Careers Strategy Lead

Harris Federation, Croydon, CR0 1LH

24 days remaining to apply

• Start date details

  As soon as possible

• Closing date

  28 April 2025 at 11:59pm

• Date listed

  3 April 2025

Job details

• Job role:
  • Administration, HR, data and finance
• Visa sponsorship: Visas cannot be sponsored
• Working pattern: Full time
• Contract type: Permanent
• Full-time equivalent salary: £50,000 - £60,000
• Additional allowances:

  Performance and Loyalty Bonus + Pension Scheme (LGPS) + Harris Wellbeing Cash Plan + Additional Harris Benefits

What skills and experience we're looking for

We are looking for Careers Strategy Lead to join the Harris Federation central team.

In this pivotal role, you will provides essential leadership and strategic direction for careers education across all Secondary and Sixth Form academies. Your responsibilities will encompass the development and implementation of a proactive careers strategy that yields measurable outcomes, with a consistent emphasis on placing students at the forefront of all initiatives.

You will be responsible for establishing employer engagement programs, assisting academies in preparing for Ofsted inspections, and enhancing the apprenticeship programme.

We would like to hear form you if you have:

• A degree level qualification or equivalent professional experience in Careers Guidance or directly relevant field
• Proven experience in a leadership role within education, careers services, or employer engagement
• In-depth understanding of the Gatsby Benchmarks, Provider Access Legislation, and the CDI framework
• Experience in managing large-scale careers programmes and delivering measurable improvements
• A track record of successful partnership building with employers, training providers, and external stakeholders
• Experience of leading, developing, and managing a team
• Strong leadership and strategic planning abilities
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills with the ability to influence and collaborate at all levels
• Analytical thinking and problem-solving skills, with the ability to evaluate programme impact and adapt strategies
• Project management skills to deliver large-scale events and initiatives
• Budget management experience, ensuring effective use of resources

For a full person specification, please download the Job Pack.

What the school offers its staff

The Harris Federation is a leading education charity with 55 Harris primary and secondary academies across London and Essex. The founder, Chairman and sponsor of the Harris Federation, Lord Harris of Peckham, opened our first school in 1990. We now educate some 38,000 young people and closing the gap between children from disadvantaged backgrounds and their peers has always been a core mission.

The Harris Federation has a track record of accomplishment in achieving success through rapid school improvement and has built an unrivalled reputation for running outstanding academies in London.

Our people are at the heart of our success. We have developed a strong culture of collaboration and best practice, with professional development and career planning at its centre. We invest in our staff with support, coaching, mentoring, and a wide range of top-quality training programmes delivered at every level to senior leadership.We look for talented individuals who share our vision for creating exceptional places of learning, and are committed to ensuring that every child in London has access to the best possible education.In addition to the opportunities for career progression, training and development, we also offer a competitive rewards and benefits package which includes our Harris Allowance, a Performance and Loyalty Bonus, Pension Scheme, a Wellbeing Cash Plan and many other benefits.

Flexible working opportunities

Harris Federation is 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.

Our approach to flexibility includes a range of solutions, from tailored working hours to part-time arrangements, where appropriate, ensuring that we maintain our high standards of education while supporting the wellbeing of our staff. Whether you are a classroom teacher, support staffor part of our senior leadership team, we work together to find solutions that align with both the operational needs of the academy and your professional development.

Harris Federation and our academies are dedicated to creating an inclusive and collaborative environment, where every member of staff can thrive and feel valued in their role.

Further details about the role

Your responsibilities will include:

• Leadership of careers education and partnerships at the Federation, advising and supporting all Secondary and Sixth Form academies
• Development and implementation of an effective vision and careers strategy
• Building an employer engagement access programme
• Developing and implementing a careers programme which addresses the new Gatsby Criteria and meets Provider Access Legislation
• Supporting academies with Ofsted inspections
• Line managing and leading the Careers Advisory team
• Establishing and embedding an evaluation methodology to demonstrate the impact and highlight the team's achievements
• Developing and advising academies on the delivery of a comprehensive and effective careers curriculum.
• Reviewing careers resourcing across the Federation
• Centralising and standardising key documentation and review cycles
• Delivering training at academies, providing opportunities to ensure we are leading the way with the most up to date careers approaches
• Enhancing the Harris Federation apprenticeship programme
• Overseeing the development and management of workplace experiences, industry placement and employer engagement schemes
• Creating a network of links with national and local employers so that Harris students are given fantastic opportunities outside of regular programmes
• Forging opportunities to promote Harris Careers
• Updating and maintaining the Harris Careers Education website, ensuring it remains informative, user-friendly, and up to date
• Creating a termly calendar of tailored, high profile careers events
• Conducting careers audit reviews across academies

A full list of responsibilities can be found in the Job Pack.

Commitment to safeguarding

The Harris Federation and all our academies are committed to ensuring the highest levels of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, and we expect all our staff and volunteers to share in this commitment. All offers of employment are subject to an Enhanced DBS check, references, and where applicable, a prohibition from teaching check will be completed for all applicants. Before applying, please review our Policy Statement on the Recruitment of Ex-Offenders.

Applying for the job

Apply for the job by following the link below.

CVs are not accepted.

Visas cannot be sponsored.

If you're interested in teaching or training to teach in England as an international citizen, we can help you understand your next steps.

About Harris Federation

• Type: Multi-academy trust
• Website: Harris Federation website
• Email address: careers@harrisfederation.org.uk
• Phone number: 0208 253 7777
• See more jobs: teaching-vacancies.service.gov.uk/organisations/harris-federation

Making an impact
Educating 1 in 41 young people in London, we have a track record of achieving success through rapid school improvement, and a reputation for running outstanding academies. Our focus is on the most challenging schools in London and turning them into places where every young person has access to a high-quality education.

Commitment to young people in London
Unlike other large multi-academy trusts, we are committed to transforming schools in London and the surrounding areas. This focus on localisation means we intimately know the communities we work in and have the expertise to help our young people from these backgrounds to succeed. It also allows us to build a much stronger whole Federation network, collaborating more closely to share best working practices across our academies.

Centralised support
To ensure our academies can deliver exceptional education to our young people, we provide them with a strong support provision. Our dedicated central team supports all 55 of our academies, acting as a central hub with expertise in Finance, HR, Compliance, Estates, Audit, Recruitment, and IT, and many more. This centralised structure takes away much of the educational administration from our academy colleagues, allowing them to focus on what they do best – developing bright futures for our young people.

Experts in education
We are focused solely on education and have a team of experienced senior leaders who drive our ambition to deliver outstanding learning opportunities to as many young people as possible. Our organisation is led by people who have extensive experience working in education and know exactly what it is like to be at the forefront of teaching.

Head office location

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