Governors (Finance & Audit) | Hugh Baird College in Liverpool

Bring your strategic expertise and financial acumen to the Board of Hugh Baird College, an outstanding organisation with no intention of standing still whilst seeking to be the best in the country.

Location: Liverpool, Merseyside, North West

Who we are

At Hugh Baird College, we provide education and training to over 6,000 students each year across our two campuses in Bootle and Sefton. Recently inspected by Ofsted (Nov 2024), we were found to be an Outstanding organisation – but we have no intention of standing still. We offer a diverse range of educational pathways, including study programmes for young people, A Levels and apprenticeships. We also provide higher education courses, delivered in partnership with Liverpool John Moores University, the University of Central Lancashire, and the University of Cumbria. We are recognised as a beacon of opportunity across the communities we serve and are proud of the many ways we continue to support a range of stakeholders, including our students, our staff, and an ever-growing number of local employers.

Our vision is simple: to be the best college in the country, and to achieve this by living our values of excellence, accountability, innovation, collaboration, and integrity. Whilst we may now be recognised as outstanding, we continue to work with passion and determination to achieve our vision. In 2023, we were ranked the number one further education college for apprenticeship achievement rates, and we already hold a 96% pass rate across the newly introduced T-level qualifications we deliver. We have worked tirelessly over recent years to continually improve the quality of our provision across all areas of the organisation.

Our senior leaders and our Board have a partnership based on trust, transparency, and supportive challenge, which ensures that, together, we continue to add value to all those who enrol with us — and that we continue to build an inclusive culture across our college community. We will continue to make every effort to provide improved life opportunities for our learners and be a vibrant place for our staff to work.

About the role

Our Board is a collaborative and inclusive body formed of up to 20 members, up to 15 of whom are independent Governors. We have added a number of new members to our Board over recent months, as well as appointing Kerry Kirkwood as our new Chair, who brings extensive experience from across secondary, sixth form and further education over a 40-year career. This addition to our Board has helped ensure that we continue to have a group of committed and determined volunteer non-executives who each share in the vision and mission of our college.

Our recent recruitment has allowed us to diversify the thought and lived experiences of our members, ensuring our senior leaders continue to be supported with advice and guidance from people who are experts in their professional fields but are also passionate about increasing opportunities for – and raising the aspirations of our students. Our governors each share the responsibility for developing our organisational strategy and for setting the educational character of our college. They model the behaviours we expect from our staff and our students, which helps us to sustain such a vibrant culture across the College and they are each a positive and vocal ambassador for the work that we do.

Having given consideration to our strategy and the future aspirations of our colleges, we have identified a need to add further depth to our Board, and more specifically, we seek to appoint candidates who will bring experience in the areas of finance, audit, risk mitigation and cyber.

We are looking for candidates who feel passionate about education and the value it provides to people and communities, people who care about enhancing the lives of people in our region, and people who feel they can make a real contribution to the success of Hugh Baird College.

Inside our boardroom, you will find a culture of innovative ideas, curious questioning and challenging scrutiny. Outside, like other members, you will be a vocal ambassador for our College, our staff and our students and will work with our SLT to further develop and grow the excellent reputation that we have with a range of stakeholders where required.

Who we are looking for

As a Governor at Hugh Baird College, you will use your experience and expertise within your professional field to offer appropriate levels of challenge, scrutiny and support as we continue to achieve our strategic objectives and improve student outcomes. You will need a passion for success and recognise the important impact education has on the communities we serve. As an organisation, we have an annual turnover of c.£30million. Despite the challenges faced across the sector, we strive to remain compliant with all statutory and regulatory frameworks whilst foreseeing and mitigating risks.

To help us maintain this position, we now seek to appoint two new members to our Board with expertise in one or more of the following areas:

• Financial leadership and strategy
• Audit

Whilst previous board experience is welcomed, we would like to hear from those who are yet to hold a non-executive role, and keen to bring the experience to an organisation with a social conscience and a demonstrable track record of positive impact. All new members will be supported with a full induction, ongoing support, and training.

Our Governing Body meetings are held five times per year, in the early evenings, outside of usual working hours. Whilst we always aim to have our members in the same room, we understand the importance of flexibility and so we implement a hybrid approach where needed. Each appointed member will also be asked to join a committee based on their areas of expertise, interest and our needs. Some of these will be held in person, others online and range between 3-5 meetings per year. We look forward to discussing this with candidates in more depth in due course.

On average, we estimate that our Governors spend around 10 – 12 hours per month on governance business. This comes with month-to-month fluctuations based on our annual schedule of meetings and the academic year.

Peridot Partners and Hugh Baird College are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people, and our client expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. The successful candidate will be subject to an enhanced DBS check and satisfactory references before any final offer can be made.

To view the role description and person specification, please go to the ‘How to Apply’ tab above, fill in your details and download the job pack. For further information or to arrange a confidential discussion, please contact our advising consultants at Peridot Partners.

If you would like to know more about this role please contact Dan Baxter.

Hugh Baird College provides education and training to over 6,000 students each year. We offer a diverse range of educational pathways, from study programmes for young people, A Levels, adult courses, apprenticeships and higher education. The College prides itself on ensuring exceptionally high-quality education for its students and apprentices. In its most recent Ofsted inspection, the College was awarded an overall outstanding grade, which makes it only 1 of 3 general further education colleges in the northwest to hold such an accolade.

The successful candidate will have the opportunity to work alongside our passionate colleagues, contributing to our ambition to be the best college in the country and promoting the College values of excellence, accountability, innovation, collaboration and integrity.

As we look to the future, we seek Governors who can bring exceptional leadership, strategic insight and a passion for excellence in education to our Governing Body. If you are passionate and enthusiastic about making a significant impact on the future of Hugh Baird College and the Liverpool City Region for the good of all college stakeholders, then we look forward to the possibility of welcoming you to our team.

Warmest regards, Rachael Hennigan Principal & Chief Executive Hugh Baird College

Hugh Baird College is one of the leading providers of education and training in Merseyside, but we’re always striving to do more. Our vision, mission, strategic priorities and values determine the future of the College for all of our stakeholders.

Vision: To be the best College in the country.

Mission: To inspire, challenge and transform lives.

Values

Across all our campuses, all our provisions and our whole organisation, we share a common set of values. These are the values which define who we are. They help us understand how we should behave, and they guide us in the work that we do.

• Excellence: We have high expectations of ourselves and each other.
• Accountability: We own what we do, learn from our mistakes and constantly seek to improve.
• Innovation: We are bold and dynamic in our approach.
• Collaboration: We are one team and work hard to serve each other well.
• Integrity: We are honest and transparent and do the right thing in the right way.

Strategic Priorities

Our strategy is founded on five priorities of equal importance. The priorities form the basis of everything we do at Hugh Baird College, supporting our overall strategy of demand-led growth and outstanding quality in all our provisions.

• We are a College driven by its people, for its people.
• We provide the highest quality of experience for our students.
• We deliver an employer-driven curriculum.
• We serve as a beacon for our community.
• We seize opportunities that benefit our people and place.

With more than 5,000 students, over 300 courses, and an extensive range of subject areas and qualifications, we’re proud to be one of only three Ofsted outstanding further education colleges in the North West. Students can expect state-of-the-art learning spaces and expert support alongside exceptional teaching and unique industry connections, as part of every course at Hugh Baird College.

We deliver courses across an extensive range of provisions, from apprenticeships to T-levels, A-levels, university-level courses and adult learning, with dedicated campuses and employment-focused results. We have a purpose-built, multi-million-pound University Centre and a dedicated sixth form centre at Sefton Sixth Form College. We also have a specialist hotel school and flagship restaurant, industry-focused hubs, and a unique enterprise village with a salon, café and gym. All our exceptional facilities are enhanced with the incredible personal support we offer to every one of our students.

We recognise that College is about more than just learning. We’re proud of the exceptional support we offer and the opportunities our students can enjoy during their time with us. The partnerships we forge with local employers, regional industries and leading institutions help us to continually provide exceptional teaching, outstanding facilities and unique courses.

To access a full job description and application details, please fill out the form below.

To formally apply, please submit a CV and supporting statement (ideally maximum 2 sides of A4 each) that clearly outlines your suitability for the role against the criteria provided in the person specification, including your interest and motivation in applying for this position. Please include your home address, contact email and mobile.

Please ensure that your application is emailed to response@peridotpartners.co.uk, inserting “Application: Hugh Baird College—Job Role” into the subject field. You will receive an acknowledgement of receipt within 2-3 days. If you do not receive an acknowledgement, please contact our admin team.

For further information or to arrange a confidential discussion, please contact our advising consultants at Peridot Partners.

As a sector-leading executive search consultancy, we know the importance of creating recruitment processes that are fair, inclusive, and free from bias. We are committed to promoting equality and diversity and developing a process that values differences.

Timetable

• Closing date: Monday 19th January 2026
• Candidates informed of outcome: Wednesday 21st January 2026
• Interviews: w/c Monday 2nd February 2026

We are in the process of confirming interview dates. Once confirmed, we will update the site and contact those who have applied.

Peridot and Hugh Baird College are committed to promoting equality and diversity.