Head of ESOL


Company:	South Hampshire Colleges Group
Salary:	£51,814 to £56,811 a year
Hours:	Full-time
Location:	Eastleigh, SO50 5FS
Working pattern:	On-site
Job type:	Permanent
Posting date:	25 Sept 2026
Closing date:	16 Oct 2026

Apply for this job

Summary

Care to Join Us?

South Hampshire College Group is seeking an ambitious, innovative and inspirational Head of ESOL to lead, develop and transform our English for Speakers of Other Languages provision across the Group.

This is an exciting opportunity for an experienced educational leader to shape and deliver a strategic vision for ESOL across our campuses and community settings, ensuring learners receive an outstanding educational experience that supports progression into employment, further study and active participation in their communities.

As Head of ESOL, you will provide strategic leadership for ESOL provision across Southampton, Eastleigh, Fareham and community delivery locations, driving quality, growth and innovation while ensuring compliance with funding and awarding body requirements.

You will play a key role in strengthening community cohesion and inclusion across South Hampshire, working closely with local authorities, employers, charities, refugee support organisations and community partners to develop innovative learning opportunities that transform lives and support successful integration.

This is a rare opportunity to shape the future direction of ESOL across a large and ambitious college group, creating a consistent curriculum, quality and assessment framework that influences provision across multiple campuses and community settings.

About the Role

Reporting to the Director of Adults, HE, Online and Commercial, you will lead the development and implementation of a comprehensive ESOL strategy that strengthens learner outcomes, supports community integration and enhances the Group's reputation as a leading provider of ESOL across Hampshire.

You will work collaboratively with curriculum leaders, employers, local authorities, community organisations and key stakeholders to create responsive learning opportunities that meet local needs and support progression into employment, apprenticeships, vocational programmes, further education and higher education.

A key focus of the role will be developing employment-focused ESOL pathways that support learners into priority sectors, ensuring they can progress confidently into work, vocational training and further learning while contributing positively to their communities and the regional economy.

We are looking for a leader who can identify new growth opportunities, develop innovative provision and build sustainable partnerships that enable ESOL delivery to flourish across Hampshire.

We offer great benefits including:

Generous annual leave

Enhanced employer pension contribution

Regular training and development

Duties

Providing strategic leadership and direction for ESOL provision across the Group.

Developing and implementing a two-year ESOL growth and transformation strategy.

Establishing a consistent ESOL curriculum, quality assurance and assessment framework.

Driving improvements in achievement, attendance, retention, progression and learner satisfaction.

Developing employment-focused ESOL pathways linked to local skills priorities and labour market opportunities.

Building productive partnerships with employers, community organisations, local authorities, charities and civic partners.

Leading curriculum planning to ensure provision remains responsive to learner, community and employer needs.

Developing opportunities to expand and grow ESOL provision through community partnerships, employer engagement and funded programmes.

Managing budgets, resources, performance targets and quality improvement plans.

Ensuring compliance with funding regulations, awarding body requirements and Group policies.

Leading, motivating and developing staff to achieve excellence in teaching, learning and learner support.

Contributing to inspection readiness, self-assessment and continuous improvement activities.

Acting as an ambassador for the College Group, promoting the value and impact of ESOL across Hampshire and beyond.

Experience

We are looking for an experienced and strategic leader who is passionate about transforming lives through education and language development.

You will have:

Significant leadership experience within ESOL provision, adult education or further education.

A strong track record of improving quality, learner outcomes and curriculum performance.

Experience of leading curriculum development, organisational change and quality improvement initiatives.

Excellent knowledge of ESOL qualifications, Adult Skills Fund requirements, funding regulations and quality assurance processes.

Experience of developing successful partnerships with employers, local authorities, community organisations and external stakeholders.

Experience of using data and performance measures to drive improvement and inform decision-making.

Strong commercial awareness and the ability to identify opportunities for growth and development.

Excellent communication, leadership and people management skills.

A commitment to safeguarding, equality, diversity and inclusion.

A teaching qualification is essential and a relevant degree-level qualification is desirable.

Why Join Us?

This role offers a unique opportunity to lead one of the College Group's most important areas of provision. Through ESOL, you will help learners develop the language, confidence and skills needed to access employment, progress into further learning and participate fully in their communities. If you are passionate about social mobility, community impact and educational excellence, we would love to hear from you.

About Us

The South Hampshire College Group (SHCG) is a dynamic, purpose driven Further Education organisation with a commitment to Creating Better Futures for learners, employers and communities within South Hampshire and beyond.

We pride ourselves on living our values - Collaborative, Inclusive and Aspirational. We also understand the difference exceptional employees can make to us delivering outstanding results and we are always seeking to attract talent who can add value and who will be proud to be part of our growing organisation.

South Hampshire College Group is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. Our recruitment practices follow safer recruitment guidance, including enhanced DBS checks, online checks, and thorough pre-employment vetting. We value equity, diversity, inclusion and belonging, and welcome applications from all backgrounds.

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible.

Apply for this job