Head of School Organisation and Commissioning

Hackney Education provides a range of services to support the education of children, young people and adults in our inner London borough. Hackney is one of the UK’s highest performing local authorities, serving one of London’s best places to live and work. Within our diverse borough we serve a wide range of children and young people. We have a particular focus on supporting less advantaged families: Hackney figures in the 10% most deprived boroughs in England on a number of measures.

Hackney Education’s key priority is to improve the life chances of every child, young person and learner: making Hackney the most forward looking education system in the UK, where schools, settings and partners provide an exciting environment which ensures inclusion and success for everyone. We see our borough as being one of the best places in the country for young people to grow, learn, develop and achieve – and one of the best places for colleagues to work and thrive in our education system.

To be considered for this post you hold a proven track record as an enthusiastic experienced senior leader within Education with a background in Local Government. You will be the strategic lead for these services and the line manager of an excellent team of colleagues across disciplines such as School Admissions, Pupil Place Planning and SEND Commissioning. In doing so, you will play a pivotal role in ensuring high quality provision for all our Hackney children, particularly those with special educational needs. You will be the key Hackney link, with your teams, between children and their families and providers. You will also be the key strategic link for provision for excluded pupils.

In leading all these areas, we expect you to be:

• Passionate about highest standards for all, particularly for the most vulnerable
• Clear about strategic commissioning
• An advocate for partnership working
• Sensitive to the needs of all stakeholders
• A very good communicator, in speaking and writing
• Financially astute.

We are looking for a highly motivated, energetic, optimistic and compassionate leader, with an understanding of the challenges and opportunities around including children and young people with high needs in a range of educational settings and supporting their optimum progress.

You will have relevant experience either within a local authority or a similar organisation that has led on high spend commissioning strategies.

For an informal discussion about the role and the current picture in Hackney please speak with Fran Cox Head of High Needs and School Places on 07950717804

Interested?

Please apply via our website: https://education.hackney.gov.uk/jobs/hlt

Closing date: Sunday, 18th July, 2021

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 race, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, pregnancy and maternity, age and marital status. 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 and people from a black and ethnic minority background as these groups are currently under represented in our workforce.