Programme Lead - Difference Leaders Programme

For a full job pack and instructions on how to apply, please visit our website.

We are looking for a school leader who shares our values and mission, brings a track-record of school improvement with complex learners, and adds to our team their own unique experience and expertise.

The Difference’s Journey To Date

The Difference was born out of a year’s research into school exclusions, with IPPR in 2017. Identifying opportunities to improve teacher training and research in the education sector towards reduced exclusion, Founder and CEO Kiran Gill built a team with expertise in teaching & learning, safeguarding, wellbeing and inclusion, to develop the pioneering Difference Leaders Programme. With a list of growing supporters, the programme launched in 2019 and we now need a fourth member to join our sector-leading Programme Team to achieve our ambitious plans and impact over the next five years.

The Challenge Ahead

Enabling Impact: Key to our model is that the Difference Leaders improve student outcomes, improve the capacity of their colleagues, and they improve school systems in AP. The Programme Lead will support them to do this by unlocking their potential through a combination of coaching, feedback, and training delivery, much of which is tailored to each Difference Leader.

Raising the status of inclusive leadership: Our pilot seeks to learn if Difference Leaders can graduate at the end of the two year programme with the status and expertise to secure progression into senior leadership. This involves not just being capable leaders in their own right, but having cultivated their profile and networks so that they are well positioned to progress to positions of influence.

Managing new partnerships: Working with new schools requires relationship-building and an induction into our programme. As The Difference Leaders Programme expands to new regions, the Programme Lead will be instrumental in helping us build these relationships.

Keeping Difference Leaders connected: Becoming high status, mainstream inclusion leaders with a high degree of expertise is an ambitious goal of the Programme, which is why keeping Difference Leaders feeling aligned to the mission, connected to their cohort, and motivated to continue to grow are core to their experience. The Programme Lead will help keep them engaged for as long as they are on the programme to facilitate this.

Developing new tools to support impactful inclusive leadership: As part of our pilot, The Difference has developed  diagnostic and assessment tools for inclusive leadership development. The Programme Lead will use these tools to both support Difference Leaders, and evaluate the effectiveness of this approach.

Shaping and sharing high-impact practice in AP: We’ve come a long way in defining what ‘good’ inclusion looks like. We are looking for someone who can bring expertise to develop this understanding so that we can contribute to a national definition of inclusive practice. By defining and sharing good practice, the Programme Lead will contribute to programme development and school improvement in our partner schools.

Adapting to the Challenge:  The Difference is still a small and growing charity. This means that our work is fast-paced, our roles are broad, and there is a culture of being reactive and flexible, as the needs of the organisation evolve. Are you the right person to make this difference?

Person Specification

Essential

Values – Experience which evidences  shared values with The Difference and a personal commitment to our mission to improve life outcomes for vulnerable children.

Assessment of teaching – ​Track-record of observing teaching, accurately diagnosing areas of strength and for development, and providing meaningful feedback to support improved practice.

CPD Delivery ​–​​ Evidenced capacity to deliver quality professional learning sessions which support sustained staff development.

Growing People – ​Experience of managing and growing teams of colleagues, towards achieving shared objectives and developing their capacity and expertise.

Aiming high and holding people accountable –​ You translate your ambitious vision to those you work with so that they rise to the standards you set; you are able to hold them to account.

Effective communication –​ ability to share information with relevant stakeholders in a timely and clear way; capacity to summarise complex situations for different audiences.

Willingness to travel –​ We work in London, the North West and Yorkshire & Humber. Some visits will involve overnight travel.

Organisation – You have a history of being highly organised, keeping track of communication,  and helping others to meet their deadlines.

Raising achievement in Alternative Provision or with vulnerable/disadvantaged students - You are an excellent classroom practitioner or subject-specialist with a history of raising achievement for disadvantaged learners.

Plus:

Experience of senior leadership in Alternative Provision - track record of successful AP school leadership and strategic school improvement.

and/or

Extensive senior leadership experience in challenging mainstream settings - this might be in school turnaround, or in contexts with high levels of disadvantage and vulnerability.

Desired

Understanding of literacy & literacy interventions​ – You may have experience of teaching literacy yourself; or of designing, using or evaluating literacy interventions.

Stakeholder management - ​Experience of holding relationships with different stakeholders and communicating clearly with them. This may have included working through HR processes.

Leading school improvement through ambiguity - Experience of prioritising and creating clarity in ambiguous, challenging and/or fast-paced situations. Experience of working directly with colleagues, and implementing a range of strategies, such as coaching and structured reflection, to establish clear and effective plans.

Taking an evidence-informed approach to school improvement - You may engage with research and evidence-based strategies for school improvement, and be able to demonstrate quantifiable impact in your work.

Understanding of the education landscape –​ You may have worked in a variety of different schools, grasping how contextual factors affect schools and teachers.

QTS - you have achieved Qualified Teacher Status.

We are committed to building a diverse team and strongly encourage applications from under-represented groups including: women, people from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds, LGBTQ+ people, people with disabilities, with experience of the care system, and first-in-family graduates. As part of our commitment to fairer recruitment, all applications will be assessed with names and any protected characteristics redacted.

The Difference is committed to safeguarding - this post is also subject to an enhanced DBS check and satisfactory references.