Lead education that changes lives
We’re looking for an experienced and inspiring Education Manager to lead and develop education provision within a prison setting. This is a senior leadership role where you will drive quality, performance, and innovation—helping learners gain the skills, confidence, and qualifications needed for successful reintegration into society.
You’ll play a critical role in shaping education strategy, improving outcomes, and leading a high-performing team focused on rehabilitation and employability.
What you’ll be doing
Strategic Leadership
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Develop and deliver the prison’s education strategy aligned to organisational and government priorities
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Promote a culture of excellence, innovation, and continuous improvement
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Ensure provision supports rehabilitation, employability, and personal development
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Lead curriculum planning to meet diverse learner needs
Operational Management
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Oversee the day-to-day delivery of all education programmes
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Ensure effective staffing, timetables, and resource allocation
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Monitor performance against KPIs, contractual targets, and quality standards
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Manage budgets to maximise impact and value
Quality Assurance & Improvement
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Implement robust quality assurance systems
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Monitor teaching, learning, and assessment through observations and audits
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Analyse learner data (achievement, attendance, progression) to drive improvement
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Lead self-assessment and quality improvement planning
Leadership & Team Development
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Lead, motivate, and develop education staff to achieve high performance
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Deliver performance reviews, supervision, and CPD support
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Promote a positive, inclusive culture and staff wellbeing
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Support talent development and succession planning
Partnerships & Stakeholder Engagement
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Build strong relationships with prison leadership, partners, employers, and awarding bodies
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Represent education services at meetings, inspections, and external reviews
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Work collaboratively to support learner engagement and progression Safeguarding, Compliance & Outcomes
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Ensure full compliance with security, safeguarding, and regulatory requirements
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Lead preparation for inspections, audits, and reviews
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Drive improvements in learner participation, achievement, and progression
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Promote education that reduces reoffending and supports long-term outcomes
What we’re looking for
Essential
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Degree and/or relevant professional qualification
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Teaching qualification (Level 5+ or equivalent, e.g. QTLS)
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Internal Quality Assurance qualification (or willingness to achieve)
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Strong leadership and people management experience
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Proven experience in curriculum development and quality improvement
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Experience managing performance and leading teams to achieve results
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Excellent communication and organisational skills
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Knowledge of OFSTED EIF framework and quality standards
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Strong commitment to safeguarding, equality, and compliance
Desirable
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Experience working in prison, adult education, or with disadvantaged groups
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Knowledge of current education and training initiatives
Why join us?
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Lead a service that directly supports rehabilitation and positive life change
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Shape strategy and influence education at a senior level
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Work as part of a collaborative leadership team
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Access ongoing professional development and leadership opportunities
Our values
We’re looking for leaders who embody:
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Customer First – improving lives through education
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True North – acting with integrity
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Own It – taking accountability
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Improve to be the best – striving for excellence
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Think big and take risks – driving innovation
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Deliver Results – achieving high standards and outcomes
Apply now
If you’re a driven education leader with a passion for making a difference, we’d love to hear from you.
Here at People Plus, we make a positive difference to people’s lives – every single day.
We use our experience to support hundreds of thousands of people each year. Our committed teams work across Britain to deliver a range of public services, including employment support, skills training, prison education, starting a business, and support to help employers grow.
To put it simply, we:
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Support people to find and keep jobs
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Help people to set up their own businesses
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Deliver skills training to further people’s careers
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Work with employers to build a skilled and happy workforce
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Rehabilitate people with convictions
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Tackle the root causes of offending
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Support carers
We are extremely proud to be a Gold accredited Investors in People organisation. This demonstrates our commitment to creating the very best environment and culture for our colleagues to succeed and thrive.
We are committed to transforming the lives of people with convictions through our work in prisons.
Our services have been designed to tackle the underlying causes of offending behaviour so people can make positive changes to their lives.
With more than 500 people working to support people with convictions in custody and in the community, we bring passion, experience and innovation to public sector rehabilitation services.
We also work with specialist partner organisations to help people move away from their past and look forward to a brighter future.
All of our services are designed in partnership with the people who we’re trying to help and away from our direct work with people serving their sentences, we’re working hard to change attitudes towards people who can often be tarnished unfairly following criminal convictions. Our Social Recruitment Framework brings together organisations to tackle any pre-conceived ideas about hiring people who have previously been involved in crime.
We also work with employers on the Ban the Box initiative to support fair and equal recruitment processes and have engaged industry to influence our employer-led curriculum delivered to our learners.
