Director of Insights and Artificial Intelligence in West Bridgford

Director of Insights and Artificial Intelligence

Reference: OCT20263381

Expiry date: 09:00, Wed, 4th Nov 2026

Location: East Midlands Education Trust HQ (The West Bridgford School)

Salary: Competitive

• Benefits: All employees:- Local Government / Teachers Pension Scheme Permanent, contracted employees:- SAS Employee Assistance Programme- Cyclescheme

Salary: Competitive
Contract: Full time, Permanent
Base: EMET Central Office, with regular travel across Nottinghamshire, Nottingham City, Derbyshire, Derby City and Leicestershire
Start: As soon as possible

East Midlands Education Trust is a family of 24 schools educating children and young people aged 3 to 19, including alternative provision, across Nottinghamshire, Nottingham City, Leicestershire, Derbyshire and Derby City. We are ambitious for every child we serve, and we are growing, with new schools opening in Leicestershire.

A Trust of our size generates a great deal of data on attainment, attendance, inclusion, finance, workforce and estates. Too often it sits in separate systems and arrives too late to change decisions. We are creating a new executive role, reporting directly to the CEO, to change that. You will turn our data into timely insight for leaders, and lead the safe, practical use of artificial intelligence across the Trust.

This is a broad, high-impact role. One week you might be building the dashboard that shows a headteacher exactly where their attainment gaps are; the next, presenting monthly financial forecasting to the Board, or piloting an AI tool that takes hours of administration out of a teacher’s week. You will see the results directly: in better decisions, reduced workload, and better outcomes for children.

What you’ll do

• Lead EMET’s data and insight strategy, creating a single, trusted picture of performance across education, finance, workforce and operations.




• Give school leaders, the Executive Team and the Board clear, timely intelligence that shows where to act, not just what happened.




• Support our integrated curriculum and financial planning work and our move to accurate monthly forecasting, with benchmarked analysis for every school.




• Develop and lead the Trust’s AI strategy, identifying where AI can reduce workload and improve teaching, learning and operations, and delivering it safely.




• Set the governance, ethics and data protection standards for AI and data use, in line with DfE guidance and UK GDPR.




• Work across Education, Finance, HR, Estates and IT to bring our systems and data together as our central services grow.




• Build the data and AI confidence of leaders and staff across our schools.

What we’re looking for

• Significant experience leading data, analytics, business intelligence or digital transformation in a complex organisation, ideally in education, the public sector or a regulated environment.




• A practical understanding of AI and its real applications, and the judgement to know where it adds value and where it doesn’t.




• The ability to turn complex analysis into clear, plain-English insight for non-specialists, from headteachers to trustees.




• Strong knowledge of data governance, security and protection, including UK GDPR.




• The credibility to lead change across teams you don’t line manage.




• A genuine commitment to improving opportunities for children and young people, particularly in disadvantaged communities.

Experience of MAT data (attainment, attendance and inclusion) would be an advantage, but we care most about ability and judgement.

Why join EMET

This is a newly created role with real influence from day one. You will have a CEO, Executive Team and Board of Trustees who are serious about using data and AI well, and who will back you to lead it.

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, and we may interview and appoint before the closing date for an exceptional candidate.

EMET is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff to share this commitment. We welcome applications regardless of age, gender, ethnicity or religion.

Closing date for application is Wednesday 4th November at 9am

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