Background
Leading Education is an international education consultancy dedicated to helping ambitious students secure places at world-leading universities. Our unique online tuition programme fosters curiosity, creativity, and critical thinking skills, essential for gaining admission to prestigious institutions such as Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial, LSE, and top medical schools.
Our flagship programme consists of four core components, enabling our students to achieve an Oxbridge success rate of 43%, which is double the national average. We are currently in a high- growth phase, having delivered 20,000 hours of lessons last year and expanded into summer schools, EPQ support, and school application services.
Additionally, we run a successful Oxbridge Access Programme, which provides £250,000 worth of free tuition to students from disadvantaged backgrounds annually. Last year, this programme attracted applications from 1/30th of the total number of students from comprehensive schools applying to Oxford and Cambridge.
The Role
We are seeking a dynamic and impactful individual to join our team as the CEO. The CEO will have overall responsibility for the company's performance, including financial results, employee and client retention, product quality, and organisational efficiency. The CEO's primary responsibilities will include:
Strategic Planning and Reporting:
o Collaborate with shareholders to develop a comprehensive strategic plan that aligns with the company's goals and objectives.
o Provide regular updates to shareholders through weekly 1-hour meetings.
Business Development and Growth:
o Set and monitor ambitious yet sustainable growth targets across all business development departments (RoW, Summer Schools, China, B2B2C) to elevate yearly revenue, aiming for £4 million by the end of 2026.
o Play a critical role in the company's commercial success by directly developing new business with schools and agencies, which will constitute approximately half of the CEO's role.
o Conduct weekly 1-hour meetings with the Chief Business Development Officer and actively participate in the development of the Head of Business Development.
Operational Management:
o Hold weekly meetings with the COO to discuss the operational, academic, partnerships, and access sides of the business.
o Assist the COO in managing their time, setting goals, and reviewing progress. o Take an active role in the professional development of the COO.
Innovation and Expansion:
o Drive innovation, growth, and expansion by identifying new opportunities and developing new products.
o Immediately focus on developing the new boarding school applications revenue stream.
Talent Retention and Development:
o Manage and motivate a young team, ensuring their development aligns with the company's objectives.
o Conduct monthly 30-minute professional development meetings and quarterly 30-minute reviews with half of the company's staff (the COO handles the other half).
Culture and Leadership:
o Foster a high-performance, results-driven, and fun company culture. o Lead by example and maintain the company's cultural values.
Recruitment and Hiring:
o Oversee the hiring process, including writing job descriptions, outreach, and interviewing, delegating parts of the process as needed.
Compliance:
o Ensure the company has systems in place for GDPR and safeguarding compliance.
o Participate in monthly compliance meetings to test systems and review progress.
Benefits of the Role:
- Hybrid working model: 2 days in the London office and 3 days from home.
- Opportunity to make a significant impact by helping thousands of students from diverse backgrounds achieve their university aspirations.
- Work within a dynamic, highly ambitious 12-person team that values openness and radical transparency.
- Competitive salary of £70,000-£80,000 per annum plus bonuses.
- 5-day working week.
Qualifications:
- Exceptional interpersonal skills with the ability to build professional relationships at all organisational levels and with external stakeholders, such as schools, parents, and partners.
- Proven business development skills with a commercial edge; a natural closer with a history of successful business growth.
- Minimum of 5 years of management experience with a proven track record of effectively directing and motivating teams to achieve outstanding results.
- Strong understanding of corporate finance and performance management principles.
- High energy, determined, and self-driven; committed to delivering high-quality products to students and partners.
- Resilient and unflappable, capable of handling high-pressure situations and meeting ambitious targets.