Location
London Borough of Hackney

Hours
Full Time

Salary
£67,260 per annum

About the Role
Hackney is one of the most dynamic and progressive local authorities in the UK. We are a resilient, vibrant, and creative borough in the heart of London, with strong, diverse communities and a powerful set of shared values. Over the past twenty years, the Council has built up first-class services, outstanding public infrastructure, and a reputation for excellence, innovation, and ambition. We are leading the way on essential work such as our fight for equity in Hackney with a particular focus on becoming an actively anti-racist borough. Our proactive approach also addresses fairness across gender, neurodiversity, and the poverty divide.

Hackney Council is recognised as one of the UK’s highest-performing local authorities, serving a vibrant and dynamic community in one of London’s most desirable locations. Hackney Education is committed to being the UK’s most forward-looking education system, aiming to enhance the life chances of every learner by creating an inspiring environment that guarantees inclusion and success for everyone. We prioritise strong support for underserved families and communities, as Hackney ranks among the 10% most deprived areas in England.

The School Organisation and Place Planning Team plays a crucial role in Hackney’s education strategy, which aims to provide high-quality education for every child by developing an agile and sustainable school system. This system builds on existing collaborative models while addressing challenges such as fluctuating pupil numbers, limited resources, and the growing needs of children requiring significant support.

As the School Organisation Strategy Manager, you will lead the development and implementation of our long-term vision for school provision. You will be responsible for the strategic planning and delivery of school places, ensuring there are enough high-quality sustainable school places. This includes supporting proposals on school organisation changes and working with stakeholders to implement decisions.

This role provides strategic leadership on school organisation and place planning strategy, with direct accountability for delivering complex and politically sensitive change programmes including school closures, mergers, and asset optimisation. You will manage one team member, ensuring operational excellence, effective governance, and partnership working.

Educated to degree level, equivalent professional qualification or relevant experience, this role is not subject to a DBS requirement. Flexibility is expected to support service delivery and undertake responsibilities beyond the normal remit as required.

Experience
Significant senior-level experience in delivering complex programmes in a public sector setting, ideally involving school reorganisation or public consultation.

About you
You are a strategic leader passionate about educational excellence and organisational efficiency. You have strong communication skills, excellent rapport building, and the ability to establish and maintain positive working relationships with staff, managers, and stakeholders. You demonstrate confidence in presenting highly accurate and relevant quality data in various formats and use strategic trends, issues, and insight to provide advice and recommendations.

You have a strong understanding of public consultation, equalities legislation, and governance. You are experienced in school organisation and pupil place planning, strategic planning, and managing school re-organisation projects.

Qualifications
Educated to degree level, equivalent professional qualification, or relevant experience.