About the job

Job summary

We’re looking for the brightest and best leaders who can bring their skills, knowledge and diversity to our workforce. It’s an exciting time to join us as we take a significant role in supporting Curriculum for Wales, additional learning needs reform, improving equity and the work of the new Commission for Tertiary Education and Research as well as continue our focus on standards across education and training in Wales. Your experience will also help us plan and deliver our new inspection arrangements for 2024 and 2025. You will play a vital role in making sure inspection is a positive experience for all involved.

 

If you’re a leader with specialist experience in one or more of the following areas of education and training, apply now:

 

• Primary education
• Secondary education
• Mainstream independent schools
• Post-16 (further education)
• Youth work
• Local government education services

Welsh language skills are desirable for a number of these posts.

Job description

As an inspector, you will place learners at the heart of everything you do and the advice and recommendations you give will influence the future of education and training right across Wales. Your work will include:

 

• Leading or contributing to inspection, reporting and advice work, including inspections of individual education and training providers and broader ‘thematic’ reviews that range across a sample of provision in Wales
• Involvement in national developments and producing professional advice designed to inform the development of policy in your areas of expertise
• Undertaking work designed to capture and disseminate the best practice that we see through our inspection programmes
• Contributing to our organisational growth, development and change
• Undertaking quality assurance of inspection reports and thematic surveys
• Preparing and delivering initial and update training for external inspectors and events for key stakeholders
• Being a role model for our values, acting at all times in the interest of learners
• Promoting and safeguarding the welfare of the children, young people and vulnerable adults you come into contact with

You will be responsible for reporting on the standards and quality of education and training in providers across Wales. You will contribute to the development and dissemination of effective practice and building capacity for improvement in the education and training system in Wales.

It’s a unique opportunity to experience and absorb practice in a large number and variety of providers and other educational settings; their ethos, character and approach to curriculum and innovation. Where providers are struggling, you will develop a keen insight into challenges and how improvements can be made.

Much of your work will be on-site in different settings, so you need to be willing to undertake significant travel across Wales and frequently stay overnight in hotels. Whenever possible, you will be allocated inspections close to home. Working from home between inspections, you will find a valuable work/life balance.

No two days will ever be the same. We will give you all the support you need to excel in the role and develop new skills.

The role of HMI requires an enhanced disclosure check via the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). The role will bring you into direct contact with children or vulnerable adults and give you access to material or sensitive information about children and vulnerable adults. You will be expected to have an awareness of and the ability to comply with policies and procedures relating to:

• safeguarding
• child protection
• health, safety and security
• confidentiality
• data protection

Person specification

Experience:

• A minimum of three years leadership or specialist experience at a senior level in one or more of the sectors we inspect with a particular focus on primary education, secondary education, mainstream independent schools, further education colleges, youth work or local government education services.
• A proven track record of achieving improved outcomes for learners

Ability:

• Able to communicate clearly and effectively both verbally and in writing demonstrating clarity and influence
• Able to use IT equipment effectively in your daily work

Benefits

• 31 days annual leave plus 10 public/privilege days a year
• Learning and development tailored to your role
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
• Excellent Civil Service Pension with an employer contribution of 27.9%
• A working from home allowance of £450 a year
• Tax free savings – including a cycle to work scheme and a green car salary sacrifice scheme
• Support for your wellbeing and family life

Things you need to know

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Ability, Experience and Technical skills.

Download and complete our application form here:  www.estyn.gov.wales/working-us/current-vacancies 

Send your application to: recruitment@estyn.gov.wales

Alternative arrangements or accessible documents: If you’d like to apply or access this document in an alternative format, please contact Rachel Hall to discuss your requirements.

As part of the selection process, you will be asked to complete an application form detailing your job history and qualifications and answer three questions (within a specified word count) to evidence how you meet the essential skills, experience and behaviours for this role outlined in the person specification. These will also be explored at assessment and interview.

You can find more guidance on completing your application here: www.estyn.gov.wales/working-us/current-vacancies

All documents are available in Welsh and English. Applications can be submitted in Welsh, English or both languages. An application submitted in Welsh will not be treated less favourably than an application submitted in English. Your application may be translated into Welsh or English if required (depending on the majority language of the panel).

The selection process includes:

• Initial sift of applications: The selection board will consider all complete applications. The information you give us in your application is important in deciding whether we will invite you to the next selection stage. If we receive a high volume of applications, your application may be “long-listed” before it is passed to the panel for consideration. You should be aware that in this situation, your application might not be considered in full by all of the panel. We will create a long-list from the sift of applications who will be invited to the assessment stage.
• Assessment: You will be asked to complete a series of tasks as part of a work-based written exercise (or other details as required). Further details will be given in the invite to assessment. For Welsh essential posts, we will test your communication skills in both Welsh and English during the assessment.
• Short-listing: The selection board will consider the assessment scores and create a short-list to invite to interview.
• Interview: We use a blended interview technique, allowing us to find out more about you. We use the Success Profiles framework. During the panel interview, you will be asked about your skills and experience and how you meet the criteria for the role (including behaviours). The interview will include a short presentation. Further details will be given in the invite to interview. For Welsh essential posts, we will test your communication skills in both Welsh and English during the interview.

Interviews will be held face to face in our Cardiff office. We will confirm the arrangements when we invite you to interview. All costs of attending the assessments and interviews are at your own expense. We will not pay any transport, accommodation or subsistence costs related to the recruitment.

You will receive an email confirming the outcome of your application at each selection stage. We appreciate it takes a lot of time and effort to apply for roles and that feedback is a valuable part of the process. We will provide verbal feedback on request for anyone reaching the assessment and interview stages once the selection process has finished.

The timetable we’re working to is summarised below. If you’re successful at the shortlisting stage, you will be expected to make yourself available for assessment and on the interview dates. Applicants who are not available to attend for assessment and interview on the dates offered may not be considered for this role.

If you’re unable to make the arranged assessment and interview dates, we will try to re-arrange it but it might not be possible due to time constraints within the appointment timetable or selection panel availability.

• Closing date: 10:00am Monday, 29 January 2024
• Initial sift: 6 February 2024
• Assessments: Week starting 19 February 2024
• Shortlisting: 28 February 2024
• Interviews: Week starting 11 March 2024
• Appointment starts: September 2024

*Dates may be subject to change

Future vacancies and reserve lists :  If you are appointable, but there isn’t a suitable post immediately available, we may add you to a reserve list. The reserve list is valid for up to twelve months from the date we confirm the outcome of your application. The outcome email will confirm if you are on a reserve list. If a suitable vacancy occurs during that period, we may recommend you for appointment. We appoint from the reserve list in merit order.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check. People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window). The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria. The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.