Vacancy -- Three Members - National Academy for Education and Leadership Wales

Vacancy details

National Academy for Educational Leadership
Currently virtually via MS Teams or anywhere in Wales
£80 per day [plus travel and other reasonable 
expenses within reasonable limits].
1
month

Function of body

The National Academy for Educational Leadership is still a relatively young 
organisation and, under the leadership of the CEO, Mrs Tegwen Ellis, has boldly faced 
the challenges presented during the Covid-19 crisis through adaptable, dynamic vision, 
passion and commitment. We are a small organisation which prides itself on working 
collaboratively with stakeholders, alongside other bodies across the middle tier, and 
with leaders in the system. Our Associate model ensures that we maintain a current 
and in-depth overview of the needs of leaders in the education system across Wales 
and enables us to identify any potential gaps in knowledge and provision for those 
leaders. 


Despite the global pandemic, this remains an exciting time for education in Wales. The 
transformation of the curriculum brings its own challenges for leaders, and we are 
committed to maintain an aspirational and highly ambitious focus to fully support the 
changes this transformation brings. As an enabling body, one of the key features of 
our role is to ensure equity of access to high-quality leadership development. We 
continue our commitment to do this, whether that is through our endorsement of 
provision that meets high standards of quality assurance or through the dissemination 
of best practice, not just across Wales but through best practice identified globally. 

A main focus throughout the past 18 months has been the well-being of all leaders, 
and I am proud that the hard work of the small team has been recognised by Investors 
in People through the Gold Accreditation for the We Invest in Wellbeing award. We 
are an organisation which is committed to equality, diversity and transparency in our 
National Academy for Educational Leadership work, and would welcome and encourage applications from groups under-represented 
at Board level - we also encourage applications from individuals who may not have 
acted as a Board member previously.


This is an exciting time to be in education and we would like to welcome you to our 
team to help nurture and inspire educational leaders now and in the future.

Role description

The Board will be expected to challenge, support and to provide an external 
perspective and experience. The aim is to have a Board that, overall, has a diverse 
range of relevant skills and life experiences that will enable it to develop a collective 
view on issues, providing the stimulus for continuous improvement within the 
organisation for the benefit of its customers and wider society. 

We are therefore looking for a skills based board and a list of specifically required 
expertise is given below. Board Members will need to provide support and expertise to 
a relatively new organisation, providing a clear sense of direction and purpose. They 
will need to develop a strong grasp of the role and remit and potential reach of the 
National Academy for Educational Leadership (NAEL) and its important role within 
education reforms in Wales. 

All Board members will be expected to: 

 Provide strategic direction and leadership, driving performance and holding the 
NAEL to account against its strategic and corporate plans.

 Ensure propriety, regularity, economy efficiency and effectiveness in the 
operation of the body and adherence to the 7 principles of public life (the Nolan 
principles).

 Together with other Board members, ensure and support the NAEL to fulfil its 
aims and objectives.

 Be a champion for the organisation and its aims and objectives. Be a role model 
for both staff and stakeholders.

 Work co-operatively to build relationships with all stakeholders and to ensure 
that stakeholders voice is clearly heard in the running of the NAEL
This will include:
 Scrutinising and monitoring performance against strategic and corporate 
business plans
 Providing effective scrutiny and governance in line with best practice
 Representing the NAEL externally and fostering close working relationships with 
key stakeholders, including the stakeholder representative group.
 Seeking to make links to other areas within the education system, ensuring that 
the NAEL develops in conjunction with education reforms.

Welsh language skills

The Welsh Government acknowledges the importance of developing and growing bilingual capabilities in public appointments in Wales, and welcomes applications from candidates who demonstrate their capability to work in both English and Welsh.  The following list of language requirements represents an objective assessment by the recruiting body of the Welsh language skills required to undertake the duties of this particular post.
Desirable
Can read simple material on everyday topics with understanding
Can write simple work-related correspondence
Can understand basic conversations about everyday topics
Can hold simple work-related conversations

Person specification

The skills and experiences we are looking for are set out below. To be considered, you 
must be able to demonstrate that you have the qualities, skills and experience to meet 
all the essential criteria for appointment.

Essential Criteria

All candidates will need to demonstrate the following:
 Excellent analytical skills and intellectual capability with the ability to make 
decisions and contribute effectively to thinking on both strategic and practical 
issues;
 
 Excellent communication skills with the ability to represent the National Academy 
for Educational Leadership (NAEL) in public and engage with key stakeholders;

 The ability to bring fresh ideas to discussions while ensuring the NAEL keeps to 
its stated aims and has effective governance arrangements

 Commitment to promoting diversity.


Knowledge and/or experience in one or more of the following areas would be desirable:


 Experience of running a business, public administration at a senior level, working 
for a charity or being a trustee

 Interest and knowledge of education in Wales, which may include Youth Work 
and/or Further Education


 Knowledge of IT and Technology and its role in professional learning

 Understanding of Human Resources (which may include experience of promoting 
equality and diversity or supporting staff wellbeing)

 Ability to speak Welsh 

 Awareness of Welsh medium issues 

Applicants able to offer expertise in one or more of these areas should clearly 
demonstrate this on their application. Applications from individuals with other relevant 
backgrounds and experiences that will help the Board to learn and grow would also be 
welcome

Interview dates

17 February 2022
18 February 2022

Closing date

22/12/2021, 16:00

Additional information

How to apply

To apply for this role, click on the ‘Apply’ button below. The first time you apply for a post, you will need to complete a registration form for the Welsh Government’s online application system.  You will only need to register once, and you will be able to keep yourself updated on the progress of your application, and any other applications you make, via your registered account.

Once you’ve registered, you’ll be able to access the application form.  To apply you will need to submit two supporting documents. The first, a document outlining how your knowledge, skills and experiences meet the criteria for the role as outlined in the information for candidates.  This document should be no more than 2 sides of A4.  Your application may be rejected if you exceed this limit.  The second document is a full, up to date CV.  The two documents should be uploaded to the ‘Reasons for applying’ section of the online application form.

In your application, you will also be asked to provide details of any activities which have helped you to develop skills that would be useful in a public appointment role, and list the organisations for which you undertook these activities.  We also need to know about any political activity that you’ve undertaken over the last 5 years. 

It is recommended that you register for an account and access the application form as soon as possible so that you see how the application form is structured, before starting to prepare your evidence.  You don’t have to complete the application form all in one go.  You can save your responses, and log in and out as required, until you’re ready to submit – just follow the guidance in the application form.

If you’d like to apply for this opportunity in Welsh, please use the ‘Newid Iaith / Change Language’ link at the top of this page, to take you to the Welsh version of this advert, from which you can apply in Welsh.

If you need any further assistance in applying for this role, please contact the Welsh Government’s Public Appointments Team on  PublicAppointments@gov.wales.

For further information about Public Appointments in Wales, please visit www.gov.wales/publicappointments

Commissioner for Public Appointments logo

This vacancy is closed to applications.