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Dr Fiona Creaby

Senior Lecturer in Leadership and Management

My profile

Biography

I am a research and teaching scholar in leadership and management and a senior lecturer (HEA Fellow, CMBE) in the department of People & Performance in the Faculty of Business and Law. I specialise in leadership development and organisational behaviour and teach on executive education courses, including the MBA portfolio, Master of Sports Directorship (MSD), and senior leader degree apprenticeships.  

As a member of the Decent Work and Productivity Research Platform at ManMet, my research focus is in identity studies, professional development and leadership. I have a particular interest in working lives, disability, and non-traditional routes of learning, including social theories of learning and socio-cultural theory.  

I actively research, collaborate and advise on policy and practice in the education sector, particularly in relation to business management and leadership development. I am also an external examiner for the University of Gloucestershire’s Chartered Management Degree Apprenticeship in Schools (CMDAS).

Prior to joining academia, my working life spanned various leadership, management and administration roles in different contexts, including state schools, local public sector, performance arts, and the non-profit sector, including senior management roles in state schools, NGOs and social welfare charities. 

Interests and expertise

I am in my second term as Vice-Chair for Finance & Risk (trustee) for the British Educational Leadership, Management and Administration Society (BELMAS) and my first term as Honorary Treasurer for Disability Rights UK.

I actively collaborate with professional bodies, government departments and NGOs advising on policy and practice and undertake commissioned research and evaluation, which includes advisory roles with the Department for Education (Funding Policy Unit), the Cabinet Office (Open Innovation Team) and the Institute of School Business Leadership (ISBL). I also regularly contribute to the School Business Professional (SBP) Development Board (UK state school sector) a collaborative partnership of education sector professional bodies, teaching unions, the Department for Education, and the ILM (accrediting body).

Membership of professional associations

  • Higher Education Academy (Fellow)

  • British Academy of Management 

  • Chartered Association of Business Schools (Certified Management & Business Educator CMBE)

  • Chartered Management Institute 

  • Institute of School Business Leadership 

  • The British Educational Leadership, Management and Administration Society (BELMAS) 

  • The British Educational Research Association (BERA)

  • The Commonwealth Council for Educational Administration & Management (CCEAM) 

  • The Society for Research into Higher Education

Get in touch

The Business School, Manchester Campus Business School
Please email for Appointment

Impact

Fiona’s research on the education business management has received considerable interest and advocacy across the state school sector. Fiona has presented research to policy-makers at the DfE which was influential to strategy in relation to business management and leadership in the state school sector. Further research undertaken throughout 2020 and 2021 on the school sector has also received interest from policy makers, including a steering group within the Department of Education exploring of funding in state schools in Summer 2021. Collaborative work continues via the ISBL Professional Development Board, a stakeholder group of policy makers, professional bodies, providers and sector experts. 

Teaching

Executive Education programmes

  • Master of Business Administration (MBA)
  • Master in Sports Directorship (MSD)
  • PG Diploma in Strategic Leadership (Senior Leader Degree Apprenticeship)

Research outputs

Fiona’s research focus includes identity studies, professional development and leadership with a particular interest in disability, working lives, and non-traditional routes of learning. Fiona is interested in constructionist, dialogical and critical perspectives of identity work and the impact of discourse, policy and culture on professional identity, leadership, institutional governance and organisational development. Her doctoral research drew on sociocultural perspectives of identity to explore learning and development in professional practice. Fiona has undertaken commissioned research projects exploring leadership practice, management and development across varied contexts.