Teach First

Location:                           Flexible with travel

Salary:                               £160,000

Flexible working:              Yes

Teach First was set up at the turn of the millennium to address the vast educational attainment gap between children growing up in poverty and their wealthier peers. A visionary charity with a bold mission to end educational inequality, Teach First offered new and different route into teaching that targeted young people who weren’t considering the classroom as a workplace. It tapped into their sense of injustice, a great education for all and relentless focus on high standards, Teach First set about attracting high potential graduates and placed them in schools that needed them most.

Twenty years later we work across the country. We still partner with schools that serve disadvantaged communities. Our work is fuelled by the same sense of injustice and the urgency to make sure that each child’s potential is realised. We remain as steadfast in our commitment to a fair education for all and continue to push the boundaries of excellence in schools and beyond. By 2025 we will have trained and supported 20,000 teachers, many of those are in leadership positions. Working with their peers, they are reshaping education.

Beyond the classroom, Teach First Ambassadors (our alumni community) are transforming the wider social mobility agenda. They have set up their own charities, they work across the care sector, they lead organisations that carry out research into what makes the best teachers, they are influencing government policy and making change happen from within government. Across the corporate world Teach First Ambassadors champion employment opportunities for young people. Collectively they are a powerful tool in how we will achieve our vision.

We have made a lot of progress, but the truth is in 2024 educational outcomes continue to be determined by where you go to school. At the current rate, it will take over a century until pupils who are growing up in poverty leave school with the same grades as those from wealthier homes. We are as committed to our vision as we were in 2002, but to achieve that vision the how of our work will need to change.

We are looking to appoint a Chief Executive who will continue to push the realms of what is possible for the young people we serve. Passionate about every child achieving their potential through education and visionary in your approach, you will lead Teach First through its next chapter ensuring that impact stays at the heart of what we do.

This is an exceptional opportunity for a candidate with senior executive level experience in the charitable, public or business sectors to lead a well-established and well-respected charity. You will have a demonstrable track record of strategic leadership, high levels of commercial acumen, and the ability to champion and deliver change. You will be a bold advocate for providing a fair education for all and will have a deep commitment to serving schools in disadvantaged communities. You will understand the factors that lead to social disadvantage and see education as the best means to address them. If you share the desire to work at pace to make education fair for all, we would like to hear from you.

Teach First is proud to be an equal opportunities employer and we’re committed to equity, diversity, and inclusion. We actively seek applicants from a wide range of backgrounds and can provide the support you need to thrive: we believe our differences make us stronger.

Saxton Bampfylde Ltd is acting as partner to Teach First on this appointment. For further information about the role, including details about how to apply, please visit www.saxbam.com/appointments using reference RBQTA. Alternatively telephone +44 (0)20 7227 0880 (during office hours). Applications should be received by noon on Thursday 14 November 2024.

Further information can be found here: https://saxtonbampfylde.maglr.com/teach-first-ceo-2024/home