New Executive Director role to strengthen stakeholder engagement

City College Norwich is delighted to announce that Ed Rose has stepped into the role of Executive Director for Business, Development, Apprenticeships, and Adult Learning.

This appointment reinforces our commitment to strengthening stakeholder engagement and driving forward growth across these key areas. 

Ed Rose, Executive Director for Business, Development, Apprenticeships, and Adult Learning.

Mr Rose is an experienced educational leader with a proven track record of driving growth, quality improvement, and strategic partnerships across apprenticeships, adult learning, and higher education. His career is built on fostering strong relationships with internal teams and external stakeholders to deliver impactful outcomes. 

After a period working for an Independent Training Provider, delivering training to adults seeking work and undertaking his Assessment and Verification qualifications, Mr Rose started his own training provider in King's Lynn at the age of 25. Over the next 12 years he led networking and external engagement, securing multiple Further Education subcontracts, European Social Fund and JobCentre Plus contracts, and delivering commercial training for major clients including Norfolk County Council, Borough Council of King's Lynn and West Norfolk, and Construction Industry Training Board.  

Mr Rose has extensive experience in developing complex provision, including Higher and Degree Apprenticeships, leading teams through change. His leadership spans diverse curriculum areas with a strong focus on employer engagement. He built a strategic partnership with the University of East Anglia, moving beyond operational validation to develop an institutional Memorandum of Understanding and collaborative vision. 

Recognised for his evidence-based leadership and data-driven decision-making, Mr Rose has strong analytical skills and a collaborative approach. He has significant expertise in partnership working, bridging external stakeholders and internal teams to shape curriculum and strategy. Recently, he has reinvigorated the college’s external presence, co-developing an Employer and Stakeholder Engagement Strategy and influencing the Curriculum Strategy to reflect market needs. 

With experience across Registry, Apprenticeships, Adults, Higher Education, Norfolk Teacher Training Centre and the Teacher Learning and Development Unit, and as a long-standing Senior Management Team member, Mr Rose understands the complexities and interdependencies of educational organisations and will work to deliver quality, growth, and sustainable partnerships. 

Mr Rose said:

As Executive Director for Business Development, Apprenticeships and Adults, I want to ensure that City College Norwich is the focus for skills development in the region. Whether delivering highly skilled students for our local economy as a college or working in strategic partnerships across the skills agenda to meet broader needs, I believe that collaboration – whether internal or external - underpins the work we need to do as a college for our students, our region and our sector.” 

The appointment of Mr Rose forms part of important changes to the college group Senior Management Team, designed to strengthen leadership and support our continued transformation.