The shortage of senior women at the most senior levels in institutions is still a challenge, despite some improvements at executive and board levels in recent years.
Advance HE’s Senior Women’s Leadership Development Programme is one of our women-only programmes designed specifically for women in senior positions in HE to help them take the next step up or extend their role, profile and impact. It aims to create more gender parity in senior leadership within higher education.
In the programme, we create a safe space for senior women in leadership roles to explore the complexity of navigating through conventional organisational structures and to build foundations for transformation and paradigm shift.
The programme strikes a balance between enhancing the technical knowledge of key strategic areas of operation (including institutional finance, structures and governance) and exploring individual leadership styles, leadership legacy, personal impact and developing political skills.
Bookings now open!
The next cohort will be delivered virtually, consisting of six development days, over three months.
Senior Women’s Leadership Development Programme 20 starts on Tuesday 5 November 2024.
5% Early Booking Discount available
There is a 5% early booking discount for bookings made before 30 September 2024 on this service. This is in addition to a 25% discount if your organisation is an Advance HE member.
Programme outcomes
Through the programme, participants will:
- Enhance their sense of presence to be able to engage in an organisational dialogue in a more impactful way
- Develop skills and confidence related to finance, governance, culture, politics, and influence
- Understand the organisational and decision-making frameworks of the UK’s HEIs and their links to institutional purpose
- Build understanding of their unique leadership style, personal impact, and legacy
- Start exploring the leadership needed in the post-pandemic HE
- Create a momentum in their career progression through renewed commitment and supportive network of senior women.
I found the programme invaluable, with space to explore the challenges of women’s leadership in HE as well as to examine critical issues such as university governance and finance. I especially enjoyed the opportunity to be amongst other senior female leaders in HE.”Dr Emily McIntosh, Director of Student Life, Student Experience Team, University of Bolton
Share and celebrate your achievements with digitally recognised learning
For much of our portfolio for 2024-25 the learning of event attendees and programme participants and conference, symposia and colloquia presenters will be digitally recognised.
This makes it easy for you to share and celebrate your achievements by adding them to your email signature or including them in your social profiles including Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook. Your learning certificates can also be easily verified and downloaded as a pdf.
Who is Senior Women’s Leadership Development Programme for?
This programme is designed for women in senior academic and professional services roles such as professors, heads of department, deputy directors and directors, who are not yet at executive level but may aspire to be executive team members or be working closely already with their senior executive team.
How is the programme delivered?
Taking place virtually over the course of 4 months, the Senior Women’s Leadership Development Programme consists of a half day introductory session and five one-day development days.
Day 1: Introduction to Senior Women Leading
- Introducing the remits of the programme: key principles
and frameworks
- Building a safe container for deep leadership explorations
- Setting the scene for Senior Women’s Leadership in the
current HE context
and frameworks
- Building a safe container for deep leadership explorations
- Setting the scene for Senior Women’s Leadership in the
current HE context
Day 2: Finance and Governance in leadership
- Exploring the organisational and decision-making frameworks of the UK’s HEIs
- Examining universities’ Annual Report and Accounts or equivalent publicly available financial data
- Understanding funding and finance, governance, accountability and regulation contexts of the higher education sector
- Examining universities’ Annual Report and Accounts or equivalent publicly available financial data
- Understanding funding and finance, governance, accountability and regulation contexts of the higher education sector
Day 3: Finance and Governance in leadership
-Developing practical strategies for navigating organisational frameworks in HE
- Using a real play methodology to explore decision making at the executive level
- Applying scenarios for planning financial sustainability in universities
- Using a real play methodology to explore decision making at the executive level
- Applying scenarios for planning financial sustainability in universities
Day 4: Action Learning Sets
Halfway through the programme the participants meet in smaller groups for their action learning sets. You will be encouraged to discuss practical issues pertinent to their leadership roles and work on solutions using the collective intelligence of the group through non-directive, coaching approaches.
Day 5: Organisational politics and culture in HE
- Using Mythodrama to understand organisational culture and politics in higher education
- Developing practical skills to influence positive organisational changes
- Working with real life scenarios to impact the internal politics
- Developing practical skills to influence positive organisational changes
- Working with real life scenarios to impact the internal politics
Day 6: Leading the New: your leadership purpose, presence and impact
- Exploring leadership skills needed in the current HE context
- Understanding your unique leadership style
- Learning about successful leadership from senior women leaders
- Enhancing leadership impact by developing your personal purpose and presence
- Understanding your unique leadership style
- Learning about successful leadership from senior women leaders
- Enhancing leadership impact by developing your personal purpose and presence
Delivery team
Facilitators
Related
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