Chris Kirk has over 20 years of experience in the education sector across both public and private organizations. He has held leadership roles at PwC Consulting, GEMS Education, the UK Department for Education, and the UK National College for School Leadership. Chris' experience includes developing education strategies using digital tools and data analytics to improve opportunities for students. He also has experience establishing international education programs in countries such as Saudi Arabia, Ghana, and the Philippines. Currently, Chris works as an independent education consultant through his own company.

1. Chris Kirk
Beavers Lodge, Beavers Hill, Farnham Surrey, GU9 7DF
T:+44(0)7740 923 089 E: chris.kirk7@btinternet.com
Summary Chris has over 20 years’ experience in the education and skills sectors, from both a public and private
sector perspective. Chris has held leadership roles with PwC Consulting, GEMS Education (the world’s
largest private school group), the UK Department for Education and the UK National College for School
Leadership.
Experience PwC Education and Skills Leader 2015-2016
 Associated Boards of the Royal Schools of Music (ABRSM): helping the ABRSM to develop a
strong digital aspect to its future strategy, in order to enhance its contribution to teachers and
music students, and to improve its own ways of working
 Getting Ahead London (Greater London Assembly): a new programme to grow tomorrow’s
school leaders, working with sector experts and with PwC’s Talent teams to bring corporate
expertise on talent management into the education sector
 Careers (Careers and Enterprise Company, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills,
Career Wales): a number of assignments to improve young people’s opportunities to engage
with employers and with their career choices, using strategy, digital tools and data analytics
 ‘Fit for the Future’ (Department for Education): in a programme to move DFE to Office 365 and
a Cloud Based system
 Sheffield Skills Bank (Skills Funding Agency, Sheffield City Region): The Bank allows employers
in the region to access ‘skills deals’ to develop their employees in order to grow their
businesses
 Australian Education City (UK/ China/Australia): Chris’ team worked alongside colleagues in
Australia and China to create the prospectus to attract UK, Chinese, US and Australian
universities to participate in a proposed new Education City near Melbourne.
CEO GEMS Education Solutions 2011-2014
GEMS Education is one of the largest private school groups in the world, with a market value of
approximately $2bn, and around 150,000 students in its schools. Its Chairman, Sunny Varkey, asked
Chris to set up and lead GEMS Education Solutions. Key assignments included:
 Oxford Partnership: A contract to set up and run three Colleges in Saudi Arabia, which will
serve 6,000 Saudi women aged 18-26. This is through ‘The Oxford Partnership’, a UK-based
consortium established specifically for this opportunity
 ‘Making Ghana Girls Great (MGCubed)’. Funded by the UK Department for International
Development, this is billed as sub-Saharan Africa’s first Synchronous Distance Learning
Platform, in which around 10,000 Ghanaian children in 100 rural schools are taught over a
satellite link

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 GEMS Learning Trust, GEMS’ first entry into the UK public education sector
 Managed Schools in Saudi and UAE: An improve offering was a ‘managed school’ in which
GEMS provided full management service of a school for another owner. Chris and his team
secured contracts in Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia
 Philippine Voucher System: Chris’ team designed an education voucher system for the
Philippine Government, funded by the Asian Development Bank.
Education Partner PwC 2000-2011
During Chris’ career at PwC prior to GEMS, he developed and led a number of large scale
education change programmes including:
 School Leadership Succession Planning for the National College (UK)
 Behaviour Improvement Programme (DCSF): A major national programme to improve
attendance and behavior in 137 areas around England
 Efficiency Reviews and Landscape Review of DCSF, Investors in People UK, the Qualifications
and Curriculum Authority and DCSF’s Early Years and Childcare Unit and the regional support
arrangements for the Sure Start programme and a review of DCSF’s links to the regions more
generally
 Research assignments including a review of the Direct Schools Grant for DCSF; an evaluation of
Making Good Progress for DCSF, a map of the Regulated Qualifications System for OFQUAL, a
DFES study to quantify the impact Information and Communications Technology on teacher
workload, and the DFES ‘Teacher Workload Study’.
Department for Education 1994-2000
Chris was a Fast Streamer within UK Department for Education. During this time he held the
following roles:
 Funding Agency For Schools (York) – Senior Planning Officer, responsible for school place
planning, mapping and modeling, in negotiation with Grant Maintained Schools and Local
Education Authorities
 Education Action Zones (London) – Grade 7 - design of the programme, taking legislation
through Parliament, Programme Implementation and Delivery.
Early career 1991-1994
Prior to entering the Civil Service Chris worked as a Sound Engineer in London; taught English in
Spain; and worked as a Financial Adviser/ Life Underwriter for Confederation Life in York.
Education University of Surrey BA (Hons) 1987-1991
Financial Services Authority Professional Practice Certificate 1992
Inlingua Idiomas TEFL Certificate

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1991
Civil Service Fast Stream Programme
1996-1999
Skills  Leadership –building and leading diverse teams. Chris has benefited from many formal
leadership development programmes during his careers in government and PwC. He also spent
two years on secondment to the National College of School Leadership, where he was
immersed in the theories of leadership and their practical applications in organisations
 Strategy – Chris was a leader in PwC’s Strategy competency, and is familiar with a wide variety
of tools for strategic thinking and decision making, including competitive positioning, market
and service development, strategy mapping and the development of Balanced Business
Scorecards and Key Performance Indicators
 Commercial and Financial - Chris has run major business units/ companies, including
investment as well as operational budgets, and has also advised a wide range of clients on
commercial and financial decisions. He was a ‘Negotiation Champion’ for PwC’s Government
and Health Industry, in which role he delivered training to other PwC Partners and Directors on
achieving good commercial outcomes for PwC and for its clients
 Programme and Project Management – Chris has led dozens of major programmes and has
significant experience in how to shape programmes for success, and how to add value in a
senior governance role for programmes being run by others
 Technology driven change – many of the programmes and organisations Chris has engaged
with have needed to consider the threats and opportunities of technology and of digital
solutions. Chris has led projects involving some fundamental changes to business models using
technology (such as the introduction of satellite learning in Ghana), projects involving back-
office technology improvements (such as helping DFE move to Office 365 Cloud Based) and
projects using new customer facing digital solutions (such as Associated Board of the Royal
Schools of Music).
Personal life Chris lives in Farnham with his wife Lizzie and two children, Dylan (17) and Oscar (15). All four of the
family are keen musicians: Lizzie teaches clarinet at local schools and to students at home; whilst Dylan
and Oscar are accomplished trumpet and trombonists. Chris plays piano and has been a member of
several semi-professional groups. Chris is very sociable, and has held summer parties for large groups of
friends, colleagues and clients both at PwC and GEMS. Chris has been a governor at local schools. He is
a Board Member for Business in the Community’s Skills and Employment Leadership Group. All four of
the family have been very active in charity fund raising, both in the UK and in Africa.