The Diocese of Worcester Multi Academy Trust (DoWMAT) is a family of 16 academies working collaboratively to provide excellent educational opportunities for all its pupils. DoWMAT aspires, through its mission statement of ‘to love, to learn, to serve’, to enable all of its academies to flourish so that the whole community can ‘live life in all its fullness’. (John 10:10). Characterised as caring and capable, the DoWMAT provision is informed and strengthened by its Christian foundations, and its vision and values spring from - and encompass - the Church of England Vision for Education.

DoWMAT is proud that the Trust serves a wide number of different communities - rural and urban - and is made up of a mixture of first, middle and primary schools. It recognises that each of its schools is unique: the Trust values the schools' differences and the communities they serve. It is the diverse nature of DoWMAT's academies, together with the wide-ranging skills of its inspirational leaders and talented staff , that makes the Trust an exciting place to work, share and collaborate as it brings about deep learning opportunities for its pupils. DoWMAT welcomes both church and non-church schools into the Trust.

DoWMAT's ambition is to ensure that every academy within the Trust provides excellent learning outcomes for all pupils. In order to achieve this, the Trust is determined to extend and embed professional development opportunities for all teachers and staff. In this way, it can ensure all colleagues are increasingly confident in their ability to deliver excellent provision for the teaching, learning and personal well-being of all pupils.

As it looks towards the future, DoWMAT aims to grow by taking on more pupils and by welcoming both church and non-church schools into the Trust. As the MAT evolves as a local employer of choice, the growth strategy will be centred around continuing to provide the highest standards of collective leadership and governance to deliver sustainable school improvement and safeguarding.

DoWMAT is a charitable organisation, and its governance structure ensures that it meets its requirements to ensure probity, good governance and outstanding performance. As such, it is the Trust Board which is accountable for the performance of the Academies in the Trust, and in turn, it is held to account by the Department for Education. The Board comprises the Trustees, who meet regularly as a Board, which has a number of working groups. Trustees focus on the three core functions of governance:

• Ensuring clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction
• Holding executive leaders to account for the educational performance of the schools and their pupils, and the performance management of staff
• Overseeing the financial performance of the schools and making sure that its money is well spent

As DoWMAT continues to grow and support its academies throughout Worcestershire and Dudley, it seeks up to four new Trustees, who will bring a strong background in education, trust law, business leadership, or HR.

Education: The Trust is open to any candidates who bring significant leadership experience in education. The successful candidate will ideally be an ex-head of a primary school or MAT. This person may chair the Education Committee.

Business Leadership: The Trust is open to business leaders from any sector for this role. They will offer the Board strategic guidance on risk, business performance and financial planning. Individuals who have not previously held non-executive roles are welcome to apply, provided they understand the governance role and how it differs from executive leadership.

Trust Law: The Trust is open to any candidates who understand the inner workings of Trusts, and the legal requirements they have to meet. This candidate could come from a MAT setting (such as a school Head, Bursar, Business Manager or Treasurer), but could equally come from the public sector.

HR: The Trust is open to HR leaders from any sector for this role. The successful candidate will have strategic-level leadership experience gained, for example, as an HR Director, Chief People Officer or Director of People. This person will support wider strategic HR imperatives such as reward and retention as well as advising on employment law and best practice. 

Above all, candidates will be aligned with, or sympathetic to, the Christian values at the heart of DoWMAT. They will believe in creating a community of hope and a place of transformation and trust, where all are treated with respect and dignity.

You can read more about the Board of Trustees here.

There are six Board meetings per year (two per term), which take place in person at one of the Trust schools, and tend to be held on weekday mornings, from 10:30-12:30am. There are also six Committee meetings per year, which also take place twice per term, totalling an average of one meeting per month. Ad hoc engagement may be required. The appointment is for a three-year term, which can be renewed twice at the discretion of the Board. This role is unremunerated, but reasonable, pre-agreed travel expenses will be reimbursed.

Board meetings tend to take place in person, as far as possible, so candidates will ideally be local to Worcestershire.

DoWMAT welcomes applications from everyone regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, faith or disability. As women are currently under-represented on the Board, applications from those candidates would be particularly welcomed. All appointments will be made on merit, following a fair and transparent process.