Waltham Forest College is one of the most successful education and skills providers in the country, as evidenced in the Outstanding Ofsted grade that it was awarded in March 2024. Embedded as an impactful anchor institution in the local area, the college has an income of around £32m, a broad offer and a focus on outstanding teaching, learning and support.  

Our ongoing journey of growth and transformation over the last few years has brought about impressive successes in our outcomes and an aspirational culture with a passionate, committed workforce. Our financial health is also rated as Outstanding, we have delivered significant year on year growth in income and we have exciting capital projects underway to further enhance our innovative facilities. Recent developments have included accreditation as a World Skills UK Centre of Excellence and achieving the Mayor of London’s quality kitemark for six key areas.    

We are seeking a new Head of Department for our high achieving Automotive and Engineering provision, which offers a broad range of programmes and excellent industry progression opportunities for around 400 students. The post holder will provide strategic direction and develop our talented workforce, while championing aspiration and consistently high standards. Key to success will be reshaping the curriculum to ensure it meets evolving labour market priorities, encompasses innovation and provides an excellent student experience, as well as further establishing valuable relationships with employers and other external partners.

Our successful candidate will have a robust track record of FE management, with experience of leading teams to deliver consistently high outcomes. Strong leadership skills, with the ability to get the best out of your teams, are also of paramount importance.  We are not stipulating experience of engineering provision; we are flexible to consider leaders from all curriculum areas as long as they are driven to delivering excellence and committed to embedding an inclusive, aspirational environment.

View the Staff Benefits here.

There may be a possibility that we close the role prior to the close date and hold interviews early should the need arise.