Core Skills Manager

Overview

Are you passionate about widening access to education and shaping high quality learning opportunities for communities across the county? This is a chance to lead, influence and make a real difference through core skills provision that changes lives.

“This role sits at the heart of our Adult and Community Learning offer. It’s about leadership, quality and impact — ensuring our learners get the very best opportunities to succeed.” – Principal, Adult and Community Learning, Jacqueline Wilson

As Core Skills Manager, you will take strategic and operational ownership of core skills provision, including English, maths, ESOL, digital and vocational learning. You will lead experienced teams, manage significant budgets, and ensure programmes are high quality, compliant and responsive to local need, while supporting learners to progress and thrive.

About the role

This is a senior and influential role within Adult Learning, combining strategic planning with hands-on leadership. You will be responsible for the development, planning and delivery of classroom-based, hybrid and distance learning programmes, ensuring learner outcomes, funding targets and quality standards are consistently achieved.

What makes this role particularly interesting is its breadth and impact. You will work closely with partners, awarding organisations and internal teams to design provision that meets local priorities while staying fully aligned with funding, quality and Ofsted expectations. Alongside this, you will lead and develop a skilled team of managers, coordinators and tutors, creating a culture of continuous improvement and collaboration.

Day to day, you’ll balance operational oversight with forward planning — monitoring performance, supporting staff development, managing budgets and preparing for inspection. You’ll also play a key role in shaping the future of the service by developing new programmes and exploring innovative delivery methods.

Key responsibilities include:

· Leading the Core Skills and Exams teams to ensure high-quality, compliant delivery

· Planning and developing countywide provision in English, maths, ESOL, digital and vocational learning

· Managing learner numbers, funding targets and a significant service budget

· Overseeing quality frameworks, self-assessment and quality improvement planning

· Working with partners and stakeholders to coordinate and strengthen provision

· Ensuring programmes are fully prepared for Ofsted and external audits

Please see job description for further details.

Any-Desk:

As an ‘any-desk’ worker, you’ll need to be connected to our network to access digital folders and resources, but this can either be from home or an office location when required. You will be required to work from the office a couple of times a week, depending on your role and team requirements.

 

About you

We are looking for a confident, experienced and values-driven leader who is passionate about adult learning and improvement. You will be someone comfortable operating at both strategic and operational levels, able to make informed decisions while bringing people with you through change.

To be successful in this role, you’ll be collaborative, resilient and solution-focused, with the credibility to influence internally and externally. You’ll have a strong understanding of accredited learning, funding and quality requirements, and the ability to translate policy and guidance into effective delivery on the ground.

You will bring:

· Significant experience of managing accredited adult or community learning provision

· Proven leadership and people-management skills, with a track record of developing teams

· Strong knowledge of funding, quality frameworks and Ofsted expectations

· Excellent planning, organisational and stakeholder-management skills

· Confidence in managing budgets, performance and improvement activity

· A full driving license required to be able to carry out the role

You’ll also hold a relevant teaching qualification (such as PGCE or equivalent), be educated to degree level (or equivalent) and have a relevant professional qualification. A full overview of required experience, skills and qualifications can be found in the Job Description.

Other information

Please note, the job involves travel for business purposes to Adult Learning Centres in Buckinghamshire for staff support and review.

For more information about this role, please contact Jacqueline Wilson at [email protected] for an informal discussion.

Closing date: Midnight on Wednesday 13th May

Interview Date: Monday 18th May

We reserve the right to close the vacancy once we have received sufficient applications, so please be advised to submit your application as early as possible.

Buckinghamshire Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and adults at risk.

This post is covered by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and therefore applicants are required to declare:

• All unspent cautions and/or unspent convictions

For further information on how long it takes for cautions and convictions cautions to become spent, please refer to our guide on the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (updated 2023) | Nacro

We understand that candidates may use AI tools to assist with their applications. While we welcome innovation, we expect all submissions to reflect your own experience, skills, and achievements accurately. Please ensure your application is truthful and demonstrates your personal capabilities, as this will be assessed during the selection process.

Our values and culture

We have a set of values, which our employees have chosen, that represent what we are – Proud, Ambitious, Collaborative and Trustworthy.

By joining Buckinghamshire Council, you can expect:

• a fair and inclusive culture
• the chance to really make a difference to those around you
• health and well-being initiatives including an Employee Assistance Programme, Mental Health First Aiders and mindfulness workshops
• a unified voice through our Employee Representative Group
• ongoing support, and the opportunity to develop and progress in your career with us
• opportunities to take part in fun activities such as fundraising and social events

At Buckinghamshire Council, we know that our biggest strength comes from the people that work for us, and that’s why we’re working hard to ensure we continue to be an accessible and inclusive organisation.

From dedicated staff networks overseen by our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Steering Group, to proudly standing as a Disability Confident employer, it’s important to us that all our colleagues feel engaged, listened to, and valued. Our offer of flexible working empowers a productive and happy workforce and allows employees to combine work with other responsibilities and commitments.

We believe our workforce should reflect the diverse communities we service in Buckinghamshire, and are looking for like-minded individuals to join us in promoting equality, fairness, and inclusion for everyone.

We recognise and reward you

Hard work and success deserves recognition. That’s why we pride ourselves on the benefits we give our people. We actively encourage a good work-life balance and promote flexible and agile working arrangements. We provide discounts on various Cafés, restaurants, shops and auto enrolment onto our generous Pension Scheme. In addition to the opportunity to gain membership to Costco, we have discounted gym memberships, travel discounts with Arriva and much more.

https://jobs.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/working-buckinghamshire-council/