Chief Education Officer

Swansea is a remarkable place. One of the most vibrant waterfront cities in Britain, we boast a stunning shoreline, superb countryside and a progressive Local Authority that is committed to setting an exciting agenda for the City and Region.

We want Swansea to be a place that is more prosperous with a skilled and well educated population, less characterised by the contrasts and extremes of poverty across the city. We want to improve well-being so that communities are safer, healthier, more cohesive and adaptable to change so that everyone can be enabled to fulfil their potential.

Our five key priorities are outlined below:

• Safeguarding vulnerable people
• Improving pupil attainment
• Creating a vibrant and viable city and economy
• Tackling poverty
• Building sustainable communities

Swansea has seen significant success in its Education services and schools in the last three years. GCSE performance has been the City's best ever for the last two years running. Attendance is improving. We are expanding our Specialist Teaching Facilities to better meet demand. We have strong schools, with strong headteachers and teachers. We have recently agreed to a significant remodelling and investment of our provision for pupils in Education

Otherwise Than At School provision to become sector-leading practice. Our self-assessments show practical progress and we are eagerly preparing for our next Estyn inspection.

This doesn't mean that the job will be easy. We will have challenges to implement the changes to EOTAS provision and to implement the new Additional Learning Needs requirements. We have a challenging capital programme to ensure effective and meaningful parental choice, whilst meeting the demands of new housing developments and planning for future Welsh medium demand. Our post-16 and adult skills performance is not good enough, and we need to further improve performance amongst the most disadvantaged children and young people. We want to develop Swansea as a Learning City, with a passion for learning for all ages. All of this takes place against a backdrop of significant financial challenges that will mean real pressure on schools and services.

You should have an in-depth technical, professional and legislative knowledge across Education, together with extensive management experience. You should also have a thorough understanding of the challenges facing the Council, in a local, regional and national context.

If you require further information or want an informal discussion about this position, please contact Chris Sivers, Corporate Director of People, on 01792 636391.

Closing date: 30th January 2017.
Interviews are scheduled to take place week commencing 13th February 2017.

To receive an Application Form and Job Description for this position, please contact Human Resources, City and County of Swansea, Room 215, The Guildhall, Swansea. SA1 4PE.