RISE Adviser - West Midlands – Early years and SEND adviser

Job summary

In this round of adviser recruitment, we are looking for advisers with both:

• an exceptional track record of leading early years curriculum, pedagogy and practice in a school environment, and building effective partnerships with a range of different pre-reception settings.
• an exceptional track record of leading school improvement in the primary school sector, with strong SEND expertise, which can be in mainstream context.

This is an exciting opportunity to work as an expert adviser at the heart of the Government’s mission to deliver high and rising standards in education. You will advise senior civil servants on the best strategies for raising standards in schools, including schools that are most in need of support. You will help create a culture of sector-led improvement in your region, working directly with senior leaders in schools, trusts, dioceses and local authorities as well as centres of excellence like curriculum hubs, attendance and behaviour hubs, reception network lead schools and teaching school hubs.

Education is at the heart of the Government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity and give every young person the best start in life, no matter their background. That means high and rising standards in education for all children across the country. We want to ensure that all children and young people have access to excellent inclusive schools, providing them with the foundations for the best start in life, and enabling them to achieve and thrive.

Job description

Regional Improvement for Standards and Excellence teams (RISE teams) are a critical part of this mission. Comprising of civil servants and expert advisers with a track record of school improvement and executive leadership, they will help create a sector-led improvement system in their region, working directly with schools to help them improve. Advisers will report to Regional Directors who, acting on behalf of the Secretary of State, have a clear set of responsibilities underpinned by our overall mission to ensure every child has the opportunity to achieve and thrive.

RISE teams will raise standards in education in two ways:

• through Universal RISE, empowering all schools to grow and share great practice.
• providing bespoke Targeted RISE interventions with schools that face the greatest barriers to improvement.

For the Universal RISE service, RISE teams will work across all schools to:

• signpost effective practice
• encourage peer-to-peer support
• bring schools together to share knowledge and innovation

The RISE universal service will deliver 4 national priorities focused on driving higher standards and will be guided by regional plans. The national priorities are:

• attainment, with a focus on English and maths
• inclusive mainstream
• reception-year quality
• attendance

For Targeted RISE intervention, RISE advisers will engage with the eligible school and its responsible body to consider the school’s specific improvement needs. Where appropriate, RISE teams will arrange for a high-quality organisation to work with a school to support improvement. RISE teams will be able to draw on funds to support this activity. RISE teams are regularly reviewing progress and engagement with the targeted intervention.

We expect most RISE advisers to perform a mixture of targeted and universal RISE work. There will be some advisers that may only carry out one, depending on capacity and expertise.

We are looking for RISE advisers with expertise in early years and primary school settings with SEND expertise. You will be a key part of the RISE teams, working collaboratively to provide an exceptional service to the schools they support. Advisers will have flexible and varied roles, matched to their expertise and capacity. The role of the adviser includes but is not limited to:

• Developing strong professional relationships with schools, trusts, dioceses and local authorities to bring about improvements in schools, drawing on experience of delivering complex change or service transformation
• Working with local authorities, dioceses, schools and trusts across their region, to contribute to the strategic priorities for the region.
• Facilitating and leading dissemination of good practice and networking.
• Commissioning bespoke packages of support from high quality trusts, schools, local authorities or partnerships to work with and improve schools in need of support.
• Working closely with schools, local authorities, dioceses and trusts to actively monitor school improvement to ensure it is rapid, embedded and sustained across the school.

We will select advisers who, collectively, can deliver the above functions in an area. Specific roles will be allocated based on individuals’ specialisms as well as their time commitment.

Advisers will be allocated to work primarily in one region, although we may require advisers to support outside their main region based on demand and specialisms. If you are able to work across more than one region, you only need to apply once. Please specify in your statement of suitability whether you are interested in working across regions and which regions these would be.

We will provide training and induction for all new advisers allowing them to settle into their new roles and understand how the process will work. Across our team of advisers, we want to draw on skills and expertise from across the sector and we want to create a team with backgrounds across early years, primary, secondary, special and alternative provisions settings.

Person specification

We welcome applications from individuals with an exceptional track record of school improvement and executive leadership, including those with experience leading high quality early years practice within schools. This may include people who are, or who have recently been, headteachers, senior local authority officers, or trust leaders.

Applicants will be assessed against the following criteria. They will need to demonstrate that they meet all the essential criteria.

Essential Criteria

You will need to demonstrate evidence of:

• An exceptional track record of supporting multiple schools to make rapid and sustained improvements across one or more of our national priority areas: reception year quality, mainstream inclusion, attainment and attendance.
• Proven experience of successful system leadership of school improvement including a deep understanding of inclusive school improvement practice that is grounded in robust evidence. This may include early years settings and broader school improvement work across trusts, regions and local authorities.
• Excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to foster strong professional relationships to deliver change through others, ensuring colleagues feel valued and empowered.
• A deep understanding of the education sector in your region and the specific challenges and opportunities.
• 5a. An exceptional track record of leading early years curriculum, pedagogy and practice in a school environment, and building effective partnerships with a range of different pre-reception settings.
• An exceptional track record of leading school improvement in the primary sector with strong SEND expertise, which can be in mainstream context.

Desirable Criteria

• Experience of delivering complex change or service transformation within a large group of schools, a trust or local authority.
• Strong evidence of system leadership, working as part of networks and collaborative groups across a number of schools to support improvement across a wider area.

Desirable criteria will only be assessed at interview, in the event of a tie break situation, to make an informed decision.

Benefits

Applicants currently holding a permanent post in the Civil Service should note that, if successful, their salary on appointment would be determined by the Department’s transfer / promotion policies.

As a member of the DfE, you will be entitled to join the highly competitive Civil Service Pension Scheme, which many experts agree is one of the most generous in the UK.

You will have 25 days leave, increasing by 1 day every year to a maximum of 30 days after five years’ service. In addition, all staff receive the King’s Birthday privilege holiday and 8 days’ bank and public holidays.

We offer flexible working arrangements, such as job sharing, term-time working, flexi-time and compressed hours.

Travel to your primary office location will not be paid for by DfE, but costs for travel to an office which is not your main location will be covered.

As an organisation, which exists to support education and lifelong learning, we offer our staff excellent professional development opportunities.

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

Terms of appointment

You must not have been previously barred from being a proprietor or head teacher of a school under section 128 of the Education and Skills Act 2008.

We welcome applicants on secondment, for example you may work for your current employer part-time and carry out this role part-time. In your application, please state the time-commitment you are able to offer. The majority of our current advisers work 2 days a week, but this can be flexible.

There are two possible appointment routes:

1. Applicants who are currently employed by a school, trust or local authority will be employed via a secondment arrangement. This would be a bespoke agreement between the Department and the applicant's employer. Secondments would normally be agreed for 2 years, but subject to specific negotiation with the individual's current employer.
2. Alternatively, for people who are self-employed, or not currently employed, there will be an alternative commercial route. We will share more details on application.

Where applicable, applicants are responsible for obtaining consent from their employer to apply for these roles. Applicants should also check whether their employment contract contains any restrictive covenants that would prevent them from accepting a post if they are successful in securing one. Appointments will be subject to successful Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) checks and enhanced security checks.

For those seconded into the department, their organisation will receive a day rate of £600.

For those who are appointed via the commercial route, the day rate will be £600 subject to the usual deductions e.g. tax.

Location

This post is available to remote workers and on the following site – Coventry, Cheylesmore House.

This post requires frequent travel, often every day. Remote workers are expected to attend in-person meetings on DfE regional sites and at schools, trusts or local authority sites.

We will try to match advisers to LAs, trusts or schools within the region that they are based; however, any travel and accommodation costs incurred as part of delivering support work will be reimbursed by the Department, in line with agreed policies.

How to apply

The closing date for submitting an application is the 12 August 2026.

We cannot accept applications submitted after this closing date/time.

If you would like the opportunity to learn more about the RISE adviser role and working at the DfE we are running a virtual candidate engagement session on Friday 17 July at 10:15-11:00.
Please contact rise.ADVISERS@education.gov.uk and the MS Teams link will be sent to you to join this session.

Application

To apply for this role, you need to complete an online application via the Civil Service Jobs portal. Applications will be accepted until 23:55 on 12 August 2026. We cannot accept applications submitted after this closing date/time.

The application will include:

1. A CV (no longer than 4 sides) setting out your career history, with key responsibilities and achievements. Please ensure you have provided reasons for any gaps within the last two years​
2. A Statement of Suitability (1,000 words) about why you are suitable for this role against the criteria in the person specification. You can choose to outline any further information you believe is relevant or further demonstrates your suitability for the role.

If applicant numbers are significant, preliminary sifting will be done using only the first essential criteria.​

For this role we will ask for the details of two references, these may be contacted pre-interview. The department may also take further references from other public bodies (such as Ofsted, Local Authorities etc).

Applicants will be informed if they have been successfully shortlisted for interview through Civil Service Jobs.

Only applications from individuals will be accepted.

Please email rise.ADVISERS@education.gov.uk address if you have any questions or require further information about these roles.

Interview

Applications will be sifted and short-listed candidates will be invited to a formal panel interview which will be scheduled to take place in September.

Interviews will be in person at one of the advertised DfE locations.

Candidates may be asked to prepare a presentation for the interview (further information will be shared with shortlisted candidates) and they will be asked questions to further assess their Experience. Experience will be assessed against the essential criteria.

There will be training provided which will be a requirement for advisers. More details will be available upon appointment.

You will be required to declare all conflicts of interest.

Other Information

Interviews may be via Microsoft teams or face to face; the vacancy manager will confirm prior to the Interview.

In your application, please don’t include personal information that identifies you.

This means we can recruit based on your knowledge and skills, and not background, gender or ethnicity - it's called name blind recruitment (opens in a new window).

Please ensure that you remove from your application, all references to your:

• name/title
• educational institutions
• age
• gender
• email address
• postal address
• phone number
• nationality/immigration status

We reserve the right to raise the minimum pass mark in the event of a high volume or strong field of candidates.

Please be aware that this role can only be worked in the UK from the location options provided and not from overseas.

The government is committed to supporting apprenticeships, enabling people to learn and progress in a role whilst earning. We want to monitor the number of people who have completed apprenticeships who are now applying to progress further in their career and are asking this question to all candidates, on all vacancies. You will be asked a question as part of the application process about any previous apprenticeships you have completed. Your response to this question will not affect your application and it is not a requirement of the role to have completed a previous apprenticeship.

If successful and transferring from another Government Department a criminal record check maybe carried out.

In order to process applications without delay, we will be sending a Criminal Record Check to Disclosure and Barring Service on your behalf. However, we recognise in exceptional circumstance some candidates will want to send their completed forms direct. If you will be doing this, please advise Department of Education of your intention by emailing Pre-Employment.Checks.DFE@education.gov.uk stating the job reference number in the subject heading.

Department for Education do not cover the cost of travel to your interview/assessment unless otherwise stated.

A reserve list may be held for a period of 12 months from which further appointments can be made.

Candidates will be posted in merit order based upon location preference. Where more than one location is advertised you will be asked to state your preferred location.

New entrants are expected to join on the minimum of the pay band.

Applicants who are successful at interview will be, as part of pre-employment screening subject to a check on the Internal Fraud Database (IFD). This check will provide information about employees who have been dismissed for fraud or dishonesty offences. This check also applies to employees who resign or otherwise leave before being dismissed for fraud or dishonesty had their employment continued. Any applicant’s details held on the IFD will be refused employment.

Terms and conditions of candidates transferring from ALBs and NDPBs

Bodies that are not accredited by the Civil Service Commission and are not able to advertise at Across Government on Civil Service jobs will be treated as external new starters and will come into DfE on modernised terms and conditions with a salary at the band minimum.

Bodies that are accredited by the Civil Service Commission but do not have civil service status will be offered modernised terms and will not have continuous service recognised for leave or sickness benefits. Salaries should be offered at band minimum, but there is some flexibility where this would cause a detriment to the individual.

Bodies that are accredited by the Civil Service Commission and do have Civil Service status will be treated as OGD transfers. Staff appointed on lateral transfer will move on to pre-modernised DfE terms (unless they were on modernised terms in their previous organisation). Staff appointed on promotion will move on to modernised DfE terms. Staff will transfer over on their existing salary (on lateral transfer) and any pay above the DfE pay band maximum will be paid as a mark time allowance. Staff moving on promotion will have their salaries calculated using the principles set out in the attached OGD transfer supplementary information.

Reasonable adjustment

If a person with disabilities is put at a substantial disadvantage compared to a non-disabled person, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes. If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should:

Contact Department of Education via centralrecruitment.operations@education.gov.uk soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.

Complete the “Assistance required” section in the “Additional requirements” page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at interview, or if you’re deaf, a Language Service Professional.

Please refer to the attached ‘Reasonable Adjustments Guide 05_2025 – accessible version’ at the bottom of the advert, for further information.

Childcare Vouchers

Any move to Department for Education (DfE) will mean you will no longer be able to carry on claiming childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax-Free Childcare. Determine your eligibility at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/

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 : RISE Adviser Team
• Email : rise.ADVISERS@education.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : Centralrecruitment.operations@education.gov.uk

Further information

The Department for Education’s recruitment processes are underpinned by the Civil Service Commissioners Recruitment Principles, which outlines that selection for appointment is made on merit based on fair and open competition. You have the right to complain if you feel a department has breached the requirement of the Recruitment Principles. In the first instance, you should raise the matter directly with the department concerned via CentralRecruitment.Operations@education.gov.uk. If you are not satisfied with the response, you may bring your complaint to the Commission. For further information on bringing a complaint to the Civil Service Commission please visit their web pages

Attachments

DFE Terms & Conditions - accessible version (1) Opens in new window (pdf, 215kB)Reasonable Adjustments guide 2025 - accessible version Opens in new window (pdf, 739kB)OGD Transfer Supplementary information - accessible version Opens in new window (pdf, 327kB)2026-05-18-RISE Advisers Application Pack (1) Opens in new window (pdf, 269kB)