Salary: Circa £80,000 + wellbeing cash plan + pension scheme (LGPS) + additional Lift Schools benefits
Hours: 37 hours per week
Contract: Permanent
Location: EdCity, 1 EdCity Walk, EdCity, London, W12 7TF (hybrid working - office-based three days per week)
Lead the next chapter of commercial innovation at Lift Schools
Lift Schools is embarking on a major new chapter, expanding our commercial activity to generate sustainable income that fuels our mission. We’re searching for an entrepreneurial and strategic Head of Commercial Ventures to build and lead our first commercial strategy, growing innovative ventures that balance financial sustainability with social impact.
Reporting directly to the Chief Financial Officer, you’ll play a pivotal role in shaping and delivering Lift Schools’ commercial enterprise strategy. This is a unique opportunity to design, launch and scale commercial initiatives that will directly support our ambition: an excellent education for every child, in every classroom, every day.
About the role
As Head of Commercial Ventures, you will:
- Develop and deliver Lift’s first commercial enterprise strategy, aligned to our educational mission
- Grow and optimise existing ventures such as estate lettings and apprenticeship provision
- Identify and build new market opportunities — products, services and partnerships across the education and wider sector
- Lead development of business models, pricing strategies, go-to-market plans and commercial governance frameworks
- Establish systems, processes and performance metrics to ensure all commercial ventures are sustainable, ethical, and aligned with our educational purpose
You’ll work closely with senior leaders, schools and operational teams to turn ideas into scalable revenue streams, balancing innovation with integrity.
You’ll be someone who:
- Brings a strong track record in commercial business development, product design or venture growth
- Has taken a commercial idea from concept to delivery and scaled it successfully
- Combines strategic acumen with hands-on delivery and entrepreneurial drive
- Understands commercial governance, risk, and compliance in charitable or educational settings
- Understands how to generate revenue in purpose-led contexts such as education, consultancy or social enterprise, ensuring all ventures reflect Lift Schools’ values
- Builds credibility quickly and collaborates confidently with senior stakeholders
- Be a confident and collaborative leader, comfortable influencing senior stakeholders, including Trustees, school leaders and partners, and inspiring cross-functional teams to deliver new initiatives
You are commercially astute, creative, resilient and motivated by impact, someone who sees opportunity where others see limitation.
Who is Lift Schools?
Lift Schools is made up of 57 primary, secondary and special schools, educating more than 33,000 pupils across the country. We believe education can transform lives – and we want every child in our schools to achieve their full potential.
Our mission:
- We will provide an excellent education to every child, in every classroom, every day.
- With excellent leadership and teaching in every school, we will help children go on to lead successful and happy lives.
- We will work with others beyond our network to benefit more children and communities.
How we support you
At Lift Schools, we believe talent drives performance. We offer you:
- Comprehensive training: We offer bespoke training to help you hone your skills and progress your career.
- Generous benefits: From your pension plan to healthcare and financial support, we've got you covered.
- Lifestyle savings: Enjoy discounted gym memberships, travel deals, and even electric vehicle incentives.
Ready to apply? Get in touch here. We can’t wait to hear from you.
The role is due to commence as soon as possible.
Closing date: 19th November 2025, 5pm
Interview date: 3rd December 2025
We reserve the right to close this vacancy early should we receive an overwhelming response. All candidates are advised to refer to the job description and person specification before making an application.
Lift Schools are committed to ensuring the highest levels of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of our pupils, and we expect all our people and volunteers to share this commitment. We adopt a fair and consistent recruitment process which is inline with Keeping Children Safe in Education guidance. This includes online checks for shortlisted candidates. All offers of employment are subject to an Enhanced DBS check, references, and where applicable, a prohibition from teaching check.
Lift Schools embraces diversity and promotes equality of opportunity. Job share, part-time and flexible working opportunities will be considered.
We are a Disability Confident Employer and there is a guaranteed interview scheme for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.
Non Charity Employer
More than 1000
An excellent education for every child, in every classroom, everyday.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Thank you!
Location: 38 Albion Street, G1 1LH
We believe everyone deserves great Glasgow life and that starts with the people who work here. Glasgow Life is a charity like no other. Our vision is to improve the lives of everyone in our city. To help us achieve that, we are looking for a Head of Marketing and Communications to join our senior management team.
Our teams focus on making a real difference through culture and sport in Glasgow. If you’re excited by the idea of being part of that, this could be the job for you.
What you need to know
Hours: 35 per week.
Contract type: Permanent
Location: Hybrid. You will spend part of your week at home, and part of your week in the office. Our head office is based in Merchant city with excellent transport links and access to discounted car parking nearby.
What you’ll do
As a Head of Marketing and Communications you’ll be a lead an established team, reporting to the Director of Finance and Corporate Services. You’ll play an essential role in leading and delivering our marketing and communications strategy, maximising awareness, engagement, and impact. You’ll inspire a multi-disciplinary team to create innovative campaigns that showcase our services, strengthen our brand, grow audiences, and drive income. You’ll act as a strategic adviser to the Senior Leadership Team, ensuring our brand, messaging, and campaigns reflect our vision, mission, and values while connecting with diverse communities, stakeholders, partners, and donors.
Your leadership will make a visible and lasting difference through teams that:
- Supporting our communities
- Helping people get active
- Creating cultural experiences
- Or working behind the scenes to make it all happen
Who you are
We’re looking for someone is a strategic, creative, and inspiring marketing leader with a passion for culture and sport. You’ll bring strong business acumen, a track record of delivering impactful campaigns, and a people-focused approach that motivates and empowers teams. Confident and resilient, you can balance social impact with income growth, build brand and engagement, and lead inclusively and authentically in a fast-paced, high-profile environment.
We’re looking for:
· Degree-level education or equivalent senior experience in a relevant field.
· Proven senior marketing leadership, including leading large, multidisciplinary teams and delivering organisational impact.
· Excellent communication and advocacy skills, with the ability to influence, build consensus, and represent the organisation effectively.
· Demonstrated passion for culture and sport, with experience engaging and inspiring colleagues and audiences.
· Significant experience delivering marketing and communications across complex, multi-service portfolios.
· Strategic thinker and planner, able to use business judgment to develop long-term growth strategies.
· Strong financial and budget management skills, with experience generating and managing income from diverse sources.
· Experienced in leading projects and teams in high-pressure environments, demonstrating resilience, decisiveness, and effective prioritisation.
· Track record of leading change programmes with measurable outcomes.
· Visible commitment to organisational values, including inclusive leadership, collaboration, and delivering measurable community impact.
· Collaborative team player, able to work effectively to achieve organisational goals.
Download the Candidate Brochure in the Job Attachments section on MyJobScotland to see the full list of essential and desirable criteria.
What we offer
At Glasgow Life, our work changes lives. As a charity, we bring communities together and support wellbeing through sport, culture, heritage, and learning.
Learn more about Glasgow Life in our 10 Facts video in the Further Information section on MyJobScotland.
We support you to live a great life. Inside and outside of work. Some of our benefits include:
Holiday
When you join, you’ll get 30 days’ holiday. Plus 6.5 public holidays if you’re full-time. This increases to 35 days after 5 years of service.
Fancy a bit more time off? You can buy extra holiday too!
Pension
Join the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) – a Defined Benefit scheme that provides you with a secure pension for later life.
Support
Sometimes we all need support and a listening ear. Our free and confidential Employee Assistance Programme can support your mental, emotional, and physical wellbeing.
Discounts
As a colleague, you can enjoy discounts on the things you love, from Glasgow Club memberships to our museum shops and our online store.
Flexibility and development
We are proud of our flexible and inclusive work policies, which help you balance work and life. We also offer support for learning, development and career progression.
Please note that Glasgow Life is an Arm’s Length External Organisation to Glasgow City Council. We are currently completing a Job Evaluation exercise and introducing a new pay and grading structure. This may impact current salaries quoted in job adverts.
What’s next
To apply, complete our short application form and upload your CV and Cover Letter via MyJobScotland. Use the Candidate Brochure to help shape these documents and show how your experience matches the role.
Important Dates:
The closing date for this job is 11.59pm on 2 November. First stage interviews are provisionally scheduled for mid-November. Final stage interviews are provisionally scheduled for late November.
Who We Are
Our Corporate Services teams keep Glasgow Life running at its best. From Business & Strategy, Finance, HR, Infrastructure, Marketing, Retail, they deliver the behind-the-scenes work that powers everything we do. Whether it's shaping strategy with sharp insights, crafting compelling messages, supporting our people, managing over 100 venues, or generating vital income—this team makes it happen.
Diversity and Fair Work at Glasgow Life
We’re working to build a team that reflects the rich diversity of Glasgow’s communities — where everyone feels valued, respected, and able to be their full, authentic selves at work.
We’re proud to be a Disability Confident and Carer Positive employer, and we welcome applications from people of all backgrounds.
We’re also committed to Fair Work First principles, including effective voice, opportunity, security, fulfilment and respect for all our staff.
We’re working hard to address underrepresentation in our workforce. We especially welcome applications from people with disabilities and from ethnic minority communities.
We’re excited to hear from you. Let’s shape a great Glasgow life — together.
Closing date is 11.59pm on Sunday 2nd November 2025
Information is available in alternative formats, on request.
