Vice Principal - Academic

USP College is seeking an inspirational and forward-thinking Vice Principal – Academic to lead our academic provision across A Levels, Adult and Higher Education, and Apprenticeships. Make a meaningful impact in education.

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Job Details

USP College is seeking an inspirational and forward-thinking Vice Principal – Academic to lead our academic provision across A Levels, Adult and Higher Education, and Apprenticeships. As a key member of our Senior Management Team, you will play a central role in shaping our curriculum, strengthening the quality of teaching and learning, and securing outstanding outcomes for all learners.

The Role:

As Vice Principal – Academic, you will:
  • Provide strategic leadership for curriculum development across all academic pathways
  • Champion excellence in teaching, learning, assessment and the overall student experience
  • Drive performance and accountability across attendance, retention, achievement and progression
  • Lead, mentor and empower Curriculum Directors to deliver high-quality provision
  • Play a pivotal role in Ofsted readiness and continuous quality improvement
  • Represent the College externally, supporting partnerships, employer engagement and growth priorities

About You:

You will bring:
  • Significant leadership experience within the further education sector
  • A strong track record in curriculum development and quality improvement
  • A relevant degree or professional qualification
  • A collaborative, people-focused and values-driven leadership style
  • The ability to motivate teams and deliver exceptional student outcomes

 

Assessment Centre
Wednesday 22 April 2026
Join USP College at a pivotal moment as we launch our new strategy and continue to expand our impact across South Essex. This is an exciting opportunity to shape the next chapter of our academic journey and help us transform the lives of learners and our wider community.

Why choose us?

Our strategy is to create a Career Focused, Digital Learning environment, ensuring that the learner experience and our relationship within our community, local and regional employers, are at the heart of everything we do. We are proud to be selected as finalists for the AoC Beacon awards for effective use of digital Technology in FE. Providing a high achieving, focused learning environment allowing our students to achieve the grades they need for higher educations, or the skills and aptitude required to secure a suitable role in their chosen career. Our college is set in the leafy suburbs of Essex, with easy access to surrounding areas and amenities, we are based in a well-connected location both by road and rail.

What we offer:

* subject to terms & conditions

This role is considered exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and the amendments to the Exceptions Order 1975, 2013 and 2020. Which means that when applying for certain jobs and activities certain spent convictions and cautions are ‘protected’, so they do not need to be disclosed to employers, and if they are disclosed, employers cannot take them into account. Further information about filtering offences can be found in the DBS filtering guide.  It is an offence to apply for the role if you are barred from engaging in regulated activity relevant to children.

Shortlisted candidates will be required to complete a self-declaration of their criminal record or information that would make them unsuitable to work with children. Self-declaration is subject to Ministry of Justice guidance on the disclosure of criminal records, further information can be found on GOV UK

USP College is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults, we therefore expect all staff to share this commitment. The successful applicant will be required to undertake an enhanced disclosure via the Disclosure and Barring Service, and any other checks that the role requires to ascertain suitability for working with children and/or vulnerable adults, which may include online searches.

We will hold and process any personal data, including sensitive (special category) personal data, relating to you in accordance with our legal obligations, in the manner set out in the Privacy Notice for staff and in accordance with our Data Protection Policy, which is set out on the College’s website, found here. You should familiarise yourself with our Data Protection Policy (and all other subsidiary policies to it) and comply with them at all times. Neither the Privacy Notice for Staff nor those policies form a part of your contract of employment.