I established Susannah Marsden Consulting in 2021, and have since worked with 20 institutions on well over 40 assignments.
My professional background is as a Director of Student & Academic Services and Registrar, and my consultancy work spans strategic academic development, creating student-facing policy and academic regulation, quality assurance, collaborative provision, investigating complex student complaints, academic governance reviews, professional services reviews and matters relating to the Office for Students. I am also formally trained as a workplace mediator.
I have a 25 year+ career in the Higher Education sector, including 8 years as a member of a University Executive Committee. I am therefore very familiar with the ins and outs of institutional life, and particularly skilled at untangling complexities.
My clients range from large universities to some of the UK’s world-leading small specialist institutions as well as on-line and private providers. Well over half of my clients have invited me to undertake new work, and I enjoy developing sustained relationships as well as completing one-off projects. I have an evidenced reputation for thoughtful and people-focused solutions which is reflected in the client-centred approach I take to each piece of work.
My presence in the Higher Education sector, both in the UK and internationally, is also known as the founder and presenter of the Job Shadowing HE podcast where I talk with guests – from Vice-Chancellors through to University Chaplains – about their career paths and working lives. Episodes are kindly sponsored by some of the leading executive search and technology firms that work with the HE sector. It is also proudly endorsed by the Association of Higher Education Professionals and the British Universities Finance Directors Group as a valuable source of professional insight.
I am a member of the Board of Governors and the Remuneration and Nominations Committee at the Central School of Ballet, one of the UK’s smallest OfS-registered HEIs.
I have mentored numerous HE professionals throughout my career, and enjoy supporting the development of future managers and leaders.