Shepherd (pictured) has spent more than a decade with the British Council’s international education research team and has considerable public sector and international experience.

At IFF, she will expand its existing higher education research portfolio. The agency is currently working with more than 35 higher education institutions on trackers and works with a number of others on strategic and tactical research challenges.

IFF’s learning and skills director, David Vivian, said: “The HE sector has a huge impact on the country and on individual lives. There is a huge amount of uncertainty across the sector following recent legislative and policy changes, all magnified by the unpredictable impacts of Brexit. We want to work with institutions to help them find new and better ways to continue to fulfil their invaluable remit.”