Regional Director - South West Job Share

Details
-----------

Reference number

465788

Salary

£120,000
Existing Civil Servants will be appointed in line with the Civil Service pay rules in place on the date of their appointment.

This is a part\-time role and offered as a job\-share at 0\.7 hours a week over 3 days (Wednesday \- Friday).
A Civil Service Pension with an employer contribution of 28\.97%
GBP

Job grade

SCS Pay Band 2### Contract type

Permanent

Secondment### Length of employment

There is the opportunity for a two year secondment to this role.### Business area

DFE \- Regions Group### Type of role

Senior leadership### Working pattern

Job share, Part\-time### Number of jobs available

1
Contents
------------

• Location


• About the job


• Benefits


• Things you need to know


• Apply and further information

Location
------------

Bristol, South West England, BS2 0ELAbout the job
-----------------

Job summary

The Regional Director for South West, one of 9 Regional Directors across the country, will be at the heart of the Department’s work within their region. They will work to improve outcomes for children, families and learners, achieving high and rising standards and breaking down barriers to opportunity within their region through:

• Being place\-shapers and influencers, galvanising stakeholders to take action.


• Being the front face of many aspects of the department’s work.


• Delivering across a number of key programmes which sit at the heart of major policy priorities, particularly those that focus on Schools, Care, and SEND.


• Regulating and stewarding to deliver system improvement.

The Regional Director will lead their team to deliver locally across Children’s Social Care, SEND and schools. They will also take on the leadership across the Group of one of our cross\-cutting areas of activity, working to ensure the services we deliver operate consistently across regions, and to play a key role on behalf of the Group in helping shape policy across DfE to better reflect local needs and regional variations.

Job description

Within their region, the Regional Director, along with their job\-share partner will lead the South West team to deliver on the vision set out in Government policy, aligned to Regions Group strategic priorities and informed by local context:

• Providing local leadership where appropriate for programmes and activities in support of the Government’s Opportunity Mission.


• Leading the new regional approach to school improvement ensure schools that most need it receive targeted intervention to deliver high and rising standards.


• Work in partnership with local authorities, academy trusts, and dioceses to identify and respond to local and thematic school improvement priorities and to work with the school's sector to promote knowledge of and access to wider school improvement support.


• Leading intervention in schools where needed, generating rapid improvement by brokering strong support.


• Leading improvement and intervention in children’s social care functions in local authorities, working in partnership with the sector to identify solutions to deliver rapid improvement.


• Leading follow up to area wide SEND inspections, ensuring effective challenge and support in partnership with the sector to enable areas of weakness to be remedied quickly.


• Taking decisions relating to our oversight of the academy trust system, including those linked to: trust growth, academy transfer, voluntary academy conversions and significant changes to academies; underperformance and compliance with the Academies Trust Handbook; and shaping school system provision.


• Working with local authorities to ensure every local area has sufficient places for pupils.


• Working effectively with Ministers: providing advice, briefing and support.


• Leading on a cross\-cutting priority area on behalf of Regions Group.


• Leading a strong inclusive and effective culture of delivery, effective line management and people development and wellbeing across a diverse team.

Person specification

Essential Criteria

Applicants will be assessed against the following Essential Criteria. It is important that, through your CV and Statement of Suitability, you provide evidence and examples of proven experience for each of the selection criteria detailed.

• Excellent system leadership skills gained within the education or care sector, local or national government; able to take a leading role in initiating action, making decisions, managing performance and promoting inclusive team working in a large\-scale operation, and being part of collective leadership success.


• An exceptional understanding and ability to galvanise influential stakeholder relationships that can deliver impact, bringing impetus to enable delivery of improvement through others at a regional level. Including an ability to understand and absorb the implications of policy for delivery and have a mature dialogue with policy colleagues in order to blend policy into implementation with a system wide focus.


• Proven ability to make decisions based on evidence and analysis in order to manage changepositively and respond promptly to critical events.


• Effective communication skills to be an advocate of delivery and policy development with senior colleagues, ensuring that delivery impact and user need are at the core of our policy\-making. With external stakeholders, be able to convert complex policy into a simple and meaningful message.


• Demonstrable experience of leading change inclusively with your team, including delivering system improvement and transformation.

Benefits
------------

Alongside your salary of £120,000, Department for Education contributes £34,764 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.
Applicants currently holding a permanent post in the Civil Service should note that, if successful, their salary on appointment would be determined by the Department’s transfer / promotion policies.

As a member of the DfE, you will be entitled to join the highly competitive Civil Service Pension Scheme, which many experts agree is one of the most generous in the UK.

You will have 25 days leave, increasing by 1 day every year to a maximum of 30 days after five years’ service. In addition, all staff receive the King’s Birthday privilege holiday and 8 days’ bank and public holidays.

We offer flexible working arrangements, such as job sharing, term\-time working, flexi\-time and compressed hours.

Most DfE employees will be working a hybrid pattern, spending at least 60% of their time in an office or work setting. Changes to these working arrangements are available in exceptional circumstances, but must be agreed with the line manager and in line with the requirements of the role.

Travel to your primary office location will not be paid for by DfE, but costs for travel to an office which is not your main location will be covered.

As an organisation, which exists to support education and lifelong learning, we offer our staff excellent professional development opportunities.

Things you need to know
---------------------------

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.### Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles , and will assess your Strengths and Experience.Candidate Information Session

On the 24th of June at 11\.00am we shall be holding a MS Teams virtual candidate information session, where you can meet the Director General for Regions Group and the current post\-holder and learn more about the role and can ask questions about the role and the department. You will be able to join the session and ask questions which can be anonymous.

If you would like to attend, then please email SCS.recruitment@education.gov.uk and a MS Teams link to join will be sent to you.

Alternatively, Lucy Livings, current post\-holder, can be contacted on lucy.livings@education.gov.uk if you have any further queries about the role.

Application

To apply for this role, you need to complete an online application via the Civil Service Jobs portal. Applications will be accepted until 23:55 on the 29th of June 2026

You will be asked to provide:

1\.A CV setting out your career history, with key responsibilities and achievements. Please ensure you have provided reasons for any gaps within the last two years

2\.A Statement of Suitability(no longer than 2 sides or 1,000 words) detailing ‘why should we consider you for this role’ (up to 500 words) with focus on the first essential criteria outlined in slide 9 around Leadership and why you have chosen the Department for Education (up to 500 words). You can choose to outline any further information you believe is relevant for the role or further demonstrates your suitability.

If there is a high volume of applicants, preliminary sifting will be done using only the first criterion \-*Excellent system leadership skills gained within the education or care sector, local or national government; able to take a leading role in initiating action, making decisions, managing performance and promoting inclusive team working in a large\-scale operation, and being part of collective leadership success.*

Failure to submit both documents will mean the panel only have limited information on which to asses

This listing is from indeed. View original listing ↗