You don't have to figure this out alone.

Coaching, facilitation, and career progression support for Higher Education Professional Services managers and leaders who are ready to stop going it alone.

Working in HE management and leadership can feel discombobulating at times.

Everyone is busy. Budgets are getting tighter. HR are stretched thin (and ultimately here for the good of the institution). Your manager doesn't have capacity to support your development. There doesn't seem to be a handbook, but there definitely does seem to be unspoken rules.

You've been trying to work it out on your own through trial and error. But now you're ready to make change, for yourself or your team, and you're feeling optimistic but also unsure, overwhelmed, and maybe a little scared.

That's where I come in.

Professional Development Support for HE Professional Services

I'm Fiona Bicket. I specialise in supporting Higher Education Professional Services managers and leaders with coaching, facilitation, and career progression guidance.

Here's the extra good news: I've already written down those unspoken rules you've been wondering about. I call it the Hidden Curriculum of HE Professional Services career progression and it applies whether you're preparing for promotion or already in role and trying to thrive.

The Hidden Curriculum outlines the step changes you need to make to succeed at any given level of seniority: the mindset shifts, the leadership behaviours and the credibility markers that senior leaders and recruitment panels actually assess (even when they don't say so explicitly).

You don't have to figure everything out alone. I'm here to support you.

How I can help

Whether you need support right now, you're preparing for your next step, or you want ongoing partnership in your leadership role, there's a way to work together.

Pathway 1: I Need Help Right Now

For when you have something specific and urgent to address

You've got an interview coming up. Your team needs facilitation. You're applying for roles and need expert eyes on your application. You need support navigating a difficult transition or toxic situation.

What's available:

• Interview & Application Coaching - one-off sessions or packages to help you land the role | From £295
• Strategic Facilitation - away days, Action Learning, listening work for your team | From £1,500/day
• Career Transition Intensive - 6 weeks of coaching for difficult career moves | £895

Pathway 2: I'm preparing for promotion

For when you're ready to build credibility for your next grade over time

You're tired of being told you're "not quite ready." You want to understand what senior leaders and panels are actually assessing and build the evidence they're looking for. You're ready to stop waiting for the tap on the shoulder and take your career progression into your own hands.

What's available:

• Getting Ready for Senior Manager (Grade 8/equivalent) - 6-month group coaching for the step into managing a larger team and portfolio | £83/month
• Getting Ready for Head of Service (Grade 9/equivalent) - 12-month group coaching for the step into institutional leadership | £175/month

Pathway 3: I'm in a role and need ongoing support

For when you've landed the job and want to succeed in it

You got promoted and now you're navigating the transition. You're established in your role but want strategic thinking partnership. You're leading at a senior level and need someone outside your institution who understands the complexity.

What's available:

• First 100 Days Coaching - support through your first critical months in a new role | £1,500 Find the details here
• Leadership Development Coaching & Retainers - ongoing coaching partnership for senior managers and leaders | From £2,000 Find the details here

Why work with me

I know Higher Education. I've spent five years coaching HE Professional Services professionals from team management through to institutional leadership across Russell Group and Post-92 institutions. I understand the culture, the politics, the budget pressures, the unspoken rules.

I've mapped the Hidden Curriculum. I've analysed what actually gets people promoted vs. what keeps them stuck. I know what "strategic thinking" and "institutional leadership" actually mean to panels and senior leaders... not the vague feedback, but the specific behaviours and mindsets they're assessing.

I'm outside your institution. You can be honest with me about what's really going on. Your manager doesn't have to know you're struggling with delegation. HR doesn't have to know you're planning to leave. You get objective, expert support without institutional politics.

I bring both coaching and facilitation expertise. Whether you need 1:1 support for your career, group coaching with peers facing similar transitions, or facilitation for your team, I can help.

What people say

"Fiona helped me completely reframe how I think about my career progression. The Hidden Curriculum framework finally made sense of why I'd been stuck and what to do about it."
— Professional Services Manager

"I used the approach Fiona taught me to prepare for an internal restructure interview. My Head of School told me afterwards that I was the standout candidate. My answers were 'so much more elevated than the others.' I got the role."
— Senior Manager

"Fiona holds space very sensitively."
— Away Day Participant

"This isn't fluffy career advice. It's practical, specific, and based on real patterns in how HE actually works. I wish I'd known this stuff 5 years ago."
— Head of Service

Not Sure Where to Start?

If you want to understand the Hidden Curriculum for Professional Services Career Progression:
Download the free guide for your career transition:

• Team Member → Line Manager 
• Line Manager → Senior Manager 
• Senior Manager → Head of Service  

If you're not sure what you need:
Email me at [email protected] and let's have a conversation. I'm happy to help you work out what kind of support would be most useful.

About me

I'm Fiona Bicket. Before becoming a coach, I worked in Higher Education, so I know the sector intimately. The culture, the language, the weird politics, the budget pressures, the tensions of different hierarchies.

For the last five years, I've coached Professional Services professionals through career transitions, facilitated team development work, and built the Hidden Curriculum framework that helps people understand what's actually being assessed when panels decide who's "ready."

My approach is warm, direct, and occasionally provocative. I won't tell you what you want to hear, I'll tell you what you need to hear. And I'll do it with genuine belief that you can do this.

I work with clients across the UK via MS Teams, my programme portal and in person.

Ready to Stop Going It Alone?

Whether you need interview coaching next week, a 12-month programme to build promotion readiness, or facilitation for your team, there's a way to work together.

Or browse the free resources:

Read my blog for more about the Hidden Curriculum. Or