ABSTRACT
Despite an ongoing process of professionalisation, the roles and identities of administrators and managers in UK higher education are neither clearly conceptualised nor understood. Over time, a relatively homogeneous group of staff in the pre-1992 sector, which modelled its collective identity on a tradition of public service, has expanded and diversified. Roles have become increasingly fluid, and career pathways are no longer linear or pre-determined. The identities and voices of this group of staff, therefore, remain susceptible to uncertain and even contradictory constructions.
