Head of Denman College - Abingdon, Oxfordshire

Salary: £55,000 per annum

Contract type: Permanent

The Organisation

The WI’s Denman residential college is located in a Grade II listed 18th Century Manor House in Abingdon, Berkshire set in 17 acres of grounds.  Purchased by the WI in 1947 to provide a venue for a women’s training college.

In 2017, over 600 courses were available in three subject themes of cookery, craft and lifestyle. Every year over 10,000 students visit for a few hours, learn for a day, enjoy the overnight experience, or stay for weekends in one of its 70 rooms.  This cherished facility truly offers something for everyone, and is at the heart of the WI.

The role

This is a unique opportunity to head up a hugely popular and cherished facility of the WI. Not without its challenges, this is a rewarding role where you can draw upon your own diverse range of management skills to further develop the college.

National Federation of Women’s Institute

Head of Denman College

£55,000

Based Abingdon, Oxfordshire

Responsible for general management of Denman and its activities, you will provide commercial leadership through the Denman Committee to ensure profitability of Denman is optimised. This will include providing commercial input in to the overall business strategy and planning, analysing performance and achieving targets in both established and unexploited areas. This is both an outward facing and operational role and will require strong leadership and management, as you will act as an Ambassador for Denman.

With 6 direct reports, you will need to have an encouraging and collaborative management style with the ability to generate a positive working environment which motivates all staff to achieve their full potential.

The person

To be successful in this role you will need excellent business acumen with a track record of success gained in a similar role and related environment - this could be an educational environment, voluntary sector or hospitality/culture sector.

There is scope for development and growth at Denman, so this role would suit someone with excellent leadership skills, who is has developed and implemented strategic plans and is able to share their vision and creativity to motivate others. This role is working to a Committee so experience in a similar environment may be an advantage.

The role will require flexibility around working hours as there will be some weekend working. Some travel to London for Committee meetings will also be required.

To Apply

A Prospectus consultant will review and assess all submitted CVs on a rolling basis in order to determine each applicant's suitability and aptitude for the role.

Selected candidates will be contacted to discuss the role in more detail. As part of the selection process, candidates may be invited to meet with a Prospectus consultant at our offices.