We’re recruiting: LEP seeks new business members for board
The Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire Local Enterprise Partnership is seeking two new business members to join its board to help deliver its ambitious plans for jobs, skills and growth across the area.
“The people we need will have a strong track record in business and be willing and able to contribute their skills and experience to help the LEP bring jobs and growth to Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire,” said LEP chairman David Frost CBE.
“The board works as a team and members take a lead on particular areas, so we are looking for people with complementary strengths in various areas of industry and commerce. We are particularly keen to recruit a member with experience in the leadership and development of investment projects, and a member who has experience in international trade and inward investment.”
The LEP’s current business lead on inward investment and international trade is retiring. We would like to recruit a new member who has experience in this area. The role will involve chairing our Investment Board which meets quarterly as well as attending our board meetings.
The current business lead on the delivery of our capital investment programme is also retiring, so we are seeking to recruit a business member who has experience of leading the development and delivery of capital projects. Our programme covers new roads, accessing development sites, developing new training facilities, developing new business and innovation facilities, and Enterprise Zones. The role will involve chairing our quarterly Strategic Programme Management Board as well as attending our board meetings.
Applications are welcome from across the LEP area and from all sectors of the economy to reflect the diverse business community. The LEP covers the ten local authority areas of South Staffordshire, Cannock Chase, Lichfield, Tamworth, East Staffordshire, Staffordshire Moorlands, Stafford Borough, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire.
Applicants should submit a short CV outlining their experience and capabilities to chair@stokestaffslep.org.uk marked “Board Vacancies”. The closing date for applications is Wednesday 6th June 2018.
If you wish to discuss these Board positions please email us with your availability and telephone number and we will get back to you.
An information pack is also available here: LEP Business Board Member Pack
Background Information
The Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire LEP is a business-led partnership bringing together businesses and public sector partners to create jobs, improve skills levels and grow the local economy.
The LEP’s vision is to transform our area into an economic powerhouse by focusing on the core city of Stoke-on-Trent and developing a connected county with competitive urban centres, enabled by building globally successful sectors and a skilled workforce. Since 2011 we have seen 35,000 jobs created and a growth in GVA of 6%.
The SSLEP is contributing more than £147m of investment over the period to 2021 in Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire. This includes putting in the infrastructure to open up employment and housing sites, funding new education and training facilities, and supporting business growth. Further contributions from government, local authorities, colleges and the private sector will bring the grand total invested through its strategic economic plan to some £344m.
Infrastructure investment includes the LEP’s flagship Ceramic Valley Enterprise Zone, comprising six strategic employment sites along the A500 in Stoke-on-Trent and North Staffordshire. Other examples include Branston Locks, Burton upon Trent, where a 50-acre employment site is being created alongside 2,500 new homes and community facilities, the 82-acre Meaford Business Park near Stone, and the Four Ashes employment site in South Staffordshire.
The LEP’s support for existing businesses includes a Business Helpline and Growth Hub, which since its launch in 2012 has helped more than 4,300 businesses with mentoring, training and access to finance.
The LEP is also funding a range of town centre improvement projects including a £2.95 million investment in the Tamworth Enterprise Quarter, and a contribution of more than £7 million to access and street scene improvements in and around Stoke-on-Trent’s city centre and railway station.
The LEP works with universities, training providers and businesses to identify and meet the skills needs of the future at intermediate and higher levels. It is funding advanced manufacturing and engineering hubs in FE colleges, supporting the development of the new Mercia Centre for business leadership at Keele University, and AMRICC, Stoke-on-Trent, which aids R&D and commercialisation in ceramics and applied materials.
We are also active partners in the Midlands Engine, and a range of sectoral initiatives such as Agri-Tech and Ceramics.
