School governor jobs in east sussex or eastbourne, east sussex
Salary Scale: Grade PO5/6/7 £50,568 - £58,692
Location: Copthall House 9, The Pavement, Grove Road, Sutton, Surrey, SM1 1DA (Hybrid - office/home working)
Hours: Full-time 36 hrs per week all year round
Department: Development Team
Reports to: Executive Director of Development
Orchard Hill College and Academy Trust (OHC&AT) is a family of specialist education providers for over 2000 pupils and students from nursery to further education across 13 academies and 9 college centres in London, Surrey, Sussex and Berkshire.
Pupils and students within the OHC&AT family have a wide range of learning abilities and additional needs including autistic spectrum disorder; speech, language and communication difficulties; social, emotional and mental health; profound and multiple disabilities; and physical disabilities including multi-sensory impairment and complex health needs.
Supporting our academies and college, OHC&AT also operates learning support, such as nursing and therapy, and a central business team which includes HR, finance and IT.
We are seeking a strategic and forward-thinking Head of Development to join our senior leadership team. This pivotal role will drive our growth agenda, ensuring new opportunities are identified, developed and delivered to support the continued success and impact of OHC&AT.
Key Responsibilities:
• Research and identify opportunities for growth, including expansion of existing provisions, acquiring schools/college centres and developing new service models
• Lead on feasibility assessments and the development of strategic business cases for agreed projects.
• Lead on statutory consultations and Equality Impact Assessments as required
• Lead on the submission of bids and proposals to external partners and agencies as required.
• Undertake due diligence for new schools and college centres joining OHC&AT.
• Manage the integration process for new schools and college centres joining OHC&AT.
• Oversee all aspects of development projects, including planning, budgets, timelines, risk management, and reporting.
• Monitor progress of development projects, manage risks, and resolve issues as they arise to ensure successful completion at development stage.
Key Requirements:
• Educated to degree level or equivalent
• Significant experience in a strategic development, or a programme leadership role within education or a related public sector environment
• Demonstrable experience of managing successful expansions, acquisitions, or capital projects
• Strong communication skills, with the ability to write clear and persuasive business cases and proposals.
• Proven project and programme management expertise, with a track record of delivering complex initiatives on time and to budget
• A strong personal commitment to inclusive education and improving outcomes for children and young people with special needs
Rewards & Benefits:
• Comprehensive training and development
• Opportunities to engage with internal professional networks
• Access to counselling advice and support via Health Assured (our employee assistance programme)
• Commitment to wellbeing supported by our occupational health service and mental-health first aiders
• Scope for career progression across nine college centres, 13 academy schools and Central Teams
• Generous annual leave and flexible working schemes in addition to bank and public holidays and a Christmas closure period
• As part of your contract of employment you will enrolled into the Teachers Pension Scheme (TPS) which has life cover and financial protection for your family
• Enhanced parental leave schemes
• Cycle to work scheme
• Season ticket loans
• Employee referral scheme
• Discounted gym membership subscription including digital fitness
• Home electronics scheme
Working together to transform lives is what we do and across the whole organisation we have a range of experts and practitioners who advocate for children and young people with SEND to ensure they receive the best possible opportunities to achieve their full potential.
OHC&AT is a rewarding and inspirational place to work, where everyone works together to create the best possible outcomes for pupils and students.
To apply for this role, please click ‘Fast Apply’, you will then be directed to a ‘Login’ page, once signed in please complete and submit the Application Form - via the blue button above.
Please see the attached Job Description and Person Specification for full details on the role and the skills, experience and knowledge we are looking for.
Your application form will be scored according to each of the requirements laid out in the person specification for this role. Please demonstrate in your statement how your experience, skills and knowledge match the criteria that are required for the role.
Please note that CV applications cannot be considered.
Closing Date: 12th October 2025
Interview Dates: 22nd and 23rd October 2025
Safeguarding Statement
Orchard Hill College and Academy Trust are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.
Appointments made will be subject to an Enhanced Disclosure via the Disclosure and Barring Service.
This post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and the amendments to the Exceptions Order 1975, 2013 and 2020.
Orchard Hill College and Academy Trust is proud to be a Disability Confident Employer, committed to creating an inclusive and supportive workplace for all.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Actively Interviewing
This organisation is scheduling interviews as applications come in. They're ready to hire as soon as they find the right person. Don't miss your opportunity, apply now!
We are looking for an awesome conference producer to grow our in person events offering for our community of Pupil Premium Leads across the 1,700 secondary schools in our network
Your role will be to produce face to face conferences that provide them honest, open and trusting spaces to share how they really achieve their results in practice.
Why?
So Pupil Premium Leads and Champions can learn what’s working (and what isn’t), so they can deliver the best education possible to all of their students, regardless of their background
What's the role?
Your job will be to produce in person conferences, with a difference, for Pupil Premium Leads in
Events where practitioners don’t just share what’s worked but also what hasn’t. Openly and transparently.
The aim is to curate powerful and practical warts and all stories, which attendees can ask questions about and dig deep into each other's work.
- What we avoid
- Glossy key notes delivered by non serving leaders telling serving leaders what to do
- Only sharing their successes
- Surface level panels that don’t say anything of substance about how leaders do what they do
- Lots of passive sitting and listening in big audiences
- Not developing deep and lasting relationships between attendees
- Where the events are geared entirely towards promoting products and services more than the amazing PPM leaders and their practice
- What we deliver
- Dedicated to giving serving Pupil Premium Leaders - from diverse backgrounds - to the platform to share their work
- Sharing openly, honestly and transparently the challenges as well as the wins
- Small group discussions about very specific topics where attendees can go deep
- Workshop formats allowing speakers and attendees to learn from each other via intimate conversations
- Where we do everything we can to help attendees get to know each other, stay in touch and work together long term.
On the speaker/content side, you’ll:
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research what’s important to Pupil Premium Leaders
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find serving Pupil Premium Leaders who have expertise in those areas
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Invite and book them to be speakers and
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support them to be their best on the day.
On the attendee/learning/ side, you’ll:
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communicate the offering
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design sign up and onboarding processes
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promote the event across our social media and email channels and
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ensure delegates have everything they need to get the best out of the event.
On both sides you’ll:
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lead the follow up and evaluation of the events.
On the partnerships side you’ll:
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generate leads from potential partners and sponsor
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contact them with information about sponsorship packages
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manage the relationships with partners
- Events where sponsors provide thought leadership not sales pitches
�� How you’ll be driving our mission forward
Researching topics that matter to Pupil Premium Leaders right now
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Emailing/messaging them to ask what they’ve had success with and need help with
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Creating a database of strengths and needs across the community
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Reading education press, policy and practitioner led blogs.
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Engaging with conversations on social media
Finding, inviting and booking speakers
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Using national datasets to find schools and Pupil Premium Leaders who are succeeding against the odds
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Digging into PPM practice and Pupil Premium Leaders’ blogs/posts to build a list of possible speakers
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Crafting emails that invite Pupil Premium Leaders you may have never met to speak at the conference
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Following up and leading Pupil Premium Leaders through the speaker onboarding journey
Supporting speakers to be their best
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Designing editorial guidelines and communicating them with speakers
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Supporting them to find a focus for their sessions and feeding back on the content
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Gathering pre-event information such as speaker details, access need, session titles/objectives and resources etc
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Automating workflows and emails using Zapier and Airtable
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Sharing all pre-event information they need in good time
Designing attendee sign up and welcoming processes
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Designing and building pre-event registration processes and forms
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Gathering pre-event information from attendees eg attendee details, access/dietary needs and
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Automating workflows and emails using Zapier and Airtable
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Sharing all pre-event information so they can get the most out of the conferences
Promoting the event across our channels
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Working with a designer to commission graphics
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Writing social media posts on LinkedIn and Twitter
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Working with the Pupil Premium Leaders who are speaking to write sharable, top of funnel social media posts that inspire, entertain and inform Pupil Premium Leaders
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Designing, writing building email workflows and drip campaigns in our CRM (Hubspot)
Ensuring delegates have everything they need to get the most out of the conferences
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Tracking and auditing that all delegates have shared required pre-event information
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Writing succinct emails which delivered at the right time in a way that respects their workload and capacity
Evaluating the success of the conferences.
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Designing and building post event evaluation forms
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Seek, gather and analyse customer feedback and user data to ensure member success.
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Tracking and auditing evaluation completion
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Following up with both speakers and delegates to maximise
Who are you?
- A values driven educationalist
- Technophilic project manager who has a spreadsheet for everything
- Curious and empathic relationship builder
- Entrepreneurial, innovative and flexible
- Analytical but also a content-minded story finder and teller
- Feedback embracing learner in the pursuit of mastery of your craft
What experience and track record do you have?
It’s not essential you tick every box. But the more boxes you can tick the better. It goes without saying, we can help you gain and learn from the experiences you haven’t had yet.
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Education and/or teaching: Knowing how the MAT and schools system works is a must. Knowing who does what PPM role in schools will help bring the right people in the right conversations and the right time. Knowing and understanding the kinds of problems and types of conversations school leaders and teachers is also essential for this role
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Conference production: researching topics, inviting and booking speakers, crafting promotional materials, shouting loudly and proudly about the events and filling up spaces.
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Project management: Planning, tracking and delivering on project objectives across several workflows on time, every time. Managing multiple audiences who are likely to be at different stages of their engagement cycle.
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Customer Relationship Management: designing, building and automating CRMs including sales pipeline design and management eg Hubspot and Airtable
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Copywriting (and digital marketing and email workflow design): designing and writing posts and emails that convert - whether than be speaker invitations, promotional posts or conference onboarding emails.
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Digital marketing integration and automation: integrating and automating digital marketing platforms like eg MailChmip, Hubspot, Airtable and Zapier. Automating drip campaigns and email workflows.
What are the benefits?
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Exposure to the most inspirational and impactful PPM Leaders in the country
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Opportunity to work within an early-stage, mission-driven organisation and shape its direction
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Flexible working culture/flexible working hours
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Pro rata £28,000-£33,000 dependent on experience
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Project-based and/or part-time contract based on performance milestones for the right candidate available - this role is approximately 3 days a week for 16 weeks a year: October-February. Possibility to expand conference work to new audiences if successful.
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Free annual membership to all of our premium spaces across the community worth up to £1,197+VAT.
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Dramatically grow your network of school leaders
Timeline:
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Applications open: 27th August 2025
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Deadline for applications: midnight Sunday 14th September
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First interviews: Starting week of 22nd September,
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Second interview: Starting week beginning 29th September,
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Notification of decision: by 3rd October,
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Start date: week beginning 6th October
We expect this to be a popular role. We will be inviting people to interview on a rolling basis. We advise submitting an application early.
How do you apply?
To apply for the role please send complete this application form no later than Sunday 7th September at midnight:
For the application form you’ll need:
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CV - max 2 sides
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Covering letter - outlining
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why you want to apply
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how your values, knowledge, skills and experience make you the best person for the role.
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a PS section at the bottom with confirmation of where you saw the job role; confirmation of your current salary and notice period; whether you have the right to work in the UK and a valid criminal check with the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS); any links to any portfolios/bodies of work you have completed in the past to demonstrate what you are capable of (this could be reports, writing, performance figures, social media campaigns, articles, videos); and indication of whether your availability will be limited during the recruitment period.
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Contact details of references
For an informal and confidential discussion about the role prior to application, please download the attached job ad pdf.
We exist to help school leaders and teachers share and learn how they get the best outcomes for their students
WORKING WITH US
At Harris Academy Merton we promote the ethos ‘’Achievement is Success’’ and believe every student has the right to the highest standard of education so that they can accomplish their aspirations. Our aim is to give every student an educational experience that is enjoyable and holistic so that they develop into responsible, articulate and successful young people.
We combine the traditional values of strong discipline, good manners, respect and pride in appearance with contemporary best practice in teaching and technology. With these core values embedded, we develop our students into confident and capable individuals that have a desire to excel academically and personally now and in the future.
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ABOUT THIS OPPORTUNITY
We are looking to recruit an experienced, skilled and committed SENCO to join our SEN team, to work alongside our existing SENCO, the Assistant Principal for Learning Support. We welcome applications from experienced SENCOs to join our enthusiastic department, supporting students with special educational needs.
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MAIN AREAS OF RESPONSIBILITY
The purpose of your role will be:
- To ensure that Academy practice is compliant with the SEND Code of Practice (2014) and other relevant statutory requirements
- To work with the Academy Leadership team ensuring an ethos of Inclusion within the Academy and a culture of high aspirations for students with SEND
- To work with the Academy Leadership team ensuring the implementation of the Academy SEND Policy
- To ensure that the provision of SEND support is in accordance with the aims of the Academy and curricular policies
- To be responsible for maintaining an accurate and up-to-date Academy SEND Profile
- To be responsible for the accurate identification of SEND need across the Academy, ensuring a rigorous and thorough assessment process
- To be a role model with regard to Quality First Teaching and differentiation within your own teaching practice
- To be responsible for the embedding of Quality First Teaching across the Academy
- To be responsible for the Academy SEND Offer, ensuring high quality targeted interventions enabling students with SEND to make better progress
- In consultation with the Academy Leadership Team, to provide a programme of professional development with regard to SEND, that ensures all staff have the knowledge, skills and understanding to plan teaching and learning effectively and enable students with SEND to make expected progress
- To be responsible for tracking the progress of students with SEND, using a wide range of Academy data relating to progress, attainment, referrals, exclusions, detentions and attendance to identify barriers to learning
- To deploy staff and resources according to the needs of SEND students
- To write a termly report to the Governing body on progress and developments
WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR
We would like to hear from you if you have:
- QTS (or equivalent) and a good undergraduate degree
- Evidence of Continuing Professional Development relevant to the SENCO role or willingness to undertake this training.
- Knowledge and understanding of national priorities, current curriculum development and an ability to design and implement an innovate curriculum based on students’ needs
- A thorough understanding of quality assurance techniques
- An appreciation of student motivation
- An understanding of how professional development contributes to the raising of quality
- SEN experience in a secondary school
- Evidence of successful teaching experience
- Evidence of pastoral experience
- Experience of working with key stakeholders such as parents, governors, employers etc
For a full job description and person specification, please download the Job Pack.
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WHAT WE CAN OFFER YOU
Teacher Development
At Harris, we have curated professional development pathways that will guide you towards achieving your career ambitions. We have developed a strong culture of collaboration and best practice, with professional development and career planning at its centre. With a strong network of passionate educators, expert development initiatives and a multitude of opportunities for career progression, your journey with Harris could be the most rewarding one yet.
We offer a wide range of high quality teacher professional development programmes via the Harris Institute of Teaching and Leadership.
Flexible Working
We are committed to fostering a positive and supportive working environment for our staff, recognising that achieving a balance between professional and personal responsibilities is essential. We understand that each individual’s circumstances are unique, which is why we offer flexible working options that can be adapted to meet the needs of both the academy and our employees.
Benefits
In addition to the opportunities for career development and progression, we also offer a competitive rewards and benefits package which includes our Harris Allowance (usually £2,000 for Inner London and £1,500 for Outer London), a Performance and Loyalty Bonus, Teachers Pension Scheme, a Wellbeing Cash Plan, Employee Assistance Programme, and many other benefits. Learn more about on our website.
Safeguarding Notice
The Harris Federation and all our academies are committed to ensuring the highest levels of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people, and we expect all our staff and volunteers to share this commitment. All offers of employment are subject to an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check, references, an online search, and where applicable, a prohibition from teaching check will be completed.
Equal Opportunities
The Harris Federation is an equal opportunities employer and welcomes applications from all suitably qualified candidates.
We value the diversity of our staff and students, and everyone at the Harris Federation is equally valued and respected. We aim to be an inclusive employer that reflects the communities we serve. We are committed to providing a fair, equitable and mutually supportive learning and working environment.
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APPLYING FOR THIS POSITION
If you have any questions about this opportunity, please send us an email, or call to arrange a conversation.
Before applying, please download the Job Pack for full details on the job responsibilities and person specification. This will be helpful for you when completing your application, and throughout the recruitment process.
We encourage you to apply as soon as possible as we may interview and offer to a candidate before the closing date. Please note that we only accept applications submitted before the closing date via our careers website.