MARK ROGERS

Chief Executive

My Story

Mark joined the Leadership Centre in January 2022 as its Chief Executive. He has extensive leadership experience across education, children’s services, local and national government.

As a teacher and head teacher, Mark worked in a variety of special schools between 1985 and 2000. He joined local government in 2001, working in inclusion services, becoming a Director of Children’s Services (Solihull MBC 2006-09) and twice a Chief Executive (Solihull MBC 2007-14 and Birmingham City Council 2014-17). Following a period of consultancy work with CollaborateCIC and KPMG, in May 2018 Mark became Director General for Children, Young People, Education and Skills for the Government of Jersey.

Mark has always been focused on nurturing relationships and exploring how best to lead in ways that puts citizens and their communities first. He brings to the Centre considerable leadership experience in areas as diverse as devolution, inclusive growth, health and social care integration and organisational development, all framed within the context of system leadership in places.

Mark has been involved in some of the largest-scale improvement and change programmes anywhere in the country, including high-profile initiatives such as forming a combined authority, initiating a sustainability and transformation partnership, developing an alternative delivery model for children’s services and designing place-based cultural change strategies.

Most recently, in Jersey, in addition to the leading on the core work of implementing the recommendations of the Independent Jersey Care Inquiry into historic child abuse, Mark has been central to the Government’s strategic response to the CV19 Pandemic, including leading the Island’s education and social care response and recovery planning.

Mark’s role at the the Leadership Centre is part-time, leaving space for independent consultancy. He focuses his consultancy work on bringing the best of place-based leadership thinking and practice to national and regional projects. From September 2023, this is primarily focused on leading the interim team tasked with ensuring the formation of the East Midlands Combined County Authority. Mark will be able to bring the best of his knowledge and experience to bear on the development of EMCCA whilst, in return, the role will undoubtedly also enrich the Centre’s thinking and practice.