Curriculum Performance Lead

Curriculum Performance Lead – Animal Care and Plant Sciences/Horticulture

Location: Dearne Valley College, Rotherham

Salary: £43,672 a year + benefits

Vacancy Type: Permanent, Full time (37 hours each week, all year-round)

RNN Group is seeking a dynamic, passionate, and proactive Curriculum Performance Lead (CPL) to join our team. As a first-line leader, you will play a pivotal role in shaping our inclusive curriculum, ensuring our provision aligns with local, regional, and national skills needs for a sustainable future.

The Curriculum Performance Lead is a dual-element role combining operational leadership with a small teaching commitment (approximately 12 hours per week). You will lead a dedicated team of lecturers, assessors, and technicians across a variety of provisions—including Study Programmes (EPYP), Adult Learners, Higher Level Skills, Commercial, and Apprenticeships.

Operational & Team Leadership

• Line Management: Provide clear direction, support, and professional challenge to lecturers, assessors, and technicians to drive high standards of performance and conduct.
• Performance & Development: Lead the Performance Development Review (PDR) process for your team, setting clear targets and identifying continuing professional development (CPD) needs.
• Staff Induction & Support: Provide personalised, structured induction and mentoring for new and developing staff to build team capability and confidence.
• Resource Planning: Efficiently manage staffing allocation, contribute to timetable development, and oversee delegated physical resources and budgets.

Quality Assurance & Curriculum Excellence

• Academic Rigour: Lead the local self-assessment process (SAR), manage Internal Quality Assessment/Moderation (IQA/EQA), and ensure absolute compliance with external awarding bodies.
• Quality Improvement: Conduct learning walks in collaboration with the Quality Team to continuously improve the classroom and training experience.

Student Success & Inclusive Practice

• Teaching & Tutoring: Deliver high-quality teaching, planning, and assessment across a range of programmes tailored to your qualifications, while acting as a group tutor.
• Early Intervention: Constantly track student attendance, punctuality, and progress, implementing early intervention strategies to tackle underperformance.
• Inclusive Curriculum: Work collaboratively to eliminate barriers to education, ensuring students with Educational Health and Care Plans (EHCP) or those facing social exclusion receive preventative, tailored support.

Key Role Objectives

• Foster a department-wide culture of high expectations, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
• Use empowering coaching techniques to support the mental health, well-being, life skills, and self-reliance of both staff and students.
• Ensure full institutional compliance with regulatory bodies, with a strong focus on Keeping Children Safe in Education and the Prevent Duty.
• Meet or exceed departmental KPIs, regularly reporting progress to the Curriculum Manager regarding student recruitment, retention, and achievement.

The Challenges You'll Thrive On

• Being a Role Model: Remaining positive and solution-focused at all times, helping teaching and support staff overcome daily obstacles.
• Supporting Every Learner: Helping students achieve their absolute best, regardless of the personal or educational challenges they face.

You will…

You will be an experienced lecturer, or course leader within the area of Animal Care and Land Based provision, with a proven track record of excellent educational outcomes with strong knowledge of curriculum intent, quality assurance processes, and data tracking within Further Education, Adult and Apprentices.

You will be an empathetic, coaching-focused leader capable of motivating staff and building confident, independent learners.

You will hold a Level 2 (or equivalent) qualification in English and Maths (or be willing to undertake), hold a recognised teaching qualification at Level 5 or higher, and a professionally relevant qualification within animal care, veterinary sciences or animal welfare or plant sciences. An assessor’s award (A1/CAVA) will be advantageous.

Department Info

Reporting to the Curriculum Manager, you will work alongside colleagues within the curriculum area and wider college departments. You will provide supervisory/first line management for lecturers, assessors and teaching assistants as directed by the Curriculum Manager.

Our excellent benefits and rewards package:

• Access to teachers pensions scheme (with employer contributions to 23.68%)
• Up to 50 days annual leave per year including closure during Christmas period
• Access to our gyms, restaurants and salons
• Staff health & wellbeing and benefits schemes including in-house Occupational Health service
• Extensive wellbeing support through a digital Wellbeing Hub that offers a broad range of support for physical, mental, and financial wellbeing.
• Full, part time and flexible working hours available in many roles
• Free Parking available at all of our sites
• Fantastic career development opportunities including funding for teacher training, apprenticeships and various other industry recognised qualifications

Closing date: Monday 03 August 2026

To Apply

If you feel you are a suitable candidate and would like to work for RNN Group, please click apply to be redirected to their website to complete your application.