Our Education Sector team has truly championed the recruitment and development of diverse leadership talent this year. The team has worked hard to maintain our world-class service and deliver outstanding results for our clients and candidates across our Executive Search, Interim Leadership, and Leadership & Talent Consultancy. Take a look at our Education sector team 2024 Roundup for some of our highlights below.
We’ve had the privilege of making 40 appointments this year across academic, professional services and non-executive roles.
To highlight, the appointment Prof Georgina Andrews, the Vice-Chancellor of Bath Spa University, the appointment of Prof Alison Honour the Vice-Chancellor of Bournemouth University, the appointment of Elhadj As Sy, the first ever Chancellor of the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine. We have continued our collaboration with universities such as Aberdeen, the Open University, Bournemouth, Goldsmiths, and Bath Spa. The repeated work with these institutions reflects the strong, ongoing relationships we have built, and it is great to see the positive impact we are making in the sector.
At the heart of everything we do continues to remain candidate care. Our approach is probably best summed up in this testimonial from Professor Alison Honour:
“From a candidate perspective, working with GatenbySanderson in my recent appointment as VC & CEO of Bournemouth University, was one of the most professional and supportive recruitment processes that I have been involved in during my 30-year career in Higher Education. Both Tessa and Julia work incredibly hard not only to ensure that they secure the best candidates but that they seek out candidates that are the very best fit for the institution in terms of skill sets, expertise, values and alignment with strategic priorities.
GS is unique in the way in which it supports candidates throughout the process, it feels more personal than most executive searches as they take time to really get to know everything they can about the candidates, including their previous track record, their demonstrable impact and what their motivations are” – Professor Alison Honour
Education Roundup:
- Tessa Harrison and Julia Roberts hosted discussion with invited University Chairs and Secretaries on the challenges and opportunities in higher education governance. Their insights on how governing bodies can better support academic leadership, navigate regulatory landscapes, and address evolving societal needs have culminated in an article for Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI). The joint project was cited in the latest Advance HE report To enable effective higher education governance, value it.
- Publication of Unblocking the Pipeline: Supporting the Retention, Progression and Promotion of Black Early-Career Academics GatenbySanderson, Society of Black Academics (SBA) and Higher Education Policy Institute worked in partnership to look at how we can meaningfully support and encourage Black academic progression in higher education.
- Tessa Harrison addressed the Committee of University Chairs at their plenary event on recruiting the next generation of university leaders.
- Tessa Harrison and Julia Roberts shared some insights into HE leadership recruitment at the Chartered Association of Business Schools.
- Tessa Harrison joined AMOSSHE, The Student Services Organisation’s National Conference in June to talk about the work we are doing in the Higher Diversity Coalition.
- Ahead of the UHR event, Ali Elton published Who will lead successful change in Higher Education? where she shared sector insights about what our data on over 6,500 leaders including in higher education tells us about the changing profile of leaders facing external and internal challenges at every level.
Leadership and Talent Consultancy:
- Partnered with 12 new LTC clients in 2024.
- Staff Development Forum – we are a strategic partner and delivered a session at their annual conference.
- Welcome – supporting their ‘success on the board’ programme.
- We have strengthen our partnership with SUMS and will be piloting co-delivering an LTC programme together.
- Launched the ‘academic leadership masterclasses’ and delivered 2 webinars.
Interim Leadership:
In Interim Leadership Education, we have made 14 placements this year showcasing our versatility and deep expertise in supporting institutions during periods of change and growth. Adeline Rozendaal & Tessa Harrison also hosted a dinner for our GatenbySanderson interim candidates to talk about working as an interim leader in higher education.
Julia Roberts
Practice Lead, Education
Board PracticeContact: julia.roberts@gatenbysanderson.com
If you’d like to apply for a new role or are exploring interim opportunities, please speak to one of our Education team consultants.
To get support for a specific role we’re advertising, you can find the consultant’s contact information in the role details on our jobs adverts.