Job Description

Salary: £76,772.00 - £88,951.00 per annum

L17 - L23 (starting salary negotiable according to experience)

Hours of work: Full-time

Contract type: Permanent

This is not a Wiltshire Council vacancy therefore please contact the Diocese of Salisbury Academy Trust for further information.

All about the role:

Following the promotion of one of our existing team to the role of Deputy CEO, we are seeking a values-led leader to join our passionate and skilled Academy Improvement Team (AIT) as a Regional Director of Education (RDE) working with our Wiltshire schools. You will play a pivotal role in leading school improvement, predominantly across a group of schools based in Wiltshire but also in others within the Trust. Working closely with the Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Headteachers, you will provide both challenge and support to ensure high standards of teaching, inclusion, leadership and pupil outcomes.

Rooted in a strong Christian vision and ethos, our Trust exists so that every child and adult in our schools can learn, grow and flourish. As RDE you will bring experience of leading school wide improvement, strategic clarity, moral purpose and practical know how to translate vision into sustained impact for pupils and staff every day.

The difference you will make

• Raise standards across schools: Lead improvement across a group of academies, securing rapid and sustained movement through the Trust Improvement Model.
• Champion evidence-informed practice: Ensure that school improvement is research-driven and rooted in strong evidence, supporting leaders to translate best practice into consistent, high-quality classroom experiences for every pupil.
• Develop confident and capable leaders: Provide high support and high challenge to Headteachers, enabling accurate self-evaluation, strategic clarity and the capacity to lead lasting improvement within and beyond their settings.
• Lead and shape professional learning: Design, deliver and champion high-quality Collaborative Professional Learning (CPL), building expertise, nurturing talent and strengthening leadership at all levels.
• Secure rigorous accountability and insight: Use sharp monitoring, evaluation and intelligent use of data to identify priorities, intervene early and ensure all schools are on a clear trajectory of improvement.
• Strengthen collaboration across the Trust: Work as part of the Academy Improvement Team to share best practice, build collective efficacy and facilitate Hub and Trust collaboration.
• Champion flourishing through our Christian ethos: Model and uphold the Trust’s distinctive Christian vision, ensuring that every school’s culture enables children and adults to learn, grow and flourish

About you

You are a highly effective school improvement leader with successful headship or significant senior leadership experience and a strong track record of securing sustained improvement, ideally across more than one school. You are skilled at providing both challenge and support—holding leaders to account while coaching them to succeed. You understand Ofsted and SIAMS frameworks (inspection experience welcome but not essential) and bring resilience, strong professional judgement and integrity. Above all, you lead with moral purpose and optimism, empowering others and modelling our values. A strong personal alignment with the Christian ethos of our Trust is essential.

You do need to be prepared to travel between schools and our office, across Wiltshire and sometimes further afield.

In return, we offer

• Opportunities for ongoing professional growth and learning (CPL)
• Staff wellbeing and benefits package
• A dedicated, caring and enthusiastic team
• A varied working environment
• A competitive salary

You are encouraged to seek an informal discussion about the role with either our Deputy CEO-designate, or our CEO, please contact Nicki Summerill on nsummerill@dsat.org.uk or 01722 548519 who will make arrangements for this.

Find out more and apply:

If you are interested in this position and would like to have a more detailed conversation before making the decision to apply for the post, please give us a call and we will be happy to help you with as much detail as possible to support this process.

When you have enough information to make your decision to apply, please complete all sections of the application form. CVs will not be accepted.

Link to apply: https://mynewterm.com/jobs/2922/EDV-2026-DSAT-88403

All applicants will be notified of the shortlisting decisions by email. References for shortlisted candidates will be requested before interviews.

Closing date (and time): 9:00am, Wed 24th June, 2026

Interview date: Wed 1st July 2026

Commencement date: 1st January 2027 (or earlier if possible)

Safeguarding Statement

The Diocese of Salisbury Academy Trust is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

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