Head of Attraction & Selection

You are

An experienced leader, ideally with experience of senior leadership in schools. You care about what The Difference is trying to achieve, and have your own ideas about how we ought to do this. You are a natural communicator, and can inspire more teachers to make the difference with the most vulnerable learners. You have experience of hiring teachers, designing assessment tools, and coordinating others to deliver projects. You love to learn and to grow in your work.

For more information about The Difference, our vision and our values, please click here.

The Task Ahead: Attraction and Selection

The Difference is inspiring, training and mobilising a new generation of leaders to bring the best in education to the children who need it most.

Over the next twelve months, we need to:

Attract the best teachers to work with the children who need them most.

• Share the stories of the individual teachers and leaders who make up the Difference Leaders first cohort and The Difference’s broader community of leaders in AP and mainstream, including through:
• Optimise our use of social media, coordinate sector-events, and convene the second IncludEd conference in November 2019.
• Inspire ~400 teachers in The South (Greater London and surrounding local authorities) and The North (stretching across Yorkshire & the Humber and the North West) to express interest for the Difference Leaders programme; and for ~200 to submit applications by developing strong messaging and disseminating it to reach the teachers who would best thrive through the Difference Leaders programme.
• Select the best ~20 teachers for the second cohort of Difference Leaders (including our pioneer Northern cohort) who have the potential to become the innovative and inclusive headteachers of tomorrow.

Build an evidence base of what works with the most vulnerable

• Capture case studies and patterns of the impact which the first cohort of Difference Leaders are having with their pupils, schools and local communities.
• Engage the broader education sector with the inclusive mainstream strategies which make up The Difference Inclusion Leadership Training, and equip school leaders to better meet pupils’ wellbeing, safeguarding and learning needs.

Create a movement of ethical, inclusive leadership influencing the school system

• Convene the conversation on reducing exclusion, proactive safeguarding, evidence-based responses to pupils’ behaviour and mental ill health through our social media channels and the second IncludEd conference in October 2019.
• Collaborate with our research partners NFER, Education Datalab, Education Policy Institute and Centre for Social Justice to identify and share best practice in classroom, school and local area strategies to improve outcomes for vulnerable learners (including policy advocacy).

Person Specification

Essential knowledge, experience and skills

• An experienced leader
• A career which evidences commitment to improving life outcomes of vulnerable people and shared values with The Difference
• A bold thinker who has their own ideas about how The Difference should achieve its goals
• Ability to work flexibly within a small team
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced and sometimes ambiguous start-up environment
• Exceptional written and verbal communications skills
• Knowledge and experience of the education sector, specifically: sector networks, publications, social media and events
• Ability to build relationships and influence a range of stakeholders
• Experience of hiring teachers including knowledge of safer recruitment and hiring processes
• Experience of designing attraction and selection tools for recruitment purposes
• Experience of leading a team and coordinating others to deliver projects, sometimes to tight deadlines
• You love to learn and to grow in your work

Desired knowledge, experience and skills

• A career to date which lends credibility when speaking to current middle leaders, moving into senior leadership in schools. This could include having been an experienced school leader yourself
• Experience in developing other team members in attraction and selection talks

Key tasks required of this role

• Developing and executing an attraction campaign – This will include designing messaging based on our vision and values, drafting and commissioning copy, and using social media and other attraction channels to attract people to The Difference. Alongside this, organising teacher-facing events and managing a series of contact points and interactions will facilitate conversion from interest to application for the programme, selection and retention to starting the programme in July 2020.
• Designing and running a selection process – This will include designing, delivering and coordinating others to deliver a process of assessments including written application, video interview, and a series of selection centres. This will involve data analysis to ensure our recruitment process is fair and recognises leadership in all its diversity. It will also involve recruiting and training assessors and responding strategically to new information.
• Leading the recruitment team – management of one full-time Recruitment Officer providing administrative support (e.g. communication with candidates, recording selection scores and feedback, upkeeping the Applicant Tracking System, conducting onboarding checks and references), and coordinating the broader team to support recruitment.
• Community-building online and through CPD events – Designing and coordinating the delivery of a series of professional development events and resources for teachers to share The Difference’s key messages and creating a community of teachers who are likely to be interested in training with The Difference.

To apply

To apply for the role please email the following no later than Saturday 18th May at midnight, including the job title in the subject line and confirmation of where you saw the job role in the body of the email:

1. A supporting letter (no more than 2 sides) outlining how your knowledge, skills and experience meet the requirements of the role;
2. Your CV including references (maximum 2 sides); and
3. Confirmation in the body of your email of your current salary and notice period, whether you have the right to work in the UK, and whether you have Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) and a valid criminal check with the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS).

Interviews will be held on the 22nd – 24th May. Please indicate if your availability will be limited during this time, in the body of your email.

For an informal and confidential discussion about the role prior to application, please contact Kiran@The-Difference.com and cc: Danny@The-Difference.com