regional director.

Location: Bristol / South West England

Salary: £129,012 - £142,183 (L42 - L46)

Contract: Permanent, Full-Time | Start Date: April 2026 (September starts welcomed for exceptional candidates)

The Mandate: High-Stakes Leadership with a Human Heart

Are you a decisive, high-impact educationalist ready to lead a cluster of five secondary academies in the vibrant, complex landscape of Bristol?

On behalf of a leading, purpose-driven National Multi-Academy Trust, we are seeking a Regional Director to spearhead the evolution of five secondary academies in Bristol and the surrounding South West region. This is a pivotal senior appointment for a decisive leader who balances rigorous high expectations with a deeply relational, values-led approach.

The Role: Leading Leaders

As Regional Director overseeing five Bristol-based academies, your mission is to move beyond "Good" and toward "Exceptional," ensuring that every child - regardless of their starting point - experiences a culture of belonging and academic excellence. You will act as the primary line manager and coach for a cohort of secondary Principals, providing the principled authority required to navigate the sharp end of urban education.

This is not a role for a "distant administrator." You will be on the front line, coaching and empowering our Principals to remove systemic barriers, manage complex challenges, and deliver the organisation's 2030 Strategy with precision and empathy.

Your core objectives will include:

• Driving High-Stakes Turnaround & Growth: Leveraging your experience in lower socio-economic communities to eliminate barriers to learning and accelerate student outcomes.
• Strategic Alignment: Translating a national 2030 vision into tactical, on-the-ground success across a diverse portfolio of schools - including a significant "new-build" secondary project.
• Inclusion as a Standard: Moving beyond data to foster a genuine culture of belonging, specifically overseeing regional strategies for SEND and Mental Health.
• Systems Stewardship: Ensuring the financial sustainability and operational rigour of the cluster while mentoring the next generation of Executive leaders.

The Ideal Candidate

We are looking for an individual with gravitas and grace - someone who can stand up to rigorous scrutiny while empowering their teams through a coaching-first philosophy.

• Decisive Strategist: You have a proven track record of "turning around" or scaling performance in lower socio-economic, disadvantaged communities. You possess the confidence to make difficult, high-level decisions regarding school improvement, industrial relations, and cultural shifts.
• Relational Expert: You lead through coaching and mentoring, not diktat. You have the gravitas to stand up to scrutiny and the influence to align diverse teams behind a single vision.
• Inclusion Specialist: You understand that attendance and behaviour are qualitative cultural shifts, not just data points. You likely hold deep expertise in SEND or Mental Health and know how to use this to transform lives.
• System Leader: You are currently an Executive Principal, a Principal of a large/complex Secondary, or an existing Regional Director looking for a role that offers true freedom to innovate.
• Mission-Driven: You align with a "whole-person" educational philosophy, believing that academic excellence and community hub integration are mutually inclusive.

The Offer

• Salary & Benefits: A highly competitive package, plus LGPS and significant professional development.
• National Influence: Opportunity to lead on national thematic specialisms (e.g., Inclusion, Data, or Curriculum) alongside a high-performing Executive team.
• Autonomy: The freedom to innovate and evolve regional structures within a highly respected national framework.