Independent Director OIA Board

An exciting opportunity to join our Board as an Independent Director and Trustee has arisen.

Here at the OIA, we are a team of highly skilled professionals operating the ombuds service for student complaints in higher education.  We are passionate about fairness, value higher education in all its forms and believe that complaints provide important learning to improve the higher education experience for all students.

Who we are

We are the independent student complaints scheme for England and Wales.  We review unresolved complaints from students about their higher education provider, and make recommendations for providers to put things right if they have gone wrong.  We share learning from complaints to help improve policies and practices across the higher education sector.  And we contribute to the development of policy, both in the regulatory framework for higher education and in the ombuds sector. You can find out more about who we are and what we do on our website at www.oiahe.org.uk/about-us/our-organisation/ .

Our Board

Our Board ensures the effective governance of our organisation, overseeing our strategic direction and performance and protecting our independence as an ombuds scheme.

The role and what we are looking for

The Board is looking to appoint an Independent Director who understands governance responsibilities and has the skills, experience and personal qualities to contribute effectively to our Board.

The successful candidate will have an interest in the higher education sector and share our vision that students are always treated fairly. 

In this recruitment we are particularly looking for applicants with leadership-level and/or strategic HR experience. Understanding of mental health, talent strategies and/or organisational change would be of interest but are not essential.

The person specification can be found here. 

Term of office and remuneration

Independent Directors serve for terms of office of three years, renewable once. 

They are remunerated, currently £340 per day for meetings or other OIA commitments, and expenses are paid for attending Board and other meetings, most of which are held in Reading. There are generally four Board meetings a year and Directors may also be involved in sub committees or working groups. 

The appointee may be asked to join the Nominations & Remunerations Committee.

Next Steps

We value diverse backgrounds, life experiences and perspectives, and have a supportive and inclusive organisational culture. We welcome applications from candidates from all backgrounds.

If you have the relevant skills and experience and you have an interest and enthusiasm for the sector we work in please complete our application form and upload your CV and a one page cover letter outlining why you would like to join us and think you are well-suited to this role.

Please also highlight any conflict of interests that you may have.

The deadline for applications is midnight on Monday 6th May 2019. 

You can find information about what we will do with your personal data here