Oak National Academy, the government-funded online school, has started recruiting for the year ahead today, with adverts for 10 roles, five of them in marketing and communications. 

It wants to hire a digital marketing and engagement manager, a head of external relations, a head of marketing and school engagement, a marketing and school engagement officer, and a marketing and social media coordinator.

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The positions are advertised as a one-year, fixed-term contract and salaries include £25,000 for the coordinator position and £50,000 for the head of marketing and school engagement, and for the head of external relations.

The other five advertised roles include a £70,000-a-year operations director, head of curriculum, operations officer, research and evaluation manager, and a team coordinator.

Oak National Academy ‘pays up to £95,000’   

Oak told Tes today that its principal Matt Hood, and the rest of its five-strong senior leadership team “will be paid the equivalent to the bottom half of the lowest senior civil servant pay band”.

“These will all, therefore, be in the range of £70,000 to £95,000,” a spokesperson said.

These senior £70,000-plus positions are principal, operations director, programme director, technology director and external relations director.

Oak National Academy was set up in the wake of the coronavirus school closures to offer online lessons for primary and secondary school pupils with content developed by teachers.

It will remain open for the next academic year, funded in part by a £4.34 million government investment, and with support from the Mohn Westlake Foundation.

The spokesperson said: “To date, our team that manages engagement with schools, our 4.7 million users and stakeholder enquiries is staffed by volunteers, freelancers or via agency.

“This includes a team member volunteering whilst on furlough, and two staff who’ve volunteered for free, part-time, outside of their normal jobs to support teachers. As we look to set the team up to support schools for the year, these roles will be replaced by the jobs we’ve now advertised.”

A full list of the positions advertised today can be found here.

Salary bands for positions at the Oak National Academy have also been published.

A statement on the application pack says: “We believe in transparency as well as fair pay for ambitious and challenging work. We have benchmarked our salaries against those within charities, schools and civil service. For example, our senior leadership team will be paid within the bottom half of the lowest senior civil servant pay band.

“We therefore have set pay bands and do not negotiate on pay. This is important to us as there is evidence negotiation particularly discriminates against those underrepresented in more senior positions.”

Tes understands further positions will be advertised.