Meet the team

CILEX Law School’s Susan Simei-Cunningham explains how she began working in education, the importance of developing students beyond the core curriculum and why she loves to shop 

What are your role and responsibilities?

I’m head of curriculum and employer experience at CILEX Law School (CLS) and work with our delivery and senior management team to ensure that the curriculum meets the expectations of the awarding bodies, and the needs of our learners and employers. My role is to ensure we are teaching students what they need to know and the skills useful to them and their workplaces.

Whether our students are training to be paralegals, are taking our business administration course or the CPQ, I’m here to make sure our programmes give them an enriched and informative journey to becoming a professional.

I also work closely with employers, building our relationships with them, gathering feedback and using that insight to inform how we might better develop our programmes to meet their business needs.

Tell us a bit more about your background? How did you come to work at CILEX?

I’ve been at CLS a year now. I’ve come from an education background, although I started off my career in marketing. When I left university, I worked for the Design Council and a few different marketing agencies, as well as the British Standards Institution.

I took some time out when I had children and got involved in their schools, setting up the parent-teachers association and becoming a school governor. This got me interested in teaching and I studied for my PGCE, later completing a masters in international business. I taught marketing, business, leadership and management over the years and worked for a number of training providers developing their programmes. My last job before joining CLS was teaching leadership and management at Hawk Training.

What is a typical day like for you?

I’ll liaise with the senior management team and the programme manager so I know what everyone’s doing and what their priorities are. I’ll speak with business development colleagues at CILEX, who I work closely with as well as the tutors who teach our courses.

I’m a big fan of Microsoft Planner. I have lots of different projects on the go and I use it daily to keep on top of everything. At the moment, a lot of my focus is on our functional skills learners – we provide them with the skills needed to draft letters and report in English as well as skills related to billing and time recording. We see this as the gateway to them developing further skills and enhancing their knowledge, so it is really important to make sure we support them and get this part of our curriculum right.

What are you working on at the moment?

One of my projects is our new paralegal apprenticeship programme. An aspect of this I’m really passionate about is professional development and helping our learners develop beyond the core knowledge required to gain their qualifications. I want to make sure they understand the importance of sustainability, of British values and of democracy, for example.

I want them to broaden their horizons and provide them with an opportunity to see beyond the confines of their job role and industry by getting them to understand the world around them.

I’m also working on a series of employer forums, focusing on the skills needed in the workplace and areas of need that are too often overlooked. I’m speaking to employers about how best to support their learners, including looking at safeguarding and support for those who are neurodiverse.

What do you enjoy most about your job?

The people I work with have always been central to what I do. CLS is a great place to work, with a great team. Our pathway specialists are so experienced and knowledgeable.

I love the development work – moving an idea through from concept to implementation, and seeing the results is really satisfying. I like to see how it all works in practice and learn from that to inform how we continue to improve our programmes.

What do you like to do away from your job to relax or have fun?

I do quite a lot of voluntary work, including as a trustee of Brent Carers Association, a charity I advise on financial, staffing and fundraising issues.

I love to travel and, if I can, will try to go on at least four holidays a year. I have two grown up children and we like to explore new cities and take in the architecture. I also enjoy baking, which is not always good for the waistline, so I need to make sure I keep fit too!

Shopping is one of my favourite pursuits, usually on Oxford Street. I love the old department stores like Selfridges. Back when Boxing Day sales were a big deal, I was always one of the first in the queue – I liked the buzz and would always pick up a bargain or two. I still prefer shopping on the high street, being able to feel and see the clothes. Online shopping isn’t quite the same.

I am also a keen sports fan and can think of nothing better than waiting in the queue at Wimbledon on a beautiful summer’s day before going into the hallowed grounds to watch a day a of excellent tennis.