Job Details:
Higher Education and Qualification Leader

Job Description

The Growth Company’s Education and skills team have an exciting new opportunity for a Higher Education and Qualification Leader who will be responsible for providing strategic leadership and operational management within the designated programme areas. They will oversee all aspects of the programmes’ operations, ensuring the delivery of high-quality education to students aged 16 and above and supporting curriculum developments.

As one of the largest providers of skills and training in the UK, we are dedicated to supporting businesses and individuals with apprenticeships, higher education, and commercial training. We help people to develop their skills across a diverse range of sectors and levels, with our work with leading businesses to ensure our curriculum boosts the career prospects of individuals and productivity of businesses.

Key Responsibilities

• Strategic Leadership: Develop and implement strategic plans to achieve educational excellence and meet organisational goals.
• Curriculum Development: Lead the development and review of the curriculum, ensuring alignment with national standards and meeting the needs of diverse student populations. Implement changes to programmes/qualifications as required ensuring that delivery remains up to date and in line with Awarding Body and/or University requirements. Ensure delivery plans reflect changes to unit, module and programme specifications and continue to meet targets set. Assist with the design and validation/approval of new programmes. Gather and interpret feedback from learner reviews/course committees/module evaluations and identify actions where required.
• Staff Management - Recruit, train, and manage a team of Tutors and support staff, celebrating a culture of collaboration, professional development, and continuous improvement.
• Quality Assurance: Establish and maintain robust quality assurance processes to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of teaching and learning, ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements. Ensure that all university and /or awarding body QA records are accurate and up to date.’ Ensure that quality monitoring reports are actioned where necessary. Implement awarding body IV procedures/university moderation procedures ensuring high levels of quality in line with awarding body and university standards. Liaise with  university link tutors/external examiners and /external moderators in order to ensure all student  work is quality assured in advance of university and awarding body examination boards.  Attend  university / awarding body examination boards, moderation meetings and steering groups.
• Partnership Development - Cultivate strong partnerships with stakeholders, including educational institutions, employers, community organisations, and government agencies, to enhance opportunities for students and promote the centre's reputation.
• Financial Management: Develop and manage the centre's budget, allocating resources effectively to support educational priorities and achieve financial sustainability.
• Communication and Engagement: Communicate effectively with students, parents, staff, and external stakeholders, fostering a culture of transparency, collaboration, and mutual respect.
• Programme Management - Plan and organise recruitment activity to ensure that business plan volumes are met. Oversee  the admissions/enrolment process to ensure that applications are dealt with  promptly and that students enrol/make payment arrangements as soon as possible. Oversee the mentoring student teachers to ensure that standards of delivery are maintained at all times as well as to ensure that students benefit from a quality placement. Identify and signpost staff development needs to meet and exceed minimum professional requirements and to ensure efficient operational practice.
• Training and Assessment Delivery - Plan and deliver innovative and challenging classes in line with university and awarding body requirements and agreed outcome targets. Oversee support for learners in line with their individual needs, provide appropriate IAG and refer for additional support to ensure that individual learners continue to progress in relation to their starting point, achieve in a timely manner and are enabled to progress to positive destinations.

Knowledge and Skills Required

• A bachelor's degree in education or a related field; a master's degree or higher is preferred.
• Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) or equivalent teaching qualification.
• Proven experience in a leadership role within the education sector, preferably in post-16 Education
• Strong understanding of UK education policies, regulations, and curriculum frameworks.
• Demonstrated ability to lead and motivate teams, manage change, and drive continuous improvement.
• Excellent communication, interpersonal, and problem-solving skills.
• A commitment to promoting equality, diversity, and inclusion in education.
• Demonstrable experience of working directly with awarding bodies and  organisations.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of everyone including vulnerable adults and young people, we expect all staff to share this commitment. All Education and Skills appointments will be subject to Safer Recruitment Procedures which include a DBS check and a professional social media check. These checks will be conducted by Due Diligence Limited (DDC Ltd) on behalf of GC. Please note that the successful candidate will not be required to pay for this.

If you are on the Barred List, it is against the law to apply and to be hired for a role that includes regulated activity with the concerned group.

We are committed to increasing the diversity of our workforce, we provide a guaranteed interview to applicants who meet the essential requirements for a role. This commitment applies to candidates who have a disability or are from a diverse ethnic community.

As part of our application process, you can ask to be considered under this scheme if you are from an ethnic community or have a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long-term negative effect on your ability to do normal daily activities. Providing that you meet the essential criteria for the role, you will then be invited for an interview. Your guaranteed interview application will only be shared with the Hiring Manager and our Internal Recruitment Team.

We are a member of the national campaign Ban the Box; this campaign aims to open opportunities for people with convictions to compete for jobs. We’re supporting the campaign by removing conviction questions at the applications stage.

GC aims to promote a culture of flexibility and agile working. Going forward we will be transitioning to a culture where full agile working will be a feature of many of our roles. We also recognise that there may be a need for more permanent flexibility in your working arrangements and in such cases, we encourage you to have these discussions at the interview stage, to enable your flexible working request to be considered as early as possible.

If you require support with the recruitment process, please contact or Internal Recruitment Team at [email protected] or call us on 0161 237 4447.

All GC colleagues will work inline with the Health & Safety at work act and the GC Health & Safety Policy.

Our annual leave entitlement starts at 25 days, plus bank holidays which increases with length of service with the opportunity to purchase up to 10 additional days leave each year.

Access to counselling via our Employee Assistance Programme.

We have 8 EDI steering group to make sure we value our differences and enable an environment of fairness, dignity and respect.

We offer up to two days’ paid leave to volunteer at a charity of choice through our Volunteer2Day scheme.

We offer travel loans, discounted seasonal travel tickets for public transport and a great cycle to work scheme promoting opportunities to reduce environmental pollution and a healthier lifestyle.

We have an enhanced learning and development offer for all staff and managers with opportunities for mentoring, undertaking apprenticeships and continuous professional development.

Paid for eye test and contributions towards glasses for VDU users, helping improve overall health and wellbeing in the workplace.