Chief Executive Officer

To articulate the Church’s gospel values and mission, and the principles of catholic education

To inspire and empower everyone in the partnership to demonstrate those in our schools

To develop and deliver the Strategic Plan for the Trust

To be an inspirational, visible and effective leader fully realizing the synergies latent in all our schools working together as a coherent and cohesive entity

To be responsible for the performance of every partner school in the Trust

• To lead the partnership and inspire schools to create the best possible education opportunities for all children and young people within their school raising aspirations and transforming lives especially for those who are less advantaged or more challenged.
• Ensure the development of the Trust so that both the Trust as a whole and the individual schools of which it is comprised maintain Catholicity and the Catholic mission as central to all activity and undertaking.
• Ensure policies and procedures developed and maintained are consistent with the teachings of the Catholic church, and take account of guidance from the Catholic Education Service and the Archdiocese of Southwark.
• To ensure that the Trust and every school within it operate in a way that safeguards and promotes, at all times, the safety and welfare of every child and young person in their care.
• To advise and work with the Board to develop and implement strategic and business planning across the Trust
• To lead, support and line manage Executive Principals, Headteachers and the central team.
• To make the Trust an employer of choice through top quality professional development, employer and other policies and support, and the active promotion of a representatively diverse staff and governance structure.
• To work with the Diocesan Education Commission and other Diocesan school leaders to deliver the Diocesan ambitions for catholic schools.
• To act as an advocate and public face for catholic education in Kent.
• To complete the integration of all catholic schools within Kent into the Trust.
• To act as Accounting Officer for the Trust and exercise financial and management controls to manage expenditure, income levels and legal compliance at all levels

1. Strategic

   1. Provide strategic leadership and direction of the Trust and the partner schools within the vision and strategy agreed by the Trust Board, to ensure that children and young people consistently achieve good or better outcomes.
   2. Support the Trust Board in the formulation and development of strategy and ensure that all decisions made by the Board are recorded and implemented.
   3. Lead the central team to enable, support and challenge partner schools
   4. Ensure that the Trust’ s financial viability is secure, firmly based on accurate analysis and is able to meet the Trust’s and its schools’ needs.
   5. Ensure effective strategies for building educational and leadership capacity.
   6. Hold Executive Principal and Head Teachers to account for maintaining and further developing, within the Schools, the vision and values of the Diocese and the Trust to sustain inclusive, aspirational and innovative achievement and attainment.
   7. Take responsibility for the Trust’s long-term strategic plan, the central team business plan and the business and improvement plans of partner schools.
   8. Lead the growth and development of the Trust, including effective operating due diligence and preparation of schools for conversion.
   9. Together with the Trust Board and operations team, ensure proactive, robust and appropriate risk mitigation and management and ensure that the risk strategy is aligned to local school risk strategies.
   10. Maintain an outward facing role on behalf of the Trust to strengthen its future growth and relationships with all partners and stakeholders, including but not limited to, the Archdiocese of Southwark, the Regional School Commissioner (RSC), Department for Education (DfE), Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA), Kent County Council , pupils, parents, staff, parishes and the wider local communities.

2. Leadership and Management

   1. Provide motivational and inspirational leadership at all levels of the organisation, committed to the highest achievement in all areas of the Trust’s work, and develop an ethos of continuous improvement
   2. To actively drive the Board’s strategic priorities, ensuring that these are embodied in the Trust’s strategic plan and developed in each partner school’s business and improvement planning.
   3. Lead and manage all operations through the agreed organisational structure and though the development, implementation and review of Trust-level policies to ensure life in all its fullness for all involved with the partnership.
   4. Ensure that the Trust’s management and organisational structures are fit for purpose.
   5. Develop and maintain  effective internal and external communication, including liaising with all stakeholders and local and national media

3. Teaching and Learning/School Improvement

   1. Be accountable for all aspects of teaching and learning and standards across all the partner schools, setting high professional standards and ensuring the Trust’s education vision is understood and embraced.
   2. Be accountable for developing and leading the framework and systems for school improvement across the Trust, providing quality assurance and accountability.
   3. To build a team to provide strategic direction and leadership for teaching and learning across the schools, ensuring these enable individual schools to be supported on their own improvement journeys.
   4. Develop and lead a Trust-wide improvement service committed to working with individual School leaders and support them in ensuring that the requirements of each school’s performance are identified and analysed, appropriately costed, prioritised and that actions are developed and secured. Negotiating, as required, the commissioning of external support from a range of providers through school to school support and/or external support from a range of quality assured sources.
   5. Develop a positive culture of challenge, support and high expectations for all children that ensures a continuous and consistent focus on every pupil’s whole child and academic achievement and development.

4. Resources/Change Management

   1. Hold the Executive Principals and Head Teachers schools to account to ensure that the learning environment, resources and facilities are best used to enable children and young people to experience life in all its fullness.
   2. Be accountable for large-scale asset management across the estates of schools, including overseeing major capital projects.
   3. Be responsible for meeting the demands of changing legislation and practice and new initiatives.
   4. Lead, oversee and advise on the allocation of resources across the Trust.
   5. To develop strategies and policies for recruiting staff, developing their experience and skills and preparing them for leadership and specialist roles.
   6. Working with the Diocesan Education Commission to plan for the next generation of catholic leaders.

5. Finance and Procurement

   1. As Accounting Officer for the Trust, ensure that it works to the standards set out in the Schools Financial Handbook.
   2. Ensure long-term financial sustainability through effective monitoring of proper financial systems, ensuring that appropriate action is recommended to address problems identified, and that the Board receives accurate and timely financial reports.
   3. Support an annual budget setting and review process for the Trust and  each of the partner schools to ensure that all budgetary targets are met  and efficiencies are maximised.
   4. Ensure that procurement of services and supplies is managed in the most cost effective manner across the Trust.
   5. Develop and implement strategies for the generation of additional revenue and resources for the Trust.

6. Safeguarding and Compliance

   1. Ensure that the Trust and all partner schools  meet their safeguarding responsibilities in line with current legislation.
   2. Ensure that the Trust meets all legislative and statutory requirements, including Health and Safety and those required by Companies House, the Charity Commissioners, Data Protection, and funding agreements.
   3. Ensure the effective capture of all data to meet statutory and legislative requirements.
   4. Embed across the Trust clear quality assurance systems that drive consistency and improvement in performance.

You must be a practising Roman Catholic with a genuine commitment to the values of Catholic education and an understanding of the mission of Catholic schools.

Experience

• Successful Headship of a school – preferably a Catholic school
• Successful strategic and organisational leadership of a group of schools – preferably as a MAT Chief Executive or Diocesan Education Director
• Demonstrable experience of building and developing high performing teams and working at system leadership level.
• Experience of leading successful school improvement, preferably in a range of settings.
• Evidence of effective strategic planning, financial and budget management and working successfully with Boards.

Essential knowledge and skills

• Exceptional leadership and management skills including advocacy, facilitation and negotiation skills.
• Strong communication skills and the capability to bring clarity to complex issues, to listen and to negotiate and influence.
• Business acumen, entrepreneurial nous and the ability to manage organizational change and grow an organisation.
• Politically astute with well-developed networking and stakeholder management skills.
• A well-developed understanding of the issues surrounding the development of educational provision in the UK.
• An understanding of the role of Trust Boards and local governance arrangements.

Personal attributes

• Belief and commitment to gospel values and Catholic education
• A visible and collaborative leader with the energy and vision to inspire the entire Partnership community.
• Able to communicate a vision of outstanding educational practice
• Confidence, personal authority, sensitivity and resilience.
• High levels of personal integrity and sound judgement.
• A profound commitment to improving educational outcomes for children.
• Committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people

The Trust has retained the services of Futures Education to help identify the widest possible field of suitable candidates and assist in the assessment of candidates against the requirements for the role. An executive search exercise is being undertaken alongside the public advertisement of the post.

Applicants should submit the application form and a statement of their reasons for applying and their suitability for the post addressed to Michael Powis, Chair of the Trust Board.

Completed applications should be sent to kcsp@futures.co.uk. The closing date for applications is midday on 5 March 2021.

The shortlist of candidates will be selected early in the week commencing 12 March 2021 and shortlisted candidates will be invited to attend a selection process in the week commencing 22 March 2021.

Kent Catholic Schools’ Partnership is committed to equality, safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. An enhanced DBS check is required for all staff. We are an equal opportunities employer that recruits on merit and we welcome applications from all members of the community.

For further information and/or to arrange a discussion with the Chair of the Trust Board, please contact Tom Haygarth of Futures Education on 07786 323 368 or tom.haygarth@futures.co.uk.

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