East Kent College
Deputy Head Professional and Service Industries

How your CV stacks up
Upload your CV to see how well it fits this job role
?%
About The Role
Innovate Education, Empower Their Success, Support the Community's Future - Join us as Deputy Head of Professional and Service Industries
EKC Ashford College are seeking to appoint a Deputy Head of Professional and Service Industries. As a Deputy Head you will be responsible for improving the quality of teaching, learning and assessment in the department, monitoring key performance indicators and instigating swift and effective intervention.
Your role responsibilities will include supporting the development of the departments curriculum as well as working with the Head of Department to implement the strategic plan for the area. You will implement the areas quality improvement plan and strive to improve the student experience within the area to ensure that the curriculum is current and meets the needs of the area, industry and the community. You will also scrutinise and analyse data relating to the department at least monthly, including retention, achievement, attendance and student satisfaction, ensure its accuracy and implement timely and effective measures to bring about improvement.
Benefits
Alongside our priority of excellent student experience, we also focus on our employees. Here are just some of our benefits when working for the East Kent Colleges Group:
- Generous Annual Leave - 38 days FTE per annum
- Flexible Personal Leave - Time off for your child's first day at nursery or school, moving homes and for interviews
- Competitive Pension Scheme - 28%
- Exclusive Discounts & Perks - Inc. restaurant, grocery, retail and holidays discounts as well as car leasing and tech purchasing schemes
- Wellbeing and Health Support - Generous sick pay, counselling services, discounted gym membership at Canterbury College, free eye tests and glasses vouchers, flexible support for medical appointments and return-to-work support
- Culture and Recognition - Being part of Community Days, an Annual Staff Celebration Day, and an eco-friendly organisation dedicated to reaching net-zero by 2030
Reasons to use Rodeo
I’m in my final year doing Economics and I don’t know whether to apply for grad schemes now or do a masters first. What do you think?
Honest answer — it depends on where you want to end up. A lot of top grad schemes (Big 4, civil service, banking) don’t need a masters. Let’s look at the ones you’d be competitive for now, and we can decide if a masters actually adds anything.
Also worth knowing: most autumn 2026 applications are open now. Timing matters more than you think.
Start with a chat, not a search bar
Grad scheme, placement, apprenticeship? Not sure what you want yet — that's fine. Your agent talks it through with you and turns "I have no idea" into a shortlist.
Graduate Consultant — 2026 Scheme
Why you're a good match
StrongYour economics background and your summer at a regional bank line up with what PwC looks for on the consulting scheme. Applications close in four weeks.
See breakdownIt searches the market for you
Every day your agent scans the market matching roles against what actually matters to you, not just keywords on a CV.
Why you're a good match
You’ve got the grades and the economics background, and your bank internship is exactly the experience this scheme looks for. Apply soon — deadlines close within the month.
Experience fit
Your summer at the bank plus your econometrics coursework map directly to the day-one responsibilities on this scheme — client modelling, market briefings, and deal support.
Only hits
No noise. No "maybe this fits." Just roles with a clear explanation of why they're right — and where to focus when applying.
About You
We are seeking to appoint a highly organised and enthusiastic individual to work alongside the Head of Department to oversee the delivery of programmes of study and/or courses. You will have a proven track record of implementing high standards and improvement within a department.
You should have a background in education, a teaching qualification and, ideally experience of line managing a team or leading a team as you will be responsible for completing staff appraisals, teaching and learning observations and staff one to one meetings and will line manage a team of lecturers and support staff.
You will have experience of a further education environment and supporting lecturing staff to deliver high quality teaching to young people and will be the first point of contact for the programme leaders when the Head of Department is off site.
Why Apply
- No need to update your CV – simply complete our short online application form
- Save your progress and return at any time
- All applicants will be contacted after the closing date
Informal Enquiries
For an informal discussion or any queries, please email jobs@ekcgroup.ac.uk
About Us
Outstanding Ofsted Provider
East Kent Colleges Group is an Ofsted Outstanding rated provider. It is proud to be the first General Further Education college organisation in the country to have received the Outstanding grade against each of the strands under the new Ofsted inspection framework. An inclusive provider, our colleagues place our students and the communities we serve at the heart of everything they do across EKC Group and this is illustrated in our ‘Strong’ skills grading by Ofsted.
Commitment to Safeguarding
We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults and we ensure that all staff are aware of their responsibilities for upholding these principles.


Get help with your application
Your very own career expert that helps elevate your application to the next level.
As a designated establishment, we are exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and therefore have an obligation to carry out checks to ensure that staff are suitable to work with children and vulnerable adults. These checks include conviction/caution self-declaration, Enhanced DBS check and obtaining sufficient referencing.
It is a criminal offence to apply for a post which involves engaging in regulated activity relevant to children if you are barred from doing so.
If you are successful in being shortlisted to interview, your suitability to work with children and vulnerable adults will be explored as part of the interview process.
Commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
East Kent Colleges Group is an equal opportunities employer and welcomes applications from all members of our communities. We are particularly keen to increase the diversity of our staff body and encourage applications from candidates where there is underrepresentation in our workforce.
We are proud to hold the Positive About Disability Award and are a Disability Confident Employer. This confirms our commitment to interviewing all applicants who declare that they have a disability and who meet the essential criteria outlined in the person specification. With any successful candidate, we will explore any reasonable adjustments to a role due to a health needs or disability.
Similarly, we have a commitment to Care Leavers (Care Covenant Pledge) and to current or previous Armed Forces personnel (Armed Forces Covenant Pledge) with a commitment to interview applicants who meet the positions essential criteria and who have declared this on their application.
We welcome applications from anyone wishing to work flexibly and those considering a return to work from a career break.
We do not engage with agencies for permanent staff and have an in-house recruitment team.
“It took my CV and asked me questions relevant to understanding what kind of jobs to suggest for me. Suggestions were almost perfect. Jobs were exactly what I’ve been looking for.”
Jessica, London
Location