Nicola — known as Nic — is an extraordinarily skilled and knowledgeable management consultant, whose unique 20+-year career within the education sector incorporates invaluable experience across strategic planning, project management, human resources (HR), and leadership and people management. With her extensive knowledge of employment law, her broad-ranging experience of implementing and integrating systems, and her exemplary organisational and stakeholder engagement skills, Nic has successfully delivered countless change and culture management projects and college mergers.
Before forming Rockborn with her business partner, Peter, in late 2015, Nic was Head of Strategic Capital and Resource Development for an FE college. During her tenure, she conducted a strategic review of the curriculum and successfully managed the relocation of resources mid-academic year with minimal disruption to learners. Simultaneously, Nic was also the project management lead for the College’s ambitious £30million accommodation strategy. Using her exceptional planning, communication and negotiation skills, Nic personally liaised with local council members on the erection of a £50million shared building and with construction contractors on a separate £10million build. To further utilise her considerable skills and experience, Nic was then seconded to support the Chief Executive of the Greater Manchester Colleges Group in developing a strategic plan following the Post-16 Area Reviews. Her involvement included investigating the feasibility of shared services and joint procurement opportunities for the ten colleges in the area.
Through Rockborn, Nic has built an unrivalled track record of successfully project-managing college mergers; her most recent being the concurrent mergers between the Chichester College Group and Greater Brighton Metropolitan College, and the Windsor Forest Colleges Group and Berkshire College of Agriculture - both of which completed in summer 2022.
Nic’s merger expertise includes:
- Supporting applications to the Transaction Unit and the Provider Market Oversight
- Project-managing internal workstreams
- Completing all statutory and regulatory requirements for merger
- Assisting with principal and executive team appointments
- Developing new senior leadership and college structures
- Advising on TUPE requirements and consultations
- Developing staffing structures and associated restructuring processes
- Reviewing contracts of employment, policies and procedures
- Establishing new contracts of employment
- Aligning pay and costings strategies
- Negotiating with trade unions and staff
- Aligning HR systems
Earlier in her career, Nic provided invaluable advice and support to college managers and staff across a broad spectrum of people management topics as a qualified HR business partner. She has also led key people-focused projects such as the integration of HR and payroll IT systems and the implementation of a health & wellbeing strategy, and supported senior leaders with various culture and change management initiatives.
Nic’s HR expertise includes:
- Carrying out organisational-wide culture reviews
- Developing people plans and associated action plans
- Reviewing, developing and implementing policies and procedures on various HR topics such as recruitment, induction and absence
- Advising and conducting performance management reviews
- Supporting disciplinary and grievance investigations
- Advising and supporting restructures and TUPE processes
- Implementing new HR systems
- Developing HR objectives and strategic priorities
In her own time, Nic currently volunteers with Home-Start (a community network supporting families with young children), advising the Board of Trustees on all matters relating to HR and employment law.
