CEO and Principal

Help shape the future of education 

At NHC we are in the business of learning, focused on forging a new relationship between education and employers. On nurturing the talent of the future and equipping businesses with the people they need to prosper.

We are on the path to becoming an entrepreneurial college and looking for a highly-experienced CEO, with a depth of commercial experience, motivated to take on a new challenge that bridges the worlds of business and education and gets to the heart of the most significant issues facing our future economy.

A new type of college for a new commercial era

North Hertfordshire College (NHC) is already recognised as an innovator, an established pioneer and as outstanding in both governance and leadership. With a base of key commercial partnerships in place, a highly-trained workforce and a national network of enterprising colleges we are ready to reduce our dependency on public sector funding. We are well-placed to develop the new income streams needed to sustain our investment in the best facilities for our community.

We're seeking someone with the appetite, experience and business acumen to:

• Continue the strategic transformation of the college, directing NHC to become more employer-focused and looking beyond the boundaries of public sector operation.
• Create a different kind of organization - with a culture that is better placed to generate income, to create and seize emerging commercial and international opportunities in order to deliver a well-resourced college for all its students.
• Manage, lead and inspire a varied workforce, focused on innovation, driven by results and rewarded at top-level of the sector.
• 'Rebrand' NHC - not just in how we present ourselves, but in how we harness advances in technology and anticipate the evolving needs of learners in a fast-changing world.

A significantly different leader

You may not have worked in the Sector before but you will have impeccable commercial credentials and an extensive network to draw on. You'll intuitively know how to create growth, set the agenda and make strategic goals financial realities. You will be a social entrepreneur with a value set compatible with a college that is first and foremost a community college focussed upon the economic prosperity of its local population.

You may have created or worked in commercially successful businesses and are therefore a skilled operational as well as strategic manager. You're used to breaking new ground yet will respect, preserve and enhance our hard-won sector reputation. You are a team player able to work with a board of corporation who take pride in steering the organisation and in determining its strategic direction.

As a founder member of the Gazelle Colleges Group you will be expected to help shape NHC's future and derive benefit from the exceptional and enterprising leaders who form its unique network.

What is more, you think globally. You see the possibilities. Even now, you will have ideas you'd like to implement.

A career-defining role with rewards to match

On offer is a highly competitive six-figure package, including a three-year retention bonus, plus benefits and pension contributions. Above all, however, this role offers the chance to pioneer new methods in Education and push boundaries for the benefits of all. You can expect to be criticised and to experience resistance to change. You will anticipate this and take confidence from the benefits created for learners.

For further information about the role and details of how to apply please visit the website of Exton Search Limited, our retained advisors on this appointment, at http://www.extonsearch.com/appointments.html or apply with full CV and covering letter to Felicity Exton at NHC0069@extonsearch.com

Closing date for all applications is 5pm on Monday 22nd September 2014.

Relocation assistance will be considered.