AAS Director Competency Framework

1. LEADERSHIP
Gives purpose and direction to own teams. Takes difficult decisions and well judged risks.Inclusive, empowering others to work together to achieve organisational goals. Inspires confidence and trust. Contributes to wider corporate management including change. Acts with honesty, integrity and professionalism.
Effective Behaviour / Behaviour to Change
1.1Communicates clear and compelling vision, direction and priorities.
1.2Consistently adds value to corporate planning and decision making; champions corporate values.
1.3Provides a clear rationale of the need for change; encourages staff to respond openly and objectively; and rewards innovation.
1.4Takes difficult decisions and measured risks, including on the basis of incomplete information, and is accountable for them.
1.5Sets out the context for staff; shows how work is relevant and enables others to take decisions.
1.6Is a role model to team/s: behaves in ways which promotes inclusive behaviour and professionalism, integrity and best practice.
1.7Is highly credible and visible, and has strong rapport with staff at all levels.
1.8Resilient and flexible; manages setbacks or resistance.
1.9Sets boundaries; balances accessibility with time to think, focus and
deliver / 1.11 Undermines corporate decisions.
1.12Looks to others to provide direction.
1.13Indecisive, takes the easiest option.
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1.14Allows or exhibits behaviour which excludes or discriminates against
staff or groups of staff.
1.15Says one thing and does another.
1.16Ignores wider interests when fighting own corner.
1.17Blames staff when things go wrong.
1.18Ignores impact of change on staff.
1.19Avoids giving difficult messages; only says what people want to hear.
1.20Fails to communicate regularly with staff.
1.21Creates unnecessary work or duplicates work best done by others.
1.22Lacks the self belief to lead through difficulty

2. GETTING THE BEST FROM STAFF

Promotes high motivation and performance. Encourages team leaders to set objectives, define responsibility and accountability, review progress and provide feedback, support and coaching. At this level the emphasis is as much on setting the context in which team leaders manage their staff as on management of individuals and encouraging everyone to fulfil their potential.
Effective Behaviour and PSG Skills / Behaviour to Change
2.1Runs School to high HR standards, working with HR experts to achieve organisational goals.
2.2Agrees clear responsibilities and objectives, involving people in deciding what needs to be done.
2.3Demonstrates concern for welfare and morale of all staff.
2.4Adapts management style to different people, cultures and situations.
2.5Gives frequent honest and constructive feedback and encourages managers to do the same; praises achievement and tackles poor performance or inappropriate behaviour.
2.6Offers managers the coaching, support and advice they need to produce high performance, judging when to step in; promotes a coaching culture.
2.7Manages talent: identifies potential; values and makes use of people’s strengths and differences; creates an environment that supports the development of all staff.
2.8Encourages experimentation and innovation including flexible ways of working and cross-team working.
2.9Able to deal with emotions and conflicts arising from diversity and inclusion issues. / 2.10Does not delegate challenging or interesting work.
2.11Uncomfortableworking with people from backgrounds different to their own.
2.12Sits on papers.
2.13Appraisals are not evidence-based, lack of objective feedback on development.
2.14Only gives negative feedback; or none at all.
2.15Gives inappropriate levels of responsibility: too much or too little.
2.16Is insensitive to the aspirations, pressures and personal concerns of members of the team.
2.17Demands long hours and rewards input rather than output.
3. DELIVERING RESULTS
At this level, the emphasis is on project management, delivering through others’ efforts, taking well judged risks and encouraging customer focus.
Decisive and accountable. Drives for high quality and high impact service delivery and effective policy outcomes. Delivers with speed and professionalism. Ensures operations are aligned with customer and stakeholder needs and anticipates future requirements. Consistently looks for new and innovative ways to use resources to maximise outcomes, deal with changing demands and achieve objectives.
Effective Behaviour and PSG Skills / Behaviour to Change
Business Management3.1Can oversee the development and delivery of viable business plans and takes responsibility for defining and delivering measurable business benefits.
3.2Able to interpret a wide range of financial information to make management decisions and approve investment appraisals
3.3Ensures that processes and systems achieve the highest standards of internal control
Task Management
3.4Develops team capability (people and resources) to deliver business plan and organisational strategy.
3.5Sets stretching targets and standards of accuracy and quality, explains task clearly, focuses staff on delivery. Takes responsibility.
3.6Ensures work is planned to deliver to
time, budget and agreed standards; assessing and managing project risk; monitors and reviews delivery.
3.7Makes best use of diverse talents, ICT and resources to deliver results, allowing for contingencies and the need for flexibility. / 3.8Prioritises rigorously as requirements change, reviewing distribution of resources across area of responsibility and reallocating them as necessary, dropping less important tasks.
3.9Co-ordinates work of several teams, ensuring efforts are complementary.
Stakeholder Management
3.10Effectively communicates with internal and external customers and service providers.
3.11Promotes excellence of customer service
3.12Engages stakeholders to achieve objectives. Works in partnership with School Board to achieve organisational goals. / 3.13Lacks understanding and capability in business planning and financial management issues.
3.14Easily satisfied with poor project management systems and unreliable management information.
3.15Focuses on the process at the expense of results. Risk averse.
3.16Makes policy recommendations without realistic consideration of accessibility of resources.
3.17Team consistently fails to deliver agreed outcomes.
3.18Policy and services fail on stakeholder management and customer care.
3.19Fails to act when particular activities no longer add value and resources could be better used elsewhere.
4. STRATEGIC THINKING
Has a clear sense of direction, strategic priorities and wider political context and brings this perspective and judgement to bear in coordinating operations and resources and delivering on objectives. Rises above the detail and deploys strategic analysis tools appropriately. Understands how diversity can deliver the wider vision and cultural change. Encourages innovation and creativity.
Effective Behaviour and PSG Skills / Behaviour to Change
4.1Relates work to School vision and values, strategic objectives and wider context.
4.2Scans environment to gather relevant information and diverse perspectives; makes connections between the immediate and the big picture. Uses appropriate evidence as a basis for decisions.
4.3Sees linkages across organisational boundaries, and themes or patterns emerging from data. Raises awareness and interest amongst others about issues which could be of importance in the future.
4.4Continuously evaluates policy delivery and service delivery against changes in external environment.
4.5Anticipates longer-term changes, threats and opportunities, identifying, evaluating and managing risk effectively.
4.6Thinks laterally and/or creatively to identify opportunities to deliver.
4.7Evaluates options for policy delivery and service delivery against criteria, testing for deliverability and preparing for evaluation.
4.8Translates strategic analysis and decisions into realistic action plans which deliver concrete outcomes, taking full account of the wider political, social, commercial and economic drivers, customer stakeholder feedback.
4.9Reviews actions and outcomes against performance criteria and learns lessons. / 4.10Sees elements of policy or service individually rather than as part of a whole.
4.11Inward focus; unable to adapt policy or services to fit changes in external environment.
4.12Focuses on intellectual debate at the expense of action.
4.13Risk averse.
4.14Narrow approach, closing down innovative options and ideas.
4.15Concentrates on tactics at the expense of strategy.
4.16Fails to take account of agreed strategic objectives.
4.17Poor judgement, limited evidence base.
4.18Strategic plans lack factual substance and realism.

5. IMPACT

This is about interpersonal effectiveness and a strategic approach to communication and stakeholder engagement. Self confident and self aware; uses a range of approaches to build relationships and contact networks and to communicate with and influence others to get results. Negotiates creatively and effectively to achieve objectives. Projects a professional, inclusive and modern image.
Effective Behaviour and PSG skills / Behaviour to Change
Personal Style
5.1Recognises impact of own behaviour and personal style on others and appropriately adapts approach to different people, environments, locations and cultures.
5.2Understands and anticipates the needs and motivations of others; values and incorporates diverse and different perspectives, sharing information and ideas.
5.3Challenges policy thinking and the opinions of others and responds positively to being challenged.
5.4Communicates openly, convincingly and with confidence in a range of situations, including negotiating, public speaking, press briefings, speaking off the cuff, explaining business plans and business benefits.
5.5Written communication is focussed and persuasive, tailored to audience and purpose; and has impact.
Relationships
5.6Establishes wide-ranging and diverse contact networks which offer rapid access to information or leverage not readily available elsewhere.
5.7Systematic engagement approach to stakeholder engagement. / 5.8Influential with contacts at the highest level; seeks out tactical and strategic allies and judges how to work with them to achieve the best practical outcomes.
5.9Builds productive relationships with people and outside the organisation, maintains and develops these relationships over time.
Communication Process
5.10Includes strategic communications objectives when designing policies and services. Uses appropriate delivery tools and defines management criteria.
5.11Understands how to segment customer groups and uses the range of communication channels available. / 5.12Dominates discussion; doesn’t listen, can’t see things from others’ perspective.
5.13Regards information as a source of power even when working on shared objectives.
5.14Obscures the message by giving inappropriate levels of detail; too little or too much.
5.15Diffident or unapproachable; fails to build rapport with others.
5.16Only engages or succeeds with a narrow range of contacts.
5.17Unconvincing; lack of depth.
5.18Stakeholder engagement is sporadic and not focused on delivering outcomes.
5.19Contacts drawn from a narrow range of interlocutors.
5.20Reluctant to be tough with contacts when appropriate.

6. LEARNING & DEVELOPING

Drawing on own and others’ experience and new ideas to improve performance and results.Proactive approach to own self-development which can be measured by growth in competence and skills.Takes responsibility for own career development.Develops an open and flexible culture, in individuals and across teams, which values professionalism and encourages learning and development.

Effective Behaviour
/ Behaviour to Change
6.1Aware of own strengths and weaknesses and the underlying reasons for them.
6.2Open to, seeks out, thinks about and acts on feedback.
6.3Reviews ownperformance,sees where further learning and development is appropriate and takes actions.
6.4Responds in a positive manner when criticism or problems surface; maintains self-confidence.
6.5Able to translate learning into improved competence and skills.
6.6Innovative: cultivates new ways of thinking and builds on the ideas and suggestions of others
6.7Ready to challenge established practice and seek improvement.
6.8Learns from own experience or mistakes and that of others both inside and outside the organisation: applies new learning to own work and shares the lessons learnt with others. Mentors and encourages colleagues of all backgrounds.
6.9Keeps up to date with available technology.
6.10Develops and uses foreign language and professional skills as appropriate. / 6.11Lacks curiosity and self awareness; unclear about own strengths andweaknesses.
6.12Unable to change or address persistent development needs.
6.13No personal development plan; does not encourage others to make time for development.
6.14Engages in plenty of development activity but unable to translate into competence/skills improvement.
6.15Closed to new or different perspectives and unable to objectively evaluate them.
6.16Inflexible: seeks to maintain status quo; resists change.
6.17Has no systems in place to enable learning to be identified.
6.18IT illiterate.

Competence Evaluation

1An area of strength – little further development
2Some development needed
3Significant development needed

Competence

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Rating

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Commentary

1.Leadership

2.Getting the best from staff

3.Delivering results

4.Strategic thinking

5.Impact

6.Learning and development

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Version: Draft22/05/2012