Chair of the Governing Body

MidKent College seeks an experienced Chair with commercial acumen, a passion for vocational education and an ambition to build on our continued success for the benefit of our students and the local community.

Location: Maidstone and Medway

Applications close at 9 a.m. Friday 13th September

Who we are.

MidKent College is at the heart of our community with a serious commitment and drive to help our students, local businesses, and our local economy thrive and grow through high-quality education and training. We’re ambitious, forward-thinking, and innovative both in the way we deliver to our customers and in the way we manage and develop our people.

About the role.

We are looking to engage a new Chair to lead our non-executive Governing Body with energy, enthusiasm, professionalism and dedication. The Chair will have a responsibility to ensure the Board upholds the educational character of MidKent College and acts in accordance with our governing documents and sector-specific legal parameters. The Chair works closely with the Clerk to the Corporation, Corine Burkin, and our Principal & CEO, Simon Cook, to plan the annual business of the Board. Working in close collaboration with the Committee Chairs and other executive leaders the Chair will ensure that agendas are effective, and meetings are run efficiently with full engagement and contribution encouraged.

Whilst our Principal & CEO and his team are experts in building professional relationships with industry, civic partners, and other major local stakeholders, it is expected that our Chair is able and willing to take on the role of lead ambassador for MidKent College in Maidstone and Medway, our regional communities and wider to ensure the advancement of both our own interests and those of the further education college sector.

Who we are looking for.

Our next Chair will have a good understanding of the needs and challenges in Medway and Maidstone, and the surrounding areas, recognising the impact on the College and its students, staff and stakeholders. Working with other Board Members and the leadership team, a key part of the role will be to ensure people in our locality have the opportunity to reach their potential.

You will be able to demonstrate a strong and visible passion and commitment to MidKent College and to our strategic priorities. We want to benefit from your significant connections and influence in the region, and ideally on a national level, as well as your ambassadorial networking abilities.

You will be commercially astute whilst having an appreciation of the advantages and constraints of guiding the College as a public sector organisation.

Working as a cohesive team you will lead the Board to drive our ambition for the future. You will work with each member individually to bring their different strengths to the fore and create a united Board.

You will bring experience of, or prior exposure to a non-executive board and can easily recognise the key differentiators between strategic oversight and operational delivery. You will have sound knowledge of corporate governance and how fundamental it is to both the success and sustainability of an organisation. Previous experience in chairing meetings and events, ideally in the capacity of a non-executive Chair, Trustee, or Director, is also beneficial.

We encourage the interest of candidates who will support us in our ambition to further diversify the leadership and governance of MidKent College. We acknowledge there is work to do and working hard to ensure our decision-makers are reflective of the communities we serve.

Above all, we need our next Chair to have the necessary time to devote to the role. It is so important to us that you have the capacity to take on this public duty and become the next custodian of MidKent College, for the benefit of tens of thousands of students who will study and train through us over the coming years ahead.

Peridot Partners and MidKent College are, together, 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.

Please click 'Apply via website’ to be redirected to the Peridot Partners website, where you can find full details of the candidate profile and register your interest to apply.

Applications for this role close at  9 a.m. Friday 13th September.