Non Executive Director (Commercial)
Role: Non-Executive Director (Commercial: Schools & EdTech)
Board: Joint Board (Kita Education & Blueshift Education CIC)
Location: UK (Remote, with occasional in-person meetings in London)
Commitment: 1 day per month
Compensation: Equity TBC (Negotiable)
Kita has live pilots in UK schools, DfE research funding, and a product built by educators. Our mission is clear: empower students to become creators of technology, not just consumers of it. We are moving to commercial scale and we are looking for a Commercial NED who has been here before.
This is a joint board role spanning two organisations with a shared mission and more than a decade of shared history.
Blueshift Education CIC is London's leading provider of creative coding and robotics clubs. Over more than a decade, we have inspired thousands of young learners through hands-on STEAM workshops, with a commitment to making technical education accessible to under-represented communities. In 2025, Blueshift became a CIC, deepening our social impact mandate.
Kita is the EdTech platform that grew directly from that classroom experience. An AI-powered tool for delivering technical education in secondary schools, Kita gives teachers a single, structured environment for coding, assessment, and formative feedback. We are currently running DfE-funded research pilots with UK schools. The pilots are live. The next step is scale.
We are looking for a commercially experienced NED who has successfully sold into UK schools and brokered partnerships in the education sector. This is an advisory role — not an executive one. We do not need someone to run our sales process; we need someone whose judgment and relationships can sharpen our commercial thinking.
What you will help us with:
- Shaping our go-to-market strategy for UK secondary schools and MATs.
- Advising on pricing, packaging, and positioning.
- Identifying and structuring the right commercial partnerships and distribution channels.
- Guiding our approach to school procurement, buying cycles, and decision-maker engagement.
- Providing strategic input on commercial negotiations and deal structure.
The right candidate will have done this — not be curious about doing it. Specifically:
- You have successfully sold EdTech, SaaS, or education services into UK secondary schools.
- You have worked with or sold into Multi-Academy Trusts and understand how MATs buy.
- You have brokered commercial partnerships in the education sector.
- You understand school budgets, procurement structures, and the people who make buying decisions.
- You are well-networked across the UK education sector (a genuine advantage, not a checkbox).
- You are excited about expanding technical education and using technology responsibly to do it.
- Impact at Scale: Shape the commercial future of two organisations at a genuinely pivotal moment.
- Leadership: Join a female-led board founded by practitioners who have spent over a decade in classrooms.
- Mission Depth: Gain meaningful governance experience across both a CIC (social impact) and an EdTech venture (commercial scale).
- Network: Expand your network across schools, MATs, funders, and the wider STEAM education ecosystem.
- Reward Structure: A volunteer/advisory board role with the opportunity to discuss equity options in Kita for the right commercial candidate.
If this sounds like the right role for you — or you know someone who would be a strong fit, we would love to hear from you.
Please reach out directly to heather@getkita.com with a brief note on your background.