Non-Executive Director X 3

Inspire Partnership

Inspire Partnership in Greenwich and Medway seeks three non-executive directors with legal, HR and Estate expertise. The trust has developed a history of delivering transformational change in some of the most challenged communities by developing an innovative approach to school improvement thorough partnership and collaboration.  We have a global curriculum which connects knowledge with application, reasoning and critical thinking that enable our pupils to make a difference in an increasingly complex world. Board meetings are held in Foxfield Primary School, London SE18 7EX in the early evening.

About the trust

The Inspire Partnership became a multi-academy trust in 2017 and is formed of five primary schools serving communities in Greenwich and Medway. The trust is led by passionate senior leaders and supported by a small central team. Our aim is to transform the lives of children and we believe the best way to achieve this is through relationships and collaboration. We celebrate the diversity and uniqueness of our schools but believe together, we are stronger. Our staff and children place no limits on learning, and our schools are inspiring places to learn!

The schools within the trust are Elaine Primary Rochester, 326 pupils; Foxfield Primary Woolwich, 617 pupils; Maundene Primary Chatham, 402 pupils; Rockcliffe Manor Plumstead, 204 pupils and Woodhill Primary Woolwich, 550 pupils.

Plans for the future

The key challenges for the board over the next 12-24 months are:

1. Strengthen our governance structures, ensuring we have dynamic and responsible governance in place across our schools and at trust level.
2. Consolidate good leadership and operational practice across all our schools to achieve consistently high levels of pupil and staff achievement across our partnership.
3. Put an ambitious and sustainable strategy in place to support future growth

Trust ethos & values

Our vision is to transform the future for our children through partnership and collaboration. Placing children at the centre of all we do, we aim to create a climate where excellence flourishes as a result of outstanding leadership, engaging teaching and high-quality learning.

Role summary Number of positions advertised:

3

Roles 1-3 – Trustee/Non-Executive Director - Legal, HR and Estate Management

Trustees – or non-executive directors - are both charity trustees and company directors of the academy trust; the role is to hold to account the executive and senior leadership team. The board of trustees manages the business of the academy trust and may exercise all the powers of the trust. The trustees ensure compliance with the trust’s charitable objects and with company and charity law.

Person specification

All applicants must have excellent communication skills with energy and enthusiasm to support education of children and willingness to contribute to a team. The competencies required for this role include:

Essential (one of the following)

• Legal
• HR
• Estate management

Desirable

• Corporate Governance
• Growth Management
• Risk

Legal: Candidates will be able to assess and advise in areas of legality, risk and compliance and to ensure the organisation complies with its articles; charitable, company and employment law. In this role candidates must apply diplomacy, objectivity, integrity and impartiality when monitoring and evaluating the work and the compliance of the Trust. HR: The trust seeks an applicant with senior-level HR experience. They will have the skills and experience to advise on the trust’s existing recruitment processes, bringing their own ideas and HR expertise. Real Estate/Property: The ideal candidate for this role will have an understanding of issues regarding land, property assets and the ability to support the strategic and operational development of the property portfolio. With the trust looking to grow, experience of estates/property management across several sites is essential. Time commitment

Approx. 6 - 8 hours per month preparing for and board and committee meetings.

Location of board meetings and trust website

Board meetings are held in Foxfield Primary School, London SE18 7EX in the early evening (18.00-20.00).

https://www.inspirepartnership.co.uk

Governance structure

Please see: https://www.inspirepartnership.co.uk/397/key-information/category/19/governance-scheme-of-delegation

Background on academy trusts

Academy schools, which are charities run independently of local authority control, now account for 74% of secondary schools and 31% of primaries – and their number is growing all the time.

Many of these schools are grouped together as multi-academy trusts (MATs). There are currently 775 multi academy trusts of 3+ schools. If the schools are to fulfil their potential, the trusts need non-executives (known in charity law as trustees) to bring a wide range of skills and experience to help guide strategy, ensure their ambitions can be soundly financed and keep their schools up to the mark delivering for their pupils.

“Academy boards must be ambitious for all children and young people and infused with a passion for education and a commitment to continuous school improvement that enables the best possible outcomes. Governance must be grounded in reality as defined by both high-quality objective data and a full understanding of the views and needs of pupils/students, staff, parents, carers and local communities. It should be driven by inquisitive, independent minds and through conversations focused on the key strategic issues which are conducted with humility, good judgement, resilience and determination.” 
Source: Governance Handbook, Department for Education (2017)

Trusteeship is a voluntary, unpaid role for people who have the energy and skills to make a real contribution to shaping the future of our schools. You do not need to have any specialist knowledge of education. 

Applications

Academy Ambassadors is a non-profit programme which recruits senior business leaders and professionals as volunteer non-executive directors onto the boards of multi-academy trusts. If you are interested in applying for the role please send your CV and a short expression of interest detailing which role you are applying for to academyambassadors@newschoolsnetwork.org. Please note: candidates should live within reasonable travelling distance of the trust and/or have a link with the region. For more information, please call 0207 952 8556 or visit www.academyambassadors.org.

Key dates

We strongly recommend applying as early as you can to have the best possible chance of being considered as we may change the closing date if we have received sufficient applications. Applicants should be aware of the following key dates in the recruitment process –

Deadline for applications: Friday, 8^th November 2019