Role: Head of School – Built Environment and Sustainable Development
Location: Bedford College – Cauldwell Street Campus
Salary/Benefits: Salary is between £47,972 and £62,099 per annum DOE and Qualifications, 35 days annual leave plus Bank holidays, Teacher’s pension / Local Government Pension Scheme, Retail and Leisure Discounts, excellent professional and personal development opportunities, accessing college courses.
Hours/Weeks: 37 hours per week – 52 weeks per year
Contract Type: Permanent – Full Time
This is a UK based contract, and you are required to have the Right to Work in the UK. Unfortunately, we’re unable to offer sponsorship and any offer of employment will be subject to evidence of your Right to Work in the UK.
About the role:
As the home of the National CTEC, Bedford College serves as a flagship organisation for driving quality, innovation and scale across construction and the built environment. The Head of School will play a key role in supporting this national agenda, ensuring provision reflects industry priorities, promotes excellence in teaching and learning, and contributes to the development of a highly skilled workforce regionally and nationally.
We are looking for someone who has:
- Significant leadership experience within Further Education and a strong occupational background in construction, the built environment, sustainable development, infrastructure or a related sector
-
Demonstrable understanding of the skills agenda, workforce challenges and emerging technologies affecting the construction and built environment industries.
-
Experience of building productive relationships with employers, professional bodies, local authorities and sector stakeholders to drive curriculum innovation and learner outcomes.
As a Head of School for Built Environment and Sustainable Development, you play an important role in the success of our students through:
- Strategic Leadership & Curriculum Development - Provide leadership and direction for the School, developing an ambitious curriculum that meets local and industry needs, drives innovation, and supports high levels of student achievement, progression, and skills development.
-
Operational & Performance Management - Lead and manage Programme Managers and wider teams, ensuring effective staff performance, resource utilisation, timetabling, budget management, business planning, and achievement of departmental and organisational targets.
-
Quality Improvement & Educational Excellence - Implement high-quality teaching, learning, and assessment strategies, lead self-assessment and quality improvement activities, and embed Construction and Technical Education College (CTEC) initiatives across the curriculum.
-
Stakeholder Engagement & Strategic Representation - Build strong relationships with employers, industry partners, community stakeholders, and external organisations, representing the School internally and externally while responding proactively to emerging trends and workforce needs.
-
Compliance, Culture & Student Experience - Ensure compliance with statutory, regulatory, safeguarding, equality, health & safety, and organisational requirements, while fostering a culture of high performance and keeping the student experience at the centre of all decision-making.
About you:
- Leadership & Curriculum Management - Significant experience leading and managing curriculum provision within a Further Education environment, with the ability to implement strategy, drive change, develop policies and procedures, and deliver high-performing educational provision.
-
Qualifications & Professional Expertise - GCSE English and Maths (or Level 2 equivalent), recognised teaching qualification, and leadership and management development, supported by a strong understanding of Further Education leadership and curriculum management.
-
Strategic, Financial & Operational Skills - Proven experience managing teams, budgets, resources, projects, and performance, with excellent analytical, reporting, project management, decision-making, and organisational skills.
-
Communication, Leadership & Stakeholder Engagement - Exceptional people management, communication, interpersonal, and influencing skills, with the ability to build professional relationships, inspire teams, present complex information, and lead effectively at all levels.
-
Professionalism, Adaptability & Compliance - Solutions-focused and adaptable, with strong attention to detail, commitment to safeguarding, equality and diversity, health and safety, confidentiality, and professional standards, alongside the flexibility to travel and respond to changing organisational needs.
For a more detailed breakdown of the job role and the requirements, please see the Job Description attached to this vacancy.
Interviews to be held: 17 August 2026
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 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.
