Group Head of Student Services

About the role:

We are currently seeking a Group Head of Student Services to join The Bedford College Group at in various locations around Bedford.

As a Group Head of Student Services, you play an important role in the success of our students through:

• Leading and managing a range of inclusive student services across the College group including maximising the potential of the student through student support, personal development, careers advice & guidance
• Providing effective leadership in the area of responsibility and ensuring effective team working and high levels of professional conduct
• Embedding effective quality assurance and quality improvement arrangements in the area of responsibility and constantly seeking to identify and adopt best practice approaches
• Ensuring that our statutory responsibilities in safeguarding, child protection and Prevent are fully met.
• Developing and reviewing College policies related to the area
• Creating and sustaining effective working relationships with external, internal and other stakeholders and partners
• Acting as a Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead.

About you:

Ideal candidates will have:

• Degree level qualification
• Good standard of education GCSE (or equivalent) Grade C or above in English and mathematics
• High level of computer literacy skills
• Evidence of effective Management experience in an FE college or work-based training provider
• Proven leadership ability, management experience and skills able to motivate, influence and inspire colleagues across the group
• Good working knowledge of the latest OFSTED common inspection framework and Keeping Children Safe in Education
• Good working knowledge of assessment processes such as Matrix
• Successful experience of managing student voice across study programmes, apprenticeships and adult provision
• Experience in the analysis and use of data to support improvement planning
• Up-to-date working knowledge of safeguarding and student welfare practices and ability to act as deputy safeguarding lead for the College
• Willingness to take part in CPD relevant to the role
• Willingness to travel to and work at all locations where we provide a service

Interviews to be held on 24th September 2024

Successful candidates must also be able to demonstrate alignment to our organisational VISION values:

• Valuing Teamwork - We are one team who by working together can achieve great things, respecting the opinion and valuing the contribution each of us makes.
• Improving Continuously - We challenge ourselves to always do better by trying new things, sharing knowledge, reflecting on practice and learning from others.
• Student Centred - At our heart is always doing what is best for our students. We consider students in all of our decision making to create positive outcomes and memorable experiences for every student.
• Inclusive - We celebrate differences and diversity, recognising that we can learn from each other.
• Open and Caring - We care about the wellbeing of our staff, our students, our community and wider society, creating an environment built on trust where we listen, engage with and support each other.
• Nurturing Education Excellence - We promote educational excellence by delivering programmes that challenge our students to achieve their ambitions.

About Bedford College Services (BCS)

BCS is A multi-faceted enterprise that operates across the leisure, hospitality, catering, theatre and facilities hire sectors.

The purpose of BCS is to provide a suite of commercial services to the staff and students of The Bedford College Group and to the wider community.  Always striving to provide the highest quality of product and services and endeavouring to ensure that its supply chain complies with modern day thinking of sustainability, carbon emissions and modern slavery. BCS will bid for external contracts to provide those services, exploiting its management skills and capacity. Additionally BCS works to enrich student and staff experience within the Group through work experience, qualifying courses or apprenticeship, actively engaging withing the communities it operates in.

About The Bedford College Group

The Bedford College Group was formed in 2017 following the merger of Bedford College and Tresham College and is now the largest provider of education in the South East Midlands, with over 15,000 students passing through our doors each year.

Today, the Group is made up of a family of colleges across Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire: Bedford College, Central Bedfordshire College and Tresham College in the towns of Bedford, Dunstable, Leighton Buzzard, Corby, Kettering and Wellingborough; Shuttleworth College, a specialist land-based college; The Bedford Sixth Form, (the only dedicated sixth form in Bedford); The Corby Sixth Form, (opened in September 2023); and the National College for Motorsport alongside Silverstone race circuit. To widen accessibility to education and training, the Group also has community-based Learning Centres in Bedford, Corby and Kettering which offer IT training.

Safeguarding our Students

The Bedford College Group is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. The successful candidate will be subject to thorough vetting process which includes, an enhanced DBS check and satisfactory references.

This post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and the Exceptions Order 1975, provides information about which convictions must be declared during job applications and related exceptions and further information about filtering offences can be found in the DBS filtering guide. The Bedford College Group's policy on Employment of Ex-Offenders is attached to this vacancy.

Candidates who are barred from working with children are reminded it is a criminal offence to apply for this post.

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