Kay is a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants. With a background in finance, she also has a broad range of experience in strategic planning, organisational delivery, change management, corporate governance and risk management. She was an Executive Director of the UK Commission for Employment & Skills, and previously the Sector Skills Development Agency, for 11 years before taking voluntary redundancy in 2013 to pursue various interest and voluntary roles. Prior to that she worked for a number of private sector companies and spent 10 years in the health service.
Kay is passionate about ensuring people have the opportunity to realise their potential and to be developed, engaged and valued in the workplace. As a life-long resident of South Yorkshire she is also keen to contribute to helping make the Sheffield City Region a great place to live and work. Since leaving full time employment she has taken on a number of local non-executive roles. She is currently chair of Sheffield-based social housing provider Arches Housing Ltd; a trustee of NOCN Ltd, a qualifications awarding organisation which aims to increase learners’ confidence and employability and help them reach their potential; a trustee of VAS, which works to improve the quality of life for all of Sheffield’s communities by supporting voluntary and community action in the city; and a member of the Risk and Assurance Committee at Yorkshire Housing.
Kay chairs the College’s subsidiaries, ITS and Smartstyle, BCDC and Think and is the link governor for Apprenticeships.