Head of Personal Development

When a college is amazing at personal development, students don’t just look forward to coming in, they say their tutor’s amazing, they love the extracurricular activities, and they tell us that we’re helping them shape their career ambitions. Personal development is the magic that joins it all up and creates a superb student experience. What students might not see is the leadership, passion and care that drives it all behind the scenes. And that’s where you come in.

With over 1,000 staff and more than 10,000 students, we’re one of the UK’s biggest and best colleges, leading the way in our sector. We’ve been Ofsted-outstanding for many years, but we want to go way beyond that. We want to be truly exceptional.

This is a rare opportunity to have a positive impact on all our 16-19 students, whether they’re studying bricklaying, physics or beauty. (And no, there isn’t anyone studying all three).

There are four strands to this role. Firstly, you’ll lead a team of Tutorial Area Managers, who in turn oversee over 400 tutors, all working within their own curriculum areas. You’ll make sure tutors have everything they need to deliver engaging, relevant tutorials. The backbone of this will be an innovative scheme of work for personal development. We already have an established, Ofsted-outstanding curriculum. It’ll be your job to make it exceptional.

Secondly, you'll oversee the careers function, ensuring it's an integral part of the curriculum, and that students get the support they need, whether that’s getting into Cambridge, securing an Apprenticeship or simply narrowing down their options.

Thirdly, you’ll lead the Student Experience Manager and his team. They coordinate our huge range of extracurricular clubs, celebration events, societies, and wellbeing activities.

And finally, you’ll be accountable for the overarching strategy that underpins it all. We have a separate safeguarding team that isn’t within your remit, but as with any college, you’ll need to liaise with them regularly.

To apply, you’ll need to be an experienced teacher with an impressive track record of curriculum development and leadership. But above all, you’ll need to really care about the difference pastoral care can make, and relish the chance to be accountable for it.

Closing date: 9am on Monday 14th October 2024

Interview date: Wednesday 23rd October 2024

About us

Ambition, Collaboration, Energy. These are our values. Watch this short video to learn more.

And see what our staff have to say here.

Benefits

We’ll give you incredibly generous holidays and a superb pension scheme. You’ll also get a package of amazing benefits, including free counselling and discounted supermarket shopping, spa treatments, electric cars and paddleboarding. Read more on our careers page.

Applying for the role

If you’re reading this advert on another site, visit our vacancies page.

No CVs or agencies please.

Everyone’s welcome to apply for a role here, regardless of personal characteristics, including race, age, gender, religion, ability, disability, or sexuality.

We’re totally committed to the safeguarding and welfare of all our students, and we expect you to be too. We follow safer recruitment statutory guidance (Keeping Children Safe in Education). If you’re successful, you’ll be required to complete thorough pre-employment checks, including an enhanced DBS check and satisfactory references. All posts at Exeter College are exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (ROA) 1974. The amendments to the ROA 1974 (Exceptions Order 1975, (amended 2013 and 2020)) mean that when applying for certain jobs and activities, certain spent convictions and cautions are ‘protected’, so they do not need to be disclosed to employers, and if they are disclosed, employers cannot take them into account. The MOJ’s guidance on the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and the Exceptions Order 1975, provides information about which convictions must be declared during job applications, related exceptions and further information.