AddressClosing date: 10am, Tuesday 2 April 2024
Salary: £75,000 to £85,000 per year
Contract: Permanent
Hours: Full-time, 35 hours per week
Location: Based in London SW8 / home and flexible working
Interviews: First round - online, Thursday 11 April, second round - in person, Friday 19 April
We empower people with the literacy skills they need to succeed in life. Together we're helping people change their stories. As our Director of Education, you will lead our work with the education sector – delivering complex strategic projects with large-scale impact – and play an important role in delivering our three-year strategy.
What you’ll be doing
This is a unique opportunity to lead the strategic development of our partnership with the education sector, giving skills and opportunities to those most in need. You will be responsible for our range of programmes, campaigns, training and thought-leadership across the sector, from early years and primary education to secondary schools, post-16 and alternative provision.
As a member of our Senior Management Team, you will work closely with the CEO and other Directors, and report regularly to our Board of Trustees. You will lead a directorate of more than 50 highly effective, motivated and focused staff who deliver activity in schools and settings which face the biggest literacy challenges. This includes evidence-based programmes and interventions, and national campaigns (including our Libraries for Primaries campaign) as well as CPD and resources for practitioners, working with over 8,000 schools and settings each year.
You will be responsible for growing the scale and impact of this work and ensuring national programme delivery is integrated into our regional network of 20 communities where literacy is low and poverty is high. You will also lead thought-leadership activity with the education sector, working with Government and other national education leaders.
The National Literacy Trust is a distributed organisation, with staff working in communities across the UK, from Cornwall to Dundee, Hastings to Belfast. We have an office in London, and as a member of our senior management team you would need to be able to be in London regularly, for staff and team days, partnership meetings and events. This is likely to be two or three times a month on average. At other times, you will be able to work from home.
What we’re looking for
You will be an established and recognised leader in the education sector, with expertise in literacy and experience of strategic planning, budget management and forecasting. Relationship and stakeholder management experience will be essential, including with senior national stakeholders. Experience as a media spokesperson would be an advantage.
You will also need to share our belief that a commitment to diversity and inclusion must underpin everything we do; that literacy skills strengthen communities, giving people a chance to tell their stories and hear and understand the stories of others.
Why our work is so vital
Literacy changes everything.
It gives you the tools to get the most out of life, and the power to shape your future. It’s the key to knowledge, confidence and inspiration. It’s better results at school, and better jobs. If children grow up without the tools to communicate, without books to read or opportunities to write, it’s harder to get where you want to go.
The National Literacy Trust is an independent charity helping people overcome these challenges and change their life chances through the power of words – reading, writing, speaking and listening. From first words, through school days to training, jobs and beyond.
- We work collaboratively in local communities, focusing our work in 20 areas of the UK that are facing the biggest challenges.
- We support schools, developing the most effective tools and techniques and providing resources and programmes to engage and inspire children.
- We campaign to make literacy a priority for politicians and decision-makers.
- We support vulnerable adults, people in the criminal justice system and young offenders’ institutions to build their literacy skills
What we offer you
Our team are passionate about our mission and we have a strong and positive working culture, based on shared values and respect. We offer a range of flexible working options and promote a workplace where you can be yourself and contribute to our success, whoever you are.
As well as a competitive salary, we offer benefits including a generous leave allowance totalling 39 days (including bank holidays and office closure between Christmas and New Year), pension contributions of 8% of annual salary, a cycle to work scheme, employee assistance programme and other health and wellbeing benefits.
Application details
Our people are our most important asset and we value and respect diversity in all its forms (seen and unseen). We particularly welcome applications from those from Black and Asian backgrounds, as well as candidates with disabilities and from the communities in which we work. We would like to increase representation of these groups among our staff as we know greater diversity will lead to an even greater impact for our work.
