{"id":246111,"date":"2026-05-07T23:00:22","date_gmt":"2026-05-07T22:00:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/schoolsweek.co.uk\/?p=246111"},"modified":"2026-05-07T23:08:17","modified_gmt":"2026-05-07T22:08:17","slug":"dfe-regional-directors-post-re-advertised-with-a-25000-salary-boost","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/schoolsweek.co.uk\/dfe-regional-directors-post-re-advertised-with-a-25000-salary-boost\/","title":{"rendered":"DfE regional director\u2019s post re-advertised with a \u00a325,000 salary boost"},"content":{"rendered":"

Headhunters have been forced to jack up the pay for a senior civil servant vacancy by \u00a325,000 after their attempts to replace one of the government\u2019s longest-serving mandarins faltered.<\/p>\n

The Department for Education has re-advertised for a new north west regional director<\/a> \u201cat a more competitive salary\u201d after failing to find its ideal candidate.<\/p>\n

Sector leaders have argued the case exposes the \u201ctension\u201d between ministers\u2019 desire to hire more experts while being straitjacketed by civil service wage structures.<\/p>\n

But Pepe Di\u2019Iasio, the general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, acknowledged there was \u201cprobably little choice\u201d other than to offer a higher salary.<\/p>\n

\"Vicky
Vicky Beer<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

But he said it \u201cmay stick in the throat of schools, which are struggling with financial pressures,” that money could be found for DfE appointments while they struggled to recruit teachers because pay often fell behind other graduate professions.<\/p>\n

Schools Week<\/em> revealed in March that Vicky Beer, the DfE\u2019s longest-serving regional director, was set to retire at the end of April.<\/p>\n

Regional directors oversee school structures in their area, deciding on academisation of struggling council-maintained schools and on re-brokers between trusts.<\/p>\n

A job ad for Beer\u2019s replacement originally offered a \u00a3125,000 annual salary.<\/p>\n

Re-advertised<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The department wanted applicants to have \u201cdemonstrable experience of leading change inclusively with your team, including delivering system improvement and transformation\u201d.<\/p>\n

But last week, the vacancy was readvertised at \u00a3150,000 a year. The DfE noted this was \u201ca more competitive salary\u201d that remained within the civil service\u2019s director level banding.<\/p>\n

Di\u2019Iasio added: \u201cThe DfE is keen on telling off [academy] trusts over executive pay, but might do well to reflect on the reality that you have to pay at the level needed for the role.\u201d<\/p>\n

That principle should be extended to ensure schools and colleges could recruit and retain the teachers they needed, he said.<\/p>\n

Pank Patel, a former regional schools commissioner before the position was rebadged as regional director, said the situation underlined how academy trust leaders \u2013 \u201cwho are the kind of people DfE will want to attract\u201d \u2013 often were paid more than \u00a3125,000.<\/p>\n

But it would be \u201ca high-ranking salary\u201d in the civil service.<\/p>\n

Schools Week\u2019s<\/em> chief executive pay audit last month<\/a> found academy trusts bosses took home \u00a3142,000 on average in 2024-25, compared with \u00a3135,000 the year before. Eighty-eight earned more than \u00a3200,000.<\/p>\n

Last year, the top of the maintained school pay spine for heads was more than \u00a3153,000.<\/p>\n

Mark Greatrex, an academy trust boss who used to work for the DfE, said: \u201cThere\u2019s a tension here. DfE pay has never been competitive with the market it serves.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf they are going to want to bring people from the sector, it\u2019s not going to work within the pay structure they\u2019re currently working to.\u201d<\/p>\n

The latest published DfE data shows only three regional directors were paid at least \u00a3140,000 a year. They included Beer, a former trust leader.<\/p>\n

Top of the table<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Nigel Minns was at the top of the pay table, earning a minimum of \u00a3150,000, despite only becoming regional director for the East Midlands in March. He had been Warwickshire council\u2019s director of children\u2019s services for the previous eight years.<\/p>\n

His salary is just \u00a310,000 less than his boss, regions group director Tim Coulson, earns.<\/p>\n

The figures don\u2019t include the wages for Vanessa Ogden, London\u2019s regional director. Before starting last month, she was the chief executive of the Mulberry Schools Trust, receiving between \u00a3230,000 and \u00a3240,000.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the pay floors for the other six regional directors \u2013 all appointed from other civil service jobs \u2013 were between \u00a395,000 and \u00a3110,000.<\/p>\n

One executive recruiter, who asked not to be named, noted: \u201cMaybe the DfE needs to look at standardising what they require from the regional director position and if this is more of a civil service role.<\/p>\n

\u201cGiven that other government departments and other parts of the DfE don\u2019t need sector specialists to undertake senior executive roles, does that need to be the case for the regional directors?\u201d<\/p>\n

‘Experience of leading change’<\/h2>\n

Among the \u201cessential criteria\u201d for the advertised regional director job is \u201cexcellent system leadership skills gained within the education or care sector, local or national government\u201d.<\/p>\n

Candidates must also have \u201cdemonstrable experience of leading change\u201d, including \u201csystem improvement and transformation\u201d.<\/p>\n

The advert said the new regional director would be \u201cthe front face of many aspects of the department\u2019s work\u201d, as they delivered \u201ca number of key programmes which sit at the heart of major policy priorities\u201d.<\/p>\n

They would lead their area\u2019s RISE school improvement team \u2013 a flagship Labour policy \u2013 and take decisions relating to the \u201coversight of the academy trust system\u201d.<\/p>\n

Shortlisted applicants for the north west post will be invited next month to a \u201cpartnership engagement conversation\u201d with Coulson, a former council director of children\u2019s services and academy trust leader.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Academy trust boss says DfE pay ‘has never been competitive with the market it serves’<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":311204,"featured_media":246031,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[28],"post-theme":[2396],"class_list":["post-246111","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-dfe","post-theme-politics"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t