FE Senior Curriculum Leader Maths, English and Essential/Functional Digital Skills (Buxton and Leek College)

Job details

College

Buxton & Leek College

Responsible to

Vice Principal – Buxton and Leek College

Location

Buxton & Leek College (Buxton/Leek Campus)

Salary

£46,147 to £57,684 per annum (for exceptional performers, there is scope for further progression up to £66,337per annum).

Closing date

Sunday 4 June 2023

Contract type

Permanent

Post type

Full-time

Reference

0019-23

About the role

The Senior Curriculum Leader for Maths, English and Digital sits within the Senior Leadership Team at Buxton and Leek College (BLC) and would be ideal for someone already working at a senior level or a candidate looking for career progression. You will have experience of the development, design and management of a broad Maths or English FE curriculum. BLC offers a range of maths, English and digital provision including essential and functional skills, GCSE and non accredited adult programmes, across four sites. Whilst  you will primarily be based at Buxton and Leek, this role will require travel between Leek, Buxton and to the University of Derby campuses when required. 

You will have overall responsibility for managing a strong team of maths, English and digital tutors and coordinating the planning and delivery of all internal quality assurance processes associated with these programmes. This will include operating as the primary contact for all maths, English and digital external awarding bodies and driving improvements in the standard of teaching, learning and assessment through a range of interventions. Through the college matrix management structure, you will oversee the teaching, learning and assessment of your curriculum and make sure that programme, course and qualification pathways meet the expectations of students, the quality requirements of regulators and awarding bodies and local, regional and national skills gaps. 

The Maths and English team at BLC won the TES Further Education Award for Outstanding GCSE Resits Provision in 2021 and we are keen to maintain our high achievement rates and learner outcomes.

We are looking for a candidate with experience of management in a Further Education and Training organisation who will  feel confident operating within a Higher Education Institution and with a range of internal and external stakeholders (local government, LEP’s, employers etc).

Principal accountabilities

Deliver and promote the best possible Quality of Education and experience for all students, aligning with the published ETF teaching and learning standards where relevant.

Contribute to the leadership of the College as an active member of the Senior and Curriculum Leadership Teams, promoting and modelling a culture where responsibility and accountability are open, accepted and solutions focussed and where blame or retribution are not tolerated.

Represent the College with external agencies related to the provision of education and training in your area of specialism. This may include liaison with organisations such as schools, the relevant local authorities, social services, specialist care providers, medical practitioners and the police. This includes the requirement to ensure that appropriate funding is secured where external agencies are responsible for its provision.

Ensure the student voice is at the heart of each stage of the learner journey and leads to positive impact across the whole College and University, wherever Further Education and Skills are delivered, including closing the loop through the active promotion of ‘you said we did’ communication.

Practise and facilitate open and solutions-focussed communication, avoiding rigid hierarchies to ensure that those with a problem seek those with the solution, minimising upward delegation.

Ensure that teachers and other staff, within the College and in University Teams, comply with prescribed or agreed systems of working, including (but not exclusively) delivery planning, attendance and progress recording systems, review and evaluation processes and electronic learning and tracking systems – where these relate to relevant FE and Skills delivery.

Encourage and facilitate the use of innovative and experimental teaching, training, learning and assessment practice, evaluating its effectiveness, sharing and celebrating success.

Support the maintenance of a culture of continuous improvement to help realise the College’s ambition to be outstanding.

Establish and maintain a vibrant and productive learning community, where staff and students operate in a safe, supportive and diverse environment.

Work with relevant members of the College and University Leadership Teams to design, update and implement an efficient, progressive and attractive curriculum offer informed by market insight and community demand that leads to successful outcomes and progression to employment or further study.

Lead the internal quality assurance activities for relevant College or University FE and Skills delivery, ensuring that all stages of delivery and assessment are compliant and that an appropriate evidence base exists to support direct claims status where possible.

Manage, review and evaluate the performance of all staff within specialist delivery teams, including target-setting and review (DPR) and professional practice monitoring as part of a systematic quality assurance process. This will also require more informal reviews of incidental teaching, instruction, assessment and facilitation activities, for both College staff and staff of the broader University, where they are engaged in FE and Skills regulated activity.

Participate in and coordinate quality improvement and self-assessment activities led by the Deputy / Assistant Principal to support continuous improvement and inspection readiness.

Represent the College externally linked to your curriculum specialisms and as a general ambassador for the College and the broader FE and Skills sector as required.

Develop and maintain supportive links to key employers and commercial/industrial practitioners, in order to continually test the relevance of course content, to grow direct employment sector involvement with the College and to source opportunities for work placements for both students and delivery staff.

To undertake any other reasonable duties within the overall function, commensurate with the grading and level of responsibility of the post.

Person specification
Essential Criteria
Qualifications

• Degree or equivalent experience
• Recognised teaching qualification at level 4 or 5
• Evidence of substantial professional development including Safeguarding, Prevent, leadership and management

Experience

• Demonstrable experience in leading the design and implementation of course products, including deriving schemes of work / learning plans from awarding body qualification specifications
• Demonstrable experience as a teacher in the further education and skills sector
• Experience of observing, reporting and successful intervention in the quality of teaching, learning and assessment
• Experience of successfully leading a team though the Ofsted Inspection process

Skills, knowledge & abilities

• Current knowledge of key issues effecting the FE and HE sectors
• An ability to think laterally and solve problems in a creative fashion
• Team player with an innovative approach to problem solving –

Business requirements

• Willingness and flexibility to travel and work between University and external sites in a cost effective and timely manner.

Desirable Criteria
Qualifications

• Postgraduate or professional qualification

Benefits

As well as competitive pay scales, we offer generous holiday entitlement. We also offer opportunities for further salary progression based on performance, and the opportunity to join a contributory pension scheme.

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How to apply

You can apply by submitting an online application. Once you have signed in or registered with us you will be able to begin your application. If you are creating an account for the first time, please ensure you provide an email address that you access regularly as this will be our main means of contacting you regarding your application.

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If you require any assistance, including the provision of any documentation in an alternative format, please contact the Recruitment team at [email protected] .

Please note all applications must be submitted online by Midnight GMT on the closing date of the vacancy.

Important information

Applications from job seekers who require sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications.

Whilst this role is eligible for sponsorship under the Skilled Worker Route, we recommend that you assess your individual eligibility before applying for this position.

Visit https://www.gov.uk/skilled-worker-visa for more information.

DBS check

Buxton and Leek College is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of young people and expects all staff to share this commitment. This post is subject is subject to a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check. An enhanced DBS check will be required, depending on the nature of the role. Any information you provide will be treated in confidence and only used when considering your suitability for the post.

To enable us to process your DBS check please ensure you are able to supply the documentation listed on the DBS website at interview stage.

Equality, diversity, inclusion and wellbeing

The University of Derby is committed to promoting equality, diversity and inclusion. However you identify, we actively celebrate the knowledge, experience and talents each person brings.

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Further details

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Why join Derby?

Challenging, interesting and constantly changing, the University of Derby is an extraordinary place to learn and an incredibly rewarding place to work.

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We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults and expect everyone who works for us to also share this commitment and to treat people with courtesy and respect.