EdCity Transformation Lead

We are looking for a Transformation Lead to join the team at Ark as it embeds EdCity as its permanent home and extends its approach to community organising across its London network of schools. The Transformation Lead will work with local communities to support the use of the EdCity public space as well as to develop campaigns related to families, children and young people in the local area.

The role will initially work across the West London area but could expand to our schools across London.  Primary responsibilities will include institutional development; finding and developing new parent leaders; delivering training; developing core teams in our schools and partner organisations; and supporting parent leaders to take action on issues of shared concern. 

With your passion, energy, and commitment to social justice, you will support Ark to ensure that EdCity meets the aspirations of its local community and support the school leadership teams to empower parents and staff to break down barriers to children’s wellbeing and learning within the local community.

Our Transformation Lead will be a practitioner of the craft of broad-based community organising methodology, focusing on the building of relational power, the development of leaders, the strengthening of our institutions, and leading actions to achieve social change.

In West London, the community organiser will also have a complex range of senior stakeholders to work with internally including: headteachers and senior staff, governors, trustees, our senior team and local politicians. They will also have to build close relationships with other local charities and civil society organisations.

The Transformation Lead will report into Director of Projects.

1^st round interviews will taking place in person on Thursday 26^th June and Friday 27^th June at with 2^nd round interviews taking place in person on Thursday 3^rd July.

Key Responsibilities:

• Working with schools to support a cycle of research, action and evaluation
• Building relationships and supporting strategic partnerships with local partner organisations including the local authority, local politicians, local charities
• Working with a complex group of stakeholders including school and third sector leaders, parents, governors, local leaders and the Ark senior team
• Identifying and developing leaders and potential leaders with the passion and drive to achieve change
• Building relationships within and beyond Ark to develop a deep understanding of the concerns and barriers to children’s wellbeing and learning within the local community
• Developing and growing a network of local influencers, including journalists; taking the initiative to establish new relationships as required
• Take the staff lead on major actions and campaigns at a local level; aiming to achieve multiple large local wins
• Develop strategies for significant local impact; with comprehensive plans and tactics
• Evaluate the effectiveness of actions; demonstrating ability to incorporate lessons learned into future actions
• Work closely with the project team responding flexibly as requirements and timelines change

Key Requirements:

• Right to work in the UK
• A Bachelor or Master’s degree in social work, sociology or social sciences
• Experience of building networks or community organising
• Experience of working with groups or volunteers
• Self-motivated, independent and responsible yet also able to work as part of a wider team driving towards an overarching goal
• Excellent communication skills and able to communicate with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders
• Resilient, able to remain motivated in the face of setbacks or changes to plans

• 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
• 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 is an education charity that exists to make sure that all children, regardless of their background, have access to a great education and real choices in life. Our network of 39 schools reaches traditionally underserved communities in Birmingham, Hastings, London and Portsmouth. We educate 30,000 pupils and have nearly 3,000 teaching staff across our network. We also incubate and scale innovative ventures, which we roll out beyond our network of schools for the benefit of teachers, pupils and the education system as a whole. Current Ventures include Ark Curriculum Plus, which equips teachers with the subject expertise needed to ensure students succeed, and Ark Start, a growing chain of nurseries offering affordable, high-quality early years education.

Recently, Ark moved to new offices at EdCity – a unique not-for-profit development in West London, in partnership with Hammersmith & Fulham council. EdCity is designed to bring mission-aligned organisations together to focus on improving the lives of children, especially through education. It offers leased offices, a range of venues for training and events, and an innovation hub for the education sector to connect, collaborate and learn together.