School Improvement Lead

School Improvement Lead

Full Time, Permanent

Application closing date: 08/04/2026

Salary: Soulbury 24-27 2 Recruitment and Retention Points plus 3 SPA points

Contractual hours: 37

Are you passionate about school improvement? Do you have an appetite for breaking the link between deprivation and low educational attainment? Can you bring your research-informed leadership expertise to Bristol?

Bristol City Council is seeking an exceptional School Improvement lead.

You will be joining at an exciting time as we move into the second year of implementation of the school improvement framework.

You will continue to progress and enhance the current offer and lead your team alongside Early Years and Inclusive Learning to provide a comprehensive, aligned and cohesive service for our 39 primary, infant, junior and special maintained schools.

This is a unique opportunity to shape and deliver major change at a time when the government has announced national reforms of the education system.

Following the promotion of the previous postholder and as part of the development of the Education Partnerships Service, we are further strengthening the school improvement team at Bristol City Council.

You will report to the Head of Service for Education Partnerships and lead the team of school improvement officers, with further recruitment underway to widen the scope into Special Schools.

You will support them to deliver the core offer of universal support as well as organising, overseeing and evaluating commissioned enhanced support through system-led leadership and utilising our links with our MATs across the city.

You will also play a key role in the Bristol Future strategy, with a particular focus on building city-wide capacity through Bristol Teacher and Leader and Bristol School workstreams. This work will directly contribute to the national agenda on education reform set out in Every child achieving and thriving and Bristol City Council’s own Children and Education plan. In this, Bristol is unique in that priority outcome one is focused on better educational outcomes for disadvantaged pupils.

You will hold Qualified Teacher Status and require an enhanced DBS.

You will have relevant leadership experience at headship, advisor or inspector level with knowledge of current national developments in school improvement and school effectiveness as well as experience of provision of advice and/ or consultancy. This includes a thorough understanding of the Ofsted toolkit and inspection framework and understanding of school data to evaluate and challenge performance.

You will be adept at leading teams and working in partnership to promote collaborative working and be able to give effective examples of where your high-quality feedback has influenced positively in relation to school improvement. You must be able to communicate effectively and sensitively, often within tight deadlines and in challenging circumstances.

Why Bristol City Council?

At Bristol City Council, we go that extra mile for our people; we offer a work environment which is fast moving and supportive, giving you the chance to use your skills and develop new ones within a high-profile organisation. For the majority of our roles hybrid working arrangements are available, giving teams the opportunity to work in a way that suits them, balancing service need and individual choice - mixing both home and office working.

Join us and you’ll receive an excellent rewards package including flexible working and flexitime, membership of the Local Government Pension scheme, and a generous annual leave allowance. In addition, you’ll be working in a supportive environment where you’ll have the chance to make Bristol a better place and contribute to its future.

How do I apply?

If you share our values and are ready to be part of our exciting journey please select the apply button below.

To be shortlisted for interview you’ll need to demonstrate how you meet each of the essential criteria in the Person Specification within the Further Information section of your application. On occasion we will receive high numbers of applications, we may then shortlist against the desirable criteria along with the essential criteria, so if you can, please demonstrate how you meet this in your application.

It is Bristol City Council’s practice to request references for candidates that have been offered a job. However, if you are applying for a job that requires a Disclosure and Barring Service check then we will request your references once you have been invited to an interview.

We're a Disability Confident employer which means we value recruiting and retaining disabled people. Any job applicants who consider themselves to be disabled and meet the essential criteria in the Person Specification are guaranteed an interview. We'll make reasonable adjustments throughout the interview process and provide continued workplace support throughout your career.

At Bristol City Council, we value having a workforce as diverse as the city we serve. We therefore welcome, develop and promote people from all sections of the community. Appointments will be made on merit.

The personal information section (including your name) you’ll complete as part of the application form will not be visible to hiring managers, but is used confidentially to make sure that everyone is treated fairly.