University of Kent Director of Operations – Assessment Process Briefing August 2019

Agenda Background – why we are here Introduction to Minerva Overview of the process How to prepare

About Minerva and our relevance for you Founded six years ago, we specialise in search and leadership services for the cultural, education and third sectors. Our consulting team has over 60 years combined experience in leadership search. With a team of twelve dedicated to working in these sectors, we have a scale equivalent to many comparable teams in larger firms. We combine the best of corporate rigour with small company hunger and agility. Experienced consultants take responsibility for the whole process, attending meetings/briefings, interviewing candidates and supporting shortlist processes. We do not delegate our work to junior researchers. We commit to the highest standards of professionalism in our work; unsuccessful candidates will receive valuable feedback from us, and we present a balanced view of candidates.

Independent and objective Over 60 years of combined experience Our approach Independent and objective Over 60 years of combined experience Oriented to the candidate Focused on development and succession planning

Director of Operations The process for appointing Directors of Operations will take place between August and October 2019. Here we provide an outline of the overall process, what we will ask for from you, and what you can expect from us.   As well as making strong appointments to the roles of Director of Operations our objective is to provide all participants with an output that will be of some value in helping you develop your own career at the University.  Throughout the process a first point of contact for us will be ops@minervasearch.com, and please feel free to contact us with any questions or queries at any time. 

Director of Operations Assessment First stage - Application Second stage – Psychometrics Third stage – Detailed assessment Fourth stage – Stakeholder presentation and panel interview

First stage – Applications Open between 12th August – 1st September To apply, you will need to email Minerva at ops@minervasearch.com the following documents: - An up to date CV - Supporting document (of no more than three sides of A4) outlining your response to the following question: The appointees to these new leadership roles will be pivotal in the delivery of our strategic plan to 2025. Please outline your vision for the development of divisional professional services in supporting our key strategic areas: o Education and the Student Experience; o Research and innovation; o Engagement, impact and civic mission. On receipt of your application, you will be sent a code to complete a set of psychometric tests.

Second stage – Psychometric tests As soon as apply, you will be sent the code. Please try to complete the tests a week in advance of the next stage of the process, and no later than 6 September - This is conducted through our partner – Advanced People Strategies www.advancedpeoplestrategies.co.uk - and is online only, taking around 45 minutes.   Hogan is a test that has been successfully employed for over 25 years, and in the UK has a sample cohort of nearly 65000 participants.   Nearly 40% of the benchmark cohort is female, and a higher proportion are from BAME backgrounds than offered by most other tests.   Over 80% of the cohort is aged between 30 and 60.   It is peer-reviewed in the UK, most recently receiving a strong positive endorsement from the British Psychology Society in 2018.  Psychometric tests will need to be completed by noon, Friday 6 September. On receipt of your application, you will be sent a code to complete a set of psychometric tests.

Third stage – Detailed Assessment 4 September – 26 September Between end of September and early October, our team will be visiting the University regularly and we will be meeting candidates on a one-to-one basis to conduct a competency based interview and a work sample exercise, which will be in the form of a brief case study that will be supplied to you a short while in advance.  This will take up to two hours of your time, and we will offer several possible dates. 

Fourth stage – Stakeholder presentation and panel interview This stage will be led by the University, not Minerva. Finally, after a shortlisting meeting in October in which the appointment committee will select candidates to go forward, there will be final panel interviews.   From this, a group of appointable candidates will be selected to take on the roles.   Following the recruitment process, successful candidates will be placed in a ‘pool’ awaiting final selection by the new Director of Division appointments. At this stage, Heads of Administration and School Administration Managers who have successfully applied will be given first priority in selection.  

What you can expect from us Our objective is that the process be as developmental as possible for all those who participate in it.   You can expect us to be responsive in acknowledging your communications with us and confirming receipt of your applications.   We will respond to queries as fast as we can.  At the end of the process, we will provide feedback with details on how your current strengths and weaknesses have been assessed in relation to the roles, and we will seek to be as helpful as we can in suggesting aspects that you might like to work on for future development.