IIEP-UNESCO, Education Development Trust and the Education Commission have, since 2018, established a joint agenda in researching and strengthening roles at the middle tier of education systems. This paper is the fruit of this collaboration. To enrich this reflection, IIEP-UNESCO, together with Education Development Trust, are currently conducting field research into international case studies of promising practice looking at the rise of expert practitioners who are promoted to leadership roles at the ‘middle tier’ of education systems, working across schools and localities to improve teaching and learning.