Established in 2014, and built upon Christian values and ethos, the Derby Diocesan Academy Trust (DDAT) has grown into a thriving and effective family of 30 Church and non-Church schools. The DDAT consists of infant schools, junior schools, primary schools, and one secondary school. Based in the East Midlands region of England, DDAT enjoys a strong and productive relationship with its whole family of schools, but also benefits and supports schools and organisations across Derby and Derbyshire. Within the DDAT family, there are over 7,000 children and young people, and more than 1,000 members of staff. Between them, DDAT and DDAT2 have a combined annual income of £48m.

The Derby Diocesan Board of Education developed DDAT to allow schools to take advantage of an academy model, but without being distracted from their core business of educating pupils. The Trust was designed to secure the schools’ church heritage, and to provide highly effective external support and challenge whilst delivering much of the business side of being an academy. DDAT believes that school improvement is the absolute priority, and its whole structure has been designed to challenge and support schools in equal measure. As such, the Trust offers a minimum of six school improvement visits per year from a senior school improvement professional, irrespective of whether the school is ‘Outstanding’ or ‘Inadequate’. Through collaborative working and a robust school improvement offer, all schools judged to be 'Inadequate' before joining DDAT, have achieved a judgement of ‘Good’ following inspection as part of the Trust.

The Trust’s plans are continually adapted to ensure sustainable and impactful growth in line with its vision. DDAT will continue to extend the Trust’s reach and impact across the region through growth which is underpinned by capacity to support schools effectively. To this end, it will continue to prioritise church schools who are judged to require rapid intervention, balanced with building capacity within schools themselves, and adding community schools where vision is aligned with DDAT’s own. It will ensure that each DDAT school continues to grow together as part of the family through the development of the strong local hub network, with an additional focus on secondary capacity.

DDAT seeks two outstanding individuals to join its Trust Board as a Director to work with the executive team, help shape its organisational strategy, and achieve its educational and charitable goals. Due to natural succession on the Board, DDAT will use this opportunity to bring new skills to the Board which will complement the experience of the existing Directors.

Directors, both as a group and as individuals, are responsible for the overall governance and strategic direction of the organisation, its financial health, the probity of its activities as a charity, and the development of its aims and objectives, in accordance with DDAT’s governing document and within legal and regulatory guidelines.

Board Director (Finance)

DDAT is seeking a Director who will bring senior-level experience in finance and / or business leadership. The Director will advise and provide scrutiny to the Board as the Trust looks towards ensuring that its long-term growth is sustainable, impactful, and in line with its vision.

The successful candidate will bring a strong understanding of financial management, which would ideally have been gained in a not-for-profit, public or third sector environment. Experience of education funding models would be highly desirable, though not essential. Candidates might be current or former CFOs or Finance Directors, or Partners in professional services firms; however, they may also be business leaders who have high level financial acumen, rather than deep financial specialism. The Board is open to considering a wide range of profiles. Applicants do not need to be financially qualified.

Board Director (Education)

DDAT is seeking a Director who will bring senior-level experience in educational leadership. The Director will advise and provide scrutiny to the Board as the Trust looks towards ensuring that its long-term growth is sustainable, impactful, and in line with its vision.

The successful candidate will be an experienced educational leader, and the Board is open to considering individuals from a range of different backgrounds, including primary, secondary, and further education. Experience in school improvement, either as an executive in a school, college, or multi-academy trust, or as a consultant or inspector, would be highly valued. Given the high number of languages spoken at many of the Trust's schools, some experience of working with EAL students would be beneficial, but is not a requirement for the role.

Above all, candidates will be aligned with the Trust's values of individuality, collaboration and unity, and will share its commitment to creating a real sense of belonging at all DDAT schools. The Trust is open to candidates looking to take on their first board role.

You can read more about the Board of Trustees here.

There are six Board meetings per year, which usually take place in-person within one of the schools. Additionally, there will be between four and six Committee meetings per year, which mainly take place in person, and five school visits. Whilst in-person attendance is encouraged, hybrid meetings can be arranged. The role is unremunerated but reasonable expenses will be reimbursed. The appointment is for a renewable three-year term.

As Board meetings take place in-person, candidates will either be locally based or willing to travel.

Derby Diocesan Academy Trust welcomes applications from everyone regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, faith or disability. As those from an ethnic minority backgrounds are currently under-represented on the Board, applications from those individuals would be particularly encouraged. All appointments will be made on merit, following a fair and transparent process. In line with the Equality Act 2010, however, the organisation may employ positive action where candidates from underrepresented groups can demonstrate their ability to perform the role equally well.