Recruitment Process

All of our vacancies are advertised online, for each vacancy there is an application form, equal opportunities monitoring form, person specification and job description. To apply you must complete the application form and the equal opportunities monitoring form and ensure that they are submitted prior to the closing date.

Unfortunately CV’s are not be accepted in-lieu of a fully completed application form. This assists us in the shortlisting process and ensures that all applicants have a similar opportunity to present their skills, experience and qualifications to us.

You should include any information you think is necessary to show us that you meet the requirements of the person specification and that you are able, or have the potential, to carry out the duties described in the job description. Where we have used the term ‘or equivalent’ on the person specification please include details of qualifications/training and/or knowledge/experience which you believe meet our stated requirements.  Our preferred way of contacting you is by email, so please ensure that you provide a current email address on the application form. To assist us, please also include on your application form contact telephone numbers (preferably a mobile and a landline) which we may use to contact you during the day/early evening.

Following the vacancy closing date, the line manager responsible for the vacancy reviews the applications and shortlists with advice from Human Resources. This advice is to ensure that we meet our commitments to applicants declaring a disability and to black and minority ethnic (BME).

The details you provide on this form are confidential. If you are appointed the details are kept as part of your personal record. They are not made available to the line manager or to interviewers during the shortlisting stage. However, they are used by members of the Human Resources Team to check the shortlisting process as set out above.

We operate an Associate bank for flexible hourly paid opportunities.  Visit our Associate Bank page for information.

When applying for a vacancy with us, you will receive a response to confirm your application has been received.

Interviews are usually held at the campus where the vacancy is based. If interviews are held at another campus or facility this will be clearly stated in correspondence inviting you to interview.

Parking at our Cauldwell Street campus in Bedford is limited due to our town centre location. There are student and staff car parks on campus. However, due to the limitations of the campus, we cannot guarantee that space will be available if you are attending an interview but there are many public car parks within Bedford. The closest is Melbourne Street which is less than five minutes’ walk from the College.  Other campuses also have parking on-site and there is usually availability.

All of our main campuses have facilities to purchase refreshments and they are open from early morning through to late afternoon/evening during term-time and until mid-afternoon during holiday periods.

In most cases, we do not reimburse any expenses.  In exceptional circumstances at the discretion of the Director of Human Resources and agreed prior to the interview, we may consider contributing to any expenses you incur.  If you wish to discuss this in more detail, please email recruitment@bedford.ac.uk before you make your arrangements to travel to attend your interview.

Please note that we will be unable to consider your application for a contribution towards your travel expenses if it is made after you have attended your interview.

Correspondence inviting you to take part in the selection process will include a specific interview time and duration and detail if you have been asked to complete a practical assessment.

You will receive correspondence from us to let you know the outcome of each interview or assessment stage within 7-10 calendar days.

In most cases, we do not offer any assistance with relocation expenses. For some nationally advertised jobs, depending on the job to be offered and the likely duration and difficulty of the normal daily commuting journey, we may offer limited relocation assistance at the discretion of the Director of Human Resources.

We are committed to the safeguarding of our learners and believe that safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children is every employee’s responsibility.  Placement on our Associate Bank or any employment offered with The Bedford College Group is subject to pre-employment checks as outlined below:

• Enhanced DBS Check
• References from your current and / or most recent employers, covering a period of not less than three years
• Barred List – nationally held barred list checks to applicants are not barred from working with children and / or vulnerable adults
• Teacher Prohibition Check – a check made for applicants to teaching posts using the DfE Secure Access system to verify whether an individual is prohibited from teaching
• Qualifications – verification of qualifications relevant to the subjects you are able to teach and or the support area which you could support
• Fitness for Work – we will ask you to complete a pre-employment health questionnaire to establish your fitness for work, relevant to assignments you would be carrying out.

Annual Leave is dependent on the contract type and location to which you will be employed.  Annual leave will be clearly identified on job advertisements.  All advertised annual leave is exclusive of public holidays.

For teaching and senior teaching management posts you will be enrolled in the relevant scheme either Teachers’ Pension or Local Government Pension schemes. For support roles you will be enrolled in the People’s Pension scheme.

When you start a new job, you will have a probation period to ensure that you make an effective start and are happy in your new job. Depending on your job, your probation period will either be for six or nine months and this will be specified in your contract.

We provide a wide variety of opportunities for training and development and free places on our courses for both job related and personal development (subject to availability).

Details of our current employee benefits offering can be found on our Employee Benefits page.