Senior Leader Executive Programme

Meet and engage with your cohort face-to-face at Cranfield; network and learn about the fundamental apprenticeship and programme elements.

• Be introduced to the apprenticeship requirements, including the content relating to the collation of your strategic work-based evidence and off-the-job commitments.
• Meet your Cranfield apprenticeship tutor.
• Acquire an insight into your programme modules, which include: Macro Trends in the Global Economy; Developing Organisational Strategy; Sustainable Business and Organisational Resilience and Risk.
• Reflect on your current competencies as a key starting point for your personal and professional development and use this to monitor your progress during the programme.

Gain the necessary study skills and research principles so that you can effectively operate as an independent, self-managed and confident learner, throughout the duration of your apprenticeship. Key personal development strategies will be introduced, enabling you to build capacity in skills that go far beyond technical and vocational learning.

• Minimise any potential anxiety arising from being absent from formal academic study for a significant period of time by learning the fundamentals of what is required to study and research at Level 7.
• Learn how to apply your existing competencies to achieve the programme outcomes.
• Be introduced to personal development opportunities so that you can fulfil your full potential and support your wider team to achieve the same.

Learn the complexities of strategic leadership within an organisational context, exploring the theoretical perspectives, approaches, behaviours and skills which can enhance your professional practice. Unpack and critically review your leadership ability to respond creatively to complex organisational challenges and understand how to set and deliver sustainable strategic goals.

• Evaluate the role of the strategic leader in shaping organisational responses to complex transformative change.
• Understand the leadership skills and behaviours required to deliver strategic goals.
• Consider and practice different leadership styles, including those associated with ethics and value-based leadership.
• Develop strategic decision-making skills to help inform future change initiatives.

Be introduced to key disruptive macro trends, such as technological advancements and sustainable practices and learn how to respond to these using economic and strategic tools to inform an appropriate organisational response.

• Explore the most recent trends in the UK and Global Economy.
• Understand the drivers of organisational change and the associated risks and opportunities.
• Consider the role of economic decision making, including financial and non-financial information.
• Identify disruptive trends, including those associated with digital and sustainability.

Understand your role as a strategic leader, in the context of designing, developing, and implementing organisational strategy. Learn how to shape an organisation’s strategic direction through trend analysis, whilst addressing drivers of change and new ways of working that influence strategic decision making.

• Understand how to develop strategy and ensure its effective implementation, considering people and resource constraints.
• Consider the key drivers of change and their influence on decision making.
• Learn how to set the overall strategic direction within your area of responsibility.
• Identify the skills needed to lead on projects to deliver the organisational strategy.

Be introduced to the finance function of an organisation so that you understand the scope, complexity, and role of finance and how it informs strategic objectives. You will learn how to critically assess methods for analysing financial data and information required to make strategic decisions.

• Understand financial decision making.
• Develop the skills to oversee organisational budgets based on KPIs.
• Interpret financial statements to inform strategic decision making.
• Assess the impact of legal requirements and procurement strategies in delivering effective financial governance. 

Gain an insight into the senior leader competencies required, to act as an advocate and champion of sustainability, enabling you to develop and implement appropriate strategies, and lead the required innovation and change to future-proof your organisation.

• Develop the capacities to operate as a sustainable, strategic leader.
• Assess and acknowledge a range of stakeholder needs.
• Consider the role of financial and non-financial information, in the context of sustainability.
• Understand the role of innovation in products, services, and business modelling when designing sustainable approaches to organisational issues. 

Build the capacity to understand the strategic context in which your organisation’s marketing strategy is designed, developed, and delivered. You will learn the process which informs strategic marketing and the communication skills required to effectively design marketing strategies that directly promote your organisation’s strategic aims.

• Identify the organisation’s brand strategy.
• Understand the leadership skills needed to effectively design and deliver marketing communications.
• Use data in the context of strategic marketing approaches.
• Understand digital marketing and disruptive technological trends, including the impact of sustainable marketing approaches. 

Understand how resilience can help to build the capacity for continuous adaptation and innovation, adding to the necessary agility for you and your organisation to respond to internal and external disruptive trends. You will learn how to lead your organisation to ensure it is better placed to be adaptable and effective in dealing with crisis and risk situations, using appropriate organisational resilience strategies.   

• Understand the emerging risks, disruptions, and disturbances impacting on your organisation.
• Acknowledge the strategic, performance-based, organisation-wide view of resilience and risk.
• Lead and respond to crisis and risk in an effective and sustainable way, taking responsibility for your organisation’s resilience strategy.
• Build the competencies needed to lead strategically in a context that must be able to respond effectively to changing internal and external demands.

Enrich your understanding of how to effectively lead and develop people to enhance the performance of your organisation. You will explore the role of social capital and recognise the importance of developing strong strategic networks to enhance organisational culture and wellbeing.

• Understand the importance your social capital in the wider context of leadership and performance.
• Utilise your personal development skills to enhance your ability to effectively manage a range of diverse stakeholders.
• Determine your role in designing and leading organisational approaches relating to the development of people across functions.
• Learn your role in promoting engagement, mental health and wellbeing as an enabler of performance. 

Consolidate your learning on the apprenticeship by applying your newly found competencies to the final module where you will explore your role in developing and leading on the strategic management of projects, to add value and create impact into your organisation.

• Understand your role in the design of strategic projects and programmes.
• Utilise project management methodologies and tools.
• Recognise project complexity and the role you play in providing purpose and direction when implementing strategic initiatives.
• Analyse data and identify relevant KPIs to inform project management outcomes and support strategic decisions.