Historically, responsibility for career education and guidance in English schools was shared between the school and an external careers service. The Education Act 2011 transferred responsibility for career guidance to schools and has created a need for the new role of a 'careers leader'. In this article, we report on research in 27 English state schools and multi-academy trusts where careers leadership currently exists. This research provides empirical support for a typology of careers leadership tasks and shows that the way in which these tasks are organised varies, with five models of careers leadership evident. The advantages and potential challenges of each model are outlined and implications for the training and professional development of careers leaders are discussed.