Our team

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Making Scotland the best place in the world
to learn, to educate, to research and to innovate

We have a staff of around 170 people. Specialties include financial analysis, strategy and policy development, outcome agreement management and statistics. We also have professional service teams in HR and ICT.

Francesca Osowska, Chief Executive.

Jacqui Brasted, Director of Access, Learning and Outcomes.

Richard Maconachie, Director Lead, Dundee Recovery Team.

Tiffany Ritchie, Acting Director of Finance.

Martin Boyle, Chief Operating Officer.

Helen Cross, Director of Research and Innovation.

Chief Executive directorate

Under the leadership of the CEO, the Chief Executive’s directorate works to ensure that SFC is a high performing, well governed and effective organisation.

To contact SFC’s Chief Executive please email ceo@sfc.ac.uk.

Access, Learning and Outcomes directorate

The Access, Learning and Outcomes directorate works to ensure priorities around access, skills, and academic quality. SFC’s Outcomes Framework sets out SFC’s expectations of colleges and universities in return for the funding that they receive.

The access team within the directorate takes a national lead on fair access to further and higher education and for making sure that Scotland reaches the targets set in A Blueprint for Fair Access, the report published by Scotland’s Commission on Widening Access. SFC’s current access programmes include initiatives designed to support learners from deprived areas, care-experienced students, ex-service personnel, and learners with disabilities.

The directorate also has responsibility for skills and lifelong learning and for SFCs’ statutory requirement to secure provision for assessing and enhancing the quality of further and higher education in Scotland.

Institutional Engagement and Outcomes lead contacts

Download list of Institutional Engagement and Outcomes lead contacts [PDF]

Corporate Services directorate

The Corporate Services directorate enhances SFC’s analytical capabilities, briefings, and operational policy development capacity across areas of interest for the whole organisation.

The directorate undertakes the collection and analysis of data from colleges and universities and the publication of SFC’s annual programme of statistical publications.

Through its External Affairs function, the directorate works with all SFC’s principal stakeholders. These include the Scottish Government; the Scottish Parliament and the representative bodies for colleges and universities (Colleges Scotland and Universities Scotland).

The directorate also covers Human Resources and Transformation, and Corporate Governance which encompasses corporate performance, risk management, information governance and secretariat functions for the Board.

Finance and Funding directorate

The Finance and Funding directorate is responsible for leading SFC’s work on the allocation and distribution of funding to colleges and universities.

It provides colleges with FE student support funding in the form of bursaries and allowances. In both the college and university sectors the directorate has responsibility for capital infrastructure funding and net zero. The directorate also assesses the financial health of colleges and universities.

The directorate also provides financial services related to SFC’s running costs budgets.

Institutional Sustainability and Governance contacts

Institutional Sustainability and Governance contacts for institutions [PDF]

Research and Innovation directorate

In terms of SFC’s funding to universities, the directorate’s work supports the UK’s Dual Support System of research funding. Its main grant is the Research Excellence Grant. The grant is based on a periodic assessment of research quality in universities across the UK, and so members of SFC’s Research and Innovation directorate are involved in this exercise. The next Research Excellence Framework (REF) assessment takes place in 2029.

The directorate is also responsible for SFC’s work in innovation where its investments create partnerships between academics and businesses. They include Scotland’s Innovation Centres, and Interface, an SFC-funded organisation that matches businesses’ need for innovation with relevant academic expertise.

Contacting staff

Please see our main Contacts page.

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