Overall purpose of the post

Regional Principals (RPs) are pivotal roles in the leadership team of the National Institute of Teaching (NIoT) through whom our ambition to close the gap between evidence and practice will be realised.  RPs's responsibilities span learning design, through their faculty leadership, and regional delivery, through their oversight of our campuses (NIoT locations) and Associate College relationships (NIoT partners).  As experts in professional development and experienced school leaders, they will help shape the strategic direction of the NIoT and represent the NIoT in their regions. 

The Regional Principal South and West will be accountable for the recruitment, development, delivery and continuous improvement of the ‘golden thread’ programmes in the NIoT’s South and West region, working closely with Associate Colleges to ensure quality and reach. The Regional Principal is also accountable nationally for our National Leaders of Education (NLE) programme and the identification and development of future programmes.  Every NIoT programme should be of the highest quality, using the best research and practice insights to drive professional development and impact for the pupils the participants serve. They will also be accountable for participant recruitment to all programmes, ensuring that their learning experience is of high quality and the impact of the programmes on their professional practice is reflective of the National Institute of Teaching. Once University status is granted (2025), this role will be accountable for the academic oversight and delivery within the university region, ensuring that its campuses are vibrant, thriving and unique in terms of its quality, student experience and innovation for the benefit of the school sector in that geographic area. 

Regional Principals ensure that our programmes are coherent across the four geographic areas of the NIoT and serve local needs. We aim to allow our programmes to be nuanced to context and produce high quality learning which impacts upon pupil and school achievement as well as individual development. Regional Principals are also responsible to ensure that the school led approach flows through all programmes at every level in the region. 

The successful candidate will have a commitment to sharing their insight and learning with the sector to ensure that the professional development of all teachers and leaders benefit from the work of the National Institute of Teaching.  

The NIoT’s four Regional Principals will play a critical role in connecting the NIoT to its Founding school trusts. The successful candidate will spend a proportion of their time working closely with the leadership of their regional founding trust to ensure that the NIoT’s activity is informed and exemplified by school practice.  

Main duties and responsibilities

Programme delivery 

• Develop, operationalise, and deliver the suite of programmes including Initial Teacher Training, Early Career Framework, National Professional Qualifications, National Leaders of Education across the geographic area working closely with Associate Colleges. 

• Ensure the programmes align to the mission of the National Institute of Teaching and to the principles for design and delivery that sit across all programmes which includes a high quality and frictionless experience for trainees and participants and that all programmes can be accessed and delivered in any school and especially in areas where there is not high availability of quality programmes. 

• Ensure programmes impact participants and the pupils they serve.  

• Ensure that the cumulative impact of the programmes on programme participants has an impact on school improvement in the geographic area and is respectful of the time of programme participants and the challenges of schools.  

• Lead a strategy for the identification of high-quality tutors and potential Excellence Fellows, their ongoing development and improvement. 

Programme improvement 

• Oversee an improvement cycle for the NIoT’s ITT programme which leads to rapid iteration and improvement, marries the research (including that from National Institute of Teaching) with insights from practice to ensure that programmes are research informed, practice-led and implementable in classrooms every day. 

• Ensure that the systems, policies and processes are in place at the regional and campus level for successful validation of programmes and for success in becoming the nation’s leading university in development for teachers and leaders. 

Participant recruitment 

• Oversee the recruitment of participants to all programmes with support from the NIoT’s central Recruitment Director, Marketing team and the Executive Director of Partnerships. 

• Monitor recruitment to programmes in the geographic area and make changes to enhance recruitment, particularly from target groups and geographies. 

Representation 

• Develop, foster and nurture key senior relationships across the geographic area to guarantee strong recruitment to programmes, build advocates for the NIOT’s programmes and provide valuable feedback for continuous improvement. 

• Lead the NIoT in your region and develop deep and sustainable relationships with Associate Colleges to ensure successful design and delivery as well as considering new relationships that ensure that NIoT programmes get to areas where they are most needed regardless of geography.  

• Be the main point of contact to Associate Colleges in your region and support them in the delivery of NIoT programmes, ensuring that their expertise is harnessed to greatest effect and that their commitment is sustained in the long term.  

Additional Responsibilities    

• Report to the Executive team, and Trustee Board when required. 

• Oversee the budget for the region. 

• Set the strategy for the region for the academic year to ensure the National Institute of Teaching programmes are at the forefront of professional development nationally and internationally as well as responding to local need. 

• Set, deliver, monitor and report the annual improvement plan for the national programme that the role is accountable for. 

• Be accountable for the region’s annual workplan that ensures programmes are successful, of exceptional quality and highly rated in the region. 

• Manage and review the risk register to ensure that the region predicts, manages and mitigates all risks related to programme design and delivery in that geographic area. 

• Share learning from the programmes in order to contribute to the development of teachers and leaders across England but especially in your geographic area  

• Manage the region, its campuses and the wider regional team, ensuring a high-performance culture exists amongst all staff in the region, that is reflective of the best schools and other organisations worldwide. 

• Set up and chair a Regional Stakeholder Group with representatives from Associate Colleges that feeds into our Academic Board. 

Your team 

• Programme Managers and administrators for each programme (ITT, ECF, NPQ). 

• Partnership Manager to support your relationships with Associate Colleges and regional marketing activities. 

• Regional Recruitment Manager to support recruitment across ITT, ECF and NPQs. 

• School Placement & Community Engagement Officers. 

• Student Support & Wellbeing Officer. 

• A network of Excellence Fellows and Tutors drawn from partnership schools. 

What we are looking for 

• Qualified Teacher Status. 

• A commitment to the aims of the National Institute of Teaching. 

• A proven track record in a multi-programme development role in the education sector. 

• A deep understanding of how frameworks, research and practice intersect to ensure high quality programmes. 

• A highly developed regional network with school and sector leaders. 

• Deep understanding of school need in the geographic area. 

• Outstanding track record of development and delivery against tight timelines. 

• Exceptional interpersonal and written communication skills. 

• Excellent organisational skills and attention to detail. 

• The ability to quality-assure delivery and programme experience across multiple programmes. 

• The ability to manage and motivate a high-performing team. 

• A pro-active, entrepreneurial approach and the ability to thrive in a star-up environment. 

Further information 

Key benefits available to all Institute of Teaching staff: 

• Flexible start and end working times (core hours between 10am and 4pm); 

• Flexible working opportunities 

• Generous benefits package 

The Institute of Teaching is committed to creating a diverse environment and ensuring that all qualified applicants receive equal consideration for employment. We are committed to fair and inclusive recruitment practices and are open to job shares, secondments, part-time, and flexible working schedules. 

• All Institute of Teaching staff are subject to a check by the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS).  The level of check which will apply shall be an “Enhanced” level check.  

• We regret that we are unable to sponsor visas. 

• We reserve the right to change the closing date depending on the number of responses received. Please submit your application as soon as possible to ensure that it is considered in the selection. 

• First interview (virtual): week commencing 14th November 

• Second interview (in person): 24th November