UCLan Students’ Union is pleased to announce the recruitment of their new CEO. After a formal interview process, the Board of Trustees has appointed Stefanie Hartley to the role. Stefanie will take up the post in February 2022 and joins the Union from Wrexham Glyndwr Students’ Union where she is currently CEO.
The recruitment process started in October 2021 with final interviews held in November. The process was led by Students’ Union President and Chair of the Board, Zuleikha Chikh, with support from other Trustees and UCLan University stakeholders. It included two rounds of interviews with input from a staff and student panel. In total over 30 stakeholders have helped with the decision. The Students’ Union worked with specialist recruitment agency, Peridot Partners to support this process.
Prior to her role at Wrexham Glyndwr Students’ Union, Stefanie worked at The University of Manchester Students’ Union in a variety of roles from community development to representation and democracy. This provides a significant level of experience across a range of roles that supports students to make change.
Stefanie added, “I am very proud of the work Students' Unions do and I can see the incredible work currently being produced at UCLan Students' Union. I can't wait to join the organisation and continue this brilliant work, as well as exploring some new ways to support students at UCLan to have the best experience possible.”
Stefanie will take over from current Interim CEO Jon Russ, who has been in post since April 2020 following the retirement of previous CEO, Peter Shilton Goldwin. Zuleikha went on to say, “We are very pleased that Stefanie has accepted the position of CEO and confident that they will be a real asset in developing and driving the Union’s strategy forward during an exciting but challenging time for the Higher Education sector. Stefanie has engaged in a range of roles from both within and outside the SU sector where they have demonstrated impact in creating meaningful and sustainable change to students’ lives and the local community. We are therefore looking forward to new possibilities for UCLan Students' Union as we head into 2022. We’re also extremely grateful to our current Interim CEO, Jon Russ for leading the Union this past year.”
In 2020 UCLan Students’ Union launched its new strategy and has recently undergone a full rebrand to help its implementation. The new CEO will lead a team of over 30 staff and work closely with full time elected officers and University partners to deliver the strategy and ensure the Students’ Union fulfils its overall mission to make life better for students.