Senior School Improvement Officer (SSIO)

Salary: DDAT Grades 16 – 17, £66,035.48– £80,079.01 (FTE) depending on experience

Start date: 01 September 2024 or sooner by negotiation

Hours per week: Full-time – 40 hours per week, 52 weeks per year. Part-time may be considered

Location: Varied – a combination of onsite within our schools, hybrid working and occasional working at our Central Office in Bakewell

Reports to: Deputy CEO with responsibility for School Improvement

Derby Diocesan Academy Trust (DDAT) is a Multi Academy Trust that comprises of thirty-three schools, including primary, infant, junior, secondary and nursery provision, across Derbyshire and within Derby City. Established in 2014 by the Diocese of Derby, DDAT is committed to providing high quality education for all children in their academies based on clearly established Christian values and principles. With a healthy pipeline of schools who are in the process of joining the Trust, the Senior School Improvement Officer (SSIO) will play a pivotal role in the next stage of the Trust’s development.

Due to the promotion of the current post-holder, we are seeking to recruit a professional who will provide highly effective leadership and can support the CEO and Deputy CEO to ensure the best outcomes for the communities we serve as well as sustainable growth. The successful candidate will already have experience of school inspection, with a proven track record of successfully supporting schools to improve and building strong professional relationships and partnerships with both internal and external stakeholders.

The school improvement team at DDAT is comprised of professionals who have had significant impact on our family of schools, many of which have made significant gains as evidenced through inspection and pupil outcomes. The successful candidate will be a driven and ambitious leader who will empower others within the Trust and will be able to build on our comprehensive training offer to ensure that DDAT is an employer of choice. Working closely with our Headteachers, Governance and the DDAT Central Team you will support our communities, pupils, staff, and leaders to flourish and excel. It is essential that the successful candidate can demonstrate they will embrace the vision, values, and ethos of DDAT. 

As well as an alignment with our vision, values and ethos, the successful candidate will demonstrate:

·      Substantial leadership and management experience at senior leadership level within education providers for the statutory age range and or Sixth Form, or from similar duties in a Local Authority.  

·      Current HMI or Ofsted Inspector experience.

·      Have a detailed understanding of what supports and develops the capacity of school leaders to embed ambition and drive improvement in their schools.

·    Interpret challenge and apply performance data and local information to confirm the performance of schools and pupil groups, and to identify areas of high or underperformance.

·      Monitor, deliver and broker support for schools both within and destined to join the Trust, to enhance their journey to outstanding, and ensure the rapid improvement of schools deemed ‘requires improvement’ or ‘inadequate’.

·      The ability to work in a team that sets itself and schools high standards based on Christian values and principles, sometimes in challenging circumstances, whilst securing positive relationships that support innovation and improvement.

·      Experience of effectively managing a complex and varied workload.

·      Capacity to contribute to the ambition we have for all our schools to become outstanding.

·       The ability to support, challenge, and work in collaboration with senior colleagues and executive teams whilst displaying empathy and purpose, and a passion for developing others.

·       Offer professional support, challenging and intellectual stimulus to our family of schools who have high expectations of our service.

In return, DDAT will offer you:

·      Support from an experienced CEO and Deputy CEO, and a team of school improvement professionals to ensure that the post-holder receives the necessary professional development and ongoing inspection experience to be successful in the role and have impact across the Trust.

·      Opportunity to work within a team of school improvement officers with substantial and current experience of inspection and adding value to our schools.

·      An opportunity to work as part of a supportive wider team.

·      A competitive salary and LGPS pension contributions.

·      Expenses policy, Time off in lieu policy and competitive annual leave entitlement.

·      Benefits including but not limited to; Free onsite parking at Bakewell Head Office, Cycle to Work Scheme, free eye tests and a contribution towards a pair of glasses for employees using VDU’s, Employee Assistant Programme & an opportunity to work flexibly.

The post holder must be prepared to reside with the means to travel to all thirty-three of our academies. The Trust operates expenses and time off in lieu policy to support the varied work of the central team.

To apply for this position, please complete a DDAT application form making explicit your areas of expertise and submit it to HR@ddat.org.uk by the closing date.

If you would like to arrange an informal discussion about this post, please email HR@ddat.org.uk in the first instance.

Discussions: Friday 5th and Thursday 18th April 2024

Closing Date: Sunday: Midnight on Thursday 25th April 2024

Potential Shortlisting Date: w/c 29th April 2024

Potential Interview Dates: 9th& 10th May 2024

DDAT welcomes a diverse population of both children and staff and is committed to promoting and developing equality of opportunity in all its functions.

DDAT is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. All appointments are subject to satisfactory references, online checks, completion of a probationary period, pre-employment, and Disclosure Barring Service checks. The possession of a criminal record will not necessarily prevent an applicant from obtaining this post, as all cases are judged individually according to the nature of the role and information provided.

This post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and therefore applicants are required to declare any cautions, convictions, reprimands and final warnings that are not protected (i.e. that are not filtered out) as defined by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (as amended in 2013 and 2020).