Why this matters now
Governing bodies and remuneration committees are under increasing scrutiny to show that senior pay decisions are fair, appropriate and evidence based. This isn’t simply good practice — it’s set out explicitly in the AoC’s Senior Post Holder Remuneration Code.
At the same time, colleges must be able to show that senior pay decisions align with HM Treasury’s Managing Public Money, the DfE Accounts Direction and the College Financial Handbook. Together, these point to the same conclusion: senior pay decisions need robust, current and defensible evidence — and that evidence carries the most weight when it comes from a source independent of the college and the postholders it concerns.
Why an impartial, sector-informed view matters
National survey data is a valuable starting point, but relying on it alone leaves gaps that a remuneration committee then has to fill with judgement rather than evidence.
As a sector specialist, we supplement national data with real-time market intelligence — reflecting the salaries colleges are actually having to pay to make successful appointments today — and we offer that perspective without any conflict of interest. We have no role in setting, and no stake in, the salary that is ultimately agreed.
Why FE Associates
Established in 2004, FE Associates has been trusted by the FE and skills sector for over two decades. As the sector’s leading provider of permanent and interim executive search, we have direct, up-to-date visibility of the salaries colleges are paying to secure senior talent today — a live market perspective that published survey data alone cannot offer.
We already support a number of colleges with salary benchmarking, and we partner with colleges across the UK on senior recruitment, interim leadership, governance support and leadership development. Senior salary benchmarking is a natural, complementary extension of that work.
What the service provides
- Benchmarking of senior salaries against a range of publicly available information
- Analysis of comparator colleges of a similar size, income and operating model
- Insight from our own live senior recruitment activity, reflecting what the market is paying right now
- Independent commentary to support your remuneration committee’s decision-making, and to help evidence compliance with the Senior Post Holder Remuneration Code and Managing Public Money
- Review of senior role descriptions against current sector best practice, where required
- A full report to your remuneration committee, priced according to the number of roles benchmarked
