discussion with the recruiting manager, please call Siobhan Austin on 01634 335 634.

Interviews will be held in person at Gun Wharf, Dock Road, Chatham ME4 4TR on Thursday, 27th October 2022. Full details on how this will work will be sent to you, if your application is successfully shortlisted.

Important Information

Applicants must be able to demonstrate all essential requirements as listed in the job profile

Equal Opportunities Commitment Statement

Medway Council is committed to creating an inclusive work environment with a diverse workforce. All appropriately qualified candidates will receive consideration for employment without regard to gender, race, colour, ethnic or national origin, disability, marital status, family commitments, sexual orientation, age, HIV status, religious or political beliefs, social class or trade union activity or irrelevant spent conviction.

For further information please refer to the Medway information pack available as a download or to view online

Please be advised that if you are not contacted within 3 weeks of the advert closing date then you have not been shortlisted. All recruitment correspondence, including interview letters and contracts of employment will usually be sent out via email.

Please visit http://www.mindfulemployer.net/ for information on how Medway Council put good practices in place to ensure employees and job applicants who declare mental health issues receive the right level of support.

We reserve the right to close this vacancy at any time prior to the closing date.

How to apply

Please be advised that we only accept online applications submitted through JobsGoPublic ATS

If you are not contacted within 3 weeks of the advert closing date then you have not been shortlisted.

All recruitment correspondence, including interview letters and contracts of employment will usually be sent out via email, if you require documentation/correspondence in different format such as braille or large print, please contact the Resourcing Team on 01634 332878.