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Director of Education, Inclusion & Early Years Southend-on-Sea City Council

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Welcome

Dear Colleague

Welcome to Southend

What a time for you to come to Southend-on-Sea. As the Council’s new Leader, allow me to welcome you to our new city. We have lots to do together.

We have had a tough ride in the last few years, as have many authorities, but we are in a strong position, still winning awards and achieving amazing things, working together for the common good. We have made great changes, with new policies and ways of working that encourage collaboration, both internally and externally. There is a lot going on in Southend and a lot more to come.

Director of Education, Inclusion and Early Years

This is a critical role for all our children and young people, working across a broad portfolio of services that focus on giving them the best possible start in life.   Our city has a mixed economy of provision, including a grammar school system, and a small number of maintained schools.  We have five special schools and two pupil referral units, and are currently investing in alternative provision to ensure our children and young people can stay in mainstream schools wherever possible. 

This is a role for an experienced education leader, with a background in local government, schools or trust leadership.  The landscape is complex and the current national context, with the Schools White Paper and SEND Green Paper, challenging.  You will engage closely with Members, Schools, Partners, Parents and Carers to navigate this complexity, complete our SEND improvement journey, and tackle the many challenges created and exacerbated by the pandemic.  As Leader of the Council, I can assure you of the importance we place on this portfolio and have committed to placing inclusion at the heart of everything we do for our children and young people.

Much has already been done but there is so much more for you to do. We are creating a modern Council culture, more agile, more efficient, more entrepreneurial and more engaged. More down to earth and down to business. As a Director of the Council, you would work collegiately to help drive this direction of travel with pace and purpose, delivering brilliant outcomes for our residents of all ages and cultures in a prosperous, confident and well-connected city.

If you are interested, ambitious, clear thinking and excellence driven, find out more by contacting Mark Bearn at HAYS Executive. If you want to move forward with Southend, and feel you can contribute to the future of Southend and to the health, wellbeing and future of our city community, then please get in touch.

Yours faithfully

Cllr Stephen George

Leader, Southend-on-Sea City Council

Stephen George

about

About us

Southend-on-Sea City Council – working to make lives better.

Southend-on-Sea City Council employs around 1,700 staff, who work together to deliver a wide range of services that meet the needs of those who live, work and visit Southend-on-Sea.

The Council provides a range of vital services at the heart of the community, as well as investing in exciting and ambitious projects that keep Southend-on-Sea firmly on the map.

The Council is ambitious for the future of Southend-on-Sea. It is working with local partners and local communities to ensure we deliver our exciting ambition for 2050. Find out more about our 2050 vision.

vision

2050 Vision

Our resident and stakeholder-led 2050 ambition:

During 2018 an important conversation happened across Southend-on-Sea called ‘Southend 2050’.

Southend 2050, has been an opportunity to explore what kind of place we all want Southend-on-Sea to become and to understand what we all need to do to create it.

Thousands of people have participated across the city, through numerous events, workshops, forums and surveys.

The feedback from Southend 2050 has shown some clear messages about the kind of city we all want, and this has been used to develop a long term ambition for Southend-on-Sea.

The year is 2050. How does our city, Southend-on-Sea, look and feel?

Inevitably the place has changed a lot since the early years of the century, but we’ve always kept sight of what makes Southend-on-Sea special. Prosperous and connected, but with a quality of life to match, Southend-on-Sea has led the way in how to grow a sustainable, inclusive city that has made the most of the life enhancing benefits of new technologies.

It all starts here – where we are known for our creativity, our cheek, our just-get-on with-it independence and our welcoming sense of community. And so, whilst the growth of London and its transport network has made the capital feel closer than ever, we cherish our estuary identity – with a seafront that still entertains and a coastline, from Shoebury garrison to the fishing village of Old Leigh, which always inspires. We believe it’s our contrasts that give us our strength and ensures that Southend has a vibrant character of its own.

People are proud of where they live – the historic buildings and well-designed new developments, the seafront and the open spaces. The city centre has generated jobs, homes and leisure opportunities, whilst the city’s focal centres all offer something different and distinctive. With its reputation for creativity and culture, as well as the draw of the seaside, Southend-on-Sea is a place that residents and visitors can enjoy in all seasons. Above all we continue to cherish our coastline as a place to come together, be well and enjoy life.

Public services, voluntary groups, strong community networks and smart technology combine to help people live long and healthy lives. Carefully planned homes and new developments have been designed to support mixed communities and personal independence, whilst access to the great outdoors keeps Southenders physically and mentally well. Effective, joined up enforcement ensures that people feel safe when they’re out and high quality care is there for people when they need it.

Southend-on-Sea has grown, but our sense of togetherness has grown with it. That means there’s a culture of serving the community, getting involved and making a difference, whether you’re a native or a newcomer, young or old. This is a place where people know and support their neighbours, and where we all share responsibility for where we live. Southend in 2050 is a place that we’re all building together – and that’s what makes it work for everyone.

Southend-on-Sea and its residents benefit from being close to London, but with so many options to build a career or grow a business locally, we’re much more than a commuting city. Affordability and accessibility have made Southend-on-Sea popular with start-ups, giving us the edge in developing our tech and creative sectors, whilst helping to keep large, established employers investing in the city. People here feel valued, nurtured and invested in. This means that they have a love of learning, a sense of curiosity and are ready for school, employment and the bright and varied life opportunities ahead of them.

Southend-on-Sea is a leading digital city and an accessible place. It is easy to get to and get around, with easy parking for residents, visitors and businesses. Everyone can get out to enjoy the city’s thriving city centre, its neighbourhoods and its open spaces. Older people can be independent for longer. It is also easy to get further afield with quick journey times into the capital and elsewhere. Our airport has continued to thrive, opening up new business and leisure opportunities overseas – but it has done so in balance with the local environment.

Southend-on-Sea – it all starts here.

5 year road map

apply

THE OPPORTUNITY

DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION, INCLUSION & EARLY YEARS

£96,544 per annum

Southend-on-Sea is a place like no other. A fantastic place to live, work and play. A vibrant, entrepreneurial city, with a burgeoning cultural scene, we are a place of escapism and fun, where the underground meets the mainstream.  Our vision, impact and potential are limitless.  Forget the norm.  Forget expectations.  Forget the beaten path.  Southend is the alternative seaside experience.

We are appointing to a vital role for our new city.  We are ambitious for all our children & young people, particularly our most vulnerable.  Leading, shaping and improving an education, inclusion, and early years service that delivers on our pledge to be an inclusive city is the opportunity that awaits you.  We want you to bring all your experience, talent and passion to Southend and help change the lives of over 30,000 young citizens. 

What difference can you make?

Reporting to the Council’s Executive Director, Children & Public Health, your enthusiasm for transformation and partnership will ensure you can make the changes and improvements we need.

We want you to champion the delivery of our aspirations for all our children, especially our most vulnerable.  This is a system leadership role, building relationships with providers and partners to improve achievement and attainment as well as meeting head on some of the challenges created by the pandemic and the cost of living crisis.  Whether you are improving our Early Years offer, taking forward our significant investment in Alternative Provision or shaping innovative responses to tackle behaviour and attendance, your mission will be to change lives, improve education outcomes and help make Southend a great place to live, learn and grow.

About you

This is a role for a candidate with a track record of leading a diverse range of school services that improve inclusion.  You will be adept managing and improving educational performance for all children, working in partnership with school leaders and other system partners.  Bringing a deep understanding of the inclusion agenda, you will demonstrate experience of working in a complex, political organisation and the ability to lead and develop teams to deliver outstanding outcomes for children.  The ability to work in partnership and foster strong, collaborative working arrangements is vital.

What will your success mean?  All our children and young people will have a love of learning, a sense of curiosity and be ready for school, employment, and the bright and varied life opportunities ahead of them.  Our most vulnerable children will have enjoyed the same access to a happy, meaningful school life and our education, inclusion & early years service will be well placed to embrace the changing education landscape.

How to apply

We want to make the process of applying as straightforward as possible. To this end, we ask that your application consists of the following:

  • A covering letter, no more than four pages in length, which addresses and provides evidence against the criteria, set out in the Person Specification. The covering letter provides you with the opportunity to explain your motivation for applying, as well as highlighting how your experience and achievements fit with the requirements of the role. As such, it is an important part of the application process.
  • A copy of your most recent and up to date curriculum vitae.
  • Please also provide details on two employer referees, which should include your current or most recent employer. Please note that references will not be taken without your permission.

Once you have completed your application, please click on the relevant Apply link to upload your Curriculum Vitae and Covering Letter. All applications will be acknowledged.

Recruitment timetable

Closing date: Monday 26th September

Preliminary Interviews (via MS Teams): w/c 3rd October

Officer and Stakeholder Panels: w/c 17th October

Final Member Panel: w/c 24th October

Further information

For an informal conversation about Southend-on-Sea, please contact Mark Bearn of Hays Executive on 07872 672290 or email mark.bearn@hays.com

Apply

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