His Majesty's Inspector (HMI), Schools

Job summary

We are recruiting to His Majesty's Inspector (HMI), Schools.

HMI, Schools are responsible for leading high impact inspection of education in a variety of settings. They are experienced professionals with the highest levels of skill needed to observe and report objectively on standards and effectiveness, reach sound evaluations based on evidence and communicate these effectively, so that settings understand their strengths and areas for development.

This is a fantastic opportunity to further your experience in Ofsted’s well-established team. The post holder will work with high-achieving professionals at all levels, surrounded by a friendly and supportive team. They will have access to amazing benefits, such as flexible working hours, the Civil Service Pension Scheme, and 32.5 days annual leave + 8 bank holidays.

Job description

Please refer to the interactive recruitment brochure for further information.

Person specification

Please refer to the interactive recruitment brochure for further information.

The campaign will focus on regional demand and the backgrounds and volumes of people we recruit in each region will reflect that demand. We will only be accepting applications from those who meet the experience for the specific regions as listed below:

East of England; East Midlands - Secondary and SEND experience

London; South East - Primary and SEND experience

North East, Yorkshire and Humber; North West; South West - Primary, secondary and SEND experience

West Midlands - Predominantly primary and SEND experience, but will also accept applications from those with secondary experience

Please note: For SEND experience, we are referring to those who have worked in the specialist sector, i.e. special schools, alternative provision or resource provision.

Qualifications

Degree level qualification or equivalent.

Must hold a recognised teaching qualification which has resulted in Qualified Teacher Status (QTS).

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Leadership
• Communicating and Influencing
• Making Effective Decisions
• Delivering at Pace

Technical skills

We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:

• A secure, deep and broad knowledge and understanding of current education issues gained in a suitably wide range of settings.
• An awareness of the current changes taking place in education and inspection and the ability to keep up to date across a wide range of professional matters.
• An understanding of the key stakeholders in education, and the operational and political context of each.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £87,269, Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills contributes £25,281 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

Full details of the benefits available can be found in our Ofsted Offer brochure.

Ofsted is devoted to equality, diversity and inclusion. Within our Ofsted Strategy 2023-2027 we have stated that we will improve the representation of under-represented groups across the organisation and publish our progress on this annually. We are always looking to expand on our diverse workforce by recruiting candidates from varied backgrounds and differing experiences. We are proud to be a Disability Confident – Leader, we continually engage with our 5 staff networks for protected characteristics, and highlight the work of our Equalities,Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Group. We ensure all candidates are treated with fair and open competition, with all appointments being made on merit and we use our Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) to provide assurance to all candidates of this.

Ofsted is committed to maintaining employee health and wellbeing, whether it is physically, emotionally, financially or socially, and offers a range of benefits to support employees in this. Such benefits include the option to join the Civil Service Pension Scheme, professional and personal development opportunities, 32.5 annual leave days per annum (plus eight days public holiday) and access to counselling and advisory services.

Things you need to know

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Ability, Experience and Technical skills.

Application and Shortlisting:

The selection panel will assess your application/personal statement based on the evidence you have provided against the essential/desirable criteria as set out in the job specification.

Use the STAR model (Situation, Task, Action, Result) to present your evidence.

You will also be asked to provide information within the application form. This information is equivalent to the information you would provide on a CV setting out your career history (this will/may be used in the sifting process).

Assessment and interview:

Candidates who pass the benchmark at the shortlist stage will be invited to an assessment and interview where you will be assessed against a mixture of the Civil Service behaviours and on the technical/experience skills as detailed in the job specification.

An online assessment will be held between 17 and 24 April 2026. Presentation task and interviews will be held from 28 May 2026 at one of our regional offices. Exact dates and venues to be confirmed nearer the time.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window).The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see theCivil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

Apply and further information

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Job contact :

• Name : Ofsted Resourcing team
• Email : jobs@ofsted.gov.uk
• Telephone : 03000 131 487

Recruitment team

• Email : jobs@ofsted.gov.uk

Further information

If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles, and you wish to make a complaint, you should email Ofsted recruitment at jobs@ofsted.gov.uk in the first instance. If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the Department, you can contact the Civil Service Commission at: https://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk/recrutiment.

Attachments

4461 - HMI Schools - Job specification v2 Opens in new window (pdf, 213kB)