Head of Norfolk Music Service and the Norfolk and Suffolk Music Hub in Diss

Lead a high-performing Music Service delivering outstanding music education which inspires children to flourish, reaching hundreds of thousands of participants each year.

Norfolk County Council is seeking an inspirational, strategically minded and musically credible leader to step into the Head of Service role. This is a unique opportunity to lead one of England’s largest consolidated music hubs, covering Norfolk and Suffolk. Following the successful merger of the separate county music hubs in 2024, you will champion high-quality music education across both regions. You will provide strategic oversight of a joint annual turnover of c. £4.5 million, nurture a dedicated team of 35 staff and work in close collaboration with c. 70 diverse local, regional and national partners. Based within our Ofsted-graded 'Outstanding' Children's Services team, you will ensure every child has the opportunity to flourish. If you are a collaborative change leader who believes in music’s transformative power, we invite you to help shape our future.

The Norfolk Music Service is a highly successful, centrally retained teaching team that supports schools, families and young people by providing access to music education that inspires and supports children from all backgrounds. Funded by the Department for Education and administered by Arts Council England, the Service is also the Hub Lead Organisation for the Norfolk and Suffolk Music Hub, nationally recognised as an exemplary model of high-quality music education which works at scale. Norfolk County Council receives c. £2 million in reportable revenue grant funding and the music service works in partnership with around 70 local, regional and national partners. Through direct trading, generating an annual traded turnover of £1 million. Annually, we deliver music activities to c. 650,000 young people across c. 850 schools throughout Norfolk and Suffolk. Operating on a secure local authority foundation, we are deeply committed to driving integration and collaboration to support all children, including those from rural or deprived backgrounds and those with SEND.

About the Role: Reporting directly to an Assistant Director in Children's Services, the Head of Service provides visionary, forward-thinking leadership to meet the National Plan for Music Education. This role has financial accountability for £4.5 million annually and is accountable for the Arts Council England (ACE) funding agreement, business planning and financial sustainability across grant-funded and traded income. The time split is approximately 30% in schools and 70% in the wider partnership and community delivery.

Key Responsibilities Include:

• Strategic and Financial Oversight: Lead all business and financial planning, managing complex traded income (£1m) and grant funding (c. £2m ACE grant, plus additional grants), ensuring strict compliance with purchasing, procurement and contract policies and procedures.
• Partnership Evolution: Manage, align and nurture relationship frameworks with around 70 diverse local, regional and national partners, navigating competing priorities and implementing outcome-focused commissioning processes.
• Workforce Leadership: Lead a team of 35 teachers, middle managers and support staff, implementing structural developments to drive colleague engagement, high performance and individual creativity.
• Safeguarding & Governance: Act as the safeguarding lead for the entire service, ensuring absolute compliance with Working Together to Safeguard Children and related safeguarding legislation across all settings and large-scale public events.
• National Representation: Act as NCC's ambassador on national forums, including the APPG for Music Education, DfE round tables and Arts Council national working groups.

Who we are looking for: We are seeking an experienced, dynamic and collaborative leader who can deliver high-quality music education and partnership management at an exceptional scale. The ideal candidate will demonstrate:

• Educational Credibility: A degree or equivalent professional qualification plus substantial leadership in a music education, school, cultural, or music industry environment is essential. QTS, teacher standards knowledge, or post-Grade 8 qualifications are highly desirable.
• Strategic and Financial Track Record: Proven experience leading music service operations or complex hubs at scale (covering hundreds of schools), including experience reporting to national grant funders such as Arts Council England.
• Political Acumen and Stakeholder Skills: Demonstrable experience navigating a large, complex local authority environment, including managing relationships with senior council leaders, elected members and diverse schools.
• Collaborative Change Leadership: An open, non-hierarchical and supportive leadership style that prioritises colleague engagement, delegation and building a strong bottom-up service culture.
• Inclusion and Youth Focus: A deep, vocational belief in the power of music education to support and enrich the lives of all children, particularly marginalized groups, rural communities and pupils with SEND.
• Operational Compliance: Complete commitment to safeguarding and child welfare (enhanced DBS required).

This role will involve regular travel across Norfolk and Suffolk and working outside of normal business hours in order to fulfil deadlines, manage programmes, attend partner opportunities or when required to represent NCC at national, regional and local events.

Closing Date: 5th October 2026 at 09:00

Interviews: First stage (online): Tuesday 13th October, Second stage (in person): Monday 19th October