I’m Matt Collins, an independent search and selection professional and former Executive Headteacher.
With over 18 years’ experience working in both independent and state education, combined with four years’ experience working in Executive Search I am a specialist in discovering talented senior professionals in the education sector.
Early on in my career as Executive Head I learned the real cost of mistaken appointments. The initial recruitment fees, on-boarding programmes, technical training as well as exit packages and hundreds of lost hours of professional time comfortably amounts to tens of thousands of pounds.
And all it leaves behind is the original vacancy and months of lost leadership.
My job is to de-risk this outcome. To save you time, expense and, most importantly, find the next great leader for your organisation, and your students, at the very first attempt.
By approaching ‘passive’ but engaged candidates NeoSEARCH broadens the leadership pool significantly. This, combined with a search approach based not only on appropriate candidate experience but, crucially, discovering those leaders who best fit your own organisational culture and specific challenges, ensures you are exposed to the brightest talent and the closest fit to your requirements.
My career in Educational Leadership and formerly in Executive Search has given me a deep understanding of why leaders succeed in some educational institutions but not in others.
My experience includes…
– Fifteen years educational leadership experience, most recently as Executive Headteacher across nine good and outstanding schools. Within this role I have also been responsible for the search and appointment of Headteachers across a wide range of schools.
– I have held pastoral and academic leadership roles in independent, grammar and state comprehensive schools.
– Four years’ experience in Executive Search, including two years as a corporate headhunter.
– Visiting lecturer at the University of Birmingham where I also completed a Master’s Degree in Education Management and Policy.
– NPQ Executive Leadership programme mentor and coach.
Find out more by viewing my LinkedIn account and please feel free to look at the Testimonials section below for the views of former and current colleagues.
Please visit the NeoSEARCH Philosophy to discover my approach and how I will find the next outstanding leader for your organisation and your students.
Testimonials
“Matt has a highly sophisticated and nuanced ability to identify talent. He quickly reads the challenges facing organisations as well as the cultural environment, allowing him to find and select leaders who create huge value over long periods. Matt’s visionary and creative solutions to complex problems have led to the genuine future-proofing of the schools he has worked with.”
Julie Parsonson – National HR Director
“Matt is, first and foremost, people-focused. His energy and diligence in the development of leaders is amongst the most impressive I’ve seen. His tenacity and innovation are allied with deeply held values of respect, discretion and professionalism. It has been a real pleasure to work with Matt as my career has progressed.”
Caroline Gray – Executive Headteacher
NeoSEARCH 