Director of Leadership and Professional Development

Orion Education, Chislehurst, BR7 5PS

22 days remaining to apply

• Closing date

  23 September 2026 at 11:59pm

• Date listed

  1 September 2026

Job details

• Job role:
  • Teacher or lecturer
• Visa sponsorship: Visas cannot be sponsored
• Working pattern: Full time
• Contract type: Permanent
• Full time equivalent salary: Competitive
• Additional allowances:

  Competitive

Director of Leadership and Professional Development job summary

Orion Education is seeking an experienced and inspirational educational leader to join the Trust as Director of Leadership and Professional Development. This strategic leadership role will shape and enhance professional learning across our schools, ensuring that leaders, teachers and support staff receive high-quality development opportunities that drive school improvement and pupil success.

Reporting initially to the CEO, you will lead the Trust's approach to leadership development, instructional coaching, early career teacher provision, talent management and succession planning. You will oversee the Orion StepLab Hub, develop strong partnerships with national organisations including Teach First and the National Institute of Teaching, and ensure that professional development remains evidence-informed, impactful and aligned with our values of trust, kindness and endeavour.

This is an exciting opportunity for a highly credible educational leader who is passionate about developing others, strengthening leadership capacity and creating a culture where every colleague can thrive and grow.

Disclaimer:
The information contained within this advert is intended to provide an overview of the role and responsibilities and does not constitute an exhaustive list of duties. Orion Education reserves the right to amend, vary or withdraw the vacancy and associated recruitment process at any time. We also reserve the right to close this vacancy early and/or bring forward interview dates should a suitable field of candidates be identified. Applicants are therefore encouraged to submit their application at the earliest opportunity.

Orion Education is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. All appointments are subject to satisfactory pre-employment checks, including an Enhanced DBS check and any other checks relevant to the role. Orion Education is committed to equality, diversity and inclusion and welcomes applications from all suitably qualified candidates.

Further information about the job

The candidate will be required to undergo a full enhanced DBS check and must be eligible to work in the UK.

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.

Commitment to safeguarding

Education for the 21st Century is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. All offers of employment are subject to an Enhanced DBS check and where applicable, a prohibition from teaching check will be completed for all applicants. Education for the 21st Century is fully committed to equality and to valuing diversity as an employer and a provider of education.

Applying for the job

This school accepts applications through their own website, where you may also find more information about this job.

CVs will not be accepted for this application.

About Orion Education

• Type: Multi-academy trust
• Website: Orion Education website
• See more jobs: teaching-vacancies.service.gov.uk/organisations/education-for-the-21-st-century

Education for the 21st Century is a values-led organisation, driven by a determination to create welcoming and open schools for the local community, where every person thrives, makes excellent progress, and succeeds. We are committed to improving outcomes and transforming lives, realising social mobility, and the transformative power of education. We value the difference in all of our schools while seeking to bring them together around a framework that delivers an enriching experience and a great education for the young people within our care.

We want the very best for all of our young people. Our plan to ensure that we deliver great schools is underpinned by our shared values of trust, kindness, and endeavour. Our schools and our staff are collaborative and we seek to create consistency and quality throughout.
Our leaders create improvement in schools that is robust and sustainable. We are as enthusiastic about developing and nurturing our staff, as we are about developing our young people. Our professional development programs and our approach to school improvement provide quality and rigor while creating a depth of experience and learning for our staff.

Head office location

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