Head of MAT and School Partnerships

Reports to:  Chief Executive Officer   

Location:  Flexible: monthly co-working days in London and additional regular stakeholder meetings as required nationwide. 

Salary:  £45,000 - £50,000  

Hours: Full time; 37.5 hours a week , We are happy to consider requests for flexible or part time working  

Contract : Permanent  

ABOUT THE ROLE 

Role overview 

The Head of MAT and School Partnerships will build and lead a high-impact portfolio of strategic MAT partnerships that improve recruitment, retention and long-term success for career change teachers while strengthening outcomes for schools and pupils. 

This is a pivotal leadership role at the heart of Now Teach’s next phase of growth and impact. The postholder will play a central role in shaping how we work with MATs nationally and how career change teachers are recruited, supported and retained within schools serving disadvantaged communities.  

You will also work closely with the Director of Network and Head of Impact to develop a school engagement, impact and advocacy strategy across the 500 schools where our 1,000-strong Now Teacher Network currently teach.   

In this role you will……   

Lead the design, delivery and evolution of Now Teach’s MAT partnership strategy aimed at ensuring Now Teacher impact in schools. You will support teams to deliver on their agreed recruitment targets and network offer commitments , establishing and growing a portfolio of deeply engaged partners who get it right for their career change teachers.  

You will create and maintain strategic relationships, act as a sector expert for growth opportunities, influence and negotiate at senior levels and demonstrate excellent communication skills. Strong judgement and relentless customer focus will be essential as you build customer loyalty and enhance MAT and school advocacy and ultimately, our impact. 

Key responsibilities 

Strategic Leadership  

• Lead the further development,  execution and continuous improvement of the charity’s MAT and School strategy   

• Feed your knowledge into decisions that will support us to increase our footprint in schools serving areas of greater socio-economic disadvantage 

• Use partnership insight and data to inform organisational strategy and decision-making 

• As a member of the extended leadership team, you will contribute to wider organisational planning, decision-making and strategic development 

Partner Development and Account Management 

• Identify and action external landscape opportunities leading on relationships with relevant sector partners 

• Build and manage a high-quality pipeline of prospective MAT partners who embed the Now Teach model successfully and champion its impact across the sector 

• Shape the development of CRM and partnership management systems that enable high-quality and scalable account management 

• Maintain robust partnership governance, ensuring compliance with contractual agreements and organisational standards 

• Design and deliver an approach for engaging existing partner schools to strengthen relationships and maximise Network impact. 

• Oversee a suite of messaging and materials that can be used to brief external audiences and pitch to potential partners supported by Now Teach Communications colleagues 

• Manage a lighter touch relationship rhythm with a wider set of training providers in our portfolio.  

Cross-Organisational Delivery 

• Define and embed scalable partnership delivery models across recruitment and network teams to ensure successful delivery of agreed partnership models with up to 8 priority partners in year 1 growing to up to 15 over the next 3 years 

• Work with the Leadership team to implement required changes so that by 2030, 70% of new Now Teach recruits are placed with priority partners and experience an integrated Network offer achieving sector-leading satisfaction scores from Now Teachers and partner schools 

• Deliver on our ambition for 60% of all new Now Teachers to be teaching in schools serving areas of greater disadvantage by 2030 

 Business Development & External Influence 

• Secure partnership income targets, negotiate partnership contributions, and drive commercial sustainability, working closely with COO/Finance Manager on ongoing cost models. 

• Position Now Teach as a leading strategic partner for MATs seeking to recruit and retain high-quality career change teachers 

• Represent Now Teach externally across the education sector, building credibility and influence with MAT leaders, system partners and sector stakeholders 

• Maintain deep understanding of MAT priorities, workforce challenges and sector developments 

Impact, Evaluation & Continuous Improvement  

• Work closely with the Head of Impact to monitor and evaluate partnership work  

• Identify insights and trends that support continuous improvement and work collaboratively across teams to iterate our future partnership models 

• Deliver and monitor data sharing agreements with priority partners working closely with our Data Manager and Head of Technology to ensure high quality and robust data sets  

• Monitor and report on pipeline progress and established success metrics as part of the leadership team, course correcting as required 

PERSON SPECIFICATION 

Who you are (qualities/values) 

• You thrive when operating in ambiguity and can implement new approaches from the ground up 

• You enjoy being part of a small team where people work together to drive work forward  

• You are highly self-directed and comfortable leading complex workstreams independently  

• You are credible operating with senior education leaders and understand the realities facing MATs and schools 

• You’re skilled at aligning colleagues (internally and externally) around a shared delivery plan 

• You’re committed to your own personal and professional development  

• You’re passionate about ensuring that schools and students benefit from the inspiring professional and life experience of career change teachers.  

What you’ll need to succeed in this role  

• Ability to think strategically and spot opportunities to maximise organisational impact 

• Proven track record of translating strategy into scalable operational delivery and measurable impact 

• Proven experience building and managing senior strategic partnerships, ideally within education, public sector or mission-driven organisations to achieve success metrics 

• Experience influencing senior stakeholders including CEOs, MAT executives or system leaders and shaping compelling propositions 

• Strong commercial acumen and negotiation capability  

• A relentless focus on exceptional partner experience and reputation enhancement 

• Strong ability to lead through influence across cross-functional teams and external stakeholders  

• A commitment to promoting equality, diversity, and inclusion. 

Don’t meet every requirement? Studies have shown that women and people of colour are less likely to apply to jobs unless they meet every qualification. At Now Teach we are dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive, and authentic workplace, so if you’re excited about this role but your experience doesn’t align perfectly, we encourage you to apply anyway.   

WORKING AT NOW TEACH 

Our people join and stay because they value Now Teach’s flexibility, close-knit team culture and social purpose. 32% of employees at all levels of the organisation work part time and everyone works flexibly, with time off in lieu part of our standard working practices. We are a small, collaborative and supportive team of nearly 20 people. We are non-hierarchical, and we set clear expectations and celebrate the successes of teams and individuals.  

Our Vision 

Schools and students benefit from the inspiring professional and life experience of career change teachers. 

Our Values 

Now Teach has four core values which encompass how we work together to delivery our vision and mission: Drive impact through expertise; Focus on who matters most; Make change happen; and Build connections that amplify. 

Our culture and values are central to us encouraging and supporting people into teaching. Without our positive, honest, and flexible approach we wouldn’t be able to adapt to meet the needs of Now Teachers. We have been named as one of Escape the City’s Top 100 Employers in 2021 and 2022 and have been recognised as a Working Mums’ Top Employer and at the Working Dads Employer Awards. We have won awards for our Culture, Flexible Working and Excellence in Public Service.   

In return we offer you 

As well as flexible working and a great culture, we offer a wide range of benefits including 25 days annual leave per year (plus bank holidays), an additional 3 days for Christmas closure (25th Dec-1st January), a  pension scheme with a generous 11% employer contribution, enhanced parental leave policies, a rewards platform with employee discounts, access to an Employee Assistance Programme and an annual professional development budget for each employee. 

Working arrangements 

Full time/part time role, flexible working patterns possible. Now Teach are supported to work flexibly at co-working spaces or at home as needed with monthly working days in London. You will be required to cover your own travel expenses to London.   

Application Process 

Please submit your CV and a cover letter (max. 2 pages for the cover letter)

Applications close on 15th June 

First stage interviews will take place on 24th June online 

Second stage interviews (if appropriate) will take place on 1st July in person at a location in London

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion 

Now Teach strives to be a workplace that is diverse, equitable and inclusive where we can ALL be ourselves. We encourage applications from people of all backgrounds, ethnicities, ages, gender identities, stages of life and those with hidden or visible disabilities.  

We are committed to providing reasonable adjustments throughout our recruitment process and we’ll endeavor to be as accommodating as possible. If you would like to discuss specific requirements, please contact us and ask to speak to the Operations Team.  

All applicants must have an existing Right to Work in the UK. 

Safe Recruitment Procedure 

Now Teach are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people.  To meet this responsibility, we follow a rigorous selection process, and all successful candidates will be subject to a Basic Disclosure and Barring Service check.