Providing leadership to a portfolio of strategic initiatives on the assurance and safety of AI, autonomous systems and robotics, and building on £75M of investments I have worked to secure since 2017. These investments include the Centre for Assuring Autonomy, the Assuring Autonomy International Programme (the Centre's predecessor), the UKRI AI SAINTS Centre for Doctoral Training, the Institute for Safe Autonomy, major philanthropic gifts and a number of other grants. I lead on ensuring strategic alignment, developing maximum added value and impact, building clear and influential narratives, and reducing duplication of effort.

Responsible for establishing and delivering the £12M Assuring Autonomy International Programme, leading a dynamic team and leveraging a further £41M+ of investment. The Programme - focussed on the assurance and safety challenges of robotics, autonomous systems, and artificial intelligence - works with technology developers, researchers, regulators, and the public to understand the risks and benefits of adopting these, in order to make the development and adoption of safe autonomous systems a reality. This work is supported by the Lloyd's Register Foundation and the University of York.My role was varied and included:- management of a dedicated and specialist operations team, integration with University of York systems, research support and working closely with senior leadership- financial and budgetary responsibility, including reporting- leadership and development of strategic partnerships and relationships with external (global) and internal (York) stakeholders- strategic and operational responsibility for commissioning, funding and managing a £6M+ portfolio of world-class research; this included establishing and running a novel process for international funding competitions and embedding this in the university's operational structures- strategic development of robotics activities, priorities and funding proposals at York (securing >£41M in tracked gearing to date)- acting as principal investigator on competitive York projects totalling £550k since 2019- philanthropic donor relations and gift stewardship- governance and reporting, in line with diverse stakeholder needs- identification of key opportunities and prioritisation of resources- representation of the Programme at international academic, technical and policy conferences and events- representation of the University in major UK and international fora- co-investigator on funding proposals totalling >£12M

Co-Investigator on the prestigious £16.2M UKRI AI Centre for Doctoral Training in Safe Artificial Intelligence Systems (SAINTS CDT)I am a member of the leadership team, responsible to the strategic direction of the CDT, with dedicated focus on operations and partnerships, including fundraising.

Director of a small consultancy, providing services to the charity sector, including influencing policy decisions, supporting local and national stakeholder engagement, and providing training to volunteer groups. Clients included major national environmental charities.

I am now resident in the Institute for Safe Autonomy, and am happy to field enquiries.Phase 1: I led the initial development of the new £35M Institute for Safe Autonomy - a major strategic initiative for the University of York that includes multiple stakeholders at all levels of the University. This encompassed strategic research development, planning for the construction of a purpose-built research facility, partnership-building and high-level recruitment alongside community-building.My role was to lead the development of this interdisciplinary initiative, with multiple functions including:- leading the development of a research strategy- developing novel and robust governance mechanisms for the initiative- liaising with academic researchers at a technical level and reporting to the University Executive BoardPhase 2: I was retained as lead client, with a specific remit to ensure that this bespoke £15M facility was fit for purpose.- acting as lead client for the architectural design, development and build phases- principal lead for laboratory and building functionality- coordinating activities across multiple university departments (including academic departments, HR, marketing, finance, estates, and others)

I established and managed Sheffield Robotics, one of the UK's leading interdisciplinary robotics research institutes. I worked closely with the Director to develop and implement a strategy for growth, including commissioning and launching a new brand identity, and building on existing academic excellence to identify emerging opportunities for Sheffield Robotics at the highest levels. My role was highly varied, and included coordinating robotics activities across Sheffield, ensuring that robotics was a high priority in the University of Sheffield, securing support for robotics activities across the N8 Universities, and working with others to maintain the high profile of the sector in the UK. With a technical and project management background, I brought skills for problem-solving and finding creative solutions to organisational barriers, alongside a keen eye for detail. I led a small and enthusiastic team, building an atmosphere of openness and collaboration, and fostering can-do attitudes and flexibility. Although our budgets were always extremely small, we were well-known for always over-delivering, for our pro-active approach, competence, and for making good (rather than easy) decisions.Sheffield Robotics became a highly respected and nationally recognised centre of excellence through advocacy, high-level representation, creative relationship-building, dedication and a bottom-up approach to development.

My role was to be the external representative for METRC (a centre specialising in nanotechnology, science and engineering), and the point of contact for companies wishing to collaborate with universities in the North of England. METRC facilitated the application of academic research to industry problems, and I worked with 11 universities to have a better understanding of the research that went on there, and to make better connections. My role included:* building relationships with industry to understand their R&D needs* facilitating research interactions between academics in the North of England and companies* technical interpretation between industry and academia* project management* developing funding opportunities* networking* marketing and communications

Director of a small consultancy, providing services to the charity and private sectors. Clients included major national and international organisations, and services centred around engaging with varied stakeholders, and providing policy advice and support.

BITECIC was a micro-SME when I joined it, allowing me to gain a wide range of skills and experience in an ISO 9001 environment. My primary role involved:* supporting clients in the development of medical devices and therapies, including regenerative medicine and biomaterials* providing specialist advice in relation to technical feasibility, including challenging assumptions and working practices* regularly working at the interface between academia and industry in order to allow commercial organisations to benefit from academic expertise * managing research projects for large and small organisations* collating input from different specialist stakeholders to provide coherent reports that complied with funding requirements* contributing to regional innovation programmes to provide targeted business support including roadmapping* communicating with people at all levels, and practical problem-solving at short noticeIn addition I developed an interest in, and was given responsibility for:* leading and developing BITECIC’s marketing strategy* ownership of BITECIC's external communications* development of company policies and processes

Cartilage tissue engineering using spider silk as a scaffold biomaterial.Alongside research activities, and 6-monthly reporting to the European Commission (FP6), I was also responsible for the organisation and administration of cluster group meetings, training new members of the team, and arranging social events.