Applying for your first leadership role in FE

Leadership roles

Course Tutor; Course Co-ordinator; Course Leader; Lead IV (Internal Verifier); Curriculum Leader; Curriculum Manager; Head of School; Head of Department; Head of Faculty; *just plain* Head of; Assistant Director; Assistant Principal; Director; Executive Director; Vice Principal; Deputy Principal; Campus Principal; Principal; Chief People Officer; Chief Financial Officer; Chief Operating Officer; Chief Executive Officer…

And breathe! (For a second or two).

That’s a semi-exhaustive list of FE leadership job role titles that you can expect to come across when you first dare to tick that “Senior Management” filter on jobs.ac.uk’s Careers in FE page.

Then there’s the added flavour of organisational structures and areas of responsibility:

For example, ‘Curriculum’ generally refers to the departmental structure surrounding Colleges’ core function: the teaching and assessment of courses to learners. Under this bracket, Courses (e.g. Level 2 Music Production) are grouped into Curriculum Areas (e.g. Performing Arts), which are generally grouped into at least one further denomination, such as a ‘School’, ‘Faculty’, or ‘Department’ (e.g. Arts and Media).

To further complicate matters, Curriculum might also be organised by age group, separating Young People (16-18) from Adults (19+) in line with regulatory and funding frameworks. Not to mention (where applicable) 14-16 and/or Higher Education provision, which will likely sit separately due to regulatory differences.

Similarly, ‘Apprenticeships’ might sit under a separate hierarchy, alongside commercial functions, work experience, or business development.

Same goes for provision for learners with High Needs and/or Additional Learning Support.

Meanwhile, ‘Student Experience’ might include admissions, careers, student voice, progression/destinations, safeguarding, wellbeing, front of house, and Learning Resource Centres (LRCs / libraries).

‘Quality’ will likely include teaching and learning improvement, quality assurance (e.g. internal and external verification and awarding organisations), and EdTech or digital transformation.

MIS (or Management Information Systems) will oversee learner records, likely including a data reporting team, learner progress monitoring, compliance, and funding.

There’s Marketing IT, Finance, HR, Governance – undoubtedly the list could go on.

Confused? You’re not alone. And without putting TOO much of a downer on things, like most publicly funded sectors, the perpetual threat of merger and restructure makes all of the above an ever-evolving beast.

Breathe again. There is hope!

FE values

FE Colleges are intrinsically and explicitly values-based. Confusing though they may be, corporate, cutthroat, cold (like so many other sectors) – they are most definitely not.

You’ll commonly find Colleges’ values presented through nifty acronyms in the first few pages of their strategies, and you’d struggle to find a set of these that doesn’t prescribe the College in question as: student-centred; rooted in their communities; and dedicated to delivering successful outcomes (qualifications, grades, skills, further study, employability) for learners. You’ll often find financial sustainability in there, but you won’t find profiteering. You’ll probably find a commitment to the celebration and development of their ‘people’ (meaning staff resource – you).

In a previous article, I referenced authenticity, impact, community, and feeling valued as some of the tangible benefits of working in FE. These are fuelled by the inherently values-based nature of the sector, and they evolve directly from some of those common values I have mentioned above.

If you share these values, FE College leadership IS. FOR. YOU. By that, I mean if you work (or wish to work) in an FE leadership job role because of the opportunity it presents for you to make a genuine impact on the lives of individuals and communities, then the sector needs you. If you understand and can navigate the relevant financial and regulatory models to ensure the sustainability of that impact, even better. And in return, the sector will present you with a culture of celebration, development, and natural promotion, and progression over time, as you gain experience and evidence of impact.

Applying

So, you’ve found a role you like the look of?! First things first – give yourself time. Chances are, you’ll be expected to apply through a fiddly HR portal, which won’t accept CV uploads or a LinkedIn hyperlink. A good application is going to take you a few hours across a couple of stints – ideally with a sleep between them! Check the application deadline, aim to submit at least a day early, and plan your time backwards from there.

Swat up. In fact, even if you haven’t found the role yet, swat up. Swat up on the sector and political landscape. Surround yourself with news resources and social channels that serve your knowledge of the sector, and make sure every day is a school (or College) day. It’s much easier to demonstrate expertise in an application if you’re an expert than if you’ve tried to become an expert in the two days prior to submitting.

Say “yes” and volunteer. Again, there’s no point in deciding to do this in the two weeks between the job advert going live and the deadline. Start now, and it will serve you infinitely when the right job pops up. There is a constant stream of opportunities out there for you to engage with Colleges and the wider sector and gain invaluable knowledge and experience.

Join networks, attend events, take courses, respond to staff surveys and consultations, ask questions in briefings, represent your Union, jump at Staff Governance or feedback opportunities. The AoC (Assoc. of Colleges), ETF (Ed. & Training Foundation), and FE Associates are three major players in FE leadership development, and the FE Commissioner’s office run an FE leadership mentoring programme.

Check the ‘Essential’ and ‘Desirable’ criteria in the Job Description. At leadership level, it’s likely that HR or a recruiter will be checking your application before it makes its way to anyone willing to weigh up the context. Like it or not, you’re going to have to tick each and every ‘Essential’ box (and ideally some of the ‘Desirables too!) And by ticking the box, I don’t mean repeating it back to them:

“Essential: must have a leadership qualification.”

“I have a leadership qualification.”

*Surprise* they want to know it’s a quality leadership qualification. Who, what, when, and where? And most importantly, how did it impact your leadership, and how has that impacted the delivery of results in your role? That’s one example. For each criterion in the job description, explain clearly how and why you meet it, using specific, quantifiable examples of impact.

Be creative – and I don’t mean lie! You’re probably already a leader (remember all those opportunities you jumped at a couple of paragraphs ago?!) This could also be direct and indirect management in a previous role; taking a leadership role within a team on tasks or projects; ‘managing upwards’; or in a walk of life totally separate to your career, such as a club or sports team.

Contact the person it offers you to contact. Especially if it’s an internal role and they’re in the same organisation as you. Because why not? Even if it’s just to tell them you’re really excited about the role and planning to apply – that alone shows them your passion, confidence, and organisation.

Don’t be beaten. FE leadership job applications are long and demanding. They take time and brainpower. It is incredibly disheartening to put yourself in the necessarily passionate mindset about a prospective role, only to receive a generic one-line rejection.

Just ask for feedback, get up, and go again. It’s probably not personal. It was probably a tick box missed or a pre-determined internal candidate. To be honest, it doesn’t matter. All that matters is you go again – there are plenty of roles out there, and if FE leadership is for you, then something will come.

Keep going!

Don’t sit still. Happy in your role? Great! Now find opportunities to share the good practice that keeps you happy with your peers internally and externally. Ready to progress internally? Make yourself seen, put it in your PDR, and make sure your seniors are aware. Ready to progress but tired of waiting internally, sidestep – your expertise may be the perfect fit elsewhere.

Last but not least, REMEMBER. THOSE. VALUES. It doesn’t matter whether you’re applying as a Course Leader, HR Manager, Director of Finance, or as Chief Executive; you can expect every job description to demand a student-centred approach, and so they should. In turn, you can expect every recruitment process to scrutinise this aspect of your commitment to the role, and so they should.

If that’s you (and authentically, truthfully so), then what are you waiting for?! As the FE sector is most definitely waiting for you.

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