Head of Education, Skills and WorK
| Posting date: | 27 August 2025 |
|---|---|
| Salary: | Not specified |
| Additional salary information: | £55000-60000 per annum |
| Hours: | Full time |
| Closing date: | 10 September 2025 |
| Location: | London, SE28 0FJ |
| Company: | Serco Limited |
| Job type: | Permanent |
| Job reference: | 304293-43614058 |
Summary
Serco Limited
We're recruiting for an Education Leader to join our fantastic team at HMP Thameside, a Category B establishment for adult males, with safety and security at the heart of it.
As our Head of Education, Skills and Work, you will support the prison to become a place of meaningful work with a key focus on leading Education, Skills and Work, along with the accountability of purposeful activity across the regime. You will provide a strategic focus, whilst supporting the Learning and Skills Manager ensuring that sequencing of activities is purposeful and directed towards maximising prisoners’ opportunities to access employment, education, and training on release.
You must have substantial Post 16 education teaching experience and curriculum development and hold relevant teaching qualifications. Your OFSTED knowledge will include Estyn’s EIF (Education Inspection Framework), further education and skills criteria for prisoners with Additional Learning Needs and how these apply in the prison context.
As a strategic lead, you will be responsible for creating a prisoner education service focused on work based training and personal development pathways and you will be accountable for the proportion of prisoners in employment 6 weeks post release.
Other accountabilities will include:
- Ensuring the prison has an effective working relationship with the New Futures Network broker for the region/prison group.
- Creating effective sector
- based training opportunities and recruitment pipelines in relationship with the New Futures Network and suitable employment partners.
- Developing and supporting a Quality Improvement group with employment focused agencies, including the Prison Employment Lead, IAG services, DWP Prison Work Coaches, the education provider, and other non-statutory agencies such as charities and social enterprises.
What you’ll need to do the role
Firstly, your qualifications will align to the role
- Relevant Degree in Education, PGCE, Cert Ed or Level 5 Teaching Qualification, QTS or QTLS Status.
You will be a confident professional leader with the passion and drive to support our prisoners and you will have experience of working collaboratively with senior leaders, stakeholders and students.
Finally, you must have experience of operating in a specialist neurodiversity role.
We're recruiting for an Education Leader to join our fantastic team at HMP Thameside, a Category B establishment for adult males, with safety and security at the heart of it.
As our Head of Education, Skills and Work, you will support the prison to become a place of meaningful work with a key focus on leading Education, Skills and Work, along with the accountability of purposeful activity across the regime. You will provide a strategic focus, whilst supporting the Learning and Skills Manager ensuring that sequencing of activities is purposeful and directed towards maximising prisoners’ opportunities to access employment, education, and training on release.
You must have substantial Post 16 education teaching experience and curriculum development and hold relevant teaching qualifications. Your OFSTED knowledge will include Estyn’s EIF (Education Inspection Framework), further education and skills criteria for prisoners with Additional Learning Needs and how these apply in the prison context.
As a strategic lead, you will be responsible for creating a prisoner education service focused on work based training and personal development pathways and you will be accountable for the proportion of prisoners in employment 6 weeks post release.
Other accountabilities will include:
- Ensuring the prison has an effective working relationship with the New Futures Network broker for the region/prison group.
- Creating effective sector
- based training opportunities and recruitment pipelines in relationship with the New Futures Network and suitable employment partners.
- Developing and supporting a Quality Improvement group with employment focused agencies, including the Prison Employment Lead, IAG services, DWP Prison Work Coaches, the education provider, and other non-statutory agencies such as charities and social enterprises.
What you’ll need to do the role
Firstly, your qualifications will align to the role
- Relevant Degree in Education, PGCE, Cert Ed or Level 5 Teaching Qualification, QTS or QTLS Status.
You will be a confident professional leader with the passion and drive to support our prisoners and you will have experience of working collaboratively with senior leaders, stakeholders and students.
Finally, you must have experience of operating in a specialist neurodiversity role.
Proud member of the Disability Confident employer scheme
Disability Confident
About Disability Confident
A Disability Confident employer will generally offer an interview to any applicant that declares they have a disability and meets the minimum criteria for the job as defined by the employer. It is important to note that in certain recruitment situations such as high-volume, seasonal and high-peak times, the employer may wish to limit the overall numbers of interviews offered to both disabled people and non-disabled people. For more details please go to Disability Confident.