HIGHER EDUCATION – COMMERCIAL SERVICES
OVERVIEW
TABLE OF CONTENTS
OVERVIEW
MRG
Founded in 2007, MRG is an international group of specialist recruitment businesses focused on leadership appointments across real estate and facilities management, development and commercial services. Through services including retained search, interim executives and recruitment as a service, we support global businesses and iconic institutions across sectors including arts and culture, education, government, healthcare and life sciences, hospitality and leisure, industrial, infrastructure, office, retail and more. With trading offices in the UK and Malaysia and resourcing offices in South Africa and Australia, we’re growing rapidly. For us, it’s about getting it right rather than getting it over the line. It’s about unbiased processes rather than ‘a little black book of contacts’. And it’s about meaningful sector knowledge rather than gut feel. Ultimately, that focus on process and detail makes us better to work with, better to work for, and far more likely to complete assignments successfully at the first time of asking.
RECENT TRACK RECORD
YOUR DEDICATED TEAM
WHY WE ARE DIFFERENT
OUR VALUES
CASE STUDY
GET IN TOUCH
Commercial Services Practice
Within MRG, sits our Commercial Services Practice, focusing on leadership roles into Higher Education and adjacent sectors. This team focuses on roles in Hospitality, Catering, Events, Conferencing, Accommodation, Sport and Leisure. As a team, they have worked with some of the most reputable universities in the UK and their track record is detailed later in this document. The team take pride their strong and wide- ranging network, providing shortlists that not only come from competing universities, but come from sectors such as heritage, the arts, local government and the private sector.
Please find below a selection of clients we’ve worked with recently, and opposite is a selection of our recent campaigns within Development, Commercial and Residential Living Assets. Please click on the Candidate Brochures to be taken through to the full document. RECENT TRACK RECORD
Please click the tailored candidate information brochures below to view them:
YOUR DEDICATED TEAM
James Gregory – Associate Director
Hannah Searle – Senior Practice Manager
James graduated from University of Liverpool in 2012 and heads up MRG’s Commercial Services and Student Accommodation Practices. His specialist area is senior management and director level consultancy services in: Catering, Venues, Events, Retail, Accommodation, Conferencing & Sales. With a 12-year track record recruiting across the consumer sector, James has partnered a myriad of well-known private sector organisations such as Premier Inn, Nando’s, The South Kensington Club, Costa Coffee and Marks & Spencer. Since joining MRG, James has successfully worked alongside industry leading Higher Education Institutions such as UCL, University of Birmingham, University of Leeds and Kings College London. His wide-ranging network of candidates and clients allow him to call on recommendations and referrals across the UK and Ireland in both the public and private sector, leading to diverse shortlists that bring new and emerging talent into the Higher Education Sector.
Hannah joined MRG in 2020 having previously worked in Property Recruitment and the Hospitality sector. Hannah personally specialises in Student Accommodation working across Higher Education and PBSA and has successfully delivered a number of campaigns across the sectors. As a Senior Practice Manager at MRG, Hannah is responsible for all interim and permanent campaigns for mid to senior- level management across student accommodation. Including roles within Operations, Maintenance & Engineering, Student Experience, Marketing, Sales, and Facilities Management. Some of Hannah’s most recent appointments include Head of Accommodation at the University of Lincoln, Revenue & Partnerships Manager at UPP, Senior Residence Manager at the University of Leeds, Senior Operations Manager at Student Roost, Regional Maintenance Manager at Student Roost, Residence Operations Manager at the University of Warwick, Residence Manager at the University of Arts, Out of Hours Manager at University College London, Residence Manager at Queen Mary University of London, Marketing Manager at Collegiate and Sales & Partnerships Manager at StuHomes. Hannah is passionate about working in a partnership with organisations to help secure talented managers across all departments.
Anna Kacprzak – Resourcing Manager
Anna joined MRG in 2022 after accumulating a wealth of experience within managerial positions in the hospitality and corporate office sectors. Throughout her career, she has developed a comprehensive skill set in Customer Service, Events Management, and Facilities Management while working for esteemed hotel operators such as International Hotel Group and Radisson. At MRG Anna’s focus revolves around recruiting mid to senior level management positions within Higher Education, with a particular focus on Student Accommodation and Commercial Services. Anna believes that by connecting the right people to the right organisations, she can play a crucial role in shaping the future of both individuals and the companies she represents.
WHY WE ARE DIFFERENT
OUR VALUES Different by Design
Relentless
Stopping at nothing to get the job done. Your uniqueness deserves more than an off-the-shelf approach. Being relentless is about never giving up. It’s about overcoming challenges. Ultimately, that means it’s driven by enthusiasm and energy – you can’t be relentless without being positive.
OUR PORTFOLIO
We’re in a period of consist- ent growth, and it stems from our reputation for delivering results. A REPUTATION FOR RESULTS
Inventive
Finding new ways to solve issues unique to every organisation.
Our portfolio of clients speaks for itself. We’re trust- ed by the world’s most pres- tigious organizations. 80% of our work in 2022 was repeat business
At the same time, it’s clear that we’re inventive . We’re constantly finding new solutions to stubborn problems. These are problems that others often can’t solve; problems that can’t be tackled with an off-the-shelf approach.
Forensic
Known for spotting the details that others may have missed.
We’re forensic in many ways, and for many reasons. Our briefings are exhaustive, our work is detail-obsessed and our mistakes are minimal. We know our processes and our sectors inside-out – and that’s largely why our placement success rate is unusually high.
OUR 96%
NO BETTER PR THAN GOOD WORK So we’ll continue focusing on what we’re good at, and let our growing reputation do the rest.
Inclusive
Our completion rate on assignments is exception- ally high for a market where the right person is extremely hard to find – let alone at - tract.
Open, fair and diverse by design.
Unlike many companies,we’re inclusive by design. Our competency- based process is built to remove bias.
CASE STUDY: QUEEN MARY UNIVERSITY LONDON
the inhouse team to create a service with exceptional service throughout. We conducted a retained search across London and the South East, and successfully employed a former hospitality lead from Brunel University and the Queens Club. Head of QM Venues and Operations The Head of Venues and Operations was needed to manage the strategic leadership of commercial activity and associated income generation across venues and retail outlets. The brief was to focus on candidates with a strong venue management background and good understanding of stakeholder management. The successful candidate was the General Venues Manager at Hackney Council, and had a demonstrable track record delivering in this area.
Overview The MRG Higher Education Commercial Services team were retained by QMUL to build the commercial services team, providing candidates with detailed briefs and assessing them against agreed criteria. The remit of the Commercial Services team is to drive revenue for the campus and enhance the student experience. A background and understanding of each role is detailed below:
Head of Commercial Sales The Head of Commercial Sales was needed to develop a conferencing, events and summer business strategy, to drive forward a range of additional income generating activities. We were tasked with seeking an enthusiastic, proactive, entrepreneurial, and commercially minded individual. The candidate would have a proven track record in developing a unique commercial offering and service design, producing and delivering against a detailed marketing and sales strategy. We conducted a wide search across high profile venues, NHS trusts, local government and other HEs. The successful candidate lead the sales at the Hever Castle and had a proven track record of creating a sales function. Head of Hospitality and Catering The Head of Hospitality and Catering’s remit was to modernise the catering outlets and hospitality function. Whilst also developing
Director of Commercial Services The remit of the Director of Commercial Services was to create a commercial strategy covering accommodation, conferencing, events and food and beverage. This business unit is the conduit between the student’s union, academic and professional services. We were briefed to find a strong business leader adept at delivering a cultural change within a complex environment. With a track record of being accountable for commercial viability and service delivery of the commercial services; comprising of catering & hospitality, sales & marketing, and accommodation services. After a national search across higher education, the wider public sector and the private sector, we appointed a former Director of Commercial at Kings College London. They had been instrumental in setting up the conferencing and events business for the Strand campus.
Director of Commercial Services
Head of Hospitality & Catering
Head of Commercial Sales
Head of QM Venues & Operations
GET IN TOUCH If you would like to find out more about our capabilities or to have a conversation about your organisational needs, please get in touch with our team.
James Gregory james.gregory@mrgglobal.com 07966 827 391
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