The challenge
South Thames College Group knew they were in trusted hands, having previously used our managed service which secured them five managers. This time, the college asked us to fill multiple senior leadership roles:
Interim principal
Interim vice principal
Interim group head of high needs
Interim head of business partnerships
The client explained: “We have a contract in place with Reed’s further education team and wanted to see if Reed could supply senior roles as part of our existing contract. Although we hadn’t previously used them for any senior leadership roles, we were keen to give them a chance.”
Reed’s Regional Manager for the further education senior and interims team, Bharvi Patel, shared: “Our main challenge was sourcing professionals who have the experience and understanding of student services and safeguarding, who could be immediately or imminently available.”
The solution
Having already made more than 10 successful interim senior management placements in just a few months, we were able to utilise our established further education talent pool to proceed with the recruitment.
Once Bharvi learned the key challenges and requirements for these roles, the search started immediately: “I combed through my list of contacts for available interim senior professionals, with experience in the areas highlighted by the college, such as student services and, for the interim vice principal, safeguarding in particular. I also posted the role on LinkedIn, receiving several responses from those in my extensive network.”
Bharvi continued: “After I’d formed a shortlist of suitable candidates, I began to communicate with them individually to go through the details of each role and vet them over Teams to further assess their suitability.”
Bharvi then prepared and formatted CVs to send to the college, supplying all the information they would need to make quick decisions on who to interview within two days – and all roles were filled within a week.
Our team supported both the college and the candidates throughout the process, even after placement, keeping both sides up to date and engaged.
The results
Bharvi shared feedback she received from the college and its new interim senior leaders: “The candidates have had great starts to their roles, and while the initial brief was for them to work for a period of six weeks, one of these roles has been extended until at least the end of the academic year.”
The hiring manager was extremely pleased with our turnaround and provision of “very strong candidates” and good selection to choose from. They also found Bharvi to be extremely professional and knowledgeable, advising them about the current market, in addition to sourcing interim senior leaders for the college.
The client said, since being introduced to Bharvi and Reed, they haven’t needed to approach other recruiters since September, despite previously being “heavy users” of other senior further education recruitment agencies.
A college representative declared: “We have been impressed at the service for these high-end roles and even more pleased with the cost-savings the group has made using Reed’s service. We are supportive of the contract we have with Reed and would definitely use this further education team again. We have also recommended Reed’s further education interim and senior appointments team to our partners and other local education establishments.”
For support hiring your next interim senior leader, or your next opportunity in the further education sector, contact your nearest Reed office.
