Job Description

Do you have the experience, skills, and ambition to strengthen the education offer and improve outcomes for children and young people in Wakefield? Do you have business and governance oversight, do you understand the training and development needs of our educators and support staff? Do you believe in accountable school governance, the importance of volunteering and the strength of the maintained schools sector?
If so, look no further this is an exciting opportunity to play a lead role in improving services and the traded offer to schools and academies in Wakefield and beyond.
As Service Manager for Wakefield Education and Governance you will be strategic lead for Wakefield Education Services working closely alongside school improvement colleagues, reporting directly to the Head of Education Strategy and Performance you will be responsible for the work of the following successful teams:

• Governor Services
• CPD and Professional Learning
• Education Traded Services

This is an exciting opportunity to be part of a wider Education and Inclusion leadership team which is committed to being flexible and adaptive to meet the needs of children and young people and their schools building upon best practice and changing educational landscapes. You will also benefit from working in a Council which has excellent educational provision and a culture of working collaboratively with our schools.
You will provide strategic leadership and professional oversight of schools and early years in Wakefield which includes being responsible for managing our successful traded services beyond the district. You will be innovative creative and forward thinking and have excellent business management and communication skills to drive forward growth and continued income generation.
To join our dedicated, creative team you will need to have up to date knowledge of the key issues and challenges in education; a thorough understanding of accountability systems including school governance, you will understand the complexities of school improvement and the value of CPD, local and regional networks and the power of cross school working and relationship building.
You will have a proven track record of leading successful, strategic change in schools and successful implementation of new initiatives demonstrating impact and next steps as well as experience of setting and monitoring budgets, delivery of training to a range of audiences and working with external stakeholders and/or multi-agency working.
Our ambition is to secure the best outcomes for our children and young people, and we recognise this is a diverse role and broad skill set, on that basis we welcome applications from candidates from a range of education/business backgrounds recognising that the successful candidate will have significant experience of working with education settings and external stakeholders.
If you are interested in this exciting opportunity, please get in touch with -
Katie Pennington, Head of Service Education Strategy and Performance Mobile 07386658501 to arrange a call or visit to discuss the role in more detail.
Job title Service Manager: Wakefield Education Services and Governance Job reference 244097 Date posted 03/10/2025 Application closing date 16/11/2025 Location Chesneys Centre, Regent St, Featherstone, Pontefract WF7 5EW Salary 69,037.00, Grade 15, 37 hours, Permanent Package Blank Contractual hours 37 Basis Full time Job category/type Full time, Permanent Attachments Job description
Do you have the experience, skills, and ambition to strengthen the education offer and improve outcomes for children and young people in Wakefield? Do you have business and governance oversight, do you understand the training and development needs of our educators and support staff? Do you believe in accountable school governance, the importance of volunteering and the strength of the maintained schools sector?
If so, look no further this is an exciting opportunity to play a lead role in improving services and the traded offer to schools and academies in Wakefield and beyond.
As Service Manager for Wakefield Education and Governance you will be strategic lead for Wakefield Education Services working closely alongside school improvement colleagues, reporting directly to the Head of Education Strategy and Performance you will be responsible for the work of the following successful teams:

• Governor Services
• CPD and Professional Learning
• Education Traded Services

This is an exciting opportunity to be part of a wider Education and Inclusion leadership team which is committed to being flexible and adaptive to meet the needs of children and young people and their schools building upon best practice and changing educational landscapes. You will also benefit from working in a Council which has excellent educational provision and a culture of working collaboratively with our schools.
You will provide strategic leadership and professional oversight of schools and early years in Wakefield which includes being responsible for managing our successful traded services beyond the district. You will be innovative creative and forward thinking and have excellent business management and communication skills to drive forward growth and continued income generation.
To join our dedicated, creative team you will need to have up to date knowledge of the key issues and challenges in education; a thorough understanding of accountability systems including school governance, you will understand the complexities of school improvement and the value of CPD, local and regional networks and the power of cross school working and relationship building.
You will have a proven track record of leading successful, strategic change in schools and successful implementation of new initiatives demonstrating impact and next steps as well as experience of setting and monitoring budgets, delivery of training to a range of audiences and working with external stakeholders and/or multi-agency working.
Our ambition is to secure the best outcomes for our children and young people, and we recognise this is a diverse role and broad skill set, on that basis we welcome applications from candidates from a range of education/business backgrounds recognising that the successful candidate will have significant experience of working with education settings and external stakeholders.
If you are interested in this exciting opportunity, please get in touch with -
Katie Pennington, Head of Service Education Strategy and Performance Mobile 07386658501 to arrange a call or visit to discuss the role in more detail.

Skills Required