Message from the Chair
A message from Dr David Knight, Chair of the Board of Trustees
First of all I’d like to send a personal thank you from myself and fellow board members for considering applying for the post of Chief Executive Officer of the Open College Network North East Region (OCNNER).
With the retirement of our current Chief Executive, Dave Rippon, the Board has the ideal opportunity to find the right individual to lead our organisation into the future.
We are a charitable company operating under license to the National Open College Network (NOCN) and the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA) to offer quality assured and accredited learning within the North East of England.
As a membership organisation we work in partnership with over 300 education and training providers from all sectors within the County Durham, Northumberland, Tees Valley, Tyneside and Wearside regions. We have a committed and engaged staff group based at our Peterlee offices who are looking forward to working with a new Chief Executive to help us deliver our mission to support learning and widen opportunity by recognising achievement through credit based courses and qualifications.
The external context within which we work is ever changing and demanding, particularly within the government’s agenda to address issues in relation to participation in education, skills and training, competitiveness in a world class market and the economy. OCNNER and the OCN network is working particularly hard to make sure that it is well placed to maximise the value of the Curriculum and Qualifications Framework as it develops. We operate in a complex and uncertain political environment, yet a challenging and exciting one in which OCNNER has a key role to play with NOCN, the Network of OCNs and our key stakeholders and partners.
The OCNNER Board is seeking to appoint a strong and dynamic leader with a clear understanding of the policy framework, challenges and opportunities for OCNNER and those learners, employers and organisations whom we serve as a charitable organisation. The successful candidate will also have an important role to discharge as a member of the NOCN Network Management Team
The business imperative is key as our ambition is to continue to grow as an organisation and as part of a comprehensive national Credit Accumulation and Transfer Scheme, which is recognised for promoting social inclusion, wider participation and community transformation. However the successful candidate must not lose sight of our charitable purpose and our ultimate responsibility to the learners who study for our credit and qualifications.
I very much look forward to exploring these issues with successful shortlisted candidates at interview.
Yours faithfully
