Ashford College

About The Role Help to Lead technical education where space, ambition and opportunity go further. As a Deputy Head you will be responsible for improving the quality of teaching, learning and assessment in the department, monitoring key performance indicators and instigating swift and effective intervention. You will also oversee the Junior College - EKC Sheppey Colleges 14-16 provision. This is a particularly exciting time to join Sheppey College. In February 2026, our £7 million purpose-built facilities opened, providing state-of-the-art spaces for Engineering, logistics, and digital design, production and development. Student numbers are growing, and our technical offer is expanding rapidly, with T Levels in Engineering and Digital and logistics apprenticeships launching over the next 12 to 24 months. Check out these LinkedIn Posts. As Deputy Head, you will support the development of Engineering and Digital pathways, working closely with the Head of Department to deliver the area's strategic plan. You will lead on the implementation of the quality improvement plan, with a clear focus on enhancing the student experience and ensuring the curriculum remains relevant to industry and the wider community. You will also take responsibility for the regular review and analysis of departmental data, including retention, achievement, attendance and student satisfaction. Ensuring accuracy, you will use this insight to identify areas for improvement and take timely, effective action to drive positive outcomes. Alongside our priority of excellent student experience, we also focus on our employees. Here are just some of our benefits when working for the East Kent Colleges Group: Competitive salary and holiday entitlement Access to 100's of online discounts via our Rewards Scheme (Inc. Restaurant, Grocery, Retail, Gym, Holidays) Access to cycle to work, car leasing and tech purchasing schemes Generous pension scheme - 28% employer contribution Being part of a company with an Eco Sustainability focus of being Net Zero Time off for your child's first day at school, moving home and for interviews My 10 Days initiative - bid for up to 10 days off work to pursue voluntary work Being part of Community Days and Annual Staff Celebration Day About You We are looking for an ambitious, forward-thinking deputy leader to join our team and play a pivotal role in shaping the future of our Technical Industries department. In this influential role, you will drive high-quality curriculum delivery across our 14-16 Junior College provision. You will create an environment where learners are fully supported to succeed, thrive and progress within a dynamic and engaging teaching and learning culture. You will have a background in education, a teaching qualification and, ideally experience of line managing a team or leading a team as you will be responsible for completing staff appraisals, teaching and learning observations and staff one to one meetings and will line manage a team of lecturers and support staff. You will have experience of a further education environment and supporting lecturing staff to deliver high quality teaching to young people and will be the first point of contact for the programme leaders when the Head of Department is off site. No need to spend time updating your CV, just click apply and complete our short application form. You can save your progress as you go, and we'll review all applications and get back to all candidates after the closing date. If you are interested in an informal chat about the role, or have any queries, please email us on . About Us Outstanding Ofsted Provider East Kent Colleges Group is an Ofsted Outstanding rated provider. It is proud to be the first General Further Education college organisation in the country to have received the Outstanding grade against each of the strands under the new Ofsted inspection framework. An inclusive provider, our colleagues place our students and the communities we serve at the heart of everything they do across EKC Group and this is illustrated in our 'Strong' skills grading by Ofsted. Commitment to Safeguarding We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults and we ensure that all staff are aware of their responsibilities for upholding these principles. As a designated establishment, we are exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and therefore have an obligation to carry out checks to ensure that staff are suitable to work with children and vulnerable adults. These checks include conviction/caution self declaration, Enhanced DBS check and obtaining sufficient referencing. It is a criminal offence to apply for a post which involves engaging in regulated activity relevant to children if you are barred from doing so. If you are successful in being shortlisted to interview, your suitability to work with children and vulnerable adults will be explored as part of the interview process. Commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion East Kent Colleges Group is an equal opportunities employer and welcomes applications from all members of our communities. We are particularly keen to increase the diversity of our staff body and encourage applications from candidates where there is underrepresentation in our workforce. We are proud to hold the Positive About Disability Award and are a Disability Confident Employer. This confirms our commitment to interviewing all applicants who declare that they have a disability and who meet the essential criteria outlined in the person specification. With any successful candidate, we will explore any reasonable adjustments to a role due to a health needs or disability. Similarly, we have a commitment to Care Leavers (Care Covenant Pledge) and to current or previous Armed Forces personnel (Armed Forces Covenant Pledge) with a commitment to interview applicants who meet the positions essential criteria and have declared this on their application. We welcome applications from anyone wishing to work flexibly and those considering a return to work from a career break. We do not engage with agencies for permanent staff and have an in-house recruitment team.