Programmes Lead (Maternity Cover)

Location Hybrid London, City of, UK Hyrbid working - split between 2 days per week in the office and the rest at home

Team Programmes team

Seniority Junior

• Closing:10:00am, 22nd May 2025 BST

Job Description About Challenge Partners Challenge Partners is a national partnership of schools and trusts who believe the best way to reduce educational inequality and enhance the life chances of children is through collaboration, challenge and leadership development. We work together to ensure every school community can benefit from the combined wisdom of the education system.

Our national partnership currently reaches more than 420,000 pupils in over 540 schools and 137 trusts across the country. All fervently believe that working together is the best way to reduce educational inequality and increase the life chances of all children.

School leadership plays a significant role in pupil outcomes, and our practitioner-led programmes and networks offer unique continuing professional development (CPD) for leaders at all levels - from classroom teachers to CEOs.

And our approach works; pupils in our schools consistently achieve more and progress faster than national averages, despite serving a higher proportion of disadvantaged pupils. Inspection and peer review outcomes demonstrate how long-term participation in Challenge Partners leads to sustained improvements over time.

By rapidly sharing innovative practices across the country, we ensure that the most effective support reaches the children who need it most.

You can read our 5-year strategy here and our latest impact report here .

Working at Challenge Partners

At Challenge Partners, we invest in our people to ensure they feel valued, supported and inspired to make a real impact on the life chances of children.

Our culture is built on our six core values: excellence, collaboration, innovation, equity, challenge and courageous leadership. We are committed to cultivating a workplace that promotes professional development, where everyone has the opportunity to take on new challenges and contribute to reducing educational inequality through meaningful work.

As a small but effective team with big ambitions, we offer the chance to work across the organisation and collaborate with executive leaders and practitioners - creating an environment where ideas are shared and progress is driven collectively.

Listening to and learning from our staff is important to us and we are passionate about championing diversity, equity and inclusion to create a positive workplace where every individual feels a true sense of belonging and is encouraged to bring their authentic selves to work.

Benefits of working for Challenge Partners

Work-life balance

Annual leave

Employer pension contributions

Health and wellbeing support

Training and development

Family-friendly policies

Connection and celebration

Reporting to: Programmes and Network Manager

Contract: 12 months fixed-term contract (Maternity Cover- might be potentially extended)

Start Date: Date to be agreed (potentially July)

Location: This is currently a blended-working role with two in-office days (Tuesday-Thursday) during term time and the flexibility to work from home during school holidays. Occasional travel to schools and events will be required.

We are currently based at Resource for London near Holloway Road station, however, our office will be moving to another location in London in the coming months.

Working Pattern: 37.5 hours per week.Our core hours are 09:30 - 16:00 from Monday to Friday.

Established in 2011, Challenge Partners is a well-respected nationwide network of practitioners who engage in hard-edged collaboration and mutual accountability to ensure every school community can benefit from the combined wisdom of the education system.

The Programmes Lead will build and manage relationships with a wide range of stakeholders and hold responsibility for the quality and consistency of school leaders' experience of the programmes. They will work closely with the Programmes Manager and Partnership Coordinators to ensure excellent delivery.

Key Responsibilities

Reporting to the Programmes Manager the Programme Lead will have the following key areas of responsibility and will be expected to undertake other responsibilities commensurate with the role as requested:

Programme Delivery and Development

Lead on the operational delivery of programmes: Growing the Top, the SEND Developmental Peer Review and the Trust Leaders' Network

Manage key stakeholder relationships with programme participants and facilitators

Manage correspondence involved in programme delivery, including responding to daily queries and setting up automated processes

Monitor visit day/event quality and delivery, including dealing with and escalating issues to ensure positive solutions are reached

Monitor risks and mitigate/escalate as appropriate

Monitor programme spending and signing off invoices within agreed budgets, as directed by the Programmes Manager

Work with the Programmes Manager on the development of strategies to support efficiency and scale the delivery of programmes, including and not limited to the engagement of new technologies, processes and ways of working

Lead on the implementation of new strategies for delivery in your areas of responsibility with Partnership Coordinators

Data Management and Systems

Ensure programme data is accurately recorded on Salesforce (our CRM system) and work closely with the digital team to improve systems and processes

Responsibility for ongoing monitoring of programme delivery feedback data to ensure quality and oversee escalation of issues if/when they arise

Event Planning and Organisation

Lead on the planning, logistics and delivery of in-person and virtual programme events, working closely with the Programmes Manager and Executive Sponsors to agree event design

Liaise with speakers, venues and suppliers to ensure high quality delivery of events

Coordinate the team effectively to ensure excellent event delivery

Work closely with the marketing team to create a social media plan to showcase programme events

Matrix Management

At Challenge Partners, we work in a matrix structure which means that individuals collaborate across different work streams and are, at times, task managed by colleagues who are not their direct line manager

Provide consistent and high quality task management to all Partnership Coordinators involved in the delivery of these programmes

Collaborate effectively with other task managers, line managers and teams to support Partnership Coordinators to provide excellent delivery across all Challenge Partners activities and meet key organisational priorities

Person Specification

Specific skills and attitudes we are looking for in an applicant are as follows:

As one of our cadre of leads, you will be a role model for our values at all times and a cultural lead within the team.

Strong project management and organisational skills (a 'completer-finisher').

Ability to prioritise effectively to meet competing demands and work under pressure, through excellent organisation and time management.

Outstanding attention to detail, and pride in your work.

Excellent written and oral communication skills, with the ability to deal with people diplomatically and appropriately, building rapport with those at varying levels of seniority.

Positivity, optimism and agility - we are a small organisation and all staff are expected to contribute across the organisation (and sometimes beyond their specific job role) to ensure our success and sustainability.

High computer literacy - confidence and competence in using GSuite, Microsoft programmes and Salesforce (or similar CRM system) would be an advantage

A willingness to learn and give and receive feedback

A passion for education, and a desire to make a difference

How to apply

Please submit your application on BeApplied by 10am on Thursday 22nd May 2025. You will be asked to upload your CV and answer five competency and scenario-based application questions.

First round of interviews (remote)- 29th & 30th May 2025

Second round of interviews (face-to-face)- 10th June 2025

A note on AI

At Challenge Partners, we are committed to a fair and inclusive recruitment process. We don't use Artificial Intelligence (AI) for recruitment - applications are reviewed by members of the team and we use blind shortlisting to mitigate potential bias and ensure all candidates are considered on merit.

Whilst we recognise that AI can be a useful tool for tasks like proofreading, we encourage you to share genuine examples from your own experience so we can better understand your unique skills and perspective. Authenticity is important to us and we want to hear your voice throughout the application process.

DEI Statement

Challenge Partners is committed to further enhancing diversity, equity and inclusion within our team and we welcome applications from all suitably qualified persons regardless of their race, gender, sex, disability, religion/belief, sexual orientation or age.

Safeguarding Statement

Challenge Partners is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children . click apply for full job details