The Organisation
BMet is one of the West Midlands’ leading providers of further education and skills training. With three main campuses and two satellite centres, the college plays a crucial role in Birmingham’s post-16 landscape and is recognised as a key part of the skills infrastructure. The college has been through a process of change, transformation, and improvement, and the new Principal and CEO, Pat Carvalho, took up her role in June of 2021.
The Brief
As part of the college’s change programme, some changes were made to leadership arrangements, creating the need for a new senior leader for James Watt College. The college gave us a very clear brief on the need for new leadership, which was truly focused on unlocking the potential of learners and making urgent improvements in the quality of provision. As part of developing a new culture for the college and recognising the very diverse nature of the student body, the college had prioritised the development and embedding of anti-racism. This focus recognised the need for more diversity in college senior leadership—a priority for both governors and leaders. Therefore, the college was very clear in their expectations of us in ensuring best practice in diversity and inclusion was embedded into our search processes.
The Candidate Base
Our initial search process focused on 38 individuals who engaged in discussions with our lead consultant. Following initial discussions and an objective assessment of skills and competencies, we attracted 13 applications for the role. Applications were presented to the college, and through a structured shortlisting process, three candidates were invited to take part in the selection process.
The Selection Process
The college had a specific requirement that all aspects of the selection process were closely mapped to the college’s values and behaviours framework. Our lead consultant and operations manager worked closely with HR colleagues from the college to develop all assessment materials so that the values and behaviours of candidates could be assessed. Our lead consultant coordinated the process on behalf of the college, and candidates took part in panels with students, staff, and the colleagues that would report into the role. Candidates also took part in an interview with governors and senior leaders, which was supported by one of the FE Commissioner’s advisers.
The Outcome
Randeep Sami took up the role of Vice Principal in October 2022. Randeep was previously Director of Quality Improvement at Solihull College & University Centre.
- Placing
- Recruiting
- Developing
- Advising
- Training
- Placing
- Recruiting
- Developing
- Advising
- Training