Director of Communication and Community
| Dyddiad hysbysebu: | 13 Chwefror 2026 |
|---|---|
| Cyflog: | Heb ei nodi |
| Gwybodaeth ychwanegol am y cyflog: | Leadership Scale L31 - £113,974 |
| Oriau: | Llawn Amser |
| Dyddiad cau: | 15 Mawrth 2026 |
| Lleoliad: | Sidcup, DA14 5AA |
| Cwmni: | TKAT (The Kemnal Academies Trust) |
| Math o swydd: | Parhaol |
| Cyfeirnod swydd: | 3278 |
Crynodeb
Job Advert
About Us
Kemnal is a trust with ambition for every child and deep roots in the communities we serve. At our scale, communication is about
trust, coherence and belonging. How we listen, speak and show up shapes whether families choose our schools, colleagues feel
connected and communities see us as a force for opportunity.
We are one of largest Multi Academy Trusts in the UK with over 3500 colleagues working together to serve over 22,000 children and
young people across our 45 school communities.
The Role
The Director of Communications and Community is a newly created senior leadership role, reporting directly to the Chief Executive
Officer, established to shape how the Trust is understood, trusted and chosen as we enter the next phase of our development.
The role leads brand, marketing and communications, pupil recruitment, community engagement, fundraising and internal
communications, applying modern, evidence-led communications practice to a trust of dispersed and diverse schools.
Working alongside senior leaders, the role brings communications discipline and expertise to strengthen internal connection,
external credibility and community trust in support of improved outcomes for pupils.
For full details about this job, including the person specification please download the attached candidate pack (available via the
link on the right hand side of the page).
What You Will Lead
Strategic Communications, Insight and Reputation: Lead the Trust’s strategic communications, marketing and engagement to advance
priorities, steward reputation and brand, shape public affairs and media relations, and use insight-led, behaviour-change
approaches to deliver clarity and impact through major organisational and system change.
Parental Choice and Pupil Recruitment: Lead the Trust-wide pupil recruitment and parental communications strategy, providing clear
frameworks and high-quality assets to support schools to increase first-choice applications and pupil numbers, informed by
continuous evaluation and improvement.
Kemnal Communities: Lead the Kemnal Communities pathway to strengthen relationships with families and local communities,
positioning schools as trusted anchor institutions and providing clear, effective communications to support strong local
governance engagement.
Kemnal Foundation: Establish the Kemnal Foundation to break down barriers to learning, shaping a coherent portfolio of
initiatives aligned to trust and school priorities, securing sustainable fundraising, and evidencing impact through robust
evaluation.
Internal Communication and Workforce Connection: Lead the Trust’s internal communications strategy, creating modern, two-way
channels that keep colleagues informed, aligned and engaged while strengthening connection, dialogue and trust across the
organisation.
Senior Leadership Voice: Act as professional lead for senior leadership voice and external presence, strengthening the credibility
and confidence of senior leaders, building communications capability across the senior workforce, and promoting the Trust’s
employer brand to attract talent from across the education sector.
The Leadership Profile We Are Looking For
Essential
* Senior leadership experience (five years +) in organisation-wide marketing, communications and engagement within complex,
publicly visible organisations.
* Proven experience as a trusted strategic adviser to executive or board-level leaders on reputation and narrative.
* Demonstrable expertise in insight and data-led, behaviour-change and transformational communications, including evaluation of
impact.
* Experience leading integrated communications delivery across internal, external, digital, brand and campaign activity, including
major programmes or change.
* Demonstrates prudent and good value use of scarce resources.
Desirable
* Degree or professional qualification in communications, marketing or public relations, and/or senior professional membership
(e.g. CIPR Chartered/Fellow, PRCA, CIM, IoIC or equivalent).
* Experience leading major national or high-profile communications campaigns, particularly brand, reputation or public-facing PR
activity.
* Track record of building and stewarding brands in environments subject to public scrutiny.
* Experience operating in high-profile contexts, where public perception and credibility are critical.
What Kemnal Offers You
* Generous Pension Scheme: Secure your future with substantial employer contributions toward your long-term financial wellbeing.
* 26 days annual leave plus bank holidays. Rising to 31 days + bank holidays after 5 years service.
* 2 discretionary wellbeing days per year.
* A well being app that supports exercise, mindfulness, and everyday healthy practices.
* Retail and Lifestyle Discount Scheme offering savings both online and in store, supporting everyday living costs, and beyond.
* Cycle To Work Scheme, supporting affordable access to bikes and promoting active, sustainable travel.
* Family Friendly Leave Policies, helping colleagues balance professional commitments with caring responsibilities at different
life stages.
* Eight-Week Mindfulness Programme, expert-led mindfulness course to support and develop mental resilience.
* Counselling Support, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year for colleagues and their eligible immediate family members.
* Tailored continued professional development, to support your in role and /or career progression ambitions.
How to apply
If you are a senior communications leader who wants to move beyond campaigns and channels, and instead shape how a large, complex
organisation is understood, trusted and chosen, this role offers rare scope and responsibility.
If you want your work to matter, to families, communities and colleagues, we would welcome your application.
Next Steps
1. Download the candidate pack and review the full job profile.
2. Complete our online application including a personal statement explaining how you meet the Leadership Profile.
3. Save the interview dates (in the candidate pack).
Safeguarding
We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and expect all staff and volunteers to share this
commitment. Offers of employment will be subject to the full safer recruitment process, including an enhanced disclosure and
barring service check.
Flexible working
We recognise the value of enabling our employees to develop their career and balance this with their commitments and interests
outside of work. We promote flexible working practices and opportunities to promote a positive work life balance.
Our Commitment - Equity, Inclusion, Diversity and Belonging
At Kemnal, we are committed to Equity, Inclusion, Diversity, and Belonging. We embrace and celebrate differences, value individual
experiences, aspirations, and achievements, and continuously learn how to grow better together. We actively encourage applications
from candidates of all backgrounds, as we believe diversity strengthens our community and drives us forward.
Access to interview
Be Who You Are at Kemnal - should you be selected and invited to interview please let us know if you require us to adapt the
recruitment process to enable you to participate as your authentic self. We want applicants to be able to engage with us in ways
that support who they are and we are committed to making adjustments within the recruitment process and within the workplace.
About Us
Kemnal is a trust with ambition for every child and deep roots in the communities we serve. At our scale, communication is about
trust, coherence and belonging. How we listen, speak and show up shapes whether families choose our schools, colleagues feel
connected and communities see us as a force for opportunity.
We are one of largest Multi Academy Trusts in the UK with over 3500 colleagues working together to serve over 22,000 children and
young people across our 45 school communities.
The Role
The Director of Communications and Community is a newly created senior leadership role, reporting directly to the Chief Executive
Officer, established to shape how the Trust is understood, trusted and chosen as we enter the next phase of our development.
The role leads brand, marketing and communications, pupil recruitment, community engagement, fundraising and internal
communications, applying modern, evidence-led communications practice to a trust of dispersed and diverse schools.
Working alongside senior leaders, the role brings communications discipline and expertise to strengthen internal connection,
external credibility and community trust in support of improved outcomes for pupils.
For full details about this job, including the person specification please download the attached candidate pack (available via the
link on the right hand side of the page).
What You Will Lead
Strategic Communications, Insight and Reputation: Lead the Trust’s strategic communications, marketing and engagement to advance
priorities, steward reputation and brand, shape public affairs and media relations, and use insight-led, behaviour-change
approaches to deliver clarity and impact through major organisational and system change.
Parental Choice and Pupil Recruitment: Lead the Trust-wide pupil recruitment and parental communications strategy, providing clear
frameworks and high-quality assets to support schools to increase first-choice applications and pupil numbers, informed by
continuous evaluation and improvement.
Kemnal Communities: Lead the Kemnal Communities pathway to strengthen relationships with families and local communities,
positioning schools as trusted anchor institutions and providing clear, effective communications to support strong local
governance engagement.
Kemnal Foundation: Establish the Kemnal Foundation to break down barriers to learning, shaping a coherent portfolio of
initiatives aligned to trust and school priorities, securing sustainable fundraising, and evidencing impact through robust
evaluation.
Internal Communication and Workforce Connection: Lead the Trust’s internal communications strategy, creating modern, two-way
channels that keep colleagues informed, aligned and engaged while strengthening connection, dialogue and trust across the
organisation.
Senior Leadership Voice: Act as professional lead for senior leadership voice and external presence, strengthening the credibility
and confidence of senior leaders, building communications capability across the senior workforce, and promoting the Trust’s
employer brand to attract talent from across the education sector.
The Leadership Profile We Are Looking For
Essential
* Senior leadership experience (five years +) in organisation-wide marketing, communications and engagement within complex,
publicly visible organisations.
* Proven experience as a trusted strategic adviser to executive or board-level leaders on reputation and narrative.
* Demonstrable expertise in insight and data-led, behaviour-change and transformational communications, including evaluation of
impact.
* Experience leading integrated communications delivery across internal, external, digital, brand and campaign activity, including
major programmes or change.
* Demonstrates prudent and good value use of scarce resources.
Desirable
* Degree or professional qualification in communications, marketing or public relations, and/or senior professional membership
(e.g. CIPR Chartered/Fellow, PRCA, CIM, IoIC or equivalent).
* Experience leading major national or high-profile communications campaigns, particularly brand, reputation or public-facing PR
activity.
* Track record of building and stewarding brands in environments subject to public scrutiny.
* Experience operating in high-profile contexts, where public perception and credibility are critical.
What Kemnal Offers You
* Generous Pension Scheme: Secure your future with substantial employer contributions toward your long-term financial wellbeing.
* 26 days annual leave plus bank holidays. Rising to 31 days + bank holidays after 5 years service.
* 2 discretionary wellbeing days per year.
* A well being app that supports exercise, mindfulness, and everyday healthy practices.
* Retail and Lifestyle Discount Scheme offering savings both online and in store, supporting everyday living costs, and beyond.
* Cycle To Work Scheme, supporting affordable access to bikes and promoting active, sustainable travel.
* Family Friendly Leave Policies, helping colleagues balance professional commitments with caring responsibilities at different
life stages.
* Eight-Week Mindfulness Programme, expert-led mindfulness course to support and develop mental resilience.
* Counselling Support, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year for colleagues and their eligible immediate family members.
* Tailored continued professional development, to support your in role and /or career progression ambitions.
How to apply
If you are a senior communications leader who wants to move beyond campaigns and channels, and instead shape how a large, complex
organisation is understood, trusted and chosen, this role offers rare scope and responsibility.
If you want your work to matter, to families, communities and colleagues, we would welcome your application.
Next Steps
1. Download the candidate pack and review the full job profile.
2. Complete our online application including a personal statement explaining how you meet the Leadership Profile.
3. Save the interview dates (in the candidate pack).
Safeguarding
We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and expect all staff and volunteers to share this
commitment. Offers of employment will be subject to the full safer recruitment process, including an enhanced disclosure and
barring service check.
Flexible working
We recognise the value of enabling our employees to develop their career and balance this with their commitments and interests
outside of work. We promote flexible working practices and opportunities to promote a positive work life balance.
Our Commitment - Equity, Inclusion, Diversity and Belonging
At Kemnal, we are committed to Equity, Inclusion, Diversity, and Belonging. We embrace and celebrate differences, value individual
experiences, aspirations, and achievements, and continuously learn how to grow better together. We actively encourage applications
from candidates of all backgrounds, as we believe diversity strengthens our community and drives us forward.
Access to interview
Be Who You Are at Kemnal - should you be selected and invited to interview please let us know if you require us to adapt the
recruitment process to enable you to participate as your authentic self. We want applicants to be able to engage with us in ways
that support who they are and we are committed to making adjustments within the recruitment process and within the workplace.
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Hyderus o ran Anabledd
Gwybodaeth am Hyderus o ran Anabledd
Yn gyffredinol, bydd cyflogwr Hyderus o ran Anabledd yn cynnig cyfweliad i unrhyw ymgeisydd sy'n datgan eu bod yn anabl ac yn bodloni'r meini prawf lleiaf ar gyfer y swydd fel y diffinnir gan y cyflogwr. Mae'n bwysig nodi, mewn rhai sefyllfaoedd recriwtio fel nifer fawr o ymgeiswyr, cyfnod tymhorol ac amseroedd prysur iawn, efallai y bydd y cyflogwr am gyfyngu ar y niferoedd cyffredinol o gyfweliadau a gynigir i bobl anabl a phobl nad ydynt yn anabl. Am fwy o fanylion ewch i Hyderus o ran Anabledd.