Director of Learning and Development
The Beacon School, Banstead, Surrey, SM7 1AG10 days remaining to apply
Job start date
1 September 2026
Closing date
20 August 2026 at 9:30am
Date listed
10 August 2026
Job details
Job role
- Other leadership role
- Administration, HR, data and finance
Visa sponsorship
- Visas cannot be sponsored
Working pattern
- Full time
Contract type
- Permanent
Full time equivalent salary
- GLF Leadership 3 - £75,985 - £85,200
Director of Learning and Development job summary
GLF Schools are seeking an exceptional Director of Learning and Development to lead and shape a Trust-wide culture of continuous learning, growth and excellence.
This strategic leadership role will ensure that every adult working in, and connected to, the Trust is known, noticed and supported through high-quality professional learning opportunities that enable them to thrive professionally, strengthen their impact and contribute to the best possible outcomes for children and young people across GLF Schools.
Your Opportunity
This is a unique opportunity to shape and lead learning and development across GLF Schools. As Director of Learning and Development, you will provide strategic leadership for a trust-wide approach that aligns with GLF’s values, ambitions, strategic priorities and school improvement goals.
Working with key stakeholders across the Trust, you will design and deliver an ambitious, evidence-informed learning strategy that draws together expertise from our schools, the School Support Team and external partners into a coherent and impactful development offer. You will establish the frameworks, standards and systems that ensure learning and development activity is strategically aligned, effectively coordinated and capable of delivering sustained improvements in professional practice, leadership and outcomes, while balancing trust-wide consistency with local flexibility.
The role will be central to fostering a culture of collaboration and continuous improvement. Working closely with Education Directors, school leaders and functional leads, you will create the conditions for professional learning communities to flourish, enabling effective practice to be identified, shared and scaled across the Trust. Through the intelligent use of insight from schools, regions and clusters, you will ensure that development opportunities are responsive to need, strengthen leadership capacity and build organisational capability at every level.
You will play a key role in nurturing talent, supporting career progression and developing future leaders, ensuring that professional learning and development remains a powerful lever for school improvement and organisational excellence.
This is an exciting opportunity for a strategic, people-centred leader who is passionate about unlocking potential, building capacity and creating the conditions in which colleagues, schools and ultimately children and young people can flourish.
This role will be based at The Beacon School in Banstead and will involve working across the Trust. The successful candidate must be willing and able to travel between GLF Schools and therefore must have access to a vehicle and hold a full driving licence.
What we are looking for
- Relevant professional, postgraduate, or equivalent qualification in Organisational Development, HR, Learning & Development, Education, Psychology, or a related field.
- Significant senior leadership experience within education, a multi-academy trust, school improvement, professional learning, organisational development, or a related sector.
- Strong track record of developing and implementing strategic professional learning and development programmes at scale.
- Demonstrated success of improving organisational performance through workforce capability, talent development and leadership growth.
- Strong experience of evaluating impact and using evidence and data to inform strategic decisions.
- Strong understanding of best practice in learning and development, leadership development, talent management, and organisational change, ensuring activities are effective, inclusive, and compliant.
- Outstanding communication, influencing and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to work effectively with senior leaders and diverse professional groups.
Join the GLF Schools Community
GLF currently has 35 schools in the primary phase, and 8 secondary schools. Our schools span a wide area, including Oxfordshire, Wokingham, Surrey, Croydon and West Sussex.
As a part of GLF Schools, you will join a community of staff dedicated to transforming education. With regular progression discussions, there will be a wealth of opportunities for you to grow your career, whether in one of our 43 academies or in our central team.
- A growing Multi Academy Trust with over 2,500 colleagues and over 19,000 children
- Founded upon the values of Respect, Inclusivity, Integrity and Kindness
- 43 primary and secondary schools across 7 Local Authority areas across Southern England
- We work as a community whilst ensuring each school maintains its own unique identity
- Committed to ensuring all children and young people receive the best possible education
Our Employment Offer
GLF Schools has a generous employment offer, which allows all our colleagues to Grow, Learn and Flourish.
- Access to our highly competitive local government pension scheme
- Flexible working options
- Generous holiday allowance
- Healthcare benefits
- Work life and family friendly policies
- Employee wellbeing initiatives
- Staff benefits portal
- Community and collaboration working model
The Details
Start Date: ASAP
Salary: GLF Leadership 3 - £75,985 - £85,200
Hours: 36 hours a week Monday to Friday (52 weeks a year)
Location: The Beacon School, Banstead (Surrey), with Trust-wide working.
Advert Closing Date: Thursday 20th August at 9.30am
Interview Date: Wednesday 2nd September 2026
Further information about the job
Commitment to safeguarding
Our organisation is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. We expect all staff, volunteers and trustees to share this commitment.
Our recruitment process follows the keeping children safe in education guidance.
Offers of employment may be subject to the following checks (where relevant):
childcare disqualification
Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS)
medical
online and social media
prohibition from teaching
right to work
satisfactory references
suitability to work with children
You must tell us about any unspent conviction, cautions, reprimands or warnings under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975.
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.
View advert on external website (opens in new tab)About The Beacon School
- Organisation type
- Academy, ages 11 to 16
- Education phase
- Secondary school
- Size
- 959 pupils enrolled
- Age range
- 11 to 16
- Ofsted report
- View Ofsted report
- Website
- The Beacon School website
The Beacon School is part of the thriving GLF Schools Multi-Academy Trust, dedicated to serving our local community. Our core purpose is to ensure exceptional student progress and well-being, and as a member of our teaching staff, you will be supported in achieving this goal. You will have the opportunity to contribute to the development of an outstanding curriculum, working alongside our team to create engaging and innovative learning experiences. In addition to your teaching responsibilities, you'll have access to a broad range of enrichment and extra-curricular activities, allowing you to inspire students beyond the classroom.
At The Beacon School, we believe in the importance of staff well being and professional development. You'll join a strong and supportive staff body with numerous opportunities for collaboration and growth. Our school culture emphasises teamwork and camaraderie with regular staff social events fostering a sense of community.
Upon joining the Beacon School, you will:
Join an exceptionally warm and welcoming team of staff.
Teach students who want to learn.
Be supported by a highly experienced team in the Faculty.
Have access to an excellent programme of CPD.
Have the opportunity to be coached and/or become a coach.
Be able to collaborate and develop your career alongside other colleagues from across the 42 GLF Schools.
Receive a laptop and the use of IRIS technology to help you shape your teaching.
Have recognition of previous school continuous service.
School location
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