Sarah Beavon: Chief Digital and Student Experience Officer

Sarah Beavon has worked in Higher Education for over 20 years, moving through a series of increasingly senior roles to her current position as Chief Digital and Student Experience Officer at Canterbury Christchurch University. In 2025, she was recognised as one of the top 100 innovators and change makers of the year reflecting her success with large-scale digital transformation projects. In releasing this episode close to International Women’s Day 2026, Sarah’s reflects upon her career as a female IT leader, the importance of coaching and mentoring, what introverted or quiet leadership looks like, and what the future may hold to support aspiring digital leaders. This episode is kindly sponsored by Niico AI. Niico automates admissions and student services across systems universities and colleges already use, without replacing them. Using conversational AI and process automation, we reduce manual workload and deliver a better student experience to support growth and improve operational efficiency.  Book a demo at niico.ai. The Association of Higher Education Professionals and the British Universities FInance Directors Group, BUFDG, are both proud to support Job Shadowing HE as a valuable source of professional insight.