The University of Buckingham is a non-profit private university in Buckingham, England and the oldest of the country's five private universities. It was founded as the University College at Buckingham in 1973, admitting its first students in 1976. It was granted university status by Royal Charter in 1983. It is the only independent university in the UK with a Royal Charter, and probably the smallest with around 2,700 students (approx 1,600 on campus). Uniquely, the University specialises in two-year undergraduate degrees, allowing students to complete their studies one year earlier than elsewhere.

The University of Buckingham provides students with a distinctive, high-quality, student-centric alternative to other institutions. It was awarded a Gold ranking in the recent Teaching Excellence Framework, and has always scored very highly in the National Student Satisfaction survey. With a turnover of c. £40m, a current total of around 2,700 students, and 450 staff, the University is organised into four Faculties: Medicine and Health Sciences; Education; Computing, Law and Psychology; and Business, Humanities and Social Sciences. The University campus is well known for being one of the most attractive locations in the region. The Great Ouse river, home to much wildlife, winds through the heart of the campus. Each student mixes with over 100 different nationalities.

Building on its foundations as Britain’s first independent university, guided by free market principles and liberal thought, the University aims to become an even greater presence and power in the higher education landscape by 2026. It will aim to double in size to over 5,000 students, to renovate its campus at Buckingham in a ‘New England’ Liberal Arts style, to become renowned for the quality and originality of its academic excellence and research, and to be one the most innovative and diverse universities in the country, with successful campuses and partnerships with universities across the world.

Through this exciting journey and ambitions, the University also faces some imminent challenges. The recovery from Covid-19 and its impact on teaching and students, the development of strategic partnerships to meet the needs of the University, and getting back on track with processes associated with accounts submissions have meant that the two regulators - the Charity Commission and the Office for Students - have been very closely involved with the University. The University's Executive and its Council continue to work hard to address all of these issues.

As it moves ahead, the Council is now looking to appoint a new Chair who will bring a clear strategic direction, ensuring that all University stakeholders are on board with this vision, overseeing its successful implementation and delivering on its strategic aims. They will continue to oversee improvements in relation to governance to provide confidence to regulators and other internal and external stakeholders of the University.

The Chair of Council is charged with leading the governance of the University and ensuring that the Council conducts its business efficiently and effectively. The Chair works with the Council and Vice-Chancellor to develop strategy, define goals and monitor performance in line with the University’s mission and vision, ensuring that the Council provides robust but constructive challenge to the University executives. The Chair, the Vice-Chancellor and the Registrar (& Secretary) will work closely together within the legal framework provided by the charter, statutes, and regulations laid down by University of Buckingham. The Chair will: 

• Maintain a positive working relationship with the Vice-Chancellor and broader team of executives, to ensure mutual support and appropriate challenge
• Undertake an annual appraisal of the Vice-Chancellor’s performance and set targets for future achievement
• Take a strategic yet involved view of activities and encourage and support other Members of Council to do likewise
• Maintain an appropriate governance framework which includes consideration of academic, financial and estates activities, audit, risk and compliance, and which exercises oversight of the University’s performance
• Promote the Council’s efficient and effective operation, ensuring that its members work together effectively, take collective responsibility, and have confidence in the way that its business is conducted
• Set the objectives and tone of meetings to promote and enable effective decision-making and constructive debate
• Ensure that committees and individuals with delegated responsibility for decision-making report back appropriately on their discharge of those responsibilities
• Take particular care that all Members of Council observe the principles of behaviour in public life (the Nolan Principles), which embrace selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty, and leadership
• Develop relationships with key stakeholders including the Council, Senate, Vice Chancellor, senior executives, staff, students, alumni, businesses and employers, Office for Students (OfS), Charity Commission, and Chairs of other University Councils, as well as donors and other supporters
• Be formally and informally involved in reviewing the performance of the Vice-Chancellor on a regular basis, and make recommendations to the Remuneration, Performance and Nominations Committee (NPRC) accordingly
• Review the performance of individual Members of Council

The University of Buckingham is looking for an inspirational and visionary Chair. They will bring strong leadership with excellent communication and relationship-building skills, along with an ability to represent the University and to play an ambassadorial role with a range of stakeholders and partners. They will bring political nous, a commercial mindset and have the ability to navigate a large and complex organisation. The Chair will establish good working relationships with various stakeholders (staff, students, and other lay Members of Council and its committees). 

The ideal candidate will demonstrate an impressive senior leadership track record from the private and/or public sectors, bringing immediate credibility and authority to the role. Applicants should have a good understanding of the higher education sector, either from an executive role or from holding a non-executive role within a University. They will bring strong chairing skills, gravitas and diplomatic skills to lead the Council, manage relationships with the senior executives, and be an effective and trusted point of contact for other influential internal and external stakeholders.  The Chair will be approachable, diplomatic, collegial, accessible, and flexible. They will be a clear, collaborative and decisive leader who can engage and inspire those around them.

The Chair will need a good working knowledge of the higher education system and the wider community, demonstrating an understanding of and commitment to the history, mission, vision and values linked to independence, entrepreneurialism and innovation of the University. They will have a strong personal commitment to the Nolan Principles of public service and the principles of diversity and equal opportunities. 

Diversity: The University of Buckingham welcomes applications from everyone regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, faith or disability. As those from an ethnic minority background are currently under-represented on the Board, applications from those candidates would be particularly encouraged to better reflect the student population. 

Please see the Diversity section for further information.

To find out more about the Board, please see here.   

This is a voluntary role but reasonable, pre-agreed expenses will be reimbursed. The time commitment will be c. 5–8 days per month and the role will be more hands-on than a typical Chair role initially. There will be four Council meetings, up to four Nominations, Performance and Remuneration Committee meetings, a minimum of two Extraordinary meetings per year. Meetings will be held in person on the University’s campus. The Chair will be available for ad hoc calls and meetings with Council members and the senior team, and will take part in University events.

As meetings are held in person, and given the face-to-face nature of the role, candidates will need to be UK based and it is likely they will be located within 2 hours travel from the University.

The University of Buckingham welcomes applications from everyone regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, faith or disability. As those from ethnic minority backgrounds are currently under-represented on the Board, applications from those individuals would be particularly encouraged. All appointments will be made on merit, following a fair and transparent process. In line with the Equality Act 2010, however, the organisation may employ positive action where candidates from underrepresented groups can demonstrate their ability to perform the role equally well.