Deputy Director Education
The Service
Our Education Department delivers educational services to ensure good quality and inclusive education provision in the City. Services include, but are not limited to school improvement across schools and early years settings, pupil place planning, admissions, virtual school, SEND, home to school transport and traded services, holding responsibility for strategic planning in these areas.
What is the role?
This senior level role reports to the Director Children's Services and manages 3 senior leaders. This role spans a number of key priorities for the council including planning and reviewing the educational provision for children and young people aged 0-19, ensuring sufficient early years and childcare places, and leading education capital programmes. This role will be fundamental in driving improved educational outcomes across our settings and schools.
We will be looking to you to deliver on our education strategy and to lead a broad range of education priorities including planning and reviewing the educational provision for children and young people aged 0-19, ensuring sufficient early years and childcare places, and leading education capital programmes. This role will be fundamental in driving improved educational outcomes across our settings and schools.
This is a challenging but critical role, where you can really make a difference, developing our commitment to supporting residents with care and support needs, and making our city a healthier and happier place.
We have a strong history of working together with our partners to deliver better outcomes for our children and families:
In this role you will be a champion of high-quality practice, with a focus on continual improvement. You will be an advocate for partnership and collaborative working, building upon our already strong city-wide relationships. Our committed and caring workforce will give you the platform to drive innovation and transformation with a focus on outcomes and learning.
You will have the opportunity to champion and represent the authority in the South-East through regional networks. You will join a strong and experienced senior leadership team, who care passionately about our children and families and empowering our workforce to deliver their best practice.
Why work in Portsmouth?
Portsmouth is a great waterfront city and a vibrant place to live and work. It is an island city with an “inner city” feel, a seaside location packed with attractions and events, and the advantage of having beautiful countryside on its doorstep. With a fast-growing university, high-tech industries, and a vibrant cultural scene, Portsmouth is a modern city that looks to the future whilst proud of its unique heritage as the home of the Royal Navy and historic dockyard. With fast road and rail links to London, Brighton and major airports, and ferry links to Europe, it is the perfect place to live and work. Portsmouth has a strong history of partnership working and has successfully integrated a number of local services. We are committed to supporting our residents to live long, healthy, independent lives in the community.
Benefits
As well as highly rewarding opportunity and competitive pay you’ll receive all the benefits of working within a local authority organisation, which ranges from flexible working hours to a fantastic pension allowing you the opportunity to pay in more for that greater return. We wish to support all our staff in terms of their professional development and to drive forward their careers and for those with families we have childcare benefits as well as discounts with local businesses which can be accessed.
Our Commitment
Portsmouth City Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. We want to be an inclusive and diverse employer of first choice reflecting the great city in which we live.
For more information, please see the role profile below.
Indicative Timetable
Closing date for applications: Midnight Sunday 20 July 2025
Final interview panel: w/c 28 July 2025Please let us know if there are any interview dates within the indicative timetable on which you are likely to be unavailable.
To arrange an informal conversation about this role, please contact:
Zara Bruton
Email: zbruton@faerfield.co.uk
Phone: 0121 312 3755Ben Cox
Email: bcox@faerfield.co.uk
Phone: 0121 312 3755
To apply:
To apply for this job please click on the Apply button below and fill out the requested information. When prompted, please submit your CV and a Supporting Statement of no more than 1,000 words.
With your CV, please also provide the names and contact details of two referees, one of whom should be your current or most recent employer. Referees will only be contacted if you reach the final stages, and we will not contact referees without your permission.
Your supporting statement should express why you are interested in this role and what experience you can bring to the organisation. The statement should tackle the specific requirements of the role; outlining examples and outcomes showing how you meet those requirements.
