Principalship

Rachel joined the College in 2015 in the role of Vice Principal before becoming Deputy Principal in 2019. Prior to her appointment as Principal, Rachel was the strategic lead for the College’s ambitious £140m estates transformation project which successfully completed in 2022, delivering industry standard facilities. Rachel started her career at the FE Funding Council (FEFC) where she spent 9 years, including leading investigations into underperforming colleges and overseeing the smooth transition from the FEFC to the Learning and Skills Council for all 13 Lancashire colleges. She then moved to Blackburn College, where she progressed to become Deputy Principal.

Christine joined us in January 2014 from Blackburn College, where she was part of the Executive Team as Director of Curriculum Skills and Engagement. She has extensive experience of Further Education (FE), working at three Grade 1 Outstanding colleges and Higher Education (HE) as Dean of the University Centre of Higher Education at Blackburn College, the second largest provider of HE within FE. As Deputy Principal for Further Education (FE) at The Manchester College Christine oversees the design and implementation of the FE strategy, ensuring it meets the objectives of the Strategic Plan and GM priorities.

As Vice Principal and Dean of Higher Education (HE), Michael is leading on the development of UCEN Manchester and our mission to deliver world-class technical and professional higher level skills. Michael joined us in October 2017 from Salford City College, where he was Deputy Principal. He has more than 20 years’ experience in both Further Education (FE) colleges and sixth form colleges, and was Vice Principal at Bradford College, the biggest provider of HE alongside FE in the country. He has managed areas as diverse as student support, curriculum & quality and staffing.

Marie joined us in 1999 as a lecturer in the Hair and Beauty Department and has performed a number of roles across the college leading to her current role. She has extensive experience of Further Education (FE) especially within the context of Safeguarding and Support. As Vice Principal for Student Support and Experience at The Manchester College Marie oversees the design and implementation of the student experience, ensuring it meets the objectives of the Strategic Plan and GM priorities.

After starting teaching in 1997, Barry joined The Manchester College in 2000 as a Sports tutor. Since then, he has worked in a number of managerial roles within the College, across a range of different curriculum areas. As a result of this Barry has a wealth of experience in curriculum design and implementation. Now, as Vice Principal for Further Education (FE), Barry leads on the College’s FE strategy, ensuring that we meet the objectives of both our Strategic Plan and the priorities of the Greater Manchester Skills and Works strategy.

Debbie joined The Manchester College in March 2016, having worked for the last nine years in the education sector at Blackburn College as Head of Finance, latterly spending 15 months as Acting Director of Finance. Her background prior to the education sector includes finance roles in the Logistics, IT and Insurance sectors. As Head of Finance: Business Partnering, her role includes working closely with the Vice Principals to manage the financial performance of the College, ensuring that resources are invested wisely for maximum student impact. Debbie is also part of the team working on the campus redevelopment strategy.

Louise joined LTE Group in 2012 following 12 years at Keep Britain Tidy. She has extensive experience of strategic marketing and communications within the public sector, and has overall responsibility for all external marketing and communications for The Manchester College and LTE Group. Louise ensures that our marketing and communications reflect the college and wider Group strategy and meet the needs of our learners, colleagues and stakeholders.

Jamie joined us in July 2015 as IT Director having previously worked in various CxO roles within the IT sales industry. Jamie has over 15 years' experience across various commercial and public sector organisations whose IT requirements varied in terms of business need and scale. Jamie is responsible for delivering a modern, scalable and resilient IT service and assisting in bidding for new business streams. Prior to working in the IT industry Jamie served in the Army Intelligence Corps.

Sally joined the LTE Group in March 2020 and comes from a construction and facilities management background. She has previously spent 15 years in business systems across health & safety, environment, quality and risk management, mainly in the private sector. With a passion for safety, health and wellbeing, Sally is responsible for delivering safety and risk strategy across the Group.