Patricia Ambrose

Biography

Patricia Ambrose is part-time Company Secretary and Governance & Research Adviser at BIICL.  She originally joined BIICL in April 2012 as its Deputy Director and also served as Acting Director from January-August 2018.  In her current role she provides advice and support on governance, project funding applications and research ethics.  When not working at BIICL, she undertakes consultancy and evaluation work on higher education policy.

Most of Patricia's career has been spent in higher education policy development, including time as a Policy Adviser at Universities UK and as Chief Executive of GuildHE, the representative membership organisation for specialist and smaller higher education institutions. From 2007, Patricia was an Associate Director at SQW Consulting, an economic and social development consultancy. In this role, she developed her expertise in research and evaluation and directed a diverse range of projects covering topics such as widening participation in language learning, graduate employability, teaching and learning enhancement, the internationalisation of higher education and sustainable development. Clients included Government departments, the Higher Education Funding Councils, professional organisations and universities.  From 2020-2023, alongside her part-time role at BIICL, she was Director of the National Network for the Education of Care Leavers, a charity which provides advocacy and support for practitioners working with care experienced students.

Patricia's first degree is in English Language and Literature and she also has two master's qualifications (in Higher & Further Education and Victorian Literature) and a Postgraduate Certificate in Education. She is a Fellow of the Top Management Programme for Higher Education and of the Royal Society of Arts.