Head of Destinations

Head of Destinations

Reports to: Director of Sixth Form

Location: Currently operating hybrid working in our West London office

Contract: Permanent

Pattern: Full Time (standard hours 9am – 5.30pm)

Closing date: 07/06/2024 at 10am

First round Interviews: 14/06/2024

Second round Interviews: 20/06/2024

Salary: £54,000 to £59,000 (depending on experience)

About the role:

We are looking for an inspiring leader to guide our network team and schools into the next phase of our careers and destinations program. As the Head of Destinations, you will play a pivotal role in shaping and implementing our network strategy. Your primary mission will be to refine and implement our guiding principles and approaches, ensuring that Ark’s school leavers are fully prepared to transition seamlessly into top universities or the professional careers of their choice. This role is crucial in helping our students achieve their fullest potential and embark on successful futures.

Reporting to the Director of Sixth Form and with direct access to Regional Directors and school Principals, the Head of Destinations will work with schools, the central team and external partners to develop a programme of support that ensures continued progress towards the achievement of ambitious network destinations goals attached to:

• Increasing achievement against the Gatsby Benchmarks and Ark’s excellence framework for careers education
• Challenging network goals for progress in Unifrog
• Increased achievement against the Ark Primary Careers Framework
• Increasing the number of sixth form students progressing to Ark Top Third universities, top apprenticeships and super-selective Higher Education pathways
• Long term improvement in sustained post 16 and post 18 destinations

Key Responsibilities:

• Develop strong working relationships at senior level across Ark, seeking out opportunities for collaboration and solving areas of tension or challenge
• Cascade key messages to the destinations sub-team and support strategic alignment within the Sixth Form Team
• Further develop our destinations strategy across all phases in primary and secondary, within the Sixth Form and Destinations (SFD) Strategy
• Continue to develop the key performance indicators to measure impact of network destinations support
• Maintain project plans for new initiatives: managing the research, pilot, launch and implementation phases of each
• Work with colleagues across schools and the central team to articulate plans for developing destinations support and CEIAG (Careers Education, Information, Advice and Guidance) programme and to coordinate the delivery of work under the network SFD Strategy
• Work with existing external partners to support and constantly improve the delivery of network destinations support
• Liaise with the Development Team to maintain and grow a comprehensive database of potential partners to support destinations work
• Provide information for and work with Regional Directors to ensure the delivery of the destinations elements of the SFD strategy
• Participate in network monitoring and review activity when required (alongside the Director of Sixth Form) to support quality improvement and gather feedback on the impact of network support in schools
• Build and maintain strong relationships with Regional Directors, Principals and Senior Leadership Teams responsible for destinations and CEIAG
• Work closely with the Development Team to build and manage external fundraising as required

Key Requirements:

• Educated to degree level
• QTS (Desirable)
• Knowledge of Gatsby Benchmarks and DfE expectations around careers advice and guidance for young people
• Experience of successfully developing strategy and vision
• Line management and/or coaching experience, and experience of developing staff
• Ability to synthesise complex and detailed projects into both written and oral presentations for senior stakeholders
• Able to demonstrate a commitment to the mission of improving educational opportunities for underprivileged children
• Highly organised, detail oriented and systematic in delivering against ambitious objectives

About Ark

We’re an international charity, transforming lives through education. We exist to give every young person, regardless of their background, a great education and real choices in life. In the UK, we’re a network of 39 schools, educating around 30,000 pupils in areas where we can make the biggest difference and we’re recognised as one of the highest achieving academy groups in the country. We want to change the lives of children everywhere, not just in our own schools. So, we create and incubate Ventures designed not only to help pupils in Ark schools, but also to improve education systems.

You’ll be joining a group of like-minded, ambitious individuals who work collaboratively and are all committed to our core mission, that every child has the potential to succeed. Having just celebrated our 20th anniversary, we are shaping our goals for the next 20 and there has never been a more exciting time to join us.

Benefits

• 27 days annual leave plus bank holidays, rising with each year of service up to 30 days after 3-years’ service. This entitlement is pro rata for part time employees. This entitlement excludes bank holidays
• Full office closure between Christmas and New Year
• Hybrid working, with currently two days a week in our state-of-the-art office in West London working alongside colleagues
• Regular social events, monthly free breakfast, and daily fruit
• A flexible approach to working with understanding and consideration for work life balance and personal commitments
• As an Ark employee, you will have the opportunity to be part of the TPT (The Pension Trust) scheme, our workplace pension scheme where we make an 11% contribution; you are not required to contribute towards this scheme unless you choose to. Depending on your role you may also be entitled to LGPS which is a defined benefit scheme where you contribute a percentage based on how much you earn (as do we) in exchange for a guaranteed amount in your pension pot every year
• Access to high-quality professional learning throughout your career, offering both face-to-face sessions and a bespoke online learning platform
• Access to Ark Rewards scheme offering savings from over 3,000 major retailers, interest-free loans available for season tickets or a bike, gym discounts offering up to 40% off your local gym and free eye tests

How to Apply:

Apply with a CV and cover letter on our online recruitment portal. Applications to be submitted by Friday 7th June 2024 at 10am but please note: we will be reviewing applications on an on-going basis and this advert may close earlier than advertised depending on the level of response.

Interviews will be arranged as suitable candidates are identified, so early application is strongly advised.