Chair Designate Hugh Baird College

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Bring your strategic expertise and boardroom experience to Hugh Baird College, an outstanding organisation with no intention of standing still whilst seeking to be the best in the country.

• Location: Liverpool, Merseyside, North West

Who we are.

At Hugh Baird College, we offer a diverse range of educational pathways, including study programmes for young people, A Levels and apprenticeships. We also provide higher education courses, which we deliver in partnership with Liverpool John Moores University, the University of Central Lancashire and the University of Cumbria.

We are recognised as a beacon of opportunity across the communities we serve and are proud of the many ways in which we continue to support a range of stakeholders, including our students, our staff, and an ever-growing number of local employers.

Our vision is a simple one; to be the best college in the country and to achieve this by living our values of excellence, accountability, innovation, collaboration, and integrity. Whilst we may now be recognised as outstanding, we continue to work with passion and determination to achieve our vision.

In 2023, we were ranked as the number one further education college for achievement rates in apprenticeships, and we already hold a 96% pass rate across the newly introduced T-level qualifications we deliver.

We have worked tirelessly over recent years to make continuous improvements in relation to the quality of our provision across all areas of the organisation. Whilst we celebrate our recent success, we also continue to always be mindful of remaining focused on the experiences our students have, and the outcomes they achieve as they progress into further study, training or employment.

"We are a vital beacon of opportunity for our students, our employers and our wider communities. Our local areas need us, and we must continue to strive to meet their needs. We want to find a new Chair who is driven by the emotion of our delivery and the passion we have for what we do. We are dedicated to supporting our local communities in every way possible - they deserve it!"

Our senior leaders and our Board have a partnership based on trust, transparency and supportive challenge which ensures that together, we continue to add value to all those who enrol with us - and that we continue to build an inclusive culture across our college community. We will continue to make every effort to provide improved life opportunities for our learners and be a vibrant place for our staff to work.

Our current Chair, Geraldine Sloan, has served our Board for over 10 years with that very same passion we see from our staff but after four years as Chair, she will be stepping down from her role later this year. Through this process, we now seek to identify candidates who can ensure that, as a Board, we continue to offer our senior leaders the appropriate support and scrutiny that challenges their thinking. We currently do this in various ways and through several different committees. But it needs to be led by an individual who can ensure this challenge remains healthy, that support is always available and who can bring new perspectives and their own curious questioning to our Board.

About the role.

Our Board is a collaborative and inclusive body formed of 18 members, 13 of which are independent members. You can find out more about them here.

We have added a number of new members to our board over recent months ensuring that we continue to have a group of committed and determined volunteer non-executives who each share in the vision and mission of our college.

Our recent recruitment has allowed us to diversify the thought and lived experiences of our members, ensuring our senior leaders continue to be supported with advice and guidance from people who are experts in their professional fields but are also passionate about increasing opportunities for, - and raising the aspirations of, our students. With these new Board members in place, we now seek to appoint a successful and inspirational leader Chair - initially as a Designate - to lead our board in the years ahead.

Our governors each share the responsibility for developing our organisational strategy and for setting the educational character of our college. They model the behaviours we expect from our staff and our students, which helps us to sustain such a vibrant culture across the college and they are each a positive and vocal ambassador for the work that we do.

As our new Chair, you will be tasked with providing effective leadership to our Board so this positive culture can be sustained, and our senior leaders continue to be supported and challenged in a way that leads to ongoing growth, improvement and success.

"We are looking for candidates who feel passionate about education and the value it provides to people and communities, people who care about enhancing the lives of people in our region, and people who feel they can make a real contribution to the success of Hugh Baird College."

Robin Leatherbarrow, Governor

Your leadership of our Board will be demonstrated in several ways. You will work with our Director of Governance, Liam Conway, to ensure that our Board discharges its duties in accordance with our Instruments and Articles. You will help ensure that we remain compliant, following all appropriate legislation and reporting as required and you will hold our leaders to account for their actions.

Inside our boardroom, you will foster a culture of innovative ideas, curious questions and challenging scrutiny. Outside, like other members, you will be a vocal ambassador for our college, our staff and our students and will work with our SLT to further develop and grow the excellent reputation that we have with a range of stakeholders where required.

Finally, you will be a close, yet challenging ally to Rachael as she continues to lead our college with distinction. You will offer her support and advice on key decisions, risk mitigation and on maximising emerging opportunities so that our college can continue to flourish.

Who we are looking for.

Our new Chair will be a confident, experienced strategic leader who understands the challenges and pressures that come with leading a large and complex organisation which seeks to offer the highest quality service to thousands of people, each of whom has their own expectations of the College. You will bring a track record of having successfully developed and delivered long term strategies, achieving growth, financial sustainability and positive outcomes for your clients and/or service users.

You will bring previous - and perhaps current - experience in the board room, preferably as Chair or Committee leader in a non-executive context. This experience will bring with it an appreciation for the processes and procedures that make good governance, allowing you to work with Liam to ensure that our governance remains compliant and that our boardroom remains inclusive and respectful.

Candidates will understand the outcomes that Hugh Baird College has on our local communities and on the employers and other stakeholders we work in partnership with. You will also be able to demonstrate your understanding of the importance of the wider FE sector.

A key aspect of this process is for us to identify candidates who have a strong understanding of our local context in relation to demographics, economics, employment needs and social mobility. As such, we welcome candidates who either live or work within the Liverpool city region, as well as those who can clearly demonstrate their knowledge of our local area, the challenges we face and the opportunities we may seize. This understanding will be a valuable trait as we seek to appoint a candidate who is comfortable in engaging with our local stakeholders as an ambassador for the college, helping us to influence local decision-makers and ensuring that the actions we take are always in the best interest of our students - both now and in the future.

Finally, the golden thread that runs throughout our college is our culture which is underpinned by our values. As the leader of our board, you will play a key role in ensuring that we remain an inclusive, welcoming and vibrant organisation. As such, we welcome applications from candidates who will be able to help us to continue to shape this positive culture, but who will also stretch and challenge our thinking in this regard.

Peridot Partners and Hugh Baird College are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people, and our client expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. The successful candidate will be subject to an enhanced DBS check and satisfactory references before any final offer can be made.

For further information about the role or to arrange a confidential discussion, please contact our advising consultant at Peridot Partners:

If you would like to know more about this role please contact Dan Baxter.