Director of Futures (Careers)
Brighton College
Brighton and Hove
- New
- Salary:
- Brighton College has its own pay scale, above the maintained sector. All of our teachers are enrolled into the Teachers’ Pension Scheme (TPS).
- Job type:
- Full Time, Permanent
- Start date:
- August 2025
- Apply by:
- 13 January 2025
Job overview
Brighton College is seeking to appoint a Director of Futures (Careers) to start in August 2025.
Vision
At the core of the College’s mission statement is our commitment to nurture young adults who are ready to take a full, active, and positive role in the world of the future. In preparation to flourish and find fulfilment in that world beyond the College gates, pupils must develop an open aspiration towards their future pathways through experiences that enable them to identify their influences and values, to explore and discover their purpose in society, and to engage as agents of change and impact in the wider world.
The Director of Futures will design and oversee the delivery of a coherent curriculum spanning from Lower Third to Upper Sixth, which will support pupils as they progressively shape, define, and refine their vision for their future, fostering in them a set of core skills that will inform their decision-making about subject choices, university pathways, and career choices. The ‘careers’ curriculum should also align with Gatsby benchmarks.
The Director of Futures will work alongside the Heads of Section and the Global Futures Team to provide pupils with guidance, direction, and purpose at each stage in their journey through the College. To enhance pupils’ understanding of the range of possibilities open to them – both at school and after they leave – the Director of Futures will utilise the Old Brightonian network to provide pupils with compelling and varied perspectives on adult life.
Underpinning the objectives for this curriculum are our core values as a College: curiosity, confidence and kindness.
Below is an overview of the provision the Director of Futures will provide and build upon at each stage in a Bright College pupil’s journey through the College, though the successful candidate will be encouraged to develop their own ideas and bring these plans into practice.
Third Form (Years 7 and 8)
• To develop and deliver a meaningful and inspiring Careers curriculum in the Third Form, seeking to equip pupils with the skills and knowledge required to begin thinking about how their interests, strengths and passions can translate into future choices, with an emphasis on discovery, fun and breadth. As part of this, there will be a strong contribution to the process whereby pupils select their Year 9 optional subjects.
Fourth Form (Year 9)
• To develop and deliver a meaningful and inspiring Careers curriculum in the Fourth Form, seeking to equip pupils with the skills and knowledge required to begin thinking in the broadest terms about future pathways, and to contribute to the process whereby pupils select their GCSE optional subjects.
Fifth Form (Years 10 and 11)
• To oversee a meaningful and relevant Careers curriculum in the Fifth Form, delivered through Beyond Brighton – assemblies, tutor times, Wednesday afternoons – including finding work experience, careers profiling, careers chats, and session on drop-down days.
• Involvement in process whereby pupils choose their Sixth Form study options, providing pupils and parents with guidance about making optimal subject choices and combinations of A-level/BTEC subjects that align with their talents and passions.
Sixth Form (Years 12 and 13)
• Involvement in the pupils’ decisions about their future pathways, including arranging our annual Futures Conference, whether in assisting pupils in narrowing down their Sixth Form subject selections, exploring university pathways, or developing their knowledge about alternative pathways such as degree apprenticeships and training schemes.
• To enable pupils to enter the world of employment with a full range of skills, from experience of interviews and assessment centres, to CV development, to the practicalities of finding gap year and holiday work.
All staff have the opportunity to contribute to our super-curricular Masterclass programme; this a is a series of eight sessions focussing on an area of personal academic or cultural interest. These have included subjects such as Magical Realism, Cuisine and Culture and Great Debates in History.
Safeguarding Responsibilities
• This role will involve daily contact with pupils and you will be engaging in regulated activity relevant to children.
• All staff and volunteers have a responsibility for promoting and safeguarding the welfare of children and young persons for who you are responsible and with whom you come into contact.
Attached documents
About Brighton College
THE SCHOOL
Brighton College is an inspiring place to work. As the leading co-educational school in the UK, it is renowned for its inspirational teaching and innovative education, whilst placing kindness and community at the heart of our approach to education. Named ‘UK School of the Decade’ by The Sunday Times in November 2020, we educate 1,300 pupils between ages 11 and 18.
Established in 1845, the College has grown exponentially in recent years. The Principal, Richard Cairns, a recent Tatler UK Head of the Year, has been in post since 2006 and, under his leadership, pupil numbers have doubled. Since 2006, the College has moved from 147th in The Sunday Times results table to 3rd – the best position ever achieved by a co-educational school.
The school site in Kemptown has seen the addition of stunning new facilities, sustainably designed by leading international architects, with recent investment well in excess of £100 million. These include the Nicola Leach Music School and Sarah Abraham Recital Hall (2015), the Yeoh Building teaching complex (2017), the School of Science and Sport (2020) and The Richard Cairns Building (2024), a stunning new performing arts complex and Sixth Form Centre, with a 400-seat theatre and Global Futures hub. World-class facilities enable us to share a huge variety of opportunities with pupils, and allow for innovative and exciting approaches to teaching and learning.
We believe that we are a part of society, not apart from it, and so activism and community involvement are key components of the curriculum. We have a thriving volunteer programme, driven by pupils, and are proud of our progressive stand on diversity, equality and inclusion. Brighton College also has a family of schools, which includes our three Sussex prep schools: Brighton College Prep School, Handcross Park School and St Christopher’s, and our London prep school, Brighton College Prep Kensington. Overseas, we have opened schools in Abu Dhabi, Al Ain, Dubai, Bangkok, Singapore and Vietnam.
Our approach to education is regularly celebrated. As well as being named 'UK School of the Decade', we have been named ‘School of the Year’ twice by The Sunday Times, and The Week named us ‘Most forward-thinking school in Britain’ for two years running in 2017 and 2018, ‘Best in the UK for STEM’ in 2020 and 2024, and awarded us 'Best Sixth Form in Britain' in their 2025 Awards. Our most recent ISI inspection in November 2021 gave us the highest possible grade (‘Excellent’) in both categories: the quality of pupils’ academic and other achievements, and the quality of pupils’ personal development.
Most importantly, Brighton College is a happy school. Staff and pupils feel fulfilled, and our emphasis on kindness lends itself to a thriving intellectual, sporting and performing arts culture. Our location in the city gives us the best of all worlds: we are a mere five minutes from the sea and the city centre, ten minutes from the South Downs, and in the heart of the local Kemptown community.
We hope that you will want to come and join the fantastic group of professionals and pupils who work here.
LIVING AND WORKING IN BRIGHTON
The College enjoys its location in Brighton, one of Britain’s youngest cities and one of the most vibrant and progressive in Europe. A recent national survey identified Brighton as the ‘happiest city in the UK’ and it regularly features within the top cities for quality of life nationally. With an extensive beach and seafront, and proximity to beautiful rural areas including the South Downs National Park, the opportunities for recreation and leisure are varied and numerous. Transport links are also excellent, Brighton being within easy travelling distance of London (50 minutes by train), and 30 minutes from Gatwick Airport. Brighton is also a university city, and the College has good links with both the University of Sussex and Brighton University. Our annual involvement in the Pride parade has strengthened existing links with the local community.
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