Chief Operating Officer

This is an exciting time to join the Royal Veterinary College (RVC) as Chief Operating Officer (COO).   The RVC is consistently rated as the leading independent veterinary school globally.   Whilst being a Member Institution of the University of London, the RVC has recently acquired full University status in its own right.   Spread across two campuses in central London and Hertfordshire, the university has a turnover of circa £130mn and undertakes a wide range of educational, research and clinical activities.   Its international footprint has expanded considerably in recent years and future plans include the capital development of a new small animal hospital and the expansion of its commercial activities, including through the London Biosciences Innovation Centre.   The university faces the same challenges as the broader Higher Education sector, in particular through a constrained funding environment with the additional challenges brought about through competing with the private sector for its substantial third-stream funded activities, and these risks also need to be managed in the context of strategic development.

As the university develops, so do its teams, systems and processes, and there is now an opportunity to join the institution as COO from early 2025 and become a key enabler of this evolution.  Reporting to the President & Principal, the COO is responsible for the strategic alignment of all professional services, ensuring effective collaboration in supporting delivery of RVC’s strategic and operational plans. The role holder should have an effective understanding of finance and be able to operate as a partner to the Chief Financial Officer, as well as the other members of the senior leadership team. Ideal candidates will be experienced senior professional services leaders with a strong track record of strategic leadership and delivering impactful organisational change in a complex environment. They will have prior experience of overseeing and delivering operational management across a broad range of professional services functions and will be able to point to how they have improved services. They will be a natural ambassador and negotiator for the RVC.

For further details on the role, please visit www.minervasearch.com/rvc.  

To apply, please send a CV and a covering letter outlining how you meet the job description and person specification to rvc@minervasearch.com by close of business on 27 September 2024.  

Closing Date: 27 Sep 2024

Reporting Unit: Principal’s Office