Salary: £65,000.00
Location: Hybrid – Based in Leeds or London
BookTrust is the UK’s largest children’s reading charity. We get millions of children reading, regularly and by choice – especially those from low-income families or vulnerable backgrounds. This is so they can access the life changing benefits that reading regularly brings, helping children to: overcome disadvantage; develop better mental wellbeing, social skills and strong relationships; do better at school; and develop imagination, empathy and creativity.
We deliver our mission through evidence-based interventions that reach over 1.4 million children and families a year. Our carefully selected books and well-researched programmes are delivered by a network of over 7,000 local partners, bringing the magic of reading to children in every community in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Our Work in Schools
In 2025 BookTrust launched a new five-year strategy Reading for a Brighter Future. Reading for a Brighter Future sets out three impact goals, with Impact Goal 3 focusing on reading experiences and outcomes for children aged 4-14 and our work with schools.
Reading for a Brighter Future states that BookTrust will work towards making reading a habitual part of everyday life of all children, with focus on those who need the support the most. To make this a reality we will:
- Engage and support schools and teachers.
- Design and deliver impactful offers for primary schools.
- Design and deliver impactful offers for secondary schools.
BookTrust’s Head of Schools Programmes will lead the delivery of Impact Goal 3. The role will be responsible for managing and building our portfolio of school offers, giving direction to our work, shaping long-term strategies to engage schools and support them with developing positive reading habits for children and young people, as well as building sustainable income streams to deliver this work.
The Head of Schools Programmes will build strong external partnerships and inspire multidisciplinary teams across the organisation to drive the successful delivery of BookTrust’s work in schools and ensure our activity meets our reach and impact targets.
Job Purpose
The Head of Schools will lead and coordinate the development, long-term planning and delivery of our programme of work to bring the benefits of reading to children from age 4-14. This includes existing programmes (Bookbuzz and Bookspark) as well as new activity. This work spans the organisation – from research and impact, design and innovation, through marketing and communication – and requires strong collaborative working to draw on skills and capacity in all these areas.
Core Responsibilities:
- Leadership and Accountability
Develop business plans and strategic priorities to maximise success for BookTrust’s work in schools.
Lead collaborative efforts from cross-functional teams to grow reach and impact for BookTrust’s portfolio of school offers.
Risk identification and mitigation planning to ensure BookTrust’s KPIs for schools are met.
Track and monitor performance of BookTrust’s schools work, adapting and evolving plans as needed to ensure success criteria are met.
Maximise opportunities from cross-over with BookTrust’s work for early years families and children from vulnerable family backgrounds.
- Sector Knowledge and Insights
Horizon scanning to build organisational knowledge of the primary and secondary school landscape, sector trends, the impact of policy initiatives, in-school teaching and learning priorities to inform short and long-term planning.
Deep knowledge of classroom practice and application of BookTrust’s work in settings, through spending time directly in schools with teachers, children and young people, to support ongoing development and refinement of our offers.
Up-to-date insights on emerging developments across the school sector to identify tactical and longer-term opportunities that maximise the impact and reach of BookTrust’s work.
Competitor landscape analysis to inform planning and positioning of BookTrust’s schools offers.
- Organisational Profile and Sector Engagement
Cultivate a strong network of leading experts, advisors, practitioners, consultants and other stakeholders to inform BookTrust’s schools’ strategy and programme design.
Identify and nurture external partnerships that promote awareness and buy-in for BookTrust’s work.
Bring sector insights and knowledge to support BookTrust’s strategic comms and programme marketing for schools, working closely with colleagues from Comms and Marketing Teams.
Confident representing BookTrust at external events, advocating for our work and building profile and awareness.
- Portfolio Management
Effectively manage BookTrust’s suite of traded programmes for schools, Bookbuzz Secondary, Bookbuzz Primary and Bookspark, to maximise reach, impact and income across the programme life cycle, implementing innovations and continuous improvement to drive uptake.
Identify new opportunities for BookTrust’ work in schools, playing a pivotal role from concept to launch of new products and initiatives, working with Programme Design function to ensure products meet user needs, deliver meaningful outcomes and launch on time and to budget.
Inspire multidisciplinary teams across the organisation to drive the successful delivery of BookTrust’s work in schools, working closely and collaboratively with colleagues from Design and Innovation, Research and Insights, Supply Chain, Books, Marketing, Brand and Comms teams across design and delivery phases.
Build strategic alignment across BookTrust’s broader portfolio of programmes, resources and outputs for schools.
Ensure BookTrust’s school offers reflect the rigour of BookTrust’s insights and evidence base, working closely with colleagues from Research and Insight Teams to deliver this.
- Income Generation
Develop and execute business plans for traded programmes, to deliver income targets.
Identify and lead strategic initiatives that support market expansion and customer growth for traded programmes.
Innovate to drive awareness and reach for BookTrust’s work in schools.
Contribute to budgeting and forecasting to ensure the financial success and sustainability of traded offers and income delivery for BookTrust’s work in schools, working closely with colleagues from Finance and Operations teams.
In addition to responsibilities relating to the delivery of the above requirements, the postholder will need to be committed to their own personal development; promote BookTrust and its vision and values in all activities, both internally while carrying out duties and externally with stakeholders and the general public; and carry out all duties in line with BookTrust policies and procedures, being prepared to undertake additional reasonable duties as required.
Other Information
The role could be based in either BookTrust’s Leeds or London offices, with an average of 8 days every month to be spent in the office or in face-to-face commitments. The position will require regular travel to BookTrust office bases and to visit and engage with partners and other organisations as needed.
Reporting Line
The postholder will report to the Director of Children’s Books.
Probation
There will be a 6-month probation period.
Key Benefits
- Annual holiday allowance of 28 days, excluding public holidays.
- Pension scheme, with 7% employer contribution.
- 3 x salary life assurance.
- Employee Assistance Programme.
- Season ticket loan scheme.
- Flexible working scheme.