Home / Roles / Board Recruitment | New College Swindon
Bring your strategic expertise to the Board of New College Swindon and help support them on the next exciting phase of their journey.
* Location: Swindon, Wiltshire
* Salary: Unremunerated with reasonable expenses paid
New College Swindon sits in the heart of Swindon, providing further and higher education to communities across the town and the wider region.
Our Governing Body has worked collaboratively with our Executive Team to establish a vision and strategy; which will help guide the delivery of our purpose, ensuring that our local communities are able to enjoy better lives through learning.
New College Swindon is a large General Further Education (GFE) college, formed in 2020 as the result of a merger between the two colleges which previously served the town. With a turnover of around £40million per year and financial health rated as ‘Good’ by the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA), we currently deliver education and training to almost 14,000 students supported by a dedicated team of over 650 staff.
We deliver a broad range of provision, including academic qualifications, vocational and technical provision, higher education courses, and apprenticeships—an area we have grown over the last few years. Our delivery takes place across two campuses at Queens Drive and North Star, along with a dedicated Adult Learning Centre.
Since the merger, we have been focused on improving learner experience and quality, and, more recently, growth and development. This has included the appointment of our Principal & CEO, Leah Palmer, as well as other senior leaders resulting in a strong and dynamic Executive Team.
We have invested heavily in our campuses in recent years. This has included:
* The DfE funded Swindon and Wiltshire Institute of Technology which includes state of the art facilities and equipment,
* T Level facilities for science, health and care, animal management, business and digital, and construction and civil engineering,
* The Swindon and Wiltshire Immersive Technology Care Hub (SWITCH),
* An expansive programme of energy saving projects.
Our investment won’t stop here as we are also in the process of transforming both of our campuses to ensure they are fit for their future purpose, as well as a new Student Hub to help remove barriers to learning.
The development of our strategy has been supported by a dedicated group of governors who have each provided our Executive Team with extensive support and advice.
With upcoming departures from our Board, due to terms of office ending, we have reflected on the future skills needs and expertise that we need within our governing body. We now welcome applications from individuals with professional expertise in the following areas to join our Board and other committees.
Who are we looking for?
Chair of Audit Committee
We wish to appoint an individual who is an experienced, senior audit or finance professional to join our main Board and to lead our Audit Committee as its next Chair. Alongside this audit expertise, we also welcome candidates with experience of risk management and compliance procedures. An understanding of the Further Education (FE) sector would be welcomed but is not essential. Previous board experience will be useful as you take on the leadership of our committee.
Member of Curriculum & Quality Committee
We wish to appoint an individual who is an experienced, senior education professional ideally working within an FE setting. This experience could have been gained in several ways. Candidates may be current or former senior leaders with experience of developing and delivering curriculum in a FE college, including Sixth Form colleges and settings which support learners with special educational needs. Candidates acting as consultants within the sector or those working in appropriate national settings will also be welcomed.
Member of Finance and Resources Committee
We wish to appoint an experienced senior finance professional. Candidates for this role will be financially qualified and preferably have previous governance expertise, although this is not essential. Candidates will need an ability to offer challenging scrutiny and questioning that will allow us to think deeply about our financial strategy. You will have a robust financial approach and be able to understand the bigger strategic opportunities in relation to potential organisational risks. An understanding of the financial mechanisms of the FE sector is not essential but will be of great value to candidates who apply.
Commitment and expectations:
We ask our Board Members to be willing to commit to a four-year term of office. Appointed individuals will need to attend approximately eight to ten meetings per year including board and committee meetings. Whilst this commitment is a minimum requirement, to be an effective governor, we hope that appointed individuals will be keen to offer more of their time to the College through attending events and visiting the College where their time allows.
Meetings commence at 4 p.m. and usually last no longer than two hours. Our Board meetings are held in person at the College, and we try where possible to hold our committee meetings in person too, however some are held virtually.
We host two in-person away days each year – held on the same day as our Board meetings. We estimate that our governors dedicate around 10 hours per month to their roles, rising to around 14 hours for our Committee Chairs.
New Governors will be supported through a comprehensive induction and training process delivered both by the College and other agencies, and ongoing support thereafter.
Peridot Partners and New College Swindon 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 consultants at Peridot Partners:
If you would like to know more about this role please contact Dan Baxter.
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