Job Shadowing HE

My guest in this episode is Professor Damien Page, Vice-Chancellor at Buckinghamshire New University. 
Damien has progressed significant change at the University in his first few months in role and he talks in this episode about how things are being done differently at BNU to make a greater impact for students and staff, and to increase organisational efficiency. He reflects upon why operational understanding for a leader is just as important as strategic direction, and he also takes a reality check on the purpose of strategic plans. We also hear more about the Working Class Leaders in Higher Education sector network he set up in 2023 and the motivation behind it.
This mini-series is kindly sponsored by PACT Solutions, which helps universities achieve their ambitions through digital transformation — specialising in the student journey, student records, data & reporting, AI and change management.
The Association of Higher Education Professionals is proud to support Job Shadowing HE as a valuable source of professional insight.

Clare Marchant DBE is Vice-Chancellor at the University of Gloucestershire. She holds what currently looks like to be a unique position in UK Higher Education being a female Vice-Chancellor who has also come from a non-academic route, and one of the topics we discuss in the episode is the opening up of the Vice-Chancellor role to a more diverse community, and why this is important in leading the sector into the future.
Clare also talks about the vital role of connectivity in leading an institution – with students, with staff and with the surrounding regional community – as well as the role of digital. We also discuss how she balances drive and ambition for the University with the practical reality of prioritisation, and she additionally reflects upon the changing shape of the Higher Education sector, and the potential for greater collaboration and partnership. 
This mini-series is kindly sponsored by PACT Solutions, which helps universities achieve their ambitions through digital transformation — specialising in the student journey, student records, data & reporting, AI and change management.
The Association of Higher Education Professionals is proud to support Job Shadowing HE as a valuable source of professional insight.

Guests:
Andy Winter, Interim Director of Student Life at the University of Kent;
Helene Usherwood, Senior Partner at Anderson Quigley;
Jeremy Shute, Fortune 500 Leader and Co-Founder Ignition Strategy.
 
 
The Higher Education sector is adapting to the changing strategic and financial environment, and a particularly visible part of this adaptation is restructuring within many institutions. In this episode, 3 guests from inside and outside HE reflect broadly upon restructure and redundancy – how we talk about it in day-to-day working life, the impact it can have, how it is led, and the type of support that can be valuable in helping colleagues and institutions transition to a new phase.
We also delve into the topic of who owns a career path, and whether we need to change our approach to better embed career conversations into overall professional life. While we will not have captured every angle of a redundancy and restructuring experience, the episode aims to provide an important space for some reflections and advice. 
The Association of Higher Education Professionals is proud to support Job Shadowing HE as a valuable source of professional insight.

Joe Cooper is Director of People and Culture at the University of East London. In this episode we discuss how the University has evolved during recent years and where his focus has been as the executive HR lead.
Joe also talks about his unique career path from Students’ Union Chief Executive into University HR, and the importance of remembering that students are always at the heart of university life.   
This episode is kindly sponsored by Anderson Quigley which builds better leaders for a better society. They are industry experts with decades of experience in public sector executive search, interim management and advisory. 
The Association of Higher Education Professionals is proud to support Job Shadowing HE as a valuable source of professional insight.

Simon Goldsmith is Head of Sustainability at the University of Greenwich. He works with colleagues across and outside the institution to help embed environmental sustainability into all aspects of university life, and to support the strategic goal of the University of Greenwich being a recognised leader in this field by 2030.
Simon explores various strategic initiatives that the University is progressing, discusses the different opportunities at the 3 different campuses, and reflects upon the importance of partnerships. He also shares how each of us can make a difference to creating a more sustainable society, and why working in sustainability can be such a positive career choice.
This episode is kindly sponsored by SEAtS One. SEAtS One is a unified platform that helps universities make data-driven decisions to improve student success, retention, and compliance. From monitoring attendance to streamlining workflows and reducing operational costs, SEAtS offer a single, easy-to-use solution for managing student engagement, wellbeing, and institutional efficiency.

My guest in this episode is Steph Glen. Steph has been a Higher Education professional since 2007, initially working her way through a series of progressively senior roles in Timetabling including nearly 10 years at the University of Nottingham, and since December 2024 holding the newly created strategic role of Head of Teaching Space Operations at UCL, the UK’s largest university.
In this episode, I find out from Steph about the significant impact she has made within her career so far to improve the student experience, and the strategic focus she places on building collaborative relationships with colleagues to help break down some of the challenges that exist in HEIs about use of space. 

Jenny Jenkin and Tessa Harrsion have each had 25 year+ careers in Higher Education, and both held registrar positions at various institutions.
During the past few years, they have each forged new career directions outside universities but still working with HE. The episode explores the motivation for change and how they have experienced their transitions.
They also reflect upon the similarities and differences they now find in comparison with institutional life, as well as thoughts about the current and future direction of Higher Education.
 
This podcast is kindly sponsored by Ellucian Student powered by Banner.
Ellucian Student is the modern AI powered SaaS solution purpose-built for Higer Education, empowering your institution to seamlessly connect people, processes and applications.
By choosing Ellucian you choose a winning combination of global and regional expertise.

My guest in this episode is Anna Quinn, Head of Student Services at the University of Northampton. In addition to leading her large team, Anna contributes to the strategic development of the University such as its bid for the University Mental Health Charter and work on student suicide prevention. She also talks in this episode about the work she has led since 2017 on addressing sexual misconduct, and the grounding this has offered the University in addressing new Office for Students requirements. Anna also shares her reflections on leadership development and the future direction of Student Services. 
This episode is kindly sponsored by The Consent Collective, an expert-led training organisation trusted by universities across the UK to deliver impactful education on consent and the prevention of sexual harassment. Founded by psychologist Dr Nina Burrowes, their content goes beyond the basics, helping universities engage students and staff with learning that is impactful, relevant, and genuinely thought-provoking. Find out more at consentcollective.com
 
 
 

My guest in this episode is Gemma Kenyon, Director of Careers and Employability at City St George’s University of London. Gemma shares more about her role and how she has successfully directed and embedded a student employability and career focus into institutional life. We talk about how she and her team have gone about collaborating successfully with academic colleagues to achieve this goal, how work is prioritised to best support student success and what the future focus of careers and employability might hold. We also discuss Gemma’s career to date – including navigating being a young leader – and the skills she has developed along the way.
This episode is kindly sponsored by Unitemps – a University-owned, campus-based recruitment service which allows universities to streamline their internal departmental recruitment whilst addressing key HE challenges. By partnering with Unitemps, Universities can offer students and graduates a range of job opportunities both on campus and with local businesses. The Unitemps service allows students to secure meaningful part-time work alongside their studies, provides financial support during the cost of living crisis, enhances their overall student experience and improves graduate employability. 

Dr Brooke Storer-Church is Chief Executive Officer of Guild HE which represents around 70 diverse institutions in the Higher Education sector. In this episode, Brooke reflects upon why diversity is so important to UK Higher Education, and talks about the way in which Guild HE is working to support and champion this part of HE . She also discusses her career pathway into and through Higher Education, as well as what’s been her focus, along with that of her team, since she became CEO in June 2024. 
 
This episode is kindly sponsored by Gatenby Sanderson, the UK’s leadership expert. We partner with universities to find and place exceptional HE leaders and develop their teams – improving leadership performance, inclusivity and accelerating change.

Kerry Shepherd and Ben Tucker are founders and partners of the executive search firm, Minerva, sponsor of this Leadership Reflections Mini-Series.
 
In our discussion, we explore some of the themes from earlier episodes of the mini-series and put those topics into the wider Higher Education leadership context of 2025. As professionals who have contact with a significant number of institutions and leadership candidates, Kerry and Ben also share their observations of the leadership qualities that are now being sought, as well as consideration of how emerging leaders can be supported through development programmes to best support the future leadership of Higher Education.
 
This Leadership Reflections mini-series is kindly sponsored by Minerva. Minerva is an executive search firm that supports universities in making senior executive appointments across academic and professional service roles and also in recruiting to university council and interim positions. Minerva helps individuals enrich their careers and take on roles that fulfil their potential.
 
 
 

Professor Pip Beard is Professor of Viral Pathology and Head of the School of Life Sciences at Keele University. Pip took her up post as Head of School following the initial part of her career in practice and subsequently in research institutes, and she continues to hold a national and international government advisory role in her professional field.
In this episode, Pip reflects upon taking up a Head of School role and how she has found the first two years in post.  She considers the value of leadership development programmes she undertook prior to her university appointment, and reflects upon how she has found the transition of parking much of her research activity while she leads her school. We also discuss how she has navigated being a female leader in various male dominated environments.
This Leadership Reflections mini-series is kindly sponsored by Minerva. Minerva is an executive search firm that supports universities in making senior executive appointments across academic and professional service roles and also in recruiting to university council and interim positions. Minerva helps individuals enrich their careers and take on roles that fulfil their potential.