Consulting Fellow at the Halpin Partnership

Vicky Lewis Consulting (www.vickylewisconsulting.co.uk) specialises in advising client organisations whose work has an educational and international dimension, including:• Higher and Further Education Institutions (in the UK or overseas) – at institutional, branch campus, faculty or department level• Other providers or facilitators of education or training (e.g. English language or pathway providers; international schools; charities with an educational remit; scholarship bodies)• National organisations or agencies (UK or overseas) with an interest in international education • Providers of marketing, communications, student recruitment or related services to the higher / further education sectorBroad service categories include:Internationalisation strategy creation or reviewNew business developmentStaffing and resourcing adviceOperational planningStakeholder engagementResearch and training: reports, seminars and presentations

Responsibilities:• Participated in executive management of BU via membership of University Leadership Team• Led, developed and shaped BU’s new Marketing & Communications Service • Managed team of 80 staff and multi-million pound budget• Directed all communications (external and internal), PR, events and conferences, market research, strategic marketing, relationship marketing, student recruitment, outreach and international relationsKey achievements:• Author of BU’s 2009-2012 Marketing Strategy and a 6-year Delivery Plan for my Service, aligned with organisational strategic goalsOrganisational repositioning:• Achieved key targets for recruitment of high-calibre undergraduate students (now one of top new universities for this) and positioning of BU as academically led institution (e.g. via delivery of public lecture series, increased media profile of star academics)Effective responses to government policy changes:• Market analysis to inform price-setting when cap on fees lifted• Extension of preparatory courses for international students in response to revised immigration regulations• Formal plan to enhance recruitment, retention and financial support of groups under-represented in HE (approved by national Office for Fair Access)Process improvements:• Campaign to enhance communication with students led to 10% increase in National Student Survey completion rate between 2011 and 2012 and helped improve student experience• Introduction of monthly surveys of all enquirers contributed to improved service levels and consistently high ratings for enquiry-handling (considered significantly better than competitors)Staffing culture:• Improved staff satisfaction within my Service by 10% between 2010 and 2012, with particularly positive scores relating to management of change and freedom to fulfil requirements of role• Introduced business partnering approach to ensure achievement of jointly agreed objectives through collaborative working with internal partners

Responsibilities:• Participated in executive management of BU via membership of University Leadership Team• Led, developed and shaped new ‘umbrella’ professional service, requiring integration of four previously separate teams (International Office; Communications & PR; Marketing; Alumni & Development)• Directed all communications (external and internal), PR, marketing, student recruitment, international student support, partnerships and exchanges, alumni relations and fundraisingKey achievements:• Led transition from devolved to centralised staffing and budgeting model for marketing and communications, involving reconfiguration of staff base and reduction in costs• Directed organisational re-branding project to establish single strong corporate identity, contributing to improved institutional reputation as measured by student applications and league table position (rose to top new university in UK in 2009 – The Guardian)• Oversaw website redesign and development of marketing communications collateral to reflect new visual identity• Established centralised enquiry-handling service for all prospective students and application-processing service for international students, founded on strong customer service and continuous improvement principles, leading to significantly improved client feedback• Increased attendance at BU’s pre-application undergraduate Open Days by over 200% between 2005 and 2008 (when over 6000 attended) and established that 93% of Open Day visitors were as likely or more likely to apply to BU after visiting• Tripled national and international media coverage for BU over a three-year period• Oversaw successful bid for £270,000 worth of external funding to build fundraising capacity

Responsibilities:• Participated in executive management of BU via membership of University Leadership Team• Established BU’s first International Office from scratch involving: staff recruitment, development and management; budget negotiation and management; setting up new processes etc.• Developed BU’s first international strategy and directed all activity relating to international student recruitment, marketing communications, pastoral support, mobility (exchanges, work placements, volunteering), preparatory programmes and institutional partnershipsKey achievements:• Achieved strategic plan targets for international student recruitment one year early, increasing international student fee income to BU by more than £1.5 million between 2002/03 and 2003/04• Built a network of 220 international agents around the world and established robust, quality-assured partnerships with private sector language schools to deliver BU’s preparatory English and Study Skills programmes• International Office’s student support provision ranked top in the country by international market research organisation i-Graduate• BU was one of the leading UK universities for sending students on European work placements via the EU-funded Leonardo programme

Responsibilities and key achievements:• Developed, in collaboration with the Director, Napier’s first international strategy, gaining pan-institutional buy-in for a radical approach targeting a very small number of markets• Established Napier’s fee-paying Study Abroad Programme, requiring substantial negotiation with academic departments, as well as development of institutional partnerships predominantly in USA and Canada• Developed a brand new suite of internationally-orientated marketing communications collateral

Responsibilities and key achievements:• Developed institutional and agent partnerships and grew international student numbers through effective marketing and in-country recruitment in: China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, India, Mauritius, USA and Canada• Oversaw major overhaul of international student orientation and support provision

Responsibilities and key achievements:• Built effective relationships with academic staff and students on courses within the Arts & Social Science Faculty, delivering high service standards for servicing committees and responding to student queries

Responsibilities and key achievements:• Efficient administration of a complex suite of European student and staff exchanges• Prepared Lampeter’s first set of international student recruitment and orientation materials• Assisted in editing and marketing Swedish Book Review (an academic periodical edited at Lampeter)

Responsibilities and key achievements:• Supported a range of activities for one of Germany’s largest private charitable foundations, all through the medium of German, including: organisation of award ceremonies, processing applications for financial support, welcoming international scholarship recipients, translating documents and cataloguing an art collection

Responsibilities and key achievements:• Set up my own business straight after graduating, built around three key interests: travel, writing and social / environmental responsibility• Researched, wrote and edited various travel guides and articles, sometimes managing other researchers• Conducted consultancy for English Tourist Board in area of Green Tourism