Higher Education

Education providers require leaders who combine their passion for the power of education to transform lives with an incredibly wide range of skills including strategy development, financial acumen, values driven culture change, civic and international engagement, political nous and a deep understanding of the fast-paced nature of change, challenge and demand.

Every member of our specialist education team is relentless in their commitment to placing and developing genuinely exceptional academic and professional services leaders and non-executives, who exemplify innovation, collegiality and transformation. The unrivalled insight into educational leadership from our own experience as leaders and managers in education, our connection to national policymakers combined with access to diverse leaders looking for their next senior executive or non-executive role, affords us the confidence to represent our clients authentically in the market.

We are trusted to deliver quality and diverse shortlists with the leadership experience and values our clients are seeking, to fill the most senior permanent and interim education leadership roles across universities and HE providers.

Our end-to-end services include recruiting permanent and interim leaders, top team and talent pipeline development programmes and board effectiveness reviews.

Whether identifying the next Vice-Chancellor, placing interims, devising top team or board development programmes, creating more inclusive teams or driving through organisational change initiatives, we partner with organisations to provide future-ready leadership, improve board performance and accelerate change.

We do more for the sector than finding exceptional leaders, we contribute to their ongoing development and provide insight and knowledge that’s used by the sector to inform discussion, policy and development of academic leaders.

On paper, you might not see much difference between the GatenbySanderson approach to others, but you will experience it in how we work with you to create a personalised and inclusive approach and collaborative and honest working relationship. We always lead with curiosity – embracing the opportunity to ask, nudge and challenge to ensure the best result. We deliver on our commitment and our standards never drop.

Candidates are treated professionally and with utmost respect throughout the process, as demonstrated by our world class NPS score. We continue to support their leadership development as they take up their new role or continue their job search, and our top team and board development interventions are often employed to successfully embed the new leader within their SLT.

Client and candidate care is our priority.
Rated world class in the Net Promoter Score.

We know leadership doesn’t begin or end with a single appointment.
That’s why our integrated Leadership & Talent Consultancy, with organisational psychologists supports individuals and organisations long after recruitment, using behavioural insight, objective assessment and our Altitude model, designed specifically for public sector leadership, to drive fairer, more confident decision-making.

From Leadership and Talent Assessment to Development, Insight and Benchmarking we offer tailored solutions that meet your unique needs and deliver lasting impact.