Design Lead (English Mastery Secondary)

Due to an internal promotion, this exciting Design Lead role is opening up in the English Mastery Secondary team. The Design Lead (English Mastery Secondary) will work closely with the Head of Subject and the wider design and programmes team, the Design Lead plays a significant role in implementing best practice, content creation and content management within the English Mastery Secondary programme.

The Design Lead is responsible for implementing best practice and the programme educational vision in new developments in the English Mastery Secondary subject excellence programme.  They understand classroom best practice, how the programmes are used in Ark and partner schools, any gaps or needs, and they contribute to the development of the concept, create and review the resources and create new developments across the components of the programmes. 

Through ensuring the consistent high quality of the English Mastery Secondary programme, the Design Lead plays a key role in both its impact and reach.

The Design Lead (English Mastery Secondary) will report into Head of Product. This role is currently operating hybrid working in our West London Office on a two year fixed term basis working full time.

Interviews will be arranged as suitable candidates are identified, so early application is strongly advised.

Key Responsibilities:

• Work closely with the Head of Product, Head of Subject, the design team and the programmes team to implement programme strategies that contribute to the overall organisational mission, strategy and sustainability
• Understand the vision for subject excellence underpinning the programme and ensure best practice and Ark School educational initiatives are implemented in new developments so that the programmes continue to drive subject excellence
• Keep abreast of sector and subject developments, legislative changes, research findings and innovative practice and use this to inform the creation and quality assurance of new programme developments as appropriate
• Participate in the continual improvement mechanisms established with Ark Schools and our wider partnership of schools
• Input into implementation plans for new developments, monitoring progress, problem-solving, and mitigating risks to ensure releases are on time, within scope and budget and to a high quality
• Work in an agile way, testing and gaining customer input and failing fast, with the aim of ensuring developments meet school needs and have a positive impact
• Create content across all subject excellence programme components, including curriculum, and as needed, across assessment and CPD
• Update and improve content based on school feedback and assessment analysis
• Conduct or shadow school visits, interviews and other feedback mechanisms to observe and understand the use of the programmes in schools and any gaps or needs to help inform programme developments. Add any ideas for future developments to the programme pipeline
• Conduct or shadow school visits, interviews and other feedback mechanisms to observe and understand the use of the programmes in schools and any gaps or needs to help inform programme developments. Add any ideas for future developments to the programme pipeline

Key Requirements:

• Educated to degree level
• Qualified to teach in the UK and qualified to degree level
• Subject specific qualification/further study desirable
• Right to work in the UK
• Understanding of the education landscape and issues affecting education
• At least three years’ teaching experience across at least two key stages
• A proven record in delivering outstanding achievement in English, particularly for pupils with low prior attainment in challenging urban schools
• Up-to-date knowledge and use of the current curriculum and assessment requirements and best practice in implementation and delivery of professional development
• Experience of planning and designing English curriculum and assessment materials
• Familiarity with Microsoft Office, including Outlook, Teams, PowerPoint, Excel and Word
• A strong and proactive communicator with a collaborative working style
• Team worker, with demonstrated ability to work cross-functionally
• Willingness to follow a brief meticulously and to respond constructively to feedback
• Highly organised, and able to work to deadlines  
• Good influencing skills, with track record of building strong relationships 
• Record of successfully leading change in a school context 
• Track record of providing professional development to teachers, including coaching, mentoring and training 

• Our hybrid working model aims to offer the best of both worlds, striking the right balance between in-person collaboration and remote working. You will work a minimum of two days per week in our state-of-the-art office in West London allowing you to connect with colleagues, with the flexibility to work remotely, or in the office over the remaining days
• In addition to our current hybrid working arrangements, employees can request to work fully remotely for up to 10 working days a year, whether this be in the UK or abroad
• Our flexitime policy allows you to work your hours around our core hours of 10.00 - 16.00, helping you prioritise your work-life balance and personal commitments
• 27 days annual leave plus bank holidays, rising with each year of service up to 30 days after 3-years’ service. This entitlement is pro rata for part time employees. This entitlement excludes bank holidays
• Full office closure between Christmas and New Year
• Regular social events, monthly free breakfast, and daily fruit
• As an Ark employee, you will have the opportunity to be part of the TPT (The Pension Trust) scheme, our workplace pension scheme where we make an 11% contribution; you are not required to contribute towards this scheme unless you choose to
• Access to high-quality professional learning throughout your career, offering both face-to-face sessions and a bespoke online learning platform
• Access to Ark Rewards scheme offering savings from over 3,000 major retailers, interest-free loans available for season tickets or a bike, gym discounts offering up to 40% off your local gym and free eye tests

Ark Curriculum Plus is a not-for-profit education venture set up by the Ark Multi Academy Trust to improve subject outcomes, initially in the Ark network. We’ve now been going for over ten years, using what we learn in Ark to support over 1,000 schools nationally. Our mission is to empower teachers to give every young person, regardless of their background, the subject knowledge and skills that will allow them to succeed.

We now have subject excellence programmes in English, Maths, Science and Geography, at primary and secondary. A team of subject experts work with partner schools to empower teachers to achieve subject excellence using an ambitious curriculum combined with CPD, teaching and assessment resources.

Our programmes, including Mathematics Mastery and English Mastery, have been shown to have measurable impact in evaluations by the EEF, FFT and The Brilliant Club. The DfE is currently providing up to 80% subsidy to eligible schools to promote take-up of our Mathematics Mastery programme at primary.