He has developed an extensive network of employer relationships and a comprehensive programme of employer engagement activities in his current role. Before becoming a careers development professional in 2020, he had a 30-year career in university administration, fundraising and development at the London School of Economics, two University of Cambridge colleges and the University of Hull, interspersed with periods leading on fundraising and development at the Royal Institute of International Affairs, international NGO Global Witness and a stint as a fundraising consultant working for various clients. His experience of working with alumni and high-net-worth donors around the world honed his networking and relationship-building skills, which have proven to be invaluable in building employer engagement in schools and colleges. 

Tariq has always had a passion for working on social and political issues and was an elected councillor and a parliamentary candidate in Cambridgeshire, as well as playing a leading part in various initiatives to combat inequality in the Cambridge region. As a councillor, he focused on the issue of child poverty, and he is currently part of a Cambridge City Council-led initiative to ensure that disadvantaged young people in the city have equal opportunities to access the high-value jobs that are a feature of the highly dynamic, rapidly growing and globally integrated local economy. 

Tariq strongly believes that careers professionals in schools and colleges have a critical role to play in advancing social mobility and driving equal access to opportunities for all young people, regardless of their background and circumstances, and he believes that employer engagement is a fundamental part of the strategy in achieving this. He has been a member of various boards in this space, as well as a school governor, and is currently a member of the Advisory Board of an alternative provision academy for children. He is on the Advisory Committee of Form the Future, an education business partnership active across schools in the region and beyond, which introduced him to careers in the first instance. 

He is a History and Politics graduate of Durham University and holds a master’s in the History of International Relations from the London School of Economics. He is father to a 16-year-old son and has enjoyed managing youth football teams in his spare time.