About the Role
Leeds City College are recruiting for a Deputy Head for Travel, Food and Drink, Curriculum and Quality to provide inspirational leadership and drive excellence across a vibrant, fast-evolving curriculum area. This is a key role, offering the opportunity to shape outstanding teaching, learning, and assessment while raising ambition and outcomes for all learners.
You will work closely with the Head of Department to drive strategic change through impactful operational delivery, ensuring curriculum innovation is brought to life in practice. Together, you will design, deliver, and continuously improve a high-quality curriculum that is ambitious, inclusive, and closely aligned with industry standards and the evolving needs of employers across the travel, hospitality, food, and drink sectors.
A core part of your role will be to champion excellence in teaching and learning, ensuring learners are supported, challenged, and inspired to achieve their full potential and progress successfully into further study, apprenticeships, or employment.
You will lead with energy and purpose on all aspects of quality assurance across the curriculum area, including lesson visits, learning walks, data analysis, curriculum reviews, and staff development. Through coaching, mentoring, and empowering staff, you will build confidence, consistency, and excellence across all programmes.
Employer engagement and industry collaboration are already a real strength of the department. We have excellent established relationships with key employers including LNER, Leeds Bradford Airport, and the Hyatt Group, providing learners with outstanding opportunities for work experience, live briefs, and meaningful exposure to real-world industry practice that brings learning to life.
A particularly exciting element of this role is the opportunity to shape and embed curriculum delivery within our new Printworks Kitchen and Bar project. You will play a leading role in integrating teaching and learning into this dynamic, real-world hospitality environment, creating an inspiring space where learners can develop practical skills, professional behaviours, and industry-ready expertise. This innovative model will directly connect curriculum with commercial practice, raising both aspiration and achievement.
Interviews will be taking place w/c 27th July 2026
What You Will Do
As Deputy Head for Travel, Food and Drink Curriculum and Quality, you will:
Lead, motivate, and develop a large, dynamic curriculum team to deliver outstanding teaching, learning, and assessment
Work closely with the Head of Department and leadership team to drive continuous improvement across the curriculum area
Create a high-performing, supportive team culture focused on excellence, collaboration, and learner success
Ensure curriculum delivery is ambitious, inclusive, and aligned with industry standards and employer needs
Champion outstanding teaching and learning, ensuring learners are inspired, challenged, and supported to achieve their full potential
Lead and embed consistency across the department, ensuring a unified approach to curriculum delivery, quality, and expectations
Work collaboratively with Maths, English, and Personal Development & Behaviour (PDBA) programme managers to ensure a coherent, consistent learner experience across all areas
Lead and oversee quality monitoring processes, including IQA (Internal Quality Assurance) and EQA (External Quality Assurance), ensuring compliance, consistency, and high standards across all provision
Lead quality improvement activity, including lesson visits, learning walks, data analysis, and curriculum reviews
Use performance data effectively to identify priorities and drive improvements in outcomes
Coach, support, and develop staff to continually improve practice and achieve consistently high standards
Maintain high standards and expectations for both staff and students, acting as a role model of professionalism at all times
Be a respected and proactive member of the departmental management team, contributing positively to leadership, culture, and decision-making
Strengthen employer engagement and industry partnerships to enhance curriculum relevance and impact
Ensure learners benefit from meaningful work experience, live briefs, and authentic industry exposure
Lead the integration of the Printworks Kitchen and Bar into curriculum delivery as a real-world learning environment
Ensure learners are fully prepared for progression into further study, apprenticeships, or employment
Lead on attendance and punctuality strategies across the curriculum area, ensuring high expectations are set, monitored, and consistently applied to maximise learner engagement and success
About You
We are looking for a motivated, inspiring and highly professional leader who:
Is passionate about driving excellence in curriculum delivery and improving outcomes for learners
Has experience of leading and developing large, dynamic teams within education or training
Has a proven track record of improving teaching, learning, assessment, and learner achievement
Is confident in creating a culture of high expectations, consistency, and continuous improvement
Is skilled in coaching, mentoring, and developing staff to improve practice and performance
Can effectively lead and hold others to account in a supportive and respectful way
Is highly organised, proactive, and confident in using data to drive improvement
Has strong knowledge and experience of quality assurance processes, including IQA and EQA
Understands what outstanding teaching and learning looks like and how to embed it consistently
Is a visible and respected leader who models professionalism at all times
Builds strong, positive relationships across teams and contributes effectively to senior management
Thrives in a fast-paced, dynamic environment with competing priorities
Is able to build strong connections with employers and actively embed industry practice into the curriculum
Is excited by innovation in curriculum delivery, including real-world learning opportunities such as the Printworks Kitchen and Bar project
Demonstrates energy, resilience, and ambition to make a meaningful and lasting impact on learners, staff, and the wider organisation
Benefits
The group offers a range of excellent benefits, including:
Annual leave:
Curriculum and Management: 44 days plus bank holidays
Curriculum support and business support: 39 days plus bank holidays
Pension schemes with generous employer contributions:
Teachers’ Pension Scheme
Local Government Pension Scheme
People’s Pension Scheme
CPD opportunities:
Annual staff conference plus 2 additional staff development days.
Qualifications including PGCE, Apprenticeships, Leadership and Management courses.
Employee wellbeing initiatives: Family Friendly Policies, discounted onsite spa (Printworks) and gym (Park Lane).
Travel and commuting: Discounted travel available through Metro card, Northern Rail, First Bus, Arriva Bus and Cycle to work schemes.
Flexible and hybrid working opportunities: Please speak to the recruiting manager regarding flexible opportunities as these differ between roles.
About Us
Leeds City College is one of the largest further education institutions in the country and is one of the biggest providers of apprenticeships regionally.
We provide a vibrant and diverse learning environment, delivering excellent and innovative education which is supportive, inspiring and life changing. Leeds City College’s values put students first and are at the heart of everything the college does.
We are committed to lifelong learning and investing in our staff. You’ll have access to a broad variety of training and professional development designed to help you continually develop and grow. We offer a wide range of job vacancies, and our large size means there are always exciting opportunities to progress.
Join us on the journey to being the best that we can collectively be for our students, apprentices, staff and our stakeholders.
SAFEGUARDING
At Luminate Education Group we are committed to the safeguarding and welfare of all our students. We expect all our staff and volunteers to share this commitment. All successful applicants will be required to complete mandatory pre-employment checks which include an enhanced DBS check, online checks and must have two satisfactory references. Please be aware that it is a criminal offence to apply for this post if you are barred from engaging in regulated activity in connection to children.
EQUALITY, DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION
Our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) in recruitment is key to our Group’s values. We are dedicated to fostering a workplace that embraces equality, diversity and inclusion in all its forms, where every candidate is treated with fairness, respect, and equity.
Our recruitment processes are designed to ensure equal opportunities, remove bias, and promote a diverse talent pool. To find out more about what our commitment to EDI means to us please Click here to learn more about our EDI objectives.
RECRUITMENT AGENCIES
We do not accept unsolicited CV’s and applications from agencies and will not be liable for any fee in connection with a candidate that has been submitted speculatively through any agency that has not been expressly instructed for a particular vacancy as part of our Preferred Supplier List.
Attached documents
