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Candidate Brief Candidate Brief Chief Executive Gresham College Contents A Message from the Chair ............................................................................................................ 3 About Gresham College ............................................................................................................... 3 Vision, Mission and Values of Gresham College ..................................................................... 4 Governance ..................................................................................................................................... 4 The Role .............................................................................................................................................. 5 The Organisational Structure ........................................................................................................ 5 The Candidate ................................................................................................................................. 6 Terms of Appointment .................................................................................................................... 6 How to Apply .................................................................................................................................... 6 A Message from the Chair Thank you for your interest in the newly created role of Chief Executive Officer at Gresham College. We are seeking a truly exceptional candidate with the management and leadership skills to build on the 400-year traditions of Gresham College, while at the same time developing and implementing innovative ideas to realise its vision, mission, and values in the 21st century. This is an exciting time of development for Gresham – the College engaged in a strategic review over the 2018-2019 academic year, which led to the decision to create this new role to enable us to realise our refreshed vision, mission, and objectives. Our new CEO will lead and develop the College to continue in the tradition of our founder, Sir Thomas Gresham, to provide high quality free education to the public. If that role and opportunity appeal to you and your experience meets the requirement, we look forward to welcoming your application. Dr Loyd Grossman CBE About Gresham College Gresham College is an independently funded educational institution, established in 1597 according to the will of the Tudor financier Sir Thomas Gresham, who nominated the City of London Corporation and the Worshipful Company of Mercers to manage his estate through the Joint Grand Gresham Committee. The College is a company limited by guarantee and has charitable status with its own Council acting as its Board of Governors. Gresham College has taken various forms since its foundation, but the major continuing activity has been the appointment of distinguished Professors in Astronomy, Divinity, Geometry, Law, Music, Physic and Rhetoric. To these, in 1985, was added the Mercers’ School Memorial Chair of Commerce (renamed ‘Business’ in 2017). The Frank Jackson Professorship of the Environment and the WCIT Livery Company Chair of IT were recently added. The College has been based at Barnard’s Inn Hall since 1991, where the premises provide for lectures. These are also held at the Museum of London and occasionally other venues. Gresham College has no registered students, runs no courses and does not confer degrees or diplomas. All Gresham lectures (about 130 annually) are open to the public, without charge, with attendances in person numbering up to 20,000 each year. All Gresham College lectures are live-streamed and made available free on the website in video, audio, and transcript formats. There are over 2500 lectures available via the website and YouTube channel (100 K subscribers), and these have received c. 19 million views. The College receives no government funding, but continues to expand, supported by its sponsors, the Worshipful Company of Mercers and the City of London Corporation. Its 5- year business plan (2020-2025) outlines ambitious proposals to further extend its outreach and diversify its audience. In order to do this, it has plans to generate additional income through associated activities that will not impact upon the terms of the will (that lectures must be provided to the public free-of-charge). Vision, Mission and Values of Gresham College The College’s Vision, Mission and Values have recently undergone scrutiny and revision, in light of a consultancy exercise and they remain rooted in the original will of Sir Thomas Gresham (1575) which established the College: To entrust the City Corporation and the Mercers’ Company to ensure that a succession of academics should be nominated and appointed as Professors ‘to read Lectures in Divinity, Astronomy, Musick and Geometry, … and also Law, Physick and Rhetorick, for the benefit of the Mayor and Commonalty and Citizens of London, henceforth and so long as they or their successors shall by any means or title have, and hold and enjoy the said Royal Exchange, Shops, Pawns, Vaults, Houses and all other the Premisses with the Appurtenances for ever. Vision “Time to Think”: Gresham College values and fosters serious intellectual enquiry and new learning, making it freely accessible to all. Mission Gresham College aims to make new learning of contemporary relevance and academic integrity available to a wide and diverse audience. It provides an intellectually rigorous and stimulating programme of free public lectures of the highest standard, dealing in depth with a range of cultural, intellectual, and social issues. It will contribute to society through this provision and associated activities. Values Gresham College is committed to intellectual freedom and the freedom of expression. It values in-depth and considered analysis and ensures the intellectual rigour and quality of its educational and cultural offerings. It values academic and professional knowledge and expertise, and is committed to promoting these to the public, free of charge. Governance The College is registered with the Charity Commission and at Companies House. Its main source of funding is the rental income from the Royal Exchange, administered jointly by the Mercers’ Company and the City of London Corporation through the Joint Grand Gresham Committee. The Gresham College Council (equivalent to a Board of Directors) is composed of a maximum of 15 persons, of whom 4 each are appointed by the City of London Corporation and the Mercers’ Company, with others being co-opted by Council itself. The Academic Board is chaired by the Provost, who leads the academic activity of the College, and consists of Gresham Professors (Visiting Professors are also invited), and Gresham Fellows (a small number of former Professors), its main function being oversight of the academic programme of the College, including quality assurance and monitoring. Gresham Professors are appointed for three years with a possible fourth and final year. They are expected to deliver six lectures each academic year, and to attend Academic Board. The Role The Chief Executive will be primarily responsible for implementing the new strategy approved by Council, and for the business side of the college, including the generation of additional income to supplement the sponsors’ funding. The Chief Executive and the Provost will work closely together, reporting into the Executive Board and to Council. The postholder will also be the executive lead for business development, marketing, quality and international and technological development. The Organisational Structure Green denotes newly created positions. The incoming Chief Executive will be responsible for recruiting the Head of Development and Fundraising. The Chief Executive and Provost liaise and report jointly to the Council. The Provost and Academic Registrar have chief responsibility for the academic integrity of the institution, while the Chief Executive is responsible for the business side. The Academic Registrar reports to the Provost on academic matters, with a secondary reporting line to the Chief Executive on business. The Provost’s role is part-time and he/she serves as the academic leader for the College. Normally appointed for a three year term which may be renewed, the Provost is a distinguished academic. The historian Sir Richard Evans is the current Provost. Other recent Provosts are Sir Roderick Floud and Professor Lord Sutherland of Houndwood. The Candidate The ideal candidate will demonstrate: • A real enthusiasm, energy and commitment to the mission of Gresham College; • High level business, management, financial and marketing skills; • A proven track record of delivering against ambitious strategic targets; • A good grasp of both the charity and HE sectors, with an appreciation of the particular challenges faced by both; • Strong interpersonal and communication skills with the ability to represent and promote the college externally; • Excellent commercial acumen with the ability to increase the institution’s income through funding and collaborative projects etc; and, • Interest and understanding of modern technologies and their uses in the dissemination of education. Terms of Appointment The salary is likely to be in the range £80-100k per annum, depending on experience. The role is to be based in Gresham College, Barnard's Inn Hall, London. How to Apply Gresham College has retained Wild Search to advise on this appointment. Amy Wevill and Edward Wild are managing the process and may be contacted on 0207 233
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