Regional Director for North West

Job summary

The Regional Director for North West, one of nine Regional Directors, will lead DfE delivery across the region. Leading a team of circa 88 colleagues, they will improve outcomes for children, families and learners across schools, SEND and children’s social care by:

Key responsibilities include:

• School improvement and intervention - Driving the new regional school improvement model and ensuring targeted RISE support and intervention reach schools where standards are weak.
• Schools and trust system - Leading decisions on academy trust growth, academy transfers and rebrokering, voluntary academy conversions and significant changes to academies. The Regional Director will also oversee trust performance and compliance with the Academies Trust Handbook.
• SEND and children’s social care - Leading improvement and intervention activity, including SEND inspection follow-up, area partnership improvement plans, SEND reform and the implementation of Families First Partnerships.
• Policy and ministerial support - Strengthening the connection between national policy and local delivery by providing advice, briefings and recommendations to ministers. This includes escalating sensitive or high-profile matters and ensuring advice reflects regional evidence and realities.
• Stakeholder relationships - Building effective relationships with local authorities, academy trusts, dioceses and strategic partners to improve outcomes through influence rather than direct control. This includes working with local authorities on pupil place planning.
• National leadership - Leading an assigned national cross-cutting responsibility within Regions Group, supporting consistent delivery across regions and helping shape policy that reflects local needs and regional variation.

Job description

Within their region, the Regional Director will lead the North West team to deliver on the vision set out in Government policy, aligned to Regions Group strategic priorities and informed by local context:

• Providing local leadership where appropriate for programmes and activities in support of the Government’s Opportunity Mission
• Leading the new regional approach to school improvement ensure schools that most need it receive targeted intervention to deliver high and rising standards
• Work in partnership with local authorities, academy trusts, and dioceses to identify and respond to local and thematic school improvement priorities and to work with the school's sector to promote knowledge of and access to wider school improvement support.
• Leading intervention in schools where needed, generating rapid improvement by brokering strong support.
• Leading improvement and intervention in children’s social care functions in local authorities, working in partnership with the sector to identify solutions to deliver rapid improvement
• Leading follow up to area wide SEND inspections, ensuring effective challenge and support in partnership with the sector to enable areas of weakness to be remedied quickly
• Taking decisions relating to our oversight of the academy trust system, including those linked to: trust growth, academy transfer, voluntary academy conversions and significant changes to academies; underperformance and compliance with the Academies Trust Handbook; and shaping school system provision
• Working with local authorities to e nsure every local area has sufficient places for pupils
• Working effectively with Ministers: providing advice, briefing and support
• Leading on a cross-cutting priority area on behalf of Regions Group
• Leading a strong inclusive and effective culture of delivery, effective line management and people development and wellbeing across a diverse team

Person specification

Applicants will be assessed against the following Essential Criteria. If there is a high volume of applicants, preliminary sifting will be done using only the first criterion - Excellent system leadership skills gained within the education or care sector, local or national government; able to take a leading role in initiating action, making decisions, managing performance and promoting inclusive team working in a large-scale operation, and being part of collective leadership success.

It is important that, through your CV and Statement of Suitability, you provide evidence and examples of proven experience for each of the selection criteria detailed.

Essential Criteria:

• Excellent system leadership skills gained within the education or care sector, local or national government; able to take a leading role in initiating action, making decisions, managing performance and promoting inclusive team working in a large-scale operation, and being part of collective leadership success.
• An exceptional understanding and ability to galvanise influential stakeholder relationships that can deliver impact, bringing impetus to enable delivery of improvement through others at a regional level. Including an ability to understand and absorb the implications of policy for delivery and have a mature dialogue with policy colleagues in order to blend policy into implementation with a system wide focus.
• Proven ability to make decisions based on evidence and analysis in order to manage change positively and respond promptly to critical events.
• Effective communication skills to be an advocate of delivery and policy development with senior colleagues, ensuring that delivery impact and user need are at the core of our policy-making. With external stakeholders, be able to convert complex policy into a simple and meaningful message.
• Demonstrable experience of leading change inclusively with your team, including delivering system improvement and transformation

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £150,000, Department for Education contributes

£43,455 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme.

Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides (opens in a new window).

Applicants currently holding a permanent post in the Civil Service should note that, if successful, their salary on appointment would be determined by the Department’s transfer / promotion policies.

As a member of the DfE, you will be entitled to join the highly competitive Civil Service Pension Scheme, which many experts agree is one of the most generous in the UK.

You will have 25 days leave, increasing by 1 day every year to a maximum of 30 days after five years’ service. In addition, all staff receive the King’s Birthday privilege holiday and 8 days’ bank and public holidays.

We offer flexible working arrangements, such as job sharing, term-time working, flexi-time and compressed hours.

Most DfE employees will be working a hybrid pattern, spending at least 60% of their time in an office or work setting. Changes to these working arrangements are available in exceptional circumstances, but must be agreed with the line manager and in line with the requirements of the role.

Travel to your primary office location will not be paid for by DfE, but costs for travel to an office which is not your main location will be covered.

As an organisation, which exists to support education and lifelong learning, we offer our staff excellent professional development opportunities.

Things you need to know

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window) , and will assess your Strengths and Experience.

Candidate Information Session

On the 3 0 th September at 1p m we shall be holding a MS Teams virtual candidate information session, where you can meet the Director General for Regions Group and learn more about the role and can ask questions about the role and the department. You will be able to join the session and ask questions which can be anonymous.

If you would like to attend, then please email SCS.recruitment@education.gov.uk and a MS Teams link to join will be sent to you.

Application

To apply for this role, you need to complete an online application via the Civil Service Jobs portal. Applications will be accepted until 23:55 12th October 2026.

• A CV setting out your career history, with key responsibilities and achievements. Please ensure you have provided reasons for any gaps within the last two years
• A Statement of Suitability (no longer than 2 sides or 1,000 words) detailing ‘why should we consider you for this role’ (up to 500 words) with focus on the first essential criteria outlined in slide 9 around Leadership and why you have chosen the Department for Education (up to 500 words). You can choose to outline any further information you believe is relevant for the role or further demonstrates your suitability.

Failure to submit both documents will mean the panel only have limited information on which to assess your application against the criteria in the person specification.

Please note the CS Jobs system at the point of application states ‘’not to insert information that will identify you’’. As this is a Senior Civil Servant appointment and so that we can understand your experience for this role please provide this information in the CV and Supporting Statement specifying your employment history.

If you are unable to apply online, please contact scs.recruitment@education.gov.uk in the first instance. Please visit our career site for further information on the Civil Service application process.

Please note the following:

• we cannot accept applications submitted after the closing date;
• applications will be assessed solely on the documentation provided;
• please refer to the advert and checklist above to ensure you have provided everything requested;
• applications will be acknowledged upon receipt;
• feedback will only be given to candidates unsuccessful following interview

Selection Process

Shortlisted candidates will be invited to:

I. A virtual partnership engagement conversation with Tim Coulson and a small number of stakeholders from across the Education and Care system, including a Director of Children's Services and an Academy Trust leader, on the 22 nd October. A report will be shared with the interview panel.

II. Take part in a virtual Staff Engagement Panel (which typically takes up to 1 hour to complete), to be held on week commencing 19 th October. A report will be shared with the interview panel.

III. A formal panel interview on the 3 rd November in person in the DfE Manchester office. Candidates will be asked to prepare a presentation for the interview (further information will be shared with shortlisted candidates) and they will be asked questions to further assess their Experience against the Essential Criteria as outlined on slide 8 and Strengths using the Civil Service Strengths Dictionary .

Department for Education does not cover the cost of travel to your interview/assessment.

Please note that at interview stage we may ask if you have any conflicts of interest to declare and social media checks maybe conducted prior to appointment.

Candidates with disabilities

As an employer we are committed to promoting and protecting the physical and mental health and wellbeing of all our colleagues and applicants. The Department for Education uses the Disability Confident scheme (formerly the Guaranteed Interview scheme) to help widen employment opportunities for disabled people. Applicants with disabilities who meet the