Head of the Inclusive Leadership

Head of the Inclusive Leadership
Course

Reports to: Deputy CEO & Co-Founder of The Difference, Shaun Brown
Start date: September 2026 or sooner if possible
Location: 50% office presence in London (Bethnal Green) and travel nationally for delivery
Contract: Permanent
Salary: £60,000 - £70,000 depending on experience (+6% employer pension contribution and
sector-leading parental leave policy shared with all applicants)
Closing date for applications: 9.00am on 20th April 2026
First round interviews will be held:  week commencing 27th April 2026
Second round interviews will be held: week commencing 11th May 2026

Our Organisation: The Difference

Every day, the equivalent of 5,500 children are suspended from Englandʼs schools. Their
likelihood of being NEET (not in education, employment or training) by 24 will then double.
Lost learning like this is happening to those children facing the most crisis in their lives:
children facing mental health challenges, living in poverty, with threats to their safety,
neurodiverse or already falling behind in learning, facing discrimination inside and outside
the school gates. These are the children who need school the most. Today, theyʼre getting
the least.

The Difference is a young education charity, founded to change this story on lost learning
through whole school inclusion.  Six years later, The Difference has shifted national
inclusion through its three levers:

●  People - Each year, The Difference trains 200+ headteachers, deputy and assistant

headteachers through our two programmes, aiming to increase the will and skill of
leaders to reduce lost learning.

●  Practice - The Difference carries out our own research, and shares the latest

research and practice through our IncludED conference (the biggest inclusion
conference nationally), symposia and professional development sessions with
Multi-Academy Trusts and Local Authorities.

●  Policy - Our lean policy team turns frontline insights into policy recommendations.
We lobby Ofsted and the Department for Education to improve funding and support
for inclusion, and reduce perverse incentives.

The Differenceʼs Vision is to see lost learning falling nationally by 2030.

It feels schools are at a national tipping point. With changes ahead from the White Paper
and already underway in a new Ofsted frameworkʼs early implementation, this could be the
moment that Englandʼs schools are supported to become more inclusive. But the path ahead
is challenging:

●

Inclusion leadership can be lonely and school leaders donʼt always have readily
available frameworks and models of how to set strategy, measure inclusion and
support their staff in the school change involved in improving inclusion.
●  The white paper demands practice change but there is still little research and

agreement on what good looks like.

●  Ofsted isnʼt always celebrating the most inclusive work of schools, in their own

contexts; and policymakers donʼt always hear inclusion leadersʼ voices.

The Difference is looking for a new Head of the Inclusive Leadership Course, working
directly with our Deputy CEO, to drive our biggest programme to reach, connect and upskill
school leaders; and to derive learning from the countryʼs schools - The Inclusive Leadership
Course.

The Difference Values

●  Relationships underpin success - Strong relationships and the safety they bring are the
foundation of achievement - for children, for school staff, in our workplace and in our
collaborations. They enable higher trust, challenging feedback, bolder work and
stronger impact.

●  We build stronger from assets  - Every child, family, school and community has

strengths and successes. We avoid deficit-labels about teachers, children and families,
and instead focus on building from whatʼs strong.

●  Systems shape opportunities - Actions always take place within systems. These can help
or hinder individuals. We recognise the role of policy and structural inequalities and
address them directly in our work.

●  Agency makes the difference - Bold leadership by individuals can create significant and
lasting change. We are proactive in addressing problems and seeking out opportunities.

The Opportunity:
Head of The Inclusive Leadership Course

The Inclusive Leadership Course is a 1 year, 6 day course for headteachers, deputy
headteachers and assistant headteachers. It balances developing personal practice expertise
with strategic inclusion leadership to deliver direct impacts on student outcomes.

The Inclusive Leadership Course has been at the forefront of professional development for
school leaders since 2019.

●  National Reach: Since 2019 we have seen over 1000 school leaders from across
England complete the Inclusive Leadership Course. We build a strong sense of
camaraderie within cohorts, often building deeper relationships within geographies
but also cross-national in a way which builds non-competitive and supportive peer
groups.

●  New Learning: 94% of those on the Inclusive Leadership Course report that their

knowledge of inclusion shifts through the course, which includes practical delivery
tasks.

●  Pupil Impact: In the last 5 years, 64% of schools on the Inclusive Leadership Course

subsequently saw suspensions data buck national trends.

●  Shaping the Policy Landscape: The Inclusive Leadership Course has been the test

bed for our foundational Whole-School Approach to Inclusion. The principles,
frameworks and tools which underpin our work are now evident in the Schools
White Paper; with case studies of alumni work highlighted by the Secretary of State
and visited by policymakers. We are excited to build on this opportunity in the
crucial years ahead.

Key Responsibilities
Leading the Inclusive Leadership Course

As the Head of the Inclusive Leadership Course you will work closely with the Deputy CEO
to build cohorts of Inclusive Leaders, who are actively engaged across the year of  the
programme, delivering measurable outcomes for their students.

Your work will include:

●  Planning, delivering and quality assuring the learning journey of our Inclusive

Leaders

●  Continuous development and design of course content for differentiation and impact
●  Capturing implementation of course learning and its impact in leadersʼ schools
●  Building and sustaining relationships with school leaders
●  Engaging with MAT and LA leaders to scale understanding of our work
●  Engaging with the DfE and Ofsted to shape White Paper implementation
●  Supporting the wider Programme Team to develop and deliver relevant and

impactful professional development

Design

●  Lead design of the Inclusive Leadership Course to ensure leaders' full
engagement across the year of the programme. Design should lead to
improvement and capture of Whole School Inclusion practice and reduced Lost
Learning in schools. The course should offer a learning journey which includes
practice-sharing, problem solving and turning course content into practical
in-school implementation.

●  Co-develop content for The Difference programmes, working to the Deputy CEO,

built upon The Difference pedagogy of Whole-School Inclusion, ensuring
coherence between programmes that The Difference runs.

●  Stay informed and maintain sector-leading knowledge of promising practice and
concepts to ensure the Inclusive Leadership Course remains a sector-leading and
groundbreaking Continuing Professional Development offer.  Pilot new
programmatic content before wider roll out in our programme

●  Collaborate with the Head of the Difference Schools Partnership and Head of
Community to ensure a seamless learning experience across all Difference
programmes.

Delivery

●  Lead facilitation on 4 Inclusive Leadership Course core cohorts located in key

regions across the country, offering co-delivery support where needed.

●  Build ʻcohortʼ buy-in and belonging to ensure course content is accessible, relevant
and engaging for participants at different stages of their leaderships and inclusion
journey.

●  Manage the cohort experience with clear and relational communication to

maintain high levels of engagement and satisfaction

●  Lead a rigorous Quality Assurance process to ensure high standards of delivery,
and consistency of leader experience and satisfaction across all cohorts of the
Inclusive Leadership Course

●  Embed a culture of reflective practice and ongoing development within the
programme delivery team, to create a culture of continuous improvement

Impact

●  Lead the design and execution of evidence capture on the Inclusive Leadership
Course to ensure that data collection is strategically planned designed, and
consistently captured

●  Communicate the importance of data collection and evidence capture to

ensure expectations understood and met by course participants from the start

●  Collaborate with the Head of Impact to ensure that mechanisms, structures

and schedule of impact capture provides timely and valuable evidence for The
Difference Impact Strategy

●  Lead on identification of exemplary case studies and marketing material that

show impact of the Inclusive Leadership Course for school leaders

●  Working with the Deputy CEO, develop and design of our digital platform to

improve user experience and efficiency of impact capture

Partnership

●  Support ongoing ILC alumni engagement with The Difference, through effective

comms and sustained connection to our work

●  Develop and manage relationships with sector experts, MAT leaders, and local

authorities to grow partnerships which support programme expansion.

●  Support wider partnership activity through speaking engagements, conference

opportunities and writing for social media and press.

●  Work closely with the Director of Business and Partnerships to refine strategic
engagement with key stakeholders, and ensure external contributions to the
Inclusive Leadership Course are valuable from external orgs and add meaningful
impact to the core offer

Other

●  Any other reasonable requested as directed by the Director of Programmes,

Deputy CEO or CEO

Person Specification

We know that some people, especially those from marginalised backgrounds, may hesitate
to apply unless they meet every listed requirement. If this role excites you and you believe
you could make a strong contribution, we warmly encourage you to apply.

Essential

We are looking for the following skills, aptitude and experience though you may be
stronger in some areas than others:

● Values – Your experience evidences shared values with The Difference (see above) and
a personal commitment to our mission to improve life outcomes for vulnerable
people.

● Leadership of others – Experience of senior leadership in schools. Evidenced ability to
build teams with strong identities to deliver against ambitious targets. Experience
quality assuring the work of autonomous and creative staff in a way which is
empowering but also delivers consistent outcomes.

● Leadership of self - A commitment to personal and professional growth and

development including proactively diagnosing your own blind spots or continuous
improvement points; making use of othersʼ expertise to continually grow the skills of
yourself and your team to make a success of tasks at hand and those on the horizon.

● Strategic nouse - Proven ability to juggle competing priorities to achieve the most

strategically important outcomes, using delegation, delaying or decision-making to
re-balance your own work and priorities. A track record of spotting and mitigating risks,
including through empowering a team to triage and escalate risks within their own areas
of delivery. And experience identifying and exploiting opportunities.

● Partnerships credibility – Proven ability to hold significant relationships for The
Differenceʼs sales and sector-influencing including with MAT CEOs, Directors of
Childrenʼs Services and the Department for Education.

● Programme credibility – Track record in leading inclusive work in schools which gives
credibility to your leadership and stakeholder relationships with our school partners.
Experience of designing, developing and delivering professional development which
has led to improved outcomes for students

Desired

You are likely to be more successful in this role if you have any one of the following
additional experiences:

● Insight through work or life into school experiences of over-excluded young people,
including young people with experience of the care system, of mental ill health, of
special educational needs, of racism.

● Product design experience – You may have experience building business cases for

new products or services to go to market and working with experts to develop these
products towards the needs of customers, ideally in the school sector.

● Early-stage social enterprise experience – You may have specific experience growing

charities or businesses for social good and at the early/start up phase.

Recommended Reading

If youʼd like to understand more about The Difference and what we are trying to achieve, we
would recommend the following:

●  Our research on the scale of the problem Who is Losing Learning? (Sept 2024) and
our recommendations, Finding Solutions to the School Engagement Crisis (March
2025)

●  Our 2025-2030 Strategy to reach our goal of lost learning, falling nationally
●  🎧The Spark - Kiran Gill and Excluded Pupils (2020) - our founder Kiran Gilll

explores the genesis and mission of The Difference in conversation with Helen
Lewis, BBC Radio 4

●  Our recent research on Internal Alternative Provision
●  Our latest Impact Report, sharing our work in 2023

How To Apply

Please click this link to access the application form.

Applications close at 9.00am on Monday 20th April.

For an informal and confidential discussion about the role prior to application, please
contact Rebecca Onumah (rebecca.o@the-difference.com), with a brief summary of your
experience and questions that you have.

We are committed to building a diverse team and strongly encourage applications from
under-represented groups in the charity sector such as people from black, Asian and
minority ethnic backgrounds, LGBTQ+ people, people with disabilities and people with
experience in the care system.

As part of our commitment to fairer recruitment, all applications will be assessed with
names and any protected characteristics redacted, where possible.

Come join the team!