Head of Early Years Services (HFL Education)
Salary
Band 7 – FTE £70,000 - £80,000 per annum.
Date Ending
February 24, 2023
Contract: Permanent
Hours: Full time at 37 hours per week, 52 weeks per year
Salary: Band 7 – FTE £70,000 – £80,000 per annum.
Location: Hybrid working with flexibility required to work across educational settings in Hertfordshire and neighbouring counties, with an opportunity to work up to 2 days per week in our Head Office in Stevenage, Hertfordshire if desired.
Are you an outstanding leader who is passionate about children’s learning outcomes?
Could you play a crucial role in developing the quality of education in Early Years settings across our growing network?
We are looking for an outstanding individual to lead our team of Early Years Advisers and Consultants, supporting PVI settings, Nursery Schools, Primary schools and Academy Trusts in Hertfordshire and beyond.
At HFL Education, we believe that every young person, through access to a great education, should be able to realise their potential, regardless of where they live, their background or circumstances. We know that the Early Years are the most crucial stage of a young person’s education.
If you believe in the capacity of all children to achieve great outcomes, through a great curriculum and exceptional teaching, and you want to make a positive contribution to the quality of education across the early years sector, we would love to hear from you.
As the UK’s largest School Company, we operate as a social enterprise on a not-for-profit basis and we are a leading provider of school improvement and business support services, training and resources, that enable schools, settings and trusts to deliver a great education. You can find out more about us here.
The successful candidate will be responsible for developing and curating products and services that can be delivered both locally, and nationally on a remote and digital basis.
They will already be a highly successful individual within a senior leadership role. It is highly likely that they will have close experience of school inspections. Their current post may be within a school, a trust, a teaching hub, a local authority, or an organisation providing services to educational settings.
They will be dynamic and diligent, have a proven track record in raising attainment and closing gaps, confident with digital delivery platforms, and demonstrate the ability to lead and inspire others.
They will be a clear strategic thinker, have a keen business sense, be self-motivated, flexible and be prepared to travel to trusts, settings and schools as needed throughout Hertfordshire and beyond.
Our ‘working from anywhere’ approach provides colleagues the opportunity to work flexibly in line with their role requirements. As there is a permanent home working element to this role, you will need to ensure you are equipped for home working.
This is a great opportunity to join a diverse and successful team and to have a significant impact on the quality of education for children across a wide range of settings.
Closing Date: Friday 24th February 2023, 09:00am
Longlisting: Friday 3rd March 2023
First stage selection interviews: Tuesday 7th March AM via Microsoft Teams
Stakeholder sessions: Between 9th – 15th March 2023 via Microsoft Teams
Final stage selection interviews: Thursday 16th March 2023 in Stevenage
Benefits: a generous employer pension contribution, 28 days annual leave plus bank holidays (rising to 31 days after five-years) or the equivalent paid for Term Time employees, family-friendly policies, hybrid working, paid mileage, a cycle to work scheme, onsite charging points for electric vehicles, access to mental health and wellbeing support, company performance bonus, professional development opportunities, benefit schemes for discounts and cashback offers, and more.
Would you like to know more information about this opportunity? If so, further information can be found in the job outline. You can also contact Rachel McFarlane who would be happy to chat to you on 07913 973 738/ rachel.macfarlane@hfleducation.org.
How to Apply To apply, please download and complete the application form along with the supporting statement (maximum 3 sides of A4), explaining how you meet the requirements of the job outline and person specification. We would also love to hear why you are interested in becoming part of the team.
As part of our move towards eradicating unconscious bias within the recruitment process, we ask that you follow the guidance stated in the application forms.
To submit your application or to discuss any recruitment queries please email our Central Recruitment Team on hfl.recruitment@hfleducation.org or 01438 544439.
We would love to hear from you.
We are committed towards becoming an anti-racist organisation, and our recruitment statement is set out below in support of this.
HFL is committed to being an equal opportunities employer. We insist on the equal treatment of all current and prospective colleagues and will never condone discrimination on the basis of age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity, race or ethnicity, religion or belief, gender identity, or marriage and civil partnership.
HFL is also equally committed to becoming an anti-racist organisation and we encourage you to view our Anti-racist position statement which gives clarity on our anti-racist stance. In our relentless efforts to be an anti-racist organisation, we recognise the negative impacts of under representation and lack of diversity in our organisation, our education system and in all aspects of our society. Therefore, for recruitment into any HFL post, where we have 2 or more candidates of equal merit, candidates with protected characteristics will be given advantage over candidates without such characteristics. This is sometimes referred to as a ‘tie-breaker’ and is referred to as ‘positive action’ in the Equality Act 2010.
To help us meet our high standards and aspirations of a fully diverse and inclusive workplace, we strongly encourage suitably qualified applicants from all backgrounds to apply and to join us.
Please note that if you are invited to interview, we will expect you to be prepared to discuss unconscious bias with us; we find these conversations more than any others give us all a good idea of what working together will be like.
