Closing Date: 06/11/2026 Contract Type: Permanent Salary: £78,696 - £87,810 Hours: 35 per week Stirling Council is seeking an ambitious, dynamic and collaborative education professional to join our Schools, Learning and Education Service as Collaborative Improvement Officer. This is an exciting opportunity to play a strategic leadership role in strengthening school improvement across the authority and ensuring the very best outcomes for Stirling’s children and young people. Reporting to the Service Manager (Schools), you will work as part of the Extended Leadership Team and contribute to the delivery of our vision, values, and priorities. You will provide high-quality support and challenge to schools and early years establishments, facilitate collaborative partnerships, and lead key areas of improvement in line with local and national priorities. Key Responsibilities In this strategic role, you will: • Provide professional support and challenge to schools and establishments across all sectors to support continuous improvement and excellence in outcomes through the quality improvement framework. • Undertake the Link Officer role for allocated learning communities, developing strong, effective relationships. • Lead and contribute to the delivery of Stirling Council’s priorities for Schools, Learning and Education, including work across the QUAD collaborative. • Analyse and interpret a range of performance and attainment data to inform improvement planning and track impact. • Identify, promote and disseminate high-quality practice across schools and establishments. • Devise and monitor strategies to address areas for improvement, reporting progress to senior leaders. • Support Headteachers in their professional learning and leadership development. • Design, plan and deliver Career-Long Professional Learning (CLPL) programmes where required. • Ensure compliance with statutory responsibilities, national legislation, and council policy, including Health & Safety, GDPR, and safeguarding. • Prepare reports, policy papers and strategic plans for senior officers, committees and stakeholder groups. • Lead and contribute to networks that encourage professional collaboration, capacity building, and shared responsibility for improvement. • Undertake strategic leadership responsibilities for key improvement priorities as determined by service needs and individual. What We’re Looking For We are looking for a creative, resilient and innovative leader who can inspire colleagues and build strong, trusting relationships across schools and services. You should have a deep understanding of current educational developments and the skills to influence change in a dynamic environment. Essential criteria include: • A teaching qualification and full GTCS registration. • Professional qualification in leadership or equivalent. • Significant experience in a senior leadership role within an education setting. • Demonstrable success in leading and managing change and delivering improvement. • Experience of planning, implementing and evaluating strategic and operational work. • Excellent understanding of national and local education priorities, including the National Improvement Framework. • Strong analytical skills, including experience of working with performance and attainment data. • Excellent interpersonal, communication and organisational skills. • Ability to work independently and as part of a team, with a strong commitment to a positive organisational culture. • Full driving licence and access to a vehicle. Desirable criteria include: • Experience working in a central education service. • Experience of delivering CLPL and developing professional learning. • Experience working with multi-agency partners. • Experience of performance analysis and monitoring. Working for Stirling Council This is a role with significant scope to influence policy, shape practice and improve outcomes for children and young people across Stirling. You will join a supportive and forward-thinking team committed to excellence, collaboration and equity. We offer: • A strong professional learning culture. • Opportunities for career progression and leadership development. • Supportive colleagues and an ambitious education service. Please note that although the application process allows the uploading of a CV (resume), this is not a requirement for teaching posts and if submitted will not be taken into account during shortlisting to ensure a consistent approach for assessing all candidates. You should instead fully answer the question section with all relevant experience and skills. The successful candidate will be required to be a member of the Protecting Vulnerable Groups Scheme (PVG) for Children. If your application is progressed after the interview, you will be asked to complete the form and have your details verified. If you’ve got the right skills for the job we want to hear from you. We encourage applications from the right candidates regardless of age (restrictions apply to Modern Apprenticeships), disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, belief or race. Job Description [https://www.stirling.gov.uk/media/v3zpm5l1/collaborative_improvement_officer_qio_01082026.pdf] Teacher Additional Information [https://www.stirling.gov.uk/media/niof4toc/teachers-additional-information.pdf] Stirling Information [https://www.stirling.gov.uk/media/arjfm1fz/stirling-council-recruitment-pack.pdf]