Services

Rachel is an experienced and trusted schools’ Marketing and Development professional, with over thirty years’ experience in the independent school sector. She works with schools to ensure their growth, future viability and an enhanced reputation in a tough and busy marketplace. Rachel is a sole consultant who will work with your Marketing, Admissions and Development teams on bespoke projects to match your exact needs. No pre-packaged, one-size-fits-all support in sight!

Consultancy

 

Whether you need to create a Marketing or Development strategy, audit your current provision or simply need a steer in the right direction, Rachel will work with you to establish an actionable plan.

The project will deliver growth, a positive return on investment, and a cohesive whole-school approach to Marketing, Admissions or Development, which will enable your school to thrive. Support will always be tailored to your exact needs, but might include:

  • Strategy writing

  • Audit and restructure of your current provision

  • Evaluation of your customer journey

  • Stakeholder research

  • Competitor analysis

“Rachel blends that rare trinity of wisdom, empathy and welcome rigour. Her help and insights have been invaluable at St. Mary’s, and we’re eternally grateful to have somebody on our side and who ‘gets’ schools. Her motto is ‘Moving Schools Forward’, and Rachel has certainly done that for us. Thank you”

- Headmistress | St. Mary’s School, Hampstead.

“Rachel developed a strong insight into the needs of our senior leaders, in a very short timescale, and worked collaboratively with them to help them develop projects for increasing awareness of our school and to improve student recruitment. This support was accessible, inspirational and focused on the needs of each individual.”

- Principal | Queen Ethelburga’s

Recruitment

 

Rachel Hadley-Leonard founded MAD Recruitment to provide something different from traditional education recruitment.

Specialising exclusively in Marketing, Admissions and Development roles, Rachel works alongside Heads, Bursars and Governors to determine what skills, experience and structure a school truly needs before a search even begins. She then manages an end-to-end recruitment service, helping schools define roles, design team structures, identify talent, assess and shortlist candidates, provide interview design and panel support and secure outstanding appointments.

With a reputation built on discretion, honesty and deep sector knowledge, Rachel has helped schools across the UK appoint exceptional senior leaders who deliver growth, strengthen stakeholder engagement and make a measurable impact.

This end-to-end, tailored service includes:

  • Consultations to explore vision and direction of travel for the role

  • Creation of role advertisement and job description in conjunction with relevant parties, together with advice on positioning

  • Support with advertising of the role within sector recruitment space, professional membership bodies and other appropriate spaces

  • Targeted and extensive MAD Recruitment searches and approaches in association with trusted partners

  • Preparation of interview questions and tasks in conjunction with School

  • Applicant sift

  • First round telephone interviews, feedback and presentation of successful first round candidates

  • Attendance at, and advice and feedback on, second/final round interviews

  • Liaison between candidate and School for appointment offer

  • Feedback to unsuccessful candidates, where requested

  • Follow up service where required

“Invested from the outset, Rachel was quick to understand our needs and worked closely with myself and the Head to help develop a detailed job description for an exciting new role within the Foundation. She then used her extensive network of contacts to provide an interesting and varied short list of candidates. Her insight during the interview process was invaluable and led to an outstanding individual being appointed.”

- Bursar | The Aldenham Foundation

“The whole RHL experience has been a massive relief to know that our recruitment process is in safe hands and that Rachel is doing all the heavy-lifting”

- Headmaster | The King’s School, Gloucester

Training

 

Marketing, Admissions and Development is a whole-school affair, but sometimes it is difficult for those working in-house to communicate the importance of this crucial, business side of the school to Governors, academic and support staff.

Rachel will work closely with you to understand your unique needs, and then deliver tailored training sessions, from workshops with Executive Boards, SLT and Governors to whole-school INSET sessions. Training can be a one-off session or a series of supported workshops.

“We were ready, and you were perfect!”

- Bursar | St John’s, Northwood

“The most inspiring session I attended all conference. I thought we were good at Admissions until I listened to Rachel. Came away with clear actions as to how we can raise our game.”

“This was possibly the best session I went to throughout the conference.” 

“Great session, good content ... liked the connection with AI related Marketing issues”

- Bursars | ISBA Conference