Victoria Holbrook

Victoria joined Advance HE in February 2019 from the Office for Students and after 11 years at its predecessor the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE). As Assistant Director, Governance she leads the development and delivery of Advance HE’s approach and work to support good governance to ensure it meets the needs of its members and clients in their rapidly evolving operating environments. In doing so, she brings expertise in higher education policy and regulation from her time at HEFCE and the OfS, as well as perspectives from serving on the Boards of a Multi-Academy Trust (2014-19) and Plymouth Marjon University (2019-). Victoria conducts governance effectiveness reviews and speaks at national conferences and events on governance and leadership. She has a keen interest in global developments in governance practice across the public, charity and corporate sectors including action to achieve board diversity and inclusive leadership.

In her role at HEFCE as Regional Consultant, Victoria cultivated relationships and resolved regulatory, funding and policy matters with senior teams at institutions across the South West. She also oversaw national work to support good governance in the English sector, working with a range of stakeholders including CUC and AHUA. For OfS, Victoria led the development of its first strategy for student information and undertook complex registration casework, gaining insights into the functioning of the new English regulatory framework at both sector and provider levels.

She has a wide range of experience from fifteen years of devising and implementing policy and projects across areas including research policy, widening participation and health education. Prior to HEFCE, she worked at the Arts and Humanities Research Council, European Parliament and in local government. Victoria achieved BA(hons) Law and French at UWE Bristol and later gained MSc Public Policy from the University of Bristol.

A Cornish girl based in Somerset, Victoria loves nothing more than a good walk on the moors or by the sea, preferably followed by some excellent local food and drink. Failing that, you’ll find her attempting to grow things and furnishing family and friends with (award winning!) jams and chutneys. She is also a keen supporter of Parkinson’s UK.