Message from CEO

Dear Colleague,

Thank you for your interest in this post. I believe it to be one of the most exciting and important governance opportunities to arise in our region for several years. Brooke Weston Trust is a well-respected, successful organisation with a strong moral purpose and a very bright future. We educate over 8,000 students across Northamptonshire and North Cambridgeshire in ten (soon to be eleven) schools. We are the leading training provider for teachers’ professional development in this region as the only accredited Teaching School Hub for Northamptonshire, currently working with around 150 partner schools beyond our own Trust.

Brooke Weston Trust is thriving and continues to grow. In recent years it has been one of the most improved sponsor MATs in the country delivering on our mission to transform education in the communities we serve through long term commitment to improve student achievement and removing barriers to learning.

For a full overview of Brooke Weston Trust and to learn more about the kind of organisation we are, the values we hold dear and what we are here to achieve, please see the ‘About Us’ and ‘Ethos and Culture’ sections of our website: www.brookewestontrust.org.

About this role

We are sad to say goodbye to our current Head of Governance, Anna Chambers, who has led this area for us with distinction since 2014, but we are very proud Anna leaves us to take up a post of national importance as the Head of Governance at the National Portrait Gallery.

The Trust has been privileged to benefit from Anna’s excellent governance leadership to date and we are seeking to appoint a colleague of similarly high calibre and potential who relishes being part of a dynamic organisation that is constantly seeking to enhance the effectiveness of its operations.

The Trust is governed by a Board of Directors with further subcommittees in specific areas of the Trust’s operation, including a Finance and Resources Committee, Education Standards Committee, plus Local Governing Bodies for each of our academies. This amounts to c. 120 volunteers who share with us their skillset, experience, time and support to ensure that the Trust continues to meet its overall ambition.

If the prospects of helping to improve the life chances of young people, and of working with dedicated, knowledgeable executive and non-executive colleagues across our Board, central team and schools excites you we’d love to hear from you.

Our Trust core value is ‘Ambition for All’ – this applies to all colleagues as well as all our students. The successful candidate will find excellent opportunities for further professional development within the Trust. We have a proud track record of investing in our colleagues, including sponsoring additional study and professional qualifications.

Further Information

The document pack contains further information about the governance structure of the Trust and the current meetings cycle. More detail can also be found in the ‘Governance’ section of the Trust website. The successful candidate will have significant influence as a member of the Trust’s Strategic Development Group to refine our structures and practice going forward.

Flexible working

The Head of Governance role can be a hybrid post, combining regular presence in the Trust central team office (Kettering) or our schools, with the option of remote working if required. Details will be agreed with successful candidate. Some governance meetings are held outside of core working hours, therefore there will be an expectation of the successful candidate to work flexibly to support these meetings. Details of time off in lieu arrangements will also be agreed with the successful candidate.

Salary

The salary for this post will be negotiated with the successful candidate.

Yours Sincerely,

Dr Andrew Campbell, CEO, Brooke Weston Trust