Do you work in Higher Education Professional Services? Are you aware of career development support that’s tailored to your needs? I’ve identified some of the organisations providing a range of valuable programmes, training and resources.
Read on to explore and decide which you’d like to take advantage of. Those I’ve listed are not an exhaustive list, but they are all ones I’d recommend.
You may find your institution is willing to pay for relevant professional development courses and memberships. However, as budgets are constrained, this may not be an option. Sometimes getting onto a development programme can involve a long wait, with few places available and competition can be high. My advice? It’s always worth investing in your professional development- even when you have to fund it yourself. What’s more important than you? If you’re keen to progress, the organisations and individuals below are well-regarded, do great work and offer good value for money. Most also offer some free options.
Below, I summarise the services, target audience and benefits outlined by four organisations working in this space.
1. AHEP (The Association of Higher Education Professionals).
Who is it for?
Open to existing or aspiring HE professional services staff
Key Benefits
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Access to qualifications and training
- Discounted rates for online and hybrid workshops. The calendar of events features regular session hosted by experts from the HE sectors, covering useful topics to enable you to develop and adhere to best practice, with specific disciplines, areas and roles catered for
- Member events
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Networking and collaboration
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Mentoring
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Shared best practice and online resources
- Special interest groups
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Professional recognition
- Online resources
- Annual conference
- CV reviews
Professional Framework Tool
At the core of your development benefits sits the AHEP Professional Framework. This communicates eight statements of professional commitment that characterise you as a higher education professional, highlighting core behaviours, knowledge, and skills. Accessing the tool will enable you to understand your own role and position within the HE professional services community and chart a course through your development journey.
All members have access and the opportunity to apply for a PgCert in Higher Education Administration, Management and Leadership (delivered as hybrid) to deepen your knowledge and understanding of the HE sectors while gaining extra professional accreditation.
2. The Bold Collective, Rachel Reeds
Who is if for?
The Bold Collective is a community for managers who want support, development, and challenge in equal measure.
- You’re managing people, projects, pressure, or politics in higher education (with or without the formal title)
- You’re capable but tired of being invisible
- You want practical support, not another certificate to add to your CV
- You’re ready to invest in yourself because you know no one else will
Resources
Online drop-ins, workshops and resource library.
Examples of the kinds of thing members have been helped with:
- Worked through how to handle a team member’s crisis during a major deadline
- Scripted a conversation about workload redistribution with a resistant line manager
- Shared strategies for staying visible when working remotely in a campus-focused culture
- Crowd-sourced advice on whether to apply for an internal promotion or look elsewhere
- Challenged each other on saying yes to “development opportunities” that are just more unpaid labour
- Swapped notes on managing up when your head of department doesn’t understand professional service
Founded by Rachel Reeds, HE Consultant consultant and author of ‘Surviving and Thriving in Higher Education Professional Services.’ I highly recommend Rachel’s book, whether you’re new to Higher Education- or if you’ve worked in the space for a while. The book provides illuminating insights into the world of UK Higher Education Professional Services and how and it works (and why it sometimes doesn’t). I suggest providing a copy to any new staff member. You may find your university library has it.
3. Fiona Bicket’s Hidden Curriculum for Career Progression in Higher Education
Who is it for?
Staff aspiring to progress in their Professional Services career. For staff at Grades 6 – 9.
What is it?
- A set of unwritten rules and expectations that determine who gets promoted and who stays stuck
- Most people don’t even know these rules exist. And even when they suspect they exist, they don’t want to look at them because it feels like “playing the game”
- But this isn’t about being political or manipulative. It’s about understanding what’s actually being assessed so you can make informed decisions about how to show up
The Hidden Curriculum shows you what panels are actually looking for
Things like:
- How you communicate with senior leaders (authority vs. clarity)
- How you frame problems (systemic vs. operational)
- How you show up in meetings (peer vs. advisor)
- What you think about (institutional risk vs. operational delivery)
- How you delegate (trusting managers vs. staying in the detail)
These aren’t political games. They’re credibility markers that signal you’re ready for institutional leadership.
You don’t have to compromise your values or become someone you’re not. You just need to know what credibility looks like at the next level, and demonstrate it in a way that feels authentic to you.
The Progression Pathway is a framework to help you put it into action:
It’s four stages that take you from stuck to ready:
1. Clarity
Understand exactly what’s required at the next grade. Get a clear assessment of where you already perform at that level and identify your specific gaps
2. Competence
Fill those gaps. Build the skills, elevate your thinking, and start operating like someone at the next level
3. Credibility
Be seen as someone who’s ready. Change how you’re perceived by panels and senior colleagues
4. Conviction
Believe in your abilities and articulate them in a way that makes you the standout candidate
Access to the FREE hidden curriculum grade guide. Sign up to request the level you’re looking to progress to
There is an option to sign up to a 6-12 month programme.
4. Women-Space, founded by Professor Christina Hughes
Who is it for?
- Women-Space provides high impact support for women working in universities- both Professional Services staff and Academics.
- Women-Space specialise in executive leadership development, growth strategies, and personalised mentoring for women navigating transitions, challenges, and career pivots. Whether you’re seeking strategic support, transition coaching, or are striving to maintain your values in challenging environments, our approach offers clarity, emotional intelligence, and confidence.
- We create reflective space for you to build self-leadership habits, overcome imposter syndrome, and lead with resilience. With a focus on leadership clarity, building an executive mindset, and midlife career transitions, Women-Space is your growth partner for building a sustainable and authentic leadership path.
- You can subscribe to the Women-Space newsletter, read the regular blog posts and access your inner power with the free Boudicca e-book.
Programmes:
Navigating Change- A 4- week group coaching experience for uncertain times. For you, if you are experiencing:
- Job loss, restructuring, or career redirection
- Internal change — a new role, new team, or new responsibilities
- Ongoing change — staying in your current role while the world around you shifts
Holding space as the art of leadership. Six sessions. Target group:
- You are a leader in a university
- You are in the midst of waves of constant change, uncertainty and retrenchment
- You believe in authentic, deliberate leadership, and are looking for a community of like-minded female leaders
- You deeply care for the people around you, and want to hold them steady in these turbulent times
- You recognise that you need space and time to think, to replenish your resilience and regain sense of purpose
- You want to share experiences, ideas and strategies with women who share your values
- ·You are worried that you will lose yourself and your values in all that you are required to do
- You absolutely would welcome a warm, safe and nurturing space to share some of your challenges where you know you will be met with compassion, understanding and, importantly, insight.
In summary:
Taking control of your career development will:
- Expand you professional network
- Build your confidence and self-efficacy
- Ensure you stand out when applying for promotional posts
What are you waiting for?
Sometimes if you want to see a change for the better, you have to take things into your own hands. Clint Eastwood.