Coventry College make key appointment to aid growth

Simon Crick has been appointed as Vice Principal Finance and Resources at Coventry College, and will be working alongside the College’s Principal and CEO, Carol Thomas, to lay the financial foundations for the organisation’s future development.

Simon joins Coventry College with more than 27 years of financial experience and has expertise in public sector transformation projects. He has more recently held Chief Financial Officer roles at the University of Warwick Medical School, and at the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner Staffordshire.

His appointment comes as Coventry College prepares to consolidate into a single campus from September 2021 at their Swanswell Street base – which will cater for up to 8,000 students.

Simon said: “I am very happy and excited to join Coventry College, which is a key public institution in a city where I have lived for the last 32 years.

“The College is undergoing substantial change behind the scenes to ensure it is fit for the future needs of a city that is continuing to regenerate, and I’m excited to be given the opportunity to use all of my knowledge and experience to support this.

“The College has so much untapped potential, and it’s important that from a financial and resource perspective that we are capable of adapting and capitalising not only on our strengths as a College, but also future opportunities – be that with adapting or launching new courses in line with demand, investing in equipment or forging new partnerships.”

Simon’s arrival comes as Coventry College also begins a recruitment drive for the newly-created senior position of Vice Principal for Curriculum, Innovation and The Learner Journey. 

Carol Thomas, Principal and CEO at Coventry College, added: “Our College, like so many others, have experienced challenging periods during the pandemic but we have a positive future ahead of us, and Simon has a key role to play in helping the College to thrive over the coming years. 

“Moving forward our focus will be on ensuring our city centre campus develops further and evolves so that our students can continue receiving the highest possible standard of further education. 

“Our aim is to ensure that we have adequate teaching resource to meet the growth in the school leaver market, increasing demand from adults who want to retrain in a new career or to up-skill to progress in the workplace, in addition to those wanting to learn English as a second language. 

“This will of course require on-going investment, which is why it is so important that we have brought someone of Simon’s calibre on board to ensure the College has solid financial foundations in place to not only stabilise in the here-and-now, but to also grow in the coming years.”