HFL Education (formerly Herts for Learning) is the largest schools’ company in the UK and an award-winning provider of products and services to schools, trusts and educational settings within and outside Hertfordshire. It believes that every young person, through access to a great education, should be able to realise their potential, regardless of where they live or their circumstances.

HFL Education focuses on supporting the schools it works with to achieve successful long-term outcomes for their children, as well as building a wider national profile with its digital product portfolio. The company is majority owned by Hertfordshire schools and operates with a not-for-profit ethos. In 2021–22 it generated £23.3m in revenue, of which 68% came from Hertfordshire schools, trusts and settings, 24% from contracts with Hertfordshire County Council (HCC), and 8% from traded income in the wider UK education sector. Beyond maintaining sufficient reserves and financing long-term projects, any surplus made is invested in the common good and / or the development of specific new services to address key challenges for its shareholding schools. Since its inception in 2013, HFL Education has reinvested nearly £1m in activities that would not otherwise have attracted funding. HFL has around 300 direct employees and a further 100+ consultants who support the delivery of its work.

With its 10 year anniversary approaching, and having successfully navigated the COVID pandemic, the Board recently undertook a comprehensive strategic review of the company. This resulted in the distillation of its strategy into four key objectives - thrive local; grow national; organisation effectiveness; and CSR - bolstered by a clear set of targets for each. With Carole Bennett  joining as new CEO from May 1st, the focus of the executive team is now on implementing the strategy, recognising the challenges that the current economic environment is putting on all education settings, and the stated desire of the Government for all schools to have plans in place to be part of strong MATs by 2030.

Along with the unique skills and experience that each Non-Executive Director brings to the Board, their responsibilities include:

• Providing objective leadership, direction and overall accountability to shareholders for the work of HFL Education and its staff through the Chief Executive Officer and the work of the Board, independently of personal and professional affiliation
• Defining and ensuring energy behind the values and objectives of the Company
• Approving strategies, policies and plans to achieve the Company objectives
• Approving each year’s budget, termly forecasts on a rolling basis and the Annual Report and Accounts, prior to publication
• Establishing and overseeing a framework of delegation and systems of control
• Providing guidance, support and constructive challenge to members of the Executive team
• Monitoring HFL Education’s performance in relation to plans, budgets, controls and decisions, holding the Chief Executive Officer and the Executive team to account
• Ensuring the Company remains accountable and open to customers and other stakeholders
• Participating fully in the work of the Board, ensuring that HFL Education’s affairs are conducted lawfully and in accordance with regulatory requirements and generally accepted standards of performance and propriety
• Contributing to the annual performance evaluation processes for the Chair of the Board and the Chief Executive Officer

Experience

• Experience of working at a senior level in Marketing / Sales / Business Development, including in a small to medium-sized commercial company
• A clear and demonstrable commitment and passion to ‘make a difference’ within the education sector and its business environment

Abilities, Skills and Knowledge

• Track record of developing new propositions, upscaling a business and / or breaking into new markets or taking a product from local to national scale
• Experience of building and exploiting CRM systems and the use of technology to drive commercial activities
• Ability to influence the direction of an organisation, ideally gained in executive and non-executive roles
• Good understanding of the education sector, potentially gained through a Governor / Trustee role

Personal Style and Behaviours

• The time and energy to discharge the responsibilities of the post effectively
• A passion for the delivery of educational improvement through value for money and excellent customer service
• Leads by example - a leader with credibility and enthusiasm, a decisive and effective decision maker
• An effective ambassador – open, engaging and motivating style that generates respect and confidence
• Personal and professional credibility, able to inspire confidence at all levels, to assess and interpret a wide range of stakeholder interests and requirements and to balance them effectively
• Works well with teams – able to work as a member of a team with a collaborative style that engages people at all levels and promotes positive relationships throughout the organisation and with its partners
• Probity and integrity
• Shares the HFL Education values of trust, inspiration and collaboration
• Fully committed to equal opportunities and anti-discriminatory practice
• Undertakes to work within the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 and the Code of Conduct for Board Members of Public Bodies 2019

The Board consists of 11 non-executive directors (NEDs) and the Chief Executive Officer, who is the only Executive Director. Six NEDs are either Hertfordshire headteachers or school governors elected by shareholding schools. A further two NEDs are nominated by Hertfordshire County Council (HCC). The remaining three NEDs are appointed from outside of the education sector (co-opted) to provide additional expertise to enhance the Board’s effectiveness.

A full list of current Board Directors can be found here.

HFL Education's values and culture underpin all that it does. It is committed to combining a deep commitment to expertise and excellence in education with a highly professional and commercial approach. Its culture is innovative, and funding is available to support further innovation and opportunities to take the organisation forward. Supporting its core purpose, HFL Education is committed to becoming an anti-racist organisation, ensuring it does all it can internally and in its external work with schools, trusts and settings to address institutional racism and discrimination.

HFL Education takes a strong stance about its wider social responsibilities. It believes the Company must play its part in tackling the global climate emergency. It is committed to reducing its direct impact on the environment by actively managing its consumption of natural resources, implementing comprehensive recycling and reducing its carbon footprint. By ensuring that digital is its default approach, HFL Education makes the best use of technology to help it achieve its environmental goals, for example developing and extending remote working and replacing printed materials with digital resources. It already offsets its carbon emissions and aims to do all it can to be carbon neutral by 2030. It also works closely with schools and HCC to reduce the emissions from schools.

The overall time commitment is approximately 12 days per year, which breaks down as follows:

• Preparation for, and attendance at, up to five Board meetings per year, typically lasting three hours each, and one annual full day Board Strategy meeting
• Membership (and, if elected, chairing) of one of the two Board sub-committees - Audit & Risk and Personnel & Remuneration – four meetings per year, typically lasting two hours each
• Attendance at the Company’s AGM
• Participation in school visits and staff events on an ad-hoc basis, to engage with customers and staff
• The majority of Board meetings and sub-committee meetings are virtual, but the Board does meet in person during the year, believing that this contributes to effective working. Meetings are held either at the Head Office in Stevenage or a Hertfordshire location

Under the Herts for Learning Ltd Articles of Association, non-executive directors of the Board are elected or appointed for a three-year term and may serve up to two terms of office, in line with corporate governance best practice. Any term renewal is subject to Board review and / or the election process for school directors.

This is an unremunerated role, however reasonable expenses will be reimbursed in line with the Directors’ Expenses Policy.

Board meetings alternate between in-person and virtual meetings and all Committee meetings are held virtually. NEDs are also encouraged to attend staff events, school visits and work shadowing activities throughout the year. Therefore, while a connection with Hertfordshire would be preferable, NEDs need not be based there, but must be willing to travel to Hertfordshire as and when required.

HFL Education is committed to ensuring that everyone who applies to work for the organisation receives fair treatment. It positively encourages applications from suitably qualified and eligible candidates regardless of age, disability, race, sex, gender reassignment, sexual orientation, religion or belief, marriage and civil partnership and caring status. HFL expects all its staff to demonstrate a commitment to advancing equality of opportunity and fostering good relations.

HFL Education is equally committed to becoming an anti-racist organisation, and this Anti-racist position statement gives clarity on its its stance. It recognises the negative impacts of under representation and lack of diversity in its own organisation, the education system at large, and in all aspects of society.