Deputy Director – Apprenticeships, Sustainable Technologies & Higher Technical Education Full Time

Application Deadline: 28 April 2026

Department: Apprenticeships

Location: Liverpool

Compensation: £68,642 / year

Description

Job Title: Deputy Director – Apprenticeships, Sustainable Technologies & Higher Technical Education
Department: Apprenticeships, Sustainable Technologies & Higher Technical Education
Salary: £68,642 per year
Job Type: Permanent, 35 hours

This role plays a key part in leading the strategic and operational delivery of Higher and Technical Education, Engineering, Construction and Apprenticeships across the College. You will provide expert leadership of higher‑level programmes, ensuring an exceptional student experience and a curriculum that is innovative, industry‑responsive and inclusive.

Working closely with the Director, you will help shape the College’s pedagogical approach, embedding research‑informed practice and adapting teaching to meet the needs of diverse learners, including those with learning difficulties or disabilities. You will champion equality, diversity and inclusion, driving high expectations and securing strong outcomes and progression for all students.

A major focus of the role is developing new provision, forging partnerships, and contributing to long‑term strategic planning aligned to regional skills priorities. You will lead high‑performance cultures, support staff development, and promote cutting‑edge teaching, interdisciplinary projects and new ways of working that position the College as ‘best in class’.

Key Responsibilities

• Support the Director in leading the College’s strategic and operational delivery of Higher and Technical Education, Engineering, Construction and Apprenticeships with due account of the College’s overall strategic plan and the social, economic, and educational context of the Liverpool City Region.
• Provide expert leadership of higher-level programmes of study, with a strong focus on the quality of the student experience.
• Support the Director in developing the College’s pedagogical approach to higher technical education within the directorate, ensuring it is research informed, drawn from international best practice and adapted to different types of learners across the College by age, intended vocation, background or need.
• Ensure the effective planning, development and delivery of a diverse and responsive curriculum which responds to new and emerging industry practice and technologies and effectively meets student, employer and key stakeholder demand.
• Support the planning, development and growth of courses and delivery models new to the College, including provision specifically developed to meet the needs of learners with learning difficulties and / or disabilities.
• Support and promote the College’s EDI strategy, translating this into strategic and operational actions that strengthen the approach and deliver meaningful accomplishments within the directorate, developing learners and staff as advocates and allies.
• Ensure high expectations for all students. Monitor and intervene to deliver exceptional achievement and progression, throughout the learner journey for all students, including the most disadvantaged and those with learning difficulties and / or disabilities, ensuring the College meets the strategic goal of turning disadvantage to advantage.
• Support the development and delivery of innovative and inspirational practice, working with other leaders to secure ground-breaking partnerships and implement new ways of working, including pedagogical best practice and interdisciplinary projects.
• Contribute to the College’s strategic and business planning processes to ensure efficiency and high performance and support the development of 2,3 and 5 year plans which are informed by industry expectations and an expert understanding of upcoming knowledge and skill requirements across Liverpool City Region priority areas.
• Drive high expectations and high performance to secure the College’s position as ‘best in class’ in both curriculum delivery and support for learners.
• Work closely with the Director to ensure that the curriculum supports students’ knowledge and skills beyond the academic, technical, or vocational, through the development and effective implementation of a wide range of personal development and progression opportunities linked to building confident and resilient students.

Skills, Knowledge and Expertise

Essential Criteria

• Proven ability to develop robust and researched-informed pedagogical approaches in curriculum that support all learners to succeed and thrive as individuals
• Proven, consistent delivery of success as the accountable person for improving student outcomes over consecutive years as the leader of a curriculum or cross-college department
• Proven track record of successful outcomes and value added for 16-19 study programmes and Higher Education study programmes.
• Professional or teaching qualification
• Robust knowledge of research-informed approaches to addressing disadvantage and supporting learners to succeed
• Ability to lead use of diagnostic tools and effective strategies in identifying learners’ starting points and needs to support personalised progression over the lifetime of the learner
• Ability to develop and lead on cross-college strategies, establishing credibility with a wide range of colleagues as part of an effective matrix management approach
• Ability to challenge, mentor & coach – a developer of a high-performance culture, intolerant of underperformance and a track record of securing buy-in and support through constructive challenge
• Ability to engage and influence a wide variety of internal and external stakeholders in order to develop and successfully lead research-informed strategies which meet the needs of different cohorts of learners
• Ability to influence internal and external stakeholders regarding the development and implementation of specific pedagogical models for Maths and English
• Resilient and comfortable with ambiguity – ability to operate under pressure in a fast-paced, evolving environment, and to support and inspire others to do the same
• A positive role model and the ability to be a positive ambassador for the College
• Innovative, creative – a critical thinker who is able to adopt a growth mindset that supports the College’s aspirations around systems leadership and continuous improvement with regards to the end-to-end student experience.
• Committed to own continuous professional development – focused on the very best in pedagogy, a thorough understanding of equality, diversity and inclusion in action and an openness to critical and constructive feedback
• Willingness & ability to engage with current technologies and embrace diverse and evolving technologies & pedagogy to ensure a modern and effective student experience.
• Securing high performance of teaching and learning in all areas through leadership and coaching.

Desirable Criteria

• Post-graduate qualifications held

Please Note
This role may close earlier than the advertised deadline if we receive sufficient applications. Early submission is strongly encouraged.

Benefits

Why Join The City of Liverpool College?

As a valued member of our College community, you’ll enjoy a comprehensive range of benefits, dedicated wellbeing support, and meaningful opportunities for professional growth and development.

Here are some of the benefits available to you:

Generous holiday allowance
50 days annual holiday allowance, plus 1 annual wellbeing day

Pension Scheme
You’ll be part of the Teachers’ Pension Scheme, with generous employer contributions of up to 24%—one of the best pension packages in the sector.

Employee Benefits Platform
As part of your role, you’ll have access to the COLC Employee Benefits Platform, a one-stop hub for a wide range of perks designed to support your wellbeing, work-life balance, and everyday savings. You’ll be able to access discounts at major supermarkets, fashion and lifestyle retailers, tech stores, travel providers, and more. You’ll also benefit from the Cycle to Work Scheme, cinema and leisure discounts and tech and home appliance discounts, with the option of spreading the cost through salary sacrifice. The platform is part of our commitment to supporting you in every aspect of your working life – and beyond.

Health and Wellbeing
As part of our commitment to supporting your health and wellbeing, all employees have access to the Health Assured Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) – a completely confidential support service available 24/7, 365 days a year. Whether you’re facing personal challenges, looking for advice, or simply need someone to talk to, Health Assured is here to help. Through Health Assured, you can access a 24/7 confidential helpline, face to face, online or telephone counselling, as well as structured support for a wide range of issues including stress, anxiety, relationships, bereavement, legal and financial concerns.
You’ll also have access to the online wellbeing portal, a secure, user-friendly platform offering a wide range of self-help resources, health assessments, articles, and guidance covering emotional, physical, and financial wellbeing, and to the Wisdom App, which offers mood trackers and wellbeing tools, meditation guides, fitness videos, and self-help modules
as well as daily wellbeing tips.

You’ll also be entitled to a free eye test through our voucher scheme with Specsavers, which covers a full eye exam (worth up to £25) and even includes £45 towards a pair of glasses. We also offer free flu vaccinations to help keep you feeling your best all year round.

Travel
We offer interest-free loans to help you buy annual travel passes from Merseytravel and Merseyrail. That means you can enjoy the savings of up to two months’ free travel—without having to cover the full cost upfront. It’s all about making your commute more affordable and less stressful.

Flexible Working
We offer flexible working options depending on business need to support our employee’s work-life balance.

Professional Development
We’re passionate about helping you thrive, offering a mix of formal and informal professional development opportunities—designed to sharpen your skills, expand your knowledge, and accelerate your career.

College Benefits
Our excellent sports and fitness facilities can be used free of charge by staff. You can also access a range of discounted hair and beauty treatments at our Academy and Graduate Hair & Beauty Salons, and a staff discount at our Academy Restaurant.