Regional Lead for Education (Internal)

• Suffolk County Council 
• Address: Endeavour House, Ipswich IP1 2BX, hybrid working
• Salary: £74,716 per annum (Senior Manager)
• Hours: 37 hours per week, flexible working options available 
• Contract: Fixed Term or Secondment from 1 September 2026 to 30 April 2027

At Suffolk County Council, every role is a chance to create positive change. As a Regional Lead in the Standards and Excellence team, you’ll see the direct impact of your work, to ensure the children and young people in Suffolk, receive the very best education.  Join us to make a difference to the life chances for our children and young people.

Reimagine the possibilities.

Your role and responsibilities

You will be responsible for ensuring schools within your locality are delivering strong outcomes for all children and young people to contribute to county wide improvements to be above national with schools achieving Ofsted judgements which are at least in line with expected standards.  This will be through ensuring impactful, evidence based and high-quality work from the standards and excellence partners working in the schools.

This role will involve working directly with school leaders, colleagues within the standards and excellence team, Education, SEND and Inclusion teams as well as officers in teams across CYP.

About you

You'll be able to:

• Identify trends, strengths and areas for improvement using a wide evidence base, finding effective solutions and measuring their impact across a range of contexts.
• Communicate, influence and build effective relationships with a wide range of audiences.
• Work proactively and effectively at pace, ensuring priorities are met and your work has a meaningful impact.
• Support improvement by providing both support and constructive challenge to colleagues, school leaders and governors.
• Demonstrate a positive track record of securing improvement through your senior leadership responsibilities within a school.

You can view a full list of requirements in the Job and Person Profile (JPP), which you can find in the ‘How to apply’ section towards the bottom of this advert.  

If you believe you can succeed in this role, apply. Even if you don't meet all requirements, still apply. We would appreciate the opportunity to consider your application.

The team 

The Standards and Excellence Team is currently consists of the Head of School Improvement, Regional Leads for Education, Standards and Excellence Partners and Governance Advisors.

Empowering Everyone 

We’re big believers in potential, possibility and the power of different ideas. We’re always searching for ways to encourage, respect and enable everyone to be the best they can be. We want to represent the diverse communities we serve. We welcome applications from all individuals, especially those from groups that are currently underrepresented in the organisation, as shown in our Workforce Equality Report.

For more information 

Please contact Emma Laflin, Head of School Improvement (Interim) or Julia Grainger, Assistant Director for Education and Learning, for a casual conversation. You can reach us by emailing Emma at [email protected] or Julia at [email protected].

If you want to apply for a secondment, read the secondment policy first. Make sure you get permission from your current manager before submitting your application. 

How to apply

Step 1 - Read the Job and Person Profile (Word).

Step 2 - Click ‘Apply Now’ to start your online application.

Step 3 - Upload a supporting statement answering the following question below (no more than 500 words). You should use the Supporting Statement template (Word). 

• Please provide a supporting statement outlining why you are applying for this role. Tell us about your relevant skills, knowledge and experience and the impact you have delivered in previous roles.

Please note: Without a supporting statement, your interest will not be progressed. Any supporting documents must be in either PDF or MS Word format. 

For guidance on completing your application, please see our How to Apply page.

Planning to use Artificial Intelligence (AI)? Please ensure your application still reflects your own skills, experience and ideas. If used inappropriately, your application may not be processed. Please read our guidance for using AI to understand what’s acceptable.

Do you need any reasonable adjustments to help you to apply? If you are disabled and/or have additional support needs, you can request reasonable adjustments. You can do this by contacting our Recruitment Team at [email protected] or 03456 014412.  You can find examples of possible adjustments on our Reasonable Adjustment pages. 

Closing date: 11.30pm, Sunday 16 August 2026

Interview date: Week commencing 24 August 2026 

This authority 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. DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) checks or police vetting will be required for relevant posts.