In the midst of institutional change, while establishing a new Learning and Teaching Enhancement Centre and about to launch the "Enabling Student Success" plan, Prof Jess Power found herself at a crossroads. After a year at the University of Salford, she joined Advance HE’s Preparing for Senior Strategic Leadership programme to understand how she was translating these transformational projects into strategic plans and implementation for the team and across the organisation.
A journey of crazy paving
Jess's path to senior academic leadership has been anything but conventional. Starting in the commercial sector with heritage brand Jaeger, she discovered her passion for learning while studying part-time for a master’s degree. This spark ignited an academic career that she affectionately describes as "crazy paving" - a winding journey from modular leadership to programme leader, then into strategic roles as head of department and director across five different universities.
Along the way, accolades followed: a National Teaching Fellowship in 2016 while at the University of Huddersfield, and becoming Chair of Learning and Teaching the following year. But for Jess, the real reward has been the learning itself.
"My passion remains interdisciplinarity," she explains. "I like to work where disciplines cross over, and where better to do that than in learning and teaching?"
Taking a breath in the busyness
When Jess joined the Preparing for Senior Strategic Leadership programme, she wasn't looking for another achievement to add to her CV. She was looking for perspective.
"It was a critical turning point," she reflects. "We were in the middle of some really large institutional change, and it was really busy. I saw it as a good opportunity to broaden my horizons - to just take a breath in all of that busyness and think about what I was doing within the bigger picture."
The timing couldn't have been better. The higher education sector was experiencing significant upheaval and the political landscape was shifting. The programme offered a chance to challenge her assumptions, learn from peers across the sector and forge new partnerships.
The power of vulnerability
One her highlights from the programme was the role-playing exercise that initially made her uncomfortable. Participants worked as a team while actors challenged their thinking and pushed them beyond their comfort zones.
"It makes you vulnerable," Jess admits, "and when you're in that vulnerable space, you open up and learn more about yourself."
But vulnerability, she discovered, was the key. In that safe environment, with a supportive cohort and skilled facilitators, the right balance of challenge and support created ideal conditions for growth. It was during a walk with a partner - an exercise designed to identify each participant's "superpowers" - that Jess received feedback that would reshape her understanding of her own leadership.
Her partner identified her ability to connect with people and translate the bigger picture into actionable implementation plans. "You take these things for granted," Jess says, "so it's really nice when someone shares that feedback with you."
Turning learning into impact
The true measure of the programme's success was what came after. Armed with new insights about her strengths and renewed strategic clarity, Jess brought her learning back to her team at Salford, and the results have been remarkable.
Working on transformational projects around inclusive assessment principles, her team has made a measurable impact on student success, significantly improving the number of students who pass all modules on their first attempt. They launched Pedagogy, a new journal that gives colleagues opportunities to publish for the first time, with Jess mentoring them through the process.
Jess has also contributed to collaborative projects with the QAA, working on curriculum enhancement alongside HE institutions including Exeter, Leeds, Bristol, Reading and the University of London.
"The programme enabled me to meet people but also take back that learning and take it into everyday business to really enhance that student experience," she explains. "I've been able to take other colleagues with me on that journey."
A message to future leaders
For anyone considering the programme, Jess's advice is unequivocal: "Just do it."
She emphasises the value of creating space for reflection amid the chaos of institutional life. The investment of time and energy, she insists, is absolutely worthwhile.
"It was a beautiful learning experience to learn and to grow," Jess says. "If you're thinking of attending the Preparing for Senior Strategic Leadership programme, just book it. Just go for it - you absolutely won't regret it."