Executive Opportunities

If you are interested in a role that you understand Russell Reynolds Associates may be handling but do not see this listed below, please contact us at responses@russellreynolds.com and we will direct your query to the responsible consultant.

Ofcom
Group Director, Enforcement

2609-027L
London, Manchester or Edinburgh

Ofcom is the UK's independent communications regulator, with a broad and increasingly important remit spanning telecommunications, broadcasting, postal services, spectrum and the online world. Our responsibilities continue to evolve and expand, including through implementation of the Online Safety Act.

We are now creating a standalone Enforcement Group, led by a new Group Director, Enforcement, reporting directly to our Chief Executive and joining Ofcom's Senior Management Team.

This is a rare opportunity to shape the enforcement strategy and capability of one of the UK's most prominent regulators at a point of significant expansion and change. The Group Director will lead a highly capable team of around 110 colleagues, with a remit spanning Online Safety, telecommunications and post, as well as competition and consumer protection matters and dispute resolution.

The role is considerably broader than leading an enforcement function. The successful candidate will lead Ofcom's overall strategy and approach to enforcement, working closely across our highly matrixed organisation to ensure that enforcement is used effectively alongside supervision and other regulatory tools to deliver the right outcomes for consumers and citizens.

We are looking for an unusual combination: someone with genuine depth and credibility in enforcement who has also developed the breadth, leadership experience and judgement to operate as an enterprise leader.

You will bring deep and substantive experience of competition, consumer and/or regulatory enforcement, or significant senior experience working closely with enforcement activity. This could have been gained within a regulator or government, or through substantial involvement with enforcement in a regulated industry, private advisory environment or other relevant setting. Legal qualification is not a prerequisite.

Alongside this, you will bring significant executive leadership experience and the ability to lead and develop expert teams. You will be an instinctive collaborator, able to work across professional and organisational boundaries and make sophisticated judgements about when enforcement – or another regulatory intervention – is the right tool.

You will also need the credibility and confidence to operate with Ofcom's Chief Executive, Board and Senior Management Team and engage at the most senior levels of industry and government. You will be a confident external communicator, able to explain complex and potentially contentious issues clearly to Parliament, the media and wider stakeholders.

Further information
For further information about the opportunity, responsibilities, essential criteria and appointment process, including details of how to apply, please review the position specification available below.

Closing date: Sunday 25 October 2026.

Ofcom is committed to building an organisation and leadership team that reflects the diversity of background, experience, upbringing and thought that exists across the UK. We welcome applications from the widest possible range of candidates and are committed to an accessible and inclusive appointment process.

Position Specification

Wellington College
Chief Operating Officer

2608-010L
Berkshire (relocation required)

Wellington College is one of the UK's – and indeed the world's – great coeducational boarding and day schools. Set within 400 acres of stunning parkland in Berkshire, less than an hour from London and Heathrow, the College is a remarkable place to learn, work and live.

Today, Wellington is a thriving residential community of some 1,100 pupils and approximately 600 teaching and professional staff. Wellington College Prep is similarly one of the country’s oldest preparatory schools, today with around 100 staff and 360 pupils within the group. Its boarding houses, classrooms, homes, theatres, playing fields and woodland sit within the same estate, creating a distinctive rhythm of life and strong sense of belonging. Beyond Berkshire, Wellington College also licences to brand eight premium schools across China, Thailand, India, and Indonesia, serving over 5,000 pupils globally.

At a time when Wellington is developing its international reach, pioneering new thinking around Human Flourishing and artificial intelligence, and exploring new commercial and external partnerships, we are seeking an exceptional individual to serve as Chief Operating Officer and Group Bursar and help shape the next stage of the College's development.

The COO is the second most senior role within Wellington and a close strategic partner to the Master and Governors. Financial stewardship sits at the core of the role, but its remit extends considerably further: providing leadership across the College's professional functions, commercial activities and the complex infrastructure that underpins this large residential community.

The successful candidate will lead long-term financial planning, investment and capital allocation; oversee the management and development of the estate and significant programme of capital investment (current endowment valued at £55.5m as of July 2026); ensure the effective delivery of the services that underpin College life; and help identify new opportunities for growth, partnership and commercial development. They will inherit an exceptionally strong financial and operational platform, but also genuine permission to help shape what comes next.

Candidates will bring financial sophistication, commercial judgement and broad senior leadership experience gained within a sizeable and complex organisation. They will be strategic and commercially minded, comfortable moving between big institutional questions and operational realities, and able to build trusted relationships with the Master, Governors, colleagues and the wider Wellington community.

Experience may have been gained in education, but equally could come from hospitality, heritage, major estates, visitor attractions, sport or other complex service environments. Direct experience of education or the charity sector is not required: more important will be the curiosity, humility and judgement to understand Wellington's distinctive environment, together with genuine enthusiasm for its educational purpose.

This is a rare opportunity to take on a role of unusual breadth and influence at one of the world's leading schools – combining financial stewardship and operational leadership with the opportunity to shape Wellington's strategy, growth and development for the future. The appointment includes substantial family accommodation within the College's estate, significant school-fee remission and a wider benefits package.

Wellington College has retained Russell Reynolds Associates to advise on this appointment. For further information about the position and additional details on qualifications, requirements, terms and conditions of service and how to apply, please review the position specification available below.

For a confidential discussion about the role, prospective candidates are invited to contact responses@russellreynolds.com, quoting reference 2608-010L.
The closing date for applications is 11 October 2026.

Position Specification

Single Source Regulations Office (SSRO)
Chair

2609-043L
United Kingdom

The Single Source Regulations Office (SSRO) is an arm's-length body established under the Defence Reform Act 2014. It oversees the regulatory framework for non-competitive defence contracts and operates independently while being sponsored and funded by the Ministry of Defence (MOD) through the National Armaments Director Group.

The SSRO employs around 40 public servants and has an annual budget of approximately £7 million. Its role is highly specialist, but the market it oversees is significant: in 2024/25, around 49% of new MOD contracts, worth approximately £10 billion, were awarded on a non-competitive basis. Single source contracting is particularly important in Defence, where highly specialised capabilities and a concentrated supplier base can mean that competition is not always possible or appropriate.

Following the Strategic Defence Review, there is a renewed focus on how the single source regulatory regime can contribute to wider Defence objectives. The SSRO is an important part of the architecture, and there is an opportunity to ensure that the organisation continues to be outcome-focused, commercially aware and effective in supporting Defence and industry.

The incoming Chair will inherit an organisation operating in a period of leadership transition. Alongside leading the Board, the Chair will be closely involved in strengthening the relationship between the SSRO, MOD and industry and in ensuring that the executive leadership is equipped for the next phase.

We are seeking a commercially sophisticated and strategically minded leader with the judgement, impartiality and ability to navigate competing interests required to lead the SSRO through its next phase.

The recruitment process is being supported by Russell Reynolds Associates. For further information about the position and additional details on qualifications, requirements, terms and conditions of service and how to apply, please review the position specification available below.

Position Specification

King’s College London
Vice President (Finance) & Chief Finance and Commercial Officer (VP, F & CFCO)

2607-105L

King's College London is one of the world's leading universities, dedicated to the advancement of knowledge and learning in the service of society. King's is a multi-faculty institution, with a core mission of delivering world-leading research, life-changing education and innovation across the humanities, sciences, medicine, law, dentistry, nursing, business and social sciences. With annual income of £1.5 billion, more than 40,000 students and 12,000 employees, King's operates across five campuses in London, and beyond this retains an academic presence at the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom in Shrivenham.

For almost 200 years, King's has been a place where ideas turn into action. King's Strategy 2030, launched in January 2026, is titled 'In Service of Society through Academic Excellence' and sets out four priorities: delivering student success; investing in research and education excellence; fostering innovation and entrepreneurship; and building sustainable finances for a secure future. King's is also entering an important new phase through a proposed merger with Cranfield University, which would combine King's breadth and strengths with Cranfield's distinctive capabilities in technology, engineering, management and engagement with industry and government. This would extend King's physical footprint and create new opportunities across education, research, innovation and commercial partnerships.

King's now seeks a Vice President (Finance) & Chief Finance and Commercial Officer (VP, F & CFCO) who will bring the strategic insight, commercial judgement and analytical capability needed to help shape the University's next stage of development. The CFCO will steward and enhance the core mission. The environment in which universities operate is shifting: the way higher education is funded is under strain, expectations of students and communities continue to evolve, and universities must increasingly show – through our actions and impact – the value they bring to society. This context calls for fresh thinking and perspectives drawn from organisations that have successfully navigated comparable complexity, transformation and financial challenge while identifying and capitalising on new opportunities.

Reporting directly to the Vice-Chancellor & President, Professor Shitij Kapur, the successful candidate will be a member of King's Senior Leadership Team, providing financial and commercial leadership across the institution and ensuring King's remains financially resilient while supporting its long-term strategic ambitions.

The role combines outstanding financial stewardship with commercial judgement, developing the financial insight and commercial understanding needed to enable better institutional decision-making and long-term value creation. The successful candidate will lead King's long-term financial strategy and the continued evolution of its Finance, Procurement and Contracts, and central Analytics functions. They will enhance opportunities to create greater value from King's estate, educational portfolio, and strategic partnerships, while providing financial and commercial leadership for the proposed merger with Cranfield University. They will be a visible champion of King's academic strategy, ensuring that financial planning, investment and commercial activity actively enable academic excellence and student success.

The successful candidate will be an outstanding, professionally qualified strategic finance leader with the judgement, credibility and influence to operate at the heart of a complex, mission-driven institution. They will bring a strong track record in a senior finance leadership role within an organisation of comparable scale and complexity, experience of contributing at executive or board level to organisational strategy and decision-making, and experience of leading significant transformation. They will bring genuine intellectual curiosity about the academic enterprise and the credibility to engage academic colleagues as partners in shaping the University's financial future. They will combine strategic insight, commercial acumen and analytical rigour with the ability to engage effectively with diverse internal and external stakeholders, challenge constructively and build high-performing teams.

The recruitment process is being supported by Russell Reynolds Associates on behalf of King’s College London. For further information and details of how to apply, review below. The closing date for applications is 23:59 BST on Sunday 27 September 2026.

King’s College London is committed to creating an inclusive environment where everyone can flourish and welcomes applications from candidates of all backgrounds.

Position Specification