Episode 36: The strategic deployment of steel toe-capped boots and a hard hat in higher ed

In Episode 36 of University Registrars Talking About Stuff I have the opportunity to chat with Jackie Njoroge who is Director of Strategy at the University of Salford. We learn about Jackie's position as Director of Strategy which represents a distinctive and wide-ranging role and one she hugely enjoys. Discussing her unusual career journey we hear how she started out with British Steel in Corby on a graduate entry finance track before a move to a portacabin in even more glamorous Hartlepool where she was issued with steel toe-capped boots, hard hat and a high vis jacket. Having qualified as an accountant Jackie then landed at Northumbria to begin her higher education career journey, and experienced something of a culture shock as she encountered the world of university committees for the first time. Switching between finance and planning roles during her time at Northumbria and also having three children too Jackie then made the move into a strategic planning role at Manchester Met before heading to Salford as Director.

We explore the importance of bridging what can sometimes be seen as a gap between finance and planning to ensure the teams work together effectively, noting that many colleagues often feel more confident challenging student data than finance figures.

Reflecting on her university's Covid experience, Jackie is rightly proud of what staff and students done, particularly given that Salford is big provider of health professionals who all stepped up. She is keen to ensure that colleagues hang on to the things that were good including some of the virtual experiences and the better engagement from students in places and notes the importance of kindness given the tough time and hard work from all. We discuss the challenges of the different stages of returning to campus everyone seems to be at and noting that it is difficult to adopt a blanket approach but that as a campus university students at Salford do expect to see staff in person. 

Looking beyond Salford we talk about Jackie's role in HESPA, the national grouping of strategic planners, and its role in engaging with authority to agencies and regulators in language they understand, among other things. Finally we turn to the national picture, university funding, social mobility, the regulatory environment and the importance of connecting to local communities and Jackie concludes by noting that when she joined HE in 2003 it didn't feel like a golden age but in hindsight it probably was something a little more positive than where we are now.