The predictability of change

The pace of change is about one of the few things that has been predictable in the Government sector in recent years. Leadership can, and does, change at the ballot box and brings with it significant impacts on society and the economy in national and international arenas. The profile of the public sector is far higher than it ever was and leaders with a broader skill set and extra-sectoral experience is increasingly important.

A global pandemic and the hugely wide-ranging effects of the Brexit separation have demanded much time and effort from Government, and its leaders especially. However, the ability to manage these extraordinary levels of change has been facilitated by increased digitisation, technological interaction and a greater appetite for innovation.

Specialist leadership advisors to:

  • Ministerial departments
  • Non-ministerial departments
  • Agencies
  • Public bodies
  • Public corporations
  • Devolved administrations

Our approach

Championing diversity, equity and inclusion

Our experience

For decades our team has operated at the interface between government and other sectors, bringing our expertise across the commercial, education, research, health and cultural sectors to bear on senior executive and non-executive appointments.  Our established UK expertise is reinforced through our global partnerships providing in-depth knowledge of public sector practice in other regions and a greater access to international talent.

Our experience ranges from the highest-profile and most heavily-scrutinised roles to the most unusual and specialist. In a competitive market for talent, we are ideally positioned to identify and attract leading individuals, in the UK and beyond.

REACH

The REACH Programme has been created in partnership with the Civil Service to help support colleagues with disabilities to maximise their career potential.

Together, we aim to provide mentoring partners exclusively for colleagues with either a mental health or physical disability. Each mentor is an executive level leader in their own right from outside the Civil Service, who either has a lived experience of disability or who has been involved in shifting the dial on improving development opportunities, career progression and the wider workplace environment for people with any form of disability.

Find out more

Bringing forward passionate and diverse Board Leaders

Senior board appointments require a highly targeted, personalised search to identify appropriately qualified senior leaders, and it is essential that each of them is then approached by an articulate and well-informed advisor. Through our dedicated board practice, we appoint over 250 chair and non-executive roles every year: our networks give us extensive reach across sectors, and deep insights into the challenges – and opportunities – faced by boards today.

Our Board practice

An inclusive approach to diversifying leadership

We are proud to play a role in supporting our clients in their equality, diversity and inclusion agendas. Over the last 12 months 63% of all our public sector appointments and 58% of our board appointments have come from underrepresented backgrounds at senior levels. And of our appointments to regulators, 66% of all appointments and 82% of our board appointments were from underrepresented backgrounds.

The public sector is rapidly changing. It is often poorly understood by those outside it: opportunities are underestimated, stereotypes outdated. In a competitive market for talent, we are ideally positioned to identify and attract leading individuals from a diverse range of backgrounds, in the UK and beyond.

Find out more about how we bring forward diverse leaders

Meet our team

Current Opportunities

Innovate UK

Executive Chair

Closing date: Monday 29 Apr 2024

Geospatial Commission

Chair

Closing date: Tuesday 16 Apr 2024

UK Research and Innovation

Chief Executive Officer

Closing date: Tuesday 2 Apr 2024

Let’s take it from here

 

+44(0)20 7227 0800

contact@saxbam.com

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