SANDWELL - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Chairman of the Finance and Strategy Committee
- Independent Member
- Owner and Managing Director of a
Alan is the Owner and Managing Director of a Sandwell based manufacturing company specialising in decorated glass.
Angela started with the college in 2012 as the Head of Department for Creative Industries and Performing Arts. She went on to manage a number of other curriculum areas before moving into Student Services. She has a long and varied career, starting in the NHS as a Nurse; studying Fine Art and for a Masters in Art and Design History; working in the Arts then teaching in both HE and FE over the last 26 years. She is happiest when supporting learners to achieve their potential and was delighted when the College received an Outstanding from Ofsted in 2022 for Personal Development and Behaviour and Attitudes. Her team are passionate about removing the barriers to learning faced by our young people.
Job Titles:
- Executive Director of Human Resources & Organisational Development
Becky is responsible for Human Resources and Organisational Development and joined the College in 2018 having served the education and skills sector in both public and private sector settings for over 12 years in a range of senior HR roles. Initially specialising in recruitment and people development she is a Chartered Member of the CIPD, holds an honours degree in French & Linguistics, a Masters' degree in Human Resource Management and is licensed to practice the delivery of psychometric testing and profiling.
David is a qualified teacher and has a degree in Economics as well as an MSc in Management from Aston University. David has almost 30 years' experience in the FE sector working at a range of different colleges in a wide variety of roles; he has held senior leadership roles as Assistant Principal and then Vice Principal and has managed and developed curriculum at a large inner city college, South Birmingham and Hastings College, as well as Sandwell College. David has extensive and successful experience of curriculum management and quality improvement. David was the College's Ofsted nominee at the last inspection; the College achieving an improvement from Ofsted to a Good rating. David also led on the recent successful merger with Futureskills, the Local Authority's Apprenticeship arm. David is currently leading on the College's Academy Trust programme.
Job Titles:
- Central Saint Michael 's Campus Principal
Matt is the Centre Principal for Central Saint Michael's and has led the Sixth Form Centre from its set-up in 2012 to its current success welcoming over 900 students and securing its reputation for quality. Matt has been teaching for over 20 years in colleges and universities and has been a highly successful manager leading both academic and vocational provision. Matt was educated at Universities in Bristol, Birmingham, London, Worcester and Oxford, has an honours degree in Politics and History, and several higher degrees including a PhD. As well as teaching Matt is involved in politics as local councillor, cabinet member and parliamentary candidate.
Job Titles:
- Chief Executive
- Member of the Leadership Team
- Principal
- Ex Officio. Principal of Sandwell College
Graham was appointed Principal and Chief Executive of Sandwell College in January 2014 and was appointed to serve on the Board of Governors from that date. Graham serves as a member of the Learners Quality and Curriculum Committee, the Finance and Strategy Committee and the Search and Governance Committee. Prior to joining Sandwell College, Graham was Deputy Chief Executive of Salford City College. Graham has significant experience of working in further education, particularly in relation to the development of skills, community and adult provision, employer engagement, financial and estates management.
Graham holds a BSc Hons and MSc in Economics, is a qualified accountant and has over 25 years' experience of the FE sector working in a variety of roles, previously as Senior Vice Principal and then as Deputy Chief Executive of Salford City College, one of the largest colleges in Greater Manchester. Graham was part of the leadership team that successfully undertook a three-college merger in Salford to form the new Salford City College. Graham was instrumental in the creation of the Salford City College Academy Trust and chaired the Trust from its inception until leaving the College to take up the post of Principal at Sandwell College in 2014. As Principal & Chief Executive Graham has worked with the Governors and the Senior Leadership team to improve quality, recognised by Ofsted in 2017 when the college was graded as ‘Good'. He has successfully led the development of the College's ambitious growth plans, increasing the number of young people who learn and train at the college exponentially. He has led the successful merger with Cadbury Sixth Form College, secured a wide range of valuable strategic partnership opportunities for the college and established an on-going sound financial base on which its further development can thrive.
Jalal was appointed to the Board of Governors with effect from July 2014, having previously served as an External Co-Opted Member of the Learners, Quality and Curriculum Committee. Jalal is a member of the Search and Governance Committee. He is currently employed as an Education, Health and Care Plan Officer (EHCP) within the Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council. He is also a governor of a local school and a member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM).
Job Titles:
- Member of the Audit Committee
- Member of the Remuneration Committee
- Independent Member
Julia is an Ofsted Inspector and has worked within Further Education for over 20 years. She has experience as a teacher of both A Levels and Vocational subjects in both Computing and Information Technology. Julia has worked at manager and director level, before becoming Centre Principal for Cadbury Campus. She also brings a depth of experience in teacher training and management development courses. Prior to beginning her teaching career Julia worked for several multinational companies in both technical and managerial roles. She has a degree in Economics and a Masters Degree in Information Technology.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Leadership Team
- Chairman of the Governing Board
Ken is a retired Sandwell Head Teacher. During his career Ken has worked in a number of teaching roles and has extensive educational experience particularly in the schools sector, as well as serving on a number of governing bodies. Ken joined the Board of Governors in August 2015 and serves as Chair of the Board of Governors and as a Chair of the Learners, Quality and Curriculum Committee and is a member of the Finance & Strategy Committee, Remuneration Committee and Search and Governance Committee. Ken is the Safeguarding Link Governor.
Nargis joined the college in 2012, and she is responsible for Early Years, Computing, Business, Hair and Beauty. Nargis started her career in ESOL and Early Years. Currently Nargis chairs the College's Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Committee and makes an immense contribution to supporting staff and students. Her external roles include Director of RES Rights and Equality Sandwell, Vice-Chair of IMAN Interfaith Muslim Action Network. Nargis is also Chair of Governors of Shireland Hall Primary Academy & George Betts Primary Academy.
Job Titles:
- Chairman of the Remuneration Committee
- Independent Member
Neil's career has progressed mainly in the food manufacturing sector, much of it at board level in human resources, public affairs and corporate responsibility. His early training was with Pilkington Glass; he then moved to Kellogg's, becoming HR Director. Neil joined Cadbury as Personnel Director at Bournville (1988-97), then External Affairs Director at Cadbury Schweppes until 2008, leading the Group's engagement at Westminster, Brussels and Washington. In more recent years he was Chair of the Cadbury Foundation, and has extensive experience of Education from a range of public, voluntary, consultancy and trustee positions, with an emphasis on education and business links, including the Birmingham and Solihull Education and Business Partnership; Business in the Community; Young Enterprise; Teach First; and the Adult Learning Inspectorate. Neil was awarded the OBE for services to adult learning in 2005. Most recently he became a trustee of the charity Employability UK in 2020.
Previous Governor positions include those at Bournville College of FE; Brooke House Sixth Form College, Hackney; and Chipping Campden School Academy Trust. He became a Governor of Cadbury Sixth Form College, and then on merger of Sandwell College in 2018. Neil is a member of the Learners, Quality and Curriculum Committee, and Chair of the Remuneration Committee. He is also Chair of the Cadbury Sixth Form College Advisory Forum.
Job Titles:
- Independent Member
- Member of the Finance & Strategy Committee
After gaining a degree in Economics at the University of Leicester and an MA at the Nuffield Institute for Health in Leeds, Paul qualified as a CIPFA accountant. Paul then had a variety of roles in the NHS sector providing financial advice and support including to Community and Mental Health services and medical specialties, before progressing to his current role of Associate Director of Finance, looking after the Financial Management support to the Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust.
Through his role as Governor, Paul is keen to support links between the College and the NHS and the development of the local workforce. Paul has family links to the area so is delighted to be part of Sandwell College.
Paul was appointed to the Board in December 2020 and is a member of the Finance & Strategy Committee.
Job Titles:
- Assistant Principal
- College in 2019 As Director of Quality
Rachael joined the College in 2019 as Director of Quality, working across its multiple sites with Curriculum and Professional Support Teams. She started her career in a large Further Education College in 2001 as a full-time teacher and over her 20+ years of working in the sector has successfully led Quality, Teaching and Learning and Curriculum Teams in various leadership roles. Rachael has a proven track record for operationally and strategically leading quality improvement activity to achieve positive impact on the learner journey and has worked closely with Awarding Organisations for over 15 years as Quality Nominee, Specification Writer, Centre Quality Reviewer and External Quality Assurer.
Richard has 25 years' experience in the banking sector and over that time has developed a real passion for working with and supporting entrepreneurs. Richard is Managing Director Small Business Lending at the British Business Bank and is responsible for a number of programmes including Start Up Loans. Working with a range of Delivery Partners across the UK to help start up businesses access funding, Richard is proud to play a part in helping people achieve their dream of being their own boss. Start Up Loans has just celebrated its 100,000th supported business. Richard also manages Bounce Back Loans, a scheme launched during Covid that ensured over 1.5m business received over £46b of funds.
Richard was previously UK Head of Small Business at HSBC, where he led and supported colleagues serving the UK SME market via face to face, telephony and digital channels. Richard set the strategic direction and led the business to evolve its channels and grow its customer base. Under Richard's leadership, HSBC was voted Best Business Banking Provider in the Smart Money People British Bank Awards and Best Online Banking Provider in the Business Moneyfacts Awards.
Job Titles:
- Director of Estates, Development & Capital Projects
Roland Barrett-Price BSc (Hons) MCIOB is responsible for the Estates and Facilities operations, including the Estates strategy and Capital development plan and its delivery for the College Group. He has over 25 years' leadership experience, managing operations, people and projects within both the private and public sectors. Prior to joining the College, Roland worked for major residential developers, construction contractors, and as a real estate and construction consultant for a number of Midland-based Universities, providing expertise in capital delivery and procurement, having devised and delivered Estates Masterplans valued in excess of £400m. Roland was educated to degree level in Nottingham and is a Member of the Chartered Institute of Building.
Job Titles:
- College in 2013 As Director
- Director of Funding, Data & Examinations
Roxana joined Sandwell College in 2013 as Director of Funding, Information Services and Examinations and has overall responsibility for all MIS functions and is responsible for ensuring full compliance on data returns made to external funders. She has 15 years' experience of working in the FE sector, in various MI related functions. Prior to joining the FE sector, Roxana trained in modern foreign languages and worked in local government and private industry outside the UK.
Job Titles:
- Chief Executive of Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council
- Independent Member
Shokat is currently the Chief Executive of Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council and has 34 years' experience of working across the public sector, in local government and health at a senior level.
Job Titles:
- Executive Director of Strategy & Development
Simon joined Sandwell College in 2016 to work in a range of projects and innovations across curriculum areas including leading on the College's merger proposals for Cadbury Sixth Form College. Simon works with our external stakeholders including the ESFA, WMCA, LEPs, Chambers and Local Authorities to position the College so we are able to support their strategies and to access grant funding to develop our infrastructure. Prior to joining the College, Simon graduated from Aberystwyth University with a BA (Hons) in Geography and entered the Civil Service working for the Department for Education for 19 years, most recently as the Regional Director for Post-16 Education in the West Midlands and brings extensive policy and political knowledge to the College.
Job Titles:
- Accountant
- Member of the Audit Committee
- Independent Member
Tony believes strongly in the transformational impact of education, and is proud to have become a member of the Sandwell College community. He settled in the Midlands over 22 years ago, and is married with a school aged child. He is a student of Wolverhampton Polytechnic and Hull University, and is the Chief Financial Officer at Newman University Birmingham.
Tony is a qualified accountant with around 30 years' experience in the education sector (including further and higher education), and has been part of the Newman University leadership team for 18 years. In his current role Tony has responsibility for Planning & Systems Development, Finance, Estates & Campus Services, and Digital & IT Services.
In his leisure time he enjoys walking, watching too much TV, and being with his family.
Tony was appointed an Independent Member on the Board of Governors in March 2022.