Person Specification

Post:

Head of Operations, Employer-led, Employability and Commercial

Qualifications:

Educated to at least degree level or equivalent
A post-graduate qualification in an education and/or management related subject is desirable

Part One - Experience:

Experience of developing and delivering apprenticeship frameworks to meet timely and success rate targets
Experience and understanding of the future needs of employers and designing training solutions in line with the Government priorities.
Commercial acumen with a proven ability to sell, design and deliver bespoke training solutions to employers.
Experience of developing robust business plans and of delivering challenging income targets.
Experience and a proven track record in the management of training provision to meet the needs of the employed and unemployed workforce.
Experience of working with JCP; NAS; PRIMES and other key stakeholders who support the employability and apprenticeship agenda.
Experience of managing European Social Fund contracts
Experience in managing and motivating staff.
Experience of successfully managing change.
Proven track record of strong performance management of financial targets and KPIs.
Experience in managing and controlling budgets.
Effective action planning and project management skills and experience in managing and delivering in a context of measurable outcomes.
Experience of increasing success rates, improving retention, achievement and progression to meet Ofsted requirements.
Experience of developing recruitment strategies to increasing learner numbers including apprenticeships and through use of partners

Part Two - Skills & Abilities

Good leadership and management skills, people focussed with the ability to lead and motivate managers and staff deployed in the college, the community, and with employers
Evidence of the ability to work effectively as team leader and achieving increased collaboration.
Evidence of working within and developing a high performance culture.
An enterprising and entrepreneurial outlook and track-record of exploiting business opportunities
Effective decision maker able to prioritise, delegate effectively and utilise the skills of others appropriately.
An ability to relate and interact constructively with employers and external agencies.
Effective communication skills, written, oral and presentational; able to communicate in ways appropriate to the audience
Well-developed analytical skills with the ability to identify trends and determine, from both hard and soft information, action required;
The ability to plan and monitor one’s own workload and that of the team to ensure that deadlines are met.
Evidence of the ability to be creative, to challenge ideas and to form practical delivery strategies in an imperfect operating context.
An effective negotiator.

Knowledge & Understanding:

An excellent understanding of apprenticeships and their delivery.
An excellent understanding of the needs of employers both in terms of programme content and design and delivery methods.
An excellent understanding of the employability market and the development of relevant training solutions and strong partnerships
An excellent understanding of the requirements of Vocational learning and the markets it delivers to and supports.
An understanding of the national priorities for further education and in areas relevant to the area.
An understanding of the approach and role of community groups, local authorities and others in enhancing the skills and employability of adults including the needs of people from disadvantaged groups, employed and unemployed.
An understanding of funding methods and national and governmental educational developments, particularly for adult groups
An understanding of European Social Fund funding models and methodologies
An understanding of what is required to deliver excellence for adult learners and to maximise the likelihood of success for learners, including understanding the barriers to learning and how these can be overcome;
An understanding of different measures of productivity, performance and quality and their application in different settings.
Able to demonstrate a strong commitment to equal opportunities
An understanding of probity and governance within publicly funded organisations.

Personal Attributes

A pro-active "can do" approach, challenging, tough minded and resilient, reliable and dedicated, honest with personal integrity, flexible and adaptable to change, politically sensitive, collaborative, able to meet deadlines and work under pressure.