Richard has held his current role since January 2023 where he works for the nine general further education colleges in GM, helping to drive collaboration between the colleges and with partner agencies including the key partner: Greater Manchester Combined Authority.  Richard has led on the delivery of the Local Skills Improvement Fund and also the ground-breaking Greater Manchester Further Education Innovation Programme, the first major investment by InnovateUK aimed at driving business innovation through the FE infrastructure in place.

Prior to joining GMColleges, Richard was NW Area Director for the Association of Colleges where he also led the national work on mental health, introducing the first FE Mental Health Charter.  Prior to that he worked in the voluntary sector with nearly ten-year’s experience as a chief executive at Salford CVS and Voluntary Sector NW.

Richard remains a committed volunteer and currently is a trustee of The Mustard Tree in Manchester and mentor for a care leaver through Pure Insights in Stockport.