Are you an experienced school leader, passionate about inclusion, belonging and relational practice, with the ambition to influence change at a system‑wide level?

As part of Peterborough's wider Family Valued agenda, Peterborough City Council is seeking an exceptional leader to lead the pilot year of the Leadership for Belonging programme. This is a senior, strategic role, responsible for shaping, embedding and sustaining a whole-system approach that enables school leaders to build inclusive, relational cultures in which all children and young people can thrive.

About Leadership for Belonging

Leadership for Belonging is a whole-system, values-driven leadership development programme to enable schools to design and embed cultures where the whole community is responsible and responsive; inclusion and equity are explicit; relationships are prioritised; behaviour is understood as communication; and children feel accepted, respected, valued and safe.

In the pilot year, 26 schools will participate in the programme. These schools will participate in a multi-day leadership development programme, consultancy support and have access to a comprehensive suite of training and implementation resources.

To find out more about the programme, visit the website: Leadership for Belonging  

The Role

As Leadership for Belonging Project Lead, you will provide strategic leadership and oversight of the programme, ensuring fidelity to its values and alignment with national and local priorities. You will also ensure the programme is scalable, sustainable and credible beyond its pilot year.

You will act as a trusted senior partner to headteachers and trust leaders, offering both support and constructive challenge to drive cultural and systemic change ensuring sustainable and impactful whole-school practice.

Key responsibilities include:

• Providing strategic direction and vision for Leadership for Belonging as a system-wide programme
• Leading programme design, quality assurance, impact evaluation and continuous improvement
• Influencing senior leaders across schools and multi-academy trusts to drive sustained cultural change
• Overseeing the development and use of evidence-informed training and implementation resources
• Leading sustainability planning, resource management and future funding proposals
• Reporting progress, impact and risk to senior leaders and governance forums

About You

You will be an experienced senior leader with a strong track record in education, bringing the credibility, confidence and professional judgement to influence headteachers, trust leaders, council services and wider partners. You will combine this with a strong understanding of inclusive, relational practice and a proven ability to design and deliver programmes that drive sustainable culture change. You will also be skilled at building effective partnerships across the system and using evidence and impact data to strengthen delivery.

Applications

This role is being offered as a 1 year fixed-term post or a secondment opportunity.

Applications are reviewed daily, so please do not delay the submission of your application. This is a rolling advert and will therefore be closed once a successful candidate has been found. 

Final closing date for applications: 17.05.26    Interviews: Anticipated to be held week commencing 18.05.26 

For further information or to arrange an informal conversation regarding the role, please contact: nichola.phillips@peterborough.gov.uk

All about our Benefits 
We value our colleagues and have developed a number of benefits in addition to our generous annual leave starting at 25 days + bank holidays, sick pay and local government pension scheme… 

• Access to a range of benefits via our Employee Benefits Platform, including in-store and online discounts as well as our Cycle to Work and Home & Electronics schemes 
• Buy up to 10 days additional annual leave (pro-rata)  
• Access to car lease scheme 
• Take your bank holidays flexibly to better suit your personal circumstances 
• Make Additional Voluntary Contributions (Shared Cost AVCs) to your pension with tax and National Insurance savings 
• Access to development opportunities including apprenticeships to support your personal and professional growth 
• Paid volunteering hours each year so you can make a positive impact on our community during your normal working day 
• Access to our equality, diversity and inclusion network 
• Opportunities to receive Employee Recognition Awards 

All about our Commitments 
We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer, dedicated to fostering diversity, advancing equity, and building an inclusive workplace for everyone. We welcome applications from individuals of all backgrounds and particularly encourage those from underrepresented groups, including disabled people, care leavers, and individuals from minority ethnic communities. Your unique perspectives and experiences are encouraged and valued and will play a vital role in our success. 

We are committed to making our recruitment process as accessible as possible. If you are disabled and require any reasonable adjustments during the application or interview process, please contact pccrecruitment@peterborough.gov.uk  we will work with you to meet your needs. 

Appointment to this post will be subject to the outcome of an Enhanced Disclosure obtained through the Disclosure and Barring Service. The Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

If you've already applied and completed the recruitment process for this position within the last three months, there's no need to reapply. We really appreciate your interest and thank you for considering us.