Deputy Principal – Quality & Curriculum | Bath College

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Deputy Principal – Quality & Curriculum Bath College

Lead the next stage of transformation and development of Bath College’s student-centred, vocational and technical learning as our Deputy Principal, Curriculum and Quality.

• Location: Bath, Somerset

About the role

Bath College has undergone significant change and transformation over the past few years. The challenges that leaders and governors have faced during this period cannot be understated, and our college can be proud of many achievements.

We currently have an experienced and credible Interim Principal & Chief Executive in post, Martin Sim CBE, who has already navigated some urgent challenges regarding our finances and, as a result, is reporting a positive outcome for our next financial year. Progress has been made, at pace, to move the quality of education across the college to a much better place. There has been a shift in culture for all our people, students and stakeholders with the leadership and support of our Interim Deputy Principal, Sue Martin.

Bath College seeks an experienced curriculum and quality leader to join our Executive team and become our nominated lead for all aspects of quality, performance, and curriculum innovation across our organisation. You will be able to demonstrate a record of successfully managing curriculum operations and leading teams of professionals to deliver improved outcomes for students. It would be highly advantageous if you have experience as a College Nominee and/or leading a successful Ofsted inspection and realizing improvements to overall ratings.

As an experienced senior leader of further education, you will recognize the unique opportunities for Bath College. With the ability to adapt your portfolio of experience and achievements to meet the priorities, demands and needs of our College as we continue to work hard towards our ambitious plans, further improving the quality of our offer, this is an exciting opportunity to contribute quite significantly to the future of our college’s 16-18, adult, apprenticeship and HE provisions.

You will ensure our curriculum and learning offer meets the needs of learners, local employers and stakeholders, and the wider community. You will demonstrate how you will create and communicate a supportive yet performance-led vision that will drive a college-wide quality improvement strategy and deliver continued positive outcomes.

With an inspiring leadership style and collaborative ethos, you will be capable of building and maintaining strong relationships internally and externally. Your strategic approach rooted in operational knowledge will inspire staff working at all levels to be a part of this transformative journey.

We are working hard to address the areas that require improvement and putting in place the necessary support and infrastructure to turn them around for the benefit of our students.

As a medium-sized FE College trusted by thousands of students, we must ensure they reach their full potential when studying or training with us and take every opportunity to learn through us over a sustained period. As Deputy Principal, you will need to work through your direct team to address all these areas and identify your own priority areas, ensuring that our curriculum offer provides the necessary pathways for students whilst being sector and industry-relevant.

Bath College is an inclusive employer working to support a richly diverse city, and we celebrate the benefits this brings. We know our leadership and management do not yet fully reflect the city and local region’s communities, and we very much encourage applications from underrepresented groups.

Who we are looking for

At Bath College, our Deputy Principal must be an ambitious, inspirational and visible leader with highly effective people leadership and influencing skills. You must be a real expert in your field and have a proven track record of achievement and success in driving change and transforming curriculum delivery and development.

The Interim Deputy Principal, Sue Martin, has already built strong foundations, so you will have a base to build on and a team of competent and aspirational people to work with.

We believe that for our college to flourish and realize the success we are planning for, the person appointed as our next Deputy Principal will need to be a proven FE sector leader – well-versed in the nuances of our sector, its policies, funding methodologies and curriculum specialisms.

Because of the strategic challenges the College faces at this point, we require someone with the competence and confidence to lead as the Deputy Principal, bringing the direct experience of leading substantial and organization-wide change concerning curriculum development and quality improvement with and through the teams around you.

Externally, you will be considered an expert on how an FE college can add value to the local communities the College serves and the businesses and institutions that work in partnership with us. Internally, you will recognize and value the importance of being visible and known ‘on the ground’, and you will want to get to know the people who work with and for you.

We believe this role will suit someone who thrives on challenge, can spot an opportunity and cares deeply about providing high-quality education and training to support social mobility and skills development. Your relentless focus on improving students’ lives – enabling them to reach their true potential – will be welcomed, as will your humble and approachable style of leadership that encourages a mutual focus on high performance, fair reward and staff wellbeing.