Service Director – Education

West Berkshire is an excellent place in which to live and work, with beautiful countryside, bustling towns, culture, sport and heritage on our doorstep. With 74% of West Berkshire within an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, it offers all the benefits of a strong rural economy with the buzz of places like Newbury easily connected to London, Bristol and Oxford.

We have an exciting opportunity for a Service Director – Education and SEND to join us in a newly created role. West Berkshire Council is already known for being a forward thinking, ambitious and award-winning Council, join us to support our organisation to the next level.

The role: 

In this role you will be responsible for the effective, strategic leadership of the Education and SEND Service, ensuring delivery of the highest standard of service in accordance with the Council’s vision.

You will play a key part in helping to deliver our Council Strategy - Making West Berkshire greener, fairer and more prosperous, with thriving communities and services we are proud of.

You will contribute to the strong and effective management of the service and wider Council, working in partnership with other organisations to deliver effective and efficient services to the local community.

You will be strategically leading the Education and SEND department (Early Years; SEND; School Effectiveness; Sufficiency & Place Planning; Inclusion & Early Intervention; Virtual School) ensuring delivery of the highest standard of service in accordance with the Council’s vision.

Our ideal candidate would have the following skills and attributes:

Our ideal candidate would have significant, successful management experience at senior level, with in depth knowledge of local government, within Education and SEND.

You would have experience of financial and budgetary management, with the ability to formulate financial strategies that provide value for money and puts stakeholders at the centre of financial decisions.

West Berkshire Council offer excellent employment benefits such as:

• Flexible working wherever possible between the hours of 07.00-19.00
• Hybrid working wherever possible working 40% in the office
• Access to a wide range of training and development opportunities 
• Generous Local Government pension scheme
• Family friendly policies
• A range of local discounts
• Wellbeing Programme including Employee Assistance Programme and employee benefits
• You will also be entitled to a generous annual leave entitlement starting at 30 days per annum (plus public holidays) Rising by an additional 5 days after 5 years’ service.

Please note that the closing date is given as a guide. We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible to avoid disappointment

Interviews dates will be as follows:

Technical Interview: W/C 12^th February

First Stage Interview: Tuesday 20^th February

Second Stage Interview: Friday 23^rd February

For further information or a confidential chat about the role please do not hesitate to contact AnnMarie Dodds – Executive Director – (People) – Children’s Services: annmarie.dodds1@westberks.gov.uk

Closing date: 7th February 2024

To apply please click the Apply Now link below.