17 December 2025
According to AI (because why not?), 2025 is looking like an “exceptional” wine vintage — especially in England thanks to that warm, dry early summer. Nice. But honestly, the same could be said for the interim management market in Higher Education… just with fewer picnics and more crisis meetings.
From where I’m sitting, this year has been a perfect storm: universities wrestling with financial pressure, big transformation programmes landing all at once and everyone suddenly needing someone who can hit the ground sprinting. Not walking. Sprinting. And yes — 2025 has been a strong year for interims in HE.
At Anderson Quigley, we’ve seen universities lean hard into interim talent. Not just to plug gaps but to bring in people who can shift the dial fast. Think: “We need someone who knows what they’re doing and can sort this out… yesterday.”
Financial Pressures
Budgets are getting squeezed from every angle. Falling undergrad numbers, fewer international students (big revenue hit), spiralling costs like cybersecurity and estates, plus unpredictable government funding. Interims become a no-brainer here — flexible, fast and without the long-term financial commitment of a permanent hire.
Operational Transformation
A huge chunk of institutions are redesigning how they work. Whole operating models are shifting. Digital transformation isn’t optional anymore — it’s urgent. The people who can shepherd that change, redesign processes or implement new systems efficiently are exactly the interims everyone’s after.
Agile Leadership
Higher Education is navigating constant policy shifts and tech disruptions. Leaders need to stay steady in ambiguity and actually make the tough calls. Interims, free from internal politics, can often do this better and faster.
Talent Gaps
Restructuring, retirements, capacity issues… you name it. Many teams are light on expertise right when institutions need it most. Interims step in to stabilise things and keep big priorities moving.
Skills & Employability Focus
The rise of micro-credentials and demand for industry-aligned skills means universities are shifting gears. Interims with commercial backgrounds are helping shape curricula that actually prepare students for real-world work.
Shift in Perception
Interim management is increasingly seen as “Transition Leadership” — not just someone keeping the lights on, but someone brought in to deliver something meaningful. At Anderson Quigley we often talk more about transition leadership than traditional interim management.
So what have we seen as the roles most in demand in 2025
What hasn’t changed in 2025 is that there is significant variations in available interims in certain areas versus some areas that are very crowded – so it is really important to ‘stand out’ and have a real clear offer and visible expertise.
As we hurtle towards the year end, the interim team at Anderson Quigley are already preparing for a busy start to 2026 with multiple roles hanging over from this year and fresh ones to start in January. But before then, its time to test whether 2025 was really a vintage wine year!
Using an Interim Executive Search Partner: Why It Matters
Before joining Anderson Quigley, John Laycock led and developed the UK’s foremost public and third sector interim management firms. Over 16 years he built an award-winning team which was twice voted the UK’s leading provider of senior interim managers by the Institute of Interim Management.
His achievements include major contributions to government flagship education programmes. He has supported the Department for Education’s academy and new schools programme since 2001 and has continued to provide them with a diverse range of consultants to promote and grow these priority education initiatives.
As the UK’s most established interim management consultant in higher education, John has worked with over 80 universities, drawing on his unrivalled pool of interim leaders to support universities on a range of academic leadership and professional services interim appointments.
You can email him at john.laycock@andersonquigley.com or connect with him on LinkedIn.
