Jeff Greenidge appointed Director for Diversity by ETF and AoC

Jeff Greenidge (@jeff_jdgee11) has been appointed as Director for Diversity jointly by the Education and Training Foundation (@E_T_Foundation) and Association of Colleges (@AoC_info). He is an experienced teacher, coach and leadership mentor who has worked across the education and training sector.

The role will see Jeff driving plans to increase diversity within the Further Education (FE) workforce, particularly at senior levels, and promoting inclusive practice in colleges and other parts of the sector. It will include a specific strand of work on race equality and anti-racism, engaging with the Government, the sector and expert groups such as the Black FE Leadership Group. He begins on Monday 11 January 2021.

David Russell, Chief Executive of the ETF, said:

“We are very pleased to welcome Jeff as Director for Diversity. He will play an important role in ensuring that the ETF is aligned with the challenges and experiences of those working in FE and strengthening our capability to support the sector in delivering life-changing opportunities to the array of learners it works with.”

Kirsti Lord, Deputy Chief Executive of Association of Colleges said:

“We are delighted to announce Jeff as Director for Diversity. The role will be central in our continued effort towards increasing the diversity of leadership and governance and creating an inclusive, open and diverse culture which supports students and staff in further education. I look forward to working with Jeff to support the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Steering Group, whose members have already put together strong plans around better representation in FE. I am confident Jeff’s role will help to embed this work and many other EDI initiatives across AoC, ETF and the wider sector.”

Jeff said:

“I firmly believe that education has the potential to be an even greater force for positive change in our society. For that to happen, our leadership must be willing to recognise and eliminate those things that we do that exclude, marginalise or devalue others. I am looking forward to working with our senior leaders to face these challenges.”

Jeff’s career in education began as a teacher of modern languages and physical education. A three-year spell as Head of Modern Languages at Llanrumney High School in Cardiff followed, before he joined the Curriculum and Assessment Authority for Wales, advising the Government on matters relating to language teaching and learning. After three years as Director of the European Unit of the Welsh Joint Education Committee, he joined learndirect, where he served in a number of roles culminating in more than five years as Network Director between 2010 and 2015.

Today, Jeff chairs the Board of Directors of Groundwork Wales and is Chairperson of the Learning and Work Institute Wales, as well as serving on the boards of Ballet Cymru and the Institute of Employability Professionals. He is also Managing Director of Ariege.